Google Local Service Ads Reviews Often Mention Label
I am not sure if this is new, to be honest, we saw something super similar in the normal local review summaries about fives years ago with “X people mention [keyword].” Now in the Local Service Ads, they have it where it has this people icon with “Revi…
Google To End Self-Service Hotel Rates July 30
Google will be ending the ability for hotels to manage their hotel rates by themselves, instead they will need to partner with a central reservation system, Internet booking engine or other partner to manage those rates on Google Search.
Bing Search Tests Floating Copilot Search Box
Microsoft is testing placing a floating Copilot search box within the Bing Search results page. The aim is to encourage searchers to ask follow-up questions, not in Bing Search, but in Microsoft Copilot.
New Google Search Directions User Interface
Google updated the directions interface within Google Search. Now the drive (car icon), trains (train icon) and buses (bus icon) are in expandable menus, as opposed to tabs at the top of the “Get there” search results section.
Daily Search Forum Recap: June 24, 2025
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google says URL extensions don’t matter for SEO…
Google Still Says URL Extensions Still Don’t Matter
Google’s John Mueller several years after posting a video named “Will removing ‘.html’ from my URLs help my site?” still says URL extensions do not matter for SEO. He said it doesn’t matter if you go with a .htm or a .html or go with no extension at all.
New Google Search Emoji Answer Feature
Google is testing a new feature to replace all those copy-and-paste emoji websites. You know, when you want to know what an emoji is for a specific emotion and you go to Google and it brings up websites that have the emojis and you can click copy to yo…
Google Expands AI Mode To India In Search Labs
Google has made its first expansion of AI Mode outside of the US by announcing AI Mode is now available in Search Labs for those based in India. As you know, AI Mode is fully live, outside of Search Labs, for all US users and now Google is expanding ac…
Google Business Profiles Tests Social Profiles Above Google Posts
Google is testing moving the social profile links above the Google Posts section in the Google Business Profiles / local listings within Google Search. This seems to be being tested right now.
Google Undisclosed Blue Search Answer?
I am not sure what this is but Google is testing (or maybe it is a bug) an answer box of sorts, in a blue highlight background (grayish on dark mode) with an answer. But there is no label on the result, is it an AI Overview, featured snippet or some ot…
Google Tests Slim Light Blue Vertical Bar By Search Result Snippets
Google is testing placing a light blue bar on the left side of the search results snippets title link. I am not sure why Google is doing this but it does add some flavor and color to the search results.
Google Questions AI Overview Click Studies & Says Web Is Thriving
Jason Howell on the AI Inside podcast had Nick Fox, VP of Search at Google, on a few weeks ago. In that interview, he said that the methodologies used by the click studies done on AI Overviews can be “questioned.” He added, “from our point of view the …
Google Touts Its Index Freshness As A Win For Google AI
Google’s Jeff Dean, the lead of Google AI and a Google veteran since 1999, highlighted Google’s index freshness as one of its key advantages in its AI services. On X, Jeff posted, “Index freshness is something I and many others at Google have worked o…
Google Ads Tests Compact Segment Dropdown Menu
Google Ads is testing a new version of the segment dropdown menu within the advertiser console. The new version is a more compact version that displays more options on your screen simultaneously.
Google Merchant Center Product Status Changes History Report Returning
Google appears to be reintroducing the “product status change” report within Google Merchant Center. This displays the historical changes of your product statuses and is a feature that was greatly missed.
Bing Search Tests Updated Image Carousel With More Images
Microsoft is testing a new image carousel within the Bing Search results. This image carousel shows two rows of images, instead of one, has related searches with an arrow at the top of the carousel and a new larger squared off arrow format.
SCL Deep Dive APAC 2025: Community Speakers and a New Format
We hope you’re as excited about
Search Central Live Deep Dive APAC
as we are! With just a few weeks to go, we wanted to share an exciting experiment that we’re
planning to run at the event, and introduce our comm…
The Industry Mourns The Loss Of Jill Whalen – Content SEO Hero & Legend
It is with a heavy heart that I am reporting that one of the founding pillars of the SEO industry, one of the first female SEOs in our industry, and one of the individuals who made the industry what it is today, has passed away. Jill Whalen retired fr…
Daily Search Forum Recap: June 20, 2025
Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today, through the eyes of the Search Engine Roundtable and other search forums on the web.
Google said larger issues that linger longer on your site, with unrelated content…
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Search Volatility, AI Mode in Search Console, Audio Overviews and ChatGPT Search Quality
This week we covered the ongoing Google search ranking volatility. Google is now officially counting AI Mode in Google Search Console’s performance reports, but good luck understanding it. Google is testing Audio Overviews…