Google On robots.txt Rules For AI Crawlers, Emojis, International URLs & More
Gary Illyes and Chery Prommawin released their second video in the Non-Canonical Cabinet series; this one is named What can you actually put in a robots.txt? Here they discuss what is, and is not, supported by robots.txt files. And while Google may s…
Google On Taking Sites Down When Fixing The Emergency PHP Exploit – PHP2Shell
The World Wide Web is rushing now to fix and patch its servers for the critical PHP exploit known as PHP2Shell. Most are able to patch these without downtime but many sites are going offline until the patch is implemented, just to be super safe. Googl…
Google appears to remove AI Overview labels from desktop results
Google may be testing AI Overviews without the usual “AI Overview” label on desktop search results, with Glenn Gabe first spotting the change for TV shows and movies.
The post Google appears to remove AI Overview labels from desktop results appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
How Meta’s AI shopping assistant decides which products you see
An early shopping test sheds light on product discovery, while Meta’s checkout design shows how customers approve the order.
The post How Meta’s AI shopping assistant decides which products you see appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Daily Search Forum Recap: October 21, 2026
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 Search ranking volatility and chatter seem to have spiked big time in the past 24 hours. Google up…
Yahoo tests reviews and popular links in search ads
Yahoo is testing reviews and popular links within search ads, following similar tests recently spotted in Bing and Google search results.
The post Yahoo tests reviews and popular links in search ads appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Google Updates Control What You Share With Google Search With Existing Options
Google updated its Control what you share with Google Search help document to add “include existing options such as the robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag, and the Search generative AI control,” Google said. In addition to Google updating it…
When AI Fetches Your Content, Is That A Website Visit?
[ Summary ] When AI systems fetch information from your Website, those requests may reflect human information needs without representing actual human visits. Learn to distinguish AI crawling from targeted fetching, understand what server logs can revea…
Google tests product features in Shopping ads
Google is testing a new Shopping ad design that displays key product features against a grey background alongside product images, names, prices, and review ratings.
The post Google tests product features in Shopping ads appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Google Search Ranking Volatility & Chatter Heats Up October 20 & 21
Google Search rankings seem to be getting super volatile again, this is alongside the search industry chatter that has been spiking to unusual levels over the past 24 hours. As a reminder, the third-party tracking tools may still be struggling to trac…
Google Ads New: Save & Test Asset Group Changes
Google Ads is possibly rolling out a new asset group A/B test toggle named “Save and test asset group changes.” This lets you measure the impact of changing headlines, descriptions, images and videos.
Google Ads Updates Smart Bidding Learning Doc With 7-Day Limit & Best Practices
Google Ads has updated the old “Duration of the learning period for campaigns and what affects it” to be renamed to “About Smart Bidding learning.” This is a major help document rewrite, not just a headline change. It mentions a new seven-day limit, a …
Google Merchant Center Specifies Fast Shipping Days By Country
Google has updated its about fast shipping in Merchant Center help document to detail the days Google expects for you to qualify for fast shipping in Merchant Center. This is specific for listings in the AU, CA, IN, JP, GB, US.
Google Updated Its URL Structure Best Practices For Hyphens In URLs
Google has made a minor change to its URL structure best practices for Google Search help document. Specifically, the “Use hyphens to separate words” section. The overall meaning of the section really did not change but Google did update it, so I want…
Google shows cart icon by default in Search
Google is showing a cart icon on the side of the page by default, even before a product is added, a change that looked new in a recent check.
The post Google shows cart icon by default in Search appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Google AI Mode tests two responses and asks users to pick the better one
Google AI Mode is testing a feature that shows two responses to the same query and asks users to choose which one they prefer, helping Google gather feedback to improve its AI answers.
The post Google AI Mode tests two responses and asks users to pick the better one appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
OpenAI Auto Enabling Creative Enhancements In ChatGPT Ads
OpenAI sent out emails to advertisers, including me, telling me they have automatically enabled creative enhancements for my ChatGPT Ads. The email says this is starting on October 30, 2026 and I can opt out of creative enhancements or change your set…
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) & A GEO-First Framework Debunked
Disclosure: Editorial & AI Methodology Disclosure: This forensic audit was architected and verified by Shaun Anderson (@Hobo_Web) using a Human-in-the-Loop “Marketing Cyborg” workflow. To deconstruct the entire GEO academic and commerci…
DeepSeek says its search engine filters ‘GEO manipulation’
Its newly opened search API exposes page scores, while the launch announcement leaves marketers without an explanation of which tactics trigger filtering.
The post DeepSeek says its search engine filters ‘GEO manipulation’ appeared first on Search Engine Watch.
Google Ads Expands Financial Services Verification To US & Canada
Google has announced it is expanding its Google Ads Financial Services Verification requirements to the United States and Canada. Google is working with the American Bankers Association and Canadian Bankers Association for this.