Daily Search Forum Recap: February 3, 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 says search algorithms, spam detection…
Google: Search Algorithms, Spam Detections & Policies Don’t Fundamentally Change With AI Search
Google’s John Mueller said that when it comes to AI Search and the changes that come with that, Google’s core search algorithms, spam detection methods, spam policies, and other search systems do not fundamentally change.
Bing Multi-Turn Search Rolls Out Worldwide
Bing Search has rolled out what it calls multi-turn search in Bing globally. This is something we saw Microsoft Bing test back in June, when we saw a floating Copilot follow up search box at the footer of the Bing search results page show up as you scr…
ChatGPT With Top Stories & More Visual Knowledge Panels
OpenAI seems to be jazzing up its ChatGPT responses by showing more visual responses, like Google’s knowledge panels and top stories. This goes across people, places, products, and ideas, OpenAI said.
Google’s Top Crawling Challenges In 2025
Gary Illyes, along with Martin Splitt, of Google posted a podcast explaining the top crawling challenges Google noticed amongst its 2025 year of crawling. The top challenges Google had with crawling included faceted navigation, action parameters, irrel…
Google: Don’t Spend Too Much Time On Redirects Analysis For SEO
Google’s John Mueller said he would “caution against assuming that you need to do this level of analysis for all URLs on a website in order to achieve optimal SEO” when it comes to reviewing bad redirects or CSP settings. Why, because bad redirects or …
What is NLWeb (Natural Language Web)?
Natural language is quickly becoming the default way people interact with online tools. Instead of typing a few keywords, users now ask full questions, give detailed instructions, and are starting to expect clear, conversational answers. So, how can you make sure your content provides the answer to their question? Or better yet, how can you make it possible for them to interact with your website in a similar way? That’s where Microsoft’s NLWeb comes in. Meet NLWeb, Microsoft’s new open […]
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Google On Recent Google Search Ranking Volatility – No Insights To Share
As you know, January was an incredibly intense month of Google Search ranking volatility. It surprised me that Google has still not confirmed that a Google search ranking update took place. Now, John Mueller of Google was asked about it and said, “Unf…
OpenAI Prepares ChatGPT Code To Allow Ads?
If you look at the source code in some of the responses OpenAI’s ChatGPT gives you, you may now see references to ads. The response in the source code says, “InReply to user query using the following additional context of ads shown to the user.”
Google Search Console Adding AI Visibility Reporting?
John Mueller from Google dropped a very John-like hint that maybe, just maybe, Google Search Console will add AI visibility reporting. John was asked about it again and responded, saying, “While I have nothing to announce, I can say for sure that very…
Google Ads Replacing Support Form With AI Agent
Google seems to be replacing its Google Ads support form with an AI agent, maybe from its Ads Advisor system. When you go to support.google.com/google-ads/gethelp you are redirected to the chat experience now. I am not sure if this is global, but I am…
Google Vastly Increases Local Pack Ads Placement
Google seems to be showing more and more ads in the local pack, aka Local Pack Ads. Just a couple of months ago, Google had ads on the local pack for less than 3% of tracked keywords; now it’s up to about 22% of tracked keywords.
February 2026 Google Webmaster Report
Welcome to the Google Webmaster report, where I sum up all the more important Google organic search topics that occurred over the past month – just in case you (or I) missed it. January was an incredibly volatile month regarding unconfirmed Google sear…
Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Rank Volatility Heated, AI Overviews To Send Less Traffic, Opt Out Of It, Yahoo Scouts & Bing AI Performance Report
This week, we covered more ongoing Google search ranking volatility – January was a heated month. Google AI Overviews show more button officially flows to AI Mode…
Google Search Ranking Volatility Super Heated January 29 & 30
January has been an insane month with Google Search ranking volatility, and I guess it is no surprise to see the most heated time right now, as we end the month. I am seeing a significant spike in SEO chatter and many of the tools are showing very hea…
Google Ads Tests Third-Party Endorsement Content On Search Ads
Google is testing showing third-party endorsement content on Search ads, a Google Ads spokesperson confirmed. This “third-party endorsement content” may include content from third-party websites under the ad description, including the site’s name, log…
Google Search Adds Preferred Sources Help Docs
Several weeks after Google rolled out support for Preferred Sources globally, Google added official help documentation for site owners to use to help them understand what it is all about and how to encourage their readers to subscribe to your site as a…
Google Business Profiles Review Appeals No Longer Delayed
Before the December holidays, Google posted a notice that review appeals for Google Business Profiles were delayed. Well, Google just removed the notice, which likely means the extended delays for review appeals are no longer an issue.
One Click Google Ads Performance Max Ad Previews
Google Ads has this new way to preview your Performance Max campaign ads, with one click. Now you can easily preview your PMax asset group ads from the table by clicking on the images.
Recap: The January 2026 SEO Update by Yoast
The January 2026 SEO Update by Yoast is part of our monthly webinar series covering the latest developments in search and AI. In each session, we review the most important news from the past month and explore what it means for your search strategy. Hosted by Carolyn Shelby and Alex Moss, this month’s update looks […]
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