Daily Search Forum Recap: November 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 thought about how to give publishers control over AI using its content, but well…
Google Search Ranking Algorithm Volatility – A Gemini 3 Update?
I am seeing some signs of a Google search ranking update over the past day or so but the chatter is super limited right now. Many of the tools spike yesterday but like I said, the SEO community chatter was calm. I wonder if this volatility was related …
Google Thought On Six Options For Publishers Controlling AI
A court document from the Department of Justice Google monopoly case shows Google internally discussed six different options for giving (or not giving) publishers control over AI usage. The options range from do nothing new to add options to opt out o…
Google Maps Reviewer Nicknames, Insider Tips & Trending
Google announced some new features for Google Maps including a big one for reviews, where reviewers can now use nicknames instead of their real names when leaving reviews. Plus, Google added trending places to the explore tab and insider tips/know befo…
Google Discover Drops Follow Feature From Chrome (Not Discover Feed)
Only two months ago, Google officially rolled out the follow feature on Google Discover. Now, that feature is no longer active and Google has removed the documentation associated with it.
Google Search Console To Add Brand Query Filters
Google’s Daniel Waisberg announced today at the Google Search Central event in Tel Aviv that Search Console will be gaining brand query filters. Plus, these filters will be AI-assisted, I am told.
Google Tests Gray Shaded Search Ads & Local Pack
Google is testing shading the background color behind the search ads, sponsored results, and the local pack in the Google Search results. I do like that Google is testing differentiating the organic/free listings with the search ads/sponsored listings.
Daily Search Forum Recap: November 19, 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 released Gemini 3 and it is now powering Google Search’s AI Mode…
Semrush To Be Acquired By Adobe
Semrush will be acquired by Adobe, the two companies announced today. “Adobe and Semrush announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Adobe will acquire Semrush, a leading brand visibility platform, in an all-cash transactio…
Google AI Mode Now Powered By The New Gemini 3
Google released Gemini 3, its latest AI model, and it is already powering AI Mode in Google Search today. Sundar Pichai wrote Google is shipping Gemini 3 and that includes “Gemini 3 in AI Mode in Search with more complex reasoning and new dynamic exper…
Google Ads Tests Share Icon On Ads
Google Ads is testing a share icon and button for hotel ads in the Google search results. When you click on the share icon, it lets you share the result with a friend.
Google Email: Incentivized Reviews Require Proper Identification
Last month, we covered how we saw an “Incentivized” label on some product reviews within Google Search. Now, Google is emailing merchants and advertisers notifying them that they must properly tag incentivized reviews for Google.
Microsoft Advertising Adds Asset-Level Editorial Review & Conversion Delay
Microsoft announced a number of new Microsoft Advertising features including Asset-level editorial review, Conversion Delay insights, callouts for Hotel Price Ads expansion and Microsoft Curate updates.
Google Ads New Original Conversion Value Metric
Google Ads may be rolling out a new metric named “Original Conversion Value.” This shows the raw data before Google does anything with it.
Quotes From Google, Microsoft & Perplexity On GEO Rush
Business Insider interviewed both SEOs and representatives from Google, Microsoft, and Perplexity on what it calls the “GEO rush.” The rush for SEO companies or other companies to sell GEO (AI SEO) related services. There are quotes from Danny Sullivan…
AI SEO Deep Dive – Tom Critchlow & Dan Petrovic
I recently sat down with strategic SEO consultant Tom Critchlow for a deep-dive conversation about the mechanics of AI Search. We moved past the usual LinkedIn hype and “get-rich-quick” prompt engineering advice to look under the hood of Large Language Models (LLMs) like Gemini and GPT. We explored a fundamental shift in AI SEO industry: moving from Click-Through […]
Cloudflare Outage Impact On Google, Bing & Other Search Bots – Your Site Will Be Fine
Cloudflare, which is used by around 20% of all websites (including this one), is having major outages this morning. Lots of site owners are concerned with how this may impact Google, Bing, and other crawlers. The truth is, these search engines have s…
Google: Consistency Is The Biggest Technical SEO Factor (Still In 2025)
For a decade now, Google’s John Mueller has been saying consistency is the most important SEO advice you can give someone. In 2025, he said it again, posting on Bluesky, “Consistency is the biggest technical SEO factor.”
Google Ads Campaign Total Budget For PMax Is Live
Google Ads has rolled out the “Campaign total budget” feature for Performance Max (PMax) campaigns. This was available for other match types and is now available for PMax.
Bing Microsoft Advertising Ads Label – Ads Related To: Query
Microsoft is testing a new ad label for the Bing Search ads labeled “Ads related to” followed by the query the ads are related to. In the example below, it shows “Ad related to: Cushions”