Search Engine Roundtable Podcast

This week, yep, we had another story on Google Search ranking volatility. I posted the Google webmaster report for January 2026. Google Discover seems to be showing too many posts from X. Google does personalize some AI Overviews and AI Mode responses. Tailwind CSS had to let go of 75% of its engineers after a 40% drop to its documentation because of AI Search and Google. Google Search Console may...

Today we covered how the creator of Tailwind CSS said he laid off 75% of his engineering team because traffic to his docs is down 40% due to AI Search.  Google’s John Mueller talked about if you should invest in GEO.  Google Ads vehicle ads seem to support call assets. And now Microsoft is going agentic with Copilot Checkout and Brand Agents. 0:00 - Introduction 1:03 - Tailwind CSS hit by Google A...

Today we covered that Google does personalize some of its AI experiences. Google search ranking volatility causes AdSense revenue drops. Google Merchant Center multi-channel product updates. And Google is hiring a Chief of Staff for Search Intelligence.  0:00 - Introduction 0:55 - Google personalizing AI answers 4:12 - Google volatility with AdSense drops 4:42 - Google Merchant Center multichannel...

Today we covered that Google is hiring a software engineer for AI Answer quality.  Bing is testing a new home page to promote Copilot. Google Ads has this gift card scam. Reddit has a new AI media buying tool. 0:00 - Introduction 1:32 - Google AI Answer quality engineer 3:26 - Bing testing new home page design 5:21 - Google Ads Gift card scams 7:28 - Reddit new AI media buying tool 9:22 - NYC cong...

Today we covered how Google Discover seems to be overloaded with posts from X.  News publishers continue to see declines in Google.  Google Ads tests new Go to button in change history.  Google Ads creator partnership enhanced with creator search and management hub. 0:00 - Introduction 0:36 - Google Discover with too much X 2:24 - News sites hit hard by Google core update 4:33 - Google Ads change...

Google completed the December 2025 core update this week and it hit some news publishers incredibly hard. I posted the annual Google algorithm update infographic. Google’s Frankenstein AI-recipes are a complete horror. Google questioned the need for ccTLDs for international SEO. Do not create multiple Business Profiles for each department listing on Google. Google AI Overviews is testing speaker i...

Today we did a year end happy new years special. We recap some of the biggest stories, contributors and more for the new year.  We also cover a new Google help document for soliciting reviews.  Google Ads search term report with quick selection. 0:00 - Introduction 0:52 - We do a recap on our new years recap posts 4:43 - Google help document for soliciting reviews 6:32 - Google Ads search term rep...

Today we covered how Google’s AI-generated recipes, aka Frankenstein recipes, are a horror to recipe bloggers and the internet. We also covered the Google core update completing. 0:00 - Introduction 0:41 - Googl’s horrible AI-Frankenstein recipes 8:57 - Google December core update finishing 9:43 - Conclusion A daily recap video summarizing a few of the top search marketing headlines covered at the...

Today we covered how Google’s John Mueller questioned the need for ccTLDs for international SEO purposes. He also called some SEO content “digital mulch.” Microsoft Advertising added custom columns to the user interface. Google is testing a speaker icon on AI Overviews and Chrome tests Browse with AI instead of Gemini button. 0:00 - Introduction 1:20 - Google on ccTLDs for international SEO 3:24 -...

This week in search, we covered an update on the Google December 2025 core update. Google Search traffic to news publishers continues to vanish, but there is Google Discover. A report shows Google has deleted a ton of local reviews in 2025. Bing posted an excellent blog post on duplicate and similar content and how it impacts SEO and AI Search. Google said make sure to pick a reasonable site name...

Today we covered Google Ads Advisor showing up in ad reporting. Google Ads lowered the active visit lists to 100 for the search network.  Google Ads has a dynamic remarketing tracking reporting bug.  Bing says similar and duplicate pages can blur signals and weaken your SEO. Google forgot to post its holiday decorations for Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa this year.  Happy holidays all! 0:00 - Intr...

Today we covered how news publishers continue to see declines in web search traffic and Discover makes up too much of their traffic.  Google Discover is pushing what looks like news stories to users, but they go to AI Mode.  Google Search bar in Chrome tab pushing Google AI Mode too.  Google Ads Demand Gen rolling out Maps channels.  And Google Ads is testing Learn more links in ad text. 0:00 - In...

Today we covered Google suing SerpApi for scraping its search results.  We spotted more Google core update movement this Saturday. Google said Gemini will not replace Google Assistant this year.  Google Ads expands to more AI Overviews.  Google MCC accounts now are seeing channel performance reporting. 0:00 - Introduction 0:52 - Google on optimizing for AI Search 6:14 - Google core update movement...

This week, we have a status update on the ongoing Google December 2025 core update. Google also said it does not pre-announce core updates or quality updates. Gemini 3 Flash now powers Google AI Mode. Google Search Live gets a conversational language upgrade with the help of Gemini. Google’s Danny Sullivan and John Mueller spoke about SEO for AI and more. Nick Fox from Google said optimizing for A...

Today we covered more talk from Google on optimization for AI Search, this from Danny Sullivan and John Mueller.  We also spoke about Gemini 3 Flash coming to Google AI Mode and the Gemini app.  Google fixed the crazy long page indexing delay in Search Console. Google also fixed the two month old review disappearing bug. Google Merchant Center product studio adds new features.  0:00 - Introduction...

Today we covered Google Business Profiles review appeals are delayed and Google updated its owner review replies expectations. Google Discover has this new tailor your feed option.  Google AI Advisor deep dive. Google is testing super long AI-generated snippets. ChatGPT has new image generation for you all. 0:00 - Introduction 2:24 - Google Business Profile review appeals are delayed 3:01 - Google...

Today we covered how Nick Fox from Google said optimizing for AI search is the same as optimizing for traditional search. He also said no, Google wont’ have licensing deals for most publishers for AI consumption. Google Search Console’s average position is reversing or maybe not.  Google Ads exact match cannot show ads in AI Overviews. Google Ads location targeting option for Demand Gen is rolling...

Today we covered  the launch of the Google December 2025 core update, and it felt like it hit hard on Saturday and finally that Google can’t pre-announce these quality updates.  Google Search Live got a Gemini update.  Google is replacing the Q&A feature in local with the AI-powered AI button.  Google Ads with videos from Merchant Center. Google AI Max confusion clarified.  0:00 - Introduction...

In this week's recap, we covered that the Google December 2025 core update was unleashed. Google also said more core updates are definitely on their way and one should be coming soon Google also updated its documentation to reiterate that it does, in fact, release unannounced, smaller core updates more regularly. Meanwhile, we saw a lot of Google search ranking volatility this weekend and duri...

Today we covered Bing testing ad grouping with the hide/show ad buttons. Google Web Guide is now in the all tab. Google AI mode updates links and adds contextual introductions.   Google preferred sources is now global and adds spotlighting subscriptions in Gemini, and coming soon to AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google launches natural language Developer Assistant for Google Ads API. And Shopify launc...

Today we covered OpenAI's small (but important) changes to OAI-SearchBot & what it means for marketers. Additionally we covered the news that ads were reportedly coming to the Google Gemini App, just to have that rumor abrupty shut down by Dan Taylor from Google. Lastly, our breaking news correspondent - Barry Schwartz - has new date range news for Google Search Console. 0:00 - Introductio...

Today we covered Google search ranking volatility heating, while Search Console reporting is still incredibly delayed but Google introduced an AI-powered configuration. Google Search Console Insights report gains social channels.  Business Insider to post AI generated quick news stories as a test.  Google Merchant Center new regional member pricing beta is out. Google is testing image animation fo...

This week, we, of course, covered the ongoing Google Search ranking volatility. Google is now blending AI Mode directly into AI Overviews. Google’s home page search bar added a new upload feature to take you into AI Mode. Google Discover and the mobile app also take you off web pages and into AI Mode. Gemini 3 and Nano Banana Pro are now available in AI Mode in more countries. Google AI Mode is te...

Today we covered ongoing Google search ranking volatility, while Search Console reporting is super delayed. Google Discover and Android app is also pushing users into Google AI Mode. 0:00 - Introduction 0:46 - Google search ranking volatility 1:21 - Google Search Console reporting delayed 2:04 - Google Discover and Android app pushing AI Mode 3:24 - Conclusion A daily recap video summarizing a few...

Today we covered how Google updates its home page search bar file upload to go directly to AI Mode. Google added an LLMs.txt file to its search developer site. Black Friday ad costs are rising. And OpenAI calls a code red.  0:00 - Introduction 1:54 - Google’s search bar file upload goes to AI Mode 3:58 - Google added an LLMs.txt file to their site 5:53 - Black Friday ad cost  7:17 - OpenAI ChatGPT...