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 says it stops 20 times more scammy pages in Search. Google Ads is testing showing follower counts. Google AdSense auto optimize is now on the site level. Google showed how to use country and language parameters in Google Search. Bing is testing new next / previous pagination. And I posted the weekly SEO video recap.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Volatility, D.C. Creator Summit, Apple Safari Google Searches Drop & Google Ads AI Max
It's been calm for the past two weeks but we are seeing Google ranking volatility hit on May 8th. Google held another creator summit, this one in Washington, D.C. Apple said Google searches are declining in Safari, but Google said... -
Google Search Stops 20X More Scammy Pages With Better AI
Google said it is now able to catch "20-times the number of scammy pages," that it did in the past, leading to a reduction of "these scams by more than 80% in Search." Google credits investments in AI-powered scam detection systems and improved scam classifiers. -
Google Ads With Number Of Followers
Google is showing the number of followers for a Facebook profile in the Google Ads, the search ads. We saw Google testing this for organic / free results two years ago, but now we see them being tested on sponsored search listings. -
Google Search Country & Language Parameters
Did you know that you can quickly add parameters to the end of your Google Search URL to see search results in a specific language and/or country? Yes, you can do this from the advanced search settings screen in Google Search but you can also append &hl=(languagecode) + &gl=(countrycode) URL parameters, if you want to save some clicks. -
Google AdSense Auto Optimize Adds Site Level Controls
Google AdSense announced that the Auto optimize feature is now configurable at the site level. Google moved it out of the Experiments section and made several improvements to Auto optimize. -
Bing Search Tests Next/Prev Pagination
Microsoft is testing a new pagination bar for its Bing Search results. Instead of the left arrow, page numbers and then right arrow, Bing is testing showing a "Next" button and then a "Prev" button. -
Google Star & Dotted Signage
This Google signage, which looks like a form of the super G, Google logo, formed in red, blue, green and yellow stars and dots, caught my eye. This was in the Google Sunnyvale office and I found it on Instagram.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Google has shown once again why they are unbeatable when it comes to Shopping, releasing their competing product to ChatGPT a few days later. The release of Google's product recommendations in AI Mode is here, and I'm quite impress, Brodie Clark on X
- Weird situation. Search visibility has dropped heavily over time, but this seems more recent -> The Daily Dot laid off 15 people, or much of its staff, after a sudden and unexplained collapse in referral traffic starting April 10 th, Glenn Gabe on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- Google to deprecate structured data files v7 by November
- Google says it is 20 times better at catching scams in Google Search
- Google Analytics real time reporting buggy?
- How to fix technical SEO issues on client-side React apps
- Vibe coding with AI tools: A marketer’s guide
- Strategic PPC moves to offset traffic loss from zero-click search
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- First-party tags in seconds: Cloudflare integrates Google tag gateway for advertisers, Cloudflare
- Matomo vs Google Analytics: Measure Traffic While Staying GDPR-Compliant, Measure Minds Group
Industry & Business
- CFPB drops attempt to supervise Google Payment Corp., Axios
- Stats from a dying web, Platformer
- U.S. v. Google: What Both Sides Argued in a Hearing to Fix Its Search Monopoly, New York Times
Links & Content Marketing
Local & Maps
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Is Developing Specialized Chips for Glasses, Macs, AI Servers, Bloomberg
- Apple Smart Glasses, Apple Glass expected Christmas 2026, AppleInsider
- Apple’s leaked iPhone roadmap looks bigger and better than ever, 9to5Mac
- Appfigures: Apple made over $10B from US App Store commissions last year, TechCrunch
SEO
- An Introduction to Relevance Engineering: The Future of Search, iPullRank
- Google Discover on Desktop: New Opportunities for Content Marketing, Foundation Inc
- Google's AI Adventure - One Year On, SEO for Google News
- SEO in the Age of Agents: Takeaways from NYC SEO Week, Lily Ray
- SEO Topic Clusters: Complete Guide, Examples & Free Templates, Moz
- How AI Overviews Shift Traffic From Publishers to Google, Zyppy Marketing
- How to Add VideoObject Schema Markup for Better SEO, SEO Hacker
PPC
- Why You Should Rethink Your Exact Match Strategy, Jyll Saskin Gales
Search Features
- Google tests two slick new Circle to Search layouts, Android Authority
- Why AI Mode will replace traditional search as Google’s default interface, I Love SEO
Other Search
- I tested ChatGPT's Deep Research against Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok AI to see which is best, ZDNET
Feedback:
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