As you know, Thursday, March 13, 2025 at around 12:30 pm ET Google announced the March 2025 core update, the first core update of the 2025 year. I was expecting to see a lot of volatility by now and while we are seeing some sites report volatility, it does not feel as widespread or heated as a normal core update - YET.
Google Search seems to have accidentally leaked its various AI Search options and features, that go beyond just AI Mode, which it recently launched. 47 different AI Search options are shown including Info Sleuth, Allium, QTalk, MedExplainer, Fantasy Sports Researcher, Smart Kitchen and many more.
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 is testing adding links to AI Overviews that generate clicks, but these links go to Google Search...
While Google keeps saying it values publishers and knows how important it is to link to publishers and site owners from Search and AI Overviews, well, it is just as important for Google to link to their own search results for AI Overviews. Google is testing adding links, more visible and clickable links, right in the AI Overviews, to its own search results.
Google Ads is testing the ability to not just expand the images in the ad carousel but expand it again. So you can double expand the images and swipe through them either as smaller images or as larger images.
In December, Google Merchant Center introduced a new field for "first order" discount. Now, we are seeing "First order" labels in the Google Shopping Ads within the Google Search results.