Recent Comments on Search Engine Roundtable

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I get so many bot traffic, its hard to really tell if its good or not. My AdSense was 500% up from the previous Friday. Might sound spectacular but its only a tiny amount though....

Comment ID #6828113160 01/24/2026 05:37 am

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

The shareholders are only interested in the total revenue, and that is increasing. The fact that it is dropping from Adsense adverts is of no concern to them, which, if it weren't Scumdar, would be under pressure to increase website visitors. General population users of AI are probably not aware of the damage that AI does with increases in energy costs, jobs lost etc until they are actually directly affected. Google has been showing contempt for websites since Feb 2013 when they did image search. They just ratcheted up over the years. As AI is being thrown down our throats with little choice, I expect it to be a long fad. Well, actually, there is a small small choice but not many people know about it. People are lazy, they trust AI even when its wrong because they can't be bothered to check the information in the main.

Comment ID #6828108430 01/24/2026 05:09 am

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

AI overviews only show 1 in 25k views - and advertisors will leave if they push ads into these overviews because they can't define ROI through AI. The lost ad revenue from our websites is being lost....forever. Googles cut of that ad revenue is also gone. It is the most insane strategy I have ever encountered in my life, and all because of AI fad, they literally ruined their business.

Comment ID #6828092014 01/24/2026 03:38 am

Bolat Sabikhan commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I feel like my life is driven by bots too. If you cheat, they punish you, and if you’re too honest, they punish you as well.

Comment ID #6828087384 01/24/2026 03:08 am

The291IQ_Equalizer commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

sup fellas? remember me? those who know who I am know who I am - 2023 OG time for some updates - dis won't make any sense if you don't remember me from 2023-2024 you remember I was working in wood mills, then switch to part time office job, then full time office job - same chit that's how I dealth with HCU - destructo I am seeing that the comment section here has many new people, but some OGs what happened ? of course nothing it was 2023, we were waiting for one update, then the second, then the third Many people on here burned through their savings The brutal reality is that making money as a content creation is now total garbage. Just for referemce. I needed 2 years to build my last site, to get on mediavine so that I it earns 1-1.5k Then it earned money for about 2 years and got killed. In other words, I worked for free for 2 years to earn moeny for 2 years and then to die. Working any other job for the whole 4 years would have earned me more. But money isn't all there is. We did it for the freedom, right? No schedule. No nagging boss or homoerotic coworkers tellin'us about the TPS reports But that is still not worth it IMO due to the insecurity. At my job now, my employers pays my insurances and if they fire me - they are obligated by law to give me 2 months notice. Not a lot - but it's something. Also, I am not responsible for the phucking business. I do my thing like a drone. Pretend I care (like all) I started earning on DAY 1 .I didn't have to spend 2 phucking ears to earn a penny. So, I'd say that being a barrista at starbucks is more lucrative than sites, blogs, youtube channels, tik toking. Internet content is now like onlyfans - 1% of whorrres earn trillions, but most women are simply there to show their titssess for pennies. If you don't have an angle, leverage....tons of money - phuck it. The era of self-made millionaire in mom's basement is over (if it ever was not). Lots of people on here were coping (incl me) that it will get better, but deep down we knew , this shit is permanent we would follow lillian ray, and the other gleb guy or whoever da phuck he was, and pray that some minor tweaks would do it dat guy googlisajoke would post his bipolar shit with yet another site that barely gets 330 click and can potentially earn like 100 bucks on mediavine. it's alll GG Income school.....all the blog school are DEAD closed doors. My only regret is that in 2023 I didn't abandon all of that sooner. 3 years later googles still looks like chit AI is till at the same place (constantly ready to take over the world, but really not there) Blogging is deader than dead.

Comment ID #6828085335 01/24/2026 02:55 am

TheFlighter commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I think this may have been done intentionally, as people will search for something, find nothing (or spam websites), and then decide to just stay with the AI Overview box up top and / or go straight to Gemini. This means any advertising dollars are going direct to Google rather than split with publishers.

Comment ID #6828068100 01/24/2026 12:35 am

DramaShout143 commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

Hi sir Dimitris. This is just my guess why your website is having visibility issues so I hope you will not view this as negative feedback. Probably, one of the issues is that there are two other techmaniacs (com and net). I am from Philippines, and the com one is on the top when I searched.

Comment ID #6828063038 01/23/2026 11:58 pm

DramaShout143 commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

It seems Google further switched on a wrong switch this time. In the Philippines, government websites (hacked and redirect casino spam) resurfaces in the first page of search results for most keywords. This is a recipe for total gambling disaster, ruining Filipinos lives. GOOGLE LOVES SPAM in this January 2026 unconfirmed update more than ever.

Comment ID #6828061342 01/23/2026 11:47 pm

AlaskaTraveller54 commented on Google Deleting Local Reviews More Than Ever

Cool

Comment ID #6828058770 01/23/2026 11:31 pm

snuffy commented on OpenAI To Charge For ChatGPT Ads On Ad View Impressions, Not Clicks

When I am using ChatGPT I am focused on the content being produced and the ad would have to slap my face to even get my attention, much less a click. If ChatGPT has any confidence in these ads they should charge based upon the conversions.

Comment ID #6827992671 01/23/2026 07:20 pm

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

Googles AI Strategy = * Black Hats celebrating with record profits of $25k a month. * White Hats homeless looking for jobs. Thanks Google

Comment ID #6827929326 01/23/2026 04:18 pm

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

Black hat are celebrating. White hat are looking for jobs.

Comment ID #6827916255 01/23/2026 03:48 pm

Dan commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

Yes, been removed from Discover since December 12 after aveaging 30,000 to 60,000 a day on there for years.

Comment ID #6827889750 01/23/2026 02:50 pm

Dark Red Owl commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

Don't waste your time and money on the Google Ponzi scheme. Get a real job.

Comment ID #6827832490 01/23/2026 12:50 pm

FokGoogle commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

Me too but it is bot/zombie traffic for me.

Comment ID #6827813544 01/23/2026 12:11 pm

Bender G commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

You're so lucky, mine keeps going down :(

Comment ID #6827795771 01/23/2026 11:35 am

Sensei commented on Google Falls Back To Featured Snippets When AI Overviews Do Not Generate

💯

Comment ID #6827780776 01/23/2026 11:04 am

Mark commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I'm getting super frustrated with Youtube as a user. Its so frustrating as the good content is there... its just very hard to find at times. I'm teaching myself to play chess properly, Youtube has some amazing channels for this. But the shorts are just a joke... totally fake AI vids of games that simply didnt happen, or some indian ran channel with an AI voice reading out spelling mistakes in a script etc. Or outright stolen content with a new script that again doesn't make any sense. Im doing up a ruin in my garden into a new house too, again Youtube is full of amazing content (if you can find it). This morning I've watched multiple nonsensevideos of how to build an indoor pool.... including one where a crane appears through the house roof to drop the pool in place. Just fuckin useless and no way to know if a vid is BS or not before I click on it. Youtube are going to need to seriously crack down on this garbage. I think anyone trying to move from seo to YouTube spam is gonna be in for a rough 2026. These AI tools are only getting better/easier to use/more people have access to them. The 3rd world turds are going to do to Youtube, what they done to seo. Their spam and bullshit is going to ruin it for everyone else. If India didn't have internet I bet we wouldn't have had to have a helpful content update.

Comment ID #6827762166 01/23/2026 10:24 am

Sarah B. commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

Semrush sensor even higher today :/ Seeing so many blog posts from ~2023 jump up and knocking out established landing pages. It's really odd.

Comment ID #6827744801 01/23/2026 09:45 am

Barry Schwartz commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

My analytics software did some sort of update this morning and my traffic is now being reported at 3X the normal traffic. :) yay - lol

Comment ID #6827743998 01/23/2026 09:43 am

Golden Phoenix commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I honestly don't even check anymore. What is the point. Revenue is down across the board and it's not coming back with any of these updates. Not going to be a gamechanger

Comment ID #6827743556 01/23/2026 09:42 am

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

You have a point, they could be thinking this. But they underestimated real people who are not billionaires. Just like they did with AI. People are so annoyed of forced AI they are not happy at all. just go read the comments of normal people on all social media platforms and forums. They are celebrating the downfall of AI - and can't wait. Zero click internet was the craziest thing to say from an advertising platform that makes money from clicks that lead to product sales.

Comment ID #6827736703 01/23/2026 09:26 am

Sam commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

People just won't pay this. They will do everything in their power to NOT pay this. Something that was free now being charged is a bad bad product strategy.

Comment ID #6827735900 01/23/2026 09:24 am

Dimitris Abrazis commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I had another article about the scam of AI, one giving money to the other and no money enters the industry. MS to OpenAI, OpenAI to MS to get Azure servers, and then MS invest more to openAI, who pays Nvidia for hardware. Nvidia then invests in OpenAI etc etc etc... They show revenue with no actual earnings...

Comment ID #6827732151 01/23/2026 09:15 am

Dimitris Abrazis commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I was on Google News for years, I believe from before 2020, when we could create sections and everything was crawled. Back then I thing I was approved fast enough. After july update i had a 65% drop, which was recovering slowly but it was a recover. Since December update things went bad and since Jan 20 it is terrible with no signs of recovery. No changes on our side.

Comment ID #6827731374 01/23/2026 09:13 am

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I think I've found your site, have you considered "Preferred Sources" on your site? Your site looks like it could benefit from it? <a href="https://www.seroundtable.com/google-top-stories-preferred-sources-live-39920.html">https://www.seroundtable.com/google-top-stories-preferred-sources-live-39920.html</a>

Comment ID #6827723229 01/23/2026 08:53 am

John A. User commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I just found what I think is Jedi Master @dimitrisabrazis:disqus site. Interesting article today about AI and them bleeding money. It brings a smile to my face that OpenAI might go bankrupt... Thing he probably didn't mention or know is how the safe company (Microsoft & Google) are bankrolling some of these companies, OpenAI (Microsoft) & Anthropic (Google), so they both will be able to last a little longer.

Comment ID #6827721268 01/23/2026 08:49 am

John A. User commented on Google Falls Back To Featured Snippets When AI Overviews Do Not Generate

i.e. Wikipedia, but if they do elsewhere, it's still copyright theft and keeping users on site.

Comment ID #6827703377 01/23/2026 08:02 am

Rasmus Hellmyrs commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

Yeah even though I'm not Greek I know that your website is really big and that even bigger tech medias like GSMArena mentioned it and so on. Really impressive! Keep up the good work! Was your site automatically approved in Google News? If so, how many years did it took to get it approved?

Comment ID #6827698395 01/23/2026 07:47 am

Dimitris Abrazis commented on Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Again January 21

I was doing 200K-300K per day with some days over that... This is sad...

Comment ID #6827697193 01/23/2026 07:43 am

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