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 confirmed the issue with reviews not being counted properly. Google on how to tell if Google Search can see your tabbed navigation. Google LSA lead quality dropped significantly since automated credits, says advertisers. Bing is testing dropping the AI labels from AI Answers. Google Ads asking for recertification during support conversations. Google Ads updated its gambling and games policy.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Confirms Review Count Issue - Working On Fix
On Friday, we reported that the Google local reviews seem to be disappearing or being counted wrong. Well, Google finally confirmed the issue, just minutes ago, in the Google Business Profiles Forums. -
Google: How To Tell If Google Sees Tabbed Navigation
Did you ever want to validate to see if Google or other search engines can see your tabbed (hidden in a tab) navigation or content? Well, John Mueller from Google listed some ideas on how to do so. -
Advertisers: Google LSA Lead Quality Drops After Auto Lead Credits
There are a number of advertisers in the local space who are complaining that the lead quality has been worse than ever in the past few months. They blame the new automated ad credits system, which removed the method for advertisers to manually request lead credits for poor quality leads. -
Bing Tests Dropping AI Labels From AI Answers
Microsoft seems to be testing dropping the AI labels and other interaction features from the Bing Search AI Answers. Or maybe, Bing dropped its AI Answers for normal featured snippets - although, I doubt that. -
Google Ads Support Account Re-Verification During Ongoing Thread
Google Ads is asking some advertisers to re-verify their accounts during an active email support conversion. While the support thread is going on, Google may ask you to re-verify you are who you say you are, for security purposes. -
Google Ads Gambling and Games Policy Update On April 14th
Google will update its advertising policy around gambling and gaming on April 14, 2025. Google posted a preview of the upcoming changes but said the final version may change, so this is just a draft. -
Polish Folk Dancers At Google
Here are some photos I found from the Google office in Seattle of Polish folk dancers who performed at the Google office there for Lunar New Year's Celebration.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Another simple trick & effective thing is to right-click one of these products and check that the context menu has "open link" options. If not, then likely it's not using actual links, and can't be crawled. (Using 'onclick' and navigating i, John Mueller on Bluesky
- Google is now testing out a new verification tick in search results with a darker blue variant. This is compared to the lighter blue version (similar to the original Twitter colour) from August of 2024. Details:, SERP Alert on X
- 6 Ways Google Quality Raters are trained to detect AI-Generated Content, John Shehata on LinkedIn
- Also, the IP addresses can change over time, so I wouldn't set up a rule like this with fixed IP addresses, and leave it forever. Make sure to update as the JSON files are updated., John Mueller on Bluesky
- Ecommerce SEO: reminder that free listings remain the biggest eCommerce SEO opportunity for 2025. Gained access to a clients NZ GMC Next account. We noticed that free listings weren't enabled – literally flicked a switch and gain, Brodie Clark on X
- Google Ads steps closer to YouTube being depreciated into demand gen, Joey Bidner On LinkedIn
- Google Search Console & Website Hacked, Reddit
- I'm looking forward to speaking at the Paid Search Association Conference on Wednesday. It's virtual and free. See below for more details!, AdsLiaison on X
- When I joined Bing in 2008, our now CEO Satya Nadella was running the team. It was still known as Live Search and had very low market share, in the low single digits on PCs. June 2009 brought the launch of Bing and years of cons, Jordi Ribas on X
Search Engine Land Stories:
- The top Super Bowl 2025 ads released before and during the game
- Technical SEO post-migration: How to find and fix hidden errors
- Google bug cause reviews to drop out of local listings
- Is Google biased? An SEO veteran’s perspective
Other Great Search Stories:
Industry & Business
- AI Action Summit: Sundar Pichai’s remarks, Google Blog
- Elon Musk Leads Bid to Buy OpenAI for $97.4 Billion, New York Times
- EU rules for advanced AI are step in wrong direction, Google says, POLITICO
- Google AI Chief Says DeepSeek’s Cost Claims Are ‘Exaggerated’, Bloomberg
- Microsoft Hit by French Antitrust Probe Over Rivals’ Bing Access, Bloomberg
- OpenAI set to finalize first custom chip design this year, Reuters
- Perplexity's Super Bowl 'tweet' increased app installs by 50%, TechCrunch
Links & Content Marketing
- Try a Purple Content Strategy To Differentiate in the AI Age, Content Marketing Institute
Local & Maps
- Google Review Bug Causes Major Panic, Review Fraud
- Gulf of America name change in the U.S. — what you’ll see in Maps, Google Blog
Mobile & Voice
- Google Assistant car mics might be shutting down soon, 9to5Google
- New Gemini 2.0 experimental models roll out to Gemini app, 9to5Google
SEO
- 'Helpful Content' per Google's Latest Guidelines, Practical Ecommerce
- 5 Google News SEO Tactics to Help Your Content Rank, Semrush
- AI Overviews Have Changed Search: Here's what you need to know., Level343
- Ask a SEO: Glenn Gabe, SEO For Journalism
- Finding SERP Weak Spots: A Guide to Improving Your SEO Rankings, Semrush
- How Google REALLY ranks news sites, Harry Clarkson-Bennett
- How To Stay Motivated as an SEO Consultant, Owain Lloyd-Williams
- SEO for Brand Visibility in LLMs, Master Invoices
PPC
- 13 Proven Strategies to Prevent Fake Clicks in PPC Advertising, PPC News Feed
- 9 Ways for Agencies to More Easily Sell Clients on the Benefits PPC, PPC Hero
- Buyers Blame Adtech Opacity for Funding Child Abuse Online, AdWeek
- Google Ads Update: Why You Need Navigation on Your Landing Pages Now, Cypress North
- How to Choose the Right Google Ads Video Campaign Subtype, Jyll Saskin Gales
- PPC News: Conversions (Campaign Type) Columns for Demand Gen Live, PPC News Feed
Other Search
Feedback:
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