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 ad / sponsored label variations. Google Shopping has this "Researched with AI" AI Overview format. Google Merchant listings now supports certification markup. Google has dropped support for the noarchive meta tag. Google product details in search have nearby labels.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
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Google Tests Sponsored Ad Label Variations
Google is testing multiple variations of the sponsored ad label in its search results. These are more subtle than the huge ad sponsored labels we saw weeks ago. Google is testing adding "by" or | or '¢ or : between the sponsored label and the site name or domain name. -
Google Shopping "Researched with AI - Experimental" Answer
Google Shopping is testing a new AI Overview answer titled "Researched with AI - Experimental." This seems to pull together reviews for specific products based on Google Gemini AI. -
Google Merchant Listings Adds Certification Markup Support
Google now supports Certification markup support for merchant listings in the product structured data documentation. Google wrote, "starting in April 2025, we're replacing the EnergyConsumptionDetails type with the more robust Certification type, as the new type supports more countries and a broader scope of certifications." -
Google Search Product Detail Grid With Nearby Label
Earlier we reported Google was testing "most popular" and "best price" labels in the product detail grid within Google Search. Now, Google is also testing a "nearby" label in that same product grid detail view. -
Google Drops Support For Noarchive Meta Tag Directive
With Google removing the cache operator from its search service, Google has stopped supporting the noarchive directive in Google Search. The directive, the noarchive meta tag, would tell Google not to keep a cache copy of your page. Since Google doesn't have a cache anymore, there is no need for Google to support this directive. -
Google Bird House Wall
In the Google offices in Colorado, they have this wall of birdhouses. I am not sure why. I don't think birds live in there. But they have them.
Other Great Search Threads:
- Confession: I'm scared of site reliability engineers (SREs). They're efficient to the extreme, they know low level stuff, they've seen things. Facing my daemons, I've sat down with Ben Walton and David Yule from Google's Search SRE team to talk about my, Gary Illyes on LinkedIn
- Maximizing crawl efficiency (limiting unnecessary downloads if content didn't change) is top of mind, and IndexNow plays a corner stone along with AI improvements ! Stay tuned for more updates at upcoming conferences: Pubc, Fabrice Canel on X
- Google Discover has shifted so much towards showing suggested content based on recent search/social behavior. In the examples below: I had recently clicked on / shared an article about Google ranking volatility, probably on X. So Goog, Lily Ray on X
- This is the kind of behaviour that makes Google look bad! No. I'm not rooting for Forbes., Pedro Dias on LinkedIn
Search Engine Land Stories:
- SEO grew up, a lot of SEOs didn’t
- The SEO impact of interstitials, before and after
- Decoding Googlebot crawl stats data in Google Search Console
- How AI is advancing advertising and changing consumer engagement
- Change Who Pays: New Google Ads process for client account transfers
- Google rolls out new AI-organized search results, AI Overview links
- Google AI Overview ads launch on mobile in U.S.
- Google Lens to add Shopping Ads this year
- Google Discover disruption, not showing new content?
- Content length, depth and SEO: Everything you need to know in 2025
- Branded keywords: How Google Ads drives up CPCs
- How to use social and forum data to inform next-level SEO strategies
- Microsoft is about to change how Copilot ads appear and trigger
- Case study: August 2024 Google core update and a recovery plan
Other Great Search Stories:
Analytics
- Increases to data export limits for reports and explorations, Google AdSense Help
- Mastering Ad Automation with AI: A Comprehensive Guide, Data Driven U
Industry & Business
- OpenAI raises $6.6B in new funding as it weighs shift to for-profit model, Axios
- Breaking Up Google Could Hurt Small Businesses, AdExchanger
- Google Antitrust Case Comes Too Late for Publishers, The Information
- Google says it will stop linking to New Zealand news if proposed new law passed, Reuters
- Google’s Dominant Search Business Is Under Attack From TikTok to AI, Wall Street Journal
- OpenAI’s $157 Billion Valuation and Why Altman Is One of the Last Founders Left, Bloomberg
- Our new partnership helps fashion designers create products for everyone, Google Blog
- Our ongoing work to build and deploy responsible AI, Google Blog
Links & Content Marketing
- 5 Things Content Marketers Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Doing, Content Marketing Institute
- How I Found Internal Linking Opportunities With Vector Embeddings, Moz
Local & Maps
- Android Auto incident reporting might never show up on your car, 9to5Google
- Android Auto 13 update rolling out now, prepares new feature, 9to5Google
- Exciting news: an improved Connect is coming your way!, Local Guides Connect
- Google Business Profile Suspension Appeal Denied – Here's Why, Online Ownership
- Google Maps location sharing coming to the Android Settings app, BGR
- How to Rank for 'Near Me' Keywords on Google, Digitaloft
- Local Business Schema Markup Tips & Examples, Online Ownership
- No Info Found - Manage Appeals for your Google Business Profile, Online Ownership
Mobile & Voice
- Apple Podcasts adds transcriptions for 8 more languages, AppleInsider
- Hands on with the Pixel Buds Pro 2, Google Blog
- How to Generate an AI Podcast Using Google's NotebookLM, Wired
- Meta confirms it may train its AI on any image you ask Ray-Ban Meta AI to analyze, TechCrunch
- Students used Meta's smart glasses to automatically dox strangers via Instagram streams, Engadget
- Apple releases Depth Pro, an AI model that rewrites the rules of 3D vision, VentureBeat
- Google Home for iPhone adding Favorites homescreen widget, 9to5Google
- Apple Intelligence and iOS 18.1 due October 28, AppleInsider
- When Will Apple Intelligence Be Released? When Is Apple Releasing M4 Macs, iPad?, Bloomberg
SEO
- SEO RFP: The Best Process for Hiring the Right Agency [Template], iPullRank
- The Value of Zero-Click Searches in SEO (And How to Optimize For Them), JumpFly Digital Marketing Blog
- An Exploratory Study of Ranking Variability (State-Level Data), Go Fish Digital
- The State and Future of Search Q&A with Danny Sullivan, Google Search Liaison, Aleyda Solis
- Keyword Research for Business Owners: An Advanced Guide, Level343
PPC
- Improve Campaigns with Microsoft's Automated Bidding Insights, PPC News Feed
- Performance Max Campaign in Detail Placement View, Google Ads Developer Blog
- Google Merchant Center Next Adds Shipping Method Name Customization, PPC News Feed
- Performance Max Gets Search Term Report and New Pilots, PPC News Feed
- Which campaign objective should you choose in Google Ads?, Jyll Saskin Gales
Search Features
- Google's AI Overviews & YMYL Topics: September 2024 Research, SE Ranking
- You can now share an image directly to Gemini from other Android apps, 9to5Google
- Google Search Reliability, Search Off the Record
Other Search
- Google developing 'reasoning' AI to rival OpenAI, QZ
- Google Gemini can search work accounts in iOS Gmail, AppleInsider
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