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 has released a new algorithm update, not a core update, but a spam update and this spam update will take two weeks…

This week, Google announced yet another spam update, the fourth of the year, the September 2026 Google spam update. Prior to that, we reported on more Google Search ranking volatility. Google Search Console released multimodal search filters…

As you know, Google has thousands of quality raters they use to help test and improve the search results and AI results. OpenAI does the same thing, with AI trainers according to a report by 404 Media.

Google seems to have made a change in which phone number they use for tracking calls, even when you tell Google to use the Google Ads number, it is still using the Google Business Profiles phone number. I am told this is a confirmed change and Google still has not changed it back, and it […]

Google updated two of its Google Posts help documents to allow phone numbers in Google Posts only if they are verified contact information, but if it is unverified, it is not allowed.

Microsoft is testing replacing or renaming the Copilot search tab in Bing Search with the name AI Mode. AI Mode is the name Google uses for its AI search engine, Bing uses Copilot Search, but Microsoft is testing using Google’s name here.

Microsoft Bing is testing adding an editable icon in two formats on images within Bing Search that can be edited using Bing’s AI image feature.

Did you know that you cannot edit your Target ROAS while promotion mode is active in Google Ads? Google will display a notification that reads, “You can’t edit your Target ROAS while promotion mode is active” and then gives you the option to edit the ROAS tolerance instead.

Google has just announced the release of the September 2026 spam update and said it should take a couple of weeks to roll out. This is a global update and is expected to impact all languages. This only impacts sites that spam, but with any update…

Google has updated its video structured data documentation to support creator property and it has updated the interactionStatistic in VideoObject structured data. Google said these updates are to “to document support for the creator and author properties, and clarify supported interaction types for interactionStatistic in VideoObject structured data.”

Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today…

We are seeing significant volatility again within the Google Search rankings again, this time starting around September 23rd (maybe the 22nd) and throughout today. As we have been seeing, the chatter is generally slowing down as Google has been sending less and less traffic to sites, but I believe there are enough signals to say […]

We’ve seen Microsoft test variations of expanding sitelinks within the Bing search results before. But here is a different variation on that, one that expands and shows descriptions under the sitelinks after you hover your mouse cursor over the specific sitelink.

Google is testing a redesigned Local Service Ads design in the search results that have larger images and a highlight box under the listings. It makes the ads really stand out and in your face.