Podcast
Search Engine Roundtable Podcast
Hosted by Barry Schwartz · EN
This podcast includes weekly search news recaps and vlogs that Barry Schwartz of the Search Engine Roundtable produces. It covers SEO, SEM, organic and paid search topics, mostly around Google but also on Microsoft Bing and other search engines.
It is a quick way to catch up on the most important SEO and SEM topics of the week.
103episodes
Episodes
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Wild Google Ranking Volatility, Reddit Special Preference, Big Google Executive Shakeup & More Search News
5d ago00:12:03Tap to summarizeThis week, we covered two unconfirmed Google search ranking updates, one mid-week and one over the weekend - some were pretty big. Google said Reddit gets no special preference in its search rankings or AI results. Google Search Console can indeed show AI Mode queries, just not where you expect them. Google crawled send HTTP requests for GET and POST but also HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE. Google Assistant will be replaced by Gemini on mobile devices on September 4th. I posted the big Google Webmaster Report. Bing Webmaster Tools promises page and query level filtering. Google Ads test anchor text in sponsored result descriptions. Google Ads has a new video Q&A on the August 17 bidding update. Google Ads ad preview and diagnosis tool is broken. Google Product Listing Ads has a new Deal Ends annotation pilot. Google Ads won’t let free email accounts make some sensitive changes in Google Ads. Google Ads will migrate Automatically created assets and campaign-level broad match setting to AI Max starting on September 1, 2026. Microsoft Advertising has new enclose audience ads placements within PMax and age exclusions. ChatGPT Ads have new ad formats and feature updates. Google has some massive leadership changes in its AI department, including Jeff Dean leaving and Demis Hassabis taking on a new role. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.Sponsor: BruceClay 𓍲 one of the founding fathers of the SEO space, doing search marketing optimization since 1996. Bruce Clay is big into SEO training, check out seotraining.com to learn more and check them out at bruceclay.com. Also, check out their new product, Prewriter.ai - this tool empowers writers to write better and more efficiently, so check it out.uction1:11 - Google Search Ranking Volatility Heats Up Into August 5th & 6th1:36 - Google Search Ranking Volatility Hits August 1st & Heats Up Into August 3rd1:52 - Google: Reddit Gets No Special Preference In Google Search Rankings2:33 - Google Search Console Shows AI Mode Queries, Not In Generative AI Reports3:58 - Google Crawlers Send HTTP Requests: HEAD, OPTIONS, PUT, PATCH, DELETE4:19 - Google Assistant Shutting Down On Mobile Devices On September 44:49 - August 2026 Google Webmaster Report5:04 - Bing Webmaster Tools Page & Query Level Filtering Coming To Reports5:30 - Google Ads Tests Anchor Text Hyperlinks In Ad Descriptions6:00 - Google Ads Live Tests Of Strong Match Labels6:46 - Google Ads Video Q&A On August 17 Bidding Update7:26 - Google Ads Ad Preview & Diagnosis Captcha Bug7:46 - New Google Product Listing Ads Deal Ends Experimental Annotation8:33 - Google Ads Won't Let Free Email Accounts Take Sensitive Actions8:59 - On Sep 1 Google Ads To Migrate ACA & Campaign-Level Broad Match To AI Max9:19 - Microsoft Ads New Exclude Audience Ads Placements Within PMax Campaigns9:58 - ChatGPT Ads Updates: oCPC, Dynamic URLs, Muti-Product Carousel & More10:16 - Google AI Leadership Changes: Jeff Dean Leaves, Demis Hassabis Change & More11:50 - Conclusion
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It's New 8/6: Google AI leadership changes, core-like volatility, AI Mode queries & Google & Microsoft Ads updates
6d ago00:10:40Tap to summarizeToday we covered the core-like Google Search ranking volatility that hit yesterday. Google had big executive changes with Jeff Dean leaving, Demise Hassabis changing roles and much more. Google Search Console can show AI Mode queries but not where you need it. Google has new Deal Ends annotations for Product Listing Ads. Microsoft Advertising adds excluded content terms for Audience Ads.0:00 - Introduction0:36 - Google ranking volatility - core like1:33 - Jeff Dean Leaves Google, Demise Hassabis Changes Roles & More3:40 - Google Search Console AI Mode queries?6:00 - Google Deal Ends annotation for PLAs8:47 - Microsoft Advertising excluded content terms for Audience Ads10:14 - ConclusionA daily recap video summarizing a few of the top search marketing headlines covered at the Search Engine Roundtable.This recap is called It's New - A quick, daily dose of the latest in SEO with Anu Adegbola of Search Engine Land, Mordy Oberstein of SE Ranking and Greg Finn of Cypress North (and Marketing O’Clock) and Barry Schwartz.
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It's New 8/5: Reddit Special on Google, Google Assistant to Shut, Google Ads with hyperlinks in descriptions and more
1w ago00:08:48Tap to summarizeToday we covered how Google said Reddit gets no special preference in its search or AI rankings. Gemini will be replacing Google Assistant on September 4 on mobile devices. Google Ads is testing keyword anchor text links in ad descriptions. Google Ads has new help docs for PMax pay per leads.0:00 - Introduction1:08 - Google says Reddit gets no special preference4:06 - Gemini to replace the Google Assistant5:19 - Google Ads test anchor text hyperlinks in ad descriptions7:15 - Google Ads new help docs for PMax pay per leads8:08 - ConclusionA daily recap video summarizing a few of the top search marketing headlines covered at the Search Engine Roundtable.This recap is called It's New - A quick, daily dose of the latest in SEO with Anu Adegbola of Search Engine Land, Mordy Oberstein of SE Ranking and Greg Finn of Cypress North (and Marketing O’Clock) and Barry Schwartz.
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It's New 8/3: Google Volatility, Bing Webmaster Tools Filters, Sign-In To Search & ChatGPT Agent Campaigns
1w ago00:08:26Tap to summarizeToday we covered more Google search ranking volatility kicking in this weekend and heating up today. Bing Webmaster Tools promises the ability to filter by query, URL, etc in the performance reports. Google Search is testing making searchers sign in to see more results. ChatGPT Ads is rolling out a new campaign type for business agents.0:00 - Introduction0:47 - Google Search ranking volatility1:29 - Bing Webmaster Tools filtering coming 2:31 - Google Search tests sign in to continue searching4:30 - ChatGPT Ads Business Agent Campaign Type7:10 - ConclusionA daily recap video summarizing a few of the top search marketing headlines covered at the Search Engine Roundtable.This recap is called It's New - A quick, daily dose of the latest in SEO with Anu Adegbola of Search Engine Land, Mordy Oberstein of SE Ranking and Greg Finn of Cypress North (and Marketing O’Clock) and Barry Schwartz.
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Google Platform Properties Live, Google Ads Lead Journey Mapping, Microsoft Ads, ChatGPT Ads & More SEO
2w ago00:12:55Tap to summarizeThis week, yep, we had more ongoing Google Search volatility but a calming period on Wednesday. Google has rolled out the platform properties to track X, YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Google page indexing delays has caused weird static snapshots. Google does not list the order precedence for how they deal with metadata conflicts. Google does support the unavailable_after date but it might not see it if you update it. Google prohibits marking up fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews. Almost half of all searches on Google show AI Overviews. Google removed the requirement to block internal search results from Google in its guidelines but it is still recommended. Bing is testing product pricing on product images in the search results. Google Shopping Ads is testing AI-generated descriptions. Google Ads has this new lead journey mapping feature. Google Ads also has something new called Budget Panel. Google Ads is rolling out Target CPA and Target ROAS bidding options. Google Ads product reports product clicks and non-product click metrics. Google Ads lets you exclude based on income for PMax campaigns. Google Ads conversion metrics document shared more on timing and data sources. Google Ads Editor version 2.13 is available. Microsoft Advertising ad previews hub now works for PMax campaigns. Microsoft Advertising is moving Predictive matching to Search Term matching. Microsoft earnings report showed its ad revenue for search and Bing was up 10%. ChatGPT Ads Manager has budget changes, new ad formats, new features and API changes. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.SPONSOR: This week's video recap is sponsored by no one (we had an extra Friday this month), so please just subscribe to our YouTube channel.0:00 - Introduction0:47 - Google Search Ranking Volatility July 24th Through The Weekend1:20 - Google Platform Properties Now Fully Live2:22 - Google Page Indexing Report Delays Providing Static Data3:13 - Google Search Doesn't Publish Precedence For Metadata In Conflict4:01 - The Problem With unavailable_after - Google Might Not See Updated Dates4:35 - Google Review Snippets Prohibits Fake or Undisclosed Incentivized Reviews5:15 - Almost Half Of Google Searches Have AI Overviews & Climbing5:57 - Blocking Internal Search Results Not In Google Guidelines Anymore But...7:35 - Bing Testing Pricing On Product Images7:58 - Google Shopping Ads With AI-Generated Descriptions8:19 - Google Ads Lead Journey Mapping8:56 - Google Ads Budget Panel9:20 - Google Ads Target CPA & Target ROAS As Explicit Bidding Strategy Options9:47 - Google Ads Gain Product Clicks & Non-Product Clicks Metrics10:23 - Google Ads Household Income Exclusions For PMax10:47 - Google Ads Conversion Measurement Doc Updated With Timing & Data Sources11:03 - Google Ads Editor Version 2.13 Is Now Available11:19 - Microsoft Advertising Ad Preview Hub For PMax Campaigns11:35 - Microsoft Ads Predictive Matching Moving To Search Term Matching11:51 - Bing Ads Revenue Up 10%12:22 - ChatGPT Ads Manager Budget Changes, New Features, API & Ad Formats12:42 - Conclusion
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It's New 7/30: AI Overviews All Over Google, AI Descriptions on Shopping Ads, Woke Google & Microsoft Ad Earnings
2w ago00:14:50Tap to summarizeToday we covered how half of Google search results have an AI Overview. Google is testing AI-generated descriptions on Shopping Ads. Google blamed the websites for a race-based AI Overview response. Microsoft earnings were out and Bing search ads are up 10%. 0:00 - Introduction2:00 - Google AI Overviews On Almost Half of Searches5:15 - Google Shopping Ads With AI-Generated Descriptions 9:12 - Google blames websites for race-based AI Overview response13:01 - Microsoft earnings with Bing ads up 10% 14:35 - ConclusionA daily recap video summarizing a few of the top search marketing headlines covered at the Search Engine Roundtable.This recap is called It's New - A quick, daily dose of the latest in SEO with Anu Adegbola of Search Engine Land, Mordy Oberstein of SE Ranking and Greg Finn of Cypress North (and Marketing O’Clock) and Barry Schwartz.
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It's New 7/29: Google Ads Budget Panel, Lead Journey Mapping & Bidding Options & Google SEO On Conflicts & Dates
2w ago00:09:49Tap to summarizeToday we covered Google Ads new budget panel is in the help document. Google also had this new Lead Journey Mapping tool. Google Ads target CPA and target ROAS is showing as bidding options. Google Platform Properties live for all in Google Search Console. Google Search has no order precedence for metadata conflict. Google spoke about using the unavailable_after meta tag and can it cause issues. Bing is testing product images with pricing and more rows.0:00 - Introduction1:05 - Google Ads Budget Panel2:02 - Google Ads Lead Journey Mapping3:25 - Google Ads Target CPA & Target ROAS bidding options4:01 - Google Platform Properties live for all5:51 - Google on the unavailable_after meta tag7:09 - Google Search has no precedence for metadata conflicts8:20 - Bing product images with pricing data and more9:24 - ConclusionA daily recap video summarizing a few of the top search marketing headlines covered at the Search Engine Roundtable.This recap is called It's New - A quick, daily dose of the latest in SEO with Anu Adegbola of Search Engine Land, Mordy Oberstein of SE Ranking and Greg Finn of Cypress North (and Marketing O’Clock) and Barry Schwartz.
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It's New 7/28: Google Ads in-account certs, Microsoft Ad preview hub and page indexing ongoing issues
2w ago00:06:31Tap to summarizeToday we covered Google Ads in account certification applications. Google Ads has new product clicks and non-product clicks metrics. Microsoft Advertising ad preview hub for PMax campaigns. And Google Search Console page indexing report has ongoing issues. 0:00 - Introduction0:38 - Google Ads in account certification application2:39 - Google Ads product clicks and non product click metrics3:15 - Microsoft Advertising Ad Preview hub for PMax campaigns 4:00 - Google page indexing report ongoing issues6:18 - ConclusionA daily recap video summarizing a few of the top search marketing headlines covered at the Search Engine Roundtable.This recap is called It's New - A quick, daily dose of the latest in SEO with Anu Adegbola of Search Engine Land, Mordy Oberstein of SE Ranking and Greg Finn of Cypress North (and Marketing O’Clock) and Barry Schwartz.
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It's New 7/27: Google reviews guidelines updated, ChatGPT Ads features, Google Ads income levels and more
2w ago00:08:19Tap to summarizeToday we covered Google search ranking volatility over the weekend again. Google reviews structured data has updated the guidelines for reviews snippets. ChatGPT Ads has released some new features again. Google Ads Editor 2.13 is now out. Google Ads has new household income exclusions. Google AdSense may be retiring the related search format on August 6th.0:00 - Introduction0:45 - Google Search ranking volatility over weekend2:15 - Google review snippets guidelines updated3:49 - ChatGPT Ads adds conversion bidding, geo exclusions and bulk campaign tools5:25 - Google Ads Editor 2.13 brings AI Max support to Shopping campaigns6:04 - Household income exclusions spotted in Performance Max campaigns7:27 - Google AdSense retiring Related search format 7:59 - ConclusionA daily recap video summarizing a few of the top search marketing headlines covered at the Search Engine Roundtable.This recap is called It's New - A quick, daily dose of the latest in SEO with Anu Adegbola of Search Engine Land, Mordy Oberstein of SE Ranking and Greg Finn of Cypress North (and Marketing O’Clock) and Barry Schwartz.
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Google Sends Billions Of Clicks From AI Search, Publisher To Block Google, $120 Billion Quarter, EU’s $1 Billion Fine & More
3w ago00:12:48Tap to summarizeThis week, we covered more Google Search ranking volatility. Google said it sends billions of clicks to websites every week through AI search. Large publishers are fed up and strongly considering blocking Google Search completely. Google Search is now using the latest Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite model. Google earnings were out, they made about $120 billion, with ad revenue up 14.5% and search up 17%. The European Commission fined Google $1 billion for being anti-competitive with Google Search and Google Play. Google’s lawsuit against SerpApi was dismissed because Google can’t copyright its search results. Google updated its crawl budget documentation. Google is sending email notices when review content is not posted. Google had another reviews bug, this time with review replies. Google is changing up the hotel search results over the DMA requirements. Google Local Service Ads are transitioning to Google Ads. Google Ads appeal limits are not 6 months. Google Ads AI Max for shopping campaigns is out. Google warned not to uninstall and reinstall the Google & YouTube Shopify sync app. Google comparison listing ads is changing to CSS product listing ads. Google AdSense related search format is to be retired August 6th. Bing is testing open sitelinks button in search. Bing is testing an image section for the shopping panel. ChatGPT is showing two ads from two different advertisers in the results. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.SPONSOR: This week's video recap is sponsored by Duda, the Professional Website Builder You Can Call Your Own.0:00 - Introduction0:42 - Google Search Ranking Volatility This Weekend - Around July 18th & 19th1:27 - Google: We Send Billions Of Clicks To Websites Weekly Through AI Search2:32 - Large Publishers Strongly Considering Blocking Google Search Completely4:12 - Google Search Using Latest Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite5:00 - Google Ad Revenue Up 14.5% With Revenue Up 24% - Biggest Quarter Ever5:42 - EU Fines Google $1 Billion Under DMA For Anti-Competitive Search Dominance6:18 - Google Lawsuit Against SerpApi Over Scraping Search Results Dismissed7:22 - Google Updates Its Crawl Budget Doc: Every Site Starts On Conservative Crawl7:50 - Google Maps Review Not Posted Email Notice8:17 - Another Google Local Bug: Google Local Review Replies Not Displaying8:39 - Google Hotel Search Updates In EU Based On DMA8:52 - Google Local Services Ads Transitioning To Google Ads Platform9:57 - Google Ads Appeals Limits Set To 6 Months10:13 - Google Ads AI Max For Shopping Campaigns Expands10:25 - Google Warns Not To Uninstall/Reinstall Google & YouTube Shopify App11:14 - Google Comparison Listing Ads Now CSS Product Listing Ads11:35 - Google AdSense Related Search Format To Be Retired On August 6th11:52 - Bing Tests Open Sitelinks Button In Search12:14 - Bing Tests Image Section In Shopping Panel12:23 - ChatGPT Showing Two Ads In Footer Of Results12:35 - Conclusion
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