This week, we saw some Google Search ranking volatility around July 11th, so I called it the 7-Eleven update. Bing said it does not do one-off search penalties because it is not scalable. Google Images celebrated its 25th birthday with a brand new image search home page. Google AI Overviews will soon show AI-generated images in the responses. Google spoke about AI-generated content quality issues that cause indexing issues. Google said your are better off not using a lastmod date when it is going to be wrong. Google reaffirms to use self-referential canonicals. Google confirmed it is testing the hide/show sponsored products results in Google Shopping. Google Merchant Center is testing a new AI performance report. Google Ads says it is not making broader Smart Bidding updates but the PPC industry is not happy. Google Ads is turning on local inventory ads for Shopping campaigns in August. Google Ads PMax product reporting now uses all networks. Google Ads is asking for justifications when removing access from users. Google Ads conversion tracking statuses gain new options. Google Ads has new previews for assets, text customizations and final URL expansion. Google Business Profiles new Collected Info screen is live for some. Google’s reviews bug is being worked on and should be fixed soon. Apple Maps Ads prohibits home services ads, which is a big deal. ChatGPT Ads get location, audience and negative keyword exclusions. ChatGPT Ads also added new attributed sales value and sales ROAS metrics, plus a new product detail level screen. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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0:00 - Introduction

1:07 - Google Search Ranking Volatility Around 7-Eleven

1:59 - Bing: We Do Not Do One Off Indexing / Ranking Penalties, It's Not Scalable

2:51 - Google Image Search Home Page Goes From Simple Search Box To Gallery

3:33 - AI Image Generation Now Within Google AI Overviews

4:20 - Google: Discovered vs Crawled Not Indexed Quality Issues & AI-Generated Content

5:13 - Google: You're Better Off Without Lastmod Dates When They Are Incorrect

5:37 - Google Reaffirms Include Canonical On Canonical Page Itself

6:05 - Google Confirms Testing Hide Sponsored Products In Shopping Results

6:35 - Google Merchant Center AI Performance Insights For AI Mode & AI Overviews

7:15 - Google Ads Making Broader Smart Bidding Updates? Google Says No.

8:17 - Google Ads To Turn On Local Inventory Ads By Default For Shopping Campaigns