Search Engine Roundtable Podcast

This was a super busy week, so there is a lot more content in this recap compared to most. We start off with the Google September 2026 spam update completing, it had its third and final phase earlier in the week. Google may be issuing more manual action search penalties. Google says you should factcheck AI content before publishing. Google wrote about main content and how quality raters review it. Google warned against using fake authorship. Google spoke about search spam updates and how it uses AI. Google also shared timelines on crawling, indexing and serving. Google said Nano Banana 2.1 is in AI Mode. Google emailed numbers on preferred source subscribers. Google Search profiles expanded to India and Canada. Google Search Console added multi-select countries and AI control details. Google dropped review snippets for healthcare. Google says use retry-after HTTP for slowing crawling. Google has this new UGC data fresh program. Google local panels test WhatsApp buttons. Google Ads AI Max columns added. Self-service conversion lift management is out. Google Ads automated promotions. Google has a new AI campaign localization tool. Google Merchant Center has a new UCP integration hub. OpenAI tests product labels and new ad formats. And I posted my 50,000 stories on search this week. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

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0:00 - Introduction

0:48 - Google September 2026 Spam Update Has Finished Rolling Out

1:56 - Final Phase Of Google September 2026 Spam Update Rollout Oct 4-6?

2:18 - More volatility post spam update

2:50 - Google Search Issuing More Google Manual Action Penalties?

3:46 - Google: Manually Factcheck & Review AI-Generated Content For Accuracy

4:48 - Google Helpful Content Doc With New Main Content & EOT/SA Sections

6:05 - Google Warns Against Deceptive Authorship Information Within Content

6:43 - Google Search Spam Updates Use AI To Find AI Spam & More

7:38 - Google Search Data On Crawling, Indexing & Serving Timelines

8:29 - Nano Banana 2.1 In Google AI Mode In Search

8:44 - Google Email Shares Number Of Preferred Source Subscribers

9:12 - Google Search Profiles Expand To India & Canada With Brazil Coming Soon

9:24 - Google Search Console Performance Report Multi-Select Country Filters

9:41 - Google Search Generative AI Control Page Adds Top-Level Domain Details

10:04 - Google Drops Review Snippets For Healthcare Web Pages

10:36 - Google Search Crawl Rate Doc Adds Retry-After HTTP & More

10:50 - Google Reveals The UGC Fresh Data Program

11:29 - Google Local Panel Gains WhatsApp Button

11:36 - Google Ads AI Max Columns: Brand Inclusion, Commission, Locations Of Interest & Optimized Targeting

11:49 - Google Ads Self-Services Conversion Lift Measurement

12:05 - Google Ads To Automated Promotions For Search & PMax Campaigns Soon

12:33 - Google Ads AI Campaign Localization Tool (Beta)

12:56 - Google Merchant Center New UCP Integration Hub

13:13 - OpenAI Tests New Product Labels On ChatGPT Results

13:26 - OpenAI To Test Visual ChatGPT Ad Format During AI Image Generation

13:46 - This Is My 50,000 Published Story On Search

14:09 - Conclusion 

Today we covered the completion of the Google September spam update. We are also hearing that there are more Google manual action spam penalties.  Google Ads has opened Conversion Lift to Search and Performance Max. Google Ads adds new AI Max columns for deeper campaign analysis. Google Merchant Center may disapprove products that change more than once per day. WhatsApp buttons now on some Google local panel results. 

0:00 - Introduction

0:45 - Google September spam update done

1:28 - Spike in Google manual action penalties 

4:14 - Google Ads conversion life self-service

5:28 - Google Ads new AI Max-related columns

6:08 - Google Merchant Center may disapprove fast changing products

8:37 - Google Local panel gets WhatsApp button

10:10 - Conclusion

A 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.

Today we covered how Google preferred sources is sharing follower numbers. Google review rich results are flatlining for healthcare organizations. Google updated its crawl rate reduction with retry-after HTTP header information.  Google Merchant Center gets UCP integration hub. Apple is planning to drop programmatic data companies from iOS. And hitting 50,000 stories (or typos).

0:00 - Introduction

0:56 - UCP integration hub in Google Merchant Center

2:29 - Apple plans to block programmatic ads

5:40 - Google preferred sources data 

7:06 - Google review rich results for healthcare drops out

8:05 - Google crawl rate retry-after HTTP header

8:38 - 50,000 typos

13:01 - Conclusion

A 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.

Today we covered what we think is the final phase of the Google September spam update. Google warned not to use deceptive author information. Google Search Console added a multi-select country filter for the performance report. Google Search Console adds top level domain notice for generative AI controls. Google changes view-through conversion reporting for Demand Gen Display ads. OpenAI tests product labels on ChatGPT results.

0:00 - Introduction

2:01 - Google warns against faking author information 

5:46 - Google Spam update final phase?

6:33 - Google Search Console multi-select country filters 

7:26 - Search Console AI Control top level domain details

7:49 - Google changes view-through conversion reporting for Demand Gen Display ads

9:30 - ChatGPT adds product labels

10:24 - Conclusion

A 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.

Today we covered Google updated its helpful content document to add EOT/SA, Google also spoke about that and spam at its conference. Google also updated its guidance on AI-generated content. Google spoke about timelines for crawling, indexing and serving. Google is going to soon release dark mode for Search Console. Google AI Overviews lawsuits were dismissed. ChatGPT Ads has a new ad format for AI-image generation. Google Ads to automated promotions for Search and PMax campaigns.

0:00 - Introduction

2:09 - Google AI-generated content guidance update

4:14 - Google Search on crawling, indexing and serving timelines

5:48 - Google Search Console dark mode coming

6:31 - Google EOT/SA Helpful Content Update

9:32 - Google Spam Updates & Quality Talk

11:00 - Google AI Overview lawsuits dismissed

13:14 - OpenAI ChatGPT Ads for AI-generation requests

16:02 - Google Ads to automate promotions for Search & PMax campaigns

18:30 - Conclusion

A 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.

This week, we covered the first impact felt by the Google September 2026 spam update. And then on Wednesday and Thursday we had the second impact of this spam update. Remember the AI contribution report, well, a report says Google is paying about a 100 publishers and it comes out to about 0.1% of their ad revenue. Google is now returning AI Overviews for brand queries and also team rosters. Google’s Nick Fox sad he feels sad and terrible but why. Google has appealed the EU DMA mandate to share its search data. Penske’s lawsuit against Google’s AI Overviews was dismissed. Google AI Overviews is testing citations at the bottom, not right side. Google is testing replacing the Show more button with Loading. Google rolled out AI Mode’s monitoring capabilities in AI Mode. I posted the monthly Google Webmaster report. Google Maps requires you to sign in to see all reviews. Google Maps has a bug placing some businesses in the middle of the ocean. Google Business Profiles has a new policy on misuse of support channels. Google Local Service Ads has a but where it serves advertisers in locations they do not service. Google Local Service Ads hide the phone number and then later show it. Google is testing a sponsored products grid that looks organic. Microsoft Advertising rolled out optimization experiments globally. Bing is testing sponsored ad with one-line consumer reviews. OpenAI released a number of new ChatGPT Ads updates. Google is testing dropping the I’m Feeling Lucky button. Google celebrated its 28th birthday this past weekend. 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. Just a note: Bruce Clay is actively looking for new, AI-SEO-savvy recruits for staff positions, and also for potential business partners that may want to help carry forward the Bruce Clay global brand.

0:00 - Introduction

1:32 - Google September 2026 Spam Update Has Big Weekend Impact

2:12 - Phase Two Of The Google September 2026 Spam Update Hits On 9/30

3:22 - Google Paying ~100 Publishers 0.1% Of Ad Revenue In AI Contribution Pilot

4:19   - Google AI Overviews Return For Many Large Brand Names

5:11 - Google's Nick Fox Feels Sad & Terrible For European Searchers After DMA

6:45 - Google Appeals Europe's DMA Mandate To Share Search History Data

7:11 - Google AI Overview Lawsuit Dismissed Over No Agreement With Publishers

8:12 - Google AI Overviews Testing Citations Cards At Bottom (Not Right Side) Again

8:34 - Google Tests Replacing Show More Button On AI Overviews With Loading...

8:55 - Google Globally Rolls Out Monitoring Capabilities In AI Mode

9:21 - October 2026 Google Webmaster Report

9:34 - Google Maps Now Requires Sign In To Read All Reviews & More

10:18 - Google Maps Bug Places Map Pins In Middle Of Ocean

10:39 - Google Business Profiles Policies Adds Misuse Of Support Channels

10:53 - Google Local Service Ads Bug Serving Wrong Locations

11:20 - Google Local Service Ads Hiding Phone Number By Default

11:39 - Google Tests Sponsored Products Grid That Looks Like The Organic Product Grid

11:59 - Microsoft Advertising Optimization Experiments Now Generally Available

12:17 - Bing Sponsored Ads With One-Line Consumer Review Extension

12:37 - OpenAI ChatGPT Ads Gains Bulk Product Creation, Product Review Status & More

12:58 - Google Tests Dropping I'm Feeling Lucky Button From Search Bar

13:18 - Google's 28th Birthday Doodle Takes You To Google AI Mode Quiz

13:34 - Conclusion

Today we covered how AI Overviews are now showing up for brand queries, oh and also team rosters. Microsoft Advertising optimization experiments generally available.  OpenAI expands ChatGPT Ads with bulk product campaigns and deeper reporting.

0:00 - Introduction

2:17 - Google AI Overviews for brand names explodes

6:44 - Google AI Overviews triggering for team rosters

8:38 - Microsoft Advertising optimization experiments 

9:41 - OpenAI expands ChatGPT Ads with bulk product campaigns and deeper reporting

11:02 - Conclusion

A 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.

Today we covered how much Google is paying publishers in the AI contribution pilot. Google Maps is blocking reading all reviews unless you sign in. Google is testing sponsored products that look organic. 

0:00 - Introduction

0:44 - Google pays publishers 0.1% of ad revenue

4:16 - Google Maps reviews require signing in 

7:10 - Google tests sponsored products that look organic 

11:10 - Conclusion

A 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.

Today we covered how Nick Fox said he feels sad and terrible about the DMA mandate in the EU, he then goes off on other topics. Google appealed the DMA mandate today, by the way. Google AI Overviews are spotted at the bottom.  Google rolls out monitoring within AI Mode.  Florida wants Google to stop its casino ads.

0:00 - Introduction

3:04 - Google’s Nick Fox feels sad and terrible

7:00 - Google appeals DMA mandate to share search data

9:55 - Google AI Overview citations at bottom 

11:31 - Google rolls out monitoring in AI Mode

14:20 - Florida says stop Google casino ads

15:33  - Conclusion

A 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.

Today we covered the early impact of the Google September 2026 spam update.  Google is testing replacing the show more button with a loading button for AI Overviews. Google Search Profiles dropped the follow button on desktop. Google is testing a new sitelinks design. Google celebrated its 28th birthday on Sunday.

0:00 - Introduction

0:51 - Early impact of the Google September 2026 spam update

2:04 - Google AI Overviews testing loading button

3:36 - Google Search Profiles drops follow button 

4:49 - Google testing new sitelinks design

5:45 - Google 28th birthday

6:09  - Conclusion

A 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.