A well-rounded view on search engines and search engine marketing from five segments of the Web population represented by senior members of the major SEO/SEM forums on the Internet.https://www.seroundtable.comen-usBarry SchwartzFri, 28 Aug 2026 13:30:00 -0400en-usnoSearch Engine Roundtablesearch,search,engines,google,yahoo,ask,com,microsoft,live,com,adcenter,adwords,adsense,ypn,barry,schwartz,search,engine,roundtableThe Pulse with Barry Schwartz and co-hosts Ben Pfeiffer and Chris Boggs covers search topics that receive the most buzz from within the search community. Each Tuesday, The Pulse will recap those important search topics in a roundtable style format, allowing the hosts to debate and argue some of the latest trends and stories in the search industry.Search Pulse from the Search Engine RoundtableBarry Schwartzbarry@rustybrick.comBarry Schwartzhttps://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overviews-push-ai-mode-responses-41974.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 13:30:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overviews-push-ai-mode-responses-41974.htmlGoogle Search is testing pushing searchers into AI Mode from the AI Overview by default, without having to click the "Show more" button. The new AI Overview experience that Google is testing shows a much fuller AI answer, like you'd get in AI Mode, and loads the follow up "Ask anything" box by default.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-28-2026-41971.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-28-2026-41971.htmlHere 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. A first, Google won't enforce a spam policy within the European region...Search Forum Recapbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/video-08-28-2026-41963.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 08:01:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/video-08-28-2026-41963.htmlAnother week, more volatility within the Google Search results. Google is also swapping out direct links to go-to URL redirect links in its search results to protect...Search Video Recapsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-book-buttons-41964.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 07:51:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-book-buttons-41964.htmlGoogle is expanding the book button through Reserve with Google partner integration to Google Ads Search and Performance Max campaigns. Previously, I believe, this was only available on Google Local Service Ads and maps ads.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-announces-search-updates-41969.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 07:41:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-announces-search-updates-41969.htmlGoogle's John Mueller said Google "primarily" announces search updates to provide "transparency for site owners." He added that when Google publishes blog posts, updates policies, and help center documentation, that is an actionable announcement site owners could use. Google Search Engine Optimizationbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-preferred-sources-tailor-your-feed-41965.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 07:31:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-preferred-sources-tailor-your-feed-41965.htmlGoogle has two, well, maybe three, features that are being confused as one. The preferred sources, the tailor your feed and also search profiles. All kind of customize what you see across Google Search features including Google Search, AI Mode, Discover and so on. But they are all different features.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-alcohol-advertising-policy-41966.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 07:21:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-alcohol-advertising-policy-41966.htmlGoogle will be updating its alcohol advertising policy on September 30, 2026. The update "revises country-specific guidelines, expands allowed advertising locations, and provides clearer details on specific advertiser requirements and responsibilities," Google wrote.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-indexing-issues-41972.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 07:15:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-indexing-issues-41972.htmlGoogle Search seems to be having indexing or serving issues in the past hour or so. New content from the past hour doesn't seem to be showing up in Google Search results. Content from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN and other news sites that post content constantly are not showing much or any new pages in the Google search results.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-sign-in-41962.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 07:11:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-sign-in-41962.htmlGoogle is testing asking searchers to sign in within the AI Mode response. Google shows a big Google super logo and a sign in button that says "Sign in to save your..."Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-favicon-docs-file-formats-41970.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 07:05:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-favicon-docs-file-formats-41970.htmlGoogle has updated the favicon search developer documentation to list out the supported favicon file formats. Google added this line that reads, "Google Search supports the following favicon file formats: BMP, GIF, ICO, PNG, JPEG, PPM, and TIFF."Google Search Engine Optimizationbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-site-reputation-policy-eea-41968.htmlFri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-site-reputation-policy-eea-41968.htmlGoogle announced it will not enforce manual actions under the site reputation abuse policy in the European Economic Area (EEA) due to a mandate set by the European Commission, effective August 30, 2026. Google said searchers in the EEA will not benefit from Google's spam prevention for sites labeled for site reputation abuse.Google Search Engine Optimizationbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/irs-website-drops-google-search-41967.htmlThu, 27 Aug 2026 14:23:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/irs-website-drops-google-search-41967.htmlOver the past few days, the IRS website (and other government sites) has tanked within Google's search results. My gut feeling is that the federal government implemented some bot-blocking that was too aggressive and blocked Google, among others, resulting in Google not fully showing the IRS website. I believe the IRS implemented some fixes, and the website is slowly coming back in Google Search.Google Search Engine Optimizationbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-travel-updates-41956.htmlThu, 27 Aug 2026 12:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-travel-updates-41956.htmlGoogle is rolling out three new travel features within AI Mode in Google Search. These features include track flight prices, view points or miles rates, and book hotels directly within AI Mode, through your conversational search.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-27-2026-41960.htmlThu, 27 Aug 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-27-2026-41960.htmlHere is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...Search Forum Recapbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-testing-copilot-search-ai-overviews-41953.htmlThu, 27 Aug 2026 07:51:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-testing-copilot-search-ai-overviews-41953.htmlMicrosoft is testing renaming the Copilot Search AI answer box at the top of the Bing Search results to AI Overviews. That is the name Google uses for its AI answer results in Google Search. Microsoft is still placing the Copilot logo with the box but trying to use the name "AI Overview" instead of "Copilot Search."Bing Searchbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)