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 SchwartzSun, 26 Jul 2026 08:09:00 -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-ranking-volatility-41758.htmlSun, 26 Jul 2026 08:09:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ranking-volatility-41758.htmlAs I mentioned in my Friday video, there were some rumblings kicking into gear starting late Thursday, July 23rd, and through Friday, July 24th. It seems like Google kicked some of its search ranking servers, and as a result, we are seeing an unconfirmed Google search ranking update, with a lot of volatility throughout last week, but it kicked into high gear on Friday.Google Updatesbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-07-24-2026-41751.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-07-24-2026-41751.htmlHere is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...Search Forum Recapbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/video-07-24-2026-41749.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 08:01:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/video-07-24-2026-41749.htmlThis 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...Search Video Recapsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-ai-features-41736.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 07:51:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-merchant-center-ai-features-41736.htmlGoogle continues to add more AI features to the Google Merchant Center portal. We saw Merchant Advisor added earlier this year, AI performance reports added just the other week, and now we are seeing more AI sprinkled throughout Merchant Center. This includes AI summary insights, search suggestions and previous chats on the Merchant Center dashboard.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-fading-out-related-searches-41722.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 07:41:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-fading-out-related-searches-41722.htmlMicrosoft is testing fading out the related searches in the Bing Search results. When you hover over a related search, that one stands out and the other related searches options then get faded/blurred out.Bing Searchbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-shopping-campaigns-41743.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 07:31:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-shopping-campaigns-41743.htmlLast May, Google announced AI Max within Google Ads is rolling out in closed beta globally. Well, more are now seeing AI Max for Shopping campaigns this past week. This also includes text customizations and final URL expansion within AI Max.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-recommended-by-google-al-conversions-41716.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 07:21:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-recommended-by-google-al-conversions-41716.htmlGoogle Ads now uses its AI to make recommendations within the conversion summary dashboard. Google will give you actions to "improve your conversion measurements," and those recommendations are labeled "Recommended by Google AI."Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-gambling-certification-applications-update-41750.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 07:16:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-gambling-certification-applications-update-41750.htmlGoogle is updating the Google Ads certification applications and standards for gambling, including gambling jurisdictions, online non-casino games and social casino games on August 26, 2026. All new applicants must use the revised forms when obtaining certification with Google.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-css-product-listing-ads-41746.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 07:11:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-css-product-listing-ads-41746.htmlGoogle Ads seems to have replaced Comparison Listing ads with CSS Product Listing ads. It has redirected the old support URL to a new page named About CSS Product Listing ads. They seem very similar, but the help document was mostly changed and was also moved to a new support URL.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-adsense-related-search-deprecating-41747.htmlFri, 24 Jul 2026 07:05:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-adsense-related-search-deprecating-41747.htmlGoogle is doing away with the related search format for Google AdSense auto ads. Google said it will be retired on August 6, 2026. Google sent out an email to those impacted that says starting August 6, 2026, the Related Search format will no longer appear on your site. It will also be removed as a format option from the AdSense frontend.Google AdSensebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-07-23-2026-41744.htmlThu, 23 Jul 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-07-23-2026-41744.htmlHere is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...Search Forum Recapbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/publishers-blocking-google-search-41735.htmlThu, 23 Jul 2026 07:51:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/publishers-blocking-google-search-41735.htmlSeveral large publishers are strongly considering blocking Google Search entirely after clicks from Google Search have continued to decline, and the exchange of value in having Google consume its content is no longer translating into enough clicks from Google Search.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-hotel-search-eu-41737.htmlThu, 23 Jul 2026 07:41:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-hotel-search-eu-41737.htmlGoogle may be rolling out updates to its hotel search results based on the European Commission's requirement for Google to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Despite Google not being a fan of the requirement, it seems Google needs to make changes to its search results as a result.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-review-not-posted-email-41734.htmlThu, 23 Jul 2026 07:31:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-review-not-posted-email-41734.htmlGoogle is now sending out notifications when a review is not posted after a user tries to submit a review on a Google local business profile. The notice says "review not posted," and adds "Our automated systems removed this content because it seems that the content may not follow our Maps content policies."Google Mapsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-api-v-25-41740.htmlThu, 23 Jul 2026 07:21:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-api-v-25-41740.htmlGoogle has released version 25 of the Google Ads API, this is a major release with dozens of updates. This update includes changes to campaigns, planning, reports, conversions, and more. Google now breaks down the change log based on breaking changes, features and updates (that do not break anything) and more.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)