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, 16 Oct 2026 10:00:00 -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/recap-10-16-2026-42318.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-10-16-2026-42318.htmlHere is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...Search Forum Recapbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/video-09-16-2026-42313.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 08:01:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/video-09-16-2026-42313.htmlGoogle seems to be poisoning the third-party tracking tools with fake data and paywalls; this is wreaking havoc on keyword tracking. Google launched Gemini 4 Argon and it is in AI Mode. Google made several...Search Video Recapsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-chatter-42317.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 07:55:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-chatter-42317.htmlIt has been a while since I reported on a Google Search ranking update. I blame the tools, but in all seriousness, I am seeing a spike in volatility and, now probably more importantly, a spike in chatter over the past 24 hours, related to Google Search ranking changes, referral traffic changes and overall disruption in the Google Search results.Google Updatesbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-online-gambling-certification-42314.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 07:51:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-online-gambling-certification-42314.htmlGoogle Ads will allow some advertisers to apply for certification for the category of online gambling. This started this month, October 2026, and will gradually be available to some advertisers in Google Ads.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-read-more-links-42311.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 07:41:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-read-more-links-42311.htmlMicrosoft is testing placing "read more" links within the Bing Search result snippets, like Google officially did a year or so ago. I am able to replicate this on some browsers, where Bing adds a "Read more" link at the end of the search result snippet that links to the same place the main title links to.Bing Searchbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-lead-form-scoring-42310.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 07:31:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-lead-form-scoring-42310.htmlGoogle added the ability to add lead scoring by indicating answers that qualify a lead for your business to get higher-quality leads. You can add up to 12 answers per question and check off whether they qualify under the lead scoring section.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-testing-popular-links-42304.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 07:21:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-testing-popular-links-42304.htmlMicrosoft is testing adding the label "Popular Links" to the Bing search results sitelinks. This reminds me of the Google top pages test and variations of that.Bing Searchbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-api-twice-a-month-42303.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 07:11:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-api-twice-a-month-42303.htmlGoogle Ads is planning on pushing twice as many Google Ads API updates for the remainder of this year and into 2027 compared to its previous schedule. Last year, Google said it would release an Ads API update monthly and now Google is switching that to two updates per month.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-updates-indexing-api-quota-information-42316.htmlFri, 16 Oct 2026 06:05:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-updates-indexing-api-quota-information-42316.htmlGoogle has updated the indexing API documentation; this includes three different pages within the documentation. I think the big takeaway is that Google removed the old approval process and initial testing explanation, the sitemap recommendation, and, most importantly, the default quota details.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-dataset-search-broken-42315.htmlThu, 15 Oct 2026 21:37:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-dataset-search-broken-42315.htmlFor the past several hours, Google Dataset Search has not been able to return any search results or matches. Google Dataset Search returns a response that says "Your search - [keyword phrase here] - did not match any datasets."Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-updates-links-in-ai-mode-and-ai-overviews-again-42308.htmlThu, 15 Oct 2026 12:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-updates-links-in-ai-mode-and-ai-overviews-again-42308.htmlGoogle, for the umpteenth time, has updated how it shows links and carousel link cards in AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google always says this is to encourage searchers to click from the AI response to the publisher or creator, but it feels as if those efforts to drive clicks from AI search continue to fail.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-10-15-2026-42309.htmlThu, 15 Oct 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-10-15-2026-42309.htmlHere is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...Search Forum Recapbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/universal-cart-google-search-42312.htmlThu, 15 Oct 2026 09:40:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/universal-cart-google-search-42312.htmlGoogle has launched its Universal Cart today in Google Search and Gemini within the United States. This is powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and it was launched right before the big holiday shopping season.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-vehicle-top-ads-42301.htmlThu, 15 Oct 2026 07:51:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-vehicle-top-ads-42301.htmlGoogle has a new Google Ads beta format named automotive model feeds on search ads, also known as Vehicle Top Ads (Beta). This is a new search ad format designed specifically for vehicle manufacturers to showcase vehicles with rich visuals and key details in the search results.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-app-new-search-bar-42267.htmlThu, 15 Oct 2026 07:41:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-app-new-search-bar-42267.htmlGoogle is testing a redesigned search bar within the Google mobile app. The new search bar is now has the + sign in it, and instead of saying "Search," it says "Ask Google." The search bar is also white, as opposed to gray and is thinner and higher up on the page.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)