Search Engine Roundtable https://www.seroundtable.com en-us Barry Schwartz Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:51:00 -0400 Google Click Through Rates Improving For Organic Results With AI Overviews https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ctr-improving-aui-overviews-41222.html Barry Schwartz Google Cursor

Google may be doing something right with improving the click-through rates from the organic search results page that contain AI Overviews. An update report shows the CTR is improving, after numerous times showing the CTR has been declining.

The low (I believe) was in July 2025 with a 0.57% CTR. Now, in February 2026, it is showing a 2.4% CTR. Although, the new chart says July was 1.8%, so I am not sure.

In any event, here is the new data from Seer Interactive:

Seer Google Aio Ctr Data

Seer wrote:

After 18 months of tracking CTR decline across AI Overview queries, something unexpected happened in early 2026: the trend reversed. Organic CTR on AIO-present queries climbed from a floor of 1.3% in December 2025 to 2.4% in February 2026. The decline didn't level, but instead bounced back a little, and is closer to the January'25 CTR of 3.2 than the December'25 floor.

I did ask for clarification on the CTR changes from one report to the next...

Forum discussion at X.

]]> Google Barry Schwartz Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:51:00 -0400 Google Ads Confirms Demand Gen Image Ads Approval Delays https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-demand-gen-image-ads-approval-delays-41216.html Barry Schwartz Google Ads Delay

Google's Ginny Marvin, the Ads Liaison, has confirmed there are delays for some Demand Gen Image ads to be approved. Some of these delays are several days pending, not hours, but several days.

The issue was posted by Matthew Skelton who wrote on LinkedIn:

Google Ads friends, is anyone else seeing serious delays (i'm talking 7+ days) with ads stuck "in review" for Demand Gen campaigns?

I'm seeing this across multiple accounts and industries, with no obvious policy flags. Everything else (Search, PMax, etc.) is flowing as normal, so it seems isolated to Demand Gen only.

Support hasn't been much help (no surprises there).

Ginny Marvin from Google replied confirming the issue, she said:

We are aware of an issue causing some Demand Gen Image ads to take longer than expected to complete ad review. Our teams are actively working to resolve this and we appreciate your patience.

This seems to have been going on for weeks, so I am not sure how quickly Google will address this issue.

Linkedin Post

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

]]> Google Ads Barry Schwartz Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:41:00 -0400 Bing Tests Less Clickable Links In Copilot Search Results https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-less-clickable-links-41208.html Barry Schwartz Bing Links

Microsoft Bing is testing making the links within the AI results, the Copilot Search results, less clickable. Typically, the whole line of text is clickable to the citation but here, Bing is testing only linking the citation mark at the end.

This was spotted by Sachin Patel who posted an example, that I cannot replicate, on X. Sachin wrote, "Bing is testing a new design for links in their AI overview. Previously, the link covered the entire line, but now it appears differently."

Here is a GIF of it in action:

Bing Copilot Search Links Change

I hope this new interface does not roll out.

Forum discussion at X.

]]> Bing Search Barry Schwartz Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:31:00 -0400 Google Tests AI Label On Search Ads https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ads-ai-label-41224.html Barry Schwartz Google Robot Computer

Google is testing adding an AI label to some of the search ads, the sponsored results, within the search results. Clicking on the AI label does nothing, according to Brodie Clark who spotted this.

He posted a couple of examples of this label on X and SERP Alerts, and he wrote, "Google is testing out a new AI label attached to some ads on mobile. No additional information is provided after clicking on the AI label." He added, "There are two variations of this experiment so far, one with the AI label having a rounded background and the other with an information icon beside the AI text."

Here are his two screenshots:

Google Ads Ai Label

Forum discussion at X.

]]> Google Ads Barry Schwartz Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:21:00 -0400 Google Maps Video Editing Within Google App https://www.seroundtable.com/google-maps-video-editing-app-41223.html Barry Schwartz Google Maps Editing

Google now lets you edit videos within your Google Business Profiles, directly in the Google app. There are basic editing tools, probably more than most businesses require, to update and edit the videos that they want to show in Google Maps and Google Search.

This was first spotted by Valentina Vasileva and then posted by Darren Shaw on LinkedIn. Darren shared a video of how this works and wrote, "Google is testing a new feature in the Google Maps app that lets you edit videos directly in the app."

You might not see this yet, as it is being tested on some profiles.

Here are the steps:

1. Go to a business on the Google Maps app.
2. Click 'Add a Photo'.
3. Select a video you want to add.
4. Click the 'Edit' button at the bottom of the video preview.
5. Once the video opens in full screen, click 'Edit Video'.
6. You can now trim the length of the video, crop the frame, edit the audio, add music, add filters, and so much more.

Here is Darren's video:

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

]]> Google Maps Barry Schwartz Mon, 27 Apr 2026 07:11:00 -0400 Daily Search Forum Recap: April 24, 2026 https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-04-24-2026-41213.html Barry Schwartz Here 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.

Google now won't use spam reports with personal identifiable information. Google's head of search, Liz Reid was interviewed again. Google to fix an AI Mode bug that changes title links. Google is testing audio overviews in the wild. Google Business Profile photos are now sorted in order of recent. And I posted the weekly SEO video recap.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

Analytics

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

SEO

PPC

Search Features

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News, add as a preferred source on Google and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or just contact us the old fashion way.

]]> Search Forum Recap Barry Schwartz Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:00:00 -0400 Search News Buzz Video Recap: Heated Google Ranking Volatility, Commodity Content, Getting SEO Right, Search Ads https://www.seroundtable.com/video-04-24-2026-41209.html Barry Schwartz

This week, we covered new heated Google search ranking volatility. Google's Danny Sullivan spoke about commodity versus non-commodity content. Google now wont use spam reports with personality identifiable information. Google said you can do a lot of SEO that doesn't work and still do fine. Google said no one knows everything about SEO. Google posted documentation on the read more deep links. Google Search Console confirmed a bug with job listing reporting. Google Ads Advisor added some new AI safety features. Google Ads API version 24 is out. Google Ads has new AI-qualified call conversions. Google Local Search Ads tests immersive video ads. Microsoft Advertising also released a bunch of AI features. ChatGPT's ad manager seems to be rolling out. OpenAI launched a new bot for ads, OAI-AdsBot. Google local review replies now seem to be moderated. Google Business Profiles now sorts photos by recently uploaded. Google posted a job listing to hire an GEO, generative engine optimization, partner manager. That was the search news this week at the Search Engine Roundtable.

SPONSOR: This week's video recap is sponsored by Duda, the Professional Website Builder You Can Call Your Own.

Make sure to subscribe to our video feed or subscribe directly on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or your favorite podcast player to be notified of these updates and download the video in the background. Here is the YouTube version of the feed For the original iTunes version, click here.

Search Topics of Discussion:

Please do subscribe on YouTube or subscribe via iTunes or on your favorite RSS reader. Don't forget to comment below with the right answer and good luck!

]]> Search Video Recaps Barry Schwartz Fri, 24 Apr 2026 08:01:00 -0400 Liz Reid Of Google Interviewed By Bloomberg On Google Search & AI https://www.seroundtable.com/liz-reid-of-google-interviewed-by-bloomberg-41210.html Barry Schwartz Liz Reid Google Interview

Here is another interview from Google's head of search, Liz Reid. This one was done on the Odd Lots Bloomberg podcast and is titled "Google's Liz Reid on Who Will Own Search in a World of AI."

I watched the whole thing, I am not sure if there is anything "new" from the interview to pull out. But it is probably worth a listen to. Danny Goodwin summarized it on Search Engine Land.

Here is what was covered based on the YouTube chapters:

  • 00:00:01 - Opening AI Search Context
  • 00:02:36 - The Search Disruption Dilemma
  • 00:07:12 - AI's Evolution in Search
  • 00:08:30 - The Click-Out vs. Direct Answer Tension
  • 00:12:09 - AI Overview Decision Logic
  • 00:15:20 - User Behavior Patterns Across Platforms
  • 00:17:44 - Fact-Checking and Search Evolution
  • 00:19:31 - Search Result Timeliness Issues
  • 00:22:20 - Query Sophistication Evolution
  • 00:24:48 - Privacy and Technical Challenges
  • 00:27:19 - AI Impact on Software Engineering Recruitment
  • 00:29:55 - Future Interface Predictions
  • 00:34:20 - Token Usage and Productivity Metrics
  • 00:37:45 - Measuring AI Impact on Business
  • 00:42:31 - Monetization of AI Features
  • 00:45:49 - Single vs. Multiple Search Interfaces
  • 00:48:56 - AI Slop and Content Quality

Forum discussion at X.

]]> Google Barry Schwartz Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:51:00 -0400 Google To Fix AI Mode Bug Where It Changes Title Links https://www.seroundtable.com/google-fix-ai-mode-citations-bug-41211.html Barry Schwartz Google Ai Bug

Google is working to fix a bug in AI Mode where it is changing the title links and citations. This bug was spotted by Lily Ray who wrote on X, "Google is changing title links / citations in AI Mode - just the name of the person, with a link to the place they were mentioned."

She shared this video of the issue - which again, does look super weird.

Rajan Patel from Google confirmed it was a bug and Google will work to fix it. Rajan replied on X saying, "It is a bug. Thanks for pinging, we'll fix."

Forum discussion at X.

]]> Google Barry Schwartz Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:41:00 -0400 New: Google Won't Use Spam Reports With Personally Identifying Information https://www.seroundtable.com/google-spam-reports-personally-identifying-information-41212.html Barry Schwartz Google Spam Logo

About a week ago, Google stunned many by saying that they updated their spam report to pass along all information to the site that you enter in the spam report. There was a lot of backlash to that and Google reverted, now saying if there is personally identifying information, it won't process the spam report at all.

Google noted it "futher clarified" to "address feedback we received about the change on using spam reports to take manual action."

It now has a new box that says:

Don't include any personally identifying information in your submission. To comply with regulations, we must send the submission text to the site owner to help them understand the context of a manual action, if one is issued. Because of this, we won't process your submission if we determine it contains personally identifying information to protect privacy. Not including such information fully ensures your information is safe and prevents your submission from being discarded.

Google is saying:

(1) Don't include personally identifying information.

(2) Google won't process your submission if we determine it contains personally identifying information to protect privacy.

Here is a screenshot:

Google Spam Report Update Clarify

Forum discussion at X.

]]> Google Search Engine Optimization Barry Schwartz Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:31:00 -0400 Google Testing Audio Overviews In The Wild (Not Just In Labs) https://www.seroundtable.com/google-testing-audio-overviews-wild-41207.html Barry Schwartz Google Audio Overviews Header

About a year ago, Google announced you can opt in, within Search Labs, to see Audio Overviews within the Google Search results. But now, I saw two different people say they saw it without opting into the experiment. So Google may be testing this in the wild.

Google says, "Audio Overviews, which uses our latest Gemini models to generate quick, conversational audio overviews for certain search queries."

Here is what it looks like:

Google Search Audio Overviews

You can opt into these over here, if you want.

Now, some are seeing this in the wild - here are two examples:

Maybe Google will be rolling these out more widely at Google I/O?

Forum discussion at X.

]]> Google Barry Schwartz Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:21:00 -0400 Google Business Profiles Sorts Photos By Most Recent https://www.seroundtable.com/google-business-profiles-photos-most-recent-41198.html Barry Schwartz Ai Google Office

Google Business Profiles lets you upload photos of your business to your Business Profile. Those photos can be viewed on Google Search and Google Maps. And now, these photos are reportedly sorted by most recently uploaded.

Claudia Tomina posted on LinkedIn, "Well it looks like Google is now sorting photos by putting the most recent ones uploaded at the top." She said this was confirmed by Michael G., a Product Manager at Google.

Here is her full post on this:

Yea, previously, photos were not sorted this way.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

]]> Google Maps Barry Schwartz Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:11:00 -0400 Daily Search Forum Recap: April 23, 2026 https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-04-23-2026-41206.html Barry Schwartz Here 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.

We are seeing Google volatility get heated again, it is early on. Google's Danny Sullivan spoke about commodity vs. non-commodity content. Google local review replies are now moderated. Google's Chrome tab is more Gemini now. Google is hiring a GEO. And Google Ads API version 24 is out.

Search Engine Roundtable Stories:

Other Great Search Threads:

Search Engine Land Stories:

Other Great Search Stories:

AI & LLMs

Analytics

Industry & Business

Links & Content Marketing

Local & Maps

SEO

PPC

Search Features

Other Search

Feedback:

Have feedback on this daily recap; let me know on Twitter @rustybrick or @seroundtable, on Threads, Mastodon and Bluesky and you can follow us on Facebook and on Google News, add as a preferred source on Google and make sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or just contact us the old fashion way.

]]> Search Forum Recap Barry Schwartz Thu, 23 Apr 2026 10:00:00 -0400 Google On Publishing Commodity Content https://www.seroundtable.com/google-commodity-content-41200.html Barry Schwartz Danny Sullivan Google Commodity Content

Danny Sullivan from Google spoke at the Google Search Central event in Toronto a couple of days ago and a few of his slides spoke about it is important to produce "unique, authentic and non-commodity content." And then Sullivan dug into what commodity content is.

Sullivan spoke about what is good non-commodity content:

  • Unique: Brings a viewpoint, information or has content that other lack or can't easily replicate.
  • Specific: Taks about a specific instance, situation or thing, not general rules, steps or generic information
  • Authentic: Demonstrates first-hand knowledge or expertise.

Then he went into the differences between commodity vs non-commodity content by some industry types:

For a running store: Commodity content would be "Top 10 Things to Consider When Buying Running Shoes." "Standard advice on sizing, arch support, and cushioning." Non-commodity content would be "Why This Customer's Shoes Collapsed After 400 Miles: A Wear Pattern Analysis." "A deep-dive video analyzing the wear pattern on a customer's shoes after 400 miles, explaining exactly why their specific gait caused the foam to collapse laterally."

For a real estate agent: Commodity content would be "7 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers." "General tips on pre-approval, location, and budgeting." Non-commodity content would be "Why We Waived the Inspection (And Saved $15k): A Look Inside the Sewer Line." "A breakdown of a specific bidding war you won last week: "We offered $15k under list but waived the sewer scope because I personally crawled the line and saw it was PVC, not concrete."

For an interior designer: Commodity content would be "2024 Kitchen Trends You Need to See." "Photos of green cabinets and brass hardware found on Pinterest." Non-commodity content would be "Marble vs. Grape Juice: Why I Refused to Install Stone for a Family of Five." "A video explaining why you refused to let a client put marble countertops in a house with three toddlers, showing the stain tests you did with grape juice and turmeric to prove your point."

Here are some of the slides I found on X:

JC Chouinard also published all his notes on the talks at this event.

Forum discussion at X.

]]> Google Search Engine Optimization Barry Schwartz Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:51:00 -0400 Google Local Review Replies Are Now Moderated (ReviewReplyState) https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-review-replies-moderated-41203.html Barry Schwartz Google Review Stars

Google may now hold your review replies for approval before showing them in Google Maps or Google Search. Previously, those replies were immediately shown but that may have changed.

Michel van Luijtelaar posted on LinkedIn that he spotted the change in the Google API where there is this new ReviewReplyState field. The values include:

  • PENDING: Google is screening your content.
  • REJECTED: Google has blocked your reply.
  • APPROVED: You're cleared for public view.

Michel wrote, "For years, your reply was live the second you hit send. No longer. Google has introduced ReviewReplyState, meaning every reply is now moderated."

Also new in the API are:

(1) Customer-uploaded images are finally accessible via the API.

(2) Scheduled Recurring Posts

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

]]> Google Maps Barry Schwartz Thu, 23 Apr 2026 07:41:00 -0400