Search Engine Roundtable
https://www.seroundtable.com
en-usBarry SchwartzWed, 29 Jul 2026 10:00:00 -0400Daily Search Forum Recap: July 29, 2026
https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-07-29-2026-41781.html
Barry SchwartzHere 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 Search Console platform properties is fully live, it is cool, you must check it out. Google said there is no defined order of precedence for metadata reconciliation when signals are inconsistent. Google's support for unavailable_after may be cool but there are downsides. There is a new Budget Panel for Google Ads. Bing is testing pricing on product image thumbnails. The Google Ads interface now shows Target CPA and Target ROAS as explicit bidding strategy options in the drop-down of bidding options. Google Ads has this new Lead Journey Mapping tool.
Search Engine Roundtable Stories:
Google Platform Properties Now Fully Live
Earlier this month, Google announced platform properties, a way to see content that you manage but on third-party platforms, including social platforms and video platforms. So if you have an account on Instagram, TikTok, X and/or YouTube, you can claim access and see how your content on those platforms are performing within Google Search. That feature is now globally live as of today, Google announced.
The Problem With unavailable_after - Google Might Not See Updated Dates
Google supports the unavailable_after meta attribute, which will tell Google not to show this page in search results after the specified date/time. The problem with this, is that if you try to change the unavailable_after date later, Google might not pick up on it because Google may not try to crawl that page before the last given date.
Google Search Doesn't Publish Precedence For Metadata In Conflict
Google's John Mueller confirmed it has not and likely won't publish publicly Google Search's defined order of precedence for metadata reconciliation. In other words, if you have conflicting signals you are sending Google, which signal trumps the other. Like a 301 redirect from URL A to URL B but on URL B, you have a canonical tag to URL A, which should Google trust.
Google Ads Lead Journey Mapping
Google Ads posted details about a new feature it calls "Lead Journey Mapping." Lead Journey Mapping is a visual drag-and-drop tool that allows lead generation advertisers to map their end-to-end customer journey...
Google Ads Budget Panel
Google Ads has introduced what it calls "Budget Panel," which should be able to be found (at some point) in Performance Max and Demand Gen campaign review page. Google says the Budget Panel "provides customized budget recommendations to optimize campaign performance and prevent low starts."
Google Ads Target CPA & Target ROAS As Explicit Bidding Strategy Options
The Google Ads interface now shows Target CPA and Target ROAS as explicit bidding strategy options in the drop-down of bidding options. We knew this was coming, as it is supported in the new version of Google Ads Editor 2.13 and all the other recent communication from Google and now advertisers are seeing it.
Bing Testing Pricing On Product Images
Microsoft seems to be testing showing pricing on the product images within the Bing Search organic results. Normally, Bing would show review stars on the product images and, below the image, show the price. I should note that I am also seeing two rows of products under a single search result snippet, which I think is new.
Google Android & Dinosaur Foosball Display
Here is what looks like a Google foosball table, turned into some sort of wall art project. It has the Android character on one side and the Chrome Dinosaur on the other side. Who will win?