# google business (blogs) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 2 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover google business. Page: Feed: --- ## [Google AI Overviews Pushing Searchers Into AI Mode, Drops Show More Button](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-overviews-push-ai-mode-responses-41974.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google 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. ## [Daily Search Forum Recap: August 28, 2026](https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-28-2026-41971.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ 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. A first, Google won't enforce a spam policy within the European region... ## [Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google GoTo Parameter Fight, PDFs Go Missing In Google, SEO For AI Responses & Google and Microsoft Ads News](https://www.seroundtable.com/video-08-28-2026-41963.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Another 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... ## [Google Ads Book Buttons Expand To Search & Performance Max](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-book-buttons-41964.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google 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 Announces Search Updates For Transparency, Actionable Updates Get Blog Posts](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-announces-search-updates-41969.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google'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 Preferred Sources, Tailor Your Feed & Search Profiles Are Different](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-preferred-sources-tailor-your-feed-41965.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google 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. ## [Google Alcohol Advertising Policy Update On September 30](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-update-alcohol-advertising-policy-41966.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google 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 Search Having Indexing/Serving Issues August 28th](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-indexing-issues-41972.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google 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. ## [Google AI Mode Asking Searchers To Sign In](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-sign-in-41962.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google 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..." ## [Google Search Now Lists The Supported Favicon File Formats](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-favicon-docs-file-formats-41970.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google 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." ## [Crush Every Threat in Real Time (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/ZiafJj6Ur5ya) _2026-08-28 · **Sponsored**_ One agent for real-time detection, exposure tracking, and active defense. ## [Google Won't Enforce Its Site Reputation Policy Manual Actions In Europe](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-site-reputation-policy-eea-41968.html) _2026-08-28 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google 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. ## [IRS Website Drops Heavily In Google Search](https://www.seroundtable.com/irs-website-drops-google-search-41967.html) _2026-08-27 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Over 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. ## [Confirmed: Google Search Rolling Out google.com/goto Tracking Parameters](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-goto-tracking-41957.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google Search seems like it is rolling out the google.com/goto URL as a passthrough URL within the search results that it began testing in July 2026. This seems like a way for Google to help prevent scraping of its search results by third-party tools and AI companies but Google has not yet commented on this goto URL paramter. ## [Google Search Has A Special Dolly Parton Easter Egg 🦋](https://www.seroundtable.com/dolly-parton-easter-egg-41955.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ To commemorate the life of Dolly Parton, Google has released a new easter egg in its search results. If you search for \[Dolly Parton\] within Google Search... ## [Tell Google What You Want From AI Mode](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-feature-request-41954.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Robby Stein, Google's Vice President of Product at Google Search, asked on X, "If you could get one feature shipped right now in AI Mode, what would it be?" So now is your chance to reply on X with what you want. ## [Daily Search Forum Recap: August 26, 2026](https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-26-2026-41951.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today... ## [Google Search Ranking Volatility Continues Post Spam Update](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-ranking-volatility-continues-41952.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ As you know, Google's August 2026 spam update began on August 18th and concluded on August 21st. But the volatility has not calmed down since and I think it is time I document it. We've been seeing chatter within the SEO community, in addition to the third-party Google tracking tools pick up on volatility within the Google Search results after the conclusion of the August spam update. ## [Google Massively Expands Booking Partners On Local Services Ads](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-lsa-expands-booking-partners-41945.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google has expanded the booking partners for Local Service Ads from about 20 partners to over 500 partners. That is about a 2,400 percent increase. "We're vastly expanding booking capabilities for Local Services Ads to include more than 500 Reserve with Google booking partners '" up from just 20," Ginny Marvin, the Google Ads Liaison said. ## [Google AI Mode Also Gains Link Carousels For Developing Topics](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ai-mode-link-carousels-41947.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Back in June, Google released link carousels for top stories or developing topics to AI Overviews. I was happy. Now, Google is also releasing this for AI Mode queries, which adds carousels of web pages directly in the AI Mode response. ## [Google Ads Customer Lifecycle Optimization Within Conversion Goals](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-customer-lifecycle-optimization-conversion-goals-41941.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google Ads has placed Customer Lifecycle Optimization directly within the conversion goals section of the Google Ads platform. ## [Non-custodial Crypto Payments & Escrow (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/R2jyWNgG1BKk) _2026-08-26 · **Sponsored**_ Accept multi-chain crypto with trustless escrow, instant confirmations, and no KYC ## [Bing Tests Shorts Video Tab In Search Menu](https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-shorts-video-tab-41892.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Microsoft Bing is testing a new "Shorts" tab in the search menu on Bing Search. This should filter the results by short videos across YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and so on. The tab is called "Shorts" and looks like a video play icon in vertical format. ## [Google Ads AI-Created Product Titles Report Beta](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-product-titles-report-41948.html) _2026-08-26 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google is beta testing a new Product title report within Google Ads. This is a special product title report for Al-created product titles. The report should show in your ads when they're more relevant than your original titles, Google wrote. ## [Daily Search Forum Recap: August 21, 2026](https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-21-2026-41922.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today... ## [Google Search Console Crawl Stats Missing Two Days Of Data](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-console-crawl-stats-missing-41923.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ The crawl stats report within Google Search Console has a data gap again. This time the crawl stats report is missing August 15 and 16th crawl data. Normally, Google can fix the data but Google has not yet fixed it. ## [Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google Unleashed The August 2026 Spam Update, Gemini 3.7 Powers AI Mode, Google and Microsoft Ads News & More](https://www.seroundtable.com/video-08-21-2026-41915.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google has released its third spam update of the 2026 year, the August 2026 spam update this week and finished rolling out Friday morning at 4:50am. Google Search's AI Mode is now being powered sometimes by... ## [Google Preferred Source Button Improved For Publishers](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-preferred-source-button-update-41912.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google has updated the Preferred Sources button that publishers have on their websites to make it so that the user is taken right back to the page they were originally on. There is new embed code that handles this process to make it easier for users to go back to where they were and stay on your website. ## [Microsoft Advertising Max CPC Won't Be Available For New Campaigns On Oct 1](https://www.seroundtable.com/microsoft-advertising-max-cpc-sunset-41917.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Microsoft Advertising sent out emails yesterday announcing changes coming to Max CPC bidding. Microsoft wrote, "Max CPC will no longer be available when creating new non-portfolio campaigns" after October 1, 2026. ## [Google Ads & AI Max New Experimentation & Planning Features](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-ai-max-experimentation-planning-41910.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google announced it is rolling out new experimentation and planning capabilities in Google Ads and AI Max. There are new A/B test capabilities, brand and location parameters options and new Performance Planner predictions. ## [Google Local Service Ads Pre-Badge Ads & Expansion Of Verticals](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-lsa-prebadge-new-verticals-41920.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google has made some big updates to Local Service Ads. Even though LSAs are transitioning to Google Ads, Google is clearly still investing in the LSA product. Google added something called pre-badge ads, massively expanded the verticals and the verified ads badge updated its exclusions. ## [JSON-LD Extraction For Googlebot Now Does One Pass Of HTML Unescaping](https://www.seroundtable.com/json-ld-extraction-googlebot-41921.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google's crawler now strictly enforces standard JSON formatting when reading your site's structured data, schema markup, instead of auto-correcting double-escaped HTML text. "To bring our parser up to JSON and other standards, we changed our JSON-LD extraction and are now only applying a single pass of HTML unescaping," Google posted on LinkedIn. ## [One OS for your AI workforce (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/l0TvF55rGn5E) _2026-08-21 · **Sponsored**_ Build, direct, and supervise an AI workforce from a single operating workspace. ## [Google Discover Feed Can Be Tailored By Words](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-discover-tailored-feed-by-words-41911.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google is rolling out the ability to tailor your Google Discover feed by using your words, in a conversational chat-like experience. You are taken to a screen that lets you enter your desired topics, then you can go back and forth with AI to really zone in on the topic you want your feed to look like. ## [Google Tag & Google Tag Manager Updated](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-tag-and-google-tag-manager-updated-41918.html) _2026-08-21 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google updated the Google Tag and Google Tag Manager. Google said, "these changes are designed to streamline your measurement setup, improve performance and management, and provide a more unified experience across Google's tagging products." ## [Daily Search Forum Recap: August 20, 2026](https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-20-2026-41914.html) _2026-08-20 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today... ## [Why Google Announces Some Search Updates But Not All](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-announces-some-updates-41903.html) _2026-08-20 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ As you know, Google does smaller core updates and algorithm search updates all the time without announcing them. So why does Google announce some of those updates and not the others. Well, as Google told us before, Google announces the larger, more impactful updates so we know it was a Google update that impacted our site, not a technical change we made. ## [Google Ads Can Find Sitelinks For You](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-find-sitelinks-for-you-41907.html) _2026-08-20 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google Ads can now help you find sitelinks for your ad extensions. A new feature within the Google Ads advertiser console will now suggest new sitelinks to add to your ads. ## [Google Ads Enhanced Matching In Customer Match](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-enhanced-matching-41905.html) _2026-08-20 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google Ads seems to be rolling out a new customer match option named "enhanced matching." Google writes this allows you to "Expand your audience reach with your consented user lists." Google will then "match your consented users with publishers' consented users where available." ## [Microsoft Advertising Rolling Out AI Max Globally](https://www.seroundtable.com/microsoft-advertising-ai-max-41909.html) _2026-08-20 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Microsoft Advertising is rolling out AI Max globally and to all advertisers. If you log in to your Microsoft Advertising account, you should be able to toggle on the AI Max setting for your search campaigns. ## [Google Bringing Back Google Posts Insights (People Viewed)](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-posts-insights-views-41913.html) _2026-08-20 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ In 2018, Google launched Google Posts Insights, a way to see how many views and clicks a Google Post within Google Business Profiles received. Google discontinued and sunset that feature in January 2023. Now, it seems Google is testing bringing back the view count - it now calls "people viewed." ## [Spike In Complaints On Favicons Disappearing From Google Search](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-search-favicons-breaking-41904.html) _2026-08-20 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ In the past couple of days, I have seen a spike in the number of complaints around favicons disappearing from the Google Search result snippets. The complaints started a couple of days before Google's August 2026 spam update, so I doubt they are related to that, but they have indeed spiked. It makes me think that Google changed something on its end, versus all these site owners making a technical… ## [Google Ads API Version 25.1 Now Available](https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-api-version-25-1-41908.html) _2026-08-20 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Google has released version 25.1 of the Google Ads API, this is a minor release with several of updates. This update includes text disclaimer assets, AI Max tracking, Brand and Conversion Lift measurements, brand sentiment insights, and several more features and changes. ## [Daily Search Forum Recap: August 19, 2026](https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-08-19-2026-41900.html) _2026-08-19 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today... ## [ChatGPT Ads Expanding To 31 European Countries](https://www.seroundtable.com/chatgpt-ads-europe-41902.html) _2026-08-19 · barry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz) · Search Engine Roundtable_ OpenAI announced it is expanding its ChatGPT Ads service and product to 31 European countries. These countries include Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria. ## [How To: Report GA4 AI Assistant Traffic Historically](https://daveashworth.co/blog/how-to-report-ga4-ai-assistant-traffic-historically/) _2026-07-03 · Dave Ashworth · Dave Ashworth's Blog_ Track AI Assistant traffic in GA4 historically by combining the new AI Assistant channel with older referral data from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Copilot using Looker Studio. ## [A Rough Guide To: LLMS.txt](https://daveashworth.co/blog/a-rough-guide-to-llms-txt/) _2026-05-19 · Dave Ashworth · Dave Ashworth's Blog_ A practical guide to LLMS.txt - what it is, what it isn’t, and whether it actually matters for AI search. This article explores how LLMS.txt can help provide structure and context for AI systems like ChatGPT and Claude, why Google says it isn’t required, and how it fits into broader content hub and website optimisation strategies. ## [How To: Build Topical Authority With Content Hubs](https://daveashworth.co/blog/how-to-build-seo-content-hubs-that-improve-relevance-visibility-topical-authority/) _2026-05-18 · Dave Ashworth · Dave Ashworth's Blog_ Over the last few years, Google has placed increasing emphasis on content quality, expertise, trust, and topical relevance through concepts such as E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness). At the same time, search engines have become significantly better at understanding: It’s no longer just about whether a single page contains the right keywords. Modern search \[ \] ## [Case Study: Do Keywords in URLs Impact SEO & Rankings?](https://daveashworth.co/blog/case-study-do-keywords-in-urls-impact-seo-rankings/) _2026-04-01 · Dave Ashworth · Dave Ashworth's Blog_ I updated service and skill URLs across my site to include consultant-led terms - keeping everything else the same. This case study looks at the impact on rankings and visibility. ## [How To: Track Google Business Profile Listing Traffic](https://daveashworth.co/blog/how-to-track-google-business-profile-listing-traffic/) _2026-03-02 · Dave Ashworth · Dave Ashworth's Blog_ Google Business Profile provides performance insights - but they rarely tell the full story. Here’s how to track your listing properly in GA4 and Search Console using simple UTM parameters. ## [How To: Track Internal Link Clicks in Google Analytics 4 via GTM](https://daveashworth.co/blog/how-to-track-internal-link-clicks-in-google-analytics-4-via-gtm/) _2025-11-20 · Dave Ashworth · Dave Ashworth's Blog_ Tracking internal link clicks in GA4 is one of the quickest ways to understand how people actually move through your site - which menus they use, which content gets attention, and where navigation falls flat. GA4 doesn't capture these clicks by default (its built-in click event only tracks external links), but you can add this insight easily with a small custom setup in Google Tag Manager. In this… ## [How To: Optimise Your Website For AI, ChatGPT, Gemini Et Al](https://daveashworth.co/blog/how-to-optimise-your-website-for-ai-chatgpt-gemini-et-al/) _2025-11-10 · Dave Ashworth · Dave Ashworth's Blog_ As AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini start surfacing websites in their answers, SEOs are wondering if it's time to optimise differently. In my experience, the fundamentals still win. Good structure, clear content, and technical quality continue to get noticed - not just by Google, but by AI too. Here's what happened when ChatGPT found (and linked to) my site, and what it tells us about optimising… ## [Google Update: Why You Are Seeing a Drop In Impressions & Increase In Average Position](https://daveashworth.co/blog/google-update-why-you-are-seeing-a-drop-in-impressions-increase-in-average-position/) _2025-10-13 · Dave Ashworth · Dave Ashworth's Blog_ In September 2025, many sites saw impressions drop and average position improve in Google Search Console - a confusing pattern that wasn’t caused by an algorithm update. Here’s what actually happened when Google removed the num=100 parameter from search results.