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Daily Search Forum Recap: July 17, 2025

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 22:08:47 +0000

Barry Schwartz is the CEO of RustyBrick and a technologist, a New York Web service firm specializing in customized online technology that helps companies decrease costs and increase sales. Barry is also the founder of the Search Engine Roundtable and the News Editor of Search Engine Land. He is well known & respected for his expertise in the search marketing industry. He only provides consulting services to expert SEOs and also performs search marketing expert witness services. Barry graduated from the City University of New York and lives with his family in the NYC region. You can follow Barry on Twitter at @rustybrick or on LinkedIn and read his full bio over here.

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Google’s John Mueller Clarifies How To Remove Pages From Search

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 19:07:30 +0000

In a recent installment of SEO Office Hours, Google’s John Mueller offered guidance on how to keep unwanted pages out of search results and addressed a common source of confusion around sitelinks.

The discussion began with a user question: how can you remove a specific subpage from appearing in Google Search, even if other websites still link to it?

Sitelinks vs. Regular Listings

Mueller noted he wasn’t “100% sure” he understood the question, but assumed it referred either to sitelinks or standard listings. He explained that sitelinks, those extra links to subpages beneath a main result, are automatically generated based on what’s indexed for your site.

Mueller said:

“There’s no way for you to manually say I want this page indexed. I just don’t want it shown as a sitelink.”

In other words, you can’t selectively prevent a page from being a sitelink while keeping it in the index. If you want to make sure a page never appears in any form in search, a more direct approach is required.

How To Deindex A Page

Mueller outlined a two-step process for removing pages from Google Search results using a noindexdirective:

Allow crawling: First, make sure Google can access the page. If it’s blocked by robots.txt, the noindex tag won’t be seen and won’t work.
Apply a noindex tag: Once crawlable, add a noindex meta tag to the page to instruct Google not to include it in search results.

This method works even if other websites continue linking to the page.

Removing Pages Quickly

If you need faster action, Mueller suggested using Google Search Console’s URL Removal Tool, which allows site owners to request temporary removal.

“It works very quickly” for verified site owners, Mueller confirmed.

For pages on sites you don’t control, there’s also a public version of the removal tool, though Mueller noted it “takes a little bit longer” since Google must verify that the content has actually been taken down.

Hear Mueller’s full response in the video below:

What This Means For You

If you’re trying to prevent a specific page from appearing in Google results:

You can’t control sitelinks manually. Google’s algorithm handles them automatically.
Use noindex to remove content. Just make sure the page isn’t blocked from crawling.
Act quickly when needed. The URL Removal Tool is your fastest option, especially if you’re a verified site owner.

Choosing the right method, whether it’s noindex or a removal request, can help you manage visibility more effectively.

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Brand Bias For Visibility In Search & LLMs With Stephen Kenwright

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 13:05:27 +0000

I recently saw Stephen Kenwright speak at a small Sistrix event in Leeds about strategies for exploiting Google’s brand bias, and a lot of what he said still feels as fresh today as it did over a decade ago when he first started promoting this theory.

Right now, the search experience is changing more than in the last 25 years, and many SEOs are citing that brand is the critical focus for survival.

Some might say (Stephen included) that this is what SEO should always have been about.

I spoke to Stephen, the founder of Rise at Seven, about his talk and about how his theories and strategies could translate to a world of large language model (LLM) optimization alongside a fractured search journey.

You can watch the full interview with Stephen on IMHO below, or continue reading the article summary.

Google’s Brand Bias Is Foundational

Brand bias isn’t a recent development. Stephen was already writing about it in 2016 during his time at Branded3. What underlines this bias is the trust users have in brands.

“Google wants to give a good experience to its users. That means surfacing the results they expect to see. Often, that’s a brand they already know,” Stephen explained.

When users search, they’re often subconsciously looking to reconnect with a mental shortcut that brands provide. It’s not about discovery; it’s about recognition.

When brands invest in traditional marketing channels, they influence user behavior in ways that create cascading effects across digital platforms.

Television advertising, for example, makes viewers significantly more likely to click on branded results even when searching for generic terms.

Traditional Marketing Directly Influences Search Behavior

At his talk in Leeds, Stephen referenced research that demonstrates television advertising creates measurable impacts on search behavior, with viewers 33% more likely to click on advertised brands in search results.

“People are about a third more likely to click your result after seeing a TV ad, and they convert better, too,” Stephen said.

When users encounter brands through traditional marketing channels, they develop mental associations that influence their subsequent search behavior. These behavioral patterns then signal to Google that certain brands provide better user experiences.

“Having the trust from the user comes from brand building activity. It doesn’t come from having an exact match domain that happens to rank first for a keyword,” Stephen emphasized. “That’s just not how the real world works.”

Investment In Brand Building Gains More Buy-In From C-Suite

Even though this bias has been evident for so long, Stephen highlighted a disconnect from brand-building activities within the industry.

“Every other discipline from PR to the marketing manager through to the social media team, literally everyone else, including the C-suite is interested in brand in some capacity and historically SEOs have been the exception,” Stephen explained.

This separation has created missed opportunities for SEOs to access larger marketing budgets and gain executive support for their initiatives.

By shifting focus toward brand-building activities that impact search visibility, they can better align with broader marketing objectives.

“Just by switching that mindset and asking, ‘What’s the impact on brand of our SEO activity?’ we get more buy-in, bigger budgets, and better results,” he said.

Make A Conscious Decision About Which Search Engine To Optimize For

While Google’s dominance remains statistically intact, user behavior tells us that there has always existed a fractured search journey.

Stephen cited that half of UK adults use Bing monthly. A quarter is on Quora. Pinterest and Reddit are seeing massive engagement, especially with younger users. Nearly everyone uses YouTube, and they spend significantly more time on it than on Google.

Also, specialized search engines like Autotrader for used cars and Amazon for ecommerce have captured significant market share in their respective categories.

This fragmentation means that conscious decisions about platform optimization become increasingly important. Different platforms serve different demographics and purposes, requiring strategic choices about where to invest optimization efforts.

I asked Stephen if he thought Google’s dominance was under threat, or if it would remain part of a fractured search journey. But, he thought Google would be relevant for at least half a decade to come.

“I don’t see Google going anywhere. And I also don’t see the massive difference in LLM optimization. So most of the things that you would be doing for Google now … are broadly marketing things anyway and broadly impact LLM optimization.”

LLM Optimization Could Be A Return To Traditional Marketing

Looking toward AI-driven search platforms, Stephen believes the same brand-building tactics that work for Google will prove effective across LLM platforms. These new platforms don’t necessarily demand new rules; they reinforce old ones.

“What works in Google now, broadly speaking, is good marketing. That also applies to LLMs,” he said.

While we’re still learning how LLMs surface content and determine authority, early indicators suggest trust signals, brand presence, and real-world engagement all play pivotal roles.

The key insight is that LLM optimization doesn’t require entirely new approaches but rather a return to fundamental marketing principles focused on audience needs and brand trust.

Television Advertising Creates Significant Impact

I asked Stephen what he would do if he were to launch a new brand and how he would quickly gain traction.

In an interesting twist for someone who has worked in the SEO industry for so long, he cited TV as his primary focus.

“I’d build a transactional website and spend millions on TV [advertising]. If I did more [marketing], I’d add PR.” Stephen told me.

This recommendation reflects his belief that traditional marketing channels create a significant impact.

He believes, the combination of a functional ecommerce website with substantial television advertising investment, supplemented by PR activities, provides the foundation for rapid brand recognition and search visibility.

Before We Ruined The Internet

To me, it feels like we are going full circle and back to the days prior to the introduction of “new media” in the early 90s, when TV advertising was dominant and offline advertising was heavily influential.

“It’s like we’re going back to before we ruined the internet,” Stephen joked.

In reality, we’re circling back to what always worked: building real brands that people trust, remember, and seek out. The future requires classical marketing principles that prioritize audience understanding and brand building over technical optimization tactics.

This shift benefits the entire marketing industry by encouraging more integrated approaches that consider the complete customer journey rather than isolated technical optimizations.

Success in both search and LLM platforms increasingly depends on building genuine brand recognition and trust through consistent, audience-focused marketing activities across multiple channels.

Whether it’s Google, Bing, an LLM, or something we haven’t seen yet, brand is the one constant that wins.

Thank you to Stephen Kenwright for offering his insights and being my guest on IMHO.

More Resources:

Featured Image: Shelley Walsh/Search Engine Journal

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Daily Search Forum Recap: July 16, 2025

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 22:00:22 +0000

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Confirmed CWV Reporting Glitch In Google Search Console

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 09:55:21 +0000

Google Search Console Core Web Vitals (CWV) reporting for mobile is experiencing a dip that is confirmed to be related to the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX). Search Console CWV reports for mobile performance show a marked dip beginning around July 10, at which point the reporting appears to stop completely.

Not A Search Console Issue

Someone posted about it on Bluesky

“Hey @johnmu.com is there a known issue or bug with Core Web Vitals reporting in Search Console? Seeing a sudden massive drop in reported URLs (both “good” and “needs improvement”) on mobile as of July 14.”

The person referred to July 14th, but that’s the date the reporting hit zero. The drop actually starts closer to July 10th, which you can see when you hover a cursor at the point that the drops begin.

Google’s John Mueller responded:

“These reports are based on samples of what we know for your site, and sometimes the overall sample size for a site changes. That’s not indicative of a problem. I’d focus on the samples with issues (in your case it looks fine), rather than the absolute counts.”

The person who initially started the discussion responded to inform Mueller that this isn’t just on his site, the peculiar drop in reporting is happening on other sites.

Mueller was unaware of any problem with CWV reporting so he naturally assumed that this was an artifact of natural changes in Internet traffic and user behavior. So his next response continued under the assumption that this wasn’t a widespread issue:

He responded:

“That can happen. The web is dynamic and alive – our systems have to readjust these samples over time.”

Then Jamie Indigo responded to confirm she’s seeing it, too.

“Hey John! Thanks for responding 🙂 It seems like … everyone beyond the usual ebb and flow. Confirming nothing in the mechanics have changed?”

At this point it was becoming clear that this weird behavior wasn’t isolated to just one site and Mueller’s response to Jamie reflected this growing awareness. Mueller confirmed that there’s nothing happening on the Search Console side, leaving it open about the CrUX side of the Core Web Vitals reporting.

His response:

“Correct, nothing in the mechanics changed (at least with regards to Search Console — I’m also not aware of anything on the Chrome / CrUX side, but I’m not as involved there).”

CrUX CWV Field Data

CrUX is the acronym for the Chrome User Experience report. It’s CWV reporting based on real website visits. The data is collected from Chrome browser website visits by users who have opted in to reporting their data for the report.

Google’s Chrome For Developers page explains:

“The Chrome User Experience Report (also known as the Chrome UX Report, or CrUX for short) is a dataset that reflects how real-world Chrome users experience popular destinations on the web.

CrUX is the official dataset of the Web Vitals program. All user-centric Core Web Vitals metrics are represented.

CrUX data is collected from real browsers around the world, based on certain browser options which determine user eligibility. A set of dimensions and metrics are collected which allow site owners to determine how users experience their sites.”

Core Web Vitals Reporting Outage Is Widespread

At this point more people joined the conversation, with Alan Bleiweiss offering both a comment and a screenshot showing the same behavior where the reporting completely drops off is happening on the Search Console CWV reports for other websites.

He posted:

“oooh Google had to slow down server requests to set aside more power to keep the swimming pools cool as the summer heats up.”

Here’s a closeup detail of Alan’s screenshot of a Search Console CWV report:

Screenshot Of CWV Report Showing July 10 Drop

I searched the Chrome Lighthouse changelog to see if there’s anything there that corresponds to the drop but nothing stood out.

So what is going on?

CWV Reporting Outage Is Confirmed

I next checked the X and Bluesky accounts of Googlers who work on the Chrome team and found a post by Barry Pollard, Web Performance Developer Advocate on Google Chrome, who had posted about this issue last week.

Barry posted a note about a reporting outage on Bluesky:

“We’ve noticed another dip on the metrics this month, particularly on mobile. We are actively investigating this and have a potential reason and fix rolling out to reverse this temporary dip. We’ll update further next month. Other than that, there are no further announcements this month.”

Takeaways

Google Search Console Core Web Vitals (CWV) data drop:
A sudden stop in CWV reporting was observed in Google Search Console around July 10, especially on mobile.

Issue is widespread, not site-specific:
Multiple users confirmed the drop across different websites, ruling out individual site problems.

Origin of issue is not at Search Console:
John Mueller confirmed there were no changes on the Search Console side.

Possible link to CrUX data pipeline:
Barry Pollard from the Chrome team confirmed a reporting outage and mentioned a fix may be rolled out at an unspecified time in the future.

We now know that this is a confirmed issue. Google Search Console’s Core Web Vitals reports began showing a reporting outage around July 10, leading users to suspect a bug. The issue was later acknowledged by Barry Pollard as reporting outage affecting CrUX data, particularly on mobile.

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Daily Search Forum Recap: July 15, 2025

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 21:51:32 +0000

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Google Updates Search Analytics API To Clarify Data Freshness

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:49:21 +0000

Google has added a new metadata field to the Search Analytics API, making it easier for developers and SEO professionals to identify when they’re working with incomplete or still-processing data.

The update introduces new transparency into the freshness of query results, an improvement for marketers who rely on up-to-date metrics to inform real-time decisions.

What’s New In The API

The metadata field appears when requests include the dataState parameter set to all or hourly_all, enabling access to data that may still be in the process of being collected.

Two metadata values are now available:

first_incomplete_date: Indicates the earliest date for which data is still incomplete. Only appears when data is grouped by date.
first_incomplete_hour: Indicates the first hour where data remains incomplete. Only appears when data is grouped by hour.

Both values help clarify whether recent metrics can be considered stable or if they may still change as Google finalizes its processing.

Why It Matters For SEO Reporting

This enhancement allows you to better distinguish between legitimate changes in search performance and temporary gaps caused by incomplete data.

To help reduce the risk of misinterpreting short-term fluctuations, Google’s documentation states:

“All values after the first_incomplete_date may still change noticeably.”

For those running automated reports, the new metadata enables smarter logic, such as flagging or excluding fresh but incomplete data to avoid misleading stakeholders.

Time Zone Consistency

All timestamps provided in the metadata field use the America/Los_Angeles time zone, regardless of the request origin or property location. Developers may need to account for this when integrating the data into local systems.

Backward-Compatible Implementation

The new metadata is returned as an optional object and doesn’t alter existing API responses unless requested. This means no breaking changes for current implementations, and developers can begin using the feature as needed.

Best Practices For Implementation

To take full advantage of this update:

Include logic to check for the metadata object when requesting recent data.
Consider displaying warnings or footnotes in reports when metadata indicates incomplete periods.
Schedule data refreshes after the incomplete window has passed to ensure accuracy.

Google also reminds users that the Search Analytics API continues to return only top rows, not a complete dataset, due to system limitations.

Looking Ahead

This small but meaningful addition gives SEO teams more clarity around data freshness, a frequent pain point when working with hourly or near-real-time performance metrics.

It’s a welcome improvement for anyone building tools or dashboards on top of the Search Console API.

The metadata field is available now through standard API requests. Full implementation details are available in the Search Analytics API documentation.

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

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Nearly 8 In 10 Americans Use ChatGPT For Search, Adobe Finds

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 18:41:19 +0000

A new report from Adobe states that 77% of Americans who use ChatGPT treat it as a search engine.

Among those surveyed, nearly one in four prefer ChatGPT over Google for discovery, indicating a potential shift in user behavior.

Adobe surveyed 800 consumers and 200 marketers or small business owners in the U.S. All participants self-reported using ChatGPT as a search engine.

ChatGPT Usage Spans All Age Groups

According to the findings, usage is strong across demographics:

Gen X: 80%
Gen Z: 77%
Millennials: 75%
Baby Boomers: 74%

Notably, 28% of Gen Z respondents say they start their search journey with ChatGPT. This suggests younger users may be leading the shift in default discovery behavior.

Trust In AI Search Is Rising

Adobe’s report indicates growing trust in conversational AI. Three in ten respondents say they trust ChatGPT more than traditional search engines.

That trust appears to influence behavior, with 36% reporting they’ve discovered a new product or brand through ChatGPT. Among Gen Z, that figure rises to 47%.

The top use cases cited include:

Everyday questions (55%)
Creative tasks and brainstorming (53%)
Financial advice (21%)
Online shopping (13%)

Why Users Choose AI Over Traditional Search

The most common reason people use ChatGPT for search is its ability to quickly summarize complex topics (54%). Additionally, 33% said it offers faster answers with fewer clicks than Google.

Respondents also report that AI results feel more personalized. A majority (81%) prefer ChatGPT for open-ended, creative questions, while 77% find its responses more tailored than traditional search results.

Marketers Shift Focus To AI Visibility

Adobe’s survey suggests businesses are already responding to the shift. Nearly half of marketers and business owners (47%) say they use ChatGPT for marketing, primarily to create product descriptions, social media copy, and blog content.

Looking ahead, two-thirds plan to increase their investment in “AI visibility,” with 76% saying it’s essential for their brand to appear in ChatGPT results in 2025.

What Works In AI-Driven Discovery

To improve visibility in conversational AI results, marketers report the best-performing content types are:

Data-driven articles (57%)
How-to guides (51%)

These formats may align well with AI’s tendency to surface factual, instructive, and referenceable information.

Why This Matters

Adobe’s findings highlight the need for marketers to adapt strategies as users turn to AI tools for product discovery.

Instead of replacing SEO, AI visibility can complement it. Brands tailoring content for conversational search may gain an edge in reaching audiences through personalized pathways.

Featured Image: Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

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Daily Search Forum Recap: July 14, 2025

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 15:40:31 +0000

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Google Search Sponsored Ads People Also Consider Carousel

4ebusinessmediagroup99 — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 03:36:36 +0000

In February, we covered the new Google Ads “people also consider” ad format for sponsored search results. Then, on mobile, it was in a list format. Now, Google is testing a swipable carousel format for these people also consider ads.

Sachin Patel posted a new screenshot of the carousel format on X – here is a screenshot of it:

Here is his video:

New design for people also consider @rustybrick @gaganghotra_ pic.twitter.com/4EBdYMBmf9

— Sachin Patel (@SachuPatel53124) July 8, 2025

Here is the original list format:

This is a weird confirmed ad format, which I covered in more detail over here.

Forum discussion at X.

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