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 SchwartzTue, 30 Jun 2026 15:55:00 -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/google-generative-ai-discover-report-bug-41601.htmlTue, 30 Jun 2026 15:55:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-generative-ai-discover-report-bug-41601.htmlThe Google Search Console Generative AI performance reports just launched recently and already Google has documented a data logging bug with the Discover and Generative AI in Discover search performance reports.Google Search Engine Optimizationbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-06-30-2026-41593.htmlTue, 30 Jun 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-06-30-2026-41593.htmlHere is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...Search Forum Recapbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-meta-descriptions-41590.htmlTue, 30 Jun 2026 07:51:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-meta-descriptions-41590.htmlGoogle's John Mueller said that while it is useful for site owners to add meta descriptions to their web pages, it is "definitely not a requirement," he added. The usefulness comes from sometimes writing a meta description, "helps you to figure out a clear focus for a page," John wrote on Reddit.Google Search Engine Optimizationbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-customer-match-merchant-api-41588.htmlTue, 30 Jun 2026 07:41:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-customer-match-merchant-api-41588.htmlWe knew this was coming, Google Ads now allows you to upload your customer loyalty data, i.e. Customer Match data, via the Google Merchant API. Google told us this change was coming back in March and Google has finally updated its documentation to say this is possible.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-search-source-favicons-overlay-vs-anchor-41585.htmlTue, 30 Jun 2026 07:31:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/bing-search-source-favicons-overlay-vs-anchor-41585.htmlMicrosoft Bing is testing having the source favicons at the top of the search results page work as an overlay box with more links. Previously, when you clicked on an icon it would anchor you down to that specific search result on the page but instead, in this tests, there is an overlay with the links.Bing Searchbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-open-in-new-window-icon-41589.htmlTue, 30 Jun 2026 07:21:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-open-in-new-window-icon-41589.htmlGoogle is testing adding an open in new window icon on sponsored results within the Google Search results. This icon appears at the end of the URL in the Google search ads.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-shocking-content-age-policy-41592.htmlTue, 30 Jun 2026 07:11:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-shocking-content-age-policy-41592.htmlYesterday, Google announced it was "renaming and updating the Default Ads Treatment policy to improve the clarity and transparency of the policy." But it did one more thing, it removed "shocking content" from the list of categories of ads that would not be shown while Google was determining the user's age.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-06-29-2026-41587.htmlMon, 29 Jun 2026 10:00:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/recap-06-29-2026-41587.htmlHere is a recap of what happened in the search forums today...Search Forum Recapbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-we-want-great-content-to-shine-41582.htmlMon, 29 Jun 2026 07:51:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-we-want-great-content-to-shine-41582.htmlLiz Reid, Google's Head of Search, was interviewed by Jason Howell and Jeff Jarvis on the AI Inside podcast. In that interview, Liz Reid said Google wants great content to shine in its search results and AI experiences. She said, "we really do want great content to shine and continue to connect people to it."Google Search Engine Optimizationbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-top-stories-ai-overviews-41583.htmlMon, 29 Jun 2026 07:41:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-top-stories-ai-overviews-41583.htmlGoogle seems to be testing the rollout of top stories within the AI Overview section of the Google Search results. This was something Google pre-announced last month and it now seems to be rolling out to some searchers.Googlebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-inventory-ads-and-free-local-listings-regions-41578.htmlMon, 29 Jun 2026 07:31:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-local-inventory-ads-and-free-local-listings-regions-41578.htmlGoogle has now specified exactly which regions local inventory ads and free local listings are available. Previously, Google would lump both together, but in reality, local inventory ads are accepted in more regions than free local listings within Google Merchant Center.Google AdSensebarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/chatgpt-ads-drops-sponsored-label-41584.htmlMon, 29 Jun 2026 07:21:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/chatgpt-ads-drops-sponsored-label-41584.htmlOpenAI has dropped the "Sponsored" label on its ChatGPT Ads for an "Ad" label. The position of the label also moved from the top left of the ad box to the right side of the individual ad unit.Other Search Enginesbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-product-reports-audience-segments-41586.htmlMon, 29 Jun 2026 07:11:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-ads-pmax-product-reports-audience-segments-41586.htmlGoogle Ads is adding new reporting to Performance Max campaigns for product reporting by asset group and also a report to view audience segments by spend. These reports should give you more clarity in your ad campaign spend and to understand the ROI of such spend.Google Adsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/bruce-clay-rip-41581.htmlFri, 26 Jun 2026 14:28:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/bruce-clay-rip-41581.htmlBruce Clay, known as the Father of SEO, passed away in late May. Bruce Clay started his company before there was even an SEO industry and is known for helping it become a true professional industry. I never met an individual who has contributed more to the industry than Bruce, both in terms of his time, resources, and money. Search Newsbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)https://www.seroundtable.com/google-june-2026-spam-update-done-41580.htmlFri, 26 Jun 2026 14:10:00 -0400https://www.seroundtable.com/google-june-2026-spam-update-done-41580.htmlIt only took about two days - the Google June 2026 spam update is now done rolling out. It started on Wednesday, June 24, 2026 at around noon and completed on June 26, 2026 at around 2pm ET. This update felt like it started earlier than it was announced, and felt more widespread than a typical Google spam update.Google Updatesbarry@rustybrick.com (Barry Schwartz)