Rolling Stone Publisher (Penske) Sued Google Over AI Overviews

Penske Media, which operates and owns Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Variety and others has sued Google over its AI Overviews. The lawsuit says Google used its content while resulting in less overall traffic for them and a drop in affiliate income.

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No, Google Search Console Did Not Add An AI Overviews Filter

No, Google Search Console did not add an AI Overviews filter to the Search Performance report. There was a ton of buzz this morning that Google added the ability to filter out AI Overview data in Search Console, but it was a fake and not a real screenshot.

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Google Search Tests Dropping 100 Search Results Parameter

Google Search seems to be testing dropping the ability to see 100 search results on a single page. When you add the results parameter to the end of your search results URL string, i.e. #=100, it works about half the time.

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Google Updated The Merchant Center Pricing Policies

Google has updated the Google Merchant Center pricing policies for September. The changes include updates in the merchant fees, government charges, import and export costs, regional and installment pricing, price mismatches and automated updates.

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Google Tests Replacing Hotel Review Stars For Website & Phone Number

Google is testing replacing the review stars at the top of the hotel knowledge panel with listing the hotel's website URL and the hotel's phone number.

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Google Search Testing New Local Ad Cards Format

Google seems to be testing a new format for local ads in the search results. These look more like that older card format test we saw a year or so ago. There are these two local cards at the top and when you click on them, the local panel for that Google Business Profile opens up.

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Bing Tests Ads Text That Expands On Hover

Microsoft is testing expanding the text of the Microsoft Advertising search ads on Bing Search. So when you hover your mouse over an ad in Bing Search, the text expands.

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Google AI Mode Now Supports Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese & English

Since Google launched AI Mode back in March, it has only supported the English language. Google has been releasing it in more countries and expanding it quickly, and now, finally, AI Mode supports more than just English. AI Mode now also supports Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, and Brazilian Portuguese.

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New Google Court Doc: Open Web Is In Rapid Decline

Google's CEO, Sundar Pichai, said in May that web publishing is not dying. Nick Fox, VP of Search at Google, said in May that the web is thriving. But in a court document filed by Google on late Friday, Google's lawyers wrote, "The fact is that today, the open web is already in rapid decline."

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Google AI Overviews Citing Individual Reviews

Google seems to be using the reviews on your Google Business Profile listings to give responses in its AI Overviews. If you search for your favorite doctor reviews, you may see Google cite reviews listed in the reviews section of your Google Business Profile.

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Google AI Mode To Become Default For Google Search Soon

Logan Kilpatrick, lead product manager for Google DeepMind, Gemini, and all AI products at Google, said Google AI Mode will be the default for Google Search "soon." He said this after Google made google.com/ai go directly to AI Mode's interface on Friday afternoon.

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Google Local Panel With Weird Third-Party Directory Card

We know Google can show AI-generated summary cards in the local panels on mobile and desktop. But I am not sure what this thing is, it was spotted by Stephen White and it shows a website card from a third-party site, like a directory.

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Google Hotel Center To Crack Down On Pricing Accuracy

Google sent out emails to hotels and lodging partners to inform them that they will begin enforcing pricing accuracy on their listings and feeds. The email says that starting on September 22, 2025, Google "will start removing more inaccurate prices from being shown on Google for both ads and free booking links."

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The Industry Mourns The Loss Of Alan Bleiweiss - Caring & Giving SEO

I am deeply sad to report that Alan Bleiweiss has passed away on August 22nd. Alan was a true friend to the search marketing industry; he always had a witty and funny response to make everyone smile, even during the most frustrating times. He cared deeply about the industry, the people within it and his friends and family.

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Google Tests New Directions Buttons In Local Pack

Google is testing new direction buttons in the local pack within the Google Search results. Normally, we see a "Directions" button, but now Google is testing "Map it," "Map," "Route," "Go," and "Get there," and maybe more.

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Google Won't Be Broken Up In Monopoly Case But Required To Share Search Data

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled on the remedies for Google being declared a monopoly. In short, Google won't be broken up (will keep Chrome, Android and Ads), it will have to share search data and it is barred from making exclusive search deals.

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Google Ads AI Max Not Designed To Go More Aggressively After SPN Inventory

Ginny Marvin, Google's Ads Liaison, responded to some data that suggests that AI Max is expansionary on SPN, the Search Partner Network. That using AI Max will more heavily target and show your ads on SPN more than other campaign types.

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Google Ads Search Google Maps For Location Assets

Google Ads now lets you search Google Maps for setting up your location assets for your ad campaigns. You can select up to 10 locations from Google Maps to link with your Ads account

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Google Search Mini Game Encourages Searchers To Search More

Google Search is testing a new game in its search results to encourage searchers to search more. It is likely called the Google Search mini-game and it rewards searchers with badges when they "dive deeper into topics."

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Microsoft Advertising: Here's Why Your Bid May Be Over The Max CPC

Navah Hopkins, the Microsoft Ads Liaison, posted on LinkedIn a bit of a refresher on how CPCs work with search ads and Microsoft Advertising. Specifically, why your bid may be over the configured max CPC you set within the platform.

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Google AI Mode Compare Checkboxes For Products & Local Business Listings

Google now has the ability within AI Mode to compare listed products or local businesses by selecting the listing and having AI Mode compare the ones you selected. Then AI Mode will just compare the ones you selected in the follow-up query.

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Google Tests Rounded Search Results Snippet Design Again

Google is testing a rounded corner search result snippet card design again. We've seen this numerous times over the past decade or so and it seems to be back. The snippet sections are bordered in with rectangular outlines, and the corners of those rectangles are curved and circular.

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Google NMX Business Profiles May Show New Profiles Button

Google may show a new "Profiles" button in the Google Business Profiles NMX dashboard. It may show if you manage multiple Google Business Profiles and you are in this test.

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Google Search On JavaScript-Based Paywalls

Google has added new guidance to the "Fix Search-related JavaScript problems" help document, specifically addressing JavaScript-based paywalls.

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Some Sites Have Huge Crawl Rate Declines In Google Search Console

There are numerous complaints from SEOs and site owners who are noticing significant declines in crawl rates within Google Search Console. Most who see this, many do not by the way, are noticing the decline starts around August 8th and continues through today.

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