Industry News

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    Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google December Core Update Done, News Publishers Hit Hard, Frankenstein AI Recipe Horror & Happy New Year

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Jan 2, 2026
    Google completed the December 2025 core update this week and it hit some news publishers incredibly hard. I posted the annual Google algorithm update infographic. Google's Frankenstein AI-recipes are a complete horror. Google questioned the need for ccTLDs for international SEO...

    Some News Publishers Saw Big Declines With The Google Core Update

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Jan 2, 2026
    Now that the December 2025 core update is officially done, some are looking at the damage it caused. A number of very visible news publishers saw some significant declines in Google Search visibility with this latest core update.

    (John) Mueller Report Of SEO Memes (2025 Edition)

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Jan 2, 2026
    For the past several years now, John Mueller of Google would come out with what he calls the "Mueller Report of SEO memes." Well, here is his 2025 edition of the Mueller Report of SEO memes. It is fun to scan through, so I'll just embed them all.

    Google Search Tests Blue Send Button In Query Box

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Jan 2, 2026
    Google is testing a blue "Send" button in the search query box on its home page. When you type in your query, you can click "Send" to search Google for that query.

    Google: Why 404s Don't Matter For SEO

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Jan 2, 2026
    Google has been saying that 404 error codes are a normal part of the web, that 404s are not a low quality signal and that they don't use up your crawl budget. Now, John Mueller of Google explained why 404s don't matter for SEO.

    John Mueller (Personally) On If Schema Helps With LLMs & Google

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Jan 2, 2026
    John Mueller, who works on the Google Search team, responded to a question that asks, "Does extensive Schema markup actually help Large Language Models (LLMs) understand your entity better, or is it just for Google Rich Snippets?" He responded to the question, prefacing it that it is his point of view and "this is not official guidance."

    Google's John Mueller Working On New Year's Day (2026 Edition)

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Jan 1, 2026
    Just like with Christmas day every year, so to with New Year's Day - Google's John Mueller and often other Googlers, are out and looking to respond to some questions on Google Search and SEO. John Mueller so far posted a few times on Reddit this morning, January 1, 2026.

    Google Displays New Year's Eve Doodle On New Year's Day

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Jan 1, 2026
    This is weird. It is 2026, and Google.com, the Google Search home page, is still showing yesterday's New Year's Eve doodle of 2025 going into 2026. But it is after 7 am ET here on January 1, 2026, and on all my devices, I see yesterday's Google Doodle.

    Daily Search Forum Recap: December 31, 2025

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Dec 31, 2025
    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.

    Google Business Profiles adds new help page for requesting reviews via links or QR codes. Google Ads search term report has quick filters...

    Google Algorithm Updates 2025 Infographics

    rustybrick
    by rustybrick
    Dec 31, 2025
    Google has rolled out fewer confirmed search ranking updates in 2025, then it did in all the past years where Google confirmed these updates. Google rolled out only four confirmed updates in 2025, before than seven in 2024, nine in 2023 and ten in 2022 and 2021.