Daily Search Forum Recap: May 1, 2026

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’s preferred sources now works across all languages. Google may be deinexing pages at a faster rate than before. Google Ads AI Max gains AI brief, text disclaimers and expansions to shopping and travel. Google Discover tests "you asked to see" label. I posted the monthly Google webmaster report…

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Search Engine Roundtable

April & May 2026 Google Webmaster Report: Core & Spam Update, Back Button Hijacks, Spam Reports & More

I missed last month’s Google Webmaster Report, so I am combining both April and May into one big report. Google completed rolling out the March 2026 spam update in March, and started the March core update, which completed in April. We also had a lot of other ranking volatility throughout.

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Search Engine Roundtable

Google Discover You Asked To See Label

Google is showing a new label on the Discover feed that says "You asked to see." This label is added to items in your feed that are customized based on the Tailor Your Feed feature.

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Search Engine Roundtable

Google Search Deindexing URLs At Higher Rates

SEOs and site owners are always complaining about indexing issues with Google Search. Why is this page not indexed, why is that page not indexed. But some seasoned SEOs are asking if Google is more picky about what it indexes in the past month or so, than it was maybe a year ago.

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Search Engine Roundtable

Video: Google Ranking Volatility, Back Button Hijacking Notices & AdSense Triggers, Bing Webmaster Tools Teases AI Reporting & More

This week in search, we are seeing yet again more Google search ranking volatility. Google sent out notifications about back button hijacking penalties to those sites that have the problem. Google AdSense vignette ads may trigger the penalty, so be careful. Bing Webmaster Tools teased new AI reporting features but no ETA on when it will launch. Google may be deindexing pages at a higher rate says many SEOs…

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Search Engine Roundtable

A blueprint for semantic programmatic SEO

Learn how to map authority, embed brand context into AI, and build a semantic linking system that scales without orphan pages.

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Search Engine Land

Google Preferred Sources Available For All Languages Globally

Back in December, Google expanded Preferred sources globally, but only for English-language content. Now, according to The Verge, Google’s preferred sources support all languages globally.

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Search Engine Roundtable

How to build SEO agent skills that actually work

Most AI SEO “skills” are just prompts. Learn the system behind reliable agents: tools, memory, templates, and a built-in review layer.

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Search Engine Land

Microsoft Ads adds deeper reporting to Performance Max placements

Microsoft Advertising now adds conversion and spend data to PMax placement reports, giving clearer insight into performance.

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Search Engine Land

Performance Max for B2B: 5 best practices

Learn how to guide AI, improve lead quality, and use signals, creative, and reporting to get better results from Performance Max for B2B.

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Search Engine Land

Google Ads API v20 sunset set for June 10

Google Ads API v20 will stop working on June 10, requiring advertisers to upgrade or risk disruptions.

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Search Engine Land

Google Ads AI Max Gains AI Brief, Text Disclaimers & Shopping & Travel Expansion

Google annnounced a number of new updates for AI Max within Google Ads. These include (1) AI Brief, (2) text disclaimers and (3) Expansion with AI Max for shopping and Search Campaigns for travel.

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Search Engine Roundtable

Inside ChatGPT ads: What the data tells us and what’s coming next

Adthena is tracking 50,000+ daily ChatGPT ad placements across 600+ advertisers. Here’s what full rollout means for your campaigns.

Source:
Search Engine Land