Daily Search Forum Recap: June 18, 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.

There are new signs of an unconfirmed Google search ranking update that touched down. Google’s Martin Splitt explained The Great Decoupling, well…

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Search Engine Roundtable

Microsoft Bing Testing Bold & Colored Hover Effect On Snippets & Related Searches

Microsoft is testing new hover effects and styles in the Bing Search results. Specifically, when you hover over the URL of a snippet, it will bold and underline the result. And then on related searches, Bing is using a blue and orangish styled background color.

Source:
Search Engine Roundtable

Google Says No AI System Currently Uses LLMs.txt

There has been a lot, I mean, a lot, of chatter around if one should add an LLMs.txt to their website. Many are starting to add it while others have not added it yet. Well, John Mueller of Google chimed in and wrote on Bluesky, "FWIW no AI system currently uses llms.txt."

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Search Engine Roundtable

Google Search Ranking Volatility June 18th

It’s been almost ten days since I last reported on a Google search ranking update. Well, I had to stop the streak and cover what I’ve seen over the last 24 hours or so. It appears that the volatility in ranking positions in Google search results is shifting more than the norm.

Source:
Search Engine Roundtable

Google Explains The Great Decoupling

The term, The Great Decoupling has really been catching on over the past couple of weeks. It is being used to describe what we are seeing with impressions and clicks moving further and further apart since AI Overviews has become more of the norm in the Google Search results.

Source:
Search Engine Roundtable

Meet the New Web Crawlers: AI Bots Are Closing in on Search Engine Bots

The web is being crawled more than ever, but it’s no longer just search engines doing the crawling. AI bots are soaking up all the data they can to train and power their AI assistants.

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Data & Studies – SEO Blog by Ahrefs

How To Drive More Conversions With Fewer Clicks [MozCon 2025 Speaker Series]

Are rankings and traffic still your main SEO goals in 2025? Learn how to build a conversion-first strategy that boosts revenue—even when clicks are down.

Source:
moz (en-US)

AI Content Is 4.7x Cheaper Than Human Content [+ New Research Report]

We surveyed 879 marketers to discover how they spend on AI content: the tools, the budgets, and the cost-savings.

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Content Marketing – SEO Blog by Ahrefs

How to fight back against AI tourists

14 tactical ideas for selling annual plans via top growth leaders

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Kyle Poyar’s Growth Unhinged

Google Merchant Center Website-Reported Autofeeds

Google has rolled out a new feature to automate the process of updating your inventory with Google Merchant Center. It is called Website-reported Autofeeds and it uses Google Tag Manager tag implemented in your site to manage this.

Source:
Search Engine Roundtable

Facebook Enables Passkey Access, Providing Additional Account Security

Passkeys enable face and fingerprint ID to log into your account.

Source:
Social Media Today – Latest News

Meta Gains New Ad Safety Certifications for Facebook and Instagram

Some extra assurance around Meta’s ad placement processes.

Source:
Social Media Today – Latest News

Google Ads Testing New Format With Horizontal Lines Filled Halfway

Google is testing a new design for its sponsored search ads in the Google Search results. These have horizontal lines that are darkened or filled halfway through, alternating from left to right and right to left every other ad.

Source:
Search Engine Roundtable

Sr. SEO Manager (Technical & Content) ~ The Arena Group ~ $125-150k ~ Remote (US)

Salary Range: $125,000.00 To $150,000.00 Annually Title: Senior SEO Manager, Technical & Content Strategy Employment Type: Full-time Location: Remote First Look – Senior SEO Manager, Technical & Content Strategy The Arena Group is seeking an energetic, organized and accomplished Senior SEO Manager who excels in a team-based, collaborative operation and is comfortable working in a […]

Source:
In-house SEO jobs – SEOjobs.com

Sr. Manager (SEO, AI/LLM) ~ Cribl ~ $94.4-147k ~ Remote (US)

Cribl does differently. What does that mean? It means we are a serious company that doesn’t take itself too seriously; and we’re looking for people who love to get stuff done, and laugh a bit along the way. We’re growing rapidly – looking for collaborative, curious, and motivated team members who are passionate about putting […]

Source:
In-house SEO jobs – SEOjobs.com