Dave Davies

Dave Davies

@onlineinference.bsky.social

I'm an SEO who gets to work with people who teach machines how to think.

486 followers137 following392 posts

Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google Search has just updated its favicon documentation to now specify that Googlebot must be able to follow redirects from the homepage to the page where the favicon is ... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Updates Favicon Documentation To Specify Googlebot Must Follow Redirects From Homepage To FaviconGoogle Search has just updated its favicon documentation to now specify that Googlebot must be able to follow redirects from the homepage to the page where the favicon is specified. The document also explicitly says that these URLs must not be blocked by robots.txt or other means.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google is testing placing dotted underlined links in the sponsored results ad descriptions. When you click on them, you go to the ad destination's URL, like you would ... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Testing Dotted Underlined Links In Sponsored AdsGoogle is testing placing dotted underlined links in the sponsored results ad descriptions. When you click on them, you go to the ad destination's URL, like you would if you clicked on the title of the ad.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google has published a new help document named About Review summaries that explains that "review summaries on Search are AI-powered summaries of online reviews that a... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads AI-Generated Review Summaries Help DocumentGoogle has published a new help document named About Review summaries that explains that "review summaries on Search are AI-powered summaries of online reviews that appear directly as part of your Search ads." We have seen AI-generated summaries for sponsored results in Google for some time now, and now there is a help document on it.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google has updated its Prevent user-generated spam on your site and platform help document to specify "tools that let users publish shared pages, generated content, o... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Updates User-Generated Spam Guidance To Specify Tools & MoreGoogle has updated its Prevent user-generated spam on your site and platform help document to specify "tools that let users publish shared pages, generated content, or web apps." The update explicitly includes platforms and tools that let users create shared pages, generated content, and web apps.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 OpenAI seems to be rolling out a new ad format for some ChatGPT Ad units that have a Learn more link, that is dotted and underlined, and also with an arrow going upwards. ... #SEO

f.mtr.coolChatGPT Ads With Learn More Arrow Link - Some Through Amazon DSPOpenAI seems to be rolling out a new ad format for some ChatGPT Ad units that have a Learn more link, that is dotted and underlined, and also with an arrow going upwards. And in some cases, ChatGPT Ads seem to be served with Amazon DSP.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google updated its AdSense Video inventory restrictions policy to remove the placement requirement and the scroll-to-sticky requirements yesterday, October 22nd. Google r... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle AdSense Videos No Longer Need To Be In Body Of Page & Can Stick On ScrollGoogle updated its AdSense Video inventory restrictions policy to remove the placement requirement and the scroll-to-sticky requirements yesterday, October 22nd. Google removed this line from the policy, "For In-stream or Accompanying Content placements that transition to a sticky placement, the video player must start in the main content and only transition as a user scrolls the video player off the page."
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google Ads is testing a scrolling marquee on some of the sponsored results within Google Search. Google will load in the reviews/ratings, number of visits and a visit site... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads Tests Scrolling Marquee Ratings/Reviews & Underlines On Sponsored ResultsGoogle Ads is testing a scrolling marquee on some of the sponsored results within Google Search. Google will load in the reviews/ratings, number of visits and a visit site link in one of these tests. In the other test, Google underlines the domain name in the ad snippet.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google Ads has added a new "Sourced videos" on/off toggle setting to the asset optimization section. This uses Google AI to identify relevant videos from your a... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads Asset Optimization Sourced Videos ToggleGoogle Ads has added a new "Sourced videos" on/off toggle setting to the asset optimization section. This uses Google AI to identify relevant videos from your approved sources and add them to your campaign automatically.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Here is a recap of what happened in the search forums today... #SEO

f.mtr.coolDaily Search Forum Recap: October 23, 2026Here 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 AI Overviews is testing AI-generated summary snippets. Google Search does not support JPEG XL image format. Google Business Profiles is testing a completely revamped performance report section...
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 This week, yes, we saw even more Google search ranking volatility chatter but still no official core update. Google shared how to handle Google Search if you need to take ... #SEO

f.mtr.coolVideo: Google Search Chatter, PHP Exploit, AI SEO Worthwhile, Google Local, Google Ads, ChatGPT Ads & MoreThis week, yes, we saw even more Google search ranking volatility chatter but still no official core update. Google shared how to handle Google Search if you need to take down your site for the PHP exploit fix. There are three new...
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google is testing moving things around in the local knowledge panels in Search by swapping the position of the company name, ratings, description and action button with th... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Search Testing Layout Change For Local Knowledge Panel: Name, Rating, Description & Buttons At TopGoogle is testing moving things around in the local knowledge panels in Search by swapping the position of the company name, ratings, description and action button with the business photos. It is a subtle change and it matches the current mobile design on Google Search more but it is a change.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google has launched a new "home" for Google Business Profiles named Google Business Home. It is a beta, but I just received an email with access to the new Googl... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Business Profiles New Business HomeGoogle has launched a new "home" for Google Business Profiles named Google Business Home. It is a beta, but I just received an email with access to the new Google Business Home. Google wrote, this beta experience...
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 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 Search ranking vo... #SEO

f.mtr.coolDaily Search Forum Recap: October 21, 2026Here 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 Search ranking volatility and chatter seem to have spiked big time in the past 24 hours. Google updated its URL best practices document...
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 The World Wide Web is rushing now to fix and patch its servers for the critical PHP exploit known as PHP2Shell. Most are able to patch these without downtime but many sit... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Advice On Taking Sites Down When Fixing PHP2Shell - The PHP ExploitThe World Wide Web is rushing now to fix and patch its servers for the critical PHP exploit known as PHP2Shell. Most are able to patch these without downtime but many sites are going offline until the patch is implemented, just to be super safe. Google's John Mueller offered advice on how to handle Google Search if you decide to take down your site while patching it for the PHP security vulnerability.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Gary Illyes and Chery Prommawin released their second video in the Non-Canonical Cabinet series; this one is named What can you actually put in a robots.txt? Here they di... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Explains robots.txt Rules For AI Crawlers, Emojis, International URLs & MoreGary Illyes and Chery Prommawin released their second video in the Non-Canonical Cabinet series; this one is named What can you actually put in a robots.txt? Here they discuss what is, and is not, supported by robots.txt files. And while Google may support features or directives, other search engines or AI crawlers might not.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google updated its Control what you share with Google Search help document to add "include existing options such as the robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag,... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Updates Control What You Share With Google Search DocGoogle updated its Control what you share with Google Search help document to add "include existing options such as the robots meta tag, data-nosnippet, X-Robots-Tag, and the Search generative AI control," Google said. In addition to Google updating its URL structure best practices for Google Search help document this morning.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 OpenAI sent out emails to advertisers, including me, telling me they have automatically enabled creative enhancements for my ChatGPT Ads. The email says this is starting ... #SEO

f.mtr.coolOpenAI ChatGPT Ads Enabling Creative EnhancementsOpenAI sent out emails to advertisers, including me, telling me they have automatically enabled creative enhancements for my ChatGPT Ads. The email says this is starting on October 30, 2026 and I can opt out of creative enhancements or change your settings at any time in Ads Manager.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google has announced it is expanding its Google Ads Financial Services Verification requirements to the United States and Canada. Google is working with the American Banke... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads Financial Services Verification Program For US & CanadaGoogle has announced it is expanding its Google Ads Financial Services Verification requirements to the United States and Canada. Google is working with the American Bankers Association and Canadian Bankers Association for this.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google seems to be removing the AI Overviews label from some of the search results that are AI Overviews. The desktop version is missing the AI Overview label, while the m... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle AI Overviews Label Missing On Some AI OverviewsGoogle seems to be removing the AI Overviews label from some of the search results that are AI Overviews. The desktop version is missing the AI Overview label, while the mobile version has the AI Overview label.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google seems to have moved the Google Posts section of a local knowledge panel higher up on the page. In 2018, Google moved the Google Posts section to the bottom of the l... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Moves Google Posts Higher Up On Local Knowledge PanelGoogle seems to have moved the Google Posts section of a local knowledge panel higher up on the page. In 2018, Google moved the Google Posts section to the bottom of the local panel. Now it seems Google is moving it back up.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google confirmed it will now show ads in AI Mode results with Personal Intelligence enabled. Back in March, Google said AI Mode with Personal Intelligence turned on would ... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads Coming To AI Mode With Personal IntelligenceGoogle confirmed it will now show ads in AI Mode results with Personal Intelligence enabled. Back in March, Google said AI Mode with Personal Intelligence turned on would be ad-free, but that is now changing.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google is testing letting users view and modify their preferred sources list directly from within the AI Mode citations sidebar. There is a new button named "Source ... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle AI Mode Citations With Source Preferences For Preferred SourcesGoogle is testing letting users view and modify their preferred sources list directly from within the AI Mode citations sidebar. There is a new button named "Source preferences" and when you click on it, it opens up your preferred sources list where you can add or remove preferred sources.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 It has been a while since I reported on a Google Search ranking update. I blame the tools, but in all seriousness, I am seeing a spike in volatility and, now probably more... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Search Ranking Volatility & Chatter October 16It has been a while since I reported on a Google Search ranking update. I blame the tools, but in all seriousness, I am seeing a spike in volatility and, now probably more importantly, a spike in chatter over the past 24 hours, related to Google Search ranking changes, referral traffic changes and overall disruption in the Google Search results.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google Ads will allow some advertisers to apply for certification for the category of online gambling. This started this month, October 2026, and will gradually be availab... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads To Enable Certification For Online Gambling AdvertisersGoogle Ads will allow some advertisers to apply for certification for the category of online gambling. This started this month, October 2026, and will gradually be available to some advertisers in Google Ads.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Microsoft is testing placing "read more" links within the Bing Search result snippets, like Google officially did a year or so ago. I am able to replicate this o... #SEO

f.mtr.coolMicrosoft Bing Testing Read More Links In Search Result SnippetsMicrosoft is testing placing "read more" links within the Bing Search result snippets, like Google officially did a year or so ago. I am able to replicate this on some browsers, where Bing adds a "Read more" link at the end of the search result snippet that links to the same place the main title links to.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google added the ability to add lead scoring by indicating answers that qualify a lead for your business to get higher-quality leads. You can add up to 12 answers per ques... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads Lead Form With Lead Scoring For Lead QualificationGoogle added the ability to add lead scoring by indicating answers that qualify a lead for your business to get higher-quality leads. You can add up to 12 answers per question and check off whether they qualify under the lead scoring section.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 OpenAI seems to have removed or replaced the UTM parameters it placed on links within the ChatGPT results. This makes it harder to know if a click came from ChatGPT versus... #SEO

f.mtr.coolOpenAI Removes UTM Parameters From ChatGPT ResultsOpenAI seems to have removed or replaced the UTM parameters it placed on links within the ChatGPT results. This makes it harder to know if a click came from ChatGPT versus some other platform. This seems to have started with the release of GPT‑6, which was a week ago.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

Ooh, this is interesting! From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google is testing placing the left vertical sidebar you see in AI Mode results on the main Google web search results page. This places the small super G Google logo on the... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Testing AI Mode Left Sidebar On Main Google Search Results PageGoogle is testing placing the left vertical sidebar you see in AI Mode results on the main Google web search results page. This places the small super G Google logo on the left, with the chat history lines, a way to start a chat with AI Mode and the settings icon all on the left side.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google, for the umpteenth time, has updated how it shows links and carousel link cards in AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google always says this is to encourage searchers to cl... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Updates Links In AI Mode & AI Overviews AgainGoogle, for the umpteenth time, has updated how it shows links and carousel link cards in AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google always says this is to encourage searchers to click from the AI response to the publisher or creator, but it feels as if those efforts to drive clicks from AI search continue to fail.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google has launched its Universal Cart today in Google Search and Gemini within the United States. This is powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and it was launc... #SEO

f.mtr.coolUniversal Cart Launches In Google SearchGoogle has launched its Universal Cart today in Google Search and Gemini within the United States. This is powered by the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) and it was launched right before the big holiday shopping season.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google may show "certain pharmaceutical products" and pharmaceutical drugs within ads in AI Mode and AI Overviews. A Google spokesperson told Adweek it has &quot... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads For AI Mode & AI Overviews May Show Pharmaceutical Drugs & ProductsGoogle may show "certain pharmaceutical products" and pharmaceutical drugs within ads in AI Mode and AI Overviews. A Google spokesperson told Adweek it has "recently expanded to include certain pharmaceutical products" within these surfaces.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google posted a new job posting to hire a Principal, UX, Search Discover who will lead efforts to transform Google Discover into a "proactive, hyper-personalized conci... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Discover: Hyper-Personalized Concierge ExperienceGoogle posted a new job posting to hire a Principal, UX, Search Discover who will lead efforts to transform Google Discover into a "proactive, hyper-personalized concierge experience."
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google Ads is rolling out two new "controls" in the advertising platform named channel prioritization and budget allocation. These are rolling out globally across... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Ads Channel Prioritization and Budget AllocationGoogle Ads is rolling out two new "controls" in the advertising platform named channel prioritization and budget allocation. These are rolling out globally across Google Search, Google Shopping, Performance Max, and soon Demand Gen.
Dave Davies
@onlineinference.bsky.social

From @rustybrick over on @seroundtable 👇 Google posted its first video in a series of what they are calling The Non-Canonical Cabinet. In this video, Cherry Prommawin and Gary Illyes discussed how Google Search de... #SEO

f.mtr.coolGoogle Search Video On URLs: Ranking Factor, Hyphens vs Underscores & EmojisGoogle posted its first video in a series of what they are calling The Non-Canonical Cabinet. In this video, Cherry Prommawin and Gary Illyes discussed how Google Search deals with URLs. They discuss URLs as a ranking signal, hyphens versus underscores, emojis and much more.