Search Engine Roundtable Daily Update - 2026-07-18

Search Engine Land Daily Update for 2026-07-18. Latest SEO and technology trends.

SEO & Technology News

This week saw significant search volatility around July 11th, dubbed the "7-Eleven Update," alongside Google denying broader Smart Bidding changes despite community speculation, while Bing tested a new black search icon and Google made notable updates to Maps (removing OpenTable reservation integration), NotebookLM (renaming its user agent to Gemini), and StoreBot accessibility documentation.

Daily Search Forum Recap: July 17, 2026

The Search Engine Roundtable's July 17, 2026 recap highlights key discussions and updates from across the search forums. (Search Engine Roundtable)

Search News Buzz Video Recap: Google 7/11 Update, Bing Penalties, Google Images, AI Overviews AI Images, Google Ads Updates, ChatGPT Ads Features & Apple Maps

Google search experienced ranking volatility around July 11th, while Bing clarified it doesn't issue one-off penalties, and Google Images marked its 25th anniversary alongside updates on AI, ads, and Apple Maps. (Search Engine Roundtable)

Google Ads Making Broader Smart Bidding Updates? Google Says No.

Google denied rumors that its upcoming August 18th bidding change for budget-limited campaigns is a broader Smart Bidding update than what was officially announced. (Search Engine Roundtable)

Did Google Maps Turn Off OpenTable Reservations?

Google removed its help document for making OpenTable reservations in Google Maps, suggesting the integration has been turned off. (Search Engine Roundtable)

Google Renamed NotebookLM Useragent To Google-GeminiNotebook

Google renamed the user agent for its NotebookLM tool to "Google-GeminiNotebook" after rebranding it as Gemini Notebook. (Search Engine Roundtable)

Google StoreBot Accessibility Issues Help Document Updated

Google has updated its help document on fixing Google StoreBot accessibility issues, clarifying user-agents, robots.txt checks, IP blocking, page speed, and reprocessing steps. (Search Engine Roundtable)

Bing Tests Black Magnifying Glass Icon In Search Bar

Microsoft Bing is testing a fully black magnifying glass icon in its search bar, replacing the previous gray or outlined versions. (Search Engine Roundtable)