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Google SOTH (Search Off The Record)

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Google Search Central Official YouTube

https://youtube.com/@GoogleSearchCentral

Google News

Past, Present And Future

Google Search Off The Record

(In Case You Missed It)

How to read the Indexing Report
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1-PcVLHplwc

July 16, 2026

Should you panic when your Search Console indexing report is showing pages that aren't indexed?

Is a 404 error code always a sign of a broken website?

In this episode of Search Off the Record, Martin Splitt and John Mueller from the Google Search Relations team dive deep into the Page Indexing report in Google Search Console. They unpack why treating this report as a static inventory checklist to "fix" things is the wrong response, how to spot massive SEO-ruining hosting or CDN traps, and why a healthy website doesn't actually need a 100% index rate.

In this episode, you’ll learn: The Indexing Report Shift: Insights from the Search Console team's Hillel on why you should look for trend lines and systemic patterns rather than treating the report as a giant list of errors.

When 404s are Good: Why expected 404 errors are technically correct for deleted content, and how to survive the "boss panic" of numbers that won't go down.

The Domain Property Advantage: How setting up a domain property handles canonical shifts, www vs. non-www tracking, and performance data much cleaner.

The Site Query vs. Search Console: Why the site: query is an artificial tool that might show old domain moves or hreflang swaps for years, making Search Console your only true source of truth.

Hosting & CDN Traps: How aggressive bot protections, hidden interstitials, and "Soft 200" error pages completely destroy your crawl data and lead to malicious canonicalization.

Discovered vs. Crawled: What it actually means when pages sit in "Discovered/Crawled - currently not indexed," and how to recognize holistic site quality issues over technical bugs.

Key Takeaways for SEOs & Developers: Patterns over Inventories: Use the report to verify that your intentional changes (like site migrations or page removals) are processing correctly over time.

Forget the Ratio: There is no magic metric for indexed vs. non-indexed pages. Even Google’s own developer documentation has a massive chunk of non-indexed content due to intentional choices.

Watch Out for Soft Blocks: Ensure your security layers or CDNs aren't serving "Are you a bot?" challenge screens to Googlebot with a 200 success code.

Computers Fail (And That's Fine): Minor server blips, failed DNS requests, or temporary 500 errors happen. Google's systems are resilient and will just try again later. (Credit: Google)

Resources Mentioned:

Google Search Central: https://developers.google.com/search

Google Search Console: https://search.google.com/search-console

Search Central Live Events:
https://developers.google.com/search/events

News

June 19, 2026

Google Search Gen AI Reports, Search Profiles & more (Q2 ‘26)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sq55KB5icQ4

In this episode of Google Search News, John Mueller shares major updates of Google’s official launch of Generative AI Performance Reporting inside Google Search Console, alongside a brand-new control that allows site owners to manage how their content grounds responses in features like AI Overviews and AI Mode.

John also covers the newly announced Search Profiles for US creators and publishers, updated documentation for optimizing for generative AI, and key industry insights from the SEO community. If you are trying to understand your site's visibility inside AI Overviews or want more control over your digital brand footprint on Google Search, this update has everything you need. (Credit: Google)

News

Google Search Off The Record

Should I use markdown for my site?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Vkn3R6DUJ34&t=450s

(Credit: Google)

News

Should you convert your website into Markdown to help Large Language Models (LLMs) understand your content better?

Is "llms.txt" worth the effort for SEO? In this episode of Search Off the Record, Martin Splitt and John Mueller from the Google Search Relations team dive deep into the history of Markdown, its rise in the AI era, and whether it holds any real weight for search engine discovery.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

The Origins of Markdown: From John Gruber and Aaron Swartz to its status as the "language of GitHub." Markdown vs. HTML: Why the "cleanliness" of Markdown is tempting for developers but potentially risky for site structure. LLMs & Markdown: Do AI crawlers actually prefer Markdown, or are they already experts at parsing HTML?

The "Parallel Version" Trap: Why creating a separate text/Markdown version of your site for AI can lead to the same maintenance nightmares as dynamic rendering. Use Cases that Make Sense: When Markdown is actually superior (like developer documentation) and when it’s totally unnecessary (like your shoe catalog).

Key Takeaways for SEOs & Developers: Crawlers are built for the "messy" web: Google and other engines have decades of experience parsing HTML. Don't sacrifice discovery: Headers, footers, and sidebars in HTML provide critical context for site structure that a raw Markdown file might lack. Maintenance is king: Avoid the complexity of maintaining two versions of the same content.

Chapters 0:00 - Introduction: Should we all be using Markdown?
3:45 - The history and purpose of Markdown.
7:15 - Why developers love it: Separation of style and content.
11:20 - Do crawlers need Markdown to understand your site?
14:50 - The danger of "parallel versions" and dynamic rendering lessons.
17:30 - Discussing the "llms.txt" proposal and AI agents. 21:00 - Where Markdown actually makes sense (Developer Docs).
24:00 - Final verdict: Stick to HTML for the web.

Resources Mentioned:

Google Search Central: https://developers.google.com/search

(Credit: Google)

News

Search Off The Record

Vibe Coding - yay or nay?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=SPVA6FNX2rw&t=27s

How AI Is Changing Google Search and SEO
https://youtube.com/watch?v=_R04ySodhGE&t=4s

May 1, 2026

In this episode of Search Off the Record, Martin speaks with Nikola Todorovic (director of Software Engineering at Google Search) about how AI is changing Google Search. They discuss the evolution from traditional search to AI Overviews and AI Mode, how Google tests and launches search changes, and why query behaviour is becoming more conversational and complex.

Nikola also explains the role of machine learning in Search, how features are evaluated before launch, and what site owners and SEOs should focus on as AI becomes a bigger part of the search experience. If you work in SEO or web development, this episode offers a clear look at how Google approaches AI in Search and what it means for the future of search visibility.

Episode transcript ? https://goo.gle/sotr109-transcript

(Credit: Google)

News

Google Search Off The Record

(In Case You Missed It)

SEO, AIO, GEO, your site, & third-party support to optimize for LLMs
https://youtube.com/watch?v=i4jDc58ofH4

9 Jan 2026

In this episode, John Mueller and Danny Sullivan continue their conversation about the changing landscape of Search. They discuss the practicalities of hiring an SEO professional in the age of AI: Do you really need one? How do you evaluate them? Danny also shares his thoughts on third-party SEO tools, "domain scores," and why creators shouldn't rush to break their content into "bite-sized chunks" just to please Large Language Models (LLMs).

Listen to more Search Off the Record ? https://goo.gle/sotr-yt

Subscribe to Google Search Channel ? https://goo.gle/SearchCentral

Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations team.

News

Thoughts on SEO & SEO for AI, part 1
https://youtube.com/watch?v=h1rZdfW5vqM&t=19s

In this episode, John Mueller and Danny Sullivan talk about SEO and the new kids on the block: AIO, GEO and others. Danny shares how these things interact with each other and what he thinks website owners should look for in their content creation and how Google's principles align with the way people use AI and search engines to navigate the web.

How Search Off the Record tackles SEO and web development
https://youtube.com/watch?v=x1_FS61AzLM

Celebrate the 100th episode of Search Off the Record with Martin, Lizzi, Cherry, John and Gary as they revisit memorable moments, touching on a bunch of topics. This special episode touches on Google's mobile-first indexing, the intricacies of the Caffeine indexing system, and a deep dive into JavaScript scoping – and hoisting. You'll hear again about optimizing documentation traffic and the delightful world of Google Doodles. Discover key insights that impact your SEO strategies and web development practices.
Resources:
Episode transcript ? https://goo.gle/sotr100-transcript

Chapters: 0:00 - Welcome and 100th Episode Intro 2:21 - Lizzi's favorite: SEO starter guide readings 3:01 - Gary on Mobile-First Indexing Importance 3:39 - Revamping the SEO starter guide 5:13 - Meta tags and Google's indexing system 9:11 - Cherry's use of podcasts for work 12:09 - Deep dive into caffeine indexing 13:59 - The mechanics of data conversion in caffeine 16:12 - John's favorite: The magic of Google Doodles 23:30 - JavaScript ccoping and hoisting 25:47 - Optimizing documentation traffic 29:29 - Conclusion: 100 Episodes of Search Off the Record

Search Giant Google Releases New Podcast Episodes:

Optimizing login-page content for Google Search
https://youtube.com/watch?v=nMZ0FZoRbvI

Explore critical aspects of search engine optimization for web content that lives behind a login or paywall. In this episode, Martin and John cover how Googlebot interacts with these pages, the role of paywall structured data, and methods to prevent unintended indexing of private information. Get practical advice on improving your website's visibility and user experience while maintaining data security in Google Search. Resources:
Episode transcript
https://goo.gle/sotr099-transcript

(Credit: Google)

Lazy loading demystified
https://youtube.com/watch?v=XgkhNF1gDKA

Optimize your website's performance with lazy loading techniques. In this episode, John Mueller and Martin Splitt discuss lazy loading, and its SEO implications. Find out how lazy loading affects indexing, ranking, and Core Web Vitals. Whether you're using native lazy loading or custom JavaScript libraries, this episode provides insights for developers on how to enhance website speed and user experience.
Resources:
Episode transcript
https://goo.gle/sotr098-transcript

(Credit: Google)

SEO for photographers: websites, social media, and Google Search
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5sJPKghoUeU&t=1s

In this episode of Search Off The Record, John and Martin explore the intersection of SEO and photography. Is a website essential for photographers, or is social media enough? Martin, a technical SEO expert and photography enthusiast, dives into the challenges of building a photography website, optimizing images, and attracting the right audience. Whether you're a professional photographer or a hobbyist, this podcast offers valuable insights into how Search Engine Optimization can help you showcase your work and connect with your audience. Find out how to make your images more findable, understand your website's performance, and navigate the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing for photographers. Martin shares his experience building his own photography website and the challenges he faced with SEO for his personal website.
Resources:
Episode transcript
https://goo.gle/sotr097-transcript

(Credit: Google)

Bonus!

SEO For Small Business: (Search Off The Record)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=BKDymFYpvL8

Search Off The Record Podcast
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKoqnv2vTMUMxMs2PdBlDULqybdlPZxrk

Google's John Mueller quotes on updates to website content

Content Management Systems and more ...

“…for the most part you can just try things out. One of the nice parts about websites is, often, if you’re using a CMS, you can just edit the page and it’s live, and it’s done. It’s not that you have to do some big, elaborate …work to put it live.”

“It’s very easy to try things out, let it sit for a couple of weeks, see what happens and kind of monitor to see is it doing what you want it to be doing. I guess, at that point, when we talk about monitoring, you probably need to make sure that you have the various things installed so that you actually see what is happening. Perhaps set up Search Console for your website so that you see the searches that people are doing. And, of course, some way to measure the goal that you want, which could be something perhaps in Analytics or perhaps there’s, I don’t know, some other way that you track in person if you have a physical store, like are people actually coming to my business after seeing my website, because it’s all well and good to do SEO, but if you have no way of understanding has it even changed anything, you don’t even know if you’re on the right track or recognize if something is going wrong.”

News

News Flashback (In Case You Missed It)

Search Engine News: Google

Search Off The Record by Google remains popular and helpful for webby, code community: Media

June 27, 2024

Inside Search Quality: Using metrics and data science to improve Search
https://youtube.com/watch?v=YrqpIPQ0Pmc&ab_channel=GoogleSearchCentral

In this episode of SOTR, Lizzi and John sit down with Elizabeth Tucker to go behind the scenes of Search Quality product management. Listen along as they discuss using data science to measure quality and make improvements, how search behavior is changing over time, and how to think about E-E-A-T and the Search Quality Rater Guidelines. (Credit: Google)

Google Search Central Official YouTube
https://youtube.com/@GoogleSearchCentral

Search Off the Record takes you behind the scenes of Google Search and its inner workings! In each episode, the folks from the Search Relations team will give you background info on the decision-making behind launches, feature prioritization in Search Console, and the projects Google Search teams are working on. They will share fun stories from the many conferences they attend as well as from their day-to-day working life at Google. They will also dive into the currently trending conversations in the SEO community at large. Have a listen! (Google)

Media Man: Helpful and useful as always.

News

Google News

Google is an American multinational technology company founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, best known for its dominant search engine that processes billions of queries daily.

Headquartered in Mountain View, California (part of Alphabet Inc. since 2015), it offers a vast ecosystem of products including Gmail, Google Maps, YouTube, Android, Google Cloud, and AI tools like Gemini.

Key Highlights (as of late 2025):

Core Business: Search remains its powerhouse, with advanced features for images, videos, and real-time info.

AI Innovations: Recent updates focus on Gemini for multimodal AI, integrated across products like Search and Workspace.

News & Blog: Follow updates on their official blog for product launches and tech stories.

Media Man Int

Google wins Media Man 'Search Engine Of The Month'
https://mediamanint.com/articles/google_wins.html

Google News (Media Man Int)
https://mediamanint.com/articles/google_news.html

Search News (Media Man Int)
https://mediamanint.com/articles/search_news.html

Search Engine News (Media Man Int)
https://mediamanint.com/articles/search_engine.html

SEO News (Media Man Int)
https://mediamanint.com/seo_news.html

Google News (Media Man Int)
https://mediamanint.com/google_news.html

Special thanks: Google

Google wins Media Man 'Search Engine Of The Month'

Interviews

Interview: Malcolm Turnbull MP

Media Man Group

Wrestling News - Media Man

Broadcasting/Streaming/Media/Marketing

April 2026

SiriusXM, iHeartMedia: potential merger

The two largest radio companies in the United States, iHeartMedia and Sirius XM, are in initial talks to merge their powers in the traditional and satellite radio businesses.

The combined company, SiriusXM would be acquiring iHeartMedia, would be a broadcasting behemoth of 860 terrestrial radio stations in 160 markets and roughly 33 million satellite subscribers, The Hollywood Reporter, Bloomberg News, The New York Times and numerous blogs reported.

Both companies have also had up and down years of late.

SiriusXM dedicated itself to reducing subscriber churn in the last two years as iHeartMedia has leaned into podcasting while radio listenership has continues to decline.

Among SiriusXM's most well-known shows are The Howard Stern Show and Alex Cooper's "Call Her Daddy, while iHeartMedia has picked up shows such as "Las Culturistas" and "Stuff You Should Know." Stern has lost much crediability over the past few years, much of which started with their Covid commentary. Many in and around the biz are suprised that show is still going. New York Shock Jock, said many responding to a street survey.

On the other hand, Busted Open Radio, a pro wrestling themed show starting Bully Ray of WWE fame has continued to build upon their audience and doesn't buy into politiical type propaganda.

The deal may come under government scrutiny because of the amount of control the combined company would have over the radio industry and its lucrative advertising business, however the Trump administration has overall expressed support for mergers.

Developing story.

July 2024

Booker T - Rality Of Wrestling Wins Media Man 'Wrestling Podcast Of The Month

Impaulsive (Logan Paul) is runner-up

K100 with Konnan and Disco Inferno

83 Weeks second runner-up

June 2024

Impaullsive wins

Story Time with Dutch Mantell

83 Weeks

May 2024

AEW Uncensored

Busted Open

Media Man

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Flashback

Fantasy Booking

Brock Lesnar vs Jon 'Bones' Jones being speculated by sports media commentators; Will WWE top brass make it happen for WrestleMania

For months there's been speculation running rampant about the potential match up of Brock Lesnar aka 'The Beast' vs Jon 'Bones' Jones.

Due to Jones recent drug testing fail it would appear that the obvious place for the match up to happen would be under the WWE umbrella, and what better event to have it take place than WrestleMania.

WWE is always looking for unique, high interest (and grossing) main event matches, and there's little doubt that this dream match would draw massive publicity, and would certainly help sell out an arena (and boost WWE Network subscriber numbers at the same time).

Would the risk of booking such a dream match be worth the potential risk and payoff? Only a few select top brass in the WWE would know, those individuals would be the likes of Vince McMahon and Triple H. Pat Patterson would possibly be in the decision making also, and could very well help book the match, should it be scripted, as all WWE matches are. Or, would the WWE just have these men fight for real? Problem is if its for real, as the WWF Brawl For All was, both men could get seriously hurt and be out of action for many months. Then again, both men would be part-times and are special attractions, so it's not like they have to be out on the road going to arena to arena, following such a bout.

There's also talk whether UFC / MMA sensation Conor McGregor may seriously look at one or more matches under the WWE banner no matter what the result from his clash with Floyd 'Money' Mayweather, who is not a stranger to the WWE ring, having previously fought and beat 'The Big Show' at WrestleMania 24.

It's certainly interesting times for the WWE / Sports Entertainment - MMA - Boxing connection.

Let's all hope that a Lesnar vs Jones and the upcoming McGregor vs Mayweather fight surpass the infamous Ali vs Inoki match from 1976.

As Bruce Buffer says, Let's get ready to rumble. Let's now cross to ringside with Mauro Ranallo for the call of the action.

Websites

WWE.com - Brock Lesnar

UFC.com - Jon Jones

UFC.com - Conor McGregor

WWE.com - Pat Patterson

WWE.com - Vince McMahon

WWE.com - Triple H

WWE.con - Antonio Inoki

Muhammad Ali official website

WWE.com - Muhammad Ali highlights

WWE.com - Shows - Hall Of Fame

WWE.com - Mauro Ranallo

Mauro Ranallo official website

Bruce Buffer official website

Ronda Rousey official website

WrestleMania.com