Barry Schwartz
Barry Schwartz covers how search engines evolve and how those changes affect the search marketing community. His reporting follows Google spam policies, algorithm updates and new AI-powered search experiences, translating technical shifts and community reaction into clear, timely coverage. He is the founder and executive editor of the Search Engine Roundtable and holds senior editorial and technology roles across search-focused businesses.
Google September 2026 Spam Update And Algorithm Changes
Schwartz’s core beat is day‑to‑day changes in Google Search, with a particular focus on spam and ranking volatility. He reports closely on named algorithm updates, such as the September 2026 spam update, tracking when phases roll out, how long each wave lasts and how sites are impacted.
In coverage of Google spam policies and AI responses, he explains how rules intended for traditional web content also govern AI-generated answers, including AI Overviews and AI Mode.
His work on updates combines official Google announcements with observed movement in the search results and reactions from practitioners. Headlines highlight specific dates and phases - such as second waves of a spam update hitting on September 30, 2026 - so readers can align traffic changes with known events. This pattern shows a reporter who treats algorithm updates as an operational calendar for search marketers, not abstract technical news.
Schwartz also uses the spam and ranking stories to surface broader themes, including how much Google values third‑party content and how enforcement decisions play out in practice. Video briefings and written updates often return to the tension between Google’s product changes and the interests of site owners, framing algorithm shifts in terms of risk and opportunity for the search marketing industry.
Daily Search Forum Recap
Alongside formal updates, Schwartz runs an ongoing “Daily Search Forum Recap” series that distills conversations from search and SEO forums. Recent recaps across September 2026 show him scanning community threads for reports of ranking volatility, indexing bugs, interface tests and other subtle changes that may not yet be documented by Google.
Each recap is positioned as a daily pulse of what practitioners are seeing and discussing, rather than his own commentary.
Titles such as “Daily Search Forum Recap: September 8, 2026” through “Daily Search Forum Recap: September 30, 2026” underscore the consistency of this work. The format stays tight and utilitarian: a round‑up of notable threads and observations with direct links back to the source discussions. This makes the series a bridge between informal community chatter and more formal reporting on confirmed changes.
The recaps also reinforce his role as a connector across forums and platforms. By documenting experiments, complaints and edge‑case issues as they emerge, Schwartz gives search marketers early notice of potential problems or shifts, even before Google acknowledges them or an update is named. That attention to community signals is a central part of what separates his coverage from generic technology news.
Video: Google Spam Update, Ranking Volatility And More
Schwartz complements his written reporting with regular video segments that package the week in search into short briefings.
Recent videos cover topics such as “Google Spam Update Impact,” “Unusual Google Search Ranking Volatility,” “Ad Tech” changes and how much Google pays for content. The videos mirror his written beat - spam, volatility, AI features and publisher relationships - but deliver it in a conversational format aimed at practitioners who want a quick scan of what changed.
Headlines for these videos are direct and topic‑dense, often listing several themes in one line, such as “Google Spam Update Impact, Google Not Paying Much For Your Content, Google Feels Sad & Terrible and more.”
That structure reflects his tendency to bundle multiple developments into a single, practical briefing rather than treat each change as a standalone story. The video work sits alongside conference speaking and moderating roles he holds within search marketing events, extending his analysis from the page to live and recorded formats.
Across these formats, Schwartz keeps the focus on concrete impacts: ranking charts moving, publishers reacting, Google explaining or defending a change. For communications and marketing teams, his video briefings function as fast primers on what the search community is focused on that week. They also reinforce the continuity of his beat - spam updates and volatility are not occasional topics but recurring pillars of his coverage.
21 Years Covering The Search Industry
Schwartz has covered the search industry continuously for more than two decades, marking major anniversaries of the Search Engine Roundtable with reflective pieces on its role and evolution. In a 20th anniversary article, he explains that he started the site on December 2, 2003 to archive the best discussions within the search marketing community and bring emerging tests and concepts to a wider audience.
A later “21 Years Covering The Search Industry” piece reinforces that long‑term commitment, framing the site as a running log of how search has changed over time.
His bio across masthead and company pages describes him as a technologist and CEO of a web services firm that builds custom online technology for businesses.
In addition to publishing, he provides consulting services to experienced SEOs and serves as a search marketing expert witness, indicating a practice that extends beyond journalism into professional advisory work. He also helps manage search marketing conferences, moderates forums and participates as a speaker and coordinator at industry events.
Schwartz holds a news editor role at another major search marketing outlet, underscoring that his remit spans multiple publications within the same niche. Across these roles, the common thread is close, sustained attention to how search engines behave and how practitioners respond.
His work at the Search Engine Roundtable, in particular, reflects an editor who treats search marketing as a community to be documented and served, not just a technology beat to be observed.
4 more technology journalists.
AJ Dellinger
AJ Dellinger covers how artificial intelligence, surveillance tools, and other technologies reshape power, labor, and daily life. He is a contributor to Gizmodo, where he reports on AI companies, data centers, privacy, security, tech policy, politics, culture, and the internet. His work has also appeared in Wired, Forbes, the BBC, the Daily Beast, and CNET. He has more than a decade of experience as a writer, reporter, and editor covering the tech industry and its effects on people. His reporting examines companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, and Google, along with AI agents, model releases, automation, workers’ rights, Flock camera systems, data collection, and corporate influence. He explains complex technology in plain language, questions hype, tracks institutional power, and centers the human consequences when systems fail.
Abror Shuhratov
Abror Shuhratov is a technology journalist and editor at Zamin.uz whose work connects fast-moving technology news with the science, industry and policy behind it. He covers artificial intelligence, smartphones, software, the IT industry, consumer devices, space, telecoms, energy and digital infrastructure. His AI reporting examines open-source models, research tools, access limits, regulation, corporate systems and digital inequality. He also writes about phone launches, wearables, home devices, memory, batteries and the science of materials. His space coverage includes SpaceX, Starlink, satellite networks, lunar programs, probes and advanced nuclear power. He has also published extensive football coverage on Italian clubs, along with stories on currency, housing and school policies. A verified journalist since 2025 and regular technology contributor, he explains complex technologies in clear, accessible language and reports across English, Uzbek and French editions.
Alessandro Fillari
Alessandro Fillari is a freelance writer and editor who covers action games, horror, major franchises, technology, and entertainment. His hands-on previews examine combat, pacing, atmosphere, and how in-development projects find their identity. He also writes reviews and features on games such as Dying Light: The Beast, Kiborg: Arena, God Save Birmingham, Dragon Quest Monsters 4, Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted, and Assassin’s Creed. Earlier, he worked as an editor and producer at GameSpot and CNET, where he handled news, reviews, features, guides, interviews, and event coverage. His work has appeared on IGN, Game Developer, Ars Technica, Paste, GamesHub, MMORPG.com, Engadget, and GamesRadar. He reports in straightforward prose, linking mechanics, narrative themes, production choices, and industry trends.
Alex Barrientos
Alex Barrientos is a technology journalist and lead researcher at Gadget Review who connects consumer hardware, smart devices and digital security to real-world use. He covers PC hardware and peripherals, TVs, headphones, household devices, smart home tools, AI gadgets, privacy services, vehicles and mobility. His work includes testing methods for TVs and soundbars, plus reviews of pool-cleaning robots, reverse osmosis systems, mechanical keyboards, gaming mice and automated data-removal services. He also writes about Mac apps, desk setups, clean gaming laptop setups, vanished products, cold cryptocurrency wallets and online anonymity. Barrientos reports through hands-on testing, deep research and concise roundups that focus on performance, usability, safety and how products fit into everyday spaces. He also examines how platforms and enforcement agencies affect privacy and pseudonymous users.