--- title: Primary source register shelf: Reference modules url: https://library.feedthejoe.com/reference/source-register/ markdown: https://library.feedthejoe.com/reference/source-register.md author: Joseph W. Anady publisher: THATDEVELOPERGUY LLC status: "Reference: Scope stated in document" summary: "Research snapshot: 9 September 2026. These 52 primary sources were consulted for the stated scopes: 50 search, analytics, web platform and agent sources, plus two sources for the proposed CI workflow." published: 2026-09-09 reviewed: 2026-09-09 modified: 2026-10-14 release: 2026.09.12-g40 words: 1818 rights: © 2026 THATDEVELOPERGUY LLC. All rights reserved. --- # Primary source register Research snapshot: **9 September 2026**. These 52 primary sources were consulted for the stated scopes: 50 search, analytics, web platform and agent sources, plus two sources for the proposed CI workflow. A source supports only its stated claim, not every recommendation in the library. Operational workflows and acceptance gates are proposed agency practices, not undisclosed ranking rules. Older live documentation can lag a dated update. In particular S04/S05 supersede S03 on dedicated AI reporting; S01 supersedes S21 on FAQ eligibility. S48 is intentionally version pinned, not represented as the latest MCP security contract. No source publication date is invented when unavailable. ## S01 · Google Search documentation updates **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-09-08 FAQ retirement; 2026 policy, feature and documentation changes. Changelog dates distinguish documentation changes from feature launches. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/updates) ## S02 · AI optimization guide **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned No special AI file or schema requirement for Google Search; llms.txt has no special Search role. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide) ## S03 · AI features and your website **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2025-12-10 Search eligibility and snippet controls. Its older reporting paragraph is superseded by S04/S05 for dedicated AI reporting. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features) ## S04 · Introducing Search Generative AI performance reports **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-06-03 Announcement updated with worldwide rollout on 2026-08-31; dedicated reports coexist with overall performance data. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/06/gen-ai-performance-reports) ## S05 · Generative AI performance report (Search) **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned AI Overviews/AI Mode impressions; page, country, device and date dimensions. Availability requires sufficient data. No dedicated clicks or prompt dimension asserted. [Open primary source](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139) ## S06 · Introducing AI Performance in Bing Webmaster Tools **Publisher:** Microsoft Bing · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-02-10 Public preview AI citation reporting. [Open primary source](https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/February-2026/Introducing-AI-Performance-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Public-Preview) ## S07 · New AI visibility insights: Intents, Topics, Citation Share and Compare **Publisher:** Microsoft Bing · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-06-16 Citation Share is relative to all cited sites for a grounding query; topic/intent classifications and period comparisons. [Open primary source](https://blogs.bing.com/search/June-2026/New-AI-Visibility-Insights-in-Bing-Webmaster-Tools-Intents-Topics-Citation-Share-Compare) ## S08 · Overview of OpenAI crawlers **Publisher:** OpenAI · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Separate OAI-SearchBot, GPTBot, ChatGPT-User and OAI-AdsBot roles; published verification feeds and user fetch caveat. [Open primary source](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots) ## S09 · Publishers and Developers FAQ **Publisher:** OpenAI · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned ChatGPT referral UTM convention; search access guidance. [Open primary source](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/12627856-publishers-and-developers-faq) ## S10 · Does Anthropic crawl data from the web? **Publisher:** Anthropic · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-04-07 ClaudeBot training, Claude-SearchBot search and Claude-User retrieval; published robots behavior and IP information link. [Open primary source](https://support.claude.com/en/articles/8896518-does-anthropic-crawl-data-from-the-web-and-how-can-site-owners-block-the-crawler) ## S11 · Perplexity crawlers **Publisher:** Perplexity · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned PerplexityBot search and Perplexity-User user directed fetch; IP feeds and robots caveat. [Open primary source](https://docs.perplexity.ai/docs/resources/perplexity-crawlers) ## S12 · Google common crawlers **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-07-14 Google-Extended is a robots product token, not a separate HTTP user agent; Gemini training/grounding scope, not Google Search. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/crawlers-fetchers/google-common-crawlers) ## S13 · Verify requests from Google crawlers and fetchers **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Published IP ranges and reverse/forward DNS verification procedures. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/crawlers-fetchers/verify-google-requests) ## S14 · JavaScript SEO basics **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Google can render JavaScript; rendering, HTTP, canonical and initial noindex considerations. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/javascript/javascript-seo-basics) ## S15 · How to specify a canonical URL **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Canonicalization methods are signals with different strengths, not a universal mandate or a guarantee. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls) ## S16 · Robots meta tag, data-nosnippet and X-Robots-Tag **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Page level indexing and snippet controls; crawl access is needed to read directives. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots-meta-tag) ## S17 · How Google interprets robots.txt **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Robots group matching and crawl directives; robots is not authentication. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/robots-txt/robots-txt-spec) ## S18 · Spam policies for Google web search **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Doorway, scaled content, hidden content and reputation abuse; policies also cover manipulation of generative Search responses. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies) ## S19 · Creating helpful, reliable, people first content **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned People first evaluation and quality questions, not an engine exposed numeric E-E-A-T score. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content) ## S20 · General structured data guidelines **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Visible content accuracy, feature eligibility, validation and no guaranteed rich result. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/sd-policies) ## S21 · Changes to HowTo and FAQ rich results **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2023-08-08 Updated 2023-09-14: HowTo retirement effective 2023-09-13. Old FAQ eligibility is superseded by 2026 retirement in S01. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/08/howto-faq-changes) ## S22 · Review snippet structured data **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Authentic visible reviews; no fake or undisclosed incentivized reviews; self serving LocalBusiness/Organization review star restriction. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/review-snippet) ## S23 · Merchant listing structured data **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Product/Offer eligibility, sale duration fields and truthful commercial data. Not a promise of AI citations. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/merchant-listing) ## S24 · Creating a React app **Publisher:** React · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Frameworks can support client rendering, prerendering and server rendering according to route needs. [Open primary source](https://react.dev/learn/creating-a-react-app) ## S25 · generateMetadata **Publisher:** Next.js / Vercel · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-08-25 Metadata API, streaming behavior and framework version specific usage. [Open primary source](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/functions/generate-metadata) ## S26 · Metadata and OG images **Publisher:** Next.js / Vercel · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-08-25 App Router metadata and social image implementation. [Open primary source](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/getting-started/metadata-and-og-images) ## S27 · htmlLimitedBots configuration **Publisher:** Next.js / Vercel · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2025-10-03 Option introduced in 15.2; custom regex replaces default list; all bot blocking changes streaming behavior. [Open primary source](https://nextjs.org/docs/app/api-reference/config/next-config-js/htmlLimitedBots) ## S28 · Web Vitals **Publisher:** Google web.dev · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2024-10-31 Current LCP, INP, CLS thresholds and 75th-percentile field methodology; lab is not field evidence. [Open primary source](https://web.dev/articles/vitals) ## S29 · GEO: Generative Engine Optimization **Publisher:** Aggarwal et al. / arXiv · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Benchmark and deployed engine experiments; findings depend on setup, domain, metric and model. Not a 2026 Google production ranking specification. [Open primary source](https://arxiv.org/html/2311.09735v3) ## S30 · IndexNow documentation **Publisher:** IndexNow · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Changed-URL submission, ownership verification, batches up to 10000; success acknowledges receipt, not indexing. [Open primary source](https://www.indexnow.org/documentation) ## S31 · Indexing API quickstart **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Restricted to JobPosting or BroadcastEvent embedded in VideoObject, not a universal website indexing endpoint. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/apis/indexing-api/v3/quickstart) ## S32 · Guidelines for representing your business on Google **Publisher:** Google Business Profile · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Real business representation, address/service area eligibility and location restrictions. [Open primary source](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en) ## S33 · Manage service areas for service area and hybrid businesses **Publisher:** Google Business Profile · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Service areas versus customer facing addresses; avoid invented storefronts. [Open primary source](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481?hl=en) ## S34 · Influencing title links **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Descriptive titles, automated selection and display truncation; no fixed character count requirement. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link) ## S35 · Control snippets in search results **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Meta description selection and truncation; no fixed character count requirement. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet) ## S36 · Default channel group **Publisher:** Google Analytics · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Current AI Assistant channel; Google AI Overviews/AI Mode remain Organic Search; event/session/first user scopes differ. [Open primary source](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/9756891?hl=en) ## S37 · Avoid sending personally identifiable information **Publisher:** Google Analytics · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned PII exclusion from URLs, titles, user inputs and campaign/event fields. Legacy UA code on this page is not adopted. [Open primary source](https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/6366371?hl=en) ## S38 · Site moves and migrations **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned URL mapping, redirects, monitoring and move sequencing. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes) ## S39 · Managing faceted navigation crawling **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Control unnecessary filter URL crawling; decide which facets need search visibility. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/crawling/docs/faceted-navigation) ## S40 · Tell Google about localized versions **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Hreflang implementation alternatives and reciprocal alternate relationships. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions) ## S41 · Regional differences in Google Search **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Region-, query- and feature specific eligibility; documented on 2026-09-08. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/aggregator-features) ## S42 · Update to the site reputation abuse policy **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-08-28 Changes beginning 2026-08-30 distinguish EEA treatment; not permission to pursue abuse. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/08/update-site-reputation-policy) ## S43 · Search Console platform properties and social/video guide **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-07-29 Global platform properties for supported social/video platforms; Search visibility differs from native platform analytics. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/07/platform-properties-social-video-guide) ## S44 · Analyze social and video content performance **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Connected/verified platform property workflows and Search performance interpretation. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/monitor-debug/analyze-social-video-content) ## S45 · Preferred Sources guide for web publishers **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned User driven publisher preferences and button implementation; not a universal ranking guarantee. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/preferred-sources) ## S46 · Googlebot crawling size clarification **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-03-31 Googlebot fetch size guidance: 2 MB for supported files except PDF, with headers included; separate resources fetched separately. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2026/03/crawler-blog-post) ## S47 · Model Context Protocol specification 2026-07-28 **Publisher:** Model Context Protocol · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-07-28 Versioned agent integration protocol; implementation must negotiate supported version and enforce security. [Open primary source](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28) ## S48 · MCP security best practices, 2025-11-25 **Publisher:** Model Context Protocol · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2025-11-25 Version pinned threat guidance: authorization, untrusted servers, SSRF and token/session risks; not the latest protocol contract. [Open primary source](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/2025-11-25/tutorials/security/security_best_practices) ## S49 · MCP tools, 2026-07-28 **Publisher:** Model Context Protocol · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** 2026-07-28 Tool interface metadata and human control; older examples can need migration. [Open primary source](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2026-07-28/server/tools) ## S50 · Video SEO best practices **Publisher:** Google · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Watch page eligibility, stable media resources and differences between video and ordinary web indexing. [Open primary source](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/video) ## S51 · actions/checkout official README **Publisher:** GitHub Actions · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Current checkout@v7 example and read only repository permissions; proposed workflow only, not executed on GitHub. [Open primary source](https://github.com/actions/checkout) ## S52 · actions/setup-python official README **Publisher:** GitHub Actions · **Observed:** 2026-09-09 · **Document/announcement date:** not assigned Current setup-python@v7 usage and Python version selection; proposed workflow only, not executed on GitHub. [Open primary source](https://github.com/actions/setup-python)