More AI Overviews, Deepfakes, and GSC Recommendations: SEMantics September 2024
This month, Aimee Jones discusses correct predictions on algorithm updates, Google's love-hate relationship with AI, and Google Search Console trying (with mixed results) to help SEOs improve their websites.
August core update
You may remember from last month’s newsletter that there was speculation about another core update. Well...
The speculation was correct!
On 15th August, Google announced their August 2024 core update. This update, as stated by Google, ‘continues their work to improve the quality of search results by showing more content that people find genuinely useful and less content that feels like it was made just to perform well on Search.’
Following what feels like a month of nonstop algorithm updates, Google has also updated its guidance on core algorithm updates, providing more detailed recommendations for impacted websites. This is likely due to the last Core Update in March and a large number of websites and SEOs that saw declines after the rollout.?
The revised document includes several additions and removals. The most significant change includes two new sections: “Check if there’s a traffic drop in Search Console” and “Assessing a large drop in position.”
The “Check if there’s a traffic drop in Search Console” section provides step-by-step instructions for using Search Console to determine if a core update has affected a website:
This article from the Search Engine Journal details more of what has been removed, changed, or added to Google’s documentation so I recommend giving this a read.
After 19 days, earlier this week, Google has confirmed that the rollout is now complete:
Now the update has finished rolling out, it is time for SEOs and website owners to fully assess the update’s impact on search performance -? we’ve been doing exactly that within the SEO Strategy team!
Google may use the 'og title' as a source for your title on the SERPs
As mentioned, Google has made some changes to its search documentation, and one of these changes includes expanding the list of sources it uses to generate title links in search results.
OG data is seen when content is shared on social media, and it is customisable on most CMS platforms, so it may be worth including in future content audits—one for our content team!
You can read more about it in this article from Search Engine Journal.
Include/exclude dimensions in GA4 line charts now available
You can now include/exclude dimensions in the line charts in the detailed reports in GA4. This is something that UA used to previously let you do, so it's a welcome addition. It will help to simplify and narrow down charts to look at key information.
Google has published some?information?on this if you want to learn more. Thanks to?Kyle Rushton McGregor on LinkedIn?for bringing this to my attention.
AI Overview links and citations are impacted by Google Core Updates
Google has confirmed the AI Overview links and citations are impacted by Google Core Updates. When asked, Google's John Mueller said, "These are part of search, and core updates affect search, so yes." via Barry Schwartz
So, what can we take from this??
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As Google continues to integrate AI into search, we need more clarity on how core algorithm updates impact these features.
Mueller’s confirmation helps, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. There are still many questions about what makes content show up in AI overviews and whether it’s different from what makes websites rank high in regular search results.
Google’s ranking incident in August
It was reported in August that a problem with Google Search rankings impacted a significant number of search results. Google identified the root cause of this issue and confirmed that it was unrelated to the core update. This was finally resolved on 20 August.
AI Overviews now in 6 new countries
The latest update to AI Overviews has arrived. As of mid-August, AI Overviews are now available in six new countries, including the UK.?
Google has announced the expansion of its AI Overviews feature to six new countries following its initial launch in the US this May. The feature is now rolled out in the United Kingdom, India, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil.?
Google has introduced several updates to the AI Overviews feature, including:
We’ve discussed AI Overviews extensively in these newsletters. While Google states that clicks from AI Overviews are “higher quality” and users spend more time on visited sites, there is still a lack of clarity about the impact of AIOs on traffic and click-through rates.
This expansion shows the next step in Google’s AI transformation of the SERPs. Only time will tell for the impact on SEO and general website traffic.
Latest Google documentation updates
Throughout this newsletter, I’ve referenced various updates Google has made to its documentation.?This page?details the latest major updates made to the Google Search Central documentation, so it is worth reviewing and bookmarking for future reference!
Coming up we have a couple of tech updates, courtesy of Imogen Gee and Ben Magnall on the Tech SEO team!
Introducing recommendations in Google Search Console
Google has introduced a new feature in Search Console called "recommendations”, designed to help SEOs and website owners optimise their presence on Google Search. These recommendations are based on existing data from Google Search systems like indexing, crawling, and serving, and suggest specific actions such as using structured data, adding sitemaps, and analysing trending queries.?
The recommendations will appear on the Search Console overview page and will be updated regularly. The feature is still experimental, and a gradual rollout is planned over the coming months. Google also encourages user feedback to improve the tool.?
This is likely to help those with less experience in SEO. Some may be obvious to experienced SEOs, some may prove to not be too helpful, while others may be super helpful. It could be useful to look through these recommendations if you’re looking to train in some specific areas of SEO or want to work with Search Console more.
Google updates its search algorithm to combat explicit deep fakes
Google has launched a new update to its search algorithm aimed at addressing non-consensual explicit content, mainly artificially generated images and videos known as “deepfakes.”
In a new blog post, Google has outlined several changes to its search functionality and content removal processes.
This update shows that Google is attempting to adapt its search functionality in response to evolving digital content challenges, like the increased presence of explicit content.
So there you have it, another fabulously relevant newsletter full of SEO updates for you. I hope you've enjoyed the latest email, and keep your eyes peeled for the next!?