SEO Updates: Impact of Google Core Updates on AI Overviews, August 2024 Surge Charts, Bing Image Refinements, Antitrust Case, EU AI Act, and Perplexit

Google SEO News

Google AI Overviews Impacted by Core Updates

Google has confirmed that its core updates, including the August 2024 update, can influence whether a site appears in Google AI Overviews. These updates, which already affect featured snippets and other search features, now extend to AI Overviews. Analyst Glenn Gabe observed a decline in AI Overview citations for sites negatively impacted by the recent core update. Glenn wrote on X, "I'm seeing signs of ranking impact in AI overviews based on impact from the August broad core update overall." "I am tracking AIOs for many companies, and I'm seeing drops in citations in AIOs for some sites. I'm seeing an overall drop based on the August core update," he added. He promised to keep us posted on any changes to this.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

The AI Overview results will impact all sites sooner or later. Some are positive, and others may not be positive. We have seen ranking fluctuations across the board, I expect this will stabilize as the core update is complete by the end of this month in August.?

It's imperative that websites focus on optimizing their content, updating old content, and building our valuable pieces of content that are structurally aligned and semantically overlapped to preserve key search positions.?

For future core updates, I recommend making a list of the top 10 non-brand keywords and monitoring their positions weekly; this should give you a linear analysis of the keyword positions when these updates occur.??

August Core Update Increases Helpful Content for Some Sites

The August 2024 Google core update is causing fluctuations, particularly for sites affected by the September 2023 helpful content update. Some of these sites are seeing renewed ranking improvements, though outcomes vary. Analyst Glenn Gabe reported that out of nearly 400 sites impacted by the earlier update, 73 have shown signs of recovery.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

We have seen consistent recovery from these updates, that being said, we are seeing sites affected by newer updates specifically related to the AIOs (AI Overview).?

Bing SEO News

Bing Image Search Introduces Refinement Cards

Bing has added refinement cards to its image search results, providing more specific search options for ambiguous queries. These cards display four example images for each refined search term, enhancing the search experience.

SEO Recommendations by Jason

Image SEO is extremely important to gain the edge on this update that has been rolled out by Bing and is also very similar to Google’s AI overviews.?

The images can be unique but also can be taken from free websites like unsplash.com and others (make sure you cite the author). It is also valuable to break up your articles with infographics and imagery.?

All these images must include Alt tags with the focus keyword.?

General Search Marketing News

Google’s Monopoly + Core Update, AI Overviews & New EU AI Act

Google's Antitrust Case Google has been accused of monopolizing search and advertising markets, paying $20 billion annually for default search status on iPhones. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering breaking up Google, possibly separating Android, Chrome, and AdWords. While Google argues it's being punished for offering the best search engine, this case could set a precedent for how antitrust laws apply to digital markets.

AI Overviews in Search Results Google's AI overviews have expanded to six new countries and now allow users to save summaries for future reference. Despite some initial criticisms, AI overviews are improving in credibility, citing more reputable sources like .gov and .edu websites.

AI and Search: A Slow Disruption Despite the hype around AI, platforms like Perplexity haven’t significantly disrupted Google's dominance. While AI tools are growing, user engagement on traditional search engines remains much higher.

EU AI Act The EU AI Act, coming into force in February 2025, is the first global legislation regulating AI based on risk. It categorizes AI systems into four risk levels, with strict regulations for high-risk systems like biometric data collectors and AI in critical infrastructure.

Perplexity's Revenue Sharing Plan Perplexity AI has introduced a revenue-sharing model with publishers whose content is referenced. However, details on how smaller publishers will benefit remain unclear, sparking concerns that only large publishers will profit.

Do SEO Specialists Need Certifications? According to a survey by Ahrefs, SEO certifications are largely unnecessary for job seekers. The survey found that only 3 out of 52 job listings required certifications, with employers prioritizing practical skills like keyword research and technical SEO over formal qualifications.