Welcome to our final weekly news roundup of 2024, where we review Google`s completion of the December spam update. Matt G Southern’s article on the year’s top searches, according to Google. Danny Goodwin writes about the top 15 SEO stories of 2024. Barry Shwartz explains why Apple wants to get involved in Google’s U.S. antitrust case. And Roger Montii reports on Sundar Pichai’s statement, outlining Google’s strategy for 2025 and what that might mean for SEO.
Google December 2024 Spam Update Rollout Is Complete
Google ended the year by squeezing in one final spam update, one day after completing the last core update of 2024.
Reports show that the December spam update could be the biggest yet, with many SEOs and site owners reporting ranking fluctuations.
Key takeaways:
- Google rolled out its latest spam update on December 19, 2024, and said it would take one week to complete; it ended on December 26.
- Google said the December spam update applies globally and to all languages.
- So far, the SEO community says that the December 2024 spam update could be the biggest yet.
- Reports show the update is widespread and not just a spam link update.
- Site owners are also reporting deindexing and deranking issues.
- SEO professionals say the update is promoting spam even more, not less!
From Around The Web
Google Reveals Top Searches Of 2024
Matt G. Southern from Search Engine Journal writes about Google’s “Year in Search” report, highlighting the top search trends of 2024 across numerous industries based on the tech giant’s search data.
Key takeaways:
- Google’s annual report provides search statistics on figures, topics, and events that define 2024.
- Major sporting events dominated global searches, with the Olympic Games and Copa America leading the way.
- Unsurprisingly, the U.S. presidential election topped the news category’s most searched global topic.
- In entertainment, rising stars and established performers were hugely popular.
- The New York Times claimed the two top spots in gaming with its ever-popular puzzle and word games.
- Virtual adventures, travel, and our love for nature were also popular searches throughout 2024.
Top 15 SEO stories of 2024
Editorial Director of Search Engine Land Danny Goodwin reviews the top 15 SEO stories of 2024. Goodwin says that while 2023 was the wildest ever for SEO, 2024 wasn’t far behind. His list includes what many in the SEO community believe are the biggest SEO stories in history!
Key takeaways:
In no particular order, Goodwin’s list includes.
- The removal of the much-loved cache link in the Google Search results snippets.
- Google announced that starting July 5, 2024, it would only crawl and index mobile website versions using Googlebot Smartphone.
- Number three on Danny’s list is the rollout of AI Overviews, which dominated headlines for all the wrong reasons upon its release in March.
- A Google endpoint discovery by Mark Williams-Cook revealed how Google classifies queries and websites.
- Arguably, the biggest SOE story of 2024 was the news of a massive leak into how Google’s ranking algorithm works, broken by Michael King and Fishkin.
Why Apple Wants To Be Involved In Google’s U.S. Antitrust Case
Search Engine RoundTable writer Barry Shwartz reports why Apple wants to get involved in the antitrust case between the Department of Justice and Google—and it’s not for altruistic reasons!
Key takeaways:
- Apple issued a motion of intervention in the Google vs DOJ antitrust case.
- The motion focuses on possible remedies for Google’s fight with the DOJ over its default search agreement with Apple.
Shwarts provides a bullet list of why Apple might be doing this, which includes:
- “Apple wants its $20 billion from Google.”
- “Apple thinks Google won’t properly defend the deal.”
- “Apple does not yet want to enter the general search engine space.”
Shwarts finishes his post with Apple’s official reason for not creating its own search engine.
- Apple says, “AI is changing search in a big way, and it wants to see where it all falls before it decides if it goes into this space.”
Google CEO Describes A 2025 Beyond A Search Box
Roger Montii from SEJ reviews Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s vision for 2025, which focuses on making AI the user and search point of contact and what this might mean for SEO.
Key takeaways:
- Sundar Pichai outlines Google’s 2025 strategy, saying AI apps will be the new user interface for Search, becoming the first point of contact for people using Google.
- Pichai says the company’s move towards an AI user experience transcends textual question and answering.
- Google’s CEO cites Gemini APP as the company’s primary focus for 2025.
- A co-founder of Google Deep Mind said, “Google was going to turbocharge the Gemini app, and the products themselves are going to evolve massively over the next year or two.”
- The same co-founder warns these changes are a “Significant departure from interfacing with the search box…, and SEOs and publishers need to think really hard about it as we enter 2025.”
That’s a wrap for 2024.
Happy New Year!
