October’s final SEO news roundup reviews Google’s announcement of an imminent algorithm update that won’t help lost rankings, its AI Overviews global rollout, a mind-boggling Russian fine Google will never pay, and how a UK couple took Google to court and won.
Elsewhere, Barry Schwartz reports why Google Search is demoting certain website content, and Matt G. Southern reviews Google’s Q3 report that shows how AI expansion drives revenue growth.
Google’s AI Overviews Expansion Hits Over 100 Countries
Google announced it has rolled out AI Oviews in Search to over 100 countries, making it available to over 1 billion users.
Google said it will change how people search and leave no questions unanswered.
Key takeaways:
- AI-generated search summaries are now available in the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.
- AI Overviews search results will show in every language on Google’s updated list.
- Google VP for Search quality, Srinivasan Venkatachary, said it’s Google’s most significant AI expansion to date and will help users search in a new way.
Google Loses Appeal Against €2.4B Fine For Search Manipulation
A UK couple who took Google to the Europen Court of Justice 15 years ago, accusing the tech giant of search manipulation and intentionally destroying their website rankings, have beaten Google in the EU Court of Appeal.
The European Court of Justice upheld its original verdict, saying Google is guilty of search manipulation and must pay the €2.4B fine.
Key takeaways:
- British couple launched their price comparison website (Foundem) in June 2006.
- Google’s spam filters stopped ranking the site for essential search terms like “comparison shopping” and “price comparison.”
- Foundem plummeted in the search rankings and never recovered.
- Site owners take Google to the European courts, accusing it of search manipulation.
- European Commission finds Google guilty in 2017.
- The court denied Google’s appeal in 2024, instructing it to pay the €2.4B fine.
Google Algorithm Update Due Soon, But Don’t Expect Lost Ranking Recovery
Google held a web creator event and invited website owners to a Q&A about lost traffic and rankings because of past updates. During the event, Google announced another algorithm update was coming soon, but it wouldn’t help recover their site’s rankings, leaving many who attended wondering why they’d been invited!
Besides the algorithm revelation, Google staff gave answers that left site owners more confused than before they arrived, with one posting, “Sounds like we should move on and get a job.”
Key takeaways:
- Danny Sullivan, Pandu Nayak, and Elizabeth Tucker invited site owners to Google’s Web Creator summit, where they answered questions about search rankings affected by past updates.
- Google said an algorithm update is imminent, but it won’t solve any lost traffic rankings caused by past updates.
- Danny Sullivan told one attendee that Google Search would never be like it was before the Helpful Content Update and admitted it was all very depressing.
Russia Fines Google All The Money In The World Plus Change
Google has been in court more than it has been out of it, with the latest case taking place in Russia where a court imposed a 2.5 trillion trillion trillion dollars fine on Google for removing pro-kremlin media outlets on YouTube.
Key takeaways:
- In 2022, Russia found Google guilty of restricting its media websites and failing to restrict prohibited material about its “special operations” in Ukraine and imposed a 21.1bn rouble fine.
- The ruling said that if Google failed to pay within nine months, the fine would double daily.
- Google ignored the fine.
- Russia announced the fine is now 2.5 trillion trillion trillion.
- Google won’t be going back to Russia anytime soon.
From Around The Web
Google Search demoting content that is starkly different from the main content of the site
Search Engine Land writer Barry Schwartz reports about how Google told SEO professional Gleen Gabe that, for ranking reasons, its systems review a website’s content to see if sections are different or independent from its main content. If they are, rankings can drop.
Key takeaways:
- Google confirms its search ranking systems review a website’s content to determine if it’s independent or different from the main content.
- Google said it does this because it helps it find the most helpful content from various websites.
- Google confirms that many larger websites with non-relevant content have seen considerable declines in visibility for those sections over the past month.
- Sites affected include Forbes Advisor, Fortune Recommends, WSJ Buyside, Time Stamped, and CNN Underscores.
Google Q3 Report: AI Drives Growth Across Search, Cloud, & YouTube
Search Engine Journal writer Matt G. Southern reports on Alphabet Inc.’s third quarterly report, which shows a 15% revenue growth driven mainly by its AI global expansion across cloud and search services.
Key takeaways:
- Google is expanding its AI Overviews, so it’s available to over 100 billion users.
- Google says it now uses AI to generate 25% of its coding to improve efficiency.
- The reports show Google Cloud revenue hit $11.4 billion, an increase of 35%.
- YouTube’s combined subscription and advertising revenue surpasses $50 billion.
