The SEO Shakeup: What You Need to Know

Over the weekend, a major shift hit the SEO world. If you’ve noticed sudden drops in keyword rankings or impressions in Google Search Console, you’re not alone.

What Happened

We've seen a recent trend of organic website impressions being up, but clicks were down. A common theory attributed this shift to Google's AI Overviews, which answer questions directly on the results page and reduce the need for a click. But now, we have new data that has provided a different explanation of the rise in impressions.

Over the weekend, Google made a change that limited how third-party tools can access search ranking data (if you’d like more of the technical details around Google’s update, we recommend checking out this article from Brodie Clark). Essentially, Google is cracking down on high-volume, unofficial methods of scraping search results. This update caused two things to happen:

1. Some rank tracking tools (like SemRush and Keyword Insights) reported massive drops in keyword rankings.

2. Google Search Console showed a sudden nosedive in impressions across many websites.

What This Means for Your Business

First, the Good News

Your actual website traffic and real human visitors likely haven't changed as dramatically as your reports might suggest. The drop in impressions is more of an alignment with the true volume of users than a loss of visibility to your customers.

Additionally, non-Google AI chatbots like Claude, ChatGPT, and others will still have access to Google’s real-time information through more official, structured channels, like a dedicated Search API. However, this new approach may also make access more difficult or expensive. So, while this change doesn’t mean AI is blocked from Google, the connection is becoming more formalized and controlled, which may lead to some new limitations, at least temporarily.

The Reality Check

This reporting change is a symptom of a much larger evolution in consumer behavior. The classic idea of "search" is expanding far beyond a simple Google search box.

Today, almost every platform can be a search engine. We're seeing the explosive growth of social search, where users turn to visually-driven platforms like TikTok and Instagram to discover and vet products, services, and ideas in a more interactive way.

At the same time, AI-powered search is creating a new set of opportunities and challenges. We now need to consider Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and ensure content is visible and valued by AI. Fortunately, this doesn’t require starting your SEO strategy from scratch; strong SEO fundamentals provide a critical advantage in keeping up with AI shifts. We’re formalizing our best practices for GEO and look forward to sharing them in a new blog post soon.

These changing habits mean that a successful digital strategy must be agile and present across the channels your audience uses most. It's not just about ranking—it's about being part of their discovery journey.

What To Focus On

As the data from this evolving situation takes time to normalize, the immediate focus should be on the strategic inputs we can control.

• Re-evaluate SEO Performance Benchmarks: This Google update will likely impact performance data, so we will be closely monitoring for shifts in our metrics. We should be prepared to re-evaluate our benchmarks, focusing on trends and not just volume.
• Invest Where Your Audience Is: A strong Google presence is crucial, but it's one piece of the puzzle. Now is the time to lean into a diversified channel strategy. A powerful presence on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn allows you to reach your audience where they are actively discovering new brands.
• Create High-Quality, Valuable Content: As AI increasingly handles basic questions, your content's value now lies in its unique human experience. Go beyond generic answers by providing real-world case studies, original data, and a strong point of view that a machine can't replicate. This is how you build lasting authority and become the indispensable resource users seek out after getting the simple answer.

Moving forward

SEO is changing in big ways and this weekend update is proof of that. Yes, the numbers look different. But the fundamentals remain: your business still needs to be discoverable where people are searching.

We’ll continue to share updates as the landscape evolves. Keep a look out for our AI series where we will share our learnings on everything including the shift from traditional to AI-powered SEO, the rise of social search, and the impact of AI on reporting metrics. Our team is here to interpret the changes, keep you ahead of the curve, and guide you with confidence.