May 2023 Google Search Observations

[RedBar]

Here we go, will anything improve after a very poor April for many or will traffic continue to be hoovered-up by the G ad machine? No prizes for guessing correctly!

[Mestrick]

Today again something is going on the fluctuations and tremor I can see on SERP. Has anyone noticed the same today. In morning SERP results are different and in afternoon different and in evening again comes back to the morning positions. I dont know whats happening but this much volatility is not good for traffic.

[renatovieira]

Huge drop this morning. And together AdSense in constant decline. Since april drop by 50% in earnings, and now in may, drop by 75%. April and may are being stormy...

[Mestrick]

this may is more highly volatile than the announced updates period.

[ichthyous]

We should be rocking, but instead have sunk like a rock in Google. Now I do the same search from a different IP address located a few hundred miles away and the whole screen is just ads. Only when I scroll can I see we are still #1. Google is showing me everything I want to see from my IP and likely everyone else something entirely different and filled with ads like I saw myself using a different IP. We serve the USA and Canada markets directly, so this hit us hard.

Thanks for this insight...I suspected that this was the case, but was not able to check myself with Proton because it doesn't seem to work...the browser is detecting my own location every time with both Chrome and Safari. What do you use?

This is really demolishing my USA traffic for a very specific set of terms, which of course are the top referring terms to my site by far, and which have always resulted in the most sales. I have seen other terms affected, but not nearly as much and there seems to be a daily variation. But with these top terms the traffic is just completely gone despite no change in rank at all.

I can see how this type of "personalization" can easily hide Google grabbing all the traffic and it would be very hard to prove that Google is doing anything self-serving here, it's just trying to "help" people find what they want. In the meantime, this is my USA traffic this month...meanwhile international traffic is all much higher:

[ibb.co ]

ibb.co Screen-Shot-2023-05-10-at-8-35-19-AM hosted at ImgBB Image Screen-Shot-2023-05-10-at-8-35-19-AM hosted in ImgBB

[RedBar]

Huge drop this morning

An extraordinary drop so far today across all sites I run, even the hotel venue which is definitely something I'm not used to!

[ichthyous]

@RedBar I'm seeing strong traffic from the UK almost every day...it's USA traffic that has vanished. Some days UK is 2/3 of my US traffic...insane. I suspect Google is hitting us all where it hurts to force people into running ads. Perhaps they haven't realized that most of us have already tried it at least once and realize that the traffic from Google ads isn't worth paying for, so I don't think it's going to motivate many businesses...only the clueless ones.

I was speaking with a business owner in my field who assured me that Google ads cost only two cents per click, and he knows it for a fact since his brother in law "does it for a living". I assured him that ads haven't cost 2 cents in more than 15 years, but he was sticking to his guns. Perhaps that's the kind Google is depending on, and once they finally wake up there's another one right behind them...

[KaseyM]

Traffic off a cliff over past couple of days. Blimey.

[RedBar]

@ichthyous
My overall UK traffic rarely exceeds 5% of total PVs which is actually more than my UK trade sales, likewise with many other countries.

Extremely slow traffic has continued across all sites this afternoon however solid potential new global enquiries are still being received but none from the "West".

[superclown2]

Looking at Google's presentation yesterday it would seem as though anyone with a site relying on images, such as travel or cookery, has a lot to worry about! It looks as though copyright issues may get interesting as well now that Bard generates it's own graphics, no doubt based on the work of other people (like, real humans!) who may object to their images being altered in this way. I foresee lawsuits and a huge increase in 'lobbying' budgets.

In the meanwhile (in my UK vertical at least) the super intelligent system still cannot see the difference in value to the user between specialist, long established and frequently updated websites, and the high spending mega sites with boilerplate and often inaccurate data, which still ride high in the organic SERPs. Then again maybe it can, since it knows which side Google's bread is buttered on.

[RedBar]

My much lower traffic levels have continued into Thursday.

Global site -33% v my new recent average, that is -73.4% v 2 years ago!

Hotel venue -50% v recent months' average.

[Cyril TechWebsites]

Just endless destruction of the whole niche for me (IT tutorials, how-tos). I checked all competitors, and some of them are great websites with great tutorials - they all are facing strong traffic drops since the "helpful" update. The SERPs, meanwhile, are crowded with very strange results: sometimes it's just an URL from a big website (and almost always not the best and updated), and sometimes it's just thin content containing 200 words. Very rarely the TOP of SERP is filled with good answers. To find the needed instruction (how-to) in my niche, I need to go to #2 or #3 page of Google's SERP these days. Just insanity watching how this "helpful" update is destroying the content creators.

[ichthyous]

Looking at Google's presentation yesterday it would seem as though anyone with a site relying on images, such as travel or cookery, has a lot to worry about! It looks as though copyright issues may get interesting as well now that Bard generates it's own graphics, no doubt based on the work of other people (like, real humans!) who may object to their images being altered in this way. I foresee lawsuits and a huge increase in 'lobbying' budgets.

Yes, but in reality, it's the stock image sites that have the most to fear...literally nobody will pay them to purchase images to use commercially if they can just render them in seconds for free using AI. Getty Images is already suing OpenAI for using the company's images in its dataset, and there is a class action suit on behalf of artists: [npr.org ]. I personally am using a site [haveibeentrained.com ] to pull all of my images from the datasets. It's not a great solution as you have to go one by one and add images to the exclusion list...very time-consuming. But this is just straight-up theft on the part of large corporations stealing the creative work of artists and creators, period. They are going to make hundreds of billions while wiping out the entire creative class if it's not addressed...that includes illustrators, photographers, musicians, filmmakers, writers...you name it.

Luckily, for those who register their works with the copyright office in DC you will have recourse to pursue a claim against anyone using an image that is identifiable, as has been the case with some uses I have found. But most will go undetected and so anyone selling lower-resolution images and video clips is going to get wiped out. Even if some sort of compensation scheme is worked out, it will never be close to the revenue these artists and content creators will lose.

By the way, I am seeing a big increase in indexing of my pages by unidentified bots...I assume they are AI scraping bots. One came from Toronto, Canada yesterday and grabbed over 1,000 pages from my site before I noticed...I don't usually pay attention to traffic from Canada as it's. It came back around 12:30am and I blocked the IP. Everyone should be looking closely at any patterns of unidentified visitors going through an unusually high number of pages...these are not real visitors.

www.npr.org Artists file class-action lawsuit saying AI artwork violates copyright laws Artificial intelligence has advanced enough to create a seemingly original artwork in the style of living artists within minutes. Some artists argue that these AI models breach copyright law.

[ichthyous]

Yesterday traffic seemed to snap back to normal for most of the day, and then it dropped in the late eve. This morning USA traffic is -75% at 10am. Search is -22% and direct is -28%. So much for almost one day of traffic. I haven't had a new inquiry on my site since May 5th...almost a week. I have however been inundated with SPAM emails and calls all week.

[superclown2]

Yes, but in reality, it's the stock image sites that have the most to fear...literally nobody will pay them to purchase images to use commercially if they can just render them in seconds for free using AI

I remember when Google first started and I was amazed then at how they drove a coach and horses through copyright laws and got away with it. No doubt with their massive 'lobbying' budgets they will do so again.

Incidentally I will shed no tears for Getty Images. I'll refrain from saying why :-)

Traffic from Google? I've forgotten what it looks like, which is why I don't really care what they do now. I was in this business before them and with luck I will still be when they've finally destroyed themselves. With search results like I'm seeing now they are doing themselves no good - perhaps they shouldn't have sacked so many of their quality control team.

[yollo03]

Big movements in my niche. I am tracking some of my competitors, some took a nosedive today, ranking slashed by as much as 50%. Whatever is being rolled out, it will probably stabilize in the next few days.

[BigKat]

@ichthyous

the browser is detecting my own location every time with both Chrome and Safari. What do you use?

Typically Surfshark VPN and Firefox or Edge. Mobile hotspots work well for me too with a laptop and clean browser.

I see SERP trackers are hot and others are reporting changes, but I wouldn't know from the continued lack of Google traffic. The weight of the ads is just too heavy for organic to survive in my industry. Even #1 ranks in the USA bring little to no traffic/sales for months.

[Treud]

Seing drops as well, mostly in the US, can see as well position ranking with huge CTR changes, I don’t see that huge CTR changes usually, I would say Google is changing layout for ads again, or putting more and more.

[BigKat]

huge CTR changes, I don’t see that huge CTR changes usually, I would say Google is changing layout for ads again

I'm seeing two new layouts for product related searches (USA):

One layout has increased the number of product ads that have pushed organic results even further down the page. A lot of scrolling is required to see the first organic result which happens to be the same company that also holds the top expanded text ad.

The second new layout has introduced a places box which also drives positions 2-5 further down the page and are followed by another product ads box. Oddly enough no ordinary consumer would visit any of the businesses appearing in the places box since they are service providers and not actual retailers. The top organic spot I see in this layout belongs to none other than Amazon.

[mhansen]

I'm not usually one to worry about the future of the web, as it relates to my website... kind of a "go with the flow" and adapt to it.

This morning, I saw the "Try Bard" link on Google's home page and I have to say, anyone in the content and information business, well, it's not promising. I asked a very specific question about something and received a 358 word, very thorough and detailed reply. I asked where that information came from, and was told

"The websites of various...."

listing 4 types of websites where it was learned, but no domains or links to them. I then asked if it was copyright infringement, and was told:

"It is possible that it could be considered copyright infringement if I were to use someone's knowledge without compensating them. However, I am not sure if this would be the case in my particular situation. I am still under development, and I am not sure how copyright law applies to me."

On the bright side, there also a button on the bottom of everything, inviting me to use Google to search.

Going to get wild out there very quickly. Good luck and I hope to see you all on the other side.

[ichthyous]

I remember when Google first started and I was amazed then at how they drove a coach and horses through copyright laws and got away with it. No doubt with their massive 'lobbying' budgets they will do so again.

Google at least (used to) refer traffic back to the site, so you could profit from allowing your work to be shown in Google Images. That was the case for most of Google's history....it was mutually beneficial arrangement. AI doesn't make any kind of beneficial proposition to the creator whatsoever...it simply digests the work and spits out new work based on all the rest. The critical factor here is the Fair Use doctrine of copyright law in the US, which states that copyrighted work can be used in certain academic uses, by the press etc for non-commercial uses. The tech industry is pushing the Fair Use doctrine hard now, even though they clearly stand to make a huge pile of cash from using other people's work. This will go up to the US Supreme Court eventually...but seeing that the court has been stacked with right-wing nutters by the previous administration I doubt they will be too much in favor of the little guy...especially when some of them (C. Thomas) are getting upwards of $4m in secret goodies from billionaire 'benefactors' so far. It's much more fun to have your billionaire benefactor fly you around on his private jet to his private resort than to think five minutes about how the tech industry's theft is impacting millions of little guys and gals.

Incidentally I will shed no tears for Getty Images. I'll refrain from saying why :-)

Getty Images has been the destruction of the stock photo industry. They pushed to destroy the higher end of the business, then they pushed for adoption of micro-stock with much lower rates...and forced everyone to go along as they were 75% of the market. A typical strategy to drive everyone else out of business through lowering prices below a sustainable level, and then buying them up cheap. As much as I would love to see Getty implode as a company, they are pretty much the only hope of securing more rights in dealing with the tech industry as they have deep pockets to bring suits and those judgments can then be pointed to by other plaintiffs.

[RubicCubed]

Google inserted more ads and Bard link in serps. Traffic is devastating gone. How terrible it is that there is nothing stopping Google from consuming the entire digital world, our businesses and livelihoods. I see mass layoffs in and out of Google very soon.

[superclown2]

How terrible it is that there is nothing stopping Google from consuming the entire digital world, our businesses and livelihoods.

there is. It's called 'Europe'.

I doubt very much if the USA will reign Google in. There are far too many government lawyers looking forward to joining all their friends at Google with highly paid jobs for that. Would you upset Google too much if you were in their place?

That is the problem with a government on both sides of the political fence ruled by Wall Street. Over here it's different.

[RedBar]

there is. It's called 'Europe'.

I'll be slightly controversial and say "multipolar world".

The US, and Europe for that matter, seem to believe they are the centre of the world and everything should be run by them, sorry but that is not the future. Whilst the US and G spend all their time naval gazing the rest of the world is carrying-on, doing business and expanding.

I spend a lot of time travelling and doing business in many different countries, seeing how these people are doing things without God Google etc is very enlightening. We used to call G The Gorg for a very good reason.

[superclown2]

I'll be slightly controversial and say "multipolar world".

Not controversial in the least and I fully agree. India in particular has been showing it's not being pushed around, and they are a massive future market.

Ms Vestager has already hit Google with eye watering fines and there will be more in the pipeline. In the meanwhile legislation in the EU and UK will clip their wings, and the rest of the world won't sit by idly either.

I do suspect, though, that the USA, with so many legislators in awe to the mighty dollar, will be the last to act.

[BigKat]

I do suspect, though, that the USA, with so many legislators in awe to the mighty dollar, will be the last to act.

Being last to act will also leave the USA market free for Google to gouge to pay for the fines imposed on them from around the world.

[ichthyous]

CNBC has an article today about website owners and publishers complaining about their potential loss of traffic due to Bard here: [cnbc.com ]

I doubt very much if the USA will reign Google in. There are far too many government lawyers looking forward to joining all their friends at Google with highly paid jobs for that. Would you upset Google too much if you were in their place? That is the problem with a government on both sides of the political fence ruled by Wall Street. Over here it's different.

The US government will not rein in Google unless enough large corporations start squawking about the loss of business and traffic to their sites and Google's monopoly of information and traffic getting even worse. As some have pointed out, Bard doesn't even site sources or provide links to the content...that will probably be forced on Google, but it may take a long time. By then we will all be out of business.

How many of you in the USA actually write to your representatives and senators to express your complaints and concerns? How many of you vote? If you aren't part of the solution then there is no right to complain. While I do think that it's unlikely to be addressed very soon, AI is scaring the crap out of everyone and big disruptions are already here. This will start to get looked at very closely, and probably sooner than we think...so become part of the solution and write to your member of Congress. They aren't in your line of business and can't know it all, so perhaps your opinion and insight will help.

How many of you are members of trade organizations that represent your interests? I belong to one that costs me a pretty penny every year, but they are already working on a response to AI and the theft of our intellectual property. They get invited to testify at congressional committees and partner with other trade groups that have a similar interest. Perhaps it's time to act now.

[superclown2]

I've haven't used Google for serious searches for months but yesterday I tried a lot of searches for longish-tail terms (four words minimum) and I was struck by the huge numbers of times I got the old 'missing xxxxx | must include' link under some of the results. By clicking on these links (I wonder how many people do?) I got a completely different set of results from the plain vanilla mega corps (in other words, high spending advertisers) that didn't even mention what I was looking for.

Of course I wanted results relevant to the search term I typed in! Is this yet another way for Google to promote their advertisers? Surely not, they would never stoop so low, would they.

[Mentat]

This year goole is like going crazy. Non-stop updates, bad SERP results + killing of adsense publishers.

[superclown2]

Bard doesn't even site sources or provide links to the content

So Google is no longer an advertising company masquerading as a search engine, but a content re-hasher, riding on the backs of millions of real content providers. Let's see how the legislators, lawyers, general public, foreign governments, conspiracy theorists, AI sceptics, and website publishers react to that. Time for a huge increase in the 'lobbying' budget.

[ichthyous]

So Google is no longer an advertising company masquerading as a search engine, but a content re-hasher, riding on the backs of millions of real content providers. Let's see how the legislators, lawyers, general public, foreign governments, conspiracy theorists, AI sceptics, and website publishers react to that. Time for a huge increase in the 'lobbying' budget.

This is the problem with allowing a few tech monopolies to control it all unchecked. And yes, Google can keep increasing the number of politicos they shovel campaign contributions toward but ultimately it's the constituents that vote. Recent history has proved that despite the hundreds of millions of dollars that billionaires and dark money pools have thrown at candidates and issues, they still don't win that often.

Not every politician is out there looking to enrich themselves over the interests of their own constituents...they want to 'bring home the bacon' and get re-elected too. Being seen to be on the take from a huge corporate monopoly to the detriment of good middle class jobs and small businesses isn't a good look.

Google is already under attack from the right for 'censorship', and from the left for monopolistic practices. If enough politicians out there realize that there is a lot of anger towards the company it will become a whipping boy. Will that be enough to change things quickly? It's doubtful...but it may force some sort of incremental change. In the meantime, Google will be using all the money it is robbing from our intellectual property to use to fight lawsuits and political battles. Europe, the UK, Australia and other countries can help this process...if those countries all act on reining in Google, or breaking it up, then that gives the USA politicos a clear signal that it needs to be tackled at home too.

In the meantime, my own traffic has dropped so much since early April that there is no time to wait...I am examining every alternative to Google. Sitting and generating new content and getting links is over...no matter how much great content and links you have these days it will not matter...organic search is dying in front of our eyes, and it was killed by the company that birthed it, not a competitor.