June 2025 Google Search Observations

[Conro]

I also see bots coming, but the strange thing is that after 4 years they keep looking for pages that I deleted from the site. In any case, I closed the company because of Google's illegal monopoly, so I don't care what happens to the website anymore. I just hope that Google will be condemned for the damage it has inflicted on companies that need the web to live. If Google hadn't taken the monopoly illegally, this damage would never have happened. The small (and more) web companies all depend on a single search engine and the whims of those who manage it

[edited by: not2easy at 1:46 am (utc) on Jun 7, 2025]
[edit reason] New month, new thread [/edit]

[Micha]

It's been a weird month: the news site set a record with way more visitors, and we're dominating our niche, even ahead of the bigger news sites in Germany. We've had non-stop Discover traffic for a week, and revenue has also gone up a lot. But normal search is pretty much dead...

The shop is fluctuating. There are always phases when business is extremely slow, and there are no really good days anymore.

[Dooku]

@Whitey your comment makes a lot of sense.....in a normal world where every Tom, Dick and Harry had a fair chance online.
But those days are long gone and unrestricted corporate criminal behavior is now the norm.
In the old days I could build my own audience mailing list at the cost of $10 and earn at least $100 off that list (hypothetical numbers of course).
Now you can forget about that because G is feeding you only bots and other well known platforms have gone the way of "either advertise with us or you will be buried somewhere nobody will find you".

Using AI at scale is not feasible for most as it requires hardware, tokens, API...etc...etc... which come at considerable cost.
I tried already.....the process never turns a profit, much like Ed Zitron also explains. But you learn a lot!
The ONLY process AI works for me now are for my email campaigns I mentioned months earlier. I am finally at the stage of having all that information processed in specific ways I need it so it saves me a lot of time and effort compared to when I started this. But in itself that did not turn into extra profit.....I still need to convert those prospects. However, time is also money so I will admit it does contribute.

The current state of the internet is actually just a sign of what is to come. And one thing I am absolutely sure of is that it will get WORSE for everyone EXCEPT the big tech corps and their small circle of friends(those well known 16 companies that comprise more than 80% of the serp results).
There is now the consensus with Big Tech "we will not share anymore...not even scraps". They are so far removed from you and I, we might as well be some bug in their garden :-)

So, instead of trying to get out of this situation with obviously well meant advise from you, which I DO APPRECIATE b.t.w., it may be better to get into a different mindset of what works NOW in this new era. I don't mean to tell everyone to become as evil and immoral as Big Tech, but there is no harm with "the gloves are off" mentality towards them. They are actively trying to kill millions of businesses around the world. So using "similar" methods to improve your business is in my opinion allowed. One practical example I came across very recently: To get included into the AIO boxes a website had created technical and research pdf documents with fabricated research names using 100% AI and posted these on the appropriate platforms. So they were feeding G with their own AI nonsense and Gemini obviously can not distinguish information being correct or not but the created "image" obviously worked so Gemini thinks that website has good EEAT and posts the nonsense research pdf excerpt in their AIO boxes. The website owner(s) must be thinking "Eat Sh|t!" LOL

[Whitey]

Thanks Dooku; that’s one of the most unfiltered and honest takes I’ve read in a long while, and I respect that. You’re right: we’re no longer playing in a fair marketplace, and the old tactics have been devalued or co-opted by the giants.

That said, I think the key isn’t blind optimism but pragmatic adaptation. You’re already doing it with your email AI workflow; saving time even if profit isn’t immediate. That’s value.

This new era might not reward effort equally, but I still believe there’s leverage in creativity, data storytelling, and yes, even pushing back with tech-savviness and a bit of mischief (like your Gemini example). Gloves off, maybe; but eyes open, too.

We’re in a post-SEO Wild West, and some are surviving by rewriting the rules, not playing by them.

Appreciate your contribution to this thread; it really brings the raw edge we need to hear.

[jccsyd1]

Anyone running a shop and saw significant fall in traffic/ sales since Monday 26 May but did not observe any significant change in rankings? Any remaining customers are adding to cart but not checking out. Yesterday (Sunday 1 June) experienced the worst ecommerce sales across our 3 brands in the past 13 years. No explanation but just zero sales across 3 brands which had not happened since we first launched 13 years ago. Very strange traffic and behaviour.

[Treud]

Me the fall started last year March. And since last month it’s so slow … no sales no inquiry, just bots.
I’m started to cut off some expenses to stay a few more months and see what to do

[goodoldweb]

Anyone running a shop and saw significant fall in traffic/ sales since Monday 26 May but did not observe any significant change in rankings? Any remaining customers are adding to cart but not checking out. Yesterday (Sunday 1 June) experienced the worst ecommerce sales across our 3 brands in the past 13 years.

We are seeing somthing very similar. Top ranking for most of our products but hardly any sales since they've started this "update". I've been reporting this for quite some time.

[mosxu]

@goodoldweb

Sign of zombies,

[frostitomik]

It's not just Google sending non-converting traffic to our websites, eBay is also completely dead. Just search for "ebay no sales 2025". People reporting 90% drops in sales in the last 1-2 months.

It's a global depression that nobody is talking about. People are not even willing to spend $50 on a pair of shoes anymore. This will probably last a couple of years if not a decade.

I have been preparing for this since 2017-18 and saving every single penny my websites generated.

The sooner we all admit there is nothing we can do and stop blaming only Google, the better.

[Chris travel 30]

The month of May has been a big up and down. But since end of May traffic, rankings and affiliate sales have been devastatingly bad. If it goes on like this, we will probably have to shut down any new online activities and "go get a real job". If it then covers the 50 € hosting per month, we can consider ourselves lucky I guess? So, dark humour off now.
What does G think will happen? If, one by one, small and medium sized content creators and publishers have to shut down, what will they feed their systems with?

[mosxu]

@frostitomik

My friend not sure what pill you are on? Red or blue please go back on this forum threads (the only forum) to get an idea what zombies are!

As for Ebay and PayPal associates external traffic is not Amazon traffic for them for years now.

[edited by: mosxu at 7:32 pm (utc) on Jun 3, 2025]

[saladtosser]

>>What does G think will happen? If, one by one, small and medium sized content creators and publishers have to shut down, what will they feed their systems with?<<

Well since you asked, seeing how the www has already been sucked into their archives and stored, its simple really, the sooner we shut down the better for G because if there is no www left another real "search engine" can't popup and gain traction because there's not much www left to organise and index and their is less data for other LLMS to train off, winner winner, chicken dinner!

At which point the legal argument for stopping them will be mute because...at that point, no one will want or be able to shut them down because, G will be the internet by retaining the old internet!

Once there is nothing left of the internet except amazon/eBay and some other few big players who people go direct 2! Google, will be hailed as the "saviours of the internet" by having achieved the www and saved it for "mankind" as a LLM, feeding it back as AI/LLMs answers for humankind to digest. DS may even get a noble peace prize. The plebs who don't know G destroyed the www will rejoice, G saved the worlds information for "us".

Anything "new" that happens in the world will be curated by a few G employee family members masquerading as independents, once all the independent news outlets go under (with a hefty lucrative coin deal i might add, wink wink) to feed google LLM for new stuff!

Next question bud?

This is the how and the why of why the the internet dies! Big tech ,cha ching, with no one to stop them and enough money to buy the devil himself!

[Chris travel 30]

@saladtosser, I do appreciate the time you took to answer my - more or less rhetorical - question. And I do see that there is a - quite limited - possibillity that this scenario will come. And I do believe that some G-heads have this masterplan in mind. But: For gods sake, I hope this will never happen. I grew up with the www and the open web, and it's part of my identity. But if so, you might find me on an small island somewhere in indonesia with no cell phone connection, building a tree house, fishing and selling some coconuts to the four tourists that come by every two months. Cheers mate, keep your head up.

[EditorialGuy]

Well since you asked, seeing how the www has already been sucked into their archives and stored, its simple really, the sooner we shut down the better for G because if there is no www left another real "search engine" can't popup and gain traction because there's not much www left to organise and index and their is less data for other LLMS to train off, winner winner, chicken dinner!

But how long can Google survive as an AI-based information publisher if its training materials become more and more out of date? I think a more practical scenario is a Web where new grist for Google's AI mill comes from sites that don't need to earn money from content (e.g., academic sites, government sites, nonprofits like Wikipedia, destination marketing organizations, corporate PR departments, etc.).

[Micha]

But how long can Google survive as an AI-based information publisher if its training materials become more and more out of date?

Do you think Google is thinking that far ahead? The plan is more likely to be that Google wants to make the entire Internet dependent on itself. Every shop that wants to sell should pay to be visible, every user should earn money with their clicks. Google doesn't care about the rest. (of course this is just a guess, but it sure looks like it)

@Chris I don't think we need to worry about that in Europe (yet). Google's concept is completely against copyright law. And Google doesn't have the same influence on politics here as it does in the USA.

[goodoldweb]

@frostitomik

It's not just Google sending non-converting traffic to our websites, eBay is also completely dead. Just search for "ebay no sales 2025". People reporting 90% drops in sales in the last 1-2 months.

Yeah, I can totally relate. We've had an eBay store for over 2.5 years now, selling unique live products, and we've lost about 95% of our monthly sales recently.

It’s not just Google sending useless, non-converting traffic—eBay feels completely dead too. Many sellers talking about 90% drops in the last month or two. This latest update Google been pushing has been a disaster.

Honestly, eBay’s been a ghost town for a while now. Wouldn’t be surprised if we start hearing about major layoffs there soon.

Google is killing the free web, plain and simple.

[longjohnbronze]

Organic traffic has been really bad for us, and it's because of AI. We lost about one third from our peaks last year, and seem to be locked in a slow but steady downward trend.

What's more is that ChatGPT has become one of our top referral sources at nearly 2% of all our sessions. Because conversion from ChatGPT is minimal, this must mean there's a strong shift from traditional search to LLMs among our typical group of users.

The writing's on the wall for us, I don't see our previous business model (reliant on organic traffic) recovering. We are actively working on alternatives.

[Chris travel 30]

@micha thats exactly what I am thinking about at the moment: What can we, as webmasters and publishers, do to tell politics and people that this is complete copyright infringement? We allways had multiple firms of lawyers coming after copyright and if someone writes a doctor thesis without mentioning the correct sources, whole media jumps on that. But if one of the most used "things" (G) is practicing copyright infringement as a business modell, no one cares (?). I really can't believe how st*pid our people and politics can be. Or better to say they just don't want to see it? Or do they feel powerlesse? We all see what is going on: AI is in every media. I can't listen to a podcast, TV or radio without discussion around AI.

[Micha]

I already mentioned this in another thread, we should join forces to make the problem visible. As lone fighters, we are not loud enough.
Unfortunately, all you can say about politics in Germany at the moment is “stupid”. They simply don't have a clue and other “industries” tend to be more important, so small companies that are on the Internet don't count. I mean, look at who's responsible for digital issues here, you can't expect anything. Therefore: a loud voice that you can't ignore.

[frostitomik]

@goodoldweb

The problem is that people here believe the main reason is Google. That Google is sending them some type of fake "zombie traffic" specifically designed to not convert. This has been going on for almost a decade and it's completely wrong and delusional.

The main reasons your traffic doesn't convert are:

People and businesses being completely broke
Too much competition
Adblocks and similar

And yes, the web as we know it is dying because of greed and too much competition. AI is just the final nail in the coffin.

In the end, Google search will die as well and be replaced by something else (AI assistants).

[mosxu]

@frostitomik

Zombies have been described as copies of previous humans behaviour on your website and if you use hotjar to replay their journey these also make mistakes like getting to a page not linked and other things but these are close to perfect!

One thing for sure is that Amazon does not get zombies while eBay might! Ebay prices are probably better and traffic should convert there!

[frostitomik]

@mosxu

"One thing for sure is that Amazon does not get zombies"

Let me guess, you have lots of evidence for your statements.

How can you be so sure that your so called "zombies" are not just various types of bots or simply your competitors analyzing your website, etc.

[mosxu]

@frostitomik

Not sure competitors can go on and do that especially to eBay!

Who creates “these various type of bots” I can only think of two actors!

[Martin Ice Web]

Very, very bad traffic from google since two days.
And we see multiple views from different ips for the one item in a row ( like 5 views within 10 seconds ). That is a clear sign of an updated is going on.

[Micha]

@martin You're right, according to Semrush there is a lot of movement, and the last time we had strong fluctuations was on May 29th Google is doing a lot of updates at the moment ....

[Dooku]

In regards to several of the posts mentioned above:
- Traffic from chatgpt is increasing on all of my websites, I only do e-commerce(products) and a few websites where I sell services.
- That traffic from chatgpt is also increasing in conversions. Percentage wise MUCH MUCH better than from G, but in absolute numbers not huge.....yet(?).
- Bot traffic has increased hugely in the last 6 months, but I keep that well in check using the many tools from CloudFlare.
- On my e-commerce websites I have feedback from customers who usually order "newer or updated" versions of items they use for their own work. They tell me that projects have dried up, not being extended or nobody is placing new orders with them. These are ALL customers based in the USA.
- I now see more and more orders from the EU and far East in my e-commerce websites.(draw your own conclusions from this and the previous point!)
- The same for my services website regarding difference between USA on one hand and the EU/Far East on other hand.
- This leads me to believe that there is a difference in economic activity between those geographic locations, HOWEVER I also think that manipulation of visitor traffic is MUCH higher in USA from G as they can(allowed) to squeeze it to the max.

If ever there was a time for a new search engine it's NOW! I do NOT mean SE's like DDG, Bing, Ecosia, Kagi, Startpage, Qwant or any of the "AI" SE's. These are NOT real SE's, they are just portals that use the index of other SE's like G and Bing.
The first "new" SE that will use their own index and is powered by many thousands of servers in data centers like G, BUT will ONLY post ONE row of advertisements at the top and then immediately the usual blue organic links below will push G to extinction within just a few months.

[Martin Ice Web]

The first "new" SE that will use their own index and is powered by many thousands of servers in data centers like G, BUT will ONLY post ONE row of advertisements at the top and then immediately the usual blue organic links below will push G to extinction within just a few months.

On point. I have nothing to add.

[EditorialGuy]

The first "new" SE that will use their own index and is powered by many thousands of servers in data centers like G, BUT will ONLY post ONE row of advertisements at the top and then immediately the usual blue organic links below will push G to extinction within just a few months.

I'm skeptical. How many users are searching for Web sites, as opposed to answers? IMO, what makes more sense is a "Web" or "Web Sites" tab in Google for people who want to explore a subject at length or use a citation-worthy research source (as opposed to simply finding out what is the capital of South Dakota, how to make a function work on an Android phone, or what's the best ointment for poison ivy). Google could implement this and continue to benefit from ad sales on its "content network" (meaning third-party Web sites). It would be a win-win for Google.

[Fluff_Nutz]

If Google are doing an ''update'' right now, then that might be why my Youtube channel is dropping in traffic right now. But seriously they used to announce these ''updates''. So, where is the announcement?

AI is the current hot topic. It's also one that is thrown into our faces, like it or not. But, as with all trends, it will become normal and less of a vocal point. So right now times are tough but when the hype calms down a bit. That is when we will get the real answer as to what people prefer. AI or websites. At present its too early to judge

I like to think that people prefer sites. Its more personal. AI isn't even 100% accurate right now. Plus it feels boring looking at the same screen. Getting an answer from somewhere. Basic and boring. I, myself, won't give up on websites. I also know many people don't enjoy change and will want to resume what is natural to them. Newspapers are still around. Should they not have been murdered years ago? Nothing gets completely replaced. Except for Google, hopefully...

[RedBar]

Has anyone else experienced a complete change to their most popular pages?

For example my most popular widget page for 30 years has gone from a constant #3, after home and then contact, to #20.

For example my search page has seen a 1000% increase in use in the past two months and is now one of my most popular pages..

I know that many of my trade competitors' traffic have been more adversely hit than me and replaced with 1990s clones for want of a better description.

To me, judging by how visitors are being directed to me, this does not seem to be an "update" but more of a presentation consolidation of the popular, authorative sites with a promotion of alternatives.

Is it just me?