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]

[Samsam1978]

Google are destroying the internet and the problem is the law takes too long to put in place, by the time they caught up there will be no websites left anymore.

[webdev29]

after June 8 I can only see the negative. Usually it calms down and slowly goes back up, but this time the traffic that converts isn't coming back. It's clearly a botched update, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a rollback. How are things progressing on your side?

[RubicCubed]

It's clearly a botched update

Google just released AI Mode in the US. I don't think it's botched, but another step in Google's plan to close the open web so they can have it almost all to themselves.

[EditorialGuy]

Google just released AI Mode in the US. I don't think it's botched, but another step in Google's plan to close the open web so they can have it almost all to themselves.

I think it's both (botched and driven by the desire for a walled garden).

Side note: Just yesterday, I was searching for something involving the U.S. State Department. At first glance, the AI content looked helpful, but there was no way to know if it was accurate and up to date. I tried clicking on the two U.S. State Department links that were shown in the margin, and both redirected to generic State Department pages. That didn't inspire confidence in Google's cobbled-together AI info.

[RubicCubed]

@EditorialGuy

Few users click on citations, and Google knows this. The error rate of cited sources is high and is common with all AI chat bots. This has been an ongoing problem from the start, and Google's failure to fix the problem suggests to me those citations will likely be dropped in the near future. A story from Columbia Journalism Review [cjr.org...] discussed the matter of bad citations a few months back:

More than half of responses from Gemini and Grok 3 cited fabricated or broken URLs that led to error pages. Out of the 200 prompts we tested for Grok 3, 154 citations led to error pages. Even when Grok correctly identified an article, it often linked to a fabricated URL. While this problem wasn’t exclusive to Grok 3 and Gemini, it happened far less frequently with other chatbots.

[christianz]

Few users click on citations

Nobody clicks on citations. The numbers are so tiny they don't matter. They can remove them altogether and no webmaster will notice.

Along with the issue of displaying stolen content (stolen from multiple sites and spun via LLM) there is the issue of systematically ranking garbage websites and slop over useful websites. This trend started in November 2024 and has been consistent. There has not been a single decent Google ranking algo update for the past 8 months.

[Treud]

@EditorialGuy

I don’t remember what I was looking exactly, it was related to DHL shipping, but the AIO links sent me to pages that didn’t included the citation they were showing me…. So for me the AI fill these areas with some random links that may be related, it was a DHL page, but the page was something else.

[RubicCubed]

Nobody clicks on citations. The numbers are so tiny they don't matter.

Same can be said for organic results that are buried under AI O. Even if Google cleaned up organic results, and made them perfect, it wouldn't matter to most. We have some #1 positions that would bring in over a thousand visitors daily a few years back that now bring in just 5-10 visits today. Google puts that terrible PAA box over us too.

[longjohnbronze]

I've now seen SERPs where the AI box is not at the top - one was at position 2, one was at position 5, and in these instances the sidebar with the sources (the last desperate straw) is completely missing. My expectation is that if this happens above the fold, that's pretty much the end of organic traffic for anyone except the top 1 or 2 results.

[haramamba]

The SERPs layout in my niche:
AIO
A spammy result
PAA
4 videos (one with key moments)
Reddit
4 Short videos
One result
One more youtube video
Two results
What people are saying
One result
PASF

[Micha]

It's fun again. Google downgraded my news page on Friday. Suddenly, there's no news traffic anymore. The ranking is rising, but normal searches bring just as many clicks as Bing, which is to say virtually none. But at least AI spam and articles that are actually advertisements are displayed as prominently as possible.

And as if that weren't enough, the shop was also downgraded. The result: despite AdWords and high spending, there have been no sales via Google traffic since Friday.

[Fluff_Nutz]

Funnily enough, after several weeks of downhill traffic. Seems we are now increasing again. But are still -15% over last month. Granted this fall might not be 100% Google this time. I was meddling with the UI. So won't play the blame game this time around.

However, according to someone on Reddit, Google are also looking to implement AI Audio into the SERP too. So likely another ''update'' on the horizon? Thankfully I don't put all my eggs into one basket anymore. That is essentially writing your own death certificate at this point.

Google are also still meddling with Youtube too. According to other posts I have read. Implementing more ads. Increasing both the ads and costs in Premium. Many people have also lost traffic. Even someone in my niche, who I quietly kept my eyes on, has lost traffic and is now homeless. According to their words.

Google are certainly desperate right now. Which makes me think is it out of desperation for continuing to own their monopoly or the court case in August? Perhaps both?

[puckparches]

Google has boosted Reddit so much while ignoring other sites that, eventually, people will just go directly to Reddit and bypass Google. Every search I do, Google either lists mostly Reddit links or suggests more results from Reddit. At this rate, Reddit will survive, and Google Search may become irrelevant. Just look at Reddit's stock performance compared to Google's lately.

[EditorialGuy]

Google has boosted Reddit so much while ignoring other sites that, eventually, people will just go directly to Reddit and bypass Google. Every search I do, Google either lists mostly Reddit links or suggests more results from Reddit.

Well, Google does have a $60 million deal with Reddit that provides Google with access to Reddit's content for AI training purposes. (I don't know if or when the deal will expire, or what period of time the $60 million covers.)

[Whitey]

It's a valid observation. Reddit results are saturating the SERPs across an increasingly wide range of queries, especially opinion-based or community-driven searches.

But it’s not just about user preference; there's a deeper strategic play here. Google’s $60M licensing deal with Reddit isn’t just for training AI. It also conveniently positions Reddit content as a low-cost, high-engagement answer source in an age where Google is shifting from linking out to summarizing in.

That said, if Google over-weights Reddit, it risks creating a recursive loop: training its AI on its own output, degrading result diversity, and making the SERPs feel increasingly homogenous. Reddit has useful content, but it’s not always authoritative or representative.

If users start bypassing Google for Reddit directly (or TikTok or vertical search), then Google's gamble could backfire. The open web ecosystem, like forums, niche publishers, independent voices matters more than ever.

Personally, I think this is an opportunity for indie sites and forums to rethink their role: less SEO-chasing, more community and brand-building, and maybe even their own AI/data plays. Otherwise, we're all just feeding the same beast.

[Conro]

A website affected by hcu that I observe, for 6 months has started publishing 50 news stories a day, previously it only dealt with guides on technology. The news appeared on Google news but nothing, the traffic remained low and now the site is stopped abandoned. He wanted to give it a try but he just wasted time and money. Better to cut with the past and devote yourself to social networks in my opinion, much less restrictive, a video is published on multiple platforms without problems, you can ask for money for sponsorships that no one says anything, AI content is not a problem for anyone. The social network could be the new opportunity, while continuing on websites only increases the frustration because the traffic of the past will no longer be there because of AIO and all the mess it has combined Google. Better to devote yourself to something else, even if it means starting over. At the moment my goal is 10000 followers

[Micha]

@whitey

That said, if Google over-weights Reddit, it risks creating a recursive loop: training its AI on its own output, degrading result diversity, and making the SERPs feel increasingly homogenous. Reddit has useful content, but it’s not always authoritative or representative.

But Google doesn't care. The way Sundar is behaving, he just wants to squeeze money out of the company and doesn't care about anything else. AI is all the rage, but no one really knows what to do with it. The best examples are Saleforce and Klarna. First they said, “We're using AI, so we're laying off employees,” and now they're saying, “We prefer people to AI.”
I stand by my opinion: the bubble will burst, and we have to hold out until then, but we can no longer rely on Google because the company has gone blind.

[mosxu]

@micha

You are correct they actually sacrificing their business model to compete with other AI agents where there is no monopoly, they are not are not trained to swim among other sharks!

Last 7 days zombies increased 70% AI overviews also raise no click expectations to shoppers! It is very confusing for searchers they will naturally stop clicking on ads as well!

[samwest]

@mosxu - long time no see. I stopped coming here a year or two ago, but I'm happy to see you're still carrying the "zombie traffic" torch. It hasn't let up at all and has become the "new normal". Google has to churn and burn its bots for ad revenue profits, so sending fake traffic is a great way to keep milking those poor AdSense accounts. Just a question for anyone gullible enough to still be using AdSense...how is your ROI?

My traffic is flat and in the seasonal dip, but sales are virtually gone. Used to get 20 sales a day, now it's 20 sales a month, if I'm lucky, although I'm still #1 in the search results. IMHO, search is dead. Anytime I need a specific answer, I go to Grok. So are many others, and more every day. Have fun out there!

[Samsam1978]

Is it really over guys?

[nordland]

Of course it's not over, things just change. In a few months everything could look different, you just have to adapt.

[Samsam1978]

Honestly I have been doing this for 20 years and my traffic is 80% gone. Never seen it like that before. Am I alone here? I am too old to get a job now, plus I don't think anyone would employ me anyway.

[mosxu]

@samwest

Nice to have you back! It is a race against the moving cheese game as you described it but it looks will be the end of it with AI competition!

[mosxu]

@Samsam1978

The states were initiating regulations against AI using your content, Big Tech lobbied to eliminate any regulation for 10 years but in less than 10 years AI will not even visit your website, it will generate it’s own content!

[Samsam1978]

@mosxu

But I am in the UK not USA. So that does not count. In 10 years people will have lost their income from the website due to the theft. It is theft because they created something that takes away the websites income by using their words. Crazy.

[Conro]

@Samsam1978 How can you compete with AIO? As soon as the AI answer appears, the traffic for your article in the first position drops a lot, even to zero. Let's not forget that there was previously a huge drop in traffic also due to people also ask, related searches, YouTube, Google community, reddit, forums. For me there is no longer any sense if you are not among the lucky ones where Google has not yet destroyed the serp in that category of subject matter, But it's only a matter of time. Unfortunately Google has made a mess that could have been avoided, it has purposely worsened the serp so that users find the answers given by AIO more effective. When Google puts the prompt under AIO it will be over for everyone.

[frostitomik]

Focus on other search engines maybe?

These are the monthly traffic sources of my new website (75% US/UK):

1) bing - 3,700
2) duckduckgo - 2,100
3) direct - 1,000
4) yahoo - 900
5) google - 700

My other new website, different niche (90% US/UK):

1) bing - 1,200
2) direct - 1,100
3) google - 400
4) duckduckgo - 200
5) yahoo - 100

It's doable, just forget about Google.

[Fluff_Nutz]

For me, no traffic source seems stable. Too busy complaining about big G and, actually, my biggest drops this month comes from a combination of both Bing and Yandex. Whilst my only bit of growth came from Google Organic. What a strange state to be in.

[christianz]

Google traffic at new lows.

I also experienced my first ever "Reddit only SERP". The whole SERP was only reddit from top to bottom. 9 "organic" Reddit results (different threads) and even image section was only Reddit images. After the image section I had no option to get more results. There were the typical spam boxes PAA etc also. And the AI content theft box too.

By the way, this is NOT the kind of Reddit boosting we saw with HCU. In this particular vertical Reddit is far from being the best "human conversations" source. None of the specialized forums that have 100x more of the appropriate content were included.

I am also often seeing results with no more than 2 pages after which it says the "we excluded results that blah blah blah". Even sometimes I see 6 pages in the pagination section but when I click on page 2 the links to pages 3, 4, 5 and 6 are gone. If I skip to page 3 or 6 from page 1 it instantly craps out with "Your search XYZ did not match any documents".

Its impossible to do any kind of deep research with Google.

Hardly surprising that Google's search market share has reached all time low and continues to constantly decline. These last ~9 months of nonstop updates that promote bad sites over good sites and the annoying content theft boxes will accelerate this trend nicely.

[Martin Ice Web]

i guess facebook will start in the next few month with an AI powerd search. They are crawling like crazy since 3 days.
I think googles big river of ads income will soon have less water. With all the new competiton ...