Welcome to our July Digital Digest!

Have you been experiencing any big dips in your rankings recently? Maybe your reports show a huge increase in visibility or traffic but you’re worried that it won’t last?

You might have guessed it – Google’s latest update has just finished rolling out, but it is just one of many factors influencing the global marketing industry this month, so check them all out below.

June Google Core Update

SEO insiders are feeling the impact and assessing the effects of the latest core update.

The most recent Google core update began rolling out at the end of June and concluded on July 17th, despite being expected to take up to three weeks to complete. So, as we find ourselves in the middle of yet another period of ranking volatility, here’s what you need to know:

• We’re seeing severe traffic fluctuations and ranking spikes and dips.
• Many tracking tools (Semrush, Wincher, Mozcast etc) are reporting high SERP volatility.
• If your visibility has been affected by the rollout, then it’s important to wait for the ranking volatility to settle before assessing its full impact and making any changes.

ChatGPT vs Google

Nearly three years after it was first released, ChatGPT continues to grow in popularity.

By now most of us have skimmed an AI Overview for the answer to a quick query, but new research reveals that nearly 80% of Americans are actively using ChatGPT as a search engine.

A recent report by Adobe found that, out of the 1,000 Americans surveyed, 77% of them use ChatGPT instead of other search engines and 24% prefer it to Google. Marketeers have known for a long time now that visibility in AI search is essential, but these new figures indicate that users are increasingly preferring the personalised results from AI chatbots that directly answer their questions and summarise complex information.

Meta Prioritises Original Content

Google is not the only platform to crack down on unoriginal content, as Meta and Youtube swiftly follow suit.

Meta is responding to the growing problem of mass-produced AI content by cracking down on over 500,000 ‘spammy’ accounts. Accounts have previously been able to impersonate genuine creators and share their work without credit or to repost others’ content without any edits, which was widely impacting the visibility of original work.

To combat this, Meta has updated its policy to implement stronger penalising measures against the wave of stolen content flooding its platforms. Accounts that post AI-generated spam or repeatedly reuse others’ content without permission will no longer be monetised or recommended in feeds, and any shared content must be credited or meaningfully enhanced to avoid being designated as spam and penalised as such.

Search Engines Lose Their Market Share

Traditional searches could decline by up to 25% by 2026.

Gartner, the IT research and consultancy firm, predicts that there will be a 25% decline in the number of ‘traditional’ searches made by 2026. This might not sound particularly revelatory, but this prediction was made way back in February 2024 – long before zero-click searches and AI Overviews entered the marketing lexicon.

We recently explored the rise of zero-click searches and the shocking reality that almost 60% of all searches now result in no clicks at all; but now it looks like search engines themselves are in trouble. Google alone took a 7.91% hit to its global traffic in the months following the release of ChatGPT, and its market share dipped below 90% for the first time in a decade at the end of last year as users increasingly turn to AI chatbots – so, with just a few months to go until 2026, only time will tell if this astounding prediction was right.

AI Won’t (Or Can’t?) Replace SEO

AI search is here to stay, but onsite SEO remains the gold standard.

As marketeers adapt content to maintain its visibility across an expanding range of AI search channels, it is worth remembering that AI chatbots cannot do everything – and they certainly can’t replace an optimised website.

John Mueller, a Google Search Advocate and the coordinator of Google Search Relations efforts, recently confirmed that SEO remains relevant and explained that AI engines rely on optimised websites to provide the information used in their results. Whether this content is found through search engines or AI assistants, the simple fact remains that there would be no results to draw from without the continued efforts of SEO specialists to produce, optimise, and curate online content.

The Digital Digest

Worried about a particular trend mentioned above impacting your campaign performance? We offer a range of services to help you stay one step ahead of the competition and well ahead of the curve, and all you have to do to get started is click here.

We’ll be back next month to cut through the noise once more and deliver the insights that you need to maintain your digital standing with our next Digital Digest, so be sure to join us then!