August was quieter than July for the search industry, but there was still some big news for and from the Google camp that could inform digital strategy moving forward.
Read on for the key search industry updates for August 2024.
Table of contents
Google Search
Google core algorithm update: a mixed bag for publishers
Google began rolling out a core algorithm update aimed at addressing feedback from publishers, particularly those affected by the September 2023 Helpful Content update. The goal? To provide some relief to sites that saw significant drops in visibility. Early data shows mixed results:
For a deeper dive into this update and its impact, read our detailed coverage of the August 2024 core update.
Ranking bug causes confusion after update rollout
Just a day after the algorithm update started rolling out, a ranking bug caused widespread volatility. This made it impossible to determine whether the changes people were seeing were related to the update or the glitch.
Google ruled a monopoly
In a landmark decision, a federal judge has ruled that Google is a monopolistic entity, confirming what many in the industry have long suspected. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has found that Google has used monopolistic tactics to dominate the search industry. Here’s a breakdown of what the court determined:
Areas where Google was ruled a monopoly
- General search services: The court has determined that Google holds monopoly power in the general search services market. This refers to the standard Google Search that billions of users rely on every day.
- General search text ads: Google’s dominance extends to the market for general search text ads, the ads displayed alongside search results.
- Exclusive distribution agreements: Google’s agreements with device manufacturers and browser providers to make Google the default search engine were ruled as anti-competitive.
- Supracompetitive prices: The ruling highlighted that Google has used its monopoly power to charge higher-than-normal prices for search text ads.
Where Google was not found monopolistic
- Search advertising: While Google is dominant, the court ruled it does not hold monopoly power in the broader search advertising market.
- Advertising platform (SA360): Google’s ad platform, SA360, was not found to be monopolistic in its actions or practices.
Potential consequences and industry implications
With the ruling in place, early suggestions from the DOJ to dismantle Google’s monopoly include breaking up entities like Android and Chrome or even selling off Google Ads. Less severe measures could involve:
- Data sharing: Mandating Google to share data with competitors, potentially enhancing the competitive landscape.
- Interoperability of ads: Enforcing compatibility of Google Ads on other platforms.
What this means for marketers
For marketers and website owners, this ruling could signal a shift in the search landscape. If Google’s dominance is curtailed, optimising for visibility across multiple search engines, like Bing or DuckDuckGo, may become more crucial.
Following the move to make Google Ads compatible with other ad spaces, there’d be greater scope for cross-platform campaigns and reaching a wider audience. Additionally, potentially lower costs would allow marketers to do more with less.
Yelp files antitrust lawsuit against Google
Less than a month after the aforementioned monopoly ruling, Google faced a new antitrust lawsuit — this time from Yelp. The complaint, filed on August 28, 2024, accuses Google of using its market dominance to suppress competition in the local search and local search advertising markets.
Key allegations in Yelp's lawsuit
Yelp’s General Counsel, Aaron Schur, stated that the lawsuit targets Google's alleged abuse of its monopoly in general search. The primary accusation is that Google favours its own “inferior” local search products over specialised services like Yelp.
Yelp contends that Google’s strategy has been to use its dominance in general search to marginalise dedicated services, such as Yelp, by promoting its own local search features over those offered by competitors.
A win for Yelp may force Google to adjust how it ranks and displays local search results, potentially giving more prominence to third-party platforms.
Seemingly to get ahead of the situation, Google has introduced a ‘Find results on’ SERP feature for local search, a small carousel at the top of the search results that displays links to content from dedicated review platforms like Yelp, Trip Advisor, and more.
What this means for local SEO
If Google is compelled to adjust its practices long term, we may see changes in how local search results are structured and how ads are displayed.
This could provide opportunities for local businesses and marketers to gain more visibility through specialised services, making diversification in local SEO strategies more important than ever.
For those interested in the detailed allegations and legal arguments, read Yelp’s full lawsuit documentation.
Let search intent guide word count
In August, Google’s John Mueller reiterated that content creators shouldn’t obsess over word count or the number of links in content. Instead, focus on meeting user intent and delivering valuable information.
Google testing in-search Maps expansion
Google is experimenting with a new feature that expands map results directly within the search interface, rather than redirecting users to the Google Maps app.
If implemented long term, this could be a small win for website owners, as it reduces the virtual distance between users and traditional SERP results.
Guidance on achieving site links for login pages
During a recent Google Office Hours video, John Mueller provided some guidance on how to improve the chances of a login page appearing as a site link in Google’s search results. While there are no guarantees, he recommended the following best practices:
- Ensure the login page contains some content and is accessible to search engines.
- Avoid completely gating the page behind a login form, as this can prevent Google from understanding the page’s context.
Although these steps can help, site links are ultimately determined algorithmically, based on what Google believes will best serve users.
Google updates video SEO documentation
Google has updated its video SEO guidelines, providing clearer instructions for optimising video content. The key takeaways include:
- Indexed watch page: For a video to be considered for indexing, its watch page must first be indexed and performing well in search results.
- Dedicated watch page: Each video should have its own dedicated watch page, with the video embedded directly on it.
- Paywall considerations: If the video is behind a paywall, structured data must be added to ensure Google can still access and index it.
- Valid thumbnail: Videos must have a valid, stable thumbnail URL.
For detailed information, refer to Google’s updated video optimisation document.
Bad actor traffic won’t impact site trustworthiness
Google clarified that traffic from malicious sources or “bad actors” will not negatively affect a site’s trustworthiness or performance in search rankings.
Trustworthiness is evaluated on a spectrum rather than a simple binary metric. This means that even if a site experiences unwanted traffic, it won’t automatically be penalised or deemed untrustworthy by Google’s systems.
Transition to Google Business Center Next imminent
Google announced that it will be transitioning all merchants from Google Merchant Center (GMC) to the new Google Business Center Next (GMCN) platform this month.
The shift, which will happen automatically, is designed to simplify product data management and provide enhanced features such as:
- Automatic data extraction: The new platform can automatically pull product data, reducing manual input.
- Improved analytics: Enhanced analytics capabilities make it easier to track performance and insights.
- Better integration: GMCN offers deeper integration with other Google services, streamlining campaign management across platforms.
For businesses managing multiple accounts, invitations to transition may arrive at different times. New accounts will automatically be set up in GMCN, ensuring a smoother experience for new users.
Research shows Google is excellent at processing JavaScript
Recent tests by Vercel and MERJ have shed new light on Google’s ability to render JavaScript pages, debunking several long-held misconceptions within the SEO community.
Rendering, in this context, refers to Googlebot’s capacity to load and process JavaScript to fully display a page's content for indexing. Here are some of the key findings from their research:
Myth: Google can’t render client-side JavaScript. Reality: Google is, in fact, quite adept at rendering client-side JavaScript. Unless a page triggers an error that prevents rendering, Googlebot can process JavaScript just as it would any other content.
Myth: Google treats JavaScript pages differently. Reality: The research shows that Google does not treat JavaScript pages any differently than HTML pages when it comes to crawling and indexing. As long as the content is accessible, Googlebot handles them similarly.
Myth: Rendering queue and timing significantly impact SEO. Reality: While there is a rendering queue, most pages are queued for fewer than 20 seconds. This minimal delay rarely impacts SEO performance, debunking the notion that rendering timing plays a major role.
Myth: Pages with lots of JavaScript have slow discovery. Reality: Proper implementation of sitemaps ensures that even pages heavy with JavaScript are discovered and indexed efficiently. As long as Google can access the necessary resources, JavaScript-heavy pages perform comparably to their simpler counterparts.
These findings suggest that concerns over JavaScript rendering issues are largely overstated, and with proper site configuration, developers and site owners have little to worry about.
Google announces Gemini Research
During the MadeByGoogle event on August 13th, Google showcased its new Gemini Research tool.
Gemini Research is a sophisticated AI tool that creates a multi-step research plan based on user input. It then autonomously scours the web - including submenus and subpages - to gather relevant information and can compile it into a Google Doc.
Implications for the future of search
Some are speculating that Gemini Research could represent the next evolution of search technology, potentially overshadowing traditional search methods and even the current AI Overview feature.
For marketers, this means staying ahead of the curve by understanding how these emerging tools might influence user behaviour and adapting strategies accordingly. If Gemini Research or similar tools gain widespread adoption, optimising for AI-driven search will become even more important than it's already shaping up to be.
AI Overviews prefers content that ranks in the top 10
A recent study revealed that 99.5% of the time, Google’s AI Overviews cite one or more of the top 10 organic search results.
This finding narrows the gap between optimising for generative responses and traditional SEO. Early iterations often included low-quality or incorrect information from sources not found among the top 10, but this trend appears to be changing.
AI Overviews are affected by core algorithm updates
As discussed in our guide to the August 2024 core algorithm update, Google has confirmed that their core updates can affect how AI Overviews chooses content to base responses on.
This means that websites that are cited often AI Overviews before a broad core algorithm update may appear more or less frequently after.
No negative SEO impact for ignoring comments
During the August Office Hours segment, Google’s Martin Splitt clarified that not replying to user comments does not negatively impact SEO. He emphasised, “Text is either there, then it matters, or it isn’t—then it doesn’t matter.”
This means site owners can focus on creating quality content without feeling pressured to engage with every comment on their posts.
Google wants to get better at handling URL parameters
Google is reportedly working on enhancing its ability to handle URL parameters, which can complicate crawling and indexing. Key benefits of these improvements include:
- Reduced server strain: Google will crawl fewer redundant URL variations, conserving resources for website owners.
- Improved SEO: By focusing on the correct pages, Google can enhance search rankings and reduce confusion caused by multiple URLs.
- Less manual intervention: Website owners may rely less on complex fixes like robots.txt or parameter tools.
- Better dynamic site handling: Complex websites with dynamic content will be crawled more efficiently, improving overall performance.
Google won’t give simple sites preferential treatment
With Google’s ongoing focus on monetisation, there were concerns that it might prioritise simpler pages by ignoring more resource-intensive JavaScript pages. However, Google reassured site owners that it does not track the resource expense of crawling, rendering, or indexing individual webpages.
The company recognises the importance of rendering these pages to accurately assess quality and relevance, ultimately delivering valuable search results to users.
Google testing ‘See also’ carousel for Google Business Profiles
Google has been testing a new ‘see also’ carousel that displays competitors directly beneath Google Business Profile listings. It seems like the last thing you’d want after putting time and energy into optimising your listing, but it might not end up being as disruptive as you think.
If competitors are getting a boost by showing up alongside your listing, it generally means your business will show up for your competitor’s listings and enjoy the very same boost.
Paid media
All Russian AdSense accounts deactivated
Amid ongoing geopolitical instability and economic sanctions, Google has made the difficult decision to deactivate all Russia-based AdSense accounts.
The company cited challenges in reliably transferring funds to Russian advertisers as the primary reason for this move. This action follows a series of financial and operational disruptions affecting companies with business ties to Russia.
This deactivation will have significant implications for both advertisers and publishers based in Russia. Many will need to find alternative monetisation options or shift their focus to other advertising platforms.
For international businesses and marketers, this highlights the importance of having diverse, adaptable strategies in place, particularly in regions with fluctuating geopolitical climates.
Keywords won’t be paused automatically for inactive campaigns
Google Ads has implemented a new policy to automatically pause low-activity keywords — those with zero impressions over the past 13 months.
However, in a recent confirmation, Google clarified that they will not pause keywords in campaigns that have been inactive for 13 months.
This allows advertisers to continue creating PPC campaigns proactively for upcoming services or products without the added hassle of manually reactivating keywords later.
Those affected by July Google Ads reporting outage to be compensated
In early August, Google Ads reporting interfaces experienced an outage, which turned out to be intentional. A small fraction of advertisers had started serving ads for products from other Google Merchant Center accounts, allowing them to see those products in their Ads reporting.
Google resolved the serving issue by July 31 at 11:27:35 PST. Advertisers directly impacted by this issue will be contacted by Google and offered credits as compensation for the disruption.
Google Ads to get several new features
Google Ads introduced several key updates during their annual Think Retail event:
- Shopping trends reports: New reports in Google Merchant Center help retailers identify trending queries, allowing them to align product descriptions with popular search terms to capitalise on viral moments
- Generative AI insights: Merchant Center now includes AI-powered insight summaries in the analytics tab, providing an overview of recent product performance. Additionally, an AI feature allows for custom reports based on specific product data queries.
- Automated onboarding: A new onboarding process syncs in-store availability from websites directly to Merchant Center, simplifying inventory management.
- Local inventory ads enhancement: The “pickup later” option converts local shopping intent into sales by enabling customers to order items for later in-store pickup.
- Profit goals feature: Currently in beta, this feature helps merchants optimise ad performance based on profitability metrics.
- Brand exclusions in Performance Max: Marketers can now customise brand exclusions at the format level, allowing for more granular control over ad targeting and spend.
Ads served in Canada will incur new surcharge
Google has added Canada to the list of nations in which ads incur a surcharge. The new fee has been set at 2.5% to cover “regulatory operating costs”.
If you have a Google Ads campaign that targets Canada, the surcharge will begin appearing on your monthly invoice from October 1st. To see which other countries carry this fee, read our DST breakdown post.
Separate ad groups for similar keywords can bypass AI grouping
Ginny Marvin, Google’s Ads Liaison, noted that placing similar keywords in separate ad groups can allow both to be eligible for auction selection. Normally, Google’s AI groups similar keywords together to better understand the overall context and match the right keyword to a user’s search intent.
For marketers expecting different search intents for similar keywords (e.g., "car" vs. "auto"), creating distinct ad groups with tailored creatives can improve performance. However, while splitting similar keywords into different ad groups might give you more control (e.g., preventing them from competing against each other), it's not generally recommended.
The AI performs best when it can see related keywords together in the same ad group, allowing it to choose the most relevant keyword for each search. So, the takeaway here is that splitting similar keywords into separate ad groups should only be done when strictly necessary to achieve your advertising goals.
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