Understanding Changes in Google Search Impressions

I’ve been relatively quiet on here lately because, well, things are changing. Fast. The latest shift? A steep decline in search and direct traffic since Google’s June 30 Core Algorithm Update. We’ve spent the last year talking about how generative search and LLMs will chip away at website traffic, but until now, the impact felt theoretical. Not anymore. This latest update rolled out AI Overviews across most searches. And since then, traffic has been in free fall, for organic and the catch-all, direct. We’re seeing the biggest impact on large content publishers, but smaller sites aren’t immune. So, what does it mean? Honestly, a lot. We’re entering a kind of SEO-stagflation. For some sites, impressions will rise while clicks fall. For others, impressions stay flat, but clicks still decline. Your ranking drops, and even if you hold position, the value of a click is shrinking. The percentage of influence a website has in the sales process—especially during discovery—is declining. That doesn’t make websites irrelevant. But it does suggest a shift. Websites as conversion points, not education hubs. And asking, “What replaces websites?” misses the point. Instead, it's a rethinking of what's actually important in the marketing cycle. Reach will drop. Engagement metrics won’t tell the full story. Intent will be measured in views and impressions, not clicks. Frequency will become the gold standard. Positioning will outweigh tactics and placements because everyone will have tactics and placements. Community is no longer a buzzword. It’s becoming the new distribution strategy. Weird times ahead. Probably good for the consumer. Definitely tough for marketers explaining this to CEOs and shareholders over the next few quarters. Hold on. It’s going to be fun.

Google just wrapped up its latest core update. It ran for 16 days and, like usual, shuffled the deck. Some sites that got hit back in 2023 saw a bit of a bounce back. But the real story isn’t rankings. It’s what’s replacing them. AI Overviews are showing up more often, especially on news and informational queries. In some verticals, they appear nearly 70 percent of the time. And most of those searches end without a single click. If your content isn’t being cited or quoted in those overviews, it doesn’t matter where you rank. You're not getting seen. This is the shift that’s catching a lot of marketers off guard. SEO isn’t dead, but it’s not the only visibility channel anymore. AI is rewriting the rules. I’ve been teaching founders and other marketers how to adjust for this in my AI Visibility (GEO) System course at the CMO Growth Guide. It’s not about chasing keywords, it’s about being the source AI tools pull from. Time to start thinking that way.

Google’s July 2025 Update: What’s Changing in Search Link In Bio. Google completed its June 2025 Core Update rollout on July 17, but the ranking shifts are still unfolding — and July brought additional refinements that many are seeing across their traffic and visibility metrics. Here’s what stands out: Core Focus Areas: • Better alignment with user intent • More weight on E-E-A-T (expertise, experience, authority, trust) • Stricter penalties for manipulative link-building and keyword stuffing • Increased visibility for structured, well-organized content (especially for snippets and AI Overviews) • UX and mobile-first design now directly impacting rankings Under the hood: Google is applying newer systems like MUVERA and its Graph Foundation Model to improve how it understands relationships between content, context, and authority — not just keywords. What this means for site owners and marketers: • Sites with thin or outdated content saw drops • Sites focused on depth, clarity, and trustworthiness gained • UX, mobile performance, and semantic clarity are now critical 📌 If you saw volatility in early to mid-July, this is likely why. Now’s a good time to review your content, technical SEO, and user experience with fresh eyes. #SEO #GoogleUpdate #SearchEngineOptimization #ContentStrategy #EAT #July2025 #DigitalMarketing #SERP #TechnicalSEO #UX