SEO News – January 2025

Digital   /  Feb 10, 2025

Welcome to the January edition of our SEO News roundup! This month, we’ve seen a wave of AI-driven updates across search engines, Google policy shifts, and new developments in search technology. Let’s dive in!

AI and Search Results

• AI-Powered Restaurant Recommendations: Google has expanded AI-organised search results to include restaurant recommendations, following the format launched for recipes in October 2024.
• ‘Places People Are Talking About’ in Local Search: Google is testing a new feature highlighting social media videos about nearby restaurants in a carousel, emphasising user-generated content (UGC).
• AI Overviews Take More Space: According to BrightEdge, AI Overviews (AIOs) have increased in pixel height from 600px to 800px, pushing traditional search results further down the SERP.
• Circle to Search Gets AI Overviews: AI Overviews are now integrated into Google’s Circle to Search, a feature gaining traction among younger users.

Google Search & SEO Updates

• December 2024 Spam Update Complete: Google’s latest spam update concluded on December 26, 2024, lasting seven days with minimal disruption
• Exporting 24-Hour Data in GSC: Google now allows users to export granular data from the 24-hour view in Search Console.
• Google Review Snippet Update: Only ratings with written reviews and the reviewer’s name will now appear in search snippets.
• Breadcrumbs Removed from Mobile SERPs: Google has removed breadcrumbs from mobile results, though they remain on desktop.
• Google’s Site Reputation Abuse Update: Spam documentation regarding first-party vs third-party content use has been clarified.

Search Engine Market & Legal Developments

• Google’s Market Share Drops Below 90%: According to Statcounter, this is the first time since 2015 that Google’s global share has dipped below 90%.
• UK Antitrust Regulator Investigates Google: The CMA is investigating Google’s search dominance following a US DOJ classification of Google as a monopoly.
• Microsoft’s ‘Google’ Trick on Bing: Users searching for ‘Google’ on Bing are met with a search page that mimics Google’s interface in an attempt to retain Bing users.
• Bing Hides ‘Google’ Search Results: Microsoft has started obscuring Google-related results in Bing.
• Yahoo Tests AI Chat in Search: Yahoo is trialling AI-powered search chat, potentially using Microsoft’s Copilot.

AI & Tech Innovations

• AI-Generated Audio Show in Discover: ‘Daily Listen’ is rolling out in the US, providing an audio digest of personalised search topics.
• Google Tag Assistant Returns: Google has reversed its decision to remove the Tag Manager Chrome extension, merging its Legacy and Companion versions.
• Google Warns AI Crawlers Don’t Render JavaScript: This could impact how AI-powered search tools interpret web pages.
• Google Requiring JavaScript for Search: Many SEO tools struggle with blocks due to Google’s increased JS reliance, potentially raising operational costs.
• Google’s AI News Deal with AP: Google has partnered with The Associated Press to provide up-to-date news to its AI model, Gemini.

Business & SEO Strategy Insights

• SEO Downtime Leads to Traffic Decline: Cutting back SEO efforts can result in a 10-20% annual traffic drop.
• AI-Generated Backlink Content Is Spam: Google reiterates that creating AI content solely for backlinks is against its spam policies.
• Brands See Growth from ChatGPT & Gemini: Companies like Viv have reported increased traffic and sales from AI-driven search mentions.
• New Google Business Profile Feature for Product Images: Merchants can now remove or change image backgrounds with AI

Stay tuned for next month’s updates!

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