Google Volatility Continues, Preferred Sources, Site Hack Demolishes Traffic & Google On AI

The Google search ranking volatility has not calmed down since the June core update and we are in mid-August and expecting another core update soon. Google launched the preferred sources feature for Top Stories in the US and India. Chartbeat says traffic from Google to publishers is stable with AI Overviews, supporting Google’s claims.  Google’s Gary Illyes was interviewed on AI Search, AI content, and more SEO topics.  Google’s John Mueller implied the hype around GEO, AEO, AIO and other AI SEO acronyms may be scammy and spammy. A site was hacked, saw its Google traffic drop 50%, fixed the issue but still did not recover.  Google may be using a generic and undocumented Googlebot.  Microsoft’s Fabrice Canel said search engines don’t have much visibility into conversions from AI Search and SEOs need to do studies that. Google Search is testing a new deep dive button.   Google and Bing are testing title expansions, different colors and more user interface changes. Google is testing a loyalty benefits section in the merchant knowledge panels. Google is testing a horizontal line above the sponsored results. Google Ads has new AI to reduce invalid traffic by 40%.  Google Ads PMax campaigns gain gender exclusions.  Google Ads PMax has a new toggle for share of cost reporting. Google Ads updated 14 of its policy help center articles. That was this past week in search at the Search Engine Roundtable.Thank you to our sponsor, Yahoo Search. Yahoo knows the way people are searching is changing – and as one of the top search engines in the US, with hundreds of millions of users, Yahoo Search is constantly evolving to deliver a simplified, innovative, and helpful search experience. Yahoo Search gives you quick, AI-powered summaries, plus AI chat when you want to dive deeper. Whether it's news, finance, sports, shopping or instant answers, get connected to what you need.0:00 - Introduction1:06 - Google Search Ranking Volatility Shakes Up1:35 - Google Top Stories Preferred Sources Is Live In US & India2:22 - Chartbeat: Traffic From Google To Publishers Stable Over Years3:44 - Google's Gary Illyes Interviewed On AI Search, Content & SEO4:26 - Google's John Mueller Suggests AI SEO Acronyms May Lead To Scams & Spam4:48 - Google Traffic Drops 50% After Site Hack; Recovery Can Take Time Says Google5:48 - Google May Be Using Generic & Undocumented Google Crawler6:30 - Microsoft: SEOs Need To Study Clicks To Conversions From AI Search7:11 - Google Search Testing Deep Dive Button7:35 - Google & Bing Tests Search Title Expansion, Colors & More7:51 - Google Tests Loyalty Benefits Section In Merchant Knowledge Panels8:11 - Google Ads Tests Horizontal Line Above Sponsored Results8:25 - Google Ads Touts New AI To Reduce Invalid Traffic In Some Cases By 40%9:00 - Google Ads Performance Max Campaigns Gain Gender Exclusion9:15 - Google Ads PMax Cost Toggle For Share Of Cost9:27 - Google Ads Updated 14 Policy Help Center Articles9:42 - Microsoft Copilot Links Local Reviews To Bing Competitor Google Maps10:01 - Conclusion