Google Broad Core Update (July 2024): Impact on SEO and AI Overviews

Excerpt: Google's July 2024 Broad Core Update signals significant shifts in search rankings and the increased prominence of AI Overviews. Learn what industries are most affected, the reasons for ranking drops, and how to adapt your SEO strategy in this evolving landscape.

Google has just launched its July 2024 Broad Core Update, a significant change to its search algorithm. These updates, occurring typically once or twice a year, aim to improve how Google assesses content and ranks web pages for relevance. This particular update has a 3-week rollout period, causing considerable volatility in rankings for many businesses.

Update Impact Across Regions and Sectors

Analysis from Semrush's Sensor shows varied impact:

US: Experiencing high volatility, with significant position drops and rises across most sectors.
UK: Also seeing high volatility, but slightly less extreme than the US.
Europe: Largely unaffected, showing normal ranges of volatility.

Certain sectors are more impacted:

Highly Affected: Arts & Entertainment, Hobbies & Leisure, Home & Garden, Internet & Telecom.
Less Affected (Surprisingly): Health, Education, Real Estate. (Notably, "Your Money Your Life" sectors like Health are usually hit hard, making its low impact unusual this time.)
Finance: Still seeing high volatility (8.1 out of 10 on the index).

The Rise of AI Overviews

A key observation from this update is the massive increase in the visibility of AI Overviews.

"The percentage of AI overviews... is at 10.97%. Which is massive, but you see how it's really increasing over the last like couple of days." - Dale Davies

This suggests Google is actively pushing AI into core search results, even in sensitive "Your Money Your Life" industries, to familiarize users with AI-generated answers. While video carousels are also increasing, the expansion of AI Overviews implies a future where AI Mode (a fully conversational search experience) becomes the default.

Impact on Website Traffic: The Zero-Click Phenomenon

The increased visibility of AI Overviews leads to a concerning trend: zero-click searches. Data suggests that no-click or zero-click searches have grown from 56% to 69% since AI Overviews launched. This means:

Reduced Organic Traffic: Websites, especially informational content sites, are likely to see significant drops in direct organic traffic.
Content Sites as "Losers": Informational websites are particularly vulnerable as AI overviews directly answer user queries, reducing the need for clicks. News sites with strong brands might be exceptions (e.g., BBC).

Reasons for Ranking Drops During Core Updates

Google's official statement on core updates is generic, focusing on surfacing "relevant, satisfying content." However, common reasons for ranking loss include:

Rubbish Content: Thin, weak, or AI-generated content without strong editorial oversight.
Poor E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Lack of demonstrated authority and trust signals.
Outdated Information: Content that is no longer fresh or accurate. Google aims to prevent its AI from pulling from old, incorrect sources.
Technical Debt / Poor Website Performance: Slow loading times, lack of mobile optimization, and other technical SEO issues can negatively impact rankings.
Content Pruning: Not regularly merging or deleting irrelevant/outdated content can lead to volatility.
Lack of Topical Relevance: If content is tangentially related to your core business but not closely overlapping with products/services, it might be pruned or deprioritized.
Competitive Landscape Shifts: Google might be breaking up overly dominant market shares to diversify results.

How to Respond to a Broad Core Update

The immediate advice is DON'T PANIC and avoid drastic, immediate changes.

Monitor, Don't React Hastily:
- Traffic Analysis: Identify which pages are gaining or losing traffic. Be honest about whether pages deserved their previous rankings or need refreshing.
- Search Console: Use Google Search Console to track impressions, clicks, average position, and identify specific page performance changes. Look for clear red flags like loading time warnings.
- Rank Trackers: If using tools like Semrush, monitor keyword ranking changes, especially filtering by date and grouping similar keywords to identify trends.
- Competitor Analysis: Observe how your sector and competitors are performing. Is the entire industry affected, or just your business?
Strategic Adjustments (After the Volatility Subsides):
- Make Notes: Document potential changes you identify while monitoring.
- Wait for Rollout Completion: Allow the 3-week rollout period to finish (and potentially an extra week for restoration) before implementing major changes.
- Focus on Quality & Relevance: Prioritize creating high-quality, unique, and highly relevant content that deeply covers core topics.
- Address E-A-T: Strengthen your site's signals of experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness.
- Technical SEO Audit: Ensure your website is technically sound, fast, and mobile-friendly.
- Content Pruning/Refreshing: Regularly audit and update old content.
- Diversify Marketing: Don't put all your eggs in one basket (e.g., affiliate marketing). Integrate SEO with email marketing, retargeting, and PR campaigns to ensure long-term revenue.
- Educate Google on Your Subject Matter: For businesses, ensure Google clearly understands your core expertise and the subject matters you legitimately cover through comprehensive content and external signals.

The evolving search landscape, driven by AI, demands a sophisticated, integrated marketing strategy. Businesses must adapt their mindset from simply chasing website traffic to generating revenue by establishing omnipresent brand authority across all relevant platforms.

Google 核心算法更新（2024年7月）：对SEO和AI概述的影响

摘要: Google 2024年7月核心算法更新预示着搜索排名和AI概述主导地位的显著转变。了解哪些行业受影响最大，排名下降的原因，以及如何在这种不断变化的格局中调整您的SEO策略。

Google 刚刚发布了2024年7月核心算法更新，这是其搜索算法的一次重大改变。这些更新通常每年发生一到两次，旨在改进 Google 评估内容和对网页排名相关性的方式。本次更新有3周的推出期，导致许多企业的排名波动较大。

更新对各地区和行业的影响

Semrush Sensor 的分析显示了不同的影响：

美国： 经历剧烈波动，大多数行业的排名大幅升降。
英国： 也出现高波动，但程度略低于美国。
欧洲： 基本不受影响，波动范围正常。

某些行业受影响更大：

受影响严重： 艺术与娱乐、爱好与休闲、家居与园艺、互联网与电信。
受影响较小（令人惊讶）： 健康、教育、房地产。（值得注意的是，“金钱或生命”（Your Money Your Life）行业如健康通常受到重创，本次影响较小实属罕见。）
金融： 仍显示出高波动性（指数为8.1/10）。

AI概述的崛起

本次更新的一个关键观察是 AI概述可见度的大幅提升。

“AI概述的百分比……达到10.97%。这是一个巨大的数字，而且在过去几天内，它还在持续增加。” - 戴尔·戴维斯

这表明Google正在积极将AI推向核心搜索结果，甚至在敏感的“金钱或生命”行业中，以让用户熟悉AI生成的答案。虽然视频轮播也在增加，但AI概述的扩展意味着未来AI模式（一种完全对话式的搜索体验）将成为默认设置。

对网站流量的影响：零点击现象

AI概述可见度的增加导致了一个令人担忧的趋势：零点击搜索。数据显示，自AI概述推出以来，零点击搜索已从56%增长到69%。这意味着：

自然流量减少： 网站，特别是信息内容网站，可能会看到直接自然流量的显著下降。
内容网站成为“输家”： 信息网站尤其脆弱，因为AI概述直接回答用户查询，减少了点击需求。品牌强大的新闻网站可能是例外（例如BBC）。

核心算法更新期间排名下降的原因

Google 关于核心更新的官方声明很笼统，只强调展示“相关、令人满意的内容”。然而，排名下降的常见原因包括：

低质量内容： 贫乏、薄弱或没有严格编辑审查的AI生成内容。
E-A-T 表现不佳（经验、专业、权威、信任）： 缺乏展示的权威和信任信号。
过时信息： 内容不再新鲜或准确。Google 旨在防止其AI从旧的、不正确的信息源中提取内容。
技术债务/网站性能不佳： 加载时间慢、缺乏移动优化以及其他技术SEO问题可能会对排名产生负面影响。
内容修剪： 不定期合并或删除不相关/过时的内容可能导致波动。
缺乏主题相关性： 如果内容与您的核心业务只有切线相关，而与产品/服务没有密切重叠，则可能被削减或降低优先级。
竞争格局变化： Google 可能正在打破过度主导的市场份额，以实现结果多样化。

如何应对核心算法更新

最直接的建议是：不要恐慌，避免立即进行剧烈改动。

监控，不要仓促行动：
- 流量分析： 识别哪些页面获得或失去流量。诚实评估页面是否值得之前的排名或需要更新。
- Search Console： 使用 Google Search Console 跟踪展示次数、点击次数、平均排名，并识别特定页面表现的变化。注意加载时间警告等明显的危险信号。
- 排名追踪器： 如果使用 Semrush 等工具，监控关键词排名变化，特别是按日期筛选和分组相似关键词以识别趋势。
- 竞争对手分析： 观察您所在行业和竞争对手的表现。是整个行业受到影响，还是只有您的业务？
战略调整（在波动平息后）：
- 做笔记： 记录您在监控过程中发现的潜在变化。
- 等待推出完成： 在重大更改之前，等待3周的推出期（以及可能额外的一周恢复期）结束。
- 关注质量和相关性： 优先创建高质量、独特且高度相关的内容，深入覆盖核心主题。
- 解决E-A-T问题： 加强您网站的经验、专业、权威和信任信号。
- 技术SEO审计： 确保您的网站技术健全、速度快且移动友好。
- 内容修剪/更新： 定期审计和更新旧内容。
- 多元化营销： 不要将所有鸡蛋放在一个篮子里（例如，联盟营销）。将SEO与电子邮件营销、再营销和公关活动相结合，以确保长期收入。
- 向Google教育您的主题： 对于企业而言，确保Google通过全面的内容和外部信号清楚了解您的核心专长和您真正覆盖的主题。

AI驱动的搜索演变要求采用一种复杂且整合的营销策略。企业必须调整其思维模式，从单纯追求网站流量转变为通过在所有相关平台建立无处不在的品牌权威来创造收入。