Hey friend!

How often do you take the info provided by Google’s featured snippets for granted? 

According to a recent study, looks like these snippets can provide contradictory info depending on how search queries are phrased. Yikes. 

Also—we’re not here to give political commentary, but it’s worth noting that the results of the U.S.’s recent presidential election may have some implications for AI regulation. Just in case you’re curious, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists rounded up a variety of expert predictions.

Now, onto the latest news in the SEO world!

–Thenuka

[INSERT_SUBSCRIBE_CTA]

What’s new in AI and content?

🇺🇸 Ranking volatility picks up in the wake of the U.S. election

Google's search rankings experienced unusual volatility in the days following the U.S. election on November 5—though, to be quite frank, volatility has been consistent throughout much of October. Some speculate it could be linked to increased election-related searches or a broader algorithm update. Whatever the reason, these fluctuations are coming shortly after the Halloween 2024 update. SEO professionals have noted considerable changes in search performance, with some sites losing ground to platforms like Reddit and Quora, while others report reduced traffic and conversions.

• What this means for SEO: Hang in there—there’s no clear end in sight for when search rankings will stabilize. Stay adaptable by investing in other traffic sources but also continue to focus on creating quality, user-centric content.

📉 Google’s testing AI Overviews in its People Also Ask section

Google is testing a new format that incorporates AI Overviews into its People Also Ask feature that’s traditionally populated by featured snippets. This shift, spotted by Derek Perkins on X, means that instead of directly pulling snippets from website content, some People Also Ask responses will now feature AI-generated summaries.

• What this means for SEO: To be clear, it looks like Google is only testing this for some queries—AI Overviews in the People Also Ask questions haven’t rolled out widely yet. Best to keep a close eye here, as this development could reduce traffic to sites that typically benefit from featured snippets in the People Also Ask sections.

🙂‍↔️ Google’s featured snippets show contradictory results based on phrasing

In a recent study led by Sarah Presch of Dragon Metrics, researchers found that Google’s featured snippets can provide contradictory info based on how search queries are phrased, especially on topics like health, politics, and news. For example, a search for "link between coffee and hypertension" shows Google’s top snippet citing a Mayo Clinic article stating that caffeine may cause a spike in blood pressure. However, a search for "no link between coffee and hypertension" pulls a conflicting statement from the same source, suggesting caffeine doesn’t cause long-term blood pressure issues. This issue highlights the search engine's tendency to prioritize user intent over accuracy, leading to biased or conflicting answers. More broadly, this means Google could be creating feedback loops that reinforce confirmation bias, especially when users receive information tailored to their query framing.

• What this means for SEO: These findings have big social implications for how people access public knowledge—but from an SEO perspective, they suggest that Google may prioritize user intent over accuracy. To stay ahead, monitor how your content appears in snippets and focus on understanding your audience’s search intent. Most importantly, ensure your content is accurate.

Expert Insights

🤖 Marie Haynes: “ChatGPT is able to profit from reading my content and paraphrasing it in a way that makes readers not have to visit websites.”

Should SEOs optimize for LLMs? According to Dr. Marie Haynes, it’s worth at least tracking your site’s visibility in LLMs like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. Marie offers an analysis of sites impacted by Google’s Helpful Content update and how they’ve been able to perform well for various keyword phrases in OpenAI’s new SearchGPT. Though this seems like a win, she points out that SearchGPT’s paraphrasing makes it less necessary to actually visit the source sites. This raises fairness issues around AI systems using publicly available content, as content creators lose out on traffic.

>> Read more

🔮 Ross Simmonds: “The future of SEO is diversified.”

Resharing an earlier post of his from Reddit, marketing expert Ross Simmonds recently prompted a LinkedIn discussion about the future of SEO. As people increasingly search beyond Google, he argues that marketers should create and optimize content for more platforms like Reddit, TikTok, and YouTube. Additionally, because Google now ranks diverse content types—not just blogs or landing pages—creating a wide range of content, like videos, is essential.

>> Read more