August Industry Updates: The SEO Rollercoaster & The AI Plateau

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If you've felt like you need a reliable compass to navigate the world of search lately, you're in precisely the right place. The landscape is in constant motion with sustained algorithm volatility and major shifts in the AI space.

But here’s the good news: This change brings massive opportunity, not threats. Watch Pat Reinhart’s latest 30|30 Webinar and review the key insights distilled below to give you a clear, strategic playbook for what's happening and what to do next.

The New Normal: Volatility is High, But Traffic Impact is Low

For the past two months, the search results have been in a state of sustained high volatility, the kind we haven't seen since the days when tracking tools had to reconfigure their measurements.

If you're wondering why this hasn't rocked your traffic, here's the key observation: most of the ranking movement is happening outside of page one. This means that while rankings are shifting, the impact on traffic has been limited for many.

💡 The takeaway?

Don't panic, but pay close attention. This volatility underscores a new reality for SEO. As Pat says, "Keyword rankings still matter... Traditional search is still a thing. We live in a two-channel world". You need a robust monitoring strategy to separate the critical signals from the background noise.

Industry Deep Dive: Who is Winning in the "Two-Channel World"?

A look at performance across different industries reveals that strategic, multi-platform content is paying off.

Direct-to-Consumer E-commerce

It's a challenging environment for major e-commerce sites like Zappos, which saw a 23% dip in page one visibility this year.
However, brands like Away Luggage are thriving, with a 41% increase in page one visibility since the start of the year. Their success is a masterclass in modern marketing, built on:
- Strong multi-platform content distribution
- An active and engaging presence on Reddit, YouTube, and Instagram
- A premium content strategy that generates excellent word-of-mouth marketing

Healthcare

This has been one of the most requested industries for analysis, and the results are compelling.
Elevance Health continues its steady trajectory with a slight 7% visibility increase since the beginning of the year.
But the real standout is UnitedHealthcare, which is "on a tear" with a significant 22% increase in visibility since the beginning of the year.

🛠️ Actionable Tip:

For marketing directors, this data connects tactics directly back to high-level business goals. A holistic content strategy that extends beyond your site to platforms where your audience lives is key to building a competitive advantage.

The Great AI Overview Plateau

After months of exponential growth, we've hit a surprising pause.

18% of all searches now generate AI Overviews, a figure that was completely unchanged in the last month.
This is the first month we have seen completely flat growth, suggesting Google may be "settling in" after a period of rapid expansion.

However, this plateau doesn't mean the game has stopped. In fact, we're still seeing growth in sectors previously thought to be avoided by AI, such as healthcare, medicine, and finance. With Google's continued monetization efforts, this pause is likely temporary before the next phase of acceleration.

🛠️ Actionable Tip:

For SEO and content analysts, now is the time to dig into industry-specific data. Use AI Search Performance reporting in Conductor to track how these trends are impacting your specific market, so you're prepared for the next wave of change.

Why Your Data Source is a Strategic Advantage

In this new landscape, the quality of your data is everything. SEO and AI vendors have a fundamental choice: use web scraping or connect directly through an API. This technical decision has massive implications for your strategy.

As Pat explains, scraping is like watching a single TV channel, while an API is like being hooked up to the entire satellite feed. "If you're scraping ChatGPT, you're only getting results from them... when you connect through the API, you're seeing the entire base... you're going to be missing 98% of the market if you're using a scraper".

💡 The takeaway?

Your strategy is only as good as your data. At Conductor, we ensure you have a reliable, API-driven foundation so you can make decisions with confidence.

Good News: GPT-5 Makes Your SEO Skills More Valuable Than Ever

The discourse around AI has shifted from doom and gloom to productive discussions about the future. A recent article by Dan Petrovic put it perfectly:

"GPT-5 made SEO irreplaceable".

Here’s why: OpenAI's strategy is not to build a search engine, but to achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). To do that, their models need information. And where do they get it? They Google it.

LLMs are "grounded in search" when connected to the internet.
There is a very high correlation between ranking high in traditional Google results and appearing in AI results.
With an 80% market share, ChatGPT's reliance on search engines means your SEO work is more critical than ever.

Your expertise in creating high-quality, authoritative content that ranks in traditional search is precisely what will make you visible in the AI-powered future.

Your Compass for the Road Ahead

Let's end with a core principle:

"The only algorithms that matter is the heart, mind, and soul of your customer. If you create great content that they like and love, they will come back and be customers for life".

Navigating this new world comes down to focusing on what matters: understanding your customer and having access to high-quality data. The volatility is here to stay, but with the right strategy, it's an environment full of opportunity.

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