We finally had a confirmed Google Search update this past month, the August 2025 spam update, which seems pretty intense so far and it is not done rolling out yet. This is in addition to the ongoing heated volatility we saw throughout the past months.
Google rolled out AI Mode to 180 countries and territories. Google also pushed an update to the AI Model model and said Google has been testing ways to encourage clicks for its AI results. This comes after Liz Reid from Google said clicks are stable, calling the other studies flawed but it seems like Google's study may be flawed. At least one study said traditional search is not declining.
Google had a large crawling issue that impacted many but not all sites for a couple of weeks.
Google rolled out the preferred sources feature in the US and UK (make us a preferred site). Plus, Google tested a ton of search features, changes and AI changes.
Those were the higher level changes and check out the August 2025 Google webmaster report if you missed that.
Here are the bigger Google SEO stories from the past 30 days:
Google Algorithm Updates & Volatility:
- Google August 2025 Spam Update Unleashed
- Google August 2025 Spam Update Impact Felt Quickly
- Google Search Ranking Volatility Status Report
- Google Search Ranking Volatility Cooled & Calmed This Weekend
- Google Search Ranking Volatility Calmed For Just A Second & Heated Again
- Google AI Mode Now In 180 Countries & Gains Agentic Features
- Google AI Mode Model Updated - Improvements For STEM Queries
- Google: We're Testing Changes To AI Mode To Encourage Clicks
- Google Tests AI Overview With Knowledge Panel
- Google AI Mode Compare Checkboxes For Products & Local Business Listings
- Google Tests AI Mode In European Union
- Google Tests AI Overview Ask Anything Box Leads To AI Mode
- Google AI Mode With People Also Search For
- Google AI Overviews Explain Overlay Tests Bottom Tray
- Google: Clicks To Websites Relatively Stable With AI Overviews (Is It Flawed?)
- Sparktoro Research: Traditional Search Is Not Declining
- Chartbeat: Traffic From Google To Publishers Stable Over Years
- Survey: Only 4% Of Searchers Don't Click From Google AI Overviews
- Some Sites Have Huge Crawl Rate Declines In Google Search Console
- Bug: Google Search Console Performance Report Search Appearance Android App
- Why Google Chrome UX Report & Search Console Don't Match
- Google: We Did Not Confirm We Use MUVERA
- Google: Crawl Changes Are Independent Of Big Google Updates
- Google's Gary Illyes Interviewed On AI Search, Content & SEO
- Google Search On JavaScript-Based Paywalls
- Google Traffic Drops 50% After Site Hack; Recovery Can Take Time Says Google
- Google Merchant API Is Replacing The Content API For Shopping
- Google's John Mueller Suggests AI SEO Acronyms May Lead To Scams & Spam
- Google Top Stories Preferred Sources Is Live In US & India
- Google Retailer Panel Deals & Loyalty Benefits & Shopping Ads Discount Codes
- Google Search Testing Deep Dive Button
- Google Tests Rounded Search Results Snippet Design Again
- Google Tests Vertical Images For Top Stories (& News Tab)
- Google Search Rolling Out Sticky Search Bar As You Scroll
- Google Tests Moving Follow Button Within Knowledge Panel Menu
- Google & Bing Tests Search Title Expansion, Colors & More
- Google Discover Publisher Entity Pages With Follow, Social & Latest Posts
- Google Search Age Verification: Asking To Confirm You're An Adult
- Google Posts Creation Tool Refresh Now Live
- Google NMX Business Profiles May Show New Profiles Button
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
