Big things happened in the SEO world this week. Google rankings shook, WordPress released a major security fix, and a Cloudflare setting caused a surprise problem. Here’s what local business owners need to know.
Search Engine Roundtable
- Google search rankings swung hard on August 5 and 6, and many site owners saw sudden traffic drops or spikes. Google has not explained the cause, but tracking tools like Semrush and Sistrix all showed the same spike at the same time. If your business noticed a sudden traffic change this week, you were not alone, so wait a few days before making any big changes. Read more
- Google’s crawler sends more than basic requests. Google’s Gary Illyes said Googlebot sometimes uses extra request types, like HEAD, PUT, and DELETE. These make up less than 1.5% of all requests and mostly happen while Google runs JavaScript on a page. This is normal, so don’t worry if you spot these in your server logs. Read more
- Google says Reddit gets no special treatment. A Google spokesperson told The Verge that Reddit gets no ranking boost in search results or AI Overviews. Reddit’s traffic dropped after Google’s spam and quality updates earlier this year, not because of unfair treatment. It’s a reminder that no site gets a free pass, so keep focusing on real, useful content. Read more
Search Engine Land
- Local searches are moving into AI chatbots too. A new report says businesses should check both regular keyword searches and AI chatbot prompts, since customers now ask tools like ChatGPT for recommendations. Some topics get little search volume but come up constantly inside AI tools, which normal keyword tools miss. Think about how customers might ask AI “who’s the best plumber near me,” and make sure your content answers that clearly. Read more
- AI tools work best alongside your business systems, not instead of them. A marketing platform CEO said AI assistants like ChatGPT can connect to your business tools, but still need real customer data behind them to work well. He compared AI to a visitor knocking on a door, while the real value stays inside the house. Keep investing in your data and booking systems instead of expecting AI alone to replace them. Read more
- Websites that won’t link out shouldn’t complain about AI. A columnist pointed out that many publishers demand credit from Google and AI tools, but refuse to link to other sites themselves. He called this a double standard, since naming a source without linking to it hides where the information came from. When your blog uses someone else’s information, link to it, since it builds trust and treats other creators fairly. Read more
Search Engine Journal
- WordPress sites need this security update right away. WordPress released version 7.0.3 to fix 12 security problems, including a serious flaw on the login page that could let hackers run harmful code. WordPress updates most sites automatically, but double check that your site has the newest version. Since many local business sites run on WordPress, don’t ignore this one, especially if you manage updates yourself. Read more
- Google wants big sites to use a simple status code. Google now recommends large websites send a “304 Not Modified” code to tell Google a page hasn’t changed, so it skips re-crawling it. This saves server power and helps Google use its crawling time wisely. It mainly matters for sites with thousands of pages, so most local sites won’t need to worry about it. Read more
- Blocking AI bots on Cloudflare could also block Google. A website owner found that turning on Cloudflare’s AI bot blocking feature also blocked Googlebot and Bingbot by mistake, since Cloudflare treats them as the same type of crawler. Google’s John Mueller responded and asked to look into the case directly. If your site uses Cloudflare, check your bot settings carefully, because blocking AI training bots could accidentally stop Google from finding your pages. Read more
This week’s news is a good reminder to keep your website’s basics solid: update your software, check your security settings, and don’t panic over short-term ranking swings. Customers are also starting to ask AI assistants for local recommendations, so make sure your content gives clear answers they can find and use.
