Search Engine Recap - Week 44 (2024)

This week brought Google’s Q3 report, updated crawl budget guidelines, and OpenAI’s launch of SearchGPT integration. Here is an overview.

Google’s Q3 Report: AI Continues to Drive Growth

Google released its Q3 2024 report, highlighting AI as a major growth driver across Search, Cloud, and YouTube.

With revenue at $76.7 billion, primarily from advertising, Google attributes its AI investments to improvements in user experience and targeting.

In Search, new AI features enhance the relevance of search results, while AI in Cloud supports enterprise solutions.

YouTube saw an increase in ad revenue thanks to better targeting options and new features in Shorts.

Google plans to further expand these technologies across its services.

Updated Guidelines for Crawl Budget Management

Google has updated its best practices for crawl budget management, helping businesses ensure that important pages are prioritized in Google’s indexing process.

The new guidelines emphasize optimizing server response times and organizing site structure to improve crawl efficiency.

Google also advises against unnecessary URL parameters, duplicate content, and low-quality content, which can waste crawl budget. Redirect chains should be minimized, and sitemaps updated regularly to effectively guide Google’s crawlers.

Following these recommendations increases the likelihood of timely indexing and visibility of a site’s most relevant content in search results.

Google Chrome DevTools Introduces New Tool

Google Chrome’s DevTools has introduced an advanced debugging tool to help developers analyze and improve Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), a key metric for page stability.

This new tool provides detailed tracking of layout shifts impacting CLS scores, allowing developers to pinpoint and resolve visual stability issues. It highlights which elements cause shifts and their precise effect on user experience.

With this in-depth insight, Google supports developers in optimizing CLS and improving Core Web Vitals, which can positively impact rankings and user engagement.

SearchGPT Integrated into ChatGPT

Lastly, OpenAI has launched "SearchGPT", a real-time search feature integrated into ChatGPT, enabling it to provide up-to-date information and sources.

This new feature allows ChatGPT Plus and Enterprise users to pull current information from the web, enhancing relevance for queries about recent events, news, and time-sensitive topics.

The integration lets users ask questions based on the latest data, delivering results in a search engine-like format but in ChatGPT’s conversational style.

OpenAI’s goal with SearchGPT is to broaden ChatGPT’s usefulness, making it a more comprehensive tool for research and fact-checking, providing new visibility opportunities for businesses across platforms.

Takeaways and Recommendations

Week 44 brought exciting updates from both Google and OpenAI.

Google’s Q3 results show continued strong growth, with AI playing a huge role in shaping the future - especially as we head into Q4.

Meanwhile, Google continues to update its tools and guidelines. Following crawl budget best practices is especially critical for businesses.

Finally, OpenAI made headlines last week with the launch of SearchGPT as part of ChatGPT, bringing it closer to resembling a search engine.

How this feature will evolve remains to be seen, but it certainly strengthens ChatGPT and offers another optimization opportunity for businesses. The possibilities with SEO have never been greater.

Want to understand what these developments mean for your business? Reach out to Bonzer. As a specialized SEO agency, we work daily to help businesses reach the top of search engines.