Search Is Changing Again
I have worked in SEO and digital marketing since 2005, and one thing has remained constant: the industry never stays still for long.
Lately, several changes have caught my attention. People are increasingly starting their research inside AI platforms, Google appears to be getting more selective about which pages it indexes and Arizona cannabis businesses are now operating under significant new advertising requirements.
These may sound like separate issues, but they all point to the same larger shift.
Businesses need useful content, a trustworthy brand, a technically sound website and a marketing strategy that can adapt as platforms, customer behavior and regulations change.
Here are three developments we are watching right now.
Featured:
ChatGPT Is Changing the Search Journey
A newly released study found that broader access to ChatGPT Search was associated with a 9.4% decline in traditional search activity.
The study also found that ChatGPT generated an outside website click in only 5.2% of sessions, compared with 31.1% of Google searches.
That does not mean Google or SEO is disappearing. It suggests that the customer journey may be changing.
Someone may begin by asking ChatGPT a question, use AI to narrow down the options and then return to Google to search for a company by name, read reviews or visit its website directly. We have already seen cases where organic website traffic has softened while branded and direct traffic improved. That may mean the interest did not disappear. The customer simply took a different path.
For businesses, the answer is not to abandon SEO. It is to build a broader visibility strategy that includes AI search, traditional search, reviews, social proof, useful content and a website that builds trust when people are ready to take the next step.
Read What the ChatGPT Study Means for SEO
The original study analyzed U.S. desktop browsing behavior and found that AI search sends fewer outbound visits while directing the visits it does send toward a different mix of websites.
Arizona Cannabis Advertising Rules Changed July 1
Arizona cannabis businesses also need to pay attention to a major change that took effect July 1, 2026.
The state’s new advertising requirements affect websites, social media, email, text messaging, video, printed materials and other promotional content. The law includes new restrictions involving required warnings, license information, audience age, imagery, potency claims and content that may appeal to people under 21.
We recently created a detailed guide and downloadable checklist to help Arizona dispensaries, cannabis brands and their marketing partners review existing materials for potential compliance issues.
Review the Arizona Cannabis Marketing Changes
Is Google Crawling Your Pages but Not Indexing Them?
Another issue we are seeing more often in Google Search Console is:
Crawled, currently not indexed
This means Google found and crawled a page but chose not to include it in the search index, at least for now.
There can be technical reasons for this, but in many cases the problem comes back to quality. Thin pages, duplicate topics, outdated content and pages that do not add enough unique value are all common culprits.
This is especially important for older websites with years of blog posts and overlapping content. Publishing more is not always the answer. Sometimes the better strategy is to improve, combine, redirect or remove pages that no longer serve a clear purpose.
We are reviewing this more closely across the websites we manage, including our own, because a healthy website is not just about creating new content. It is also about making sure the content already there is useful, current and worth indexing.
Closing
The platforms may change, but the fundamentals are still recognizable.
Businesses need content that provides real value, websites that work properly, brands people trust and marketing strategies that account for the entire customer journey.
At Eminent SEO, we are continuing to evaluate how AI search, Google indexing changes and new industry requirements affect the businesses we support.
Need help understanding what these changes mean for your website or marketing strategy?
