Google Algorithm Impact Statistics for 2026: Traffic Loss, SERP Volatility, AI Overviews, Content Quality, and Publisher Decline

In 2026, the cumulative impact of Google’s algorithmic evolution is among the most thoroughly documented subjects in digital marketing. From the 2011 Panda update that reshaped 12% of all search queries overnight, to the 2025 AI Overviews rollout that has caused organic click-through rates to fall 58% for top-ranking pages, each iteration of Google’s ranking systems has left a measurable imprint on traffic, visibility, and revenue across every category of the web.

The data from recently published studies paints a striking picture. According to Chartbeat data tracking more than 2,500 sites, Google organic search traffic declined by one-third globally between November 2024 and November 2025, with U.S. declines reaching 38%. A Similarweb analysis of the top 40,000 U.S. websites recorded a more measured 2.5% year-over-year decline, with the largest sites actually growing while mid-sized publishers absorbed the most severe losses. Meanwhile, Google Discover traffic fell 21% year over year, and 60% of all Google searches now end without a single click to any external website.

The drivers behind these shifts are multiple and interrelated. Four major core updates rolled out in 2024 alone. The Helpful Content Update system, launched in August 2022 and incorporated into core rankings in March 2024, contributed to a 40% reduction in what Google defines as unhelpful content in search. AI Overviews, which reached 1.5 billion monthly users across 200+ countries by mid-2025, peaked at appearing in 24.61% of all queries in July 2025 before stabilizing near 16%. Their presence on any given SERP correlates with a 58% reduction in click-through rate for the top-ranking organic result.

At the same time, the algorithm’s impact has not been uniformly negative. E-commerce and retail brands emerged as significant winners of the December 2025 core update. Authoritative health sites with licensed authors saw a 42% traffic gain. Sites with deep content clusters of 10 to 15 supporting articles gained an average 23% visibility increase in the same update window.

This article compiles over 70 Google algorithm impact statistics for 2026, drawn from more than 30 distinct primary sources. Data is organized across 10 thematic sections covering historical update scale, recent core update volatility, zero-click and CTR trends, AI Overview impacts, publisher traffic losses, content quality penalties and recoveries, SERP feature shifts, industry-specific patterns, business and revenue effects, and geographic findings. All figures are drawn from publicly available data published within the last two years.

Scope and Methodology

Includes only publicly available Google algorithm impact statistics relevant for 2026.
Based on the latest figures published within the last two years.
Sources include primary research, first-party platform data, institutional studies, and industry reports.
Each statistic is listed separately with its original source and study context.
No estimates, forecasts, interpretations, or recommendations are included.

Key Google Algorithm Impact Statistics for 2026

60% of Google searches ended without any click to a website in 2025, up from 58% in 2024, based on a 2025 analysis by The Digital Bloom.
Google organic search traffic declined by one-third globally between November 2024 and November 2025, and by 38% in the U.S. alone, based on Chartbeat data tracking over 2,500 sites cited by Digiday.
The presence of an AI Overview reduces the organic click-through rate for the top-ranking page by approximately 58%, based on a December 2025 re-analysis of 300,000+ keywords by Ahrefs.
Organic CTR for informational queries featuring AI Overviews fell 61% from 1.76% to 0.61% between mid-2024 and September 2025, based on a study of 25.1 million organic impressions across 3,119 queries by Seer Interactive.
Google’s March 2024 Helpful Content Update contributed to a 40% reduction in unhelpful content appearing in search results, based on a disclosure cited by Search Engine Land.
Google Discover traffic fell 21% year over year between November 2024 and November 2025, based on Chartbeat data cited by Digiday.
Among 7,105 niche sites studied, nearly half lost more than 90% of their monthly organic traffic between December 2023 and August 2024, based on a six-month study by Paul Teitelman SEO.
The December 2025 core update registered a SEMrush Sensor volatility peak of 8.7 out of 10, the highest of any tracked update in 2025, based on data cited by Emplibot.
Organic click-through rates declined 41% year over year even on queries without AI Overviews, suggesting broader behavioral changes beyond AI features alone, based on a 15-month analysis by Seer Interactive.
Average web search traffic decreased 21% while AI-sourced traffic increased nearly 10-fold between June 2024 and June 2025, based on a 2025 analysis by Ahrefs cited by FeedTheBot.

Historical Algorithm Update Scale Statistics

The Google Panda update of February 2011 affected the rankings of approximately 12% of all search queries, based on official figures from Google cited by Wikipedia.
Google Panda was rolled out 30 times between 2011 and 2015, and incorporated into Google’s core algorithm starting in 2016, based on documentation by Conductor cited by SEO Glossary.
The Google Penguin update of April 2012 impacted approximately 3.1% of English-language search queries by targeting keyword stuffing and manipulative link-building schemes, based on figures from Search Engine Land cited by CIO.
The Google Hummingbird update of August 2013 affected 90% of searches worldwide, though the impact was described as subtle on most queries, based on figures cited by Search Engine Journal.
Google RankBrain was initially used on approximately 15% of new queries when launched in 2015, and by 2016 was applied to every Google search, based on documentation by SEO.com.
Google BERT, launched in October 2019, affected 10% of search queries, predominantly long-tail keywords, and was later expanded to power nearly all English-based queries within one year of release, based on figures cited by Impression Digital.
Google MUM, introduced in May 2021, is described as 1,000 times more powerful than BERT and capable of processing text, images, videos, and audio across 75 languages, based on documentation cited by HuskyHamster.
The Google Pirate DMCA update caused an average 89% drop in search traffic for targeted sites, based on data documented by Search Engine Land.
Google published 4,781 updates to Search in 2023, with the search relations team indicating that more frequent core updates would become standard, based on data cited by Impression Digital.

Recent Core Update Volatility Statistics

The December 2025 core update began rolling out on December 11 and completed on December 29, 2025, with the two most intense volatility waves occurring on December 13 and December 20, based on a timeline analysis by ALM Corp.
SEMrush Sensor readings during the December 2025 core update peaked at 8.7 out of 10, with Mozcast, Accuranker, and SISTRIX Google Update Radar all confirming elevated activity from December 7 to 8, several days before Google’s official announcement, based on data cited by SSBCrack News.
Among the 803 unique domains analyzed for the December 2025 core update, the biggest winner categories included Apparel, Family and Community, Retail, Real Estate, and Sports and Fitness, with e-commerce brands dominating the recovery list, based on a SISTRIX Visibility Index analysis by Amsive.
Wikipedia lost over 435 visibility points during the December 2025 core update, making it the single largest absolute loser by domain, while thesaurus.com emerged as the biggest winner, based on SISTRIX data analyzed by Amsive.
Trustpilot surged 17.8% in SISTRIX visibility during the December 2025 core update in the UK, while Collins Dictionary dropped 8.72% and Britannica declined 1.92% in the same period, based on data published by Emplibot.
Louisiana.gov jumped 310.97% in visibility and Royal Free NHS gained 305.87% during the December 2025 core update, while Napier.ac.uk fell 43.88% and Ducksters dropped 43.30%, based on SISTRIX data cited by Emplibot.
Sites that had consistently ranked in positions 1 through 3 for years fell to the second or fifth page overnight during the December 2025 core update’s first wave, with one site reporting an 8% daily decrease in traffic and another seeing a 98% reduction in Google Discover impressions, based on community reports cited by SSBCrack News.
Google’s August 2024 core update was the most significant of four core updates in 2024 and was designed to prioritize genuinely helpful content, with volatility tracking tools confirming rankings instability well beyond the update’s official rollout conclusion, based on reporting by Impression Digital.

AI Overviews Impact Statistics

AI Overviews coverage started at 6.49% of all queries in January 2025, peaked at 24.61% in July 2025, and stabilized at 15.69% in November 2025, based on a study of 10 million+ keywords by Semrush cited by ALM Corp.
AI Overviews now reach 1.5 billion users monthly across more than 200 countries, based on a disclosure by Google at I/O 2025 cited by Dataslayer.
88.1% of queries triggering AI Overviews are informational in nature, based on a study of 10 million+ keywords by Semrush.
The science, computers and electronics, and people and society industries each have AI Overviews appearing on over 17% of tracked keywords, while real estate and shopping have the lowest saturation at less than 3%, based on a study of 11,000 domains by Semrush.
Ahrefs’ December 2025 study found the average position one CTR for informational keywords dropped from 0.076 in December 2023 to 0.039 in December 2025, a 49% decline over two years, based on Ahrefs.
For keywords specifically triggering AI Overviews, the average position one CTR dropped from 0.073 in December 2023 to 0.016 in December 2025, representing a 78% decline, based on the same 300,000+ keyword study by Ahrefs.
Amsive’s study of 700,000 keywords found an average 15.49% CTR decline from AI Overviews, rising to 37.04% when AI Overviews appeared alongside featured snippets, based on research cited by The Digital Bloom.
Paid CTR for queries featuring AI Overviews crashed 68% between mid-2024 and September 2025, falling from 19.7% to 6.34%, based on a study of 1.1 million paid impressions by Seer Interactive cited by Search Engine Land.
Brands cited within AI Overviews earn 35% more organic clicks and 91% more paid clicks compared to brands not cited on the same queries, based on a study of 25.1 million impressions by Seer Interactive.
In eCommerce, 16% of searches trigger AI Overviews, yet 80% of the sources cited in those AI Overviews do not rank organically, and holding a top-three organic position provides only an 8% chance of being featured in the AI Overview, based on data cited by SellersCommerce.

Helpful Content Update Statistics

Google’s September 2023 Helpful Content Update caused an average 30% drop in impressions for affected websites and changed the rankings of approximately 60% of tracked websites, based on SEMrush data cited by Boomcycle.
An estimated 75% of well-established websites that previously held featured snippets lost their first-page rankings following the September 2023 Helpful Content Update, based on data cited by Boomcycle.
Among 400 sites tracked by SEO researcher Glenn Gabe following the September 2023 Helpful Content Update, only 22% recorded a 20% or greater increase in traffic following the August 2024 core update, with most showing no substantial recovery, based on data published by Search Engine Roundtable.
An additional 13% of tracked sites dropped further following the August 2024 core update, meaning approximately 78% of Helpful Content Update-affected sites had not recovered by that point, based on data from Search Engine Roundtable.
Among 7,105 niche sites studied, 27% lost over 91% of their traffic between December 2023 and August 2024, following initial damage from the September 2023 HCU, based on a study by Paul Teitelman SEO.
The majority of niche sites in the Paul Teitelman study that lost any traffic lost more than 50% of their previous visits in the long-term analysis from December 2023 to August 2024, based on data from Paul Teitelman SEO.
Amsive monitored approximately 400 sites affected by the September 2023 Helpful Content Update and identified gaming, travel, VPN, and information-and-research categories as among those with the most severe and sustained visibility declines, based on a SISTRIX Visibility Index analysis by Amsive.

Content Quality and Recovery Statistics

Mass-produced AI content without expert oversight showed an 87% negative impact rate from the December 2025 core update, the highest of any tracked content type, based on an analysis of 847 websites across 23 industries by ALM Corp.
Thin affiliate pages lacking original testing showed a 71% traffic drop rate, generic keyword-optimized content showed a 63% ranking loss rate, and outdated resources showed a 39% partial de-indexing rate from the December 2025 core update, based on the 847-website analysis by ALM Corp.
Authoritative health sites with licensed authors and citations gained 42% in traffic, niche experts with original testing gained 38%, and sites featuring proprietary research gained 47% in visibility from the December 2025 core update, based on the 847-website analysis by ALM Corp.
Sites with deep content clusters of 10 to 15 high-quality supporting articles gained an average 23% visibility increase from the December 2025 core update, while sites with thin or superficial topic coverage saw significant losses, based on community observations cited by Orange Monke.
Affiliate-heavy blogs with thin content lost 50 to 70% of impressions during the December 2025 core update, while e-commerce sites with detailed buying guides and real-user reviews gained 15 to 40% in visibility, based on direct site tracking by Next AI SEO.
One publisher with strong content but aggressive ads, pop-ups, and autoplay elements experienced a severe drop in search visibility during the December 2025 core update, confirming that core updates evaluate site quality holistically including user experience signals, based on observations documented by Stan Ventures.

Publisher Traffic Loss Statistics

HubSpot’s monthly organic visits fell from approximately 13.5 million in November 2024 to approximately 6 million by January 2025, a decline of approximately 56%, based on data cited by GetPassionFruit.
HubSpot’s blog subdomain, which had accounted for 77% of the platform’s organic traffic in early 2024, shrank to 42% of organic traffic by December 2024 following core updates, based on data cited by GetPassionFruit.
Forbes experienced an estimated 60% to 80% decline in organic search visibility between 2024 and 2025, concentrated in its Forbes Advisor subdomain following a manual action for site reputation abuse, based on analysis by GetPassionFruit.
CNN’s monthly visits declined from approximately 440 million in 2024 to around 311 to 323 million by mid-2025, based on data cited by The Digital Bloom.
Business Insider saw traffic drop between 40% and 48% year over year in 2025, while NBC News dropped 42% and The Washington Post declined 19% to 40% depending on the period measured, based on data from The Digital Bloom.
The Sun (UK) saw traffic plunge 55 to 59% year over year and Mail Online declined 32 to 44%, while Substack grew 40% year over year to reach 67.7 million monthly visits in July 2025, based on data from The Digital Bloom.
The newspaper category within Similarweb’s classification was down 11% year over year in 2025, while world news and media was up 4% in the same measurement period, based on Similarweb data published by Press Gazette.
HubSpot’s overall revenue still grew by 22% year over year in Q4 2024 despite an 80% decline in some organic traffic metrics, because approximately 70% of its revenue comes from subscription and enterprise clients, based on data cited by GetPassionFruit.

Industry-Specific Statistics

E-commerce sites experienced impacts on 52% of tracked cases during the December 2025 core update, health and YMYL categories on 67% of cases, and affiliate platforms on 71% of cases, based on data from SSBCrack News.
The food and drink industry had the highest growth in AI Overview keyword triggers of any tracked vertical between March and November 2025, rising to approximately 11% AI Overview saturation, based on a study of 11,000 domains by Semrush.
Finance sector sites experienced markedly high SERP volatility in the top five positions during the March 2025 core update, while travel showed notably low volatility in the top three positions, based on 2025 analysis cited by Search Engine Land.
The health industry experienced markedly high volatility in the top five positions during the June 2025 core update, while the finance industry exhibited significantly low volatility in the same segment, based on 2025 data cited by Search Engine Land.
Gaming websites in the Amsive study were among those receiving pure spam manual actions as part of the March 2024 spam update, with some having zero indexed pages despite previously receiving traffic, based on analysis by Amsive.
Review platforms Niche.com and Trustpilot gained visibility in the December 2025 core update while traditional review aggregators TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Greatschools.org declined, suggesting a preference shift toward stricter review verification, based on analysis by Amsive.

SERP Feature and Zero-Click Statistics

Featured snippet SERP visibility declined 64% between January and June 2025, falling from 15.41% to 5.53% of all U.S. desktop search queries, concurrent with the expansion of AI Overviews, based on an analysis of 1 million SERPs by Ahrefs.
AI Overview visibility increased 598% and sitelinks increased 906% between January and June 2025, representing the two fastest-growing SERP features in the same period that featured snippets were declining, based on an analysis of 1 million SERPs by Ahrefs.
Zero-click searches are significantly more prevalent on mobile at 77.2% than on desktop at 46.5%, based on 2025 data cited by The Digital Bloom.
Zero-click news-related searches increased from 56% to 69% year over year between May 2024 and May 2025, based on Similarweb data cited by The Digital Bloom.
Organic clicks still account for approximately 90% of all Google search clicks, with paid ads accounting for the remaining 10%, based on a 2026 Similarweb analysis reported by Search Engine Land.
BrightEdge data found that while CTR dropped 30% due to algorithm and AI Overview changes, impressions increased 49%, indicating Google is retaining users longer within its ecosystem while distributing fewer clicks to external sites, based on data cited by The Digital Bloom.

Geographic and Traffic Scale Statistics

Organic search traffic across the top 40,000 U.S. websites declined 2.5% year over year comparing February to December 2024 against January to November 2025, based on Similarweb data published by Search Engine Land.
The largest sites by traffic, including the top 10, grew organic traffic by approximately 1.6% year over year, while declines were concentrated among mid-sized publishers ranked between the top 100 and 10,000, based on Similarweb data reported by Search Engine Land.
The U.S. experienced a nearly 20% per-user search decline in 2025 while Europe saw only 2 to 3% decline, attributed to more aggressive AI feature rollout in the U.S. and differing regulatory environments, based on data cited by ALM Corp.
AI Overview coverage appeared in approximately 24.9 million out of 156 million total tracked search terms in SE Ranking’s index, with 16.5% of searches in India triggering AI Overviews, 15.5% in Brazil, and 12.5% in the UK, based on data cited by SellersCommerce.
Bauer Media Group’s organic search traffic declined year over year in 2025, but the decline was described as single-digit rather than the double-digit losses reported in the Reuters study, with more than 60% of Bauer’s website traffic still coming from organic search, based on publisher data cited by Press Gazette.
Google in August 2025 stated that total organic click volume from Google Search was “relatively stable year over year,” a characterization consistent with the Similarweb finding of a modest 2.5% decline across a broad universe of domains, with the divergence from publisher-level data explained by concentration of losses among mid-tier sites, based on data cited by Search Engine Land.

References

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