How Google’s Antitrust Battle Impacts SEO?

Google is facing various legal challenges. It lost the 2020 U.S. v. Google LLC case and is waiting for the 2023 ruling. Also, some competitors have launched their cases against the company. For marketers, this flood of search news creates concern about the future of Google Search, its AI overviews, and advertising technologies.

So, what’s next in the search space? And what should marketers do in light of the current decision?

What Was the Google Antitrust Lawsuit Ruling?

In August 2024, Judge Mehta decided that Google broke antitrust rules, labeling it a monopolist in the search and advertising marketplaces. While Google plans to appeal, the DOJ wants to describe competition restoration remedies by December 2024, with a final judgment likely in spring 2025.

Google Faces Scrutiny on AI Strategy

Following Google’s antitrust decision, the DOJ is now looking into the role of AI in Google Search, which may result in new regulatory actions affecting its AI search functionality.

Rivals See an Opportunity

Following previous antitrust decisions, Yelp has sued Google, while Microsoft, DuckDuckGo, and other competitors prepare themselves to capitalize on possible market possibilities.

What Does Google’s Antitrust Lawsuit Mean for Search? 

While it’s too early to say how things will play out for Google Search as the most significant hub for consumers and marketers, I have a few guesses about how the impact will be felt.

1. Market Share Competition Increase

While Google’s search quality remains high, its 90% market share may drop due to recent problems such as AI mistakes, increasing advertising, and antitrust penalties. Competitors like Bing, ChatGPT, Apple, and DuckDuckGo are likely to gain subscribers as antitrust remedies broaden the search industry and provide customers with more options for search platforms.

2. Fragmentation of the Google Search Experience

Google’s famous uniformity across platforms may be compromised by DOJ remedies and potential feature constraints. The verdict against Google’s payments to Apple for default search position on Safari is expected to diminish its market share and disrupt its seamless user experience across devices.

3. Changes in AI Content Delivery

While the impact of the DOJ investigation on Google’s AI plan is unknown, feasible solutions might include source labeling or the separation of AI features from search. This might help competitors such as Microsoft’s Copilot, SearchGPT, and ChatGPT, resulting in a more diverse AI search field.

4. Slow Progress of Lawsuits

Due to the rapid evolution of technology compared to slow government processes, Google Search might transform significantly before antitrust actions take effect, potentially reducing their impact.

5 Tips for Adapting Your Search Strategy

While upcoming changes may affect brand-consumer connections, marketers should stay calm as these changes will also create new opportunities.

• Stay steady: Continue Google Search investments while maintaining present methods, since Google’s user experience and brand loyalty will ensure its continued relevance.

• Focus on consumer insights: Use search data for customer knowledge, and plan to combine data from different search engines.

• Prioritise value. Create useful information for users across all search platforms, with an emphasis on increasing trust and customer lifetime value.

• Diversify platforms: While keeping a Google presence, extend to other search engines (Bing, DuckDuckGo) and platforms (TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest).

• Stay adaptable: Monitor changes in the search landscape and regulatory developments so that methods may be adjusted as needed.

Source- Builtin