Podcast Summary: SEO 101 Ep 521

Title: The Shift to AI in Search: Gemini 3, Fewer Clicks, and SEO Survival Tactics
Date: February 4, 2026
Hosts: Ross Dunn (CEO of StepForth Web Marketing), Scott Van Achte (Senior SEO, StepForth)
Podcast: SEO 101 by WMR.FM

Episode Overview

This episode tackles the rapidly evolving landscape of search as AI (Artificial Intelligence) becomes more deeply embedded in how users interact with Google and other search platforms. Ross and Scott discuss Google's launch of Gemini 3 as its default global AI, the resulting decline in search clicks, practical impacts on SEO strategies, recent crawling and indexing issues, and industry-specific news like Google's crackdowns on promotional content. The discussion is candid, a mix of concern and humor, as the hosts decipher what SEO survival will mean in an AI-first search world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Non-SEO News: Google Adds Color Customization

• [01:50] Scott shares a lighthearted update: users (outside Canada) can now customize the accent color of Google Search results via a palette link.
  • “If you want to change your look, go for it.” (Scott Van Achte, 02:25)
• Both hosts note this is inconsequential for rankings or results, and Ross jokes about Google’s priorities:
  • “It’s nice to see they’re spending their time on valuable things.” (Ross Dunn, 02:31)

2. Major News: Gemini 3 Powers AI Overviews Across Google

• [02:39] Apple soon integrates Google’s Gemini AI into Siri, concerning many SEOs about Google’s increasing dominance.
  • “That is a lot of new exposure. I mean, it’s vast. It’s hard to even fathom… Not a good thing.” (Ross Dunn, 03:33)
• Ross and Scott riff on brand loyalties, antitrust, and skepticism over big tech consolidation.

3. Google AI Overviews — Fewer Clicks for Content Creators

• [04:24] Google’s mobile “AI mode” now intercepts follow-up search queries, placing users in an AI conversation with overlays, making it harder for publishers to get clicks.
  • “From a user perspective, if AI is doing a good job, this could be really helpful. From a website owner’s perspective, you know, it’s just another way to lose clicks.” (Scott Van Achte, 05:31)
  • Guest quote: “As Lily Ray said, more bad news for websites that enjoy traffic.” (Ross Dunn, 06:40)
• The hosts foresee this killing more publisher traffic but agree it boosts user convenience and creates fewer, more precise queries.

4. Gemini 3 as the Default Model (Global Rollout)

• [06:58] Announced January 27, Gemini 3 powers AI Overviews worldwide.
  • “So you get a best in class AI response right away on the search results page for questions where it’s helpful. And if it’s not helpful… especially in local. God, don’t, please just don’t offer AI.” (Ross Dunn, 07:15)

5. Real-World AI Use & Search Behavior Shifts

• [07:47] Scott shares a personal story: using an informal search for “the ditzy girl from American Idol” and AI Overviews nailing the answer—showing real advances in handling natural queries.

  • “It told me right away… AI, I love it and I hate it and I want to hate it, but… I’m so torn.” (Scott Van Achte, 08:46)

• [08:53] Searches per user in the US fell nearly 20% YoY, reflecting users finding answers faster with AI—huge implications for SEO traffic opportunities.

  • “That doesn’t sound like much, but if you think about just how many searches that is… it’s not good.” (Ross Dunn, 08:55)

6. Longer, More Conversational Queries on the Rise

• [10:38] Users are now issuing longer queries (6–9 words), with very long ones (15+ words) growing in volatility as users experiment with AI-driven search.

7. AI Platforms: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude & Others

• [11:29] ChatGPT is now a top-10 US search destination and remains the default AI for many (“the Kleenex of AI”).
• Ross notes growing advocacy for Claude by Anthropic, finds it “far deeper and far more nuanced” for certain tasks—especially for coding, but also for general use.

8. AI Overviews: A Visibility, Not Click-Through, Game

• [12:03] Ross articulates a key SEO mindset shift: you can’t game AI click-through so focus on visibility.
  • “Just go for the visibility. If you’ve got great visibility in that… you’ve shown up, you’ve done a great job, you’ve got great content, you built authority. Now move on to the next target.” (Ross Dunn, 12:50)
  • “Don’t get too focused on clickthrough rate. It’s something we’ve lost. It sucks… But if you get that visibility in AI, you are getting the next best thing.” (Ross Dunn, 14:10)

9. Google’s 2025 Year-End Report: Crawling & Indexing Issues

• [17:51] Scott summarizes Google’s latest crawl report on URL mistakes:
  • 50%: Faceted navigation errors (endless filter combos on ecommerce)
  • 25%: Action parameters—URL triggers that don’t change content
  • 10%: Irrelevant parameters (session IDs, tracking tags)
  • 5%: Plugins/widgets creating bad URLs
  • 2%: Miscellaneous/exotic errors
  • “All this reinforces the importance of, you know, a clean URL structure and correct usage of your canonical tags… it can kill your site for sure.” (Scott Van Achte, 19:45)
• Both warn that using AI for site health analysis is risky: AI’s advice is often outdated or outright wrong, especially with technical SEO.

10. Googlebot Crawl File Size Limits (Updated Guidance)

• [22:10] New crawl limits:
  • 15MB for web pages (HTML)
  • 64MB for PDFs
  • 2MB for supported file types (CSS, JS)
  • “If your site’s bloated, if you’ve got all these issues and you can’t figure out why your site’s not indexed correctly, well, that’s going to be why.” (Ross Dunn, 22:32)
• Clarifies file limit applies to UNCOMPRESSED data—compression tricks won’t help as Google decompresses files to measure.
• Separate limits for HTML content and other assets (images not part of HTML limit).

11. Google Crackdown: Self-Promotional “Best Of” Listicles

• [25:01] Google appears to be filtering out manipulated product review listicles, especially self-promotional “Best Of” content.
  • Many SaaS brands lost 30–50% organic visibility in weeks—primarily in blogs and tutorials, not whole domains.
  • “Those sections often contained dozens or even hundreds of self-promotional listicles targeting best queries.” (Ross Dunn, 26:00)
  • “Well, you know, it worked for a long time. It’s Google’s own fault, but yeah, it’s come to roost.” (Ross Dunn, 26:34)

12. Mueller File: “Markdown for Bots is a Stupid Idea”

• [27:20] New technical fad: serving special markdown text files to AI crawlers, aiming to make sites easier to “ingest.”
  • John Mueller of Google responds bluntly: “Converting pages to markdown is such a stupid idea. Did you know LLMs can read images? … Why not turn your whole site into an image?” (Scott Van Achte quoting John Mueller, 28:48)
• Both hosts reminisce about the “bad old days” of sites made only of images—do not return to this era for the sake of AI efficiency.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “It’s nice to see they’re spending their time on valuable things.” (Ross Dunn, 02:31)
• “That is a lot of new exposure… and it’s their AI. So, yeah, anyway, I wasn’t happy to see it…” (Ross Dunn, 03:36)
• “If AI is doing a good job, this could be really helpful. From a website owner’s perspective,… it’s just another way to lose clicks.” (Scott Van Achte, 05:31)
• “It told me right away… I love AI and I hate it… I’m so torn.” (Scott Van Achte, 08:46)
• “Don’t get too focused on clickthrough rate… But if you get that visibility in AI, you are getting the next best thing.” (Ross Dunn, 14:10)
• “It can kill your site for sure.” (Scott Van Achte, 19:45)
• “Converting pages to markdown is such a stupid idea… Why not turn your whole site into an image?” (John Mueller as quoted, 28:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:39] Apple’s Siri integrating Gemini AI
• [04:24] Google’s AI Overviews changes; loss of web traffic for publishers
• [06:58] Gemini 3 powers AI Overviews globally
• [08:53] Decline in Google searches per user; rise in conversational queries
• [11:29] AI search tool trends (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude)
• [12:03] AI Overviews: the new SEO “visibility” game
• [17:51] URL mistakes causing 75% of Google crawl issues
• [22:10] Googlebot file crawl size limits updated
• [25:01] Google’s crackdown on self-promotional best-of lists
• [27:20] John Mueller on "Markdown for bots"

Final Takeaways

• AI is fundamentally altering how search works, shifting from click-based discovery to AI-generated, conversational answers.
• Visibility in AI Overviews is now a key objective, more so than click-through; SEOs need to adapt this mindset.
• Technical SEO remains crucial, especially as Google tightens crawl rules and content quality standards.
• AI-generated or “growth-hacked” content is increasingly penalized.
• Skepticism and technical literacy are vital, especially as AI advice for web management can be dangerously out-of-date.
• Stay agile: The only SEO constant in 2026 is rapid, sometimes jarring, change.

For more in-depth analysis, visit Ross Dunn’s blog at seodunn.com (spelled S-E-O-U-N-N.com).

Episode Hosts:
Ross Dunn: CEO, StepForth Web Marketing
Scott Van Achte: Senior SEO, StepForth Web Marketing

Release Date: February 4, 2026
Podcast: SEO 101 (WMR.FM)