SEO 101 Ep 526 Summary: "AI Bots Dominate Traffic, Google Algorithm Updates, and Local SEO Developments"

Date: April 2, 2026
Hosts: Ross Dunn & Scott Van Achte
Podcast: SEO 101 on WMR.FM

Episode Overview

This episode covers significant movements in the SEO landscape, with a focus on the explosive growth of AI-driven bots and their impact on website traffic and analytics, Google's latest algorithm updates (core and spam), and vital local SEO developments. The hosts also dive into challenges around false copyright complaints impacting search visibility and offer practical SEO strategies to adapt to the changing environment.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. ChatGPT's Soaring Ad Revenue

[01:39 - 03:11]

• ChatGPT ad platform recently hit $100 million in ad revenue within just six weeks of launch, working with only 600 advertisers and shown to about 20% of eligible users so far.
• Expansion to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand is coming soon, with self-serve ad access expected this month.
  • Quote (Ross Dunn, 02:46):
    "The average advertisers, if it was all one, of course, would be spending about $167,000. That's not bad."
  • Quote (Scott Van Achte, 03:02):
    "For a big company, that's not crazy money... That's testing material."

2. Google March 2026 Core & Spam Updates

[03:11 - 06:21]

March 2026 Core Update:

• Started March 27, expected to take three weeks. It's a global update impacting all regions and languages.
• Not a penalty but a rebalancing: designed to "reward great content."
• Advice: Don’t react too quickly—fluctuations are normal; make sure to review and improve content quality if affected.

March 24, 2026 Spam Update:

• Rolled out unusually quickly (one day).
• No details yet on targeted spam types; applies globally.
• If rankings crashed around March 24th and you’re not knowingly spamming, audit your site for possible hacking or injected spam pages.
  • Quote (Scott Van Achte, 05:35):
    “If you're not spamming and you got hit, do a bit of digging. Make sure your site wasn’t hacked.”

3. AI Search Engines & Traffic Shifts

[06:21 - 09:55]

• Reddit tops the list of sources cited in AI search results (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity), with YouTube, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, and Forbes not far behind.
• The quality of Reddit content is a concern due to manipulation by marketers and toxicity in its community.
  • Quote (Ross Dunn, 07:24):
    "Reddit is the most annoying platform in the world to try and write on... Essentially, I have to fake it to make it to finally start writing in the SEO area where I deserve to be. It makes no sense."
  • Quote (Scott Van Achte, 09:27):
    "Reddit is toxic, to say the least."
• Key takeaway: To appear in AI-generated answers, SEOs must build authority across multiple reputable platforms, not just their own sites.

4. ChatGPT Location Sharing for Local Responses

[09:55 - 12:35]

• New feature allows users to enable or disable location sharing for more precise local suggestions.
• Mixed results: precise location does not always improve recommendation quality.
  • Quote (Scott Van Achte, 11:46):
    "The bad results showed up when I had location sharing turned on. The better results showed when it was turned off."
  • Quote (Ross Dunn, 12:00):
    "It came up with a pop up... saying, please enable... precise location control? Like, no, why would I? Hell no."
• Roll-out is rapid and available in Canada (not just US), unlike most Google updates.

5. False Copyright Claims as SEO Attacks

[13:05 - 14:37]

• A Search Engine Land article was temporarily removed from Google search after a false DMCA complaint.
• Google’s process: automatic removal upon a (possibly false) complaint; restoration after counter-notice.
• Raises concerns about ease of weaponizing DMCA to harm competitors’ rankings.
  • Quote (Scott Van Achte, 14:05):
    "It's scary how easily somebody can have an impact on your results like that."

6. Main Topic: "Your Next Visitor Isn't Human"—AI Bots Dominate Web Traffic

[15:55 - 24:51]

• Over 51% of all web traffic in 2025 was not human, but automated, per Imperva's report.
• AI bot traffic is exploding—up 23.5% YoY, eight times the growth of human traffic (Human Security report).
• AI crawlers now make up over 51% of all crawler traffic (Cloudflare).
• Google Analytics cannot reliably distinguish between human visitors, bots, or AI agents assessing a site for humans.
  • Quote (Ross Dunn, 18:42): "Google Analytics 4 and most analytics platforms cannot distinguish between a human visit, a bot crawl and an AI agent evaluating the site on a human's behalf."
• AI bots are "taking a lot and giving little":
  • Example: Anthropic's ClaudeBot reads ~24,000 pages per 1 visitor sent; OpenAI reads 1,276 pages per 1 visit; Google search bots historically sent far more visitors for each crawl.
• AI agents are making buying and research decisions "for" users, reducing visible human web traffic:
  • By 2028, 90% of B2B purchases will involve an AI agent (Gartner), moving up to $15+ trillion through AI-driven channels.
  • During Cyber Week 2025, AI agents influenced one-fifth of global orders.
• SEO Adaptation Guidance:
  • Structured data/schema markup is now essential.
  • Update cornerstone content regularly to beat "stale" signals.
  • Write content with AI best practices (chunking, logical heading structure, don't cross-reference info too far apart).
  • Don't block AI crawlers without careful consideration: they drive future visibility.
  • Quote (Ross Dunn, 19:34): "Google's traditional crawler ... sends you visitors in return at a rate of about 831 times higher than AI systems."

7. Google’s 2026 Crawling Limits

[24:51 - 27:21]

• When Googlebot fetches a webpage (excluding PDFs), it reads only the first 2 MB of HTML.
• External files (CSS/JS) do not add to the 2 MB; inline files do.
• If you have very large pages, content below the 2 MB cut-off may not be indexed; keep HTML lean, move critical info higher in code.
  • Quote (Scott Van Achte, 24:51): "When [Google] Fetch any specific URL, excluding PDFs, they only fetch the first 2 megabytes of data. Anything beyond 2 megabytes is completely ignored."

8. Local SEO & Google Maps Developments

[27:21 - 29:17]

• Google Ask Maps (powered by Gemini) now fully available in the US and India as of April 1, 2026—uses AI to help users reach businesses, plan trips, get recommendations.
• Google is testing large, table-formatted citation blocks in AI overviews—could impact clickthrough and visibility for sources cited by AI.
  • Quote (Ross Dunn, 28:11): "I'm just waiting for the mistakes to happen that are just awesome...there's got to be some pretty big mistakes though."

9. Bonus: Local Business Review Removal Service

[29:17 - 30:30]

• Ross Dunn announces a new partnership offering guaranteed removal of clearly unfair Google Business Profile reviews (money-back guarantee, ~90% success rate, $100 max spend).
  • Service details at rosstepforth.com.
  • Note: Service is compliant with Google's policies.

Notable Quotes

• Ross Dunn, on Reddit's role in AI search ([07:24]):
  "Reddit is the most annoying platform in the world to try and write on...it makes no sense."
• Scott Van Achte, on ChatGPT location ([11:46]):
  "The bad results showed up when I had personalized or location sharing turned on."
• Ross Dunn, AI bots in analytics ([18:42]):
  "Google Analytics 4 and most analytics platforms cannot distinguish between a human visit, a bot crawl and an AI agent evaluating the site on a human's behalf."
• Scott Van Achte, on Google's crawling limits ([24:51]):
  "Anything beyond 2 megabytes is completely ignored. And Google never sees it."

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:39-03:11] ChatGPT’s ad revenue and platform growth
• [03:11-06:21] Google March 2026 core and spam updates
• [06:21-09:55] AI search engines and the importance of outside authority (Reddit, etc.)
• [09:55-12:35] ChatGPT introduces precise location sharing for local results
• [13:05-14:37] Weaponization of false copyright claims in SEO
• [15:55-24:51] “Your next visitor isn’t human”—rise of AI/bot traffic and SEO impact
• [24:51-27:21] Google’s 2 MB HTML crawl limit
• [27:21-29:17] Google Ask Maps rollout, and AI overview citation block test
• [29:17-30:30] Local business review removal service

Takeaways & Advice

• Adapt your SEO: Structured data and regular content updates are now mandatory as AI increasingly mediates user queries and directs digital commerce.
• Monitor analytics critically: Numbers may not reflect actual human engagement; bots now drive over half of traffic.
• Build diversified authority: Appear on external trusted platforms to be cited by LLMs and AI search tools.
• Prepare for local & AI-driven search: New features like Gemini-powered Ask Maps and ChatGPT location sharing will influence local SEO outcomes and ranking.
• Remain vigilant: Stay aware of vulnerabilities to DMCA abuse and make sure your web assets are protected and regularly audited.

Memorable Moments

• Ross and Scott venting about Reddit’s toxic culture for contributors, despite its SEO significance.
• Surprising revelation that bot traffic now exceeds human, with Ross urging that “structured data is no longer optional.”
• Live experiment with ChatGPT’s location sharing offering worse results when enabled.
• The “DMCA as SEO attack” scenario raising real-world ranking concerns for publishers.

This episode delivers essential updates and practical guidance for SEOs navigating a rapidly evolving, AI-driven search landscape.