🔥 SEOs Diners Club #200: Google's New Reality: 5 Surprising Rules That Are Radically Changing SEO

Hello everyone,

With the unstoppable rise of artificial intelligence and the ever-evolving algorithms of search engines, the SEO world is in a state of flux. Why are the keyword strategies and backlink tactics we've memorized for years no longer delivering the expected results? Because it's not the rules of the game that have changed, but the game itself. Search engines are no longer simple machines that count words; they have become entities that understand concepts, measure credibility, and "make sense" of reality.

This week, instead of offering you outdated tactics, we're laying out the four most surprising and effective fundamental principles that explain how search engines now "think" and perceive the digital world. These rules will be your new roadmap for carrying your digital presence into the future.

🎯 This Week's In-Depth Analysis: Google's New Reality: 4 Surprising Rules That Are Radically Changing SEO

1. Google No Longer Ranks Websites, It Ranks "Entities": The most crucial rule of the new SEO order is understanding that the basic unit is no longer a web page (URL). The basic unit is now the "Entity"—a specific concept with a consistent identity in the digital ecosystem. Google now processes information and brands by querying an "Identity Graph." Your brand is at the center of this graph, while your website, social media profiles, and other digital footprints become pieces of the puzzle that define your identity. A fragmented digital identity reduces Google's trust in that entity, pulling down the visibility of not just one website, but all digital footprints associated with the entity.

2. Your Content's Hidden Enemy: The "Gibberish Score": Google assigns a "Gibberish Score" to semantically empty marketing phrases like "state-of-the-art" or "industry-leading." These phrases diminish the unique value of your content, turning it into "noise" in the eyes of the search engine. To succeed, content must now contain machine-readable, precise, and measurable data points. For example, instead of saying, "We offer fast shipping on our great jackets," using a clear statement like, "Order full-grain leather jackets with 2-day trackable delivery and a 30-day return policy" informs Google that you have specific features and service conditions, making your content valuable.

3. Social Media Is Officially in the Game: Google's integration of social media performance data into Google Search Console on December 8, 2025, is a declaration that it officially uses social platforms to verify an entity's identity and credibility. While metrics like likes and shares are not direct ranking factors, they function as an "Entity Verification Signal." An active, verified entity that engages with its audience on social media sends a much more legitimate signal to Google, strengthening the "Trust" element within the E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) framework.

4. The Metric of the Future Isn't the Click, It's "Brand Attribution": In the new world dominated by AI Overviews and zero-click searches, the primary metric of success is no longer website traffic, but "Mindshare" and "Brand Attribution." The main goal is to have the AI cite your brand by name when summarizing an answer, saying "According to..." The strategy is to make your brand name an inseparable attribute of the information itself. For instance, instead of a simple fact like, "Coffee grows best at high altitudes," providing proprietary and unique data such as, "[Brand Name]'s High-Altitude Index confirms that coffee reaches its optimal density at 1,200 meters," compels the AI to carry your brand's name into the summary.

Actionable Tip: Think of your digital presence as a whole. Create a consistent identity across your website, social media accounts, and press mentions. Avoid meaningless marketing jargon in your content and provide measurable, concrete data. Position your brand as a source of information to aim for attribution in AI summaries.

🔍 Algorithm & Search Engine Updates

It was another week of significant developments in the search world. Here are the highlights:

• Google's December 2025 Core Update Continues: On December 11, Google launched its third major core update of the year. Expected to take about three weeks to roll out, this update aims to reward high-quality, human-centric content. Initial industry data suggests that 59% of sites have experienced ranking losses, and we will continue to see fluctuations in the coming weeks. The best course of action is to remain calm and stick to your strategy focused on quality content and user experience.

• Google Sues SerpApi for Data Scraping: Google has filed a lawsuit against the popular SEO tool provider SerpApi, alleging that it scraped and resold search results without authorization. This lawsuit could have significant implications for the use of search data and the future of tools that process it. As SEO professionals, we are entering an era where we must question the legitimacy of the data collection methods of the tools we use.

• Delays in Search Console Have Been Resolved: The month-long delay in the Google Search Console page indexing report has finally been fixed. Data is now back to normal, and you can track indexing issues in a more timely manner. Time to check your reports!

Actionable Tip: Closely monitor the impact of the December update on your site via Google Analytics and Search Console. The emphasis on "content made for humans" should be at the core of your strategy. Review the data collection policies of your SEO tools and consider moving away from those that are not transparent.

🧠 News from the AI World

The competition in the AI space continues to heat up. Here are the week's hottest developments:

• Google Launches Gemini 3 Flash: Google has made another move against OpenAI by announcing the fast and cost-effective Gemini 3 Flash model. This new model has become the default in the Gemini app and in AI Mode. Flash stands out with its multimodal capabilities and speed, showing strong performance against rival models like GPT-5.2. This development opens the door to faster and cheaper solutions for AI-powered applications.

• Sam Altman Explains OpenAI's Profitability Strategy: Speaking on a podcast, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman explained how the company plans to achieve profitability despite its massive computing costs. Altman stated that the biggest constraint right now is not money, but computing power, and that their biggest bet is to continue investing aggressively in training large models. OpenAI's strategy is based on the belief that revenue growth will eventually surpass training costs. 

• Duplicate Content Can Harm Your AI Search Visibility: A statement from Microsoft Bing has once again reminded us how important an old SEO rule is in the age of AI. Duplicate or very similar content makes it difficult for AI systems to interpret intent signals, reducing the likelihood that the correct page will be selected or summarized. This is a critical warning, especially for campaign pages, localization, and syndicated content.

Actionable Tip: Conduct an audit to resolve duplicate content issues on your site (canonical tags, 301 redirects, hreflang usage). This is now a necessity not only for traditional SEO but also for achieving better visibility in AI search systems. Start thinking about how you can automate your workflows using the APIs of new and fast models like Gemini 3 Flash.

Applied SEO Tips

This week, we're focusing on two important tips you can apply directly, moving from theory to practice:

1. Build Topical Authority to Get Cited in AI Overviews: A study by Surfer SEO revealed that the secret to getting cited in Google's AI Overviews lies in topic authority rather than individual keywords. According to the study, pages that rank for related sub-queries ("fan-out" queries) around a main query are 161% more likely to be cited. Tip: Instead of chasing specific keywords, become the authority on a topic by creating in-depth and comprehensive content. This will increase the likelihood that AI will see you as a reliable source.

2. The 5 Golden Rules for Human-Focused Content: Google's Robby Stein provided important clues on how content is evaluated in AI Mode. According to Stein, to be successful in both classic search and the AI world, your content must meet these five basic criteria: 1) Directly answer the user's question, 2) Be high-quality, 3) Load quickly, 4) Be original, and 5) Cite its sources. Tip: Build your content strategy on these five fundamental principles. The habit of citing sources, in particular, strengthens your E-E-A-T signals and builds trust with both users and algorithms.

Actionable Tip: When planning your next piece of content, create a content map that covers not just the main keyword, but all the potential questions users might ask about that topic. Run your content through the 5-point checklist above before publishing. These simple steps will put you one step ahead of your competitors.

Closing

That's all for this week! As you can see, the digital marketing world is in a constant state of change. Algorithms are updated, AI opens new doors, and the rules are rewritten. The way to survive and succeed in this dynamic environment is through continuous learning and boldly adapting your strategies.

If you want to stay one step ahead in this transformation and strengthen your SEO and AI strategies with the most current approaches, we at Stradiji would be happy to help. Contact us to unlock your website's potential and achieve your digital goals.

See you next week with new developments!

Mert Erkal

About Mert Erkal:

Developing strategies at the intersection of artificial intelligence and search engine technologies, Mert Erkal helps brands become more visible and effective in the digital world. He shares his latest analyses and industry insights on his YouTube channel.

Want to Support This Newsletter?

I love sharing the latest developments and strategies from the SEO world with you. If you find my content useful, you can support me by buying a coffee. ☕ Click 'Buy Me a Coffee' to contribute to knowledge sharing. Let's achieve more together!

© 2022-2025 SEOs Diners Club by Mert Erkal