Search Growth Slows, Publishers Weigh Leaving Google – SEO Pulse

Welcome to the week’s Pulse: updates impact the ineligible footing of the SERP devices you trust on, what it’s worthy to support your contented successful Google’s index, and wherever the gross down Search is heading.

Here’s what matters for you and your work.

Search Revenue Grows 17%; Pichai Points To Gemini 4

Alphabet reported Q2 2026 earnings, pinch Google Search & different gross up 17% twelvemonth complete twelvemonth to $63.27 billion. The maturation complaint eased from 19% successful Q1, the first slowdown aft 4 quarters of acceleration. On the net call, Pichai pointed to Gemini 4, now successful pretraining, arsenic the exemplary Google needs to compete astatine the frontier.

Key facts: In the earnings release, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company’s “popular AI features are driving Search query growth,” and Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler attributed the summation to beardown vertical performance, led by retail. Alphabet besides raised its 2026 superior spending forecast to $195 cardinal to $205 billion. In the call’s Q&A, Pichai named coding and agentic coding arsenic areas wherever Google needs to improve.

Why This Matters

Search is still increasing by billions a quarter, and Google credits its AI surfaces. The slowdown is 1 information point, not a trend, but it lands alongside different raise successful spending meant to make AI the motor of a business that conscionable grew somewhat slower. How that stake plays retired will style which surfaces you optimize for and which advertisement formats scope your audience.

Read our afloat coverage:

Google Search Revenue Growth Eases After A Year Of Acceleration

Pichai Says Google Needs Gemini 4 To Compete At The Frontier

Court Dismisses Google’s DMCA Claims Against SerpApi

A national judge dismissed Google’s DMCA claims against SerpApi, ruling that blocking automated entree to nationalist hunt results isn’t copyright circumvention erstwhile those results incorporate nary copyrighted content.

Key facts: The judge granted SerpApi’s mobility to disregard some anti-circumvention claims nether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Claims based connected results without copyrighted contented were dismissed without time off to amend, while claims involving licensed images successful results were dismissed pinch support for Google to amend wrong 21 days. The tribunal rejected SerpApi’s statement that Google lacked the correct to sue, and recovered Google plausibly alleged circumvention of its SearchGuard system.

Why This Matters

Many of the devices practitioners trust on, from rank trackers to SERP monitors, dangle connected scraped hunt results, and this information mostly went their way. The tribunal held that getting past an entree power isn’t a DMCA usurpation erstwhile the results down it incorporate nary copyrighted content. Google tin still amend its narrower claims, and a territory tribunal bid doesn’t hindrance different courts. For now, the determination gives scraping-based devices connection to cite.

What People Are Saying

Rand Fishkin, co-founder and CEO of SparkToro, wrote connected X:

“If you crawl the web, aliases trust connected immoderate merchandise that does, you should beryllium profoundly grateful to @serp_api today.”

Independent SEO advisor Nick LeRoy posted connected X:

“I’m not arsenic anti-Google arsenic most, but this is simply a awesome triumph for the manufacture (thanks @serp_api)”

Lily Ray, laminitis of Algorythmic, reacted connected LinkedIn:

“Wow, the Google suit against SerpAPI was dismissed 🤯 I wonderment if we will spot much Google scraping from the LLMs and search devices now… And a batch much sound successful our GSC reporting 😕”

Read our afloat coverage: Court Dismisses Google’s DMCA Claims Against SerpApi

Publishers Put Conditions On Staying In Google Search

USA Today Co. CEO Mike Reed says the institution is prepared to delist from Google successful the adjacent six to 12 months, according to Adweek. Several ample publishers are weighing whether staying successful the scale is still worthy the exchange.

Key facts: A Wall Street Journal study this week said Reddit is reevaluating its $60 cardinal per twelvemonth licensing woody pinch Google, Politico and Reuters are considering limits connected Google’s crawler, and People Inc. described blocking Google wholly arsenic an option. 

Why This Matters

Major publishers are now saying publically what it would return to leave. If licensing becomes the answer, the worth of contented successful Google’s scale turns into a negotiated number alternatively of an assumed waste and acquisition for traffic, and those negotiations could style the position smaller publishers get.

What People Are Saying

Cyrus Shepard, laminitis of Zyppy, wrote connected LinkedIn aft reference the Journal report:

“The reward to publishers is nary longer there, and still declining.”

Former Ad Age editor Jack Neff, reacting connected LinkedIn to Adweek’s earlier study connected July 10, raised the costs side:

“If publishers blocking Google crawlers becomes widespread, I do genuinely fearfulness really overmuch worse the value of AI Overviews tin go arsenic Gemini entree to master contented gets further throttled.”

Read Adweek’s afloat report: Once Unimaginable, Publishers Are Preparing To Opt Out Of Google Search

EU Issues First DMA Fines Against Google, With Data-Sharing Terms Already Set

The European Commission fined Google €890 million connected July 23, its first penalties against the institution nether the Digital Markets Act, 1 week aft adopting binding decisions that require Google to stock anonymized hunt information pinch rivals.

Key facts: The Commission issued a €460 cardinal good for favoring Google’s ain shopping, hotel, transport, and sports results complete comparable third-party services, and a €430 cardinal good for restricting developers from steering users extracurricular Google Play. The abstracted July 16 decisions require Google to stock anonymized query, click, view, and results-position information pinch eligible rivals, including AI chatbots that suffice arsenic hunt engines, and to unfastened Android to competing assistants. 

Why This Matters

The self-preferencing uncovering puts EU results-page layout nether a compliance deadline, truthful really Google displays its services against third-party listings could alteration location wrong 60 days. The data-sharing decisions could yet widen which hunt engines and chatbots tin build competitory retrieval systems, and pinch that, who cites sources and sends referral traffic. Neither determination changes rankings connected its own, and what becomes visible will dangle connected really Google complies.

Read our afloat coverage: Google Must Share Anonymized Search Data With Rivals

Theme Of The Week: Everyone Is Renegotiating With Google

Every communicative this week is simply a statement redrawing its woody pinch Google. A national tribunal narrowed which ineligible devices Google tin usage against companies that cod its results. Publishers are turning their beingness successful the scale into a negotiation. The EU is fining really Google lays retired its results page while compelling its hunt information outward. And the net show what sits connected Google’s broadside of the table, a $63 cardinal 4th from Search pinch grounds spending riding connected AI.

The speech that defined the unfastened web for 2 decades, contented and entree successful return for traffic, is being repriced from each guidance astatine once.

Top Stories Of The Week:

• Google Search Revenue Growth Eases After A Year Of Acceleration
• Pichai Says Google Needs Gemini 4 To Compete At The Frontier
• Court Dismisses Google’s DMCA Claims Against SerpApi
• Once Unimaginable, Publishers Are Preparing To Opt Out Of Google Search
• Google Must Share Anonymized Search Data With Rivals

More Resources:

• Google Claims AI Search Sends Quality Clicks, Without Sharing Data
• “Are You A Bot” Screens Can Get Your Pages Dropped By Google
• Google Faces Class Action Over Books Used To Train Gemini