Google Core Update analysis: are you in the lushlands, or the wastelands? 

Discover heads to desktop, mysterious experts (not) unveiled, and US and UK publishers push back on AI copyright meddling - all in this week's Content Aware.

Published: 14:55, 10 April 2025

Corbidge comments on... mysterious experts and expense account lunches
Following a Press Gazette investigation this week into the rise of convenient experts who seem to know a lot about everything, GPP's No.1 luncher ponders the delicate balance between thorough verification and the pressure to publish fast. Are languid lunches about to become a wise investment again?
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March 2025 Core Update impact
Grappling to understand how Google's latest core update affected search visibility? Shane Dutka's report for SiteCurve reveals who gained and who lost from the March update, along with a look at changes to Google AI Overviews.
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Google gaslighting
AI Overviews are helpful and everything is fine in the search world, at least according to Google. But as Bloomberg reports, small publishers and site owners who played by all the rules are watching their traffic collapse right in front of their eyes as Google experiments with its algorithms and rolls out AIOs. EEAT, writing for search, quality journalism? Lovely ideas, just not ones that matter unless you're already a major player. (Note: This article will count towards your monthly limit of Bloomberg articles if you're not a subscriber.)
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"Homepage Discover" coming to desktop
In a rare bit of welcome news for publishers, Google Discover, already a major traffic source for many news and media brands, is making its way to the Google.com homepage on desktop, opening up a vast new potential readership.
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Parliament to debate AI and IP
Mark your calendar for April 23: MP James Frith has announced a debate on AI and intellectual property in UK Parliament. Both creatives and AI companies are welcome to share their thoughts on the matter via a Google form.
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Transatlantic allies
The separate but complementary US and UK 'NMA' media bodies are both rallying their troops this week, against AI on the western side of the water, and against hasty measures to mitigate tariffs on the east.
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Quartz quandary
Once a thriving digital news outlet for global business leaders, Quartz has been trapped in a relentless loop of ownership shifts - from its 2018 purchase by Japan's Uzabase to its 2022 sale to private equity-backed G/O Media, and now to Redbrick, marking another turbulent financial chapter. Co-founder Zach Seward opens up about the recent sale and the outlet’s struggles over the years.
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SEO sleuthing
Some inquisitive SEO digging points to ChatGPT's Deep Research feature scraping content not only from Bing, but from Google, too.
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New chapter in X drama
Musk's business empire is in the spotlight again for X's handling of data and transparency, or rather a disregard for it as laid out by EU regulations. Now EU regulators are preparing to slap the platform with major fines for breaching the Digital Services Act. The violations? Dark patterns, lack of advertising transparency, and restricted data access for researchers. A "free speech tariff" someone will no doubt say.
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BBC vs Big Tech
The relationship between news publishers and Big Tech has hardly ever been sunshine and roses, and the BBC is now weighing in, accusing Apple and Google of devaluing its content.
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TikTok's tick-tock clock runs amok
Amidst concerns surrounding user data, Chinese-owned TikTok was ordered to either sell the app to a local buyer or exit the US market. The countdown to the sell was upon them, until US President Trump pushed the decision back another 75 days to reset the clock for a deal to be done. See you at the next deadline...
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The Times they are a changin'
Congratulations to UK news powerhouse and Glide customer The Times and Sunday Times on the rollout of their spangly new mobile app. Take a look at what’s new.
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The Fellowship of the Content
As the industry wrestles with AI- and search-induced traffic declines, Viafoura's Mark Zohar outlines why publishers are adopting community-driven audience strategies to drive revenue and what difference it can make. Viafoura is a GPP technology partner so it goes without saying that it is cracking insight.
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