How Australian businesses got ghosted by Google

There was a time, not too long ago, when Australian businesses were in love with Google. The search engine connected them to their customers with unprecedented efficiency.

It seemed like he knew what they wanted and when they wanted it, which allowed brands to position their websites and ads to maximize engagement and clicks.

Now a revolution is taking place in the world’s most dominant search engine, and the business world is wondering what’s going on. E-commerce brands, local tradesmen and even regular marketing departments are facing a digital drought. Major AI overhauls to Google’s main search engine and other platforms mean users aren’t clicking on regular websites as much as they used to. The difference is clearly felt.

These days, many people go directly to AI for recommendations on what products to buy or what services to use. This means that many companies that were once considered no longer receive as much traffic as they once did. This has led to what many are calling the “zero click crisis” and it is affecting Australian businesses as much as anyone else.

Accordingly SEO agency Excite Media, companies need to change their strategies.

Previously, SEO was relatively simple. If you were a local business, you’d post on Google Maps and hope to be found. This is still the case in today’s world. Many people use Google Maps to search for local services and find the companies they need. Today’s strategy is all about EEAT, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness.

All of these elements must be present if a business or service is to be recommended in AI responses in search engine page results. Part of the value of EAT is making firms more transparent, authentic and trustworthy; This is something LLMs look for when sorting through content to see what they have to offer their target audience. “If they can research a highly reputable and respected company in a particular field, they will do so.”

Data from digital agencies shows that changes in consumer behavior are significant. Google’s AI briefs now results in zero click rates of up to 75% for normal circumstances; 4 out of 5 users find most of what they need directly on Google’s homepage rather than clicking through to any website. This means that the surface area where small and medium-sized businesses can attract customers is narrowing.

Google doesn’t want to be a yellow pages directory that gives people their phone numbers. Instead, he wants to be an assistant who solves people’s problems on the spot.

For example, a customer in Australia faces a kitchen emergency: his pipes are leaking. Previously, they would go on Google and search for plumbers in their area. They can now ask the search engine who to call and the engine will provide them with the phone number and all the details they need. The consumer gets the immediate repair and the lucky plumber who was recommended gets the money. Therefore, today’s goal is to be the company recommended by search engines.

The digital transformation of search engine results accelerated significantly in May and June 2026. Core algorithm updates powered by the Gemini AI engine have changed the way web content is evaluated. Instead of delivering full information and search results, the system targets what the industry calls “AI content farms”: websites that use automated tools to distribute thousands of cheap, generic articles designed to capture traffic.

Across Australia, the directory websites and lowly blogs that dominate the rankings have suffered historic losses. This meant that anyone looking to use AI to speed up the process of producing quality content on their web pages often lost most or all of their organic visibility.

Google’s ranking system is moving away from simple keyword matching and towards a concept called “information gain.” The idea is to provide consumers with additional data so they can learn something new instead of just matching it to specific keywords. This means that companies that offer proprietary data or real human expertise are much more likely to be valuable than those that don’t.

Regulations are heating up

But Google may be struggling with its own problems. European Court of Justice recently dismissed Alphabet’s final appeal in a landmark antitrust case, fining the company €4.13 billion for anticompetitive practices. Although the search engine currently has a 90% market share, its dominance may be limited in the future.

Moreover, UK Competition and Markets Authority It empowers Google to provide more transparent information about how its private ranking system works. The aim is to make it fairer for businesses around the world and in the UK to compete.

Adapting to Response Engine Optimization (AEO)

The short-term response of many companies is to focus on AEO (response engine optimization) rather than SEO. To survive online, where all information seems to come from AI, the goal is to be one of the companies that take part in the answers provided by AI.

For example, a customer asks “Who offers the best plumbing services in Sydney?” The goal of AEO would be for the AI ​​to recommend the company’s products and services at some point in the response. This may seem like a simple task, but it depends largely on the consumer’s question and intent. Even small changes in question formulation can give some brands an advantage over others if they can respond better based on LLM criteria.

It is also accepted that brands need to diversify their touchpoints. Google traffic is shrinking and there isn’t as much incentive to use the platform. Many businesses are now bypassing Google by using platforms like Reddit or email marketing, and it’s making a huge difference in their profitability.