Google Teases Us With “Valuable Traffic” Again; Says The L Word

Site owners, it’s not you, it’s Google. The best way to describe how Google really feels about all but the largest online publishers seems to be ‘she’s not that into you’.

That is how it’s been for years, according to their quarterly earnings calls. Over the last 8 years (31 quarterly earnings calls) the word “publisher” has been mentioned off and on. But they were rarely talking about small publishers or niche site owners.

But now, it seems maybe something has changed. Google may still have love for us after all.

For the first time (maybe ever) Google leadership said the L word (“links”). And, if that didn’t make your SEO heart jump a little, our “partner” has, for a second consecutive call, reassured us they will “send valuable traffic.” 

Historic Occurrence of “Publisher” in Google Earnings Calls

A study of Google’s quarterly earnings calls, over 8 years (31 total investor call transcripts), looked at the frequency of mention for the word “publisher” and the context in which it was used. This analysis revealed some interesting patterns.

Polyamorous With Publishers

For a long time, we SEOs and smaller publishers have been in an unhealthy, dependent relationship. And if we really were “partners”, which is what Google calls us on its investor relations calls, then they have been neglectful and unsupportive for years. The recent core updates might, for some, even be considered abusive.

…it turns out our “partner” has, for years, been chasing the affections of someone else.

The first thing to consider is that, for Google, the term “publisher” does not typically refer to smaller websites. It may not even mean a content site. It doesn’t have to be a website at all. 

They may mean ecom stores, developers on the Google Play store (and Stadia before they killed that), creators on YouTube (and Google+ before they killed that), creators on other social platforms (because G consumes that content), large news organizations, local businesses (for Maps, GMB, etc), data aggregators, nonprofit and government orgs, and other media properties. That is probably where we smaller site owners are, in that last ‘other’ category.

So, as niche site owners wait at home, lamenting their rankings and wondering where the Google love has gone, it turns out our “partner” has, for years, been chasing the affections of someone else. Lots of other someones.

Buying Affection With The Google Ads Network

I reviewed the earnings calls from the last 8 years to better understand how Google publicly refers to its “publisher” partners. I also noted what management says when the topic comes up. 

The role of publishers (effectively, anyone that creates ‘content’ which Google generates revenue from) has been acknowledged repeatedly in earnings calls. Kind words are often given in relation to “partners”.

Traditionally, it seems that Google sought to buy our love. 

The most common refrain (18 times) was about how much money Google shares with their partners. Taken together, 26 of the 46 comments involved the ads platform.

The monetary benefits of the Google Ads program has been highlighted for well over a decade. This is because touting how much they pay out is another way to highlight what they take in (adding to shareholder value). 

So, historically, when Google shouts out “publishers” it’s about how much money they splash around through their ad network. Traditionally, it seems that Google sought to buy our love. 

Understandable, perhaps, given that Adsense was the dominant monetization method for most sites all over the world. Back in the Cretaceous period (when I built my first site). 

But Google clearly had other things on its (deep) mind. Starting in 2019 there were also six quarterly earnings calls in which publishers were not mentioned or referred to at all. Zero mentions.

This makes the recent change in messaging all the more curious.

Numbers (and Words) Don’t Lie

I looked at the frequency of mention for the word “publisher” in each quarterly earnings call, over 8 years (31 total quarterly earnings call transcripts). I reviewed both the prepared statements and the Q&A between analysts and the management team. 

I also noted the context in which it was mentioned. This was more interesting than the number of times it was mentioned. 

Total occurrences of “publisher” (by Google or analysts on the call): 54 (in 46 total comments)

*The first mention of “send valuable traffic” was in the prepared statement of CEO Sundar Pichai for the 2023 Q3 call. The exact same phrasing (nearly the same sentence), including “send valuable traffic” was used again in the Q4 call, in January, 2024.

This second, recent mention was also preceded by a statement that emphasized they are “surfacing more links with SGE and linking to a wider range of sources on the results page….”

This was a radical departure.

…if SGE must be there hogging the top of the SERP then this is a silver lining.

Traffic Tease and the L word

This appears to be the first time this Google CEO (or any other member of the $GOOGL management team) ever mentioned “links” on an earnings call, and only the second time outbound “traffic” was referenced.

He said the L word! No, it’s not love. But it is how Google shows love to anyone trying to get organic traffic in the SERPs. He called out something the digital marketing community started noticing in the last couple of months, that SGE is actually presenting link citations from far down the SERP, and even outside the top 100. 

By the way, it’s now easy to see where in the SERP these SGE links come from. SERP Sonar breaks down the SGE feature (whenever present), including which links are present and where they rank! You can find it in the SERP Overlay and Word Prevalence Report. It’s one of many other free features in SERP Sonar.

We cannot, of course, count on anything to remain forever. But, if SGE must be there, hogging the top of the SERP, then this is a silver lining. More links means more shots on goal.

Why This and Why Now?

In order to understand why this is all so notable, you have to appreciate how public companies (especially ones like this) prepare for their quarterly calls. Every word is scrutinized. In addition to the management team, Legal, Finance and Marketing all vet the speakers’ official comments. 

And nothing is said unless they have an explicit reason to say it. So, why did they say this now?

We all know that Google is here to make money. That is why it exists. And the management team will say what they have to in order to get the outcome they want. It’s part of their job.

I see only two possible reasons for this messaging to appear now.

As a Google shareholder myself I want them to carefully manage their messages. And they do. But I do not think this was just about making nice with “publisher partners”. I see only two possible reasons for this messaging to appear now.

It may be that, heading into an election year in the US, this is part of a broader effort to signal to regulators that Google ‘does the right thing’ in some sensitive areas. That, in fact, they do support ‘small’ businesses with “valuable traffic”. Also, the “wider range of sources on the results page” shows they promote a diversity of opinions and/or information sources (something some social platforms have been pilloried for not doing lately).

The other possible reason is also, indirectly, based on regulatory concerns. It may be that some people within Google actually do see a serious, long term need for fresh training data. The AI teams look at the Internet and they see food. Of course, content is now being created faster than ever. 

But, given the regulatory trends in the EU, California and elsewhere, there may be concerns. They may be worried about their wholesale and (mostly) uncompensated consumption of other people’s data, even as they starve most publishers of traffic. 

I suspect that this is at least part of the motivation behind the massive Reddit SERP pump.

They need to seem like fair and balanced “partners” as they engage lawmakers on the rules around AI. After all, it’s hard to sweet talk regulators if there’s angry mobs shouting from the streets. 

On a related matter, I suspect that this is also part of the reason for the massive Reddit SERP pump. Google wants to cut a data deal so (since Reddit is not in the Ads program) it’s showing love in the only other way it can.

Google knows its “partner” has needs too. Heading into their IPO (again) all this extra organic traffic will certainly fluff up Reddit’s numbers nicely. They don’t want to admit it but Reddit is also in a dependent relationship.

As for an AI data deal, I have no doubt that they are deep into discussions with multiple parties, and predict Reddit will announce something in the next couple of months. Is this all a coincidence? I think not. 

Of course, like most other things happening in the Google machine, we can’t know for sure. We can only continue to watch and learn. And act on opportunities when they present themselves.