Events

Join our VP of Services & Thought Leadership, Pat Reinhart, as he breaks down 30 days of critical AEO, GEO and SEO updates in 30 minutes or less. Get clear, actionable insights on search trends, AEO tactics, and how brands win discovery in the AI era of discovery.

The June 2026 edition of 30|30 highlighted a search landscape heavily disrupted by Google’s "vicious" May Core Update, which triggered widespread visibility drops for large and small sites alike . While third-party aggregators like WebMD suffered a steep 51% year-over-year decline , review-driven platforms like ZocDoc surged 81% , proving that modern algorithms favor official institutions and genuine, community-led brand conversations. Meanwhile, AI Overviews have stabilized to appear roughly 48% of the time, reinforcing a broader market shift from traditional domain metrics to external brand authority.

The May 2026 edition of 30|30 highlights a major transition in search as legacy brands face deep visibility losses while a new core update lands and AI Overviews rise. The airline sector saw top ten visibility drop 18% for Delta and 6% for United, though budget-friendly Frontier managed a 5% increase. Meanwhile, hospitality giants suffered brutal hits—with Marriott down 17%, Hilton down 9%, and Choice Hotels dropping 35%—though Choice shows initial signs of a post-update recovery.

The April 30|30 webinar highlights a period of stabilization as Google’s March Core Update concluded with "very little bite" compared to the "violent" December update. While the update was relatively "boring," it successfully penalized "AI slop," whereas high-authority sites in Apparel and Health Tech—such as Shein.com and Dexcom.com—saw Year-over-Year visibility gains of 24% and 23% respectively. Government sites remained largely unaffected, with Data.gov and SBA.gov reporting flat performance through the rollout.

The March 2026 edition of 3030 highlights a period of "near-constant flux" in search, where AI-generated "slop" is under fire while human-centric expertise is weathering the storm. Industry performance remains a mixed bag: the consulting sector is thriving, with Boston Consulting Group seeing a 59% lift in visibility, while nonprofits like the Boys & Girls Club faced a 16% decline.

In February's 30|30 this month, Pat says that the search industry is experiencing "very, very high" volatility , specifically noting that "listicles got nerfed". He explains that companies trading self-serving listicles as a form of "guest blogging" are seeing their articles "tanking" or "completely collapsed". While large retailers like Walmart are down 18% year-over-year , local home service brands like Apple Air have surged 139% because Google is prioritizing "locally relevant content" from websites based in the user's country. Pat emphasizes that despite these algorithmic shifts, "the only algorithm that matters is the heart, mind and soul of your customer"