What We Saw in SEO Last Month (August Recap)
We are going to try something different. Each month, we will unpack what's moving the needle and what isn’t across the SEO programs we run for mid-market and enterprise marketing teams. These are the trends we saw across multiple accounts in August.
1. August softness is seasonal, not structural
Several programs saw a drop in clicks or sessions. But impressions held steady or improved year over year, and rankings were mostly unchanged. In some cases, branded queries decreased, while category-level terms remained stable.
Takeaway: Don’t overreact to August performance. Focus on search visibility and non-branded growth signals, not just traffic volume.
2. Reddit is regularly the second result
Reddit threads showed up in the number two organic position for multiple branded and unbranded queries. In some cases, Reddit displaces or outranks a product page, especially on user-driven queries.
Takeaway: If your audience is active on Reddit, you need to be present, not through brand accounts, but through real people offering real insights.
3. AI detection scores are showing a pattern
We observed that posts with high AI-detected content scores (20 percent or higher) consistently underperformed in rankings. Competing pages with low or zero AI-detection tended to dominate.
Takeaway: Content that reads like ChatGPT version one is becoming a liability. Human tone and editorial judgment still matter.
4. Mid-content CTAs are outperforming end-of-page CTAs
Adding contextual calls to action inside the body of the content, especially in how-to formats, drove significantly more conversions than traditional footers.
Takeaway: Meet your reader mid-scroll. Do not rely on them making it to the bottom of the page.
5. Core update impact was concentrated on fragile pages
Pages built around broad, high-volume queries saw volatility post-update, especially if those pages were monetized or lacked depth. Top positions dropped even with no visible change to the site.
Takeaway: Build for defensibility, not just rankings. Thin or transactional pages are high-risk without supporting content or engagement signals.
6. Non-branded rankings are starting to emerge
We saw one site’s homepage begin to rank non-branded terms for a secondary service offering. These terms were sitting in the ninth or tenth position on page one, sometimes slipping onto page two. The shift likely resulted from a recent algorithm update, indicating that Google is associating the domain more strongly with this category.
Takeaway: Early non-branded rankings may not drive clicks yet, but they’re often the first sign of growing topical relevance.
7. Structure still beats scale
One standout post rose to the top of the “People Also Ask” box after a simple formatting update. No copy expansion, no new backlinks, just better structure with a table of contents and step-by-step formatting.
Takeaway: Google is rewarding clarity over word count. Treat formatting as a ranking factor.
Final Note
August always introduces noise. The teams seeing the most progress aren’t chasing volume; they’re investing in clarity, formatting, authority, and real audience engagement. In some cases, that means fixing overlooked basics. In others, it means being a helpful voice in a Reddit thread.
If you're wondering how your site compares to these trends, we can take a look.