What Do Google’s Antitrust Lawsuits Mean for Your SEO Strategy?

Google has been at the center of lawsuits and challenges from all fronts. Not only is the company facing the recent loss of U.S. v. Google LLC (2020) and the impending decision on U.S. v. Google LLC (2023), but numerous competitors have also seized the opportunity to bring their own suits as well.

For marketers, this torrent of search news is driving uncertainty as the future of Google Search, its AI overviews, and its advertising technology is brought into question.

So, what’s next for the search space? And what should marketers do in light of the recent ruling?

What Was the Google Antitrust Lawsuit Ruling?

Judge Amit Mehta’s ruling on the federal antitrust lawsuit against Google went south for the search engine in August 2024.

“Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” Mehta declared in the ruling.

Google was found to be in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act for an illegal monopoly in the search engine and search advertising markets. Google’s president of global affairs announced Google’s intention to appeal the ruling in August.

As of today, no specific enforcement plan has been announced, so we don’t know what the remedies will look like yet. But the Department of Justice announced that it will issue an outline by December 2024, specifying steps to restore competition. A final judgment is expected next spring.

Google Faces Scrutiny on AI Strategy

In the wake of the landmark decision that implicated Google’s search business practices, Google’s artificial intelligence strategy is also coming under scrutiny. As the case moves toward the remedy stage, the Department of Justice has requested more detail on AI’s role in Google Search. While still unclear, this could mean future remedies against the AI piece of the search product.

Rivals See an Opportunity

So far, Yelp has also filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google, as the recent cases have revealed the search giant’s vulnerabilities. Despite potential implications for smaller competitors, Microsoft, DuckDuckGo and other search rivals are vying to fill any future gaps antitrust enforcement will create.

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What Does Google’s Antitrust Lawsuit Mean for Search?

While it’s too soon to be totally certain how things will shake out for Google Search as the most important hub for consumers and brands, I have a few predictions about how the impact may be felt.

1. Market Share Competition Increase

Google’s reign as the far-and-away category king is likely to end, though, within limits. The quality of the Google Search product is undeniable, as are its results, algorithm sophistication and the innovation as a company. This may help mitigate some losses.

Google currently holds a 90 percent search market share, and Bing is the second highest at 3.95 percent, as of September 2024.  

However, numerous issues over the past year, including inaccuracies of AI Overviews, an increase in paid ads and a partnership with Reddit, have caused some users to lose trust in Google. 

These issues, coupled with the penalties handed to Google will create opportunities for competitors to gain market share and reach users who have historically been attached to Google. A 90 percent market share will be a thing of the past once monopoly remedies are enforced, and the overall search share will likely become a little more diverse. 

This is a challenge for Google, but users will be given more options when interacting with search across different platforms and devices. Without preset search apps, consumers will have more freedom.

Bing (and Microsoft Copilot), ChatGPT and Apple will start seeing more prominence among users who had historically never considered them. DuckDuckGo may also jump in popularity given its stance on data privacy, a hot-button issue among consumers.

2. Fragmentation of Google Search Experience

Google is vaunted for its top-tier consistency across offerings, devices, platforms and social media, as well as its ease of use, solid UX/UI and reliability. 

Depending on the remedies the DOJ enforces, this ease and consistent user experience may be negatively affected. If Google has to break up or sunset any features deemed monopolistic the obvious result will be gaps in delivery and user experience.

The 2020 U.S. vs. Google LLC case centers around Google’s payments to Apple to ensure Google Search is the default search engine on Safari. We now know this specific practice violates monopoly law. Not being the default search provider on hundreds of millions of devices will fuel market share loss, damage experience consistency and impact Google’s seamlessness.

3. Changes in AI Content Delivery

We know Google’s AI strategy is under scrutiny but it’s not clear yet as to how the DOJ may enforce against it specifically. If it’s found to be anti-competitive, the way AI Overviews appears and functions may drastically change.

Google could be forced to more clearly label “sources” for its AI answers, for instance. Or it could be moved out of search as a standalone experience if the integration is deemed unfair. 

Time will tell. But smart money says Google’s AI implementation and how consumers engage with it will be impacted through increased adoption of Microsoft’s Copilot, SearchGPT, and ChatGPT as the space gets more diverse.

4. Slow Progress of Lawsuits

Marketers should remember that because the internet and technology evolve so quickly and government bureaucracy moves so slowly, Google Search may be completely different by the time any antitrust action is taken. The legal impact may be far less relevant by the time government action goes through.

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5 Tips to Adapt Your Search Strategy

First, everyone needs to take a deep breath. I’m not panicking, and you shouldn’t either. There will be various changes, some that could hinder brand-to-consumer connections. But each change will bring new opportunities as well. So, how should brands and marketers respond?

1. Don’t Overreact

Brands with substantial investment in Google Search shouldn’t do anything drastic. They should continue and even expand their efforts, delivering as much value as they can to their audience. Ultimately, Google will remain a central hub for consumer connections due to substantial brand loyalty and the positive UX Google provides.

Overreacting is best avoided, as are any reactionary shifts in your efforts. 

2. Invest in Consumer Insights

Search data is a powerful source of insight to truly understand your consumer. It’s the wellspring of consumer insight.

You generate consumer insights by taking millions of searches and leveraging tech to parse through the noise to uncover the hidden opportunities brands are missing out on. Right now, this data comes from Google, but the antitrust action will likely open up new sources, competitor search engines, for one, of consumer data to leverage. Be ready to adapt to future-proof your strategy.

Search data-derived insights tell you what consumers want because people are honest while searching online. Search data is always current as well. Pure, trustworthy data equals pure, trustworthy consumer insights. 

3. Go Value-Centric

Insights let you deliver the right value across all consumer touch points and brand engagements. Reviewing insights early, often and throughout the consumer journey is the key to creating trust and high customer lifetime value (CLV) relationships. 

As far as search strategy is concerned, providing the most value to consumers is the key. Google’s algorithms lean toward content that actually helps users. And so do the algorithms of other search engines like Bing. Invest in delivering consistently valuable content to connect across Google, Bing and others.

4. Expand and Diversify

To mitigate potential losses, brands should keep their Google Search programs but also branch out into alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo and Bing and less explored channels with search features like TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest. Search isn’t the only space where you can meet consumers early and often in their journey. In investing, your portfolio must be diverse to maximize return and defend from loss. It’s the same in marketing, now more than ever.

5. Evolve and Adapt

Finally, as search continues to change in numerous ways and AI causes new uncertainty, brands need to take on an evolutionary-minded approach. Devote resources to monitoring the entire search environment, the spaces that matter to your brand and regulatory developments. This will ensure your strategy stays innovative, and you’re ready to shift as new trends emerge.

Constantly consider what’s coming next and be ready to respond with fluidity, adapting your digital strategy to keep connecting with consumers. Search is ever-changing and the antitrust lawsuits are driving volatility. But the more things change, the greater the rewards for smart marketers who put consumer value first.