I’ve some excellent news and a few unhealthy information for these whose job it’s to drive extra site visitors to an internet site.
Properly, some unhealthy information and a few attention-grabbing information, at the least.
First, we’ll go along with the unhealthy: Referral site visitors continues to say no for a lot of web sites.
As reported by The Press Gazette this week (based mostly on knowledge from Chartbeat/Reuters Institute):
“Google search site visitors to publishers declined globally by a 3rd within the yr to November […] Since Might 2023, Google search referrals have been down 21% globally, with Google Uncover down 18% and all exterior referrals down 24%.”
Yeah, not best, and you may see within the above chart how web site site visitors has declined for the reason that implementation of Google’s AI previews, which now see way more searches starting and ending inside Google itself.
Although that’s not what Google says is going on.
In August final yr, in response to claims that net site visitors is down throughout the board attributable to Google’s AI previews, the search large defined that:
“Total, complete natural click on quantity from Google Search to web sites has been comparatively steady year-over-year. Moreover, common click on high quality has elevated and we’re truly sending barely extra high quality clicks to web sites than a yr in the past.”
But, this newest knowledge backs up varied different primarily publisher-focused stories, which all point out that referral site visitors has declined by between 20% and 50% for many web sites.
There could also be variances, however I’m guessing that you just’re seeing declines in your Google referrals, and if that’s the case, you may need to make sure that stories like this are made out there to these setting your KPIs.
However that’s to not say that you need to simply throw within the towel, and settle for that your site visitors has tanked. Perhaps you simply have to work out the place individuals are wanting, and the way search is evolving, which might offer you one other avenue of focus to your search engine optimisation efforts.
Or possibly look to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to make sure that you’re assembly searchers the place they’re wanting.
That’s the place the attention-grabbing knowledge is available in, with two new stories indicating that LinkedIn is shortly rising as a key quotation supply for AI chatbots.
As you possibly can see on this itemizing, compiled by SEMRush, which relies on a examine of 230,000 prompts throughout ChatGPT, Google AI, and Perplexity carried out in October 2025, LinkedIn is now solely trailing Reddit when it comes to total citations in chatbot responses.
That’s additionally backed up by one other examine carried out by Highlight, which reveals that AI instruments like ChatGPT and Perplexity are citing LinkedIn sources as much as 5x instances extra typically this yr.
As per Highlight’s Michael Hermon:
“Within the final three months, knowledge from Highlight’s intensive database reveals that ChatGPT cites LinkedIn 4.2 instances extra, Perplexity 5.7 instances extra, and the typical throughout all LLMs is about 4 to five instances the standard charge. Of the full 19,202 LinkedIn sources cited, over 15,000 come from LinkedIn Pulse articles particularly.”
In different phrases, AI chatbots are placing extra belief in LinkedIn, and in LinkedIn Pulse articles particularly, which factors to this as one other potential choice to make sure that your model and/or model representatives present up in AI search responses, by posting articles direct to LinkedIn.
How precisely these techniques are vetting which LinkedIn articles they use is unclear, however verifying your LinkedIn profile may be an vital issue, whereas guaranteeing that your profession historical past is updated may very well be one other indicator of belief, resulting in larger authority.
However possibly, along with Reddit, you now have one other, accessible means to assist information AI chatbot responses in your area of interest, by sharing your experience to LinkedIn, and getting concerned in vertical-aligned communities.
So, not nice information, however some extra perception that can assist you complement your declining referrals, by way of the sources mostly being cited by AI instruments.
