Google isn't harming entrepreneurs. We're doing it to ourselves.

Which is why I’m writing my second book… for the second time.

I’m currently writing my second book… for the second time.

In August of 2024 I sent a manuscript to my editor that covered everything a small business needs to know to build a power lead generation engine. Two days later, Google's AI Overviews rolled out everywhere.

Within weeks, I called my editor and told them to stop. I told them I needed to re-write the entire book, because every small business on the planet was about to go broke trying not to disappear from the internet.

The Math That Broke Everyone's Brain

Google just reported revenue of $54 billion while search clicks fell 30% across the board. That's like your favorite band selling more albums while playing fewer concerts.

The math doesn't add up until you understand what's really happening.

Google's AI Overviews now appear in 42.51% of search results, up almost 9 percentage points in just one quarter. Most people see this as the death of organic traffic.

Small businesses have started disappearing from search results. Not because they were doing SEO wrong. Because SEO itself had become wrong.

The entire foundation has shifted overnight.

From Oil Changes to Transmission Rebuilds

Brand visibility used to be like changing the oil on a car. Most people could handle it themselves with a YouTube video and some basic tools.

Today, it's like completely rebuilding a transmission.

The old SEO playbook was simple: create massive keyword-stuffed articles and pay for a few backlinks. Go back to sell your product or service.

But Google's AI (largely driven by the pressure that ChatGPT was putting on them) changed the rules completely. Now you need all three C's of visibility: Content, Connection, and Compliance.

Content means producing continuous, original content across written, social, and video platforms. Not just articles. Everything.

Connection means designing a people-first website experience that meets modern standards for layout, usability, and clarity. The AI can actually measure this now (which warms my former creative-director heart).

Compliance means ensuring your website's code and interface align with the latest protocols for indexing, structuring, and ADA accessibility (unless you want to get sued by a predatory law firm).

Without all three, brand visibility becomes impossible unless you pay the piper for each view.

The Quality Filter Everyone Missed

Here's what the data actually shows: 58% of Google searches now result in zero clicks. Most experts see this as a disaster.

I see it as Google finally doing what it should have done years ago.

AI Overviews work like Game Genie hacks for search results. They satisfy casual researchers directly on the search page while sending serious buyers to businesses that deserve them.

The people who click through now actually want what you're selling.

Quality over quantity. Finally.

Why Small Businesses Are Panicking

Most days it feels like we're screaming into the wind at SingleStack. Business owners see their traffic dropping and assume they need more of the same old SEO tactics.

The two go hand in hand. If organic visibility decreases, the only way to maintain revenue is increasing ad spend.

So of course Google is making record money.

But here's what most business owners don't realize: their perspective isn't wrong, it's just incomplete. They're still trying to organize their marketing strategy in Trapper Keepers when they need a completely different system.

The biggest challenge we face is getting them to the table with a soft heart, willing to let go of whatever is holding their businesses back.

The Age of AI Visibility

Over the last 15 years, entire business models were built around antiquated SEO strategies. The idea of SEO is so embedded in small business language that it's easy to believe hiring more SEO agencies will fix sudden traffic drops.

But knowing is half the battle. The other half is accepting that something major has changed.

Brand visibility today requires the same level of expertise as rebuilding that transmission. You can't YouTube your way through it anymore.

At SingleStack, we built our Brand Visibility Engine specifically for this new reality. Not because we wanted to sell something different, but because everything else is becoming obsolete.

The days of throwing up a few blog posts and doing a one-time SEO sprint are over. Completely over.

The most important question is: is your heart soft enough to consider a different perspective?