You rank at position 1. Google Search Console confirms it. So does your SEO agency. And yet your organic traffic has been falling for months. You ask what is going on. The answer you get: “We’re monitoring it.”
That answer is wrong.
Here is what is really going on: your SEO reporting measures the wrong things. Not because your agency does poor work, but because Google’s rules of the game have fundamentally changed, and most reports haven’t been adjusted to match.
What has changed (and why your agency isn’t telling you)
On May 21, 2026, Google rolled out the May 2026 Core Update. By June 2 it was finished. That same week, Google launched Gemini 3.5 Flash as the default AI model in AI Mode worldwide, and AI Mode passed the mark of one billion monthly users.
These are not separate developments. They reinforce each other.
For almost half of all searches, Google now provides an answer in the search results itself, before anyone clicks a link. That is called an AI Overview. And those AI Overviews appear more and more often, including on the search terms your website ranks for.
The effect is measurable. Research by Ahrefs across 300,000 keywords shows that the presence of an AI Overview correlates with 58% fewer clicks on the top ranking page. A website that ranked first in 2024 and drew 1,000 visitors per month now averages 690 visitors: same position, same search term, same content.
Your position hasn’t dropped. Your traffic has.
That is what we at JKC call “The Great Decoupling”: visibility and traffic have come apart. And an SEO report that only looks at positions and sessions doesn’t see it.
Why average position misleads you
Average position has been the standard metric in every SEO report for years. And for good reason: the higher you rank, the more clicks you get. That relationship was reliable.
That relationship no longer exists.
A keyword at position 1 with an AI Overview above it has an average click-through rate of 2 to 3%. The same keyword without an AI Overview: 15 to 27%. Same position. World of difference.
So a report that says “average position stable” actually tells you nothing about whether your website still attracts visitors. It is like measuring the speed of a car without knowing whether it is moving or standing still.
The three numbers you should track in your SEO reporting
Good SEO reporting in 2026 doesn’t steer on position, but on the metrics that still say something about the actual performance of your website. These are the three that matter.
1. CTR per keyword, not the average
The average CTR across your entire website masks where the problem sits. What you want to know: which specific keywords had a CTR of 8% last year and a CTR of 1.5% now? Those are the terms where an AI Overview is taking your traffic.
You will find this in Google Search Console. Go to Search results, filter on the past three months versus the same period last year, and sort by the biggest CTR drop with an unchanged or improved position. Those are your weakest spots.
2. Branded search volume
When people type your company name into Google, they are looking for you specifically. Not for a category. Not for a service. For you.
Growing branded search is the proof that your SEO efforts are building real authority, even if your informational traffic drops because of AI Overviews. It is the metric that shows whether your audience knows and remembers your brand. Falling branded search while your organic traffic is also falling: then something really is wrong.
3. Conversions from organic, not sessions
This is the simplest and most ignored metric. In 2026, sessions say very little. What counts: how many leads, inquiries or purchases come out of your organic channel?
If that stays stable or grows while your sessions drop, your SEO is doing excellent work. The visitors you still attract are better qualified. If your conversions drop along with falling sessions, you have a problem, but then it is a content problem, not a measurement problem.
What honest SEO reporting looks like now
Most reports we see at new clients are built around three or four numbers: average position, organic sessions, number of ranking pages and bounce rate. That was a perfectly fine dashboard in 2022.
In 2026 that dashboard misses half the story.
| What used to be measured | What to measure now |
|---|---|
| Average position | CTR per keyword (trend over time) |
| Organic sessions | Conversions from organic traffic |
| Number of ranking pages | Pages with a CTR drop at a stable position |
| Total monthly traffic | Branded search volume (trend) |
| Bounce rate | Time on page and scroll depth per channel |
On June 3, 2026, Google also rolled out a new feature in Search Console: separate impression reports for AI Overviews and AI Mode. You can now see per page how often you appear in AI-generated answers. Clicks and CTR from those results aren’t included yet, that will come later. But it is the first concrete measuring tool for your visibility in AI search.
Not using it yet? Go to Search Console and look for the new “Generative AI” tab in the left-hand navigation. That is your new starting point.
What to do when your traffic drops but your positions are stable
Three concrete steps, in order of priority.
Step 1: Diagnose first, act second. The May 2026 Core Update has only just finished. Rankings are still stabilizing. Wait at least two to four weeks before making major content changes. Use that time to collect data: which pages were hit, on which keywords, and what does the CTR trend look like?
Step 2: Separate informational and commercial pages. AI Overviews show up on informational searches: “what is X”, “how does Y work”, “compare A and B”. They barely show up on transactional searches: “buy X”, “request a quote for X”, “X agency Eindhoven”. If your informational blog traffic drops but your commercial pages stay stable, there is no reason to panic. That means the system is working exactly as it should.
Step 3: Check whether you are cited in AI Overviews. Search Google for the terms you want to rank for. Is there an AI Overview? Is your website mentioned in it as a source? If so: even without a click you are building authority, and brands that are cited in AI Overviews get on average 35% more organic clicks than brands that aren’t cited on the same page. If not: your content is probably too generic or not distinctive enough, and that is a content question, not a technical SEO question.
Conclusion
Position 1 is no longer what it used to be. Not because Google is punishing you, but because Google changed the rules. The answer you are looking for is no longer in a column of average positions.
SEO reporting that still has value in 2026 steers on CTR per keyword, branded search and conversions from organic. Those three numbers tell you whether your website performs commercially, regardless of what AI Overviews do to your traffic.
Curious how your current reporting stacks up, or want to know what the May 2026 Core Update actually meant for your website? Schedule a call with Justin and we will look at it together.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Google Core Update of May 2026 mean for my website?
The May 2026 Core Update rolled out from May 21 to June 2, 2026 and reassesses content quality across the whole site. Websites with thin, generic content, or content written mainly for search engines, lose ground. Websites with demonstrable expertise, concrete examples and real added value for the reader are rewarded. A ranking drop right after a core update isn’t always permanent, but a drop without action is.
Why is my organic traffic falling while my Google position stays the same?
This is the direct result of AI Overviews. Google increasingly answers informational searches itself in the search results, before anyone clicks. Research shows that the presence of an AI Overview lowers the click-through rate at position 1 by 30 to 58%. Your position is stable, but the search delivers fewer clicks because users already find their answer at the top of the page.
Which metrics should I track in my SEO reporting in 2026?
Focus on CTR per keyword instead of average position, conversions from organic traffic instead of total sessions, and branded search volume as a measure of authority building. In addition: use the new AI Overviews impression reports in Google Search Console, available since June 3, 2026, to monitor your visibility in AI-generated answers.
How do I know whether my SEO agency measures the right things?
Ask your agency for the CTR trend per keyword over the past twelve months. Also ask for a breakdown of conversions per channel, not just sessions. If that data isn’t there, or if the answer is only about positions, your agency is measuring the wrong things. Good SEO reporting in 2026 shows whether your website performs commercially, not just whether you are findable.
