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SEO Data Wars: Why Google and Your Tools Don’t See Eye to Eye!

2 min read

A recent change to Google’s systems has caused widespread disruptions for several popular SEO rank and data tracking tools, leaving users without crucial data. The changes, implemented on January 15, have blocked many scrapers and APIs, leading to data lags and outages across the industry.

 

Which Tools Are Affected?

 

Users of tools like SimilarWeb, Rank Ranger, SE Ranking, ZipTie.dev, AlsoAsked, and others have reported missing or delayed data. Some tools, however, such as Semrush, Sistrix, Monitorank, and Ahrefs, appear to be unaffected by these changes.

 

What Happened?

 

Shay Harel, Senior Director at SimilarWeb, explained the situation in a statement shared with Barry Schwartz:

“On the night of January 15th, Google implemented significant changes to how its systems handle automated interactions. These updates temporarily disrupted rank tracking and SERP data solutions across the industry, including ours, as many existing configurations were rendered non-functional.”

 

Key highlights of the change include:

  • New requirements for interaction protocols, invalidating previously reliable scraping and data collection methods.
  • The deprecation of certain configurations, such as ads_mode: ON, which was widely used for paid result analysis.
  • A shift toward more dynamic session handling, adding complexity and raising concerns about potentialdepersonalization of results.

SimilarWeb reported resolving the issue within 18 hours, but the event underscores the ongoing challenge of adapting to Google’s ecosystem changes.

 

Other Reactions

 

Tomek Rudzki, co-founder of ZipTie.dev, highlighted the impact on their platform:

“We’ve observed a decrease (approximately 2 percentage points) in AIO detection rates through Ziptie’s tracking system.It seems Google is blocking AIO checkers in a smart way, far beyond traditional captchas. We are looking for ways to improve the AIO detection rate.”

 

Why It Matters

 

If you rely on SEO tools to monitor rankings, visibility, or campaign performance, this outage is a reminder of how fragile these systems can be when faced with abrupt changes from Google. Without accurate data, understanding the success of your SEO strategies becomes nearly impossible. Check your tools to see if they are affected and monitor updates from providers.

 

JavaScript Change: Coincidental Timing?

 

Separately, Google has announced a requirement for JavaScript to be enabled for users to access Search. According to Google:

“Enabling JavaScript allows us to better protect our services and users from bots and evolving forms of abuse and spam,and to provide the most relevant and up-to-date information.”

While Google claims this change affects fewer than 0.1% of searches, its timing raises questions about whether it is related to the recent SEO tool disruptions.

 

Some Tools Remain Unaffected

 

While several tools experienced outages, Semrush, Sistrix, Monitorank, and Ahrefs reported no widespread issues. Semrush, in particular, clarified:

“On any given day, some users may encounter bugs as part of the normal course of business, but nothing unusual has been identified. Our product team has verified this, and we aren’t seeing any widespread issues.”

 

First Reports

 

The issue was first reported by Eric Mercier, who published an article (in Spanish) titled Google bloqueó las herramientasSEO: el drama del 2025. The discovery was later shared via Natalia Witczyk’s LinkedIn post.

 

What’s Next?

 

As the SEO industry grapples with these changes, the importance of technical agility and innovation in data solutions becomes ever clearer. Stay tuned for more updates as the story develops.

 

If you’re still feeling overwhelmed or unsure, don’t worry—our monthly SEO packages are here to help. Let the experts take the reins and handle it for you!

Shilpi Mathur
navyya.shilpi@gmail.com