Hi there,

Welcome back.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned I was working on something new.

Well, this is it!

Below, you'll see a complete redesign of your newsletter.

It's a new, shorter format, and I've also made space for you to share your news, resources or results.

In this issue:

• Why I believe 'the leak' is a big deal
• LLMs don't want your content to perform
• The old SEO playbook vs the new SEO playbook
• And more...

See you next time,

Nicole

P.S. Can you do me a quick favor? Please reply and tell me what you think of this new format. (You'll see the next newsletter on 27 June).

Insights

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The Google leak is a big deal
​

You've read at least 10 articles on this by now, so I'll just give you a couple of my opinions to consider.

Why do I believe the leak is a big deal?:

Because we finally got a look at the real attributes Google uses for its search ranking.

That's huge for our SEO community.

And once Google confirmed the authenticity of the documents, every expert went into overdrive.

If you feel that you've been misled, or even lied to in the past, I don't blame you.

There's a breakdown of trust here.

We have confirmation that Google is looking at factors they denied using—or failed to disclose—in the past.

For example, for the past few years, I’ve emphasized the softer, user-centric factors.

Some of our biggest successes have come from content pruning and article revamps that emphasized information architecture, UX, clear and concise writing, information gain, and originality.

At times, clients would question the ROI on this.

• What’s the big deal?
• What does this have to do with SEO?
• How much more will we get from focusing our energy here versus on new content?

Now, not only do we have case studies, but also we can point at this and say, "look, we have really good data that suggests this is part of the algorithm."
​

Misinformation or misdirection?

Until recently, I was guilty of mostly believing Google.

And now, well, I feel a bit naive.

I believed them when they told us how their algo would operate.

During the antitrust trial, it was revealed that user interaction is a big part of the algorithm.

So, even though I believed they were monitoring user interactions before, I also believed they didn’t need Chrome or Google Analytics for this data.

They have their own site so they can measure when and how you interact with their search results.

They measure when you leave, if you come back, what you click, what you read, and whether you do another search—or not.

But, Google deceived us.

We've learned they do measure the information they have from Chrome.

I will no longer blind myself to common sense.

Google is a publicly-traded organization like any other.

It owes a duty to its shareholders to maximize the value of its shares each quarter.

Of course, they do this by any (hopefully legal) means necessary.
​

The SEO community had it right

If you're trying to build a channel, or you're an SEO who is trying to help clients, your methods have been validated.

The SEO community had it right.

We weren't surprised by the confirmations we got because we knew how this worked!

It's great to get that validation because it gives us additional evidence. It gives us a new way to explain to our clients why we take specific actions on their sites.

These details matter.

Keeping someone on your page for just a bit longer than the competition seems like it should have nothing to do with SEO.

In fact, it has everything to do with SEO.
​

What do I recommend you do now?

I'm not sure anybody has said this, but my best recommendation is:

Wait.

Why?

Because we have enough proof that what we're doing is correct.

The SEO community is awesome.
​

Mic King @iPullRank We should start a Slack or Telegram or something for people that want to run SEO tests. 3:6 AM • Jun 8, 2024 0 Retweets 150 Likes Read 43 replies

​

​
We're already testing, because everything should be tested.

Reading the documents and rushing to change what we're doing won't help at the moment.

I'll run tests.

You'll test too.

And over the next few months (maybe longer), we'll have actual data.
​

Is this going to change how we approach SEO?

Maybe.

I think it might change things on the margins for everybody, and it will probably change the way we communicate why we do certain things for our clients.

As SEOs and marketers, there's a ton of pressure to come up with the answers and a lot of reward for being the first to provide those answers.

But, that's not what our clients pay us to do.

Our clients don't pay us to go out on a limb and risk their authority and rankings.

They pay us for results.

The results require data.

So, don't race to change everything.

Pay attention.

Watch and listen.

Watch for data and look out for that slippery slope when people make false assumptions.

We need to be patient, go deep, and seek the 'quod erat demonstrandum' (QED). Find the something that proves what you were trying to prove.

I have pages of notes on my takeaways from this leak.

They cover everything from digital PR and anchor mismatch demotion, to what constitutes quality content and relevance.

Hit reply and tell me what you'd like to see next.

Or message me with a question, and I'll answer it in this newsletter.

Additional Resources

I discovered a searchable list of Google Ranking Signals.

Aleyda Solis aggregated a list of Google leak-related information [Google Sheet].

This is not an ad...

Information

✶ LLMs don't want your content to perform

Amanda King explains why she doesn't let LLMs or AI touch her content "in any way, shape or form."

✶ Are you seeing this in your region?

Lily Ray 😏 @lilyraynyc I’ve seen this once or twice lately, but didn’t get screenshots before. Google is collecting feedback about the helpfulness of its results. 🤔 10:41 PM • Jun 4, 2024 2 Retweets 10 Likes Read 3 replies

​

✶ Who's tried this?

​Attributer is a simple tool for getting market attribution data into your CRM so you can see where your leads and customers come from. If you've tried this tool, please share your results with me.

✶ The Dos and Don’ts of Pitching Journalists To Get More From Your Owned Media

​When content and PR teams work together, magic happens.
Talk to me about a personalized content strategy that makes the news and earns links. Contact me today.

✶ Google study results

Google published a case study showing how structured data and optimizing URLs for crawling resulted in close to 2x video clicks in the SERPs.

Inspiration

✶ Ride the Wave

Despite the current uproar over AI Overviews, Kieran Flanagan, HubSpot’s SVP of Marketing, seemed to take it in his stride.

Flanagan believes Google rushed to add AI to get ahead of its competitors.

​He shared his thoughts on LinkedIn:

…businesses will need to ride the wave. It will be a disruptive time for everyone who loves organic traffic. The one guarantee I'll make is that we'll only see AI get more deeply woven into search, not less, regardless of how many funny memes are made about Google AI overviews' woeful results."

✶ The Old SEO Playbook vs The New SEO Playbook

The old SEO playbook spread SEO budgets thin and generated less ROI.

The new SEO playbook focuses resources on fewer assets and ensures those assets provide business outcomes.
​Here's my playbook.

I want to share your:

Big news, latest resource, or outstanding results.
I'd love to support you by featuring you here. It's FREE!
​
Hit the button and show me what you've got.

Dates to watch

• July 1 - Canada Day (Dominion Day)
• July 1 - International Joke Day
• July 3 - Eat Beans Day
• July 4 - Independence Day
• July 7 - Chocolate Day
• July 8 - Video Games Day
• July 10 - ESPYs (Excellence in Sports Performance Awards)
• July 11 - World Population Day
• July 12 - National Pecan Pie Day
• July 13 - Embrace Your Geekness Day
• July 20 - Fortune Cookie Day
• July 21 - Baseball Hall of Fame Induction
• July 22 - World Brain Day
• July 25 - National Chili Dog Day
• July 26 - Summer Olympics

July is also:

Disability Pride Month
UV Safety Month
Healthy Vision Month
Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month
Sarcoma Awareness Month

Keep in touch