🔥 The SEOs Diners Club - Issue #137 - Weekly SEO Tips & News

Welcome to another edition of The SEOs Diner's Club! Each week, I bring you a digest of the latest SEO updates and AI-driven insights, all crafted to fit into just a few minutes of your time. With over a decade of experience in SEO, my goal is to break down the week’s most important developments into a quick, insightful read. This way, you stay ahead of the curve in less than seven minutes. Let's jump into what matters this week!

1. Latest SEO News

Google Rolls Out AI-Organized Search Results Pages
Search Engine Journal / Matt G. Southern
Google is rolling out AI-organized search results in the US, starting with recipes! This new format mixes different types of content to create a more personalized experience. With how quickly the digital world changes, we might need to tweak our strategies as AI influences search results. Content quality, user value, and originality will always be critical pillars of SEO. Of course, how we present this content and our optimization strategies might change along the way.

Google Officially Launches Ads In AI Overviews
Search Engine Journal / Brooke Osmundson
AI Overviews already affected organic traffic by providing users shorter and more direct answers. Now, with the inclusion of these ads, gaining that valuable first-page visibility will become even more challenging.

Google Warning On JavaScript-Generated Product Markup
Seroundtable / Barry Schwartz
Accordingly, they recommend that structured data for products be added directly to the page's initial HTML to achieve the best results. Structured data generated with JavaScript can work, but the critical factor is that the server must be able to render pages quickly enough for Googlebot.

Sticky Google Search Console Performance Report Filters
Seroundtable / Barry Schwartz
Google just made an excellent update to its performance reports in Google Search Console. Now, your filters will stay just as you set them, so the next time you check the report, it’ll be right where you left off. And if you ever want to start fresh, you can easily reset everything with a simple click on the "reset filters" button. How convenient is that?

Google Expands Structured Data Support For Product Certifications
Search Engine Journal / Matt G. Southern
Google expands product structured data, replacing ‘EnergyConsumptionDetails’ with ‘Certification’ type for improved merchant listings.

2. Featured Articles

Is Google using Chrome for mobile-first indexing and user signals?

The article by Danny Goodwin on Search Engine Land explores SEO expert Cindy Krum's theory that Google uses Chrome for mobile-first indexing and user signals, which has significant implications for SEO strategies. According to Krum, since 2018, Google has leveraged user devices and Chrome for rendering and processing rather than relying solely on bots.

Critical points from Krum’s theory:

• User Devices for Rendering: Krum suggests that Google has been using user devices via Chrome to render JavaScript and index websites instead of relying on traditional bots. This shifts some computational workload to users’ machines.

• Pre-processing Local Data: Google allegedly uses locally pre-processed data from Chrome users to build models related to cohorts, behaviours, and engagement without users' explicit consent. This information is returned to Google’s servers for indexing and ranking purposes.

• Core Web Vitals and Real User Data: Chrome captures accurate user interaction data, such as page load performance, which is factored into Google’s ranking algorithms. This means user experience metrics are more critical than ever.

• AI and Ads: Google may utilise Chrome data for SEO, AI training, and advertising models, enhancing tools like PMax for better ad targeting and campaign optimization.

• Privacy Concerns: There are privacy implications, as Krum mentions incidents of Google indexing private data like WhatsApp groups due to aggressive caching and data collection practices in Chrome.

• SEO Implications: Unlike bot interactions, real user engagement is increasingly important in SEO rankings. Pages with links that receive no clicks are less likely to be crawled by Google, while accurate user rendering becomes a critical factor in Google’s ranking decisions.

Read More ➔

SEO grew up, a lot of SEOs didn’t

The article "SEO grew up, a lot of SEOs didn’t" by Philipp Götza discusses the maturity crisis within the SEO industry and encourages SEOs to adopt a growth-focused mindset. Götza emphasizes the need for SEOs to move beyond manipulative tactics and adopt strategies that create long-term value.

Key takeaways include:

• Stop Manipulating, Start Building: Götza highlights that many SEOs still rely on outdated or manipulative tactics such as fake experience, buying links, or shortcuts. Instead, SEOs should focus on proving experience, expertise, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) by producing high-quality content that naturally attracts backlinks and mentions.

• Embrace Change as Growth: SEO practices have evolved, and Götza urges SEOs to see change as an opportunity. With AI and new content quality standards, the competition for indexing has become more challenging. SEOs should strive to deliver "best in the world" content rather than settling for “fine” content and reframe obstacles as challenges for growth.

• Long-Term Focus: Instead of chasing quick wins and get-rich-quick schemes, Götza advocates for SEOs to take responsibility for their work, stop blaming others, and focus on creating sustainable growth. Building long-lasting value should be prioritized over short-term manipulation or loophole exploitation.

• Adapt SEO to Modern Business Needs: SEO should be viewed as a growth engine rather than a routine maintenance or marginal improvement process. SEOs must adopt a business-oriented mindset, understand C-level metrics, and find unique competitive advantages.

• Competitive Advantage: Götza stresses the importance of identifying a brand’s unique abilities and assets, such as subject matter expertise or proprietary data, and leveraging these for SEO success. Differentiating from competitors requires more than superficial tactics.

  Read More ➔

3. Tips and Tricks

• Quick Tip:

  Google updates the Search Console with sticky filters and improved navigation, responding to user requests for improved data analysis.

  

• Did You Know? The heated Google Search ranking volatility has continued into October. According to data provided by me from Semrush, this is the most extended period of volatility we have ever recorded, and it continues today.

4. Tools and Resources

OpenAI Canvas: Your New Generation Writing and Coding Assistant

Canvas is a new tool added to OpenAI's ChatGPT language model. This feature provides a new interface for working with ChatGPT on writing and coding tasks. In a way, it combines the interactive and rich functionalities offered by widely used platforms like Google Docs and Notion with the AI capabilities of ChatGPT.

Key Features:

• Canvas provides a much more effective working environment for content creation and editing processes. For example, if you're working on an SEO blog post or advertising copy, you can receive instant feedback while editing the text.

• Canvas has an interface similar to Google Docs. This interface lets you make direct changes to your content and receive instant feedback. This innovation can be instrumental in team collaborations or when working as a freelance content creator.

• SEO and digital marketing professionals often need coding knowledge as well. This knowledge is beneficial in areas like website optimization and technical SEO adjustments. Canvas is making ChatGPT's existing coding capabilities even more helpful.

• One of Canvas's most notable features is its collaborative focus. While writing content or working on code, ChatGPT continuously assists you and offers various suggestions, making the writing or coding process much more interactive.

5. Industry Events

• AI & Automation For SEO: Scale Efforts And Drive Revenue, October 9 Manick Bhan, Loren Baker

  AI is reshaping how digital marketers operate, stay competitive, and drive results online. The question is no longer whether to adopt AI but how quickly and effectively we can integrate it into our businesses to stay competitive and deliver unprecedented value. Join Manich Bhan and Loren Baker as they explore how to automate SEO strategy and implementation, saving time, money, and resources while delivering maximum results for your clients or business. You’ll learn how to incorporate SEO automation into your workflows and see real-world examples of marketing agencies automating their SEO to deliver drastic client results.

  Register Here ➔

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Best,

Mert Erkal