Welcome to episode #78 of the SEO Newsletter by #SEOSLY!
A lot is happening in the world of SEO & AI. I’m here to bring you the most important SEO & AI news and tips from the front.
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The SEO Newsletter by #SEOSLY is sponsored by JetOctopus
JetOctopus is a cloud-based website crawler and SEO log analyzer. The tool allows you to analyze your website structure, check for broken links, detect technical SEO issues, and monitor your website’s ranking in search engines.
JetOctopus is the fastest and most affordable SaaS crawler and logs analyzer without limits.
How to check if SEO is working
I invite you to check my latest 4500+ word article where I share how to check if your SEO results are working. I share my hands-on experience with no fluff whatsoever.
Top SEO & AI news
Here is the latest and hottest SEO news. If you missed my SEO newsletter from last week, you can check it out here.
English Google SEO office hours from May 2023
Here is a huge dose of SEO tips & wisdom straight from the Google team.
Google no longer requires video descriptions as part of structured data
Barry Schwartz reports that empty descriptions will no longer show up as errors in the Search Console reports.
Google now says the canonical link element is not recommended for syndicated content; instead, the recommendation is to block the syndicated content from being accessed to avoid duplication.
May 1st & 2nd Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update – Unconfirmed
Barry Schwartz reports that there are indications of a potential Google search ranking algorithm update, which seemingly began on May 1st and has generated increasing discussions within the SEO community since May 2nd.
How x-default can help you
The hreflang x-default value is potentially underused by sites that already use hreflang to help search users find the right version of their pages. Gary Illyes reminds us that it can be a powerful tool and can do more than you (probably) think.
Join me LIVE on May 11th @ 3 PM CEST at the Duda webinar on AI transforming SEO
Other SEO & AI News
And here is less breaking but still important SEO news.
The State of Search 2023
The report by Semrush on the state of Search in 2023. Big thanks to Marcus Tober for putting this up.
The State of Technical SEO 2023: Agency and Freelance Experts Webinar
Hosted by Areej AbuAli and Paddy Moogan, the panel of agency and freelance SEO experts from the Women in Tech SEO Community discuss their thoughts and feedback on the results of the State of Technical SEO Report 2023.
Announcing the Next Wave of AI Innovation with Microsoft Bing and Edge
Microsoft announces the next generation of AI-powered Bing and Edge, expanding search capabilities and user access, adding rich visual content, enhancing multi-session productivity, and enabling third-party integration for task completion.
Google Search to become more “visual, snackable, personal, and human”
With Google I/O around the corner, we are all expecting big news from Google on how Google Search will change – here are some reported leaks on that news.
AI in search: Insights from Bing’s Fabrice Canel
Microsoft veteran Fabrice Canel offers insights into the state of AI in search and the integration of chat experiences in the new Bing.
SEO X-Ray #4: Site Audit in Less Than 40 Minutes with JetOctopus
I invite you to check out the new series of live SEO audits – SEO X-Ray – on my YouTube SEO channel.
Here is the latest SEO X-Ray episode where I show you how to use JetOctopus to audit a website in less than 40 minutes.
Recent SEO interviews
My most recent interview is with Gus Pelogia, an SEO Product Manager at Indeed. I had a chance to meet Gus in person and he is such a great guy. Don’t miss the episode with him
Interview with an SEO Product Manager at Indeed
In this exclusive interview, we dive into the fascinating story of Gus Pelogia, an accomplished SEO expert with a unique background in journalism. Gus shares his journey from his beginnings as a journalist in Brazil, working for major entertainment media outlets such as MTV, Terra, and R7, to his transition into the world of SEO in 2011.
Unleashing an SEO Obsession with Olga Zarr
Check this video where I was a guest to my friend, Doug. We discussed my obsession with SEO, how I leverage ChatGPT, and my plan to cash in on affiliate programs.
Top SEO Tips
And here are the Google SEO tips for you.
#1: Google: We Do Not Trust Links From Spammy Sites
This is kind of obvious but a friendly reminder won’t hurt anyone. In the latest Google SEO office hours, Google said that Google does not trust outbound links from a site they think is spammy.
#2: Google: Avoid Using “Coming Back Soon” Pages For Site Migrations
Google’s John Mueller said he would “try very hard to avoid having a “coming back soon” page during a revamp.” He said if you must have the “coming back soon” page then do so for a day or so but serve a 503 server status code.
#3: Google: It’s A Terrible Idea To Disavow Links Based On Third-Party Metrics
Again, not a surprise but a worthy reminder reported by Barry Schwartz.
Videos to watch this week
And here are the videos you don’t want to miss this week.
Learn how I was able to replace 12+ SEO tools with one Ahrefs SEO Toolbar
I’m not kidding! Check the video below and read my entire review of the Ahrefs SEO Toolbar.
How to use Google Search Console for SEO
Here is my latest video where I do a quick (40-minute) walk through Google Search Console and how I use it for SEO (and how you can use it too).
P.S. I recorded this video a month or so ago (sorry about the quality) and the most recent Google announcement made it obsolete, so I will be reshooting it soon. But I still think it contains useful tips, especially for newer SEOs, so here it is!
Unconfirmed May Google Update, Bing Chat Opens To All, E-E-A-T Factors & Syndicated Content
The essential SEO news recap by no one other than Barry Schwartz.
Glenn Gabe on AI Content, E-E-A-T & The Future
Glenn Gabe and Barry Schwartz talk about Bing chat and Google Bard and also the use of AI-generated content. They dig more into E-E-A-T and how AI tools may replace us all.
Daniel K. Cheung 🤩 Building An SEO Personal Brand
Daniel is a semantic SEO consultant and organic growth educator based in Sydney, Australia. Has consulted for major brands in the financial and banking industry He 5x his LinkedIn following in 11 weeks and cracked 1.1M impressions. He is the host of Scheming Schemas. He is currently the SEO Manager at Adobe.
Other articles & resources to read
And you need to allocate some time to read these articles from other SEOs. They are brilliant.
What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work?
Very long and in-depth piece by Stephen Wolfram whose purpose is to give a rough outline of what’s going on inside ChatGPT—and then to explore why it is that it can do so well in producing what we might consider to be meaningful text.
An SEO’s guide to understanding large language models (LLMs)
Here’s what SEOs need to know about large language models, natural language processing, and everything in between. By Jess Peck.
The Future of SEO in a Post-ChatGPT World
While SEO isn’t dying, it is undergoing substantial changes, accelerated by generative AI, and it’s worth hazarding a few educated guesses about what it might look like on the other side. By Ryan Law.
Can AI-generated content work for eCommerce?
Adriana Steain explores both sides of the argument and considers what that might mean for the future of eCommerce marketing and SEO.
Why rank tracking is important for SEO
In this article, Vinnie Wong guides you through how to approach rank tracking, tactical tips for better rank tracking, tool recommendations, and more.
50+ Google Search Operators
The full list of 50+ Google search operators to help you search more effectively and find exactly what you are looking for.
What is Web Scraping and How to Do It (with Examples)?
In this tutorial by Jean-Christophe Chouinard, you will learn what is web scraping and how to perform web scraping.
E-commerce SEO: 8 Common Website Mistakes – And How to Avoid Them
In this super interesting article, Jamie Reedy discusses 8 common and often costly e-commerce website mistakes and how to avoid them.
Google “We Have No Moat, And Neither Does OpenAI”
The text is a very recent leaked document, which was shared by an anonymous individual on a public Discord server who has granted permission for its republication. It originates from a researcher within Google. We have verified its authenticity.
Local Search Roundup – May 2023
This is the essential recap of local SEO news from May 2023 prepared by BrightLocal.
SEO Twitter nuggets
And before we end, here are a few Twitter nuggets for you.
Thank you for reading my newsletter! I hope you found the information useful. If you enjoyed this issue, be sure to check out the next one next week.
