Google Creators Summit & Death of Originality

Pro Snippet "Google's incredibly controversial and officially-but-not-really-deprecated HCU (Helpful Content Update) is still looming large in SEO industry discourse, and their decision to host a summit for affected small sites in Mountain View, California has arguably only added fuel to the fire. It still looks unlikely that we'll see any actual corrective action in the near future." - Tom Capper, Senior Search Scientist, Moz What We're Reading:   Announcing MozBar V4 - A New Era for Moz's SEO Browser Extension Moz's browser extension has been a hugely popular way to see SEO metrics and data at a glance for over 16 years (!), and this largest ever update propels it into 2024, aligning with some of the new features (and the new look) that Moz Pro has acquired in the last couple of years. I Drank the Kool-Aid at the 2024 Google Web Creator Summit Google invited a number of HCU-decimated small site owners to their offices in October, to decidedly mixed reviews. Mike Hardaker shares a thorough account of his experience here. I Attended Google's Creator Conversation Event, And It Turned Into A Funeral Not everyone present took as conciliatory a tone - this account from Joshua Tyler is not talking about his own demise, but Google's. Google and the Death of Originality And lastly on this topic, Joe Youngblood has a great longform piece on what could actually be happening at Google, and what meaning we should extract from their cryptic messages. This is a somewhat speculative piece, but nonetheless a fascinating read. How To Write Your Content So People Read It Now for something totally different - "Human Content Always Wins" says Vicki Thomas, and this piece explains what she means and how to go about it. A Nightmare on Affiliate Street Glenn Gabe documents the total anihilation of a number of affiliate sites in the last couple of months, and Google's insistence that this is not in fact their Site Reputation Abuse policy at work. Google's AI Fails At 43% Of Finance Queries, Study Finds With a headline that unfortunately very few of us will be shocked by, this study is a timely reminder that Google's AI Overviews are still not living up to the promise, over 18 months after we were first unpleasantly surprised by "SGEs". Way-Too-Early Thoughts on SearchGPT for Local Search OpenAI's search engine is now walking among us. Many are commenting that it's Bing in disguise or wondering what to make of the new bot & user-agent, but David Mihm has another angle here, looking at the possible impact on local search. How To Pick the Right Google Business Profile Categories This is a simple guide to a common Local SEO problem - picking the right categories for your business. Healthcare Reserve with Google Mayhem "Reserve with Google" appears to be moving into healthcare, but providers can take steps to avoid the chaos that unapproved booking agents may deliver.       Products  |   Learn  |   Community  |   Blog  |   About . Moz, 720 Robson St, 400  Vancouver, BC V6Z 1A1 Canada You received this email because you are subscribed to The Moz Top 10 newsletter from Moz. Update your email preferences.  Unsubscribe from all future emails.

Google's biggest threat + search intent funnel

Pro Snippet "This issue we have a triple-billing on HCU tactics, and another on threats to Google. Is it Amazon, the United States Department of Justice, or his own leadership team that is giving Sundar the biggest headache this week?" - Tom Capper, Senior Search Scientist, Moz What We're Reading:   What Is Keyword Intent and How Does It Impact Your Conversion Rate? Moz's own Jo Cameron is here with an intent-fuelled keyword research workflow, serving users through the buyer journey in organic search. What If Google's Biggest Problem Isn't AI? Whilst we're all losing our minds over AI, there is probably a bigger existential threat to SEO as we know it. Before 2023 & ChatGPT, Google was most obviously focused on product and affiliate verticals, perhaps to combat their biggest risk: Amazon. Google HCU: What Can You Do? — Whiteboard Friday Following on from his study last month, Tom is addressing some FAQs, hot takes, and tactical takeaways from his Helpful Content Update (HCU) study. Creating Content for SEO in a Zero-Click World ...Including the fact that even if off-site factors are critical, it's no excuse not to make helpful content. This piece from Chantal Smink is a great summary of the state of content in SEO, and her take on how SEOs can respond. Google AI Overviews Not Linking To Sites Hit By Helpful Content Update Lastly in this month's HCU triple billing, it turns out the AI overview algorithm is intertwined with the "regular" search algorithm in this regard as well - although perhaps not quite keeping up with recent developments. Google is Replacing the Exec in Charge of Search and Ads Don't like how Google search has evolved in the last couple of years? Count Sundar among your friends... maybe. It's hard to interpret this reshuffle of Google leadership, but Prabhakar Raghavan's tenure has been controversial. DOJ Indicates It's Considering Google Breakup Following Monopoly Ruling Very relatedly, the United States DOJ is only getting more serious about Google and its (allegedly, potentially) anticompetitive behaviour. Business Listings Visibility Study Directories and listings sites don't get as much attention as they used to, but they're still a valid tactic in many verticals. This in-depth study contains much food for thought. Google's AI Organized Restaurant Results One of the potential outcomes of "AI-organized" SERPs is a huge increase in local-pack-style results. However, Mike's still not impressed. Google Local Service Ads At It Again With Request Competitive Quotes ...And, nor is Barry. This new ad feature potentially results in two businesses paying for the same lead, but the implementation is currently unclear.       Products  |   Learn  |   Community  |   Blog  |   About . Moz, 720 Robson St, 400  Vancouver, BC V6Z 1A1 Canada You received this email because you are subscribed to The Moz Top 10 newsletter from Moz. Update your email preferences.  Unsubscribe from all future emails.