Tips Tuesday – AI SEO and Traffic, Video SEO, Google Ad Antitrust Case
Tips this week include:
- Why we’re not updating to WP 6.8 yet
- Why I’m concerned about only minor releases coming to WP for the rest of the year
- Removal of the PHP 8 warning, finally
- AI SEO Presentation
- Tracking only AI traffic
- Youtube brings AI tools to help with SEO and ideas
- More video SEO masterminds coming
- Why we have to go beyond Google for eyeballs
- How shorter content is working better now
- How Google losing ad antitrust case may affect us
- What I’ve been exhaustively working on for 2 months
It’s been a rough couple of months here. I’ll tell you about it at the end of this post.
But first, let’s get into the tips.
WordPress Tips
Not Updating Yet
With all of the hoohaa going on here, I have not updated any of my own sites to WP 6.8 yet and haven’t had time to investigate if others have had issues with it, except for this known issue with caching.
I may or may not get too deep into it this week either, as I’m deliberately avoiding stressful stuff. So let’s just wait a bit longer.
Call for Minor Release Project Managers
I have webmasters who, by rule, won’t update WordPress until the first bug fix releases, which would be 6.8.1.
But, since Matt pissed off so many dev volunteers and staff, getting the next bug fix release is not exactly a front-burner project.
In fact, they’re scrambling to get folks to head up the project.
And in this post they confirmed that the next 6.9 major release will not be until 2026.
That likely scared devs so much that in the post they had to say they were not looking for folks to commit to minor releases for the next 9 months, but to do it in 3 month segments.
My issue with this whole thing is that we’re going to get stuff that should wait for a major release rolled into 2-3 minor releases this year – just like they did when they were trying to hold WP 5.0 release for Gutenberg that kept getting delayed.
Minor releases auto update, and that’s why I’m concerned.
There is a way to turn off all updates, but then some minor updates contain emergency security fixes. And we would want those to go through immediately.
I’ll be keeping my eye on it for us.
But nothing about anything Matt has decided for the past year has been to the benefit of WP or its users, including this.
Removal of PHP 8 Warning
Well, finally!!!
PHP is one of the main coding languages in the WP core.
WP started pseudo supporting PHP 8 with version 5.6 back in 2020. But, they labeled it as beta, meaning that not everything else we use on our sites, like themes and plugins, would be guaranteed to be compatible.
Since then, WP has been hounding devs to get their wares up to par with the current stable version of PHP.
We’ve been running 8.1 for a while now, but we ran into issues with the last WP update, and some plugin updates that required 8.3.
Since 8.1 will drop support on 12/31/25, starting at the first of this year I’ve been taking my clients up to 8.3 during both their full or 6 month checkups, whichever they are due for first.
That way we’ll be all done with it by July and set for another couple of years with it.
And WP has finally removed their beta label from being PHP 8 compliant.
THIS is the kind of long overdue, lingering stuff I hope they focus on for all of the minor releases for the rest of this year.
We don’t really need new features. We need the foundation to be solid.
SEO Tips
AI SEO Presentation
One of my colleagues asked me to come speak to her group about AI SEO. This will be a mini version of what I teach in the DIY SEO Everywhere course.
And yes, paying attention to the traffic we are getting from 12 different AI Search platforms is starting to really add up!!!!
So, it’s definitely something we need to max out on. And that’s exactly what we’ll be circling back to in the course now that we know how to track those clicks and see what is attractive to AI Search!!
Tracking Only AI Traffic
Before my schedule got so utterly disrupted, I was working on a way for us to see only the AI Search hits in our GA4 and in EZ Metrix. I found a couple of tutorials on creating the group, but they are different from the way I showed how to create groups in my GA4 course, and I have yet to make any of them work correctly.
And there are 2 different kinds of groups.
- Similar domain – like any domain that has Pinterest in it regardless of country of origin, which all have different extensions
- Type – like Organic Search or Organic Social
Right now we can already see that AI traffic in GA4 and EZ Metrix, but it’s not grouped or exclusive to only those.
So, when I get my mind rested, I want to jump back into this and at least create the Type group. For now I think that will suffice.
FYI, if you’re in the EZ Metrix course and/or I still have Editor access to your reports, you’ll get this new setting for free.
YouTube SEO
Last week we had a live mastermind in the DIY SEO Everywhere course for YouTube tips and tricks.
During that session we had a look at the new AI tools in YouTube and ALL of us got bunches of ideas for new videos that have high interest.
That includes title and description suggestions too.
And we learned how to strategically use Shorts as well.
More Video SEO Masterminds Coming
I asked my peeps in the course if they want to continue our video SEO series and explore Reels on both Instagram and Facebook, or to circle back to Substack with how to strategically use it when you also have a WP blog.
They voted to keep going with video, so that’s what we’ll do in a couple of weeks.
Going Beyond Google
It’s always a good time to join us in the course. Replays are available for all the workshops and masterminds we’ve done to date, and we’ll have more of those and new challenges to get ‘er done this year too!!
We HAVE to continue to look beyond Google for our traffic now.
Shorter is Working
And we have to change our thinking about what content gets the most eyeballs now too.
The days of writing 1500 word, authoritative posts as the mainstay of our content are over.
Shorter clips get promoted in AI Search and on video these days.
I think we NEED to have a challenge on this topic, because as much as I’m saying it to you, folks are having a hard time applying it to their content.
Let’s get you beyond that boulder in your path and get you more traffic!!!
Monetization Tips
Google Loses Ad Antitrust Case
A total of 17 states, along with the federal government have brought suit against Google for their networking practices.
It’s not just about Google running ads in Google Search. It’s about how they dole out ads to their networking partners. That includes the popular ad agencies that several bloggers use.
This is a complex case that involves Google’s ad servers and delivery and such.
It’s not going to hurt ad dollars, at least according to the report.
I’m not sure if we will see the affects of this on our businesses. It may only deter Google from having the cash flow for new acquisitions or such.
If you run ads, be sure to read to article and/or ask your ad agency what this means for you.
BlogAid Happenings
Actually, only the minimum required has been happening at BlogAid.
Y’all may have noticed that I’ve been a little slower than usual in responding to projects lately.
Here’s why.
In just 5 weeks we had 2 month’s worth of rain, mostly in 2 big storms, that did a lot of damage to the woods around my property and all the properties that surround my back meadow, which is bigger than a football field.
And the resulting flooding floated that debris all the way up into my yard and the one next to it. (The meadow is a watershed that normally floods, but not like it did this time. It never comes near any of the houses here, so no worries.)
It’s been an exhaustive cleanup and a few tense discussions with neighbors over property lines and cleanup responsibilities.
The majority of the flood debris from fallen and broken trees, plus all of the wood chips from rotted limbs has been cleared in time for mowing my yard and the back meadow. It took heavy equipment to load 2 trailers that were 16’ long and stacked 10’ high to remove the big stuff. And about 80 wheelbarrows of little stuff I cut and gathered for multiple brush burns to clear it. Another neighbor had a similar trailer load removed and multiple brush burns too.
There’s more to do, but it can be done at a more relaxed pace.
Besides working to exhaustion between rain episodes, the disruption to Zak’s schedule has been super hard on his 17-year-old self, especially with him battling a digestive issue for over a year.
I’m glad to report that we both got some much needed rest over the holiday weekend.
Cloudflare hoohaa
And then we had the Cloudflare hoohaa last week that turned into a dumpster fire of a support ticket. That mess is finally fixed, and I’m glad they closed the support ticket so that all of the far-less-than-helpful comments would stop.
Then silly me decided to add a post in the Suggestion and Feedback section asking if they would consider a $5-$10/mo plan that was like the free plan, but without the beta testing. That did not go well either.
I’ve had enough of bullies
The exhausting work of all of the yard cleanup was bad enough. But that was not the worst of it.
I tell you what, after dealing with men who like playing with chainsaws, who thought they were going to bully a woman into her place and cut down and cut up anything they wanted without clearing it, until they were informed where the property lines actually ran and whose responsibility was what, and the legality of removing trees from other people’s property, to a bunch of emotionally immature devs who thought they were going to bully their keyboard brave opinions onto someone seeking help, to dealing with city folks who tried to brush off their responsibilities for clearing the drainage-way for my meadow, I’ve had enough of bullies!!!!!
And no, I didn’t scratch anybody’s eyes out. Though I think that would have taken less energy than to find a way to bring it back to something civil and retain their cooperation, which is what I did to the best of my ability.
Worth caretaking
Below is a picture of Zak on one of his deck pallets and the view of my meadow that I enjoy while reading and writing things for Tips Tuesday. For scale, this deck is above the basement garage, so it’s like a 2nd story view, and we’re looking into the middle of the trees, just like a treehouse. The backwoods are about a football field away. With the trees filled in, I can’t see the neighbors who are up on a hill back there.
I call this covered deck my Sanity Room, and it’s right off my office. I’m out here all year round. It’s where I pace around while speaking with clients during mini consults after their audit chat too. I think best on my feet and while I’m getting some sunshine and fresh air. And now y’all know why it sounds like I’m in a park – I am!!!!
Back At It
I’m glad I have a business that allows me to flex my time when needed. I bet you are too.
But I’m so ready to get back into my groove of biz work during the day and having energy left to do fun projects in the evenings.
