Tips Tuesday – Big SEO Changes, AI Agents, Is Blogging Dead?

Hello Happy Site Owner!!

Tips this week include:

• 10 weeks until Universal Analytics stops working
• Google removes Page Experience from ranking factors
• Why ADA compliance is more important to Google now
• Big change to the Login Lockdown plugin
• Testing Cloudflare Turnstile plugin for spam protection of all kinds
• WP Fastest Cache hits 40 million downloads
• Google tests cookie-free tracking
• Safari closed 3rd-party tracking loophole
• Should you blog for money now?
• Why vlog SEO is where it’s at now
• Top channels and emerging trends for monetization
• How AI agents are blowing my mind
• Specific AI training models are on the way – and how you can make money
• Is blogging dead?
• How to keep your blog strong against the AI tide rolling in

BlogAid Happenings

Our slow news weeks seem to be over. We have some important changes and news you need to know about this week.

Site Services Update

The wait list for site audits is running at 1-2 weeks.

So, if you are due for an audit checkup in May, or you want to do your first audit and get your site all squared away before spring is out, now is the time to put in that request.

Other site services are available on demand, like a consult for helping you find more money in your site, or projects for making big changes like a new site, or closing down a site.

BlogAid Course Happenings

10 Weeks Until Universal Analytics Stops Working

July 1st will be here in just 10 weeks.

That’s all the time you have to get switched over to Google Analytics because that is the day that the Universal Analytics you’re using now stops working.

Jump into the GA4 Course for Bloggers now.

You can have GA4 connected fully and correctly in just one sitting.

And then you’ll still have plenty of time to get your custom reports made, as the Standard reports don’t show you what you’re used to seeing in UA.

Google Removes Page Experience from Ranking Factors

This news from Google backs up exactly what I taught in last week’s Core Web Vitals workshop in the DIY SEO course.

Speed is not now, and never has been a direct ranking factor.

Neither is proper HTTPS security.

Neither are pop ups.

Google is part of a larger consortium that uses Google Search rankings for perks and penalties to get the majority of site owners to a minimum standard for “mobile-friendliness” as they call it.

Page Experience is important, but not the top of the heep for ranking.

Authority on topic wins, as do solid backlinks.

But, Page Experience is HUGE for your ability to build tribe successfully.

And THAT is what you need to be focused on these days, not just sheer rankings.

ADA Compliance is More Important to Google Now

The thing Google, and the consortium they belong to are beating the drum on now is Accessibilities compliance.

They need all site owners to meet a minimum standard on it.

And that’s exactly what we’ll be covering in this week’s DIY SEO workshop.

It’s always a good time to jump into the course to ensure you are up on the latest SEO trends and news, and to ensure that you’re spending your time working on the right things to get more eyeballs on your content.

That’s especially true with AI SEO on top of us now too.

And yes, the course keeps pace with that as well.

Bad Bot Filter News

Login Lockdown Changes

If you updated to the latest version of Login Lockdown this past week, you may have noticed that the plugin has been beefed up significantly and there is now a Pro version available.

Don’t worry, the free version still works as it always has.

But, this does have me looking for a new brute force attack plugin that is lightweight.

And Limit Login Attempts has had too many issues over the years, including recently, so it is out.

We need a plugin that does just this one thing and nothing else.

Testing Cloudflare Turnstile

I’ve been testing the Cloudflare Turnstile plugin on the AIDiscoverHub site since it launched.

It is providing spam bot protection for:

• Login page
• Comments
• Formidable Forms on Contact page

I believe it’s working pretty well. But, with this being a site that is only a few weeks old, I wouldn’t know if legit comments or contacts are getting blocked, as those folks are not likely to reach out to me in other ways to let me know.

What I have found so far is that it is blocking bad bots from trying to submit a login attempt. But, it isn’t blocking them all. And Login Lockdown did foil those that got through. 

And now you know why I want to keep a brute force attack plugin.

But, if Turnstile works for everyone, we will be able to get rid of Antispam Bee (or Akismet) as well as Google reCaptcha on our contact form.

So, I’ve asked my Webmaster Training members as well as my site audit client Hub members to help with the testing for those who regularly get comments and/or form submissions so we can get a better idea of how this thing works, as their established tribe will be more likely to reach out to them another way if their comment or form gets blocked or such.

I’ll keep you posted on our findings.

That’s all the happenings around here. Let’s jump into this week’s tips and news.

WordPress Tips

We’re still not ready to update to WP 6.2 yet.

My Webmasters are still looking into an issue with Kadence themes. It’s not on all themes, but it’s worth holding off on the update until we get to the bottom of it.

Plugin Tips

WP Fastest Cache Hits 40 Million Downloads

Congrats to Emre, the dev of WP Fastest Cache on hitting the 40 million download mark!!!!!

WPFC has long been my favorite caching/optimization plugin.

And I have the case study data to prove why.

Plus, anything I’ve ever reported to Emre for improvement or issue got fixed immediately.

I can’t say that about any other caching plugin vendor that I’ve tried to work with – not one.

See my WP Fastest Cache Settings tutorial if you’re ready to jump over to the best speed and optimization available that uses no trickery, won’t break all the time, and just works.

Monetization Tips

Google Tests Cookie-Free Tracking

Google just keeps kicking the can down the road with dropping 3rd-party cookie tracking.

But, they keep testing to see how they can successfully get around not having those 3rd-party cookies because it means big bucks for targeting ads properly.

Their latest attempt is almost as big a failure as cohorts were a year ago. But at least it is not as controversial.

But, what you need to know about this latest attempt is whether you should change your content marketing approach to suit the need.

The nice folks at the Content Marketing Institute have a nice article about it.

Here’s what I have to say.

Make the changes now to ensure that ad revenue is not your main way of making income.

Start focusing on building a loyal tribe and offering your own products.

That way you won’t have to worry about a huge revenue drop when Google stops 3rd-party cookie tracking – or more likely – stops being the go-to search platform because of the impact of AI. That’s going to happen sooner than Google wants it to, or is ready for.

They are already feeling the effects of more folks using the Bing browser instead of Chrome, and using ChatGPT, and now AI Agents, instead of search.

Safari Closed 3rd-Party Tracking Loophole

Apple has a few ad agencies up in arms because they quietly closed a loophole in Safari that allowed some 3rd-party cookie tracking software to pass themselves off as 1st-party cookies.

And that change may make it harder for Google Analytics 4 to accurately track some aspects of those visitor hits too.

So, have a look at your analytics to see if most of your visits come from Safari users, especially on mobile.

And ask your ad agency if this change will make a difference to your revenue.

Should I Blog for Money?

That’s exactly the question the nice folks at Pro Blogger asked – and answered.

If you’re blogging for money, especially ad revenue, read this article.

In my opinion, blogging for ad agency dollars has already seen its heyday.

There are plenty of other ways blogging can support your online business.

And you don’t have to limit yourself to only blogging either.

Vlog SEO is Where It’s At Now

There are some folks who make an insane living with a vlog as their only means of marketing.

I plan to be one of them later this year when I launch my new secret project.

In fact, vlogging is already my primary marketing for the AIDiscoverHub. The blog posts are merely transcripts of the embedded video, and on the site only to pick up additional SEO, if any is to be had, from Google.

But my primary SEO focus is from TikTok, Twitter, and Medium, and of course YouTube.

I’ll have FAR more chance of showing up in Google search from what it crawls on some of those platforms than from what it crawls on my site directly. And I’ll reach FAR more eyeballs from the SEO directly on TikTok too.

I plan to do the exact same thing with the new secret project. The blog will be a secondary way of gaining eyeballs. Vlogging will be the primary.

And all of it will be to point directly to products, not just passive reading of blog posts.

I post on other platforms too, but they don’t have SEO potential. That doesn’t mean they aren’t important. I’m just pointing out why Google SEO is not all there is for me to be concerned with anymore.

Top Channels and Emerging Trends

Don’t believe what I’m saying about vlogging?

See the key points from this recent webinar about why you HAVE to Think Beyond Search.

These days you HAVE to consider video platforms as the most high-impact, top of funnel way to get more eyeballs.

Check out the key points for top, middle, and bottom of funnel channels to get more eyeballs and, more importantly, conversions.

AI Tips

AI Agents are Mind Blowing

On the AIDiscoverHub I’m releasing a new series of tutorials this week on all the steps you’ll need to take in order to use AI agents like AgentGPT, which is, by far, my favorite to date.

We are moving away from prompt engineering and into goal engineering.

I’ll also be releasing more info on the tests I’ve been running and why you have to break down your goals into smaller tasks. Actually, that’s a good thing to do if you’re running ChatGPT too.

Specific AI Training Models on the Way

Job listings for folks to help train AIs and LLMs (Large Language Models) in specific niches are blowing up on LinkedIn and Indeed – and likely on every other job site too.

Those niches include:

• Nutrition
• Finances
• Coaching
• Programming
• Math
• More 

If you’ve been blogging in any of these niches for a while, and you’re looking for supplemental income, definitely consider helping to train AI.

Blogging Tips

Is Blogging Dead?

You may look at helping specialized AI sites output better content as if you’re training your replacement.

The fact is, we are moving from a search model to an answer model.

And the adoption rate of users who want to just get answers, not search through 10-15 blog posts, is likely to be rapid – and by rapid, I mean 2 years to AI sites being the normal, not 5 or even 10 years.

That’s going to directly impact folks who require site traffic to make money with ads and with affiliate marketing.

In fact, I think the affiliate marketing money is going to shift heavily to those who are making review videos because of this too, and/or to those who have already built their tribe and have a robust email list.

Blogging is not dead.

But I think keyword-based, passive blogging may have seen its heyday. 

By passive I mean that you aren’t aggressively trying to invite folks to do anything more than visit your site and consume your content. And your CTA is an optin just to ensure you can send them links to more of your content, not an offer that leads directly to money.

How to Keep Your Blog Strong

Here are a few ideas to help your site survive the turning of the tide and keep your blog relevant in the age of AI specialty sites that are on the way.

• Make content that AI can’t make.
• Go beyond just text – which is something that AI can do very well.
• Find a way to do more show and tell.
• Make personal connections.
• Build tribe – repeat, loyal visitors that find your content invaluable.
• Find a way to serve your audience, not just inform.
• Own your expertise. While AI is still hallucinating and giving poor responses, promote why you are a better resource. Remind folks of your experience and why you are the expert.