Tips Tuesday – Google Doc Leak, Apple-OpenAI Partnership, Google Pulls AI Overviews
Tips this week include:
- Why you need EZ Metrix now more than ever
- Spectra vs Kadence Blocks styling
- Update on my theme revamp
- Google algorithm doc leak confirmed
- Is Chrome user data really used for ranking?
- Which counts more – search history or clicks?
- The real problem with ranking now
- Google doubles down on AI in Search, sort of
- How to turn off AI Overviews
- Google pulls AI Overviews
- Why diversification is the key to success
- How the Apple-OpenAI partnership will affect site owners
BlogAid Happenings
The big news this week is the fallout from the 2,500 page collection of leaked Google docs on how they rank sites. I was waiting to tell you until I knew it wasn’t a hoax. It’s true. And I have info for you about what to concern yourself with and what is being blown out of proportion.
EZ Metrix Update
To be honest, all of the recent hoohaa with Google Search had me rethinking if I wanted to even launch this new tool.
But, it’s more than SEO and we are seeing glimmers of hope with that too now, which you’ll find in the SEO Tips section.
And the fact is, you NEED your metrics info, now more than ever.
That’s because you NEED to diversify your traffic streams now more than ever as well.
And this tool is going to show you that other traffic, and ways to get more of it by showing you what’s working, what’s not, and what new content you need to focus on that you maybe hadn’t even thought about.
I was going to release it with text/screenshot tutorials. But we need to go deeper, so I’ve been turning them into video tutorials since last week.
I’m not far from done and I’ll be getting this new course out to you as soon as I can.
My site audit Hub members and my DIY SEO course members are going to get some super deep discounts on it too!!!
Site Services Update
If you’re due for a site audit checkup in June, now is the time to get in your request.
If you’re ready to pivot and diversify both your traffic and revenue, I’m here to help you do that.
In less than an hour you’ll have clarity and a plan that you can start putting into action immediately.
ALL of my clients who did this kind of pivot are making REAL $$$$ from it.
In fact, their blog is just in support of those money makers now, and not even their real focus anymore.
Get a consult and get in the new money.
Spectra vs Kadence Blocks
As y’all know, one of my sites had Spectra blocks all over it.
I just had to put butt in seat for a few days to get it removed, as doing a little at a time was not working for me.
And I was able to use native WP blocks for everything except 3 pages.
Two of those pages have a post grid on them to show my latest posts.
The native WP Grid block is ick.
The Post block in the free Kadence Block plugin is also ick.
So, I got Kadence Blocks Pro.
It’s not ick, but it’s harder to get the same look I had with the Spectra Grid block.
So, I posted about it on the Kadence Facebook group. And there are bunches of other folks who wish Kadence would spend a little more time figuring out how to easily emulate all the styling options available with Spectra too.
It’s not that it can’t be done now. But it’s not as easy.
And the third page on that site is going to be a BIG project. So, I’m going to leave all 3 as they are for now and get help with converting them when it’s time to move the theme from Genesis to Kadence.
Theme Swap Update
We started that Genesis/Kadence swap with the Webmaster Training site.
Michelle Phillips of Codefetti is doing such a great job with all the deep checks needed to ensure that everything works as expected.
And she found a few things that needed addressing, like a some pages or parts of pages that I had not converted to Gutenberg blocks fully yet that were going to look bad after the swap.
It didn’t take long for me to revamp them, and that site is ready.
But, since the BlogAid Learning Center site will likely have the same issues, I went through the process of getting it all fixed up so Michelle can check it. Then we’ll clone it and do the theme swap to see if there are any more issue.
We’ll likely change out both live sites on the same day. I’ll send an email to course members with a heads up before we do the swap.
SEO Tips
Okay, let’s jump right into the big news for this week.
Google Algorithm Doc Leak Confirmed
Well, it’s true. The docs that got leaked which show some of the ways and tools Google uses to rank websites are real.
After a week of speculation, Google publicly confirmed it.
Here’s what you need to be careful with in reading these docs and/or listening to folks who talk about them:
- Google has 100s of algorithms that are all running at the same time. These docs only cover a handful of those things.
- Google makes 150+ changes to each algorithm a month.
- Some of what’s in these docs was old the day they got leaked.
- Some of what’s in these docs will no longer be used within a week/month of the day they got leaked.
- Some of the things in the docs may bring an anti-trust or privacy lawsuit against Google, but that will drag out for years, so don’t expect them to change anything.
Chrome User Data Used for Ranking
One of the more controversial statements in the 2,500 pages of docs is that Google uses Chrome user data for ranking.
Let’s dig into whether this is a big deal or not.
Google Search keeps tabs on what searchers do, regardless of the browser used.
Google Search tracks:
- What the searcher clicks on
- If the searcher returns to Google, and how fast
- How the searcher refines their search, like clicking on People also ask
Google has to do this to refine what they show to a searcher based on their best guess of the intent with the words the searcher initially inputs.
On top of that, if you’re using the Chrome browser, it is collecting data on you too, including:
- Your IP address, for location purposes, to show you things near you
- Your search history, to determine your likes and what your intent may be with a new search.
- Cookie tracking you through everything you click on and visit while using that browser – this is NOT the 3rd-party cookie tracking stuff that so many are trying to get banned. This is 1st-party tracking that you have given Chrome permission to do because that setting is on by default in the browser.
So, is Chrome user data factoring into ranking?
Not directly.
But it has everything to do with what Google Search returns to YOU.
If I do the same search as you, I will see variation in many of the results, possibly all of the results.
That’s because my location and search history are different from yours.
This is also why you can’t do a search on your own site to determine the position of your posts for certain keywords.
Using an incognito window just means that the sites you visit will not be recorded with a cookie in your browser history. It doesn’t mean that Chrome is not still tracking all the rest of the info.
FYI, you can purge both your browser and preference history in Chrome.
Okay, that’s the Chrome part of what Google knows about you. Let’s see how that applies to Search and rankings.
Is it History or Clicks?
The goal of Google Search is to show you the best results based on the intent of your query – to the limit of what Google can determine that intent is.
For example, if you just put in the word steaks, Google doesn’t know if you want to:
- Eat steak at a restaurant – results will be eaterie locations and Google map and reviews
- Buy a steak – shows local butcher shops and vendors with online ordering
- Cook your own steak – shows grilling recipes, both written and video
- Know what cut of the cow a steak originates – shows images of marked up cows
See the problem?
Google took the best guesses for your intent and showed you a little of everything. And those results will only be the highest ranking results in each category above, like the top 3-5 of each.
What you click next will refine your intent.
And then you’ll see the highest ranking results for that, and a lot more of them.
So, let’s say 1 million people search for just the word steak.
And half of them click on a grilling recipe.
What idea do you think Google search click tracking is going to get from this behavior?
Maybe they will promote the most clicked video into a Featured Snippet.
It’s pretty clear to see that Google Search itself collects enough data to figure out what to rank highest in search order for such a broad term based on that refining click.
They don’t need Chrome user data for anything more than what is shown on that first attempt because that requires location and preference info. But of that data, it’s still going to show what Search algorithms alone has determined is top ranking.
In conclusion, I would not get too hung up on, or bent out of shape over, Google using Chrome user data for ranking.
They have to use it, but for very specific reasons, not in general. The algorithms do that.
The Real Problem with Ranking Now
There are PLENTY of other things in the leaked docs to get upset about – like EEAT having nothing to do with ranking.
Despite what Google has been telling us for years, authority on topic may not be as much of a ranking factor as they promote.
Domain authority, on the other hand, seems to be a HUGE ranking factor.
In recent Tips Tuesdays I have shared with you a post from the Verge where they literally put this idea to the test by writing an intentionally bogus post on the best printer for 2024.
And it ranked #1 almost immediately, despite all of the super bad SEO practices that they used in the post.
It’s been evident for a couple of years now that Google would rather show you a review from a site where no one has actually used a product than from a person who regularly reviews such things by actually laying their hands on it and testing the thing. Keep in mind that is not true of video. YouTube has its own SEO that is different from text Search.
It’s also evident that what Google has been trying to kill off for the last 2 years are junk affiliate link sites that are just spinning Amazon review content into a Pros/Cons list to rank the products shown on the page. And now Google has to rely too heavily on domain authority for such posts.
But, as the bogus Verge printer article has shown, equating domain authority with topic authority has backfired, big time.
Google Doubles Down on AI in Search
It gets worse – a lot worse, but there is hope, keep reading.
You MUST read/scan/listen to this interview where Google’s SEO is questioned on the Verge’s Decoder podcast.
They ask super hard questions about AI in Search, including the new SGE (AI Overviews).
Google not only defends their AI in search, they can’t admit when the poop stinks even when confronted with the evidence, as shown in the interview.
The fact is, OpenAI is beating the pants off every other publicly available LLM AI. And Microsoft is reaping the benefits, meaning Bing will eventually reap those benefits. And just recently, Apple has signed a deal with OpenAI.
Google is getting left out in the cold because they have a super long history of not playing well with others and insisting on building their own version of whatever it is, only to botch it and then dismantle it later.
That is exactly what we are seeing play out with AI in Google Search.
For those of us who depend on traffic from Search, it’s going to be a rocky road from here on out. But, as mentioned, there is hope.
How to Turn Off AI Overviews
Here’s where the glimmer of that hope in all of this starts.
The #1 keyphrase returned when searching AI Overviews is how to turn them off.
Google took notice of this, and all the other posts that have compiled AI Overviews very serious faults.
Google Finally Pulls AI Overviews
And then this happened.
I can’t read the article because it is behind a paywall, and I don’t have to.
Google has been publicly embarrassed to the hilt ever since this thing rolled out.
And this is just one of many AI launches that have failed for Google – followed by tremendous bad press, which also made their stock prices fall right afterward.
They can’t get anything right because no one at Google will admit anything is wrong.
This will not be the end of publicly released AI from Google. And it won’t be the end of their missteps.
That’s what I mean about it being a rocky road for SEO now. Below is what we should do about it to ensure we get eyeballs on our content.
Monetization Tips
Diversification is the Key
Every successful entrepreneur that I know has at least 7 sources of revenue.
You CAN’T put all of your eggs in one basket.
But that’s exactly what many bloggers have done.
A LOT of new bloggers got into the game when Pinterest started getting big.
And I was jumping up and down telling folks not to count solely on it, and to get serious about SEO.
Those who listened to me were certainly glad that they did!!!!!
They were already well established on Search Engines when the big Pinterest betrayal swung around.
And everybody who didn’t listen had to play catch up. Many just threw in the towel.
And then video came along and became a big eye-catcher for traffic and growing your list.
The folks who listened to me and went full-bore into video have practically left blogging and ads behind. The videos and brand sponsorships are paying their bills, and then some.
The folks who listened to me about selling products are in big money now too.
Are you listening to what I’m saying today that’s going to keep you in the money tomorrow?
- You CAN’T just count on Google to send you traffic.
- You NEED to diversify.
- You NEED to pay attention to your metrics to see what’s working and what’s not and what’s trending.
- You NEED to build tribe, not just broadcast your posts.
Help is On the Way
I’ve got a whole bunch of new things in the works to help you diversify, and to help you get in, and stay in the money.
And I’m not doing these new things alone. I’m bringing together the best of the best to help us.
I’ll have more for you as things come together.
AI Tips
How Will the Apple-OpenAI Partnership Affect Site Owners?
Tips Tuesday Plus subscribers got the rest of this tip.
