Tips Tuesday – Money Making Opportunities with AI Search, Meta, and Amazon

I’ve got a LONG post for you today because there’s a lot going on this week that will hit your online efforts squarely in the wallet, including new ways to make money.

Most of the changes involve SEO at some level, and many of the rest are platform changes. All of them involve new opportunities, but only if you’re willing to adapt.

So let’s get to it.

Tips this week include:

• The excellent Pinterest courses I’m taking
• Meta revamps their monetization program
• Why I started a new homeowner tips section
• Why I’m checking out the Amazon influencer program
• The AIO algorithm is different from regular search – jump on this
• Product reviews rank well in AI search – jump on this too
• Why the Google anti-trust judgement is a huge AI Search win
• AI Search will overtake Google Search
• How the Search dominance change affects us
• Why to watch your AI metrics closely
• Lack of Impression data gives an incomplete story
• How the Disney YouTube lawsuit affects us
• Why platforms need you to prove you’re 18
• Cloudflare Salesforce system compromised
• Is 2FA worth it? And what you need to know before using it
• New 2FA Cloudflare tutorials
• Watch what access you give a vendor

Monetization Tips

I’d like to share with you what I’m doing to make Heartwood Art a bigger income stream. I hope it inspires you to try new things too.

Excellent Pinterest Courses

My clients have been raving about Amy LeBlanc’s Levee Road Studios Pinterest courses (use this link to see how to get a 50% discount).

A few months ago I got her Free Pinterest Strategy Guide and have enjoyed it and all of her emails about Pinterest changes since.

This past week I got into her Pinterest Rank Boost course. The main focus is SEO. Even if you know about SEO, having this course is so helpful because it shows you how to do SEO research directly on Pinterest. I was beyond delighted to confirm that I had already chosen the right top-level keywords to focus on. But I was able to radically expand on those phrases with this research.

Amy also goes into how to use that info for Pins and Boards. 

But the course is not just about keywords. She covers image and color trends, which are also super important for SEO on Pinterest.

I liked it so much that I got into her Scheduling Shortcuts course too.

Even if you’ve been using Pinterest for a while, seriously consider these courses. My peeps tell me they are finding secrets not shared in other courses they have taken. And many are getting 3x more traffic because of it too.

Meta Revamps Their Monetization Program

Earlier this year, Meta revamped Reels into one thing for both Facebook and Instagram. And that has ended a LOT of confusion and jumping through hoops for Creators.

Well, now they have revamped the monetization program for both now too.

I’m betting that relieves a lot of tracking and payout headaches on their end.

Some new features and ways to monetize were included in this revamp as well. And they have me pretty excited.

I have long seen the RIO of Meta platforms for BlogAid.

But honestly, until this year, I really couldn’t find the ROI for Heartwood Art with any Meta platform compared to the very evident ROI with YouTube and TikTok. That’s because HWA is very video focused.

I had zero desire to constantly upload passive entertainment for my followers of my HWA Meta accounts.

But this new revamp changes that.

A new tutorial is on the way in the DIY SEO Everywhere course for it and we may do a mastermind for it later on.

New Homeowner Tips Section

Earlier this summer I decided to expand HWA for a related tangent of tips and products that would interest homeowners. That’s because most woodworkers have a home they need to upkeep too.

For now, I’m focusing on new purchases that I’ve made which lend themselves to unboxing, assembly, and review videos, like my new lawnmower.

And some VERY interesting and exciting things are now happening with that on AI Search too. More on that in a moment.

Amazon Influencer Program

Because I’ve decided to do these homeowner tips, some of which include products, I decided to look into doing product review videos on Amazon itself.

This is different from the affiliate program. And, there is a branch in the Influencer Program that does not require you to post your reviews on your social media. That’s the part I’m looking into.

And boy, am I ever glad I always do my research first!!!!!

I can already clearly see why some folks do this for extra or even full-time income. But I can also see how folks do 300 reviews that are a complete waste of time.

I’ve got an outline of how I’m going to approach this, but I also have more research to do before I jump in.

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. And if this turns out to be viable, I’ll likely include it in the DIY SEO Everywhere course, as SEO has a LOT to do with it. Or, I’ll create a new standalone course if it warrants that.

AI SEO Tips 

AIO Algorithm is Different From Regular Search

Google has recently revealed that they use an algorithm called FastSearch for what appears in AIO results (AI Overviews). It is not based on backlinks and is different in other ways from the regular Search algorithm.

This most definitely explains why junky/spammy sites are getting summaries and links.

But, it also gives us a clue about how to rank well in AI Search too.

This news is what we will be covering in our next workshop for the DIY SEO Everywhere course this week.

Product Reviews Rank Well in AI Search

That different AIO algorithm most definitely explains what I saw in AIO when I Googled my lawnmower review too. I’ll be sharing that, including full screenshots of my before and after efforts in the DIY SEO Everywhere workshop this week as well.

Plus, I’ll explain exactly what I’m doing to capitalize on it.

That’s because products are the next big thing coming to all AI Search platforms, and product reviews are going to start ranking super high because of it.

Follow the Money

If nothing else, I hope all that I have shared with you to this point gives you an indication of the money trail I’m following with my content creation. And I hope it inspires you to get in on this windfall.

Why the Google Anti-Trust Judgement is a Huge AI Search Win

I bet there isn’t a single person at Google who has any nails left after biting them all off while awaiting the anti-trust lawsuit judgement about whether they would have to sell their Chrome browser or not.

That browser still has 65% market share, which is down from 82% in the last 2 years. And it is the MAIN source of data that Google uses for its ad business. A full 75% of Google’s income is from those ads.

So, this lawsuit was a HUGE deal.

The judge ruled that Google does not have to sell Chrome, but it does have to share the data that is collected by the browser.

Here’s a breakdown of what is included in this judgement that will affect us.

• Google can continue to pay OS makers for promoting Google as the default Search Engine. That means Google will continue its $20 billion/yr payment to Apple to be the default in Safari and SIRI. They pay other vendors as well.
• Google is “barred from entering exclusive contracts related to the distribution of Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, or Gemini. Google also can’t condition the licensing of its Play Store or any other Google app on the distribution or preloading of other Google services or condition receiving revenue-sharing payments from one Google app on the placement of another app.”
• “Google will also be required to provide “Qualified Competitors” with certain search index and user-interaction data, as well as search and search text ads syndication services.”

That last one is HUGE!!!! 

AI Search Will Overtake Google Search

One of the reasons that the judgement settled as it did was because the court considered the rise of AI Search. And they decided that natural market forces present enough strong competition to Google Search that the market itself will work out the balance.

In short, we, the searchers, are starting to prefer AI Search over Google Search, to the point that Google is losing its dominant position to AI, and that is a real, demonstrable threat to Google now.

And, if Google has to also share their collected search index and user-interaction data, especially with their strongest AI competitors, then Google is most certainly going to lose its edge on them. 

How the Search Dominance Change Affects Us

This Search dominance change is bad for Google and good for AI in the long-term.

But it is bad for us in the short-term. Until more folks start relying on AI Search other than Google AIO and Gemini, we will see our Google clicks continue to go down before we see an equivalent rise in AI clicks to offset the loss of traffic.

That said, the new AI browsers that are on the horizon may greatly impact the timeframe and shorten how long it takes for us to see significantly more traffic from AI Search on platforms other than Google Search.

Watch Your AI Metrics Closely

There is a filter that we can put in GA4 to only see clicks from AI Search. 

And while we can see those AI Search clicks in EZ Metrix too, I have not been able to get the filter to work to see only that AI traffic. However, this change with the Google lawsuit has encouraged me to redouble my efforts to make that happen.

That said, even if I can get the filter to work, I’m not sure it’s a good thing to see AI traffic in isolation.

One of the benefits of the reports already in EZ Metrix is that you can very quickly compare at a glance what is sending you the most traffic and/or what is on the rise.

If I create a report with only AI traffic sources, you will not be able to compare them to non-AI traffic as easily. 

Lack of Impression Data Gives Incomplete Story

GA4 aside, the real problem we face with AI Search metrics is in Google Search Console. The metrics there have been borked ever since AIO came on the scene. And no other AI Search has anything like GSC to show impressions.

So, there is no way to calculate CTR (Click Through Rate) or even be sure of what’s getting shown at the top of AI Search anywhere.

For now, all we can accurately track are the referrals of the clicks we get on our site, and what post/page they landed on.

We’ll definitely take that info!!!! But the lack of being able to couple clicks to impressions does not allow us to have a full picture.

Right now, EZ Metrix makes it fast and easy to see the whole picture on non-AI metrics, and filter down to get more data quickly so that we know exactly what is and what is not working for us with regard to content creation.

Maybe someday we’ll have GSC-type metrics from all AI Search to give us the rest of the story.

Video Tips

How the Disney YouTube Lawsuit Affects Us

The FTC ruled that Disney unlawfully collected user data on children due to improperly labeled YouTube videos. They have been ordered to pay $10 million to settle the case.

Here’s why that matters to us.

In 2019, YouTube added a setting to declare if the uploaded content was aimed at kids. Marking that setting Yes or No determines what data YouTube collects and makes available to the Creator.

This setting was added to settle a similar lawsuit brought by the FTC that YouTube was violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, known as COPPA. So, Google is VERY serious about having videos labeled correctly these days.

And a host of other new settings have been added by YouTube since. Some are for AI generated content and copyright infringement.

Not knowing about that new AI setting, and properly configuring it, is what killed one of the new video channels I started (the one with the Xmas videos). And the crackdown on what is known as AI Slop by all platforms is why I have not tried to create a new channel with that type of content. In fact, it’s why I’ve gone in a whole other direction for a new channel that teaches how to create non-AI videos. (I’ll be releasing that channel before year’s end.)

So, I’ve been keeping a closer eye on all YouTube setting changes this year. And there is already a workshop in the DIY SEO Everywhere course, if you need to recheck your settings.

I suggest you go back to your old videos and ensure they are set correctly too. If nothing else, at least check your top videos.

Prove You Are At Least 18

This current lawsuit may have something to do with YouTube’s recent crackdown on users who are under 18. They are monitoring the videos you watch to determine if they think you are underage, and may require those folks to give valid identification of age, like a driver’s license or such.

FYI, this lawsuit does not impact Disney TV/streaming channel content, only the videos they put on YouTube.

Other platforms have followed suit with imposing checks to ensure users are at least 18 years old. 

There was a big online backlash about this when it was first announced by these platforms a couple of months ago. But I haven’t heard much since. And I doubt as many folks left those platforms as they threatened to do over it.

Security Tips

Cloudflare Salesforce System Compromised

You may have received an email from Cloudflare recently about a system compromise.

Cloudflare’s support system through Salesforce was recently attacked by the Salesloft Drift breach.

Salesforce is what powers the support/ticketing system at Cloudflare. So, some website and email info in Cloudflare support tickets were exposed. But no account login info or such was exposed at Cloudflare itself. However, if other sensitive info was in a support ticket, then it would have been exposed in the breach. (To my knowledge, Cloudflare never asks for login info to be shared directly in a ticket.)

Me and my clients don’t share that type of info in support tickets with anyone. And even if we did, we remove those users and rotate our own passwords when we close our projects, like our annual audits.

The other thing that got exposed in the Salesforce breach were 140 API tokens. Those folks were contacted directly, the tokens were rotated, and they have been monitored for suspicious activity since, with none found.

So, I believe me and my clients and webmasters are fine and that we do not need to take any action, nor do we need to be concerned about this compromise leaking anything other than perhaps our email address and site URL.

Is 2FA Worth It?

Some security folks insist that Two-Factor Authentication makes access to your accounts safer.

I’m not entirely convinced of that. In fact, I think there are some inherent dangers of using it.

READ: Is Two-Factor Authentication Really More Secure? for details.

I strongly believe in educating folks with the whole picture and letting them decide for themselves whether they want to use 2FA or not.

New 2FA Cloudflare Tutorial

For folks who do want to use 2FA on their Cloudflare account, I created a new tutorial for both my site audit Hub members and my Webmaster Training members so those clients can give an OTP (One Time Passcode) to their webmaster.

Watch What Access You Give a Vendor

FYI, I STRONGLY discourage folks from making anyone a manager of any of their accounts without first checking the type of insurance that vendor carries for breaches of wherever they store their client login info.

That’s specifically why I make a secure way for my clients to share account info that is only temporarily stored, and why I insist that they remove my user and rotate their own passwords after each project. They should do the same with any vendor they allow to have access to any of their accounts.

Even if you make a new WP admin user for a vendor, it’s pretty simple for them to get the login info for all other users. And if they have host-level access, they can also get all of the security keys that bypass any other security you have, even if they no longer have a direct login.

This is also why you limit the access a vendor has.

Don’t give your host-level access to anyone who doesn’t 100% need it. And make sure that is only to your control panel, not to your entire account, like the billing section and such.

If you are my Hub client and have any doubts about a vendor’s request for access, contact me.