One of my team members wants to see if he can get some of the sites we run to rank on Google - I feel like I've been so far out of the Google SEO loop that I thought I'd ask here if anyone has anyone that they follow/watch/listen to when it comes to what we should try doing to rank on Google.
Also, on a sort of side/off-topic, does anyone know anything about Shopify SEO, and/or if there is anything you need to do to get your Shopify shop to rank within the SERPs?
Thanks!
To be straightforward: I think no one these days knows about how to rank on Google any longer.
My traffic has doubled since the last update, but I have no idea whatsoever how that happened.
For new blog posts, I did do some 'good old fashioned SEO', with longtail keywords, or look what the competition is doing with the help of MOZ's domain authority checker. https://moz.com/domain-analysis
If a domain with as high DA as mine or even higher (hardly happens anymore, to be honest, I just have 1 competitor blog left, the other ranking higher are stores or big brands), ranks for a certain keyword on Moz, I use the keywords that are appropriate for my niche.
Other than that, I check topics on socials on what people in the niche are asking or talking about, and focus on that.
I don't use any other keyword tools at all anymore, no 'jaaxy', no ahreffs, etc.
I just write whatever I want to write about, and try to draw more traffic through socials. Sometimes, there are also keywords I wouldn't have thought about on Bing.
Also, remember the post on WA from Partha back then, where he explained to get rid of non performing posts (and redirect them?). I am in the middle of doing all of that, especially because I want to remain on Journey with my site.
So, that is basicly in Google Analytics = engagment = pages and screens, look for the post and see how much traffic I got in a year (so from all sources socials included), if it is less then 500-600, I just delete them or completely update them to something I consider to be very worthwhile keeping.
(the latter sometimes worked! I updated a review on my table craft saw, and it got back up on Google and even got a few affiliate sales again!)
(but mind you, this only happens if you have your own expertise in it and my own pictures/videos. I'm under the impression that only then Google takes you serious again, I even had a spike of traffic to a camera review on my other blog in Google discover. The spike was gone quickly though lol )
Also, especially in my niche, there can be lots of keywords I am still ranking for in Google, because they are 'AI overview-proof'. What I mean by that is, that Google's AI overview can not write a tutorial where I show with step by step pictures my crafting tutorials to 'create a miniature bench from popsicle sticks', or a step by step review where I assemble a DIY house kit. But I can't prove that.
Also, those former SEO's are now focussed on SEO for appearing in AI software like ChatGPT, trying to reinvent the wheel. While in my opinion, it is still just about writing good content, but a lot shorter than before, as people's attention span is quite short nowadays.
Again, I can't prove that lol, as I'm no statistics person.
While the HCU update happened in 2023, I read several times on twitter, that surviving websites where either: forums, local, e-commerce, had a unique tool (like ubersuggest by neil pattel), so that is exactly what I did: I created a scale convertor on a subdomain, added the forum, and also going to add either Shopify or WooCommerce.
Lots of my remaining Google traffic is now pointed towards posts on my forum, just articles I SHARED from my main blog posts, which is quite weird to see, but hey it works!
And the terrific thing happening to me now is that a big brand that reached out to me before, has reached out again recently and they are offering me now to give me a do-follow link to my blog for a new product review they just released, which would be amazing, because they also have a very large following on socials!
Plus , a NEW and BIG brand of DIY kits has also reached out to me, and they will also link from their website to mine, a brand that has ads everywhere I go on socials. I gave the DIY kit to my nephew to build it, I can't do it all, ugh lol!
So for lots of important keywords, apparently, I am still ranking well on Google, or they wouldn't reach out to me, little Lizzy's website, for sure hahaha!
For Shopify, maybe there is existing software, like for Etsy stores' SEO? Maybe Diane knows more about this :-)
In general, I think it is hard to say anyway, because things are changing in a very fast pace. Just the other day, I read that ChatGPT alone has a rising search traffic already, and I noticed that the new generations step away from Google anyway.
On an excisting website: I would put the focus now on updating old blog posts, the ones worth keeping.
@ohnoo_not_her [quote data-userid=“22” data-postid=“2002807”]
(but mind you, this only happens if you have your own expertise in it and my own pictures/videos. I'm under the impression that only then Google takes you serious again, I even had a spike of traffic to a camera review on my other blog in Google discover. The spike was gone quickly though lol )
[/quote]I had that same thing happen to me for one of my posts. Got a good 2K traffic because Google Discover picked it up and was showing it to everyone. Wonder if that's something more to explore.
All good points. I didn't think there was any rhyme or reason still, but thought I'd at least ask and see what others are doing. Thanks!
[quote data-userid="22" data-postid="2002807"]
To be straightforward: I think no one these days knows about how to rank on Google any longer.
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Lol, I feel that's the case too.
I still stick to the good old SEO info I learned in the past + some tips learned from people here and there (like Partha or Matt Diggity channel), plus finding new ways to bring traffic.
But for SEO, I've basically stopped following, and just stick to the basics.
Now I'm in the process of updating my website that used to be my main money maker and who knows maybe the traffic will improve and I could list it for sale.
But I'll also be basically getting it updated so I could promote on Pinterest, too.
Sorry Andy, wasn't much of help re: the most relevant SEO traffic source.
@andy yes, google discover is something to explore more indeed, this is what Lilly Ray said about it : https://moz.com/blog/drive-traffic-in-google-discover? . Not sure if it is still up to date.
No problem!
By the way, sending you a pm about something, thanks for checking up on something when you have the time.
@zarina Anything is better than nothing - I’ll see what Diggity is saying now-a-days, and see if there is anything there we can use. Thanks!
@zarina exactly. Whenever I’m pinning old blog posts, I am wondering: should I still create a pin for this, is it still worth it? Then I decide to look it up in GA4 for a year, and see if I can simultaneously update the post, or just forget about it. Saves you some time and thinking about ever pinning that post again or not.
It’s so hard to get traffic to my sites and even when my article made it to page 1 on Google, there was no increase in traffic. There’s so many opinions out there on the best ways to gain traction but I think at this point, no one really knows.
That being said, I think Nathan Gotch has a firm handle on things at the moment but again, none of these people I listen to for advice has made an impact on my business. I have implemented so many tactics to try and improve my rankings but nothing seems to help much.
@gtrman15 Thanks - I have not heard of him. I’ll check him out and see if there is anything new/worthwhile we can implement. I appreciate it!
I try to keep my ear to the ground but there is so much noise out there. I echo what others have said here: does anyone really know what's going on at Google Search?
I'll read what Diggity is saying once a month - he's usually reporting his results working on well-branded company clients' websites, often with a large marketing spend.
The other guy I have time for is SEO Jesus - he's much more up my street as he doesn't mind delving into more grey and black-hat methods ... it's all just SEO to him (he keeps it legal though!)
I do also check out Black Hat World because you have some who're really pushing the envelope there with cutting edge strategies ... there is a lot of BS there too though.
I sometimes check out SEO Round Table too.
The only guy I still subscribe to from back in the day is Gauher Chaudhry but I have a feeling half his emails are now "AI enhanced", shall we say! I only really stay subbed due to nostalgia ... lol.
@rohanm I’m on Black Hat World to, and it can sometimes be interesting. But, I feel like these are more like : setup a website, massive spam it with parasite SEO, then it gets burned by Google and others again (Reddit), and then start again. It can work if you like that of course lol
@ohnoo_not_her Hey Lizzy,
Yeah, there is a lot of that sort of stuff on BHW but you do find genuine gold nuggets there sometimes!