Future Proof SEO - SMX Advanced Lily Ray

Lily Ray presented "Future Proof Your SEO: All Your Need to Know to Stay on Top of the Game" at SMX Advanced Europe in Berlin, in September 2024.

1. Future Proof Your SEO
All You Need to Know
to Stay on Top of the
Game
Lily Ray
SMX Advanced Berlin
September 2024

2. VP, SEO Strategy
& Research
Lily ray

3. This hasn’t been the easiest
year in the SEO industry.

5. New challenges & threats
affect SEO visibility,
opportunity + CTR

6. ❖AI Overviews
❖Rise of reddit & forums
❖New google serp features
❖More ads above the fold
❖Helpful content & core updates
❖Reduced visibility for informational sites
SEO Challenges & threats

7. Including many things they
probably didn’t want us to know.
We’ve learned a
lot about Google
this year.

9. “How Google Search ranking works” – Mario Fischer
Source (SE Land)

10. Retrieves new content
Assigns DOCIDs to
content
Retrieves 1,000
DOCIDs for a
search query
Filters using
deduplication,
passage analysis
Refines “green
ring” (1k results) to
“blue ring” (10
results)
Twiddlers apply
filters to ranking
Clicks influence
rankings via
NavBoost
Optimize space
and placement on
the SERP
Cookbook adjust
rankings based on
spikes in search
behavior
Source (SE Land)
“How Google Search ranking works” – Mario Fischer

11. AI Overviews
are Live

12. *in some countries,
not including Germany
AI Overviews Are Live

13. SGE announcement
May 2023 May 2023 - May 2024 May 14, 2024
AI Overview Timeline
SGE beta test (Labs)
AI Overviews made
public (Google I/O)

14. Inaccurate
AI Overviews
Late May 2023 May 30, 2024 June 2024 onward
Google issues PR
statement about AIO
Substantial product
improvements, ongoing
tests, & international
expansion of AIO
AI Overview Timeline

15. •Quality of answers
•Availability of answers
•Better sourcing (especially
for health queries)
•Expanded & more frequent
links to sites
AIO: What has improved?
•Better parity between
citations & top-ranking
sites
•Doesn’t appear to cite
Reddit or Quora anymore
(but it does cite TikTok,
Medium & LinkedIn)

17. Top Linked Sites in AIO
The top 5 linked websites are:
•Youtube.com (linked 1,346 times)
•Linkedin.com (linked 1,091 times)
•Healthline.com (linked 1,091 times)
•Verywellmind.com (linked 855
times)
•Forbes.com (linked 804 times)
(SE Ranking)

19. Areas to
improve AIO
•Dated, irrelevant or low-
quality citations
•Lacking image thumbnails for
all listed entities
•Prone to manipulation via UGC
on TikTok, LinkedIn, Medium, etc.
•Redundant featured snippets &
other SERP features
•Sourcing international
websites

20. Areas to
improve AIO
•Dated, irrelevant or low-quality
citations
•Lacking image thumbnails for all
listed entities
•Prone to manipulation via UGC on
TikTok, LinkedIn, Medium, etc.
•Redundant featured snippets &
other SERP features
•Sourcing international websites

21. International confusion in AIO citations
These sites don’t rank in Google’s top results for the query

22. We still don’t see AIO
appear for
transactional or local
queries.

23. ZipTie for AIO tracking

24. Other SEO rank
tracking tools will
have aio data soon.
AIO now appears
for Logged-out
Google users

25. FOR AIO Tracking & Research

26. Don’t forget to check your favicons.
(Blank favicons look bad in AIO)

27. and Reddit’s
unprecedented seo surge
Reddit & Google’s
new partnership

28. Reddit’s +2,341% increase in visibility

29. Google now pays Reddit $60 million
annually
Leads to “more content-forward
displays of Reddit” on Google
Google has access to Reddit’s data
API for training
Google denies that this partnership
has anything to do with Reddit’s
increased SEO visibility
Google launched “hidden gems”
update to elevate forums & social
media sites in 2023

30. 6+ organic links in one organic listing
Multiple Reddit results on page 1
Own most of page 1 when query
includes “Reddit”
Significant visibility in 'Discussions
& Forums'

31. Subreddit Total Organic Traffic ChangeCount of ranking URLsAvg Position 2023Avg position 2024Position Delta
teaching 4,185,536 67 39.30 3.06 -36.24
Piracy 2,714,731 419 29.25 2.29 -26.96
ChatGPTPro 1,965,239 11 46.38 5.09 -41.28
doublelist 1,616,816 11 11.18 2.09 -9.09
ChatGPT 962,439 85 30.91 5.36 -25.54
anime 667,185 458 27.84 2.21 -25.63
nfl 526,652 72 34.17 3.99 -30.19
movies 505,501 571 36.22 5.05 -31.17
DnD 460,909 315 17.96 2.50 -15.45
FMoviesSite 423,772 12 33.83 2.17 -31.67
Eldenring 397,036 430 15.42 2.12 -13.31
Roms 373,693 179 10.51 1.65 -8.86
fantasyfootball 360,088 164 27.77 3.41 -24.36
namenerds 345,576 404 34.49 2.48 -32.01
OutOfTheLoop 334,739 265 17.83 2.57 -15.25
horror 327,777 354 34.14 3.73 -30.41
dndnext 325,543 297 15.31 2.62 -12.69
AskReddit 313,728 423 38.21 2.81 -35.40
editing 310,534 51 43.93 3.25 -40.67
MovieSuggestions 307,548 260 39.88 2.31 -37.57
UsefulCharts 296,675 27 32.65 2.04 -30.62
torrents 293,497 42 25.24 1.52 -23.72
EnglishLearning 264,031 179 30.65 3.16 -27.49
CharacterAI 245,396 27 20.05 3.11 -16.93
dadjokes 233,259 55 33.76 2.29 -31.47
Subreddits with greatest projected organic traffic increase
(Ahrefsdata
Aug 2024 vs 2023)

32. Monitor Reddit results for your
branded queries.

33. PR & customer support teams should watch
these threads & engage where necessary.

34. For further reading on the Reddit &
Google situation:

35. It’s not justReddit…
h/t Carl Hendy

36. The rise of
forums on
Google
The rise of forums on Google

37. Visibility
Changes Across
Forum Sites
Domain Gain VIGain %
www.reddit.com1300.63381674.43%
www.quora.com319.8912621.27%
answers.microsoft.com82.3984236.95%
www.tripadvisor.com56.949910.19%
stackoverflow.com40.4142139.70%
steamcommunity.com25.4572205.99%
www.dpreview.com17.15472227.88%
superuser.com16.4218155.92%
forum.wordreference.com12.6749693.34%
discussions.apple.com10.6536324.51%
www.justanswer.com9.4103950.15%
www.drugs.com 9.126126.76%
community.spiceworks.com8.3075200.09%
ell.stackexchange.com6.494144.21%
boardgamegeek.com6.443250.75%
english.stackexchange.com5.573788.39%
247sports.com4.6239100.18%
forums.tomshardware.com4.5586218.33%
askubuntu.com4.2386165.40%
community.ricksteves.com4.12185423.42%
www.waze.com 4.05663.67%
www.tenforums.com 3.994577.25%
www.ultimate-guitar.com 3.609258.93%
www.neoseeker.com3.590270.90%
ask.metafilter.com3.08731389.42%
community.usa.canon.com3.06361899.32%
www.vogons.org 2.8888251.31%
www.sevenforums.com2.80861172.20%
h30434.www3.hp.com2.8064512.30%
www.howardforums.com2.6831742.42%
DomainGain VIGain %
forum.breadtopia.com0.1878187800.00%
www.careervillage.org1.9993133286.67%
www.cookingbites.com0.424184820.00%
www.plumbingzone.com0.248762175.00%
mysupportforums.org0.061961900.00%
forums.au.reachout.com0.235358825.00%
forum.trustedhousesitters.com0.058358300.00%
www.arizonasportsfans.com0.056156100.00%
forum.mattressunderground.com0.050750700.00%
www.allsci-fi.com0.050350300.00%
www.tacoma4g.com0.100350150.00%
forum.blocsapp.com0.04343000.00%
www.hermitcrabassociation.com0.079739850.00%
forum.songfacts.com0.079239600.00%
forum.wiimhome.com0.197539500.00%
uk.pcpartpicker.com0.383434854.55%
doberman-chat.com0.033733700.00%
www.copykatchat.com0.032932900.00%
community.preproom.org0.031731700.00%
www.retailwatchers.com0.093331100.00%
www.theeasygarden.com0.03131000.00%
unitedcardists.com0.030430400.00%
www.gopitbull.com0.027327300.00%
forums.gamesalad.com0.02727000.00%
familycow.proboards.com0.02626000.00%
(Sistrix visibility index – 8/23 vs. 9/24)

38. Subfolder-level increases for forums
Brown folder = forum

39. Last year, no forum sites
ranked for this query.
What forum rankings
look like in the wild…

40. Rise in “Discussion & Forums” SERP feature on Google

41. According to Stat:
❖8,113 sites appeared in Discussions
& Forums SERP feature
❖Reddit represents 50.4% of all
tracked domain impressions
❖Quora represents 27.4%
subdomain Impression Count
Percent of overall site
impressions in Discussions &
Forums
www.reddit.com 1,419,454 50.4%
www.quora.com 772,046 27.4%
www.bogleheads.org 31,826 1.1%
www.tripadvisor.com 21,475 0.8%
community.whattoexpect.com 16,214 0.6%
ficoforums.myfico.com 15,444 0.5%
www.weddingwire.com 13,705 0.5%
www.biggerpockets.com 12,943 0.5%
discussions.apple.com 12,542 0.4%
www.city-data.com 12,509 0.4%
answers.microsoft.com 9,222 0.3%
www.dcurbanmom.com 8,413 0.3%
ask.metafilter.com 7,588 0.3%
www.careervillage.org 7,257 0.3%
forum.leasehackr.com 7,098 0.3%
community.ricksteves.com 6,922 0.2%
teslamotorsclub.com 6,305 0.2%
www.avvo.com 6,240 0.2%
stackoverflow.com 5,007 0.2%
www.fodors.com 4,885 0.2%
www.garagejournal.com 4,723 0.2%
www.inspire.com 4,703 0.2%
diy.stackexchange.com 4,646 0.2%
terrylove.com 4,626 0.2%
support.google.com 4,388 0.2%
money.stackexchange.com 4,162 0.1%
arstechnica.com 3,882 0.1%

42. Source = Glen Alsop @viperchill
Quora often appears for YMYL queries in Discussions & Forums

43. ❖Monitor forum discussions in your
niche & related to your brand
❖Consider tools that track discussions
& forums (stat, ahrefs)
❖Provide expert commentary as needed
❖Foster non-commercial relationships
with online communities
❖Be careful not to spam
How to respond to
the rise in forums

44. Only consider implementing a forum on
your site if you are prepared to moderate it.

45. Helpful
Content
Update

46. Creation of Helpful
Content ranking
system
Aug 2022 Sept 2023 March 2024
Helpful Content Update Timeline
Massive Helpful
Content Update
HCU baked into
Google’s core
ranking systems

47. No documented HCU
recoveries
Until Aug 2024 Aug 2024
Core update
provides some
early (partial)
recoveries
Helpful Content Update Timeline

48. Some HCU recoveries were significant:

49. Most HCU
recoveries
are small.
Many
HCU sites saw
no recovery
or further
decline.
Very few
earned back
their pre-HCU
traffic.

50. “The work to connect people with "a range of
high quality sites, including small or
independent sites that are creating useful,
original content" is not done with this latest
update.
We're continuing to look at this area and how
to improve further with future updates.”
Danny Sullivan –SER & LinkedIn
September 6, 2024

51. But after a year, at least HCU sites now
have the potential to see growth.

52. Excessive seo-driven, highly similar articles
What were HCU sites doing wrong?
Excessive affiliate content
Aggressive ads, poor user experience
SEO tricks (ctr manipulation, fake date updated)
Articles offer vague, generic information
Lack of evidence of real authors & expertise
Writing on too many unrelated topics for seo purposes
Unnatural publishing frequency
Excessive stock photography

53. How did they improve?
One of our HCU clients
Eliminating underperforming, irrelevant content (noindex, 404, 301)
Addressed duplicate/highly similar content
Added more personality and first-hand experience to the content
addressed deceptive Seo issues
Improved website experience & usability
Reduced aggressive ads
Improved website architecture
Removed generic “fluff” content
Stuck to site’s core focus

54. Informational &
affiliate sites
Declining in visibility

55. Biggest % Losers year-over-year
(AI description for site name)

56. Affiliate & informational sites Forums
“What game should I play” top 10 rankings, Year over year:

57. The Trajectory of the biggest % losers
They saw Major SEO success…
Before dramatic declines.

58. In fact, for many sites hit by Google
algorithm updates, their highest-traffic-
ever days often come just before the
algorithmic demotion.

59. Why does
this happen?

60. By Glenn Gabe @ GSQI
Remember NavBoost:
If your highly visible content
(optimized for search) provides a
poor user experience,
google may demote that content
over time

61. Potential examples of highly visible & low-quality content
One
page
per
city
(Without a
physical
business
presence)
10 Best
things
to do
in _____
city
One
page
Per
“People
also ask”
question
Quotes,
jokes,
lyrics
Dictionaries
or
reference
guides

62. 1. Crawl the site.
2. Look for SEO
patterns.
3. Sort
alphabetically
by <title> or
<h1>

63. Example:
This site has been hit by many
algorithm updates.

64. Crawling the site & Sorting titles alphabetically reveals many patterns:
This is what google means by content written for search engines.

65. Google also
knows its users
have expressed
“dissatisfaction”
with SEO.

68. 2023 & 2024 have been the years
Google cracked down on the same
SEO tactics its users often
complain about.

69. Fixing sites often requires…
Undoing the damage from
past seo strategies.

70. A few recovery case studies

71. Tech News/product review site: Hit by Oct 23 Core Update
•noindexed, redirected and/or deleted 3,000+ pages
•optimized category & Tag pages
•Added personal insights to review content
•Removed dated, irrelevant content
•Updated website taxonomy
•Provided more robust e-e-a-t signals
•Repaired technical seo issues
search traffic doubled after march 2024 core update
Discover traffic came back

72. Gaming blog: hit by various core updates throughout 2022
•noindexed, redirected and/or deleted 1,500+ pages
•Identified important content gaps & evergreen opportunities for
key entities
•Removed internal duplication
•Optimized website taxonomy
•Optimized robots.txt to improve crawlability
•Implemented data-driven Google discover techniques
•Improved sitewide <title> and <h1> tags
search traffic up 60% after Aug 2024 core update
Discover traffic up 100% after aug 2024 core update

73. Recipe site: Helpful Content Update Recovery
•Fixed duplication issues across multiple domains (consolidations,
redirects, etc.)
•Improved brand & author appearance in knowledge graph
•Optimized internal linking throughout site
•Implemented Data-driven google discover content & image
strategies
•Fixed non-indexable paginated comment pages
•repaired crawling of non-canonical urls
60% recovery to pre-hcu traffic levels

74. Process
Outfit Collection
Find Us
CONTENT
The importance of being proactive

75. ❖Algorithm updates
❖New spam violations
❖New SERP features
(relevant to client)
❖Major changes that can
impact traffic
Tell your clients before it impacts them:
❖New product launches
(AIO, Google Shopping,
Google Lens)
❖Risks of SEO
opportunities that are
too good to be true

76. Future-proof seo requires
Understanding the risks
of what you are doing.

77. CONTENTThe importance of reading between
the lines in google’s communications

78. ❖Study Google’s manual
actions and spam violations
in great detail.
❖Every tactic must be
evaluated for spam
potential, even if it currently
drives traffic.
❖This is an essential part of
your job.

79. Scrutinize every
word in Google’s
communications

80. SEO is as much about
growth as it is
about evaluating &
mitigating risk.

81. If an SEO opportunity feels too
good to be true, it probably is.