{"id":640549,"date":"2024-10-04T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/"},"modified":"2024-10-04T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T15:00:00","slug":"seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/","title":{"rendered":"#SEO grew up, a lot of SEOs didn\u2019t"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40c6915326e\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40c6915326e\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Navigate_the_industrys_maturity_crisis_with_the_right_mindset_Learn_to_create_value_not_just_optimize_for_long-term_success\" >Navigate the industry&#8217;s maturity crisis with the right mindset. Learn to create value, not just optimize, for long-term success.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Embrace_change_as_an_opportunity_to_grow\" >Embrace change as an opportunity to grow<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#We_often_dont_have_a_crawl_budget_problem_but_an_indexing_problem\" >We often don\u2019t have a crawl budget problem, but an indexing problem<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Googles_fierce_changes_in_ecommerce_searches\" >Google\u2019s fierce changes in ecommerce searches<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#The_solution_Reframing_problems_as_opportunities\" >The solution: Reframing problems as opportunities<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Double_down_on_things_that_never_change\" >Double down on things that never change<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#There_lies_great_power_in_what_you_cant_measure\" >There lies great power in what you can\u2019t measure<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Prefer_the_repeatability_in_the_present_over_the_luck_of_the_past\" >Prefer the repeatability in the present over the luck of the past<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Some_more_things_that_will_never_change\" >Some more things that will never change<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Stop_manipulating_start_taking_responsibility\" >Stop manipulating, start taking responsibility<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Examples_of_SEO_manipulation_practices\" >Examples of SEO manipulation practices<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Why_Google_cant_tell_us_the_truth\" >Why Google can\u2019t tell us the truth<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Incentives_beat_intentions_unfortunately\" >Incentives beat intentions, unfortunately<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#The_blame_is_also_on_us_not_just_the_others\" >The blame is (also) on us, not (just) the others<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Loopholes_are_risky_short-term_arbitrage_opportunities_not_long-term_safe_bets\" >Loopholes are risky short-term arbitrage opportunities, not long-term safe bets<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Communicate_und_understand_SEO_as_a_growth_engine_not_as_routine_maintenancepolishing_the_edges\" >Communicate und understand SEO as a growth engine, not as routine maintenance\/polishing the edges<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#SEO_is_the_wrong_word_for_what_we_are_actually_doing\" >SEO is the wrong word for what we are actually doing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#Finding_your_real_competitive_advantage\" >Finding your (real) competitive advantage<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/seo-grew-up-a-lot-of-seos-didnt\/#We_have_work_to_do\" >We have work to do<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Navigate_the_industrys_maturity_crisis_with_the_right_mindset_Learn_to_create_value_not_just_optimize_for_long-term_success\"><\/span>Navigate the industry&#8217;s maturity crisis with the right mindset. Learn to create value, not just optimize, for long-term success.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\nWhen we were young, we all wanted to sit at the adult\u2019s table. But we couldn\u2019t, often, because of our behavior. <\/p>\n<p>Growing up, we often thought we were cool, but we weren\u2019t. Look back at your past. There are probably photos or things you did that you find questionable today.<\/p>\n<p>This is exactly how we SEOs should be looking at our work. SEO has grown up a lot; we SEOs didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Our mindset is a problem when tackling challenges like needing a strong brand or satisfying users the most.<\/p>\n<p>\u274c What we do:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Faking first-hand experience and looking for things we can leave out \u201cbecause Google cannot measure that.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Buying (terrible) links (no one clicks), a practice that will be sketchy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is the wrong <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2705 What we should be doing:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Proving our experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.<\/li>\n<li>Creating the best content possible that is worth linking to or mentioning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To finally grow up, we have to look into the mirror. We have to change.<\/p>\n<p>If you are pressed on time, here\u2019s a quick rundown of what I suggest you should start doing today:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Embrace change as an opportunity to grow by making yourself familiar with it and turn obstacles on their head.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Do what is rational, logical and repeatable, study the Search Quality Rater Guidelines (SQRG) to understand what Google wants and invest in preparation, not prediction.<\/li>\n<li>Stop cheating or manipulating and start building something extraordinary. Start taking responsibility for your actions and stop blaming others for your failures. Save your energy to fight for positive outcomes, instead of wasting your energy on a negative candy rush.<\/li>\n<li>Communicate, understand and execute SEO the right way: As a growth engine, leading to limitless growth, not marginal improvements. Favor building over optimizing and fixing. Find your real competitive advantage and don\u2019t buy into snake oil, cookie-cutter strategies or get-rich-quick schemes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong>: This is not a purely tactical guide. My goal is to make you think. Motivate you to ask yourself tough questions and provide you with the necessary mindset to fill out the shoes of adolescence. If you get one good thought from this I\u2019m more than happy.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s get into the trenches: This is how we grow up!<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-embrace-change-as-an-opportunity-to-grow\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Embrace_change_as_an_opportunity_to_grow\"><\/span>Embrace change as an opportunity to grow<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When we were children, we didn\u2019t want to accept that change was inevitable. As we grow up, we realize it\u2019s much easier to accept the world for what it is than to strive for what it should be.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n\u201cYou don\u2019t get to dictate the course of events. And the paradoxical reward for accepting reality\u2019s constraints is that they no longer feel so constraining.\u201d<br \/>\n<cite>\u2013 Oliver Burkeman, \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oliverburkeman.com\/fourthousandweeks\">Four Thousand Weeks<\/a>\u201d<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The same should apply to our SEO mindset.<\/p>\n<p>Change can be old tactics no longer working (like putting white text on a white background; I only mention this because some website owners still do this today) or new things appearing on the horizon, like generative AI.<\/p>\n<p>Many of our SEO playbooks are outdated, and forces are pulling on us to change. Here are two examples:<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-we-often-don-t-have-a-crawl-budget-problem-but-an-indexing-problem\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"We_often_dont_have_a_crawl_budget_problem_but_an_indexing_problem\"><\/span>We often don\u2019t have a crawl budget problem, but an indexing problem<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Indexing is becoming harder.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>From what we know, the size of Google\u2019s index seems to be more or less static (about 400 billion documents). Due to AI, we are:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Producing more (good and bad) content.<\/li>\n<li>The bar for content quality has a new, higher baseline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>More content of a higher quality baseline vs. same index size = it\u2019s harder to get indexed.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" alt=\"A graph of Google's index size (which stays stable), and an increasing quality threshold after 2022, when ChatGPT launched. The spot, where the growth for the quality threshold increased, is marked with a box.\" class=\"wp-image-447254\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder.jpg.webp\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder.jpg.webp\" alt=\"A graph of Google's index size (which stays stable), and an increasing quality threshold after 2022, when ChatGPT launched. The spot, where the growth for the quality threshold increased, is marked with a box.\" class=\"wp-image-447254\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Indexing-is-becoming-harder-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Google is allergic to technical issues and low-quality content.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-google-s-fierce-changes-in-ecommerce-searches\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Googles_fierce_changes_in_ecommerce_searches\"><\/span>Google\u2019s fierce changes in ecommerce searches<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Google is under pressure to become a shopping engine.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Around 50% of product searches start on Amazon, not Google.<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1368305\/amazon-vs-google-product-searches-europe\/\">61-74% of European shoppers search products on Amazon, not Google<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a result, Google renovated the SERPs for commercial queries.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, Google started to push a new feature: product grids.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1395\" height=\"1285\" alt=\"An example SERP for the keyword ebikes. Beneath the sponsored ads and refinement options, there is an integration called \" popular products under the headline there is a grid of in each row. no regular organic listing sight. class=\"wp-image-447255\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids.png.webp 1395w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids-367x338.png.webp 367w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids-651x600.png.webp 651w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids-123x113.png.webp 123w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids-768x707.png.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1395px) 100vw, 1395px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids.png.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1395\" height=\"1285\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids.png.webp\" alt=\"An example SERP for the keyword ebikes. Beneath the sponsored ads and refinement options, there is an integration called \" popular products under the headline there is a grid of in each row. no regular organic listing sight. class=\"wp-image-447255\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids.png.webp 1395w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids-367x338.png.webp 367w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids-651x600.png.webp 651w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids-123x113.png.webp 123w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Google-SERPs-product-grids-768x707.png.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1395px) 100vw, 1395px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Categorized as \u201cMerchant Listings,\u201d these grids appear in commercial searches at Position 1 more and more often.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Based on my research for German SERPs, depending on the industry, product grids appear in position 1 between 15-45% of the time.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to some <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.growth-memo.com\/p\/critical-serp-features-of-googles\">research done by Kevin Indig for the U.S.<\/a>, we know Google changed the rate of them appearing in Position 1 more often than in Position 3 around March 2024.<\/p>\n<p>If your domain doesn\u2019t play a role in product grids but your competitors do, you are in for a tough time.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-solution-reframing-problems-as-opportunities\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_solution_Reframing_problems_as_opportunities\"><\/span>The solution: Reframing problems as opportunities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Problems are what make life worth living. A problem can be reframed as a challenge or an opportunity. The cards are shuffled again, doors are opening up, and we are all new to these things.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a practical reframing example from a talk by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/carrieroseballoch\/?originalSubdomain=uk\">Carrie Rose<\/a> I heard this year:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\ude10 You are an ecommerce shop and lack authority in your niche<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\ude12 The ranking domains are strong digital publishers, duh<\/li>\n<li>\ud83e\udd2f Instead of putting your head into the sand, you can put the obstacle on its head<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udca1 Don\u2019t try to beat them, join them<\/li>\n<li>\ud83e\udd14 How? By giving them content they don\u2019t have that is worth linking to<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udd0e Example: Internal searches showed an extreme increase in searches for White Vans<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udce3 They figured out faster than everyone else it was due to the <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">series<\/a> Squid <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Game<\/a> on Netflix and pitched an article to <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> outlets<\/li>\n<li>\ud83e\udd11 Result: High-quality backlinks, traffic and additional revenue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Main takeaways:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Embrace change, make yourself familiar with new developments, tools and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> (start with an hour a week).\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Strive to deliver \u201cbest in the world content,\u201d not just \u201cfine content.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Reframe problems into opportunities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-double-down-on-things-that-never-change\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Double_down_on_things_that_never_change\"><\/span>Double down on things that never change<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>On the one hand, we don\u2019t want to change our behavior. On the other hand, our brain craves novelty, constantly looking for a dopamine hit.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I know it\u2019s very easy to be sucked in. New trends like AI chatbots, AI phones, AI toothbrushes. All good. But you have to avoid the shiny toy syndrome and embrace what will always matter.<\/p>\n<p>If you focus on the things that never change, you can predict the future.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-there-lies-great-power-in-what-you-can-t-measure\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"There_lies_great_power_in_what_you_cant_measure\"><\/span>There lies great power in what you can\u2019t measure<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It will always pay off to do what is logical and rational.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Google of 2004 is not Google of 2024. Just because Google cannot measure something right now doesn\u2019t mean it cannot in the future. One example is having author bios and pages.<\/p>\n<p>Due to the leak, we have our answers now, but having author bios and pages just because Google \u201cwants\u201d them didn\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n<p>Things that cannot be measured are often underestimated and easily ignored. Fun fact: A metric is often more useful if it is harder to measure.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-prefer-the-repeatability-in-the-present-over-the-luck-of-the-past\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Prefer_the_repeatability_in_the_present_over_the_luck_of_the_past\"><\/span>Prefer the repeatability in the present over the luck of the past<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Luck is something positive that is not predictable. Repeatable means puzzle pieces falling into place like they used to. They are not the same. <\/p>\n<p>In SEO, we love to look at what others did and you should. But focus on what is repeatable, not what was lucky.<\/p>\n<p>You cannot follow in the footsteps of Amazon or HubSpot, as their operating conditions fundamentally changed. However, there are things worth learning from them.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You can learn from HubSpot that it\u2019s worth investing strategically in new channels\/formats.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>You can learn from Amazon that it\u2019s worth investing in what customers will always value: Good prices and fast delivery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Do what is repeatable; don\u2019t try to emulate what was lucky.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-some-more-things-that-will-never-change\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Some_more_things_that_will_never_change\"><\/span>Some more things that will never change<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>To draw on the Amazon example, Google will always need users to be satisfied with their search product. At least as long as this is their biggest revenue source. <\/p>\n<p>One of your goals, in this case, should always be to have \u201cbest in the world content,\u201d not good content.<\/p>\n<p>In the SQRG, Google tells us exactly what they want. They have been doing so for years:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have author pages when it makes sense for your target audience.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t just copy the content of others, as high content quality is signaled by effort and originality.<\/li>\n<li>Auto-generated content (think AI or any programmatic plays) has more obstacles in its way to being rated Highest in terms of page quality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Make no mistake: The next update is coming. The next disruption of the SERPs you operate in is coming as well. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s much better to invest in preparation over prediction. What we can\u2019t see coming hits us the hardest.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Do what is rational and logical, even if you or Google can\u2019t measure it (yet).<\/li>\n<li>Copy what is repeatable today, not what was lucky yesterday.<\/li>\n<li>Study the SQRG to see what Google wants.<\/li>\n<li>Invest in preparation, not prediction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color has-css-opacity has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-stop-manipulating-start-taking-responsibility\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Stop_manipulating_start_taking_responsibility\"><\/span>Stop manipulating, start taking responsibility<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Do you remember that when you were a kid, you often tried to manipulate and cheat in games? <\/p>\n<p>In Germany, there is a game called \u201cMensch \u00e4rger dich nicht,\u201d which roughly translates to \u201cman, don\u2019t be angry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I took chances to roll the dice again because someone \u201cdistracted me,\u201d for example. This also happens often in golf and is known as a \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/golf.com\/instruction\/rules\/where-did-golf-mullligans-originate\/\">mulligan<\/a>,\u201d so you get a pass and can take another shot. <\/p>\n<p>At times, SEOs are like children who don\u2019t want to accept the rules, cheat when no one is looking and love to blame others for our failures.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-examples-of-seo-manipulation-practices\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Examples_of_SEO_manipulation_practices\"><\/span>Examples of SEO manipulation practices<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>SEO is a breeding ground for manipulative tactics, and everyone knows the good old tales. Here are a few classics and recent ones:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/harvey-canete_shady-seo-practices-that-grind-my-gears-activity-7237432993437388800-CvJ6\/\"><strong>Terminated agencies updating the disallow file, so the work of the new agency gets tanked<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Content stealing, like the <\/strong><strong>SEO heist<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Purely AI-generated content is neither a competitive advantage nor a strategy. Even if it does work short-term, it is not something you can rely on in the future. We advocate investing in a long-term channel, but we are so greedy and in a hurry that we fall for get-rich-quick schemes like Gollum in his pursuit of his precious.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Link buying, which sounds like exchanging drugs on a backyard<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In some countries this is not just against Google\u2019s official guidelines, but even problematic due to the law (in Germany we have the \u201cWettbewerbsrecht\u201d for example).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Affiliate link spam<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Someone created thousands of domains, all just containing affiliate links to all kinds of ecommerce sites in Germany to earn a quick affiliate buck. This is literally a resource waste which makes the internet a huge garbage hole. Please stop.<\/li>\n<li>Here\u2019s an example domain that got spammed with these affiliate domains:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" alt=\"A graph showing organic traffic and referring domains across the span of 2022 to 2024. In February 2024 the curve for referring domains exploded. There is another text in the image that says \" someone wanted to earn a quick buck class=\"wp-image-447257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam.jpg.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam.jpg.webp\" alt=\"A graph showing organic traffic and referring domains across the span of 2022 to 2024. In February 2024 the curve for referring domains exploded. There is another text in the image that says \" someone wanted to earn a quick buck class=\"wp-image-447257\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Affiliate-link-spam-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you want to be taken seriously in SEO, don\u2019t take shortcuts. Like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/copyblogger.com\/business-shortcuts\/\">Sonia Simone<\/a> said, they take too long.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why-google-can-t-tell-us-the-truth\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Google_cant_tell_us_the_truth\"><\/span>Why Google can\u2019t tell us the truth<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s easy to point fingers at Google. To call them liars and whatnot. Anyone with a clear mind has to understand that they cannot tell us exactly what is going on behind the curtain. If they did, at least a small group of SEO goblins would do everything in their power to ruin the game for everyone else.<\/p>\n<p>SEO is the perfect example of the tragedy of commons.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n\u201cEach man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit \u2013 in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own best interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons.\u201d<br \/>\n<cite>\u2013 Garrett Hardin, \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.garretthardinsociety.org\/articles\/art_tragedy_of_the_commons.html\">The Tragedy of the Commons<\/a>\u201d<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" alt=\"A graphic visualizing the tragedy of commons. There are 3 different stages. Everyone behaves well, a few cheaters, and a lot of cheaters. The environment, equipped to handle only no cheating behaviour, deteriorates over time.\" class=\"wp-image-447258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons.jpg.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons.jpg.webp\" alt=\"A graphic visualizing the tragedy of commons. There are 3 different stages. Everyone behaves well, a few cheaters, and a lot of cheaters. The environment, equipped to handle only no cheating behaviour, deteriorates over time.\" class=\"wp-image-447258\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Tragedy-of-the-Commons-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Some of us just can\u2019t behave properly and break the system for everyone else. <\/p>\n<p>Yet here we are, proud of engaging in our questionable get-rich-quick schemes, which no one would publicly endorse as employees of a real brand or big company.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-incentives-beat-intentions-unfortunately\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Incentives_beat_intentions_unfortunately\"><\/span>Incentives beat intentions, unfortunately<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Recently a guide on how to manipulate <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Reddit<\/a> got a lot of traction. I understand what the intentions of the author were: Make things better. But I don\u2019t agree with the approach and methods used to do it.<\/p>\n<p>This is not an ad hominem case as this is not an individual problem.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, Google is blamed for creating incentives to spam Reddit. However, the article itself promoted incentives to do the same with the actual manual on a silver platter.<\/p>\n<p>Publicly sharing the techniques to spam Reddit is promoting to spam Reddit even more, no matter how you put it. And it was never wise to fight fire with fire.<\/p>\n<p>Also, people <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a>ly like Reddit and find the answers helpful. It\u2019s no coincidence that they have these numbers:\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/connect.redditinc.com\/hubfs\/Recommendation%20Journeys%20for%20Products-%20REDDIT-2024.pdf\">There were 32 billion search queries in 2023 containing \u201creddit\u201d<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/blog\/google-search-statistics\/#:~:text=1.%20Google%20Processes,searches%20per%20year.\">There were 3,102 billion search queries worldwide in 2023<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>= Reddit appears in 1% of all search queries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019m not saying there is no spam. But we don\u2019t know the denominator here. If you seek a needle in a hay stack you will find one.<\/p>\n<p>Secondly, Google is blamed 100% for the consequences of the Reddit spam. I don\u2019t agree.<\/p>\n<p>If you would look at the chain of responsibility through the eyes of several great philosophers, like Kant, Aristotle or Sartre, you would come to the conclusion that users taking advantage of the spam techniques are to blame first, then the platform (= Reddit) and then Google (= the middleman).<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" alt=\"The chain of responsibility. It emphasizes that it starts with the user, even if Reddit and Google are enabling and incentivizing cheating behaviour.\" class=\"wp-image-447259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility.jpg.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility.jpg.webp\" alt=\"The chain of responsibility. It emphasizes that it starts with the user, even if Reddit and Google are enabling and incentivizing cheating behaviour.\" class=\"wp-image-447259\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/The-chain-of-responsibility-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>FYI: Others cheating doesn\u2019t give you permission to do the same. Enabling and incentivizing these tactics is not a free ticket to cheat, either.<\/p>\n<p>Look into the mirror: If spammers wouldn\u2019t spam there would be no problem, so the root cause is our sometimes unbearable human nature.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-blame-is-also-on-us-not-just-the-others\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_blame_is_also_on_us_not_just_the_others\"><\/span>The blame is (also) on us, not (just) the others<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s more comfortable to blame others than to check on ourselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGoogle got worse\u201d is one on the trendiest topics of 2023 and 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n\u201cBefore Content Marketing was a thing, idiots did not publish content. You wouldn\u2019t write encyclopedia articles without knowing anything. Now, we created a perverse incentive for any idiot to write about anything. We sit in a mountain of garbage.\u201d<br \/>\n<cite>\u2013 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/peeplaja\/\">Peep Laja<\/a>, CEO, Wynter<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>What if Google didn\u2019t get worse, but the ratio of good to bad content shifted? <\/p>\n<p>If you fill a glass with more water (bad content) than wine (good content), the relative amount of wine in the glass decreases, even if the quality of the wine itself is good. It becomes harder to serve good content.<\/p>\n<p>Google is responsible for their search results, but we are responsible for the mountains of garbage we produce.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">A\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/downloads.webis.de\/publications\/papers\/bevendorff_2024a.pdf\">German study presumably claimed<\/a><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/downloads.webis.de\/publications\/papers\/bevendorff_2024a.pdf\"> Google got worse<\/a>. Their argument, only focusing on a small query subset in a specific niche, is insufficient to make such claims. It\u2019s not even what they said but what people want to believe.<\/p>\n<p>According to Statista, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/185966\/us-customer-satisfaction-with-google\/\">users are once again slightly more satisfied with Google search<\/a>. And yes, according to the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/assets.bwbx.io\/documents\/users\/iqjWHBFdfxIU\/rZ1UlL.0yQbo\/v0\">286-pager on Google being a monopoly<\/a>, Google tried to devaluate search quality to test the impact on revenue. But that test only lasted three months.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>No one can predict if there wouldn\u2019t be a negative impact on revenue in the long term, which is all that matters.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s assume for a moment that this was true: Google got worse and our domains were demoted in favor of some big digital publishers. How would the confirmation of this bias actually help me?<\/p>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, I can and should be vocal about it. But a lot of time and energy goes into being negative. Negativity is like a candy rush. It distracts us, so you need to avoid it.<\/p>\n<p>Author Ryan Holiday hit the nail on the head with this quote:\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n\u201cIn our own lives, we aren\u2019t content to deal with things as they happen. We have to dive endlessly into what everything \u201cmeans,\u201d whether something is \u201cfair\u201d or not, what\u2019s \u201cbehind\u201d this or that and what everyone else is doing. Then we wonder why we don\u2019t have the energy to actually deal with our problems.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>We need this energy wasted being negative in working on achieving positive outcomes, like crafting the best content out there or being the most helpful resource for our target audience.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-loopholes-are-risky-short-term-arbitrage-opportunities-not-long-term-safe-bets\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Loopholes_are_risky_short-term_arbitrage_opportunities_not_long-term_safe_bets\"><\/span>Loopholes are risky short-term arbitrage opportunities, not long-term safe bets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>A loophole is not a real competitive advantage, but a short-term arbitrage technique that brings a lot of risk with it. If revealed to the outside, there can be grave consequences.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I loved this <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/iamalexbirkett_i-tried-to-take-a-shortcut-and-it-workedat-activity-7244303307656040448-0kea\/\">from Alex Birkett recently LinkedIn<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n\u201cShortcuts in SEO often bring a sugar high, but they also come with a crash. [\u2026] If you treat it like a get-rich-quick scheme, you\u2019ll need to \u2018fix the plumbing\u2019 later.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Some things, like reputation, are not worth risiking, no matter how much there is to gain. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2023\/11\/27\/23978389\/sports-illustrated-ai-fake-authors-advon-commerce-gannett-usa-today\">Think of Sports Illustrated for example<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Building a good reputation takes years. Setting it on fire can happen in seconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Main takeaways:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stop cheating or manipulating and start building something extraordinary.<\/li>\n<li>Start taking responsibility for your actions and stop blaming others for your failures.<\/li>\n<li>Save your energy to fight for positive outcomes, instead of wasting your energy on a negative candy rush.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-communicate-und-understand-seo-as-a-growth-engine-not-as-routine-maintenance-polishing-the-edges\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Communicate_und_understand_SEO_as_a_growth_engine_not_as_routine_maintenancepolishing_the_edges\"><\/span>Communicate und understand SEO as a growth engine, not as routine maintenance\/polishing the edges<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The grand finale: SEO has gotten a lot bigger.<\/p>\n<p>Keeping SEO small and limited might be a way to avoid change. Could this be why many SEOs were reluctant to admit that Google uses user signals in their ranking algorithms?<\/p>\n<p>Less change = SEO is smaller = more comfortable + less risky.<\/p>\n<p>As outlined at the beginning, change is an opportunity. We walk into the fire of discomfort only to step out of it stronger, wiser and better.<\/p>\n<p>SEO in 2024 is nothing like it was in 2004 or 2014. The fundamenta principles are the same, but we are driving a much different vehicle now with much more horsepower under the hood.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-seo-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-we-are-actually-doing\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"SEO_is_the_wrong_word_for_what_we_are_actually_doing\"><\/span>SEO is the wrong word for what we are actually doing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Digital publishers often get two-thirds or more of their traffic through SEO. A lot of companies rely heavily on organic traffic. <\/p>\n<p>Some examples like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seroundtable.com\/hardbacon-core-update-bankruptcy-37957.html\">Hardbacon had to file for bankruptcy<\/a> as a result of the HCU and other updates. Some are or were on the cusp of it, like HouseFresh, Retro Dodo and Healthy Framework.<\/p>\n<p>SEO stands for search engine optimization. But 70% or more of traffic share vs. other channels doesn\u2019t sound like optimizing to me. <\/p>\n<p>Optimization sounds like squeezing the last 5-10% out of what you already have. Limited and marginal.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that we all have different understandings of SEO, so we are not talking with each other but past each other. <\/p>\n<p>To some, SEO means fixing mistakes\/bugs. To others, myself included, SEO means (almost) limitless growth.<\/p>\n<p>Fixing and optimizing is not enough:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" alt=\"A graphic highlighting that fixing and optimizing are not enough in form of a pyramid. The bottom is fixing, the middle is optimization, and the top is building. Building increases the overall potential, so it's a symbol for growth.\" class=\"wp-image-447260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough.jpg.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough.jpg.webp\" alt=\"A graphic highlighting that fixing and optimizing are not enough in form of a pyramid. The bottom is fixing, the middle is optimization, and the top is building. Building increases the overall potential, so it's a symbol for growth.\" class=\"wp-image-447260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\ud83d\udd28 <strong>Fixing<\/strong> = keeping the bare minimum in place and unlocking the existing potential.<\/li>\n<li>\u2728 <strong>Optimizing<\/strong> = using the full existing potential.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udfe1 <strong>Building<\/strong> = unlocking new growth = increasing the potential.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To visualize the idea further, see the following graphic:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" alt=\"An explanatory graphic that shows the relationship between fixing, optimizing, and building. Fixing increases the existing potential, optimizing reaches the existing potential, and building increases the overall potential.\" class=\"wp-image-447261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough.jpg.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough.jpg.webp\" alt=\"An explanatory graphic that shows the relationship between fixing, optimizing, and building. Fixing increases the existing potential, optimizing reaches the existing potential, and building increases the overall potential.\" class=\"wp-image-447261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough.jpg.webp 1200w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-451x338.jpg.webp 451w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-800x600.jpg.webp 800w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-151x113.jpg.webp 151w,https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/Why-fixing-and-optimizing-is-not-enough-768x576.jpg.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fixing is like you are repairing a broken window in your one-room apartment.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Placing nicer furniture in that room is optimizing, you make it more appealing.<\/li>\n<li>The missing piece, then, is building new rooms if you actually want to live in a 10-room mansion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are some things you need to communicate, understand and execute SEO as a growth engine:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A business mindset, the right metrics and language a C-level member will understand.<\/li>\n<li>An updated SEO mindset, as ranking is not the end but a means to an end (= creating a high-value touchpoint with your target audience).<\/li>\n<li>The ability to play well with others, to make them embrace SEO, not despise it because you let them starve all the time by being greedy and only taking, never giving.<\/li>\n<li>Finding your (real) competitive advantage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-finding-your-real-competitive-advantage\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Finding_your_real_competitive_advantage\"><\/span>Finding your (real) competitive advantage<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The last bullet point is especially important. It\u2019s something that is missing quite often, from my experience. <\/p>\n<p>Why should I buy from you? Why is your content the best in the world? The answer has to be the opposite of the \u201cjumping the line\u201d techniques criticized earlier.<\/p>\n<p>The obvious question is how you get or find your real competitive advantage. It\u2019s part of a good strategy. A strategy is always unique to a company.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/jlzych.com\/2018\/06\/27\/notes-from-good-strategy-bad-strategy\/\">Good Strategy, Bad Strategy<\/a>,\u201d Richard Rumelt says the kernel of a strategy involves three pieces:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Diagnosis.<\/li>\n<li>Guiding policy.<\/li>\n<li>Coherent actions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To find a competitive advantage, you need to ask the right questions, like:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What are my unique abilities\/assets?<\/li>\n<li>Which of these abilities\/assets matter to my target audience?<\/li>\n<li>Which of these remaining abilities\/assets differentiate me from my competitors?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A SWOT analysis can be a helpful tool here. An alternative to getting started is to list all the abilities and assets that make your brand you and then answer the last two questions.<\/p>\n<p>Examples of abilities or assets could be that you:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Have a higher editorial output (quantity\/quality).<\/li>\n<li>Employ SMEs in several fields, while others only cover one.<\/li>\n<li>Are uniquely fast in execution in relation to your company size.<\/li>\n<li>Have proprietary data that you can use for original research and data journalism.<\/li>\n<li>Are the manufacturer of a product (= having technical knowledge others don\u2019t have).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Main takeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SEO is not just \u201ca channel\u201d it\u2019s often the growth engine for most companies.<\/li>\n<li>Communicate it the right way: Limitless growth &gt; marginal improvements.<\/li>\n<li>Favor building than optimizing and fixing.<\/li>\n<li>Come up with a unique competitive advantage that you can leverage in your SEO strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-we-have-work-to-do\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"We_have_work_to_do\"><\/span>We have work to do<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>I hope a lot of what I said is something you heard at least once already. But like Christian Morgenstern said (translation by me):\u00a0<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\n\u201cSometimes you see something 100 or 1,000 times until you really see it for the first time.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>We don\u2019t want to change. Change is inevitable, though.<\/li>\n<li>We don\u2019t always learn from the things that never change. But they let us predict the future.<\/li>\n<li>We like to skip the line and to go faster than is actually possible. Too fast often means fragile. You don\u2019t want your SEO to be fragile, but to be unbreakable.<\/li>\n<li>We want it as easy as possible. Some things, however, are not easy. Like author James Clear said, \u201cThe cheat code is the work you\u2019re avoiding.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We have work to do.\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"about-author\">\n    About the author<\/p>\n<div class=\"information\">\n<div class=\"author-module\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 text-center\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n                        <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" alt=\"Philipp G\u00f6tza\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2023\/10\/Philipp-Goetza.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-fluid rounded-circle avatar-border\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2023\/10\/Philipp-Goetza.jpeg\" alt=\"Philipp G\u00f6tza\" width=\"140\" height=\"140\">\n                                            <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-9\">\n<div class=\"about\">\n<div class=\"name\">\n                            <strong>Philipp G\u00f6tza<\/strong>\n                        <\/div>\n<div class=\"row g-2 pt-2\">\n<div class=\"col-auto\">\n                                    <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philipp-g%C3%B6tza-b4bb921a8\/\" aria-label=\"opens in a new tab\"><i class=\"fab fa-linkedin\"><\/i><\/a>\n                                <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                        Philipp is an Online Marketing Expert, SEO enthusiast, as well as a Web Sustainability and Accessibility advocate with multiple years of experience. His mission is to help businesses improve their websites through tailor-made Organic Growth strategies and solutions. He works as a Junior SEO Consultant for Wingmen Online Marketing. He also hosts <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.philipp-goetza.com\/\">his own website project<\/a>, is an avid reader and is active on LinkedIn \u2013 his social media of choice.                  <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/seo-grew-up-seos-didnt-447249\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Navigate the industry&#8217;s maturity crisis with the right mindset. Learn to create value, not just optimize, for long-term success. When we were young, we all wanted to sit at the adult\u2019s table. But we couldn\u2019t, often, because of our behavior. Growing up, we often thought we were cool, but we weren\u2019t. Look back at your&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":640550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2024\/10\/SEO-grew-up-a-lot-of-SEOs-didnt-800x450.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[148094,78070],"class_list":["post-640549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-advance-your-career","tag-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=640549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/640549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/640550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=640549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=640549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=640549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}