Hamsterdam Part 34: SEO News Recap from 11/27 to 12/3, 2023
By Ethan Lazuk
Last updated:
A weekly look-back at SEO news, tips, and other content shared on social media & beyond.
Quote source: Google Search Central
Opening notes:
1) Congratulations to Barry Schwartz for 20 years writing on Search news. I visit Search Engine Roundtable just about every day. Those contributions to the industry are invaluable.
2) My TikTok feed has mainly been for artistic and personal interests, but it’s gotten infinitely better for AI and tech-related content, which I’ll include when relevant to Search and SEO; I’ve added “AI” to the tools and reporting section. (Default TikTok embeds are kinda annoying, so I’ll just link to the videos; they’ll open in the app.)
3) Last week I added a Local SEO section; this week I’ve added a Technical SEO section.
4) You’ll notice more discussion around Google Discover in this week’s recap. Personally, I’ve been using my Google app more for Search and Google Labs features, and by extension paying attention to Discover. My feed has gotten better lately, with lots of great music videos but also articles on SEO and broader AI and IR topics. I’ll include these as well in the articles section.
*Feel free to jump down to the recap, or keep reading for an introduction and summary of the week’s news!
Introduction to week 34: “You’re a top 0.05% fan”
Which music app do you mostly use?
I was using Tidal for a while, but then I switched back to Spotify maybe 6 months ago. Honestly, Tidal’s sound quality was great, but more people I know use Spotify, so it made it easier to share songs with them.
After 6 months on Spotify, my unwrapped showed me this this week:
In 6 months on the app, I became a top 0.05% TOOL fan.
Here’s what’s funny, I don’t know many facts about the band, and I’ve only seen them live once (but I’m going again in January). There’s a term TOOL army. I consider myself a member, but many others can do things like name minute details of time signatures or concert dates. Meanwhile, I don’t know half the lyrics and forget song names.
Yet I listen to hours of TOOL every day.
A lot of TOOL fans are metal heads, who like other rock bands.
I don’t.
My next favorite bands are Radiohead and Pink Floyd. I do love me some Black Sabbath, but I also enjoy Lil Wayne and Eminem, or maybe Neil Young or Mars Volta. It depends.
But the reason I identify so strongly with TOOL’s music is because, for whatever reason, I relate to it on a deep level.
But, I’m just one type of fan.
In other words, there’s no such thing, in my opinion, as a top 0.05% TOOL fan. What I am is a top 0.05% listener of TOOL on Spotify in 2023. Not counting 6 months of Tidal or countless live concerts on YouTube. 😉
This is why I think precision in language matters, not just in TOOL fandom, but in life generally and in SEO specifically.
I recently made a guide to helpful, reliable, people-first content for Search, in which I explained how the whole “it depends” mantra in SEO stems not from indecisiveness or uncertainty, but largely from the fact that guidance for one website’s SEO won’t necessarily apply to another site.
I’m a heavy consumer of SEO content on social media, as you’ll tell from the recap, but I encourage you to pay attention to the language people use in their posts or articles.
For more advanced and experienced SEOs, their language tends to be highly measured and precise.
On the flip side, you’ll see people who are new to SEO, maybe coming from the tech space with a new AI tool, and they’ll speak in hyperbolic absolutes like, “rank your website #1 with AI!” or “boost your organic traffic 500% with AI!”
That’s not to say SEO doesn’t have absolute truths. It does.
But the people I’ve listened to most over the years and grown to respect, they usually focus on the nuances of Search, rather than making claims for the sake of clicks or views.
To that end, I’d like to share with you an amazing rendition of a song by TOOL that you won’t hear on Spotify. 😉
Buckle up for a full week’s recap, and enjoy the vibes:
Summary of the week’s SEO news and content
- The November 2023 core update completed its rollout on November 28th (after 26 days); the reviews update is still in progress.
- Google announced support for discussion forum and profile page structured data.
- Google expanded support for Organization markup, which is notable for business knowledge panels.
- Juan González Villa found a Google patent likely related to SGE.
- Rio Ichikawa gave a really cool presentation at Search Marketing Summit Sydney on the importance of UX in SEO.
- We were reminded Google can do manual actions against spam content, however it’s produced. 😉
But don’t just take my word for it! All of this info and more is contained below in the weekly recap.
Notes:
- If the article times out on mobile, my apologies. Please try viewing on a desktop or WiFi.
- I’ve cut back on the amount of info I include; if you’d like to see more, scrolling through my likes on X or following the people in this recap is probably the best place to start. 😉
Missed last week’s recap? Don’t worry, I got you! Read Part 33 to catch up.
Okay, time for (home)work.
Jump to a section of this week’s recap
- Top posts
- News, Google updates, & SERP tests
- SEO tips & tidbits
- Fundamentals & resources
- Articles, videos & case studies
- Local SEO
- Technical SEO
- Content marketing
- SEO tools, AI & reporting
- Humor section
- Miscellaneous & general posts
Enjoy the recap below! And please support content you find valuable with a like or follow. 🙂
Top posts
These are key news items, tips, or other content I felt were relevant to highlight for the week, particularly if you just want a quick glance.
Bridging the Gap: How SEO and CRO Work Together to Maximize User Satisfaction and Revenue
I found this because Gary Illyes liked it. I can see why!
SEO news, Google updates, & SERP tests
These are newsworthy events in the SEO world from the last week or SERP tests to be aware of.
SEO tips & tidbits
This section has actionable tips, cool tidbits, or other findings and observations that can be teaching moments.
Why make a website instead of a TikTok Channel? – Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami on Decoder (Watch on TikTok)
SEO fundamentals & resources
If you’re new to SEO, this section includes essential information, concepts, or resources to learn more about.
Articles, videos, case studies & more
These are longer-form content shared on social.
Local SEO
If you’re into local Search, this section is for you!
Technical SEO
Yep, it still matters. 😉
Content marketing
What’d SEO be without content?
Tools, AI & reporting
Here’s a recap of updates to tools, and new tools, along with tips for reporting on data.
The power of prompting! – Rajiv Shah, data science & AI (Watch on TikTok)
What are vector embeddings? – startuppm (Watch on TikTok)
Who’s answering you on ChatGPT? – Nordic Business Forum (Watch on TikTok)
Everyone is using transformers! – Rajiv Shah, data science & AI (Watch on TikTok)
Humor
Humor is subjective; hopefully, you find these funny as well!
General Marketing & Miscellaneous
This is for great content that isn’t necessarily SEO (i.e., PPC, PR, dev, and content friends check it out!) or even marketing-specific.
Great job making it to the end. You rock!
Show your support for creators: If you liked any of the content shared above, please support that person by liking their post or following them. 🙂
Hungry for more? Check out the past weeks of Hamsterdam.
Or sign up for the newsletter! (Until I get the form back up and running, feel free to shoot me an email to get added to the list.)
Want to work together on your brand’s SEO?
I’m currently taking clients for SEO and content audits and strategy consulting, and soon training. You can learn more about me on my about page.
Get in touch: hit me up on social at @EthanLazuk, by text or call at 813-557-9745, or via email at ethan.lazuk@gmail.com.
Cheers!
Leave a Reply