Hamsterdam Part 36: SEO News Recap from 12/11 to 12/17, 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 (YouTube Short)
Opening notes:
Slightly longer introduction this week, but I think it’s a good one! Also, quite a bit happened the last few days in terms of tool feature releases and AI news. Enjoy!
*Feel free to jump down to the recap, or keep reading for an introduction and summary of the week’s news!
Introduction to week 36: Care to comment?
When I started Hamsterdam recaps (originally called Twitter Files) 36 weeks ago, I mainly copy-pasted links to tweets in articles with no commentary.
Nowadays, I add a bit of flavor with an introduction, capitalizing on some theme of the week — the weekly SEO zeitgeist, if you will.
I don’t plan the introductions. Each Sunday, I hop on the computer and write what comes to mind.
Well, the first thing I saw this morning on X was a post about how a Search Engine Roundtable article about Google search volatility, published last week, had racked up over 1,000 comments so far.
I referenced those comments in an article earlier this week and updated that section today.
But scrolling through the 1,000+ comments, one thing is clear …
Many of them are negative.
I can understand the frustration of working hard on your website’s content and then not having success in search rankings.
While my site is enjoying better traffic and visibility on Google Search, I struggle to rank my articles well on Bing, for example.
I’m sure it’s even more frustrating to have had a page ranking well for a query and then experience losses in average position. I’ve felt this vicariously for clients I’ve helped in the past.
How Google Search’s ranking systems work really isn’t that mysterious, though.
I mean, it is, if you’re trying to understand how its AI-based systems, that use machine learning or even deep learning, are analyzing minute details of content for rankings.
But on the whole, creating helpful, reliable, people-first content or aligning with E-E-A-T isn’t difficult to grasp, conceptually.
It’s when you try to break down those broader concepts into individual, actionable SEO tactics that it can get a little murkier.
So don’t do that. 🙂
Instead of focusing on individual ranking signals or SEO tactics, think about the bigger picture of how your site fits into your audience’s user journey, and how Search can achieve visibility for your content along the way.
I don’t want to single out any type of website content as being most prone to feeling the impacts of, say, Google Search’s helpful content system, but let’s be real …
Hypothetically speaking, having an optimized H1 or a few links isn’t going to compensate for the fact that a person on Reddit, in a 200-word post, provided more original information, insight, and helpful analysis on a topic than an entire blog article written without firsthand knowledge of the subject, and which probably also has a page experience deficit.
Can we find examples of bad search results, like medically reviewed content about choosing car tires? Yes. After all, I didn’t make up that example haha.
However, those are partly also cases of focusing on SEO tactics over the bigger picture.
On the whole, if your site isn’t surviving in today’s era of Google Search’s helpful content updates, rolling reviews system updates, or hidden gems improvements to core ranking systems, then it may be time to reevaluate if you’re “doing SEO” as opposed to “using SEO.”
Doing SEO means fixating on rankings, competitors, traffic, and the like.
Using SEO means seeing Google Search not as the audience itself, but as the avenue to reach your audience and serve them.
Before doing something “for SEO purposes” that may be at the expense of a user, take a step back and think about the end goal.
What inspires negative comments in the first place?
Adam P. Stern, MD, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, had a good analogy and explanation for negative comments online:
“Have you ever noticed that you tend to get a lot angrier on the road with other drivers than you do with people in the rest of your life? … The relative anonymity of driving leads to an exaggerated emotional response when feeling slighted or threatened, in part because all you may know of the other driver is that he or she just cut you off. It makes sense that you might react more angrily in that situation than if the same interaction occurred in another real-life setting.
Now if you accept the premise that separation and relative anonymity increase the potential for rage, imagine what the anonymity and dehumanization of the Internet does to virtual interactions. …
But why do online commenters so often seem rageful in their opposition?
One explanation begins with the knowledge that the content most likely to elicit impassioned responses is on the very subjects that people feel affect them personally. … Because commenters so often identify personally with the topic for this reason, the magnitude of their emotional response can be amplified, sometimes leading to stronger language than they would use in the real world. …
Even when commenters read entire articles, hostile comments are often formed out of defiance rather than ignorance of evidence presented by the author. The Dunning-Kruger effect may be at play here. This principle states that a person’s perception of what they have read and the content they’ve actually read often do not align well.”
– Harvard Health Blog, The psychology of Internet rage, Adam P. Stern, MD
People can become angry at Google (and the people who work there) because they have personal experience using the search engine and likely doing SEO of some type, but like with getting road rage in traffic, they’re also detached from seeing Googlers on a deeper human level.
In Hamsterdam Part 31, I wrote about seeing Danny Sullivan speak in person for the first time at brightonSEO San Diego and how his sincerity was palpable. It certainly impacted my perceptions of Google Search as an organization.
What I didn’t mention in that article was how the moderator for the next session after the break had to ask Danny to leave the area because he’d been at the front talking with a group of SEOs and answering their questions ever since his presentation concluded.
Now, I’m not against comments. Quite the opposite. I’m a proponent of UGC on websites, particularly comments on blog articles.
Comments can have tremendous educational value.
In posts on SEO by the Sea, the blog by the late great Bill Slawski, you can find comments where Bill would respond to readers’ questions and give further insights.
Comments can also help your content for SEO purposes.
As Matt G. Southern pointed out in SEJ, “User comments can add SEO value to webpages in the form of additional context.”
Of course, as Barry Adams reminds us, “this also brings up a second point: Not all comments add value.”
Assuming negative or low-value comments get crawled and considered as part of a webpage’s main content or factored into its overall quality by a search engine isn’t the only concern, however.
There’s also a mental health aspect to negative comments.
An article on Verywell written by Arlin Cuncic, MA, author of “Therapy in Focus: What to Expect from CBT for Social Anxiety Disorder,” and medically reviewed by Akeem Marsh, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist, explains:
“Reading negative comments online has the effect of making you feel more negative. …
Reading negative comments online might also leave you feeling anxious, particularly if you read comments that create fear or make you question your own choices. …
If you end up reading negative comments about yourself online, you could end up feeling less confident or have reduced self-esteem. For this reason it’s important to check in with yourself about how you are feeling before and after reading comments online. If you feel worse about yourself after reading someone’s comment, that’s a good sign to avoid that comment section or person. …
If the first comment is negative, you’ll notice that this sets the tone for the discussion through emotional contagion. Seeing more positive comments will encourage others to be positive as well. The side benefit will be that you end up reading more positive comments overall if you are creating them yourself.”
– Verywell, Mental Health Effects of Reading Negative Comments Online
No surprise, the best response to negative comments often can be leaving positive ones.
I also want to draw a distinction between anger and hatred.
As the American Psychological Association says, “Anger can be a good thing. It can give you a way to express negative feelings, for example, or motivate you to find solutions to problems.”
My favorite band is TOOL, which if you know my personality in real life, that may seem surprising, until you see the personalities of the band members who make the music.
Here’s a quote from the lead singer, Maynard James Keenan: “Hate and anger are two separate energies. They might have a similar emotional charge to them, but anger is a much more constructive emotion than hate.”
If you see a negative comment online, and it makes you angry, consider channeling that anger as motivation to leave a positive comment instead.
If you have a website, and Google Search updates some of its ranking systems, and your website’s traffic gets impacted, and you get angry, instead of personal attacks against Googlers — remember, these are automated ranking systems at work — channel that anger into learning about what those ranking systems are trying to achieve and maybe re-evaluating how your website aligns with those goals.
Hatred solves nothing. It contributes only to negativity.
Anger, on the other hand, when directed in the right way, can be a motivating force for good.
Do the SEO you want to see done. Be the change you want to see done.
Buckle up for a full week’s recap, and enjoy the vibes:
Summary of the week’s SEO news and content
- Google AI Studio was introduced.
- Search Engine Land turned 17.
- Openness as a local ranking signal is confirmed.
- Much more!
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 35 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.
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.
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.
A Comprehensive Survey of Large Language Models (LLMs) – Cobus Greyling
Why brand mentions are the future of backlinks – Andrew Holland, SEL
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.
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!
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