Hamsterdam Part 44: SEO News Recap from 2/5 to 2/11, 2024
By Ethan Lazuk
Last updated:
A weekly look-back at SEO news, tips, and other content shared on social media & beyond.
Opening notes:
- Not a big week in terms of notable items, but lots of articles and tips shared!
- I’ve added more AI resources to the fundamentals section.
- Every time I mention an NFL team here, they don’t win, so … go Chiefs! 😉
- I published a couple of new blog posts this week about social media content in Google Search and what is “experience” in E-E-A-T.
- My wife Dania has her own About page now! We’ll make one for our dog, Wuffiyah, next. 😉
*Feel free to jump down to this week’s recap, or continue for an introduction and summary of the week’s news!
Introduction to week 44: “no experience”
Are you familiar with collaborative articles on LinkedIn?
They’re articles with AI answers to questions that LinkedIn members can then add their thoughts to.
I used to contribute to them a lot but then stopped (though I did write about the experience).
Still, that hasn’t prevented LinkedIn from sending me notifications to still contribute.
We see these articles ranking in Google Search, and contributors likely share them elsewhere, so LinkedIn probably figures it’s a valuable medium for them.
But here’s the thing … some of the article topics are a bit obscure, bordering on ridiculous.
I caught one the other day that was so funny I shared it as a joke.
Except, two seconds after I hit “post” on X, I rethought about it.
The article’s topic was actually good!
Here’s what it was:
When I read that at first, my thought was, “If you have no experience, why are you interviewing to be an SEO?”
But that was just my personal biases.
Before I became an SEO, I was a content specialist, so by the time I had my first “SEO interview,” I had some experience.
I’ve also sat in interviews where candidates, who had little or no experience, presented themselves otherwise. It left a bad taste.
That said, there are lots of people who no doubt get into SEO directly out of school or from another profession.
I’ve worked with interns at agencies who had no prior job experience. I had internships myself. I remember what it’s like. All you want is to be taken seriously.
Even now, I work alongside my wife, Dania, but she never held a marketing job.
What she does have are transferrable skills.
In fact, that was my advice to that LinkedIn question (though I didn’t post it there):
- Explain what interests you, what skills or experience you bring, and how you hope to grow.
- Remember, lots of skills are transferrable.
The concept of transferrable skills is hugely important.
My favorite subjects in school were cultural studies and history. My least favorite subjects were math and physics.
Which did I get the better grades in? Yep, it was math and physics.
I think that’s how someone with a liberal arts background in anthropology can transition (and develop a passion) for SEO.
We absorb knowledge everywhere, and it all can apply, somehow.
After all, isn’t SEO a blend of art and science, content and math, social and technical skills?
And how you balance them is totally up to you.
Thinking about this, I was reminded of a book I read in college by Jared Diamond called Guns, Germs, and Steel.
The author argues that measures like IQ tests are culturally biased.
One comparison he gave was between Westerners and the indigenous peoples of New Guinea:
“At some tasks that one might reasonably suppose to reflect aspects of brain function, such as the ability to form a mental map of unfamiliar surroundings, they appear considerably more adept than Westerners. Of course, New Guineans tend to perform poorly at tasks that Westerners have been trained to perform since childhood and that New Guineans have not. Hence when unschooled New Guineans from remote villages visit towns, they look stupid to Westerners. Conversely, I am constantly aware of how stupid I look to New Guineans when I’m with them in the jungle, displaying my incompetence at simple tasks (such as following a jungle trail or erecting a shelter) at which New Guineans have been trained since childhood and I have not.”
– Jared Diamond: Guns, Germs, and Steel (The Marginalian.org)
Another thing is having “no experience” applies to us all when doing SEO at some point, because our world of search is constantly evolving.
Whenever Google introduces a new SERP feature or system, we’re all beginners at it.
Yet that’s where experience, perspective, and pattern recognition count.
What else happened this week?
Google rolled out Gemini.
No, not the model itself (that was before, ha).
This is the Gemini mobile assistant and desktop tool (Ultra 1.0), the rebranding of Bard.
Once I got access to Gemini on my Google app, the first thing I noticed was how its answers contain links to webpages, which open in the app directly.
If your brand and website is appearing in those generative AI answers, you could be getting “qualified clicks” from your target audience, perhaps even more so than on Search.
None of us really have experience optimizing for the Gemini mobile assistant yet. How could we?
But we do have knowledge of how to build technically sound websites with helpful content that’s relevant to users’ search intents.
Will answer-engine optimization (AEO) grow as a practice? Or is it just the latest buzz(key)word for SEO agencies to try and rank their blog posts for?
Time will tell. 😉
No doubt, new skills and knowledge will be needed for the future of SEO.
(I’ve added some articles to the fundamentals section that speak to basic AI and machine learning concepts.)
However, the foundations of good SEO and digital marketing, which support brand building and business goals, they’ll always be relevant, valuable, and, most likely, transferrable.
That said, if you’re interviewing for an SEO job this week with no experience, I might suggest telling the interviewer that you’re interested in generative AI.
It seems to be going places. 😉
I wish you the happiest of Super Bowl Sundays! (Or a pleasant recovery Monday morning, should you read this then).
Buckle up for a full week’s recap, and enjoy the vibes:
Summary of the week’s SEO news and content
- Danny Sullivan explains ranking signals and factors are used synonymously within Google Search and get processed by ranking systems; clarifies Core Web Vitals aren’t a direct factor.
- Google introduces Gemini Advanced (mobile app and tool with Ultra 1.0); rebrands Bard.
- Martin Scorsese does a Super Bowl ad that supports websites.
- Also, tons of articles in this one.
- Enjoy!
Missed last week? Don’t worry, I got you! Read Part 43 to catch up.
Thank you for supporting Hamsterdam and helping make SEO accessible to all! 🙂
Ok, 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
Or keep scrolling to see it all.
Also, feel free to support content you find valuable with a like, follow, or friendly comment.
Now, let’s step inside the white flags …
Top posts
These are highlights of news items, tips, or other content for the week. Great for when you just want a quick recap!
SEO news, Google updates, & SERP tests
These are newsworthy events in the SEO world, search engine updates, or SERP tests to be aware of from the last week.
Google Prepares for a Future Where Search Isn’t King – Wired
SEO tips & tidbits
This section has actionable tips, cool tidbits, and other findings and observations that can be teaching moments.
SEO (and AI) fundamentals & resources
If you’re new to SEO, this section is for you and includes essential information, concepts, or resources to learn more.
The Building Blocks of LLMs: Vectors, Tokens and Embeddings – The New Stack
What Is the BERT Model and How Does It Work? – Coursera
What is AI tokenization? – Android Police
Articles, videos, case studies & more
These are longer-form content pieces shared on social and elsewhere.
Local SEO
If you’re into local Search, this section is for you!
Source: tenor
Technical SEO
Everything from basics to advanced techniques.
Content marketing
What’d SEO be without helpful content?
Tools, AI & reporting
Here’s a recap of AI news, SEO tool updates, new tools, along with tips for reporting on data.
Humor
Humor is subjective; these are funny!
General Marketing & Miscellaneous
This is for great content that isn’t necessarily SEO or marketing-specific. PPC, PR, dev, design, and social friends, check it out!
Marketing is Easy, Humans are Predictable – Jordan Rogers (on TikTok)
Audience vs. Traffic for News Websites – Decoder with Nilay Patel (on TikTok)
Did Martin Scorsese’s Super Bowl ad just prove the importance of web design? – Creative Bloq
Why creators are vital to your marketing mix in 2024 – Think with Google
Great job making it to the end. You rock!
Please show your support for creators: If you liked any of the content shared above, show that person support by liking their post or following them. 🙂
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Want help with your brand’s SEO?
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