Making Sense of Google Updates, Being a Quality Rater & the Future of SEO
While the traditional approach to SEO may survive for awhile, marketers need to branch out and create content that can't easily be replicated by AI.
No website hit by Google's Helpful Content Update (HCU) last year has recovered so far. It also now appears that the distinct HCU classifier is gone and has become part of Google's Core Update.
There's lots of advice circulating about what marketers should do, notwithstanding Google's repeated (but vague) statements about creating content for users and not trying to impress or "show Google" that you're doing what you think it wants.
In our 150th podcast we spoke with well-known SEO Cyrus Shepard about his recent on-page ranking-correlation study, his experience as a Google Quality Rater and his take on the future of SEO. You can listen to the full recording or read on. The following are edited excerpts of Shepard's remarks.