Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines were updated a few months ago, and several of the changes closely track the talking points shared by Googlers at the 2025 Search Central Live events. Among the most consequential updates are those to the sections defining the lowest quality pages, which more clearly reflect the kinds of sites Google … Read more
Looking for ways to build and grow your email list without paid ads? Many people are quick to point out the benefits of having a large email database to contact, and the many ways you can do so. However, when it comes to offering actionable ways to actually grow an email list, there are significantly … Read more
Google’s John Mueller answered a question on Bluesky about why an e-commerce page with minimal content is ranking, illustrating that sometimes optimized content isn’t enough. E-Commerce Search Results A person posted their concerns about an e-commerce site that was ranking in the search results with barely any content. In fact, the domain that was ranking … Read more
Google just launched substantial upgrades to its Performance Max campaigns today. In their announcement, they introduced long-anticipated reporting features that will provide advertisers with much-needed visibility into how their campaigns perform across different Google surfaces. These updates include new channel-level reporting, full search terms data, and expanded asset performance metrics. The goal? It’s aimed at … Read more
I know the impact of ignoring buyer’s journey keywords all too well. Early in my SEO career, I generated two million clicks for an ecommerce store. The client and I were thrilled. The graph on Google Search Console was trending strongly up. The problem? I couldn’t quantify a single sale from two million visitors. I … Read more
After conducting more than 500 in-depth website audits in the past 12 years, I’ve noticed clear patterns about what works and doesn’t in SEO. I’ve seen almost everything that can go right – and wrong – with websites of different types. To help you avoid costly SEO mistakes, I’m sharing 11 practical lessons from critical … Read more
The humble robots.txt file often sits quietly in the background of a WordPress site, but the default is somewhat basic out of the box and, of course, doesn’t contribute towards any customized directives you may want to adopt. No more intro needed – let’s dive right into what else you can include to improve it. … Read more
Todd Friesen, one of the most experienced digital marketers in our industry, recently posted on LinkedIn that the core fundamentals that apply to traditional search engines work exactly the same for AI search optimization. His post quickly received dozens of comments and more than a hundred likes, indicating that he’s not the only one who … Read more
As your business grows, so does your responsibility to your employees. As a solo entrepreneur, you can (and often need) to work quickly, putting in the long hours needed to get your business up and running. But you also need to make sure that you’re taking care of your employees. To do that, you need … Read more
New research shows that map platforms have become key search engines for local businesses. One in five consumers now searches directly in map apps instead of traditional search engines. BrightLocal’s Consumer Search Behavior study found that Google, Apple, and Bing Maps make up 20% of all local searches. This is a big part of search … Read more
GoDaddy launched a new partner program called GoDaddy Agency that matches web developers with leads for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). It provides digital agencies with tools, services, and support to help them grow what they offer their customers. The new program is available to U.S. based freelancers and web development agencies. GoDaddy offers the … Read more
Google’s John Mueller answered a question about internal site navigation where an SEO was concerned about diluting the ability to rank for a keyword phrase by using the same anchor text in four sitewide sections across an entire website. Link In Four Navigational Areas The person asking the question had a client that had four … Read more
Trying to decide which payment system you should be using? Fortunately, there are plenty of payment systems for small businesses to consider in 2025, so whether you’re unhappy with your current provider or setting up for the first time, you’ve got plenty of choice. Almost too much choice! So, I’ve decided to make the process … Read more
I love the Back to the Future series, especially Part II where we see “the future.” Of course, the most famous part of our promised 2015 was the Mattel Hoverboard. A decade later, and I’m still waiting to glide down the sidewalk on my hoverboard. The pattern of excitement, overpromising, and then reality isn’t relegated … Read more
Catch up on select AI news and developments from the past week or so (in no particular order): YouTube tests AI Overviews carousel in search results. YouTube is experimenting with an AI Overviews feature that surfaces short clips from videos deemed most relevant to a user’s search query. Available only to a small number of … Read more
![We Figured Out How AI Overviews Work [& Built A Tool To Prove It]](https://nicheplrnewsletter.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/We-Figured-Out-How-AI-Overviews-Work-Built-A.png "We Figured Out How AI Overviews Work [& Built A")
This post was sponsored by Market Brew. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own. Wondering how to realign your SEO strategy for maximum SERP visibility in AI Overviews (AIO)? Do you wish you had techniques that mirror how AI understands relevance? Imagine if Google handed you the blueprint for AI Overviews: Every … Read more
Google claims AI Overviews are revolutionizing search behavior. But the data tells a different story. Since launching AI Overviews in 2024, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has repeatedly claimed they’re transforming search behavior: People are using it to Search in entirely new ways, and asking new types of questions, longer and more complex queries… and getting … Read more
Google Discover desktop data is already trackable in Search Console. Here’s how to prepare ahead of the full rollout. Data suggests Google Discover has been in testing on desktop for over 16 months. Desktop Discover data reveals lower traffic than mobile (only 4% in the US). Publishers can access their desktop Discover performance now in … Read more
