iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

What if Google Search Console comparison reports worked the way they should? That's why I built the GSC Compare % Change Chrome Extension. chromewebstore.google.com/detail/gsc-c... It shows % change for the comparison and matches day of week for year over year analyses. #seo #analytics #google

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Surface Optimization It’s been a while since I’ve checked in and written about the state of search. Today, there are a bunch of new acronyms floating around that make it sound a bit like Old MacDonald’s Farm. Me? I’ve been taking the E out of SEO in something I call Surface Optimization. #seo

infinitevisibilitygroup.com

Surface Optimization - Infinite Visibility Group

Taking the E out of SEO: Surface Optimization looks at every surface where a brand can appear — search, social, email, SMS, apps, and beyond.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

<tinfoilhat> Nearly every time there's a Google Core Algorithm Update the data in Google Search Console is delayed. Google denies there's any connection. So why is GSC gaslighting us on Last Update when the data has NOT, in fact, been updated past Saturday? 🤔 </tinfoilhat> #seo #google #search

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Not feeling great (at the emergency veterinarian) but this was actually a bit of sarcasm and snark. But I am glad since it leaves so much opportunity for the rest of us.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

I love seeing the industry hyper focus on AI and GEO. #seo #geo #AI

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

If the content isn't really an article the odds it uses something like BERT or PaLM are low. E-commerce product pages come to mind as potential BoW targets.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

I don't know who needs to hear this but Google still uses BoW models on a large number of queries because using more sophisticated models like BERT are both expensive and aren't a fit for content on those pages. #seo #search #google

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

This was the easiest way for me to explain mix-shift issues to a client and why it's dangerous to use rank in Google Search Console for anything outside of a specific query. #seo #googlesearchconsole #analytics

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

I think they do realize it. That's why they reached out to Google ~10 months ago. Of course Google said no. It's also why Gemini will likely win generative search. They are now using all of the search quality signals so they train on higher quality documents.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

"Sometimes SEOs come to us or like mention that they’ve added EEAT to their web pages. That’s not how it works. Sorry, you can’t sprinkle some experiences on your web pages. It’s like, that’s that doesn’t make any sense." #seo #thankyou #noduh

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

I'm a big fan of improving brand equity through top-of-funnel content. But that requires brand visibility. I don't think that happens much with AIOs. People don't refer to AIOs as an answer from a brand/site but simply 'Google says ..." Maybe it'll be different with AI Mode but ...

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Strangely, my recommended SEO strategy already optimizes for AIOs. But I've yet to find that AIO visibility translates into traffic. One client in particular sees SOV spike when they are part of an AIO. The problem? Traffic remains flat.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

My problem is how people reference these results. "ChatGPT said [answer]" or "Perplexity says it's [answer]". It's the reason I don't like Infographics either. "That infographic about coffee" is a common conversational pattern. The brand essentially disappears in communication and citations.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

SAAS makes sense. How much more traffic from AI do you need until they surpass conversions from traditional search?

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

I'm a believer in brand lift but I'm not sure the mentions from AI platforms are providing enough brand visibility to translate into higher brand equity. I'm also unsure since users expect answers instead of sites/brands that could provide the answer.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

About what I expected. It's just interesting the mania around these platforms given the value they drive. It'd be like going all in on Blekko back in the day.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Interesting. Mind me asking what vertical you're seeing high conversions?

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

So far my best client would need to 10x the traffic from generative platforms to just match Bing traffic. I'll be keen to hear what you find.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

I'm curious, what percent of your (or client) traffic comes from AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity? And how does that compare to the percentage that comes from second-tier search engines like Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo? #SEO #AI #Search

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

"time-on-app, attention, and habit-hacking." Spot on!

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

The conversation thing is overstated in my view. I see similar types of behavior but this seems more about natural language (no more boolean operator queries!) and treating it as an answer engine instead of a search engine. Also, Google is not the start of many of those journeys for Gen Z & A.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

I think that is increasingly what they believe, particularly if it keeps them tapping on owned and operated properties.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

It occurs to me that Google no longer thinks of organic search results as the main content of a SERP. And if you follow that thread of logic it would make the quality of that secondary content less important. #seo #google #deepthoughts

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

I hope more parents are taking this type of approach and interest.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

There's a small (and petty) satisfaction when I look at a former client and see that the page type I helped them create is up solidly year over year but local search is down strongly after ignoring my recommended changes and ghosting me. #seokarma

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Saw a quote recently that is sticking with me that goes something like this. "Generative AI gives companies the access to skills without having to pay for them and skilled workers the inability to benefit from their knowledge."

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

I'm not sure I would know of a better way. It just set off a few flags for me.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Just getting around to this now. Why exactly would this extension need access to my browsing history?

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

There are a lot of interesting points in this expose along with good commentary from a bunch of industry folks. Anyone interested in Google search should give this a read. #seo #google #search wallethub.com/blog/google-...

wallethub.com

Google Quality Issues: Harmful to Consumers & Possibly Intentional

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

This is certainly the end result. But I think the reason is that Google is actually training users not to click. Even on their ads! Instead of having search be different than generative AI they're trying to be both. But increasingly I don't think they are complementary products.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

One of my theories for the declining SERP CTR is that AIOs are training users NOT to click a result but to simply read the answer instead. #SEO #search #google #probablynotwhattheyintended

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

PSA: You probably don't know why a site has seen a drop (or rise) in organic traffic. Sure, you might be able to put together some reasonable theories but unless you're working on the site you won't have the full picture. So it's not a particularly good sales tactic to claim you know. #SEO

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

You can tell how difficult it is out there right now based on the volume of cold emails and LinkedIn messages. It's reached a level I haven't seen in a long time. It's both annoying and sad at the same time.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

For the love of [insert deity], can we please get a PLAbot user agent for PLA validation crawls? cc: @searchliaison.bsky.social @johnmu.com @methode.bsky.social #Google #SEO

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Lyrics sites must pay a license to show any lyrics, regardless if they are correct or not. Google, through LyricFind has regularly scraped Genius and used those lyrics for the LyricsBox. Genius actually watermarked their lyrics and caught them redhanded.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

The Google LyricsBox and their scraping pals at LyricFind need to go in the recycle bin. Exhibit A are the lyrics for Suburbia by Kavinsky. I'm not posting them because it contains words that I shouldn't repeat. Sadly, they'll probably scrape Genius for the right lyrics. #Google #SEO #Lyrics

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Monday morning. Synthwave turned up to 11. LFG!

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

This is the Internet I want back.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Three things to remember in 2025. (1) It never hurts to ask. This is always true, but remind yourself again that the worst that can happen when you reach out or ask is that they say no. (2) Be generous with referrals and helping out people who need a boost. (3) Do the work and keep going.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

💯 I reference this, The Paradox of Choice and Simple and Usable all the time.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Google Discover has seemingly 'discovered' Instagram this weekend.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

Thinking that an LLM based AI is going to get to AGI is sort of laughable in my view. The AI apocalypse isn't going to be a nefarious thinking Skynet. It's going to be people blinding listening to the equivalent to a Teddy Ruxpin doll.

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AJ Kohn @ajkohn.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Unlike so much else, this is actually a pretty good use case for LLM technology.

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Reposted by AJ Kohn

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 17/01/2025

This is such a hilarious failure of a product. Consumers both don't know why it exists and hate it at the same time.

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