iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 14/05/2025

🎥 I’m going live this evening with @antonshulke.bsky.social for #SEOcharity, supporting Ukrainian animal shelters, and I’d love it if you came along 😻🐶 SEO for SEO’s Sake Doesn’t Work (Here’s What Does) 🕕 6pm UK / 10am PT Register here: www.seocharity.com/upcoming-liv...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 30/04/2025

📱 New research shows Gen Z uses short-form video like a search engine. If you’re not thinking about TikTok, Reels or short-form SEO content, you’re missing a big audience.

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 30/04/2025

📑 Structured data won’t boost your rankings (confirmed again by @johnmu.com), but it does unlock rich results that can drive more clicks; e.g.

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 30/04/2025

🔎 SEO TL;DR 68 - I’m back after a week off for the easter break, which involved battling the various illnesses my 4-year-old likes to bring back from nursery. I didn’t miss much news-wise thankfully; more of what we kinda already knew... seotldr.substack.com/p/ai-overvie...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 24/02/2025

Trying to beat the 'full glass of red challenge' because my prompts are better than everyone elses... nope😅 #AI #GPT

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 21/02/2025

Imagine winning all of those awards and Google/Wikipedia decides to sum you up like this 😂 I feel your pain Stephen #tallmantroubles

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 14/02/2025

On the back of every Gym Group cubicle door 😅

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 14/02/2025

I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but in my 15 years of SEO, I've never attended #brightonSEO! Partly because being from the North East, a train ticket and overnight stay costs more than a holiday. I'd love to meet up with some fellow marketers this year though, so let me know if you're going 😊

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 27/01/2025

6/ AI agents can now navigate the web! This isn't death for SEO but stresses the importance of optimising for bots with clear navigation and structure (while not forgetting us meat bags!) seotldr.substack.com/i/155822802/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 27/01/2025

5/ Google dropped breadcrumbs on mobile. Don't obsess over your URLs; it won't help CTR on mobile.

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 27/01/2025

3/ Google updated Quality Raters guidelines, focusing on spam. Review them & prioritise people-first content. seotldr.substack.com/i/155822802/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 27/01/2025

2/ Site reputation abuse penalties hit European coupon sites hard. Brands, make your own discount pages!

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 21/01/2025

Spell check people, spell check 😂

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 10/01/2025

I can't remember that scene 😳 (these results have been cropped for comedic reasons)

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 09/01/2025

2 new search features in the wild 1️⃣ ‘What people are saying' shows what’s trending 2️⃣ ‘Things to know’ shows for generic informational intent keywords They’re a great hint for what Google is looking for Subscribe to SEO TL;DR for more weekly insights 🧠 seotldr.substack.com/i/154219263/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 08/01/2025

I bet the same is true for Bluesky posts #socialmedia

Reasons people unfollow brands on social media

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 06/01/2025

5/ 🗣️ Two new search features with screenshots for "What people are saying" and "Things to know". With a tip for any non-US folks to turn on your VPN! seotldr.substack.com/i/154219263/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 06/01/2025

4/ 🖥️ How to see what Google sees when it renders your site and an example of how a seemingly innocent site redesign can be detrimental to your rankings.

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 06/01/2025

2/ We had 2 major Google updates at the back end of the year, a core update and a spam update which both took a very short amount of time to roll out. I suspect this will be the trend in 2025 - more updates, more frequently - as Google returns to its 'scrappy' roots.

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 20/12/2024

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 🥳 That is all.

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 18/12/2024

"He optimised websites, she optimised his heart." I asked GPT to create a Christmas movie poster based on everything it knows about me 😱 This is why you shouldn't play with AI at 1 o'clock in the morning.

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 18/12/2024

That is interesting 🤔 I get your Bluesky bio, but I figure Googlebot followed your domain and lifted the content from there. Strange they didn't decide to canonicalise your Bluesky, but I guess because the URLs are different. Who knows how Google works, seems to have sorted itself out 🙃

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 17/12/2024

6/ 150 new #Shopify updates that smooth out the rough edges in the Winter '25 edition seotldr.substack.com/i/153179839/... #ecommerce

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 17/12/2024

3/ Just as you thought we'd seen the last of the 2024 updates, Google sneaked in another with the news that we'd be seeing 'more updates, more often' 😱 seotldr.substack.com/i/153179839/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 17/12/2024

Liz from Wiz & Liz - SEGA

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 16/12/2024

Helpful as ever Barry 🙌🏻 Are you split testing thumbnails? I see...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 14/12/2024

Showing Google AI Studio my AT-SAINT and Groot figure 😏 Seriously impressive stuff despite these 2 minor fails 🤯 #AI #LEGO #LOTR

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 13/12/2024

Not as far back, but I asked someone from work who said Spider Man. To him, I am from the late 1900s

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 13/12/2024

Hi Andrew, I'm quite new to BlueSky, dabbled with X for a little while and got nowhere. And here's Eddie - he's no longer with us - but was a good boy!

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 13/12/2024

Did you know you can see a list of the sites you engage with the most by typing this into Chrome… 🧑‍💻 chrome://site-engagement/ It's fascinating to see the difference between work (pictured) and personal. Should I be worried ChatGPT is top of the list (I'm human, I swear)? What's top of your list?

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 09/12/2024

Slow and steady wins the race. After a year of writing my weekly newsletter SEO TL;DR I'm finally hitting my groove. I'm slowly converting the 400 LinkedIn subscribers over and gaining freah subs every day 🐢💨 Subscribe for weekly SEO roundups and tips seotldr.substack.com #seo #marketing

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 07/12/2024

Baking biscuits with the bairn, expectation vs reality

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 04/12/2024

Defying the Spotify (L)users with my YouTube Music Recap 😎 Anyone other than me not on Spotify? Number 1 is all my son's work, whose super excited about Disneyland Paris next year 🚂

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 03/12/2024

Haha, the Ziploc bags are on point, I feel shameful now...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 03/12/2024

Duolingo year in review - you'll not find any mistakes here 😏 #seobants #shittyjoke #duolingo365

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 03/12/2024

Duo grows more intense every year 😅 the fear of breaking the streak is real

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 02/12/2024

7/ SEO growth strategies for 2025 with real-world examples - a recap of a brilliant @brightonseo.com presentation by Stephanie Briggs seotldr.substack.com/i/152422509/... #content

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 02/12/2024

6/ A new way of reporting businesses who are manipulating reviews on Google Business Profiles. Incentivising reviews is against Google's policy and if you know of competitors doing this, this could be a way of suppressing that. seotldr.substack.com/i/152422509/... #LocalSEO

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 02/12/2024

5/ Google Search Console recommendations are now live - check your dashboards to find potential opportunities here #technicalSEO

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 02/12/2024

2/ A study of 700 people also found that 71% of shoppers are unaware they’ve even used generative AI tools (such as review summaries) in online shopping. Advice on how you can add value to your customers' shopping experience without distracting from the goal. seotldr.substack.com/i/152422509/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 02/12/2024

SEO TL;DR - 7 stories from the world of search which are worth reading, starting with some Ofcom figures, which reveal that only 18% of 16+ year olds said they thought the information from generative AI was reliable seotldr.substack.com/i/152422509/... #AI #ChatGPT

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 29/11/2024

This weekend only, I’ve dropped the number of newsletter referrals needed for a free SEO audit to 1 I've hit 400+ LinkedIn subs, but I'd love for you to join me over on SubStack, where I share weekly SEO insights 👉 Subsribe here: seotldr.substack.com Thanks for your support #SEO #Ecommerce #BFCM

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 26/11/2024

Quick tip! A GA4 report to show how many people are hitting a 404 page ❌ 1️⃣ GA4 > Explore > Blank exploration 2️⃣ For dimensions, add 'Page path and screen class' and 'Page title'. 3️⃣ For metrics, add 'Views' 4️⃣ Add a filter for 'Page title contains [not found]' Then fix 🪄 #seo #ecommerce #analytics

Setting up a 404 report in Google Analytics GA4

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 25/11/2024

6/ 💡Key takeaway from @johnmu.com on abusing the People also Ask for content ideas: Staying focused is critical - Google's enforcement of quality signals is evolving, and maintaining niche relevance can protect your rankings. Quality > Quantity: seotldr.substack.com/i/152116920/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 25/11/2024

5/ 🌐 #Bluesky for SEO: Bluesky’s user base is growing fast, with many in the SEO community joining (hi 👋) Higher engagement than #X (Twitter) and a friendly environment make it worth exploring.

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 25/11/2024

4/ 📊 Clickthrough Rate Trends: #CTR trends are shifting by industry - some gaining traffic, others losing. Staying aware of your sector’s trends is crucial for optimisation. Keep an eye on how your click rates compare to these benchmarks: seotldr.substack.com/i/152116920/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 25/11/2024

3/ 🛒 Shopify’s Enterprise Growth: Shopify added 16 big brands in Q3 2024, including @reebok.bsky.social and Off-White, thanks to modular features like Shop Pay and transparent pricing. #EcommerceSEO #Shopify Read more: seotldr.substack.com/i/152116920/...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 25/11/2024

2/ 🚨 #Google updated its Site Reputation Abuse policy to target misuse of third-party content that exploits site authority. Major sites like Forbes Advisor and Independent saw huge ranking drops, while niche and brand-focused sites gained. More here: seotldr.substack.com/p/site-abuse...

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 25/11/2024

🗞️ SEO TL;DR #49 Google's new Site Reputation Abuse Policy shakes up rankings, Shopify gains big brands, CTR trends shift, and #Bluesky emerges as an #SEO hub! Subscribe to SEO TL;DR for ad-free, affiliate-free SEO roundups: seotldr.substack.com/p/site-abuse... #Ecommerce

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Ian Ferguson @ferguseo.com · 22/11/2024

If anyone knows the SEO behind the wheel, let me know, I think we'd get along great! U should always go 4 SEO 🧠 #fridayfun

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