iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 21/05/2025

I got to see them say the thing in person

Photo from Google Marketing Live 2025. Speaker standing in front of text that reads “build helpful, reliable, people first content.”

Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

On my way to California to cover Google I/O and Google Marketing Live for Search Engine Journal ☀️🌴 Looking forward to sharing the latest on AI, search, and digital marketing straight from Mountain View. If you’ll be there or have questions, let me know!

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Lidia Infante @lidia-infante.com · 16/04/2025

Do what's best for the user. Adding the link in the comments is not what's best for the user.

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Montse Cano @montsecano.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

New announcement during Easter for international SEO. I guess that hreflang might actually change too due to improvements in AI, as it was hinted last year on this article by @mattgsouthern.bsky.social (www.searchenginejournal.com/google-may-r...)

blog.google

Here’s an update on our use of country code top-level domains.

When you’re searching on Google, we aim to provide the most useful information, and many times that includes providing locally relevant search results. Historically, as …

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Anton Shulke @antonshulke.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

My cat of the day! Credit to @mattgsouthern.bsky.social #seocharity #catoftheday www.seocharity.com

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Lisa Raehsler @lisarockssem.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

I love seeing numbers around AI adoption. 💡 This article includes perceptions and barriers to AI adoption based on an IAB report. "70% Of Media Companies Not Fully Using AI" by @mattgsouthern.bsky.social on @sejournal.bsky.social : www.searchenginejournal.com/70-of-media-...

searchenginejournal.com

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

Wikipedia affected by the AI crawler issue I drew attention to last week www.searchenginejournal.com/ai-crawlers-...

Screenshot of Search Engine Journal article titled: "AI Crawlers Are Reportedly Draining Site Resources & Skewing Analytics"

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

This won’t bring anyone closer to monetization, unfortunately 😔. But good news if you like vanity metrics

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

The longer this drags out, the less Americans support banning TikTok

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Britney Muller @britneymuller.bsky.social · 19/03/2025

Researched Google's New AI Mode So You Don't Have To 🚀 Evaluated hundreds of AI Mode outputs across user intents & here's what you NEED to know: 🔍 It's genuinely AI-powered - the same query "cheap flights" produced seemingly endless variations of output text ranging from 370 to 449 words!

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Martin Splitt @divingfor.fun · 18/03/2025

I'm noting something, that troubles me: People creating content for the sake of creating content. Thinking about this, I think "would I want to read this?" is a metric that would often prevent this pattern. Not always but a few people I asked this were surprised and said "No. Why?" 🤔

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

When non-industry channels are talking about the decline of Google Search, you know it's getting bad youtu.be/4wCGVrAn4qY?...

youtu.be

What The Hell Happened To Google Search?

YouTube video by Ryan George Extra Plus!

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Anton Shulke @antonshulke.bsky.social · 20/02/2025

My cat of the day! Credit to @mattgsouthern.bsky.social #seocharity #catoftheday www.seocharity.com/upcoming-con...

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Kelsey Libert @kelseylibert.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Seems like AI-generated content can be copyrighted if an editor weaves in SMEs and proprietary data—two 🔑🔑 for valuable brand content, regardless, imho. Great coverage by @mattgsouthern.bsky.social on a must-read topic for marketers. www.searchenginejournal.com/can-ai-gener... #AI #geo #seo

searchenginejournal.com

Can AI-Generated Content Be Copyrighted? Here’s What U.S. Law Says

The U.S. Copyright Office addresses questions about AI-generated content and creative ownership in a new report.

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Lily Ray 😏 @lilyray.nyc · 06/02/2025

Check out my latest article on @sistrix.com - an analysis of the greatest losers of #SEO visibility in Google's US results throughout 2024: www.sistrix.com/blog/indexwa...

sistrix.com

Visibility Losers in Google Search - USA

Learn from the top losing domains in percentage and absolute numbers in 2024

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Mordy Oberstein @mordyoberstein.bsky.social · 06/02/2025

Do you want a site ranking for your brand name to change their content to be in your favor? Here’s what you need to do & it’s not fun. My latest on @sejournal.bsky.social 🔥 www.searchenginejournal.com/ask-an-seo-r...

searchenginejournal.com

Ask An SEO: How To Repair & Recover Negative Brand Mentions In SERPs

Rebuild your brand reputation. Learn practical strategies to overcome negative listings and mend the broader brand relationship.

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Mordy Oberstein @mordyoberstein.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Wingstop is winning branded search! Not so fast Buffalo Wild Wings has ~65K more brand search TERMS So: 1. LLMs/Google have 65K more signals 2. The consumer thinks of the brand in greater scope Learn more in my @sejournal.bsky.social webi Thurs! www.searchenginejournal.com/webinar-lp-h...

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

New study shows 47% of consumers find search results irrelevant during product research. That's they turn to Reddit. Key findings: • 71% prefer Reddit for quick answers • Community recommendations > paid ads & influencer posts • Peer discussions driving purchases www.youtube.com/shorts/ak1w5...

youtube.com

Study: 47% Find Search Results Irrelevant During Product Research

YouTube video by Matt G. Southern

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

💡 Make AI search crawlers love your site Smart rendering choices = better AI visibility in 2025. Quick facts: • Pre-rendering wins for static content • Server-side works for dynamic pages • Light JavaScript = happy crawlers www.youtube.com/shorts/F8L2P...

youtube.com

AI SEO: How JavaScript Affects ChatGPT Visibility

YouTube video by Matt G. Southern

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Darren Shaw @whitespark.ca · 09/01/2025

Huge news for Whitespark! For years, @miriamellis.bsky.social has been publishing her quarterly roundup on Moz, but it is now being published on Whitespark! Her Q4 2024 Local Search Roundup is live, featuring 19 must-know local search developments. whitespark.ca/blog/19-loca...

whitespark.ca

19 Local Search Developments You Need to Know About From Q4 2024 | Whitespark

This article revisits local SEO news, and noteworthy things that happened in local SEO in the preceding quarter. It will keep you apace with the evolution of local SEO and help you build strategy arou...

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

📊 New TikTok data Want numbers that matter? Here's what's working now: • 2 out of 3 users engage with brand-creator collabs • 40% higher click rates on AI-powered ads • 68% of users make buying decisions from comments • 76% prefer mixed content (not just video) www.youtube.com/shorts/E2WoM...

youtube.com

TikTok ‘What’s Next’ Report: Takeaways For Marketers

YouTube video by Matt G. Southern

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Jess Joyce 👩‍💻 @jessjoyce.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

I don't understand how websites are "dead" when every other place you can put content is on fire / manipulated. ....including WP but you can always fork that and control that in a way that is safe(r).

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

Google Chrome's security chief calls out Microsoft's latest Bing tactic as a "new low," saying it's another attempt to confuse users. www.searchenginejournal.com/google-criti...

searchenginejournal.com

Google Criticizes Bing For Mimicking Google’s Homepage

Microsoft faces backlash after Bing mimics Google's interface, sparking criticism from Google Chrome's security chief.

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Mordy Oberstein @mordyoberstein.bsky.social · 23/12/2024

LOOK AT HOW MUCH HAIR THEY GAVE ME! It's a Hanukkah miracle! Everyone is talking about about SEO & brand, blah blah blah Join Katie Morton & me as we go 1 step deeper when looking at the connection bet. brand & SEO for B2B on @sejournal.bsky.social 👇 www.searchenginejournal.com/webinar-lp-h...

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

New study on the LLM referral traffic to websites. Key findings: - ChatGPT and Perplexity are leadinging - Informational content receives the most LLM traffic - Major growth in LLM referrals over the past 90 days Check out the full analysis: www.searchenginejournal.com/study-chatgp...

searchenginejournal.com

Study: ChatGPT & AI Tools Gain Ground In Search Market

AI chatbots like ChatGPT are challenging Google's search dominance as more users turn to AI for finding information online.

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Navah Hopkins @navah.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Don't ignore the IP targeting update from Google (support.google.com/marketingpla...) this has pretty big implications on the privacy first future. I don't know how they are going to make IPs work with VPN usage (66% globally) but I'm interested to see. #ppc #google #targeting #ctv

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Ben Steele @steeletype.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

I went pretty in-depth on YouTube's algorithm. Imo it's a really good idea for SEOs to understand it even if you're not focused on video. It's a look at what a Google property does when it has complete control over the platform. P.S. Tags don't matter.

searchenginejournal.com

YouTube SEO: How To Rank Higher On YouTube

Learn how to optimize your videos for better ranking on YouTube. Drive brand awareness, engage your audience, and unlock new revenue streams with an effective video strategy.

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Ben Steele @steeletype.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

Listen, I know "toxic" is a little dramatic but it can also be apt. I used to link build. It's big business for a reason, and the financial incentive still generates bad practices. I've been part of great campaigns, and I've also seen all sorts of justifications for bad links.

searchenginejournal.com

Bad & Toxic Backlinks You Should Avoid

Avoid bad and toxic links with this comprehensive guide on effective link building strategies. Don't risk your website's reputation with unreliable tactics.

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

🤖 AI bots are crawling your website right now - and they make up 28% of all crawler traffic. Is your site optimized, or are you missing out on potential AI search traffic? Watch to learn 3 ways to get your website AI-ready before your competitors do. youtube.com/shorts/lTNtx...

youtube.com

3 Ways To Optimize For AI Search #SEO #chatgpt

YouTube video by Matt G. Southern

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Search Engine Journal @sejournal.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Your Google Search Console is going to start looking a little different. It will be missing analytics data. @mattgsouthern.bsky.social has the latest. #digitalmarketing

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

Ever feel like your website content is getting sucked into a black hole, never to be seen again? According to Google, that might actually be happening. Here's an explanation of "marauding black holes" in Google Search, and how to avoid them. www.youtube.com/shorts/MgxH4...

youtube.com

Google Warns Of Duplicate Content “Black Holes” Caused By Error Pages #seo

YouTube video by Matt G. Southern

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

Post somebody you've been told you look like, who you (maybe kinda look like a little bit)

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Matt G. Southern @mattgsouthern.bsky.social · 07/12/2024

"My two options were to do nothing and let the site die, or let's make it happen" Great podcast episode about a rare HCU recovery. No quick fixes here. Lots of hard work over an extended time period. The site owner breaks down everything he did. youtu.be/muDSc0BQ2Eg?...

youtu.be

How My Site Recovered From the HCU (100% of its Traffic)

YouTube video by Niche Pursuits Podcast

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Alan Bleiweiss @alanbleiweiss.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

SEO PRO TIP Be consistent with signals. Just saw this article by @mattgsouthern.bsky.social I've always said in my audit work "be consistent across signals". Here, a Google rep says it about canonicalization. Reinforces what @johnmu.com has always been advocating.

searchenginejournal.com

Google Uses About 40 Signals To Determine Canonical URLs

Google reveals it uses about 40 different signals to choose canonical URLs when dealing with duplicate web content.

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Search Engine Journal @sejournal.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

Google clarifies robots.txt best practices and explains when to use robots.txt directives and noindex tags for SEO via @mattgsouthern.bsky.social www.searchenginejournal.com/google-on-ro...

searchenginejournal.com

Google On Robots.txt: When To Use Noindex vs. Disallow

Google clarifies robots.txt best practices and explains when to use robots.txt directives and noindex tags for SEO.

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Gianluca Fiorelli @gfiorelli1.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

Thoughtful read. Very much recommended

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Search Engine Journal @sejournal.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

AI Overview trends stabilized in November; localized travel queries surged 700%. YouTube citations peaked earlier but steadied at 115–120% of baseline. AIO maturity now offers marketers predictability, aiding optimization of evergreen and seasonal content. #seo #google #aio

searchenginejournal.com

New Report Shows AI Overviews Trends Are Stabilizing

Google AI Overviews generally stabilized in October in November but granular travel queries surged by 700%

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Chris Spann @chris-spann.co.uk · 29/11/2024

My favourite category of corporate blogpost is "The government says we're not allowed to make the torment nexus anymore, but here's why allowing us to continue making the torment nexus completely without regulation and injecting it into your brain is actually good for you"

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 29/11/2024

for my next newsletter and episode i bought the bestselling laptop on Amazon to try and explain how shitty most people's exposure to tech is. Currently at 30 minutes of menus and updates. I have agreed to three privacy policies and created two new accounts. We live in hell

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Aleyda Solis @aleyda.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Are you an E-commerce going through an Organic Search traffic Erosion? Then this is a must read 👇 First: you’re not alone. This is happening across e-commerce worldwide but especially in the US and then the UK too. Why? …

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Jesse McDonald ⛤ 🌒🌕🌘⛤ @jesseseogeek.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

It’s been a bit since I’ve shared and we’ve got a big community of SEOs joining here so if you are new to the platform or looking to expand your network I’ve been adding to this starter pack since I joined. go.bsky.app/VaRuREQ

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