(This is the 16/09/2025 issue of my newsletter – subscribe here)
Hey hey!
It’s been a couple of weeks since the last newsletter, and crikey, has the SEO community been losing its collective shit or what?
Google’s in the middle of a spam update that has everyone checking their rankings obsessively, only half the ranking tools have mysteriously stopped working properly. Meanwhile, (some) SEOs are wailing about Google “ruining their careers” because they’ve made some changes that don’t suit their particular business model. And to top it all off, we’ve got the usual suspects on LinkedIn claiming this is the end of SEO as we know it.
Honestly, the drama is more entertaining than Corrie sometimes. (I imagine – I haven’t watched Corrie since Blanche died.)
What you’ll find inside
1 | Thoughts: Why SEOs moaning about Google “ruining their careers” is getting really fucking old
2 | Blog post: What Google considers spam and why your business should care
3 | SEO Tip: Your free SEO tip for spotting content that looks spammy to Google
4 | Blog post: Why SERP volatility is normal and when you should worry
Let’s dig in, shall we?
Thoughts: Google doesn’t owe you a living
The entitlement from some SEOs right now is genuinely gobsmacking. Google changes something, a few ranking tools break, and suddenly we’re seeing dramatic social media posts about how “Google doesn’t care about the SEO industry anymore.”
Well, no shit. Why the fuck should they?
Our entire job is literal manipulation of their systems. We study their algorithm to figure out how to make content rank higher than it naturally would. We build links specifically to inflate authority signals. We create content to satisfy search engines, often before even thinking about users.
This isn’t collaboration – it’s sophisticated gaming of their system. Google’s mission is organising the world’s information, not helping SEOs make money. Our interests are fundamentally opposed.
Casinos don’t send helpful newsletters to card counters. Banking systems don’t publish fraud detection methods to help money launderers. Yet SEOs expect Google to explain every algorithm change and provide advance warning of updates that might affect our businesses.
The SEOs who survive are the ones who accept reality: Google owes us absolutely nothing. Build strategies that work regardless of their goodwill, because you’re never getting it.
Blog post: What Google considers spam and why your business should care
Speaking of Google not owing us anything, they’ve been pretty clear about what they consider spam – and if you’ve been following dodgy “AI SEO hacks” from LinkedIn gooroos, you might want to pay attention.
The latest spam update isn’t targeting legitimate businesses following best practice guidelines. It’s more likely going after content manipulation, fake reviews, keyword stuffing, and those brilliant “AI content at scale” strategies that some people thought were clever shortcuts.
Read the full breakdown of what Google considers spam and make sure you’re not accidentally wandering into dangerous territory.
Your free SEO tip
Quick checks for thin content that could possibly trigger spam penalties:
- Look for pages with less than 300 words that don’t provide real value to visitors
- Check if you’ve got multiple pages targeting the same keyword with barely any difference between them
- Watch for content that reads awkwardly or repeats the same phrases unnaturally – if it sounds like a robot wrote it, Google probably thinks it’s spam
- Spot pages that are just lists of keywords with minimal explanation
- Find location pages that copy the same template with just the town name changed
- Identify blog posts that rehash the same points you’ve already covered elsewhere on your site
- Ask yourself: would you want to read this content yourself? If not, neither will Google
It takes 30 minutes to quickly audit your site and could save you from penalty headaches down the line.
Blog post – SERP volatility is normal
While everyone’s panicking about ranking fluctuations, I thought it might be helpful to explain what SERP volatility means and when you should worry about it.
Most of the time, rankings bouncing around is completely normal. Your website moving from position 4 to position 6 and back again isn’t a crisis – it’s just how search engines work.
But, sudden dramatic drops that stick around, consistent downward trends over weeks, or your site vanishing from results entirely – those are reasons to worry. Everything else is just business as usual.
Get the full explanation of SERP volatility and stop checking your rankings seventeen times a day.
What am I working on?
This week I’m helping a recruitment agency clean up some spammy landing pages (if you’re worried your landing pages might be spam, they probably are), and dealing with several panicked business owners who think the ranking tool issues mean their SEO has suddenly stopped working (it hasn’t).
I’ve just finished an SEO copywriting project for my auction house client and it’s now live – they were chuffed enough to say I “went above and beyond at every stage” and that we “shipped on time because of her effort.” Always nice when a project goes exactly to plan!
I’m also working on a free downloadable on-page SEO health check that I’ll be announcing on LinkedIn first, so make sure you’re following me and don’t forget to ring my bell.
Plus my usual SEO 1:1 sessions with people who want to understand what’s happening without the drama.
Need help with any of the above? You know where to find me.
That’s it for now,
Always non-wanky
Nikki
P.S. Give that content audit tip a try and let me know how you get on – you might be surprised how many almost-identical pages you’ve accidentally created. Better to consolidate them now than wait for Google to notice.
