Hey hey!
It’s a bit of a long one this week, so if I were you I’d grab a drink of your choice (I feel a strong whisky might be a good choice, but it’s 11am, and apparently they frown on that in modern society,. I say if it was good enough for my late Great Grandad, it’s good enough for you, so you have my permission to smell of booze in the queue at Waitrose.
Or, grab a coffee and let’s crack on.
THAT Google announcement
Well, that was a bit of a surprise, wasn’t it? Except it wasn’t, really
In case you missed it, Google released documentation that basically said “GEO is bollocks, have a word with yourselves and just do good SEO.” Kinda.
What they actually said was:
Which is almost what I said, but not quite the same.
They went on to bust some GEO/AEO/EIEIO myths:
- LLMS.txt files and other “special” markup: not needed
- “Chunking” content: not a new thing
- Rewriting content just for AI systems: nope, don’t do that
- Seeking inauthentic “mentions”: oh, please, that’s just buying backlinks by another name
- Overfocusing on structured data: probably not going to help you
And I don’t want to blow my own trumpet (ha! of course I fucking do!) but I’ve written about every single one of those things, with the exception of structured data, because you should be using it anyway for good SEO.
That’s not because I’m some genius oracle – it’s because some of the AI “hacks” being promoted not only DIDN’T help your GEO, they ACTIVELY HARMED your SEO – in some cases good authority built up over years.
I’m not going to link to every blog I’ve written, but this is a good start: AI SEO “hacks” that will fuck up your traditional SEO
What happened after Google said stuff?
Well, obviously, everyone took it in good faith, the GEO bros said “ok, fair cop” and the SEOs like me went “oh well, now we know, let’s get back to doing good work” and all was well once again in the SEO world……………..
HAHAHAHA!
OBVIOUSLY that didn’t happen – the SEO community of all persuasions went batshit crazy, LinkedIn was a binfire for the whole weekend (and still is) and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many AI-generated “hot-takes”.
I, of course, took the higher ground and magnanimously accepted that everyone makes mistakes sometimes…
HAHAHA!
You know me, right?
Sorrynotsorry, I’m only human.
Some of us have spent a very long time trying to educate people (and potential clients, let’s not forget) that some of the hustelbro tactics were bad for traditional SEO.
Some of us have been saying for 2 years that good SEO practices (good content, sound technical basics, basic SEO fundamentals) mean you can be cited in AI Search and don’t mess up what you have already.
So of course, it’s awesome to be validated.
BUT!
Let’s not forget there is nuance. There is always nuance.
There are things that we as SEOs and website owners have to bear in mind:
- It is not Google’s job to tell us everything – they do not owe the SEO community anything
- We know Google doesn’t always give us the whole picture
- This advice is clearly for AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Google doesn’t own ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc. BUT most AI Search pulls results from Google and Bing, so we can extrapolate the advice to there, and it definitely does seem to be the same from the tests I’ve seen done by people way more intelligent than me, but we don’t know.
What we do know is that some of the advice given for AI Search is actively against Google’s SEO Best Practice, so to my mind it makes no sense to blindly follow it if you end up fucking up your Google presence.
Because traffic from AI Search is miniscule, and whether the hustlebros like it or not, Google is still where it’s at, ESPECIALLY if you’re a B2B business owner.
Want to see me try not to say “bollocks” in person?
Well, you’re in luck – I’m speaking at not one but 2 events over then next month or so:
On 26th June, I’ve been invited to speak at Digital Northants‘ Merged Futures 8 – a full day event highlighting innovative technology and ideas across sectors in Northamptonshire and beyond. I’m on the Digital Marketing track, in room 5, at midday, with my talk “SEO Is Dead, Long Live SEO”. I spent some time at the University of Northampton yesterday and it’s a spectacular venue. Tickets are free and you can get one here.
And on 28th June I’ll be at Andrew Cock-Starkey’s Optimisey event, lazily doing the same talk. That’s in Cambridge and it’s free, so if you’re nearby, grab a ticket.
Can’t make an event?
I’ve got you – I’m joining forces with the fabulous Holly Christie and the scarily lovely Kane Mitchell for a Blogging Masterclass on June 2nd.
You’ll discover exactly how to plan, write, and publish blogs that get found, get read, and get results. We’re giving you the proven strategies, tech shortcuts and insider secrets you need to stop guessing and start growing.
What You’ll Learn & Take Away
- How to pick the right topics that your ideal clients are already searching for
- How to structure and write blogs that people and search engines love
- How to repurpose your blogs into Social Media, newsletters, and sales tools
- How to use AI to save hours (without losing your voice)
- How to read your analytics and know what works (and what doesn’t)
- What’s important in SEO right now, and what you can ignore
IRL
If you’d like to say “Hi” IRL but don’t want to hear me banging on about how I was right all a-fucking-long about GEO, I’ll be at the following events, probably looking like I’m hating every minute (even my happy face has resting bitch face) but secretly just hoping someone will recognise me and say hello:
I’m really looking forward to being at Hive MCR 2026 on Friday 22nd May, it sounds like it’s going to be a lot more than your usual SEO conference, so if you’re there, give me a wave.
And I said it was too far to go, the building was too hot, and I’d not be going again, but someone gave me a free ticket, someone else simplified my travel, and you’ll just have to put up with me being menopausal and sweaty – I’ll be at Atomicon on June 15th and 16th in Newcastle!
Fuck me, you’re still reading?
I’ve been mentoring some SEO Copywriters as a part of my Ascend Programme, and we had a conversation the other day about being your authentic self on Linkedin. Yeah, it sounds wanky, but it’s true that people buy from people, but you don’t have to be loud and bolshy, just consistently you.
Because being something you’re NOT attracts the wrong people. You can’t fake being something you’re not just for the sake of getting a client. Because you have to keep it up for the entire relationship.
Can you imagine me having to bite my tongue, do as I’m told, and remember not to swear occasionally for a 12 month contract? It just wouldn’t be me, and both me and the client would hate it
I’m quite open about who I am, and I think that’s why I always manage to work with clients I love (well, apart from that one, but the less said about that the better…) – because they know who they’re getting.
I’ve been told on various occasions that I’m too loud-mouthed, too narcissistic, too arrogant, too smart arse – I could go on.
I always say “thank you” – because if people think I’m “too”, they’re not going to want to work with me. And that’s fine. Because I don’t want to work with them either.
My clients are my people, and they make my life joyous and unfiltered.
If you don’t want to work with me, there are plenty of people out there who AREN’T like me – maybe they’ll be your people – go find them.
(I’m still not quite sure why you feel the need to send me a fucking DM to tell me you WON’T work with me ‘because’ though – if you had better SEO, maybe you wouldn’t have time, just sayin’)
Anyway, it’s been a long one, if you got this far, thank you.
Until next time
Always non-wanky
Nx
P.S. Come to our webinar.
