Search News You Can Use - SEO Podcast with Marie Haynes Marie Haynes

Some quick thoughts on Google's AI overviews (formerly SGE). I don't think they're going away. I do believe they will get more accurate. We should be paying attention to which websites Google is showing in the link cards in these.

More on changes to my newsletter: mariehaynes.com/newsletter

Finally another podcast episode! I was babbling on to my husband about how similar Gemini 1.5's new architecture was to our brain structures and he said, "You need to do a podcast episode on this!" So, here it is. This is a rambly one.

We'll talk about the machine learning models behind search and how Gemini 1.5's new MoE architecture works just like our brains do.

Google + Harvard research on 3D modeling of the brain:
https://blog.google/technology/research/google-ai-research-new-images-human-brain/

Gemini 1.5 info:
https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-gemini-next-generation-model-february-2024/#gemini-15

Sign up to get Marie's Notes with live access to my weekly Google doc as I record the things I want to refer back to in regards to Search and AI:
https://community.mariehaynes.com/spaces/12261861/feed

Brainstorm with Marie: https://www.mariehaynes.com/work-with-marie/

Google is changing their SEO starter guide. They're removing a bunch of content.

This episode has visuals. Watch on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/we3n9NTeSAU

In this episode we talk about Google's Search off the Record Podcast and I'll share my thoughts on what is most important when it comes to ranking on Google today. We'll go through the latest Google Search off the Record podcast episode that talks about the changes they are making to the guide.

Then, near the end we'll take my notes on this story and I'll show you how I use Gemini in Google's AI studio to summarize stories like this for newsletter.

Newsletter:
https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter/

Marie's Thoughts (paid newsletter):
https://community.mariehaynes.com/spaces/12261861/feed

SOTR podcast:
https://content.libsyn.com/p/6/6/0/66095646568452e4/_SOTR068__Search_Off_the_Record_-_68th_episode_-_Video_en_us.pdf?c_id=166779698&cs_id=166779698&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&Expires=1706206368&Signature=dczPIGWZ9UbDLwAwbeu9pmhl-OL~PspXTQqtTOU1qXwNZqX8pC9OmWxSPqm~FYb4-ZowqcS57MVVK4ZKuuiPr4YHJeeEMT8JaLHcoeB2PLjEC95iU0Pdv-abPZlRNWL63dXq2eFpAHhv6FqnYjPtReqZCHeTum7Dilbz7rOAMpK2b8fP4d27~RplnP0fSaE3ZZmPgvRT~kDHk1dn8zG8y6MCpS-p0K0sXdRpx3YizlQTADebGEcZWG06aIvZtuu9p2epH~5CCTLz~TjENxYA3suE~GwJMy2LCn328mNV6t5WLz6iBv8ucb2aByasVSwZZj1EUITWQ2~wkS-XRS1KuQ__&Key-Pair-Id=K1YS7LZGUP96OI

This is an impromptu, unscripted episode with Dr. Marie Haynes, recorded because of a recent news headline from Search Engine Roundtable that said, "Google: Author Bylines Don't Help You Rank Better; Google Doesn't Check Credentials. Barry's article was prompted based on comments from Google's Search Liaison Danny Sullivan regarding yet another Verge article that does not look favourably on SEO.

Are author bios a ranking factor?
If you've followed my theories and teachings on Google's ranking systems, you know that I am indeed a proponent of using author bios in many situations. In the episode I share anecdotes of sites that did indeed see improvements after getting qualified authors and then doing more to share about their qualifications.

Are author bios a ranking factor? No.

Will having an author bio increase the chances that searchers will trust your site and find it useful. Sometimes, yes.

We have recently learned from the DOJ antitrust trial against Google that user engagement signals are incredibly important when it comes to shaping the algorithm.

In this episode, we go back to statements from John Mueller's help hangouts several years back to look at why the industry developed rules about author bios that most sites follow. They make so much more sense now that we understand how user engagement signals (called IS - likely information satisfaction) signals in the DOJ trial are used to train RankBrain.

RankBrain is Google's AI that is used to re-rank the top 20-30 results and SERP features you see when you do a search.

Hopefully this episode convinces you that both the following can be true:

1) Author bios aren't a ranking factor

2) Author bios can be a part of the entire package that helps improve user engagement and satisfaction signals, which in turn is what drives rankings.

SER article:
https://www.seroundtable.com/google-author-bylines-ranking-36684.html

Verge article:
https://www.theverge.com/c/23998379/google-search-seo-algorithm-webpage-optimization

Danny Sullivan's comments:
https://x.com/searchliaison/status/1744371735405772927?s=20

In this episode, we dive deep into Google's revolutionary new language model, Gemini, destined to be the most impactful technological shift of our time. Host Dr. Marie Haynes unravels its capabilities, which extend beyond text to encompass images, video, and beyond.

Discover how Gemini's potential to transform information access, problem-solving, and decision-making could reshape our lives. While we wait for its full potential to unfold in 2024, learn how Bard, soon integrated into Google Assistant, offers a taste of the future.

This episode delves into the criticisms of AI, encouraging listeners to actively engage with Bard and explore its possibilities. We also explore the exciting world of GPTs (apps built on chat GPT), which may possibly be seen in a similar form in Google AI Studio.

Oh boy, finally another podcast episode! This is an unscripted chatting episode where I share the story of what happened to my agency. It formed because of an understanding of AI - except I didn't know that at the time. Imagine my surprise when I realized that wait a second - Panda and Penguin - the Google algorithm shifts that made me obsess over SEO and leave my career as a veterinarian - were machine learning systems.

It was understanding AI that created my SEO agency. But, understanding and optimizing for Google search was also our downfall. I expect many of you are going down the same road I did.

It is time for a huge mindset shift when it comes to SEO. We found out in the Department of Justice's Trial against Google that user engagement plays a much bigger role in determining rankings than we thought.

I hope you enjoy this episode!

Links mentioned:
============
My Helpful Content Workbook
https://mariehaynes.com/product/creating-helpful-content-workbook/

The Search Bar: https://community.mariehaynes.com/

DOJ trial exhibits showing how much user engagement is used in the algo: https://www.justice.gov/atr/us-and-plaintiff-states-v-google-llc-2020-trial-exhibits

Marie's Thoughts (paid newsletter episode) where I explain this more:
https://community.mariehaynes.com/posts/ep-12-how-user-engagement-signals-are-used-in-ranking-new-info-from-the-doj-trial-against-google