E-E-A-T<\/a>. <\/p>\nThey just want the number – which is 34 (or 10 if you’re still stuck with a 1999 model of SEO.)<\/p>\n
There’s a great quote from Bill Gates from 2009 (when 20-year-old Taylor Swift was working on her “Speak Now” album), in which he said, “The future of search is verbs.” <\/p>\n
What he meant by this was that people are searching to accomplish a task. It instantly hit me that I needed to focus on websites that helped users do something – not ones that tricked a platform to try and rank for some information that I didn’t create, am not an expert in and isn’t unique. <\/p>\n
Since that day, I’ve been trying to pivot SEO back to “real marketing” – which always starts with user intent. As search becomes more AI, this strategy becomes even more important. <\/p>\n
AI can answer those simple queries (without having to have some random doctor in some random country review it), but it can’t substitute for real human experience and insights. It’s not going to discuss the latest fan theories of a TV show, and you probably aren’t going to trust it to buy a house for you. <\/p>\n
6. On reputation abuse<\/h2>\n
If somebody is paying you to put it on your website, that’s not content. It’s an ad. <\/p>\n
That ad might be super useful to your website’s users, but in a search engine’s opinion, it may not<\/strong> be useful to their users. <\/p>\nThat doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You can probably make some money by promoting that content in your newsletter or in a widget on your website or on your social media accounts. <\/p>\n
If it’s useful to your users, great – but don’t expect to rank for it unless the search engines think it’s useful for their users.<\/p>\n
So, what do we do about all of this?<\/h2>\n
Back in the days of our Wildest Dreams<\/em>, these You Belong With Me<\/em> SEO tactics might have flown. But ever since the infamous Florida!!!<\/em> update, they’re just creating Bad Blood<\/em> with the search engines. Our current models feel like Fifteen<\/em>-year-old Cardigan(s)<\/em> – comfy, maybe, but definitely not Timeless<\/em>. We need to Shake It Off<\/em> and stop clinging to outdated tricks. <\/p>\nChange<\/em> is needed. It’s time to Speak Now<\/em> in a Fearless<\/em> pursuit of user intent. Our Song<\/em> deserves better than chasing trends. Let’s Begin Again<\/em> by focusing on what search engines think their users actually want, not just trying to fill a Blank Space<\/em> with content that misses the mark or Hits Different <\/em>than searcher intent. This is a new era, and we need a Long Live<\/em> SEO strategy that prioritizes user experience and builds trust. This is Nothing New<\/em>. Long Story Short<\/em>, it’s time we do real marketing. Are you...Ready for It?<\/em><\/p>\nI sincerely apologize for the last two paragraphs, but I couldn’t resist. <\/p>\n
Yes, it’s an AI-augmented, giant Taylor Swift joke. But it also shows why non-AI or keyword-stuffed content like this<\/strong> paragraph is preferable to users. <\/p>\nOur next steps are clear. We need to focus on user intent and<\/strong> search engine intent: what they think their users want. It’s also a good time to start diversifying our businesses to be less reliant on one source of traffic. <\/p>\nSearch engines – and how they present results – may change, but one thing will always be the same: users will still need to do things. <\/p>\n
As long as users have needs, marketers will always be needed to help them make those decisions or achieve those tasks. <\/p>\n
Is it SEO? Is it marketing? Call It What You Want<\/em>. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
\nContributing authors are invited to create content for Search Engine Land and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the search community. Our contributors work under the oversight of the editorial staff<\/a> and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. The opinions they express are their own.<\/em><\/p>\n
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