@lilyray.nyc
SEO by day, DJ by night
@lilyray.nycI just canāt anymore
@lilyray.nycAt the #SEOIRL conference, @joyhawkins.bsky.social just showed an example of a local AI pack in the personal attorney category - one lawyerās self-promoting listicle was used as a citation for every one of the firms listed, and it determined the ranking order too.
Embarrassing for Google tbh.
@rednishat.bsky.socialReposted by @lilyray.nycWordPress SaaS marketers, take notes! The next massive Google update is around the corner.
@lilyray.nyc just dropped a piece that every WordPress site owner, agency, marketers and solopreneur needs to read right now.
@glenngabe.bsky.socialReposted by @lilyray.nycIf there is one post you read today, make it this one from Lily. Excellent article covering the latest doc updates Google rolled out recently, how it signals a potential HUGE update coming tackling the gaming of AI Search, etc. So, will the update be separate, or be part of a broad core update?
@mariehaynes.bsky.socialReposted by @lilyray.nycSuch a good piece by Lily Ray. The signs are clear. It's very likely a big Google update is coming.
@lilyray.nycFantastic article
@lilyray.nycShout outs to @glenngabe.bsky.social, @mariehaynes.bsky.social, and Cyrus Shepherd , who have been sharing and predicting similar things.
@lilyray.nycI put together a new Substack explaining why Iām predicting that a massive Google update is imminent - perhaps similar to what weāve seen with Panda, Penguin, the Helpful Content Update or March 2024 core update.
@lilyray.nycI believe they will be targeting low-quality, scaled AI content, tactics meant to manipulate AI search responses, paid/inauthentic mentions, and other deceptive approaches.
@lilyray.nycThis is especially true with Googleās recent communications and edits to their documentation this past week.
@lilyray.nycJust published my latest piece in Substack!
If youāve been paying attention, youāve probably also connected the dots:
All signs point to a major Google update on the horizon.
@lilyray.nycVery bizarre choice by Google this time and Iām not sure most Google users are going to like itā¦ we have all been conditioned to search Google for brands as a way of finding their website for 25+ yearsā¦
@lilyray.nyc- your āGenerative AIā filter in GSC might show a big spike in impressions (as @glenngabe.bsky.social recently tweeted and Iām seeing across many client accounts this week)
@lilyray.nyc- multiple sites can appear in AIO citations for these branded queries - not just the brand itself - so other brands may start earning #1 rankings in GSC for branded terms that arenāt theirs (with abysmal CTR/traffic)
@lilyray.nycGoogle is now showing a lot more AI Overviews for branded queries (h/t Chris Long and DemandSphere) which means a few things (if it sticks):
@lilyray.nycAlso, in 70% of cases, the self-promoting listicle is now helping competitors get recommended while the brand recommending itself is not part of the recommendation
@lilyray.nycPulling some updated numbers on the performance of self-promoting listicles in AI Overviews (~100 queries): In September (compared to June), Google's AI Overviews cite 38% fewer self-promotional 'best of' listicles, and they leave out the brands behind them 83% of the time, up from 69% in June.
@lilyray.nycThis is interesting to see - a few sites hit hard by Google's updates 3 years ago (including the HCU!) are starting to gain back visibility in recent weeks & months. Yellow one is a former client from 2024-2025 š
@lilyray.nycThe sites getting hit by Google right now for scaling low quality AI content are actually producing many of the exact same page types and templates that companies scaled with freelance writers before 2023 š History repeats itself
@lilyray.nycSince LLMs construct multiple fan-out queries and use search engines to conduct these searches simultaneously, doesnāt that kind of imply that SEO is actually *more* important than it was before? š¤ (Better coverage = better visibility)
