Key Insights from Lily Ray's Podcast Interview Regarding Google SEO
(Cover image: Google search logo)
Hi Everyone!
I want to share something interesting that I learned from Lily Ray, who owns her SEO Agency in New York City.
The podcast interview was from AH. You can watch Gael's interview with her on YouTube.
Some of the points she discussed blew my mind away. They were precisely what Partha has been teaching us all this time about SEO. Many topics were discussed in that interview, but the hottest are the March 2024 Google Core updates, lessons learned from the HCU in September 2023, and the E-E-A-T.
They discussed what many people have been saying all along on social media. Finding content in the SERPs is hard. User-generated content and many higher-domain news authority sites, along with Reddit and Quora, will be found on page 1 of Google, just as Partha mentioned in his shortest-ever blog post today.
I admire Lily Ray because she was blunt about a few points that many of us do not follow. Let's briefly get some key takeaways and insights about Google's core updates, creating content that follows the E-E-A-T with user intent, and my final thoughts.
The Impact of Google's Core Updates on Search Results
Google's core updates always seriously impact search results, often causing fluctuations in website rankings. This one for March 2024 impacted many sites. Since then, some have disappeared from the SERPs and been replaced with user-generated content.
One significant change after this update was the increased visibility of user-generated content (UGC) on the SERPs. UGC refers to any content website users create, such as reviews, comments, or forum discussions like with Reddit and Quora. With this update, Google seemed to give more weight to UGC when determining a website's relevance and authority.
Everything everyone learned that worked before for SEO now knows that it doesn't work anymore. The shift towards UGC could be attributed to Google's focus on providing people with a firsthand experience because that is what users want. Google's algorithms surface content vetted by real people rather than relying on signals from the websites themselves.
Content Creation E-E-A-T User Intent
As a result of this update, some websites, Lily Ray mentioned that she is seeing a typical pattern with SEO. She states, "There are a lot of sites that are doing the same thing SEO-wise." That means that Google has to find a way to differentiate between these sites and determine which ones genuinely provide users intent and value.
Lily Ray states, "Stop getting your marketing advice from the same place doing the same thing everybody else is doing.”
Another impact of this update was an increase in the importance of website authority and expertise. Google's Quality Rater Guidelines state that websites should have a high level of E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) to rank well. Websites need quality content from reputable sources to be considered a valuable resource by Google.
Lily says there is a better way to do SEO than producing the same old round-up product-based content everyone is talking about. Instead of focusing on SEO, everyone needs to do this when writing content.
"Write about what you know, what you’re excited about, and what you want to say. Before you do any keyword research, before you do any editoral planning, it should be like, what are the pain points that my customers have?"
What Have I Learned
She says we should write content relevant to our audience instead of writing content to rank well on Google. Instead of being product-based articles, we should write about what we know or things that happened. It needs to be more personalized and "write something new and original; it can be about people or your opinions about a topic."
Understanding your audience's intent is crucial to creating compelling content that resonates with them. It may also ensure that your content aligns with users' needs. By pinpointing the primary purpose behind a search query, you can tailor your content to fulfill that specific objective and address people's pain points.
Analyzing search terms and SERP features associated with your targeted keywords provides insight into user intent. Pay attention to successful content for these queries and strive to provide even more valuable information.
Final Thoughts: Takeaways from Lily Ray's Podcast Interview
Lily Ray’s podcast interview with Gael offered profound insights into navigating the complex SEO world, from adapting to Google’s core updates to prioritizing user intent in content creation to be more personalized and writing something new rather than following what everyone is doing,
There is so much to glean from her SEO experience. As we look towards the future, embracing evolving trends will be crucial to success in SEO strategies. Stay informed, prioritize your user experience, personalize your content, and remain agile in responding to industry developments.
Keep doing what we are doing, as Partha states. Hopefully, the core updates will soon be completed, and the SERPs will improve; meanwhile, we have to focus on diversifying our sources elsewhere for now.
-BrendaMZ
PS: If anyone has seen that video and has points I have missed, please discuss them in the comments.
Recent Comments
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Hi Brenda
It really depends on which SEO expert you listen you, and we can take our pick from many.
I watched a video by Julian Goldie who essentially said to forget about SEO and put most of your effort into making YouTube videos.
Here is his video entitled “SEO is Dead: Try THIS Instead.”
https://www.youtube.com/live/NZ8fMgNVLtk?si=FG-mWtF-qWvRTujd
There are so many dissimilar expert points of view that we’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out. 😎
Frank 🎸
Yes, I know. People said to use YouTube; some even said to use podcasts. Sell ebooks on Gumroad, blah blah. Work your butt off on Social media. Get traffic to your email list, do PPC, do this and that and the list goes on and on. Pretty soon, we will all live in a yellow submarine, eh?
Haha, Brenda 🤣
A great song! I saw the movie way back in middle school. I think I’ll see it again. Thanks for reminding me! 👍😎
Yeah an email list is the way to go since no one can arbitrarily take that traffic away from us.
Check out that video link if you haven’t seen it. It’s pretty interesting.
Rock On! 🤘🥁
Frank 🎸
I already saw Julian's video last night. SEO is DEAD; I saw that two times already. I already know what the man says. He was in Vietnam as he shot that video. Im not going to watch it again. He says that keywords "SEO is DEAD" are going up in Google trends, so maybe we should write an article that "SEO is DEAD- WE will live in a YELLOW SUBMARINE." Lets see if I rank for that keyword-LOL
About those emails, compagnies know this. There was this about Etsy, where sellers couldnt get the buyers email adresses anymore, so they need to stay on the platform at all times. Aargh
I just finished reading what Partha said:
"Keep doing what you are doing and EXTEND YOUR REACH"
The last part is the important part.
Laboring away in a dark room is not productive. We don't know what will happen after the core update is over.
But there is no use pivoting because we can't tell what's wrong. I agree with what everyone is saying there.
Right, many people have been saying not to depend on Google solely for traffic. The need to extend our reach means going where "user-generated content" exists. Ugh. SM, that is it. I'm not having much success with SM either, so I don't know where to extend my reach; maybe go back to the old-fashioned way of marketing: face-to-face, newspaper ads, using local SEO, etc. Get in Google My Business and all that. Giving out biz cards was the old way before online marketing became a thing.
Yes I am struggling. I see pundits saying how wonderful pinterest is, and frankly I have more impressions than they do; and no or little traffic. Same with Facebook and LinkedIn. YouTube seems to have hit for me.
The secret is simple. Try. I just uploaded my first on-screen video. I sucked at it. But all I could do is try and learn from it.
You have money to spend. I have nothing. I spend $1800 a month for my assisted living facility to take care of me, leaving me with very little spending money. I have no luck with Pinterest, either. YouTube's works. Many others have said so, too. InVideo costs money. AI voice costs money, everything is money, and they all want my money; I have to pay for the Internet and my iPhone, which is 17 a month for 1 GB of data, that's it. By the time everything is said and done, I have nothing left. That is why I am considering using local marketing only. Start with local SEO. I don't know if it will work, but everything else isn't.
I've been following the discussions online from people like her and others,and there's no way that anyone can deny right now, that mostly small niche sites have been hit enormously, most experts say 80-90% .
Until the update is totally over, nobody can say right now why those 10-20% have survived, for the moment. I think that Lily Ray, personally, has been doing quite some cherry-picking, and just picking out her clients that are growing, and doesn't talk about the rest, sorry to say.
And it's even worse when SEO gurus like her say that people will be fine at the end with SEO, because first: they don't know that, and second : there are SO MANY people right now, with niche sites doing everything that was told by Google that they should do, and still they got hit.
I have seen examples like:
- a game reviews site, where the CEO has a complete team behind his site, playing games and reviewing everything personally=> got hit.
- a fitnes guy , reviewing all his personal equipment and shoes himself, purchased everything and wore everything: got hit
- a travel site: this CEO even paid people to go travel everywhere personally and take their own pictures, videos and write reviews: got hit
- although I do have some reviews where I didn't have my own products, most of my DIY miniature kits are either assembled myself or by family members, with my own pictures , and own videos embedded from my own youtube channel, I even have an entire article where this lady who admires my website, compared 2 different brands of miniature kits and send me freely her review and pictures (not payed!), I never ever bought a backlink or guest post=> I got hit
Google wanted real reviews, they got a whole lot of real reviews, but still they say: thanks, but no thanks, but we WILL USE YOUR CONTENT FOR OUR AI ! It is just horrible what is going on with google.
I accept that times are changing and that the next generation will only use social media and AI to research something, but Google just took the much quicker way now, without giving small niches the time to maybe recover from this and diversify sooner.
Even bings market share has gone up now and Google is losing some , I've seen the statistics, this shows that people now are also getting tired of google anyway, because they don't find what they are looking for in the first place.
And Lily Ray doesn't know either and neither does WA, sorry. (it's not because she is "blunt", that she is right)
Honest travel sites will disappear as well, because Google apparently is developing its own travel widgets or something, ranking first in the Serps.
Interesting times, but of course those SEO "experts" will find other ways to earn online, that's for sure, because they can rely on experience and have the funds for research and how to make money online. It's all about the money.
My longer 2 cents lol
Lizzy
Yeah, I know. I was waiting for a blast comment from you. Lily did say she doesn't know. She can't discuss her clients. She is a small agency, not big like others we know. She probably does local SEO, with a more NYC-based focus on SEO. I knew you would go off on a rant because that's what you've been saying. You can be a Google hater; that is fine with me. I know people are tired of Google. They are going somewhere else because Google messed up the SERPs, and it's affecting every one of us.
Google is moving away from it all, as Gael stated. You and I can't find anything in the SERPs either. People are looking for it in user-generated content, and it sucks. Many SEOs now are focusing on local SEO, moving away from the big mainstream because the enormous domain authority, as we see, like Forbes and other news stuff, is in the SERPs. Nobody wants to read them anymore. Yes, I believe it is possible travel sites might disappear, but there are still some travel bloggers who are doing well, according to Lily.
Everything is about money these days, Lizzy; it has always been that way. Money talks! Only the rich get more prosperous, and the poor like me get poorer—that's the bottom line.
Haha, thats funny that you were waiting for a blast from me 😆. I'm getting predictable hahaha.
True, all of that, and especially your end words, its pretty sad.
These huge sites and owners can get all the work done by others: terrific writers, social media managers, so they have plenty of time and energy left to do the research and study on whats working and what isn't. It's the way of the world. Wish I had an unknown rich uncle somewhere 😅
( not that I'm complaining while the husband has a good job , but that can end anytime soon )
Hi Lizzy
I have a theory (based on nothing but drinking too many caffeinated sodas to stay up and play guitar into the wee hours, Lol).
Google is developing various types of AI.
Google Gemini is for public use (public AI) and collecting info to formulate very long-tail questions that internet searchers have. Google has partnered with Reddit for the same purpose and will probably acquire them in the future.
Google has another AI (private AI), which it is developing for its own use and feeding it information (training it) from Gemini and other sources.
What's to stop Google from using its private AI to write its own content, filled with it's own display ads, and then ranking it on page one of its website and user-generated content platforms like Reddit, except for 100 lawsuits?
How's that for a conspiracy theory, based on nothing but an over-active imagination? Lol 😉
Here's what's for sure ---> Interesting times ahead!
Rock On! 🤘
Frank 🎸
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That's really great, Brenda, I appreciate the share here.
Myra ♥️
Hi Myra, sure you are welcome! Have a great week!