I can't find any ranking elements. All I look at is user satisfaction.
Google search boss Danny Sullivan's series of tweets about doing something for Google vs. users set the SEO scene on fire. Key takeaway: Focus on the user, not Google.
At every point of polarization, there are two opposing camps. SEO is no exception.
Camp One believes that Google can measure, understand, and reward user satisfaction. All that matters is helping users achieve their goals. Google is smart.
Camp Two believes that content optimization, technology SEO, and link building are the keys to SEO success. Machines follow algorithms, and algorithms follow equations. Google is lazy and stupid.
But there is also a third opinion. Both are true.
Improve your skills with weekly expert insights from Growth Memo. Subscribe for free!
The simplest model of SEO: Technical optimization, content optimization, and backlinks will give you top 10 results, but strong user signals will get you into the top 3. As long as it satisfies the user's intent.
While this simplistic model is correct in my experience, it conflicts with reality in five ways:
1. Google's system isn't perfect. We don't always reward the best content. Some spam tactics still work. Some product content continues to rank. Longtail answers are terrible.
Ranking Reddit results at the top is a smart idea, but many of the answers are questionable. There are a lot of SEO if and when – Algorithm definition.
2. User journeys are non-linear. I also talk a lot about funnels, but a better model consists of intent, many touchpoints, and purchase.
Customers expose themselves to purchase cues through friends, social networks, advertisements, or chance encounters. I saw a nice shirt on a YouTube video and wanted to buy it right away..
It then goes through a cycle of exploration and evaluation. Explore shirt articles, watch YouTube videos, and read reviews on Google.
Eventually, they find an offer they like and pull the trigger. Visit site.com to purchase the shirt. The user journey is complete.
Nonlinearity makes it difficult to measure the impact of content. A very important piece may get a lot of traffic but no conversions. Attributing revenue to that work is extremely difficult.
3. Google lied about using user signals for rankings. Are you lying about other things too?
Four. In fact, I always watch Adding “best practices” elements to your pages can have a positive effect.
One of the questions asked on X (Twitter) was the author's bio, publication date, and table of contents. They have a positive impact, whether Google's systems actively seek them out and reward them or whether users prefer them.
Five. My biggest conflict and criticism is Subjectivity and inaccuracy of statements Things like “useful content,” “good for users,” and “user experience.”
What the hell does that mean? If you take it absurdly, you could argue that almost everything is good or bad for users. That's too subjective and too simplistic.
A better approach to navigating the SEO mess is to combine SEO, conversion rate optimization (CRO), and good old market research.
CRO and SEO are closely linked and should never be separated.
Here's how the pros optimize your conversion rate.
Over the past 20 years, the SEO and CRO roles have existed and grown separately. At the same time, we preach breaking down silos within organizations. In engineering, we break monolithic applications into microservices. Most growth and product organizations operate in squads, where members from different disciplines come together to form groups pursuing the same goals. So why are SEO and CRO still different technologies?
Both start with user intent and end with removing friction.
Successful conversion rate optimization requires three basic principles:
- Understand user intent, motivation, and friction
- run the experiment
- Focus on business impact
Understand what users are trying to accomplish (intent to buy, rate, seek inspiration, problem solve, etc.), what motivates them (price, features, value, status), and where they run into friction. is the key to developing unique ideas rather than blindly. Copy and paste from the blog post.
A CRO handbook combined with market research can answer “what’s best for users” much better than what many would consider “pure SEO.”
Market research can reveal underserved topics apart from search volume.
Hotjar and Mouseflow are valuable tools, but they are often the only tools that can hold more.
Now that asynchronous video tools and AI have made learning from users easier, faster, and more efficient, talking to users in person or asynchronously needs to be back on the menu. It feels so basic to write this, but we just don't do it because we're stuck in old ways of thinking.
The old ways are powerful medicine because they don't require us to become uncomfortable or learn anything new. But old ways also prevent us from adapting. Risky business.
In marketing, search volume is the best market indicator. But that's just as difficult as harnessing productivity for economic growth.
Due to inaccuracies and flaws in search volume:
To summarize, search volume looks like this:
- Not available for many keywords, especially transactional keywords
- often inaccurate
- Annual average. Seasonality is not reflected at all.
- backwards
However, just choosing a topic to create content for is not enough. It also requires more user input about the nature of the content.
Aggregators understand the principles better than integrators because their approach is product-driven and their SEO teams typically sit under the product organization.
It is less common for integrators to obtain qualitative user feedback on content or conduct expert interviews before writing. It shows that some of the best integrator brands have in-house specialists.
Technology SEO is primarily a job done for Google, but it remains important no matter which camp you fall into.
Google has reached the limits of its resources and has become allergic to unhealthy site and product content. Focusing on users is not enough.
This site was experiencing technical issues and many pages were not indexed. Organic traffic immediately dropped.
“Perhaps we need to speak more clearly that “chasing the algorithm” will leave us behind, since our systems are chasing what people like.If you follow what people like, you'll get ahead of the algorithm.”
One of my unpopular opinions is that we should be tracking algorithms. In fact, you want to hit the mark.
However, you will need to adjust regularly to Google's algorithm changes, so you will always be slightly trailing.
Why don't you want to be first? This is because we don't know how far ahead the algorithm is or when it will catch up.
Google rewards what works. If it pays to stay ahead of algorithms, people will adapt their playbooks.
It seems like the time is ripe, or even ripe, for more CROs in the SEO space. But don't forget to keep the machine happy.
“You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free your mind.”
One more thing: I will be speaking at the Digital Olympus Summit in Eindhoven on May 31st. Reply to get free tickets. I have two. First come, first served.
https://twitter.com/searchliaison/status/1770867218059800685
https://x.com/searchliaison/status/1725275245571940728?s=46&t=4yrtKrhbqQkgyl9GmwSB6Q
Featured image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal