Ian Ferguson

suganthan.comFanoutFox: A Free ChatGPT SEO Tool That Shows How It Picks Sources — SuganthanFanoutFox is a free generative engine optimization (GEO) tool and ChatGPT rank tracker. It reads your own ChatGPT session and shows the fan-out queries, the sources it fetched, who got cited, who got ...

Asked ChatGPT for running shoes. It read 111 pages, used 17, and only two of those were shops. FanoutFox (free) shows you every search and page behind the answer. AI still sends under 1% of web traffic, so keep your SEO going. suganthan.com/blog/fanoutf... #SEO #ecommerce

I told a client my AI notetaker understands Geordie better than Google. It wrote that down as "I seem to understand Jody more than Google" 🙈 Also this month: Farrow & Ball became "firearm ball" and haberdashery became "Avatar Shery". Best one yours has done? #freelance #AI

If you take your Christmas page down in January, you're starting from scratch next November. Two independent hamper shops rank top five for "christmas hampers" next to M&S. Same URL every year, still live in May. Keep the URL, swap the content. ferguseo.com/inspiration/ #SEO #ecommerce

seotldr.substack.comBrightonSEO: Notes, Nuggets & Nerdiness From The StageSEO TL;DR #87 03/11/2025

3 Nov 2025

🔎 SEO TL;DR - BrightonSEO: Notes, Nuggets & Nerdiness from the Stage Between half-term family fun, catching up with familiar faces, and trying to test all the learning from the event, this edition is fashionably late 😅 👉 seotldr.substack.com/p/brightonse... #bSEO #ecommerce

14 May 2025

🎥 I’m going live this evening with @antonshulke.bsky.social for #SEOcharity, supporting Ukrainian animal shelters, and I’d love it if you came along 😻🐶 SEO for SEO’s Sake Doesn’t Work (Here’s What Does) 🕕 6pm UK / 10am PT Register here: www.seocharity.com/upcoming-liv...

13 May 2025

Thrilled to be part of this 😽 looking forward to geeking out with you both tomorrow

Anton Shulke@antonshulke.bsky.social

#SEO for SEO’s Sake Doesn’t Work - Here’s What Does. May 14, 2025 10 am PT/ 1 pm ET/ 6 pm UK/ 7 pm Berlin #seocharity with @ferguseo.com @fajela.bsky.social Register now, attend tomorrow www.seocharity.com/upcoming-liv...

29 Apr 2025

🔎 SEO TL;DR 68 - I’m back after a week off for the easter break, which involved battling the various illnesses my 4-year-old likes to bring back from nursery. I didn’t miss much news-wise thankfully; more of what we kinda already knew... seotldr.substack.com/p/ai-overvie...

📱 New research shows Gen Z uses short-form video like a search engine. If you’re not thinking about TikTok, Reels or short-form SEO content, you’re missing a big audience.

ferguseo.comBrighton SEO Masterclass: Optimising Ecommerce SEO for Shopify Success - Ferguseo

29 Apr 2025

🛍️ Plus, I’ve published the full slides + summary from my @brightonseo.com masterclass on Ecommerce SEO for Shopify - check out the slides here: ferguseo.com/brighton-seo... And that's all for this week ❤️ and 🔁 if you enjoy these updates.

🌍 Google is killing off ccTLD redirects soon you’ll end up at Google[dot]com no matter where you're from. No changes to best practices for international SEO, so don't blindly copy Google!

📑 Structured data won’t boost your rankings (confirmed again by @johnmu.com), but it does unlock rich results that can drive more clicks; e.g.

📉 AI Overviews are hammering organic CTR - new studies from @ahrefs.bsky.social, @amsive.com & @similarwebinsights.bsky.social show drops of between 15–35% when AI summaries appear.

Ian Ferguson reposted

Anton Shulke

@antonshulke.bsky.social

2 Apr 2025

single livestream by #seocharity SEO for SEO’s Sake Doesn’t Work - Here’s What Does. May 14, 2025 10 am PT/ 1 pm ET/ 6 pm UK with @ferguseo.com @fajela.bsky.social I am also looking for a sponsor for this episode. All money goes to cat and dog shelters www.seocharity.com/upcoming-liv...

searchenginejournal.comSEO For Paws Free Live Stream Conference Returns For 2025Learn about SEO for Paws, a live-streamed conference and fundraiser featuring top SEO professionals. Join us on March 27, 2025 and support a charity close to our hearts.

12 Mar 2025

📆 Something to put in the diary! There were some great SEO talks last year and this year looks to be even better www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-for-paws... @antonshulke.bsky.social 🐶 😺

24 Feb 2025

Trying to beat the 'full glass of red challenge' because my prompts are better than everyone elses... nope😅 #AI #GPT

21 Feb 2025

Imagine winning all of those awards and Google/Wikipedia decides to sum you up like this 😂 I feel your pain Stephen #tallmantroubles

14 Feb 2025

I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but in my 15 years of SEO, I've never attended #brightonSEO! Partly because being from the North East, a train ticket and overnight stay costs more than a holiday. I'd love to meet up with some fellow marketers this year though, so let me know if you're going 😊

seotldr.substack.comHow SEO Can Harm Your Site, Site Reputation Abuse Expansion, AI Agents & MoreSEO TL;DR #56 27/01/2025

1/ In this week's SEO TL;DR: Google's cracking down in Europe, AI agents are emerging & some SEO advice hurts more than it helps: seotldr.substack.com/p/how-seo-ca... 🧵

6/ AI agents can now navigate the web! This isn't death for SEO but stresses the importance of optimising for bots with clear navigation and structure (while not forgetting us meat bags!) seotldr.substack.com/i/155822802/...

seotldr.substack.comHow SEO Can Harm Your Site, Site Reputation Abuse Expansion, AI Agents & MoreSEO TL;DR #56 27/01/2025

7/ Plus great content from @mordyoberstein.bsky.social on the importance of brand, Chima Mmeje's 2025 SEO strategies on @mozseo.bsky.social and tips for Notebook LM from Jeff Su. Subscribe for weekly roundups and don't forget to share! seotldr.substack.com/p/how-seo-ca...

seotldr.substack.comHow SEO Can Harm Your Site, Site Reputation Abuse Expansion, AI Agents & MoreSEO TL;DR #56 27/01/2025

1/ In this week's SEO TL;DR: Google's cracking down in Europe, AI agents are emerging & some SEO advice hurts more than it helps: seotldr.substack.com/p/how-seo-ca... 🧵

4/ "Doing SEO" can harm you - here are 6 things SEO tools can tell you to do, which could end up hurting your site (have I hit the mark here @johnmu.com?) seotldr.substack.com/i/155822802/...

5/ Google dropped breadcrumbs on mobile. Don't obsess over your URLs; it won't help CTR on mobile.

seotldr.substack.comHow SEO Can Harm Your Site, Site Reputation Abuse Expansion, AI Agents & MoreSEO TL;DR #56 27/01/2025

1/ In this week's SEO TL;DR: Google's cracking down in Europe, AI agents are emerging & some SEO advice hurts more than it helps: seotldr.substack.com/p/how-seo-ca... 🧵

2/ Site reputation abuse penalties hit European coupon sites hard. Brands, make your own discount pages!

3/ Google updated Quality Raters guidelines, focusing on spam. Review them & prioritise people-first content. seotldr.substack.com/i/155822802/...

21 Jan 2025

Spell check people, spell check 😂

gram.lyThe TechnicianDiscover the Technician writing persona - try Grammarly, responsible AI built to make work easier.

9 Jan 2025

Who knew that Grammarly had a year in review; seems quite accurate! Kudos to Grammarly for keeping my writing slightly more coherent throughout the year 🙇‍♂️ gram.ly/technician

9 Jan 2025

2 new search features in the wild 1️⃣ ‘What people are saying' shows what’s trending 2️⃣ ‘Things to know’ shows for generic informational intent keywords They’re a great hint for what Google is looking for Subscribe to SEO TL;DR for more weekly insights 🧠 seotldr.substack.com/i/154219263/...

8 Jan 2025

I bet the same is true for Bluesky posts #socialmedia

seotldr.substack.comSEO TL;DR - Weekly SEO Insights & Updates | Ian Ferguson | SubstackNever miss an important SEO update again 😌 A fluff-free roundup of key SEO updates with actionable tips to grow your organic traffic – brought to you by me, Ian! Click to read SEO TL;DR - Weekly SEO I...

1/ Here's what you need to know about SEO if you've been vegetating and living off fudge for the last 2 weeks like me 🫠 After sifting through hours of content, I've finally caught up to bring you the first edition of 2025 (as TL;DR as possible) seotldr.substack.com 🧵

7/ ⚰️ Is SEO dead in 2025? How AI models use retrieval augmented generation (or RAG) and what that means for SEO.

seotldr.substack.com2025 SEO Kickstarter: Core Updates, New Search Features, AI & SEO & Much MoreSEO TL;DR #53 06/01/2025

8/ Ecommerce predictions for 2025 thanks to the Shopifreaks E-Commerce Newsletter 🔮 Read on & subscribe to my Substack so you never miss another major update again seotldr.substack.com/p/2025-seo-k... Happy New Year 🎇

5/ 🗣️ Two new search features with screenshots for "What people are saying" and "Things to know". With a tip for any non-US folks to turn on your VPN! seotldr.substack.com/i/154219263/...

seotldr.substack.com2025 SEO Kickstarter: Core Updates, New Search Features, AI & SEO & Much MoreSEO TL;DR #53 06/01/2025

6/ 🤖 AI First, Search Box Second: Google’s Vision for 2025 - a roundup of Sundar Pichai's AI-centric strategy and the focus for 2025. seotldr.substack.com/i/154219263/...

3/ 💸 Another confirmation from @johnmu.com that spending time disavowing toxic backlinks is a waste of time and money. Nothing new here, but I hate seeing people waste their time in toxic backlinks reports ☢️

4/ 🖥️ How to see what Google sees when it renders your site and an example of how a seemingly innocent site redesign can be detrimental to your rankings.

2/ We had 2 major Google updates at the back end of the year, a core update and a spam update which both took a very short amount of time to roll out. I suspect this will be the trend in 2025 - more updates, more frequently - as Google returns to its 'scrappy' roots.

20 Dec 2024

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 🥳 That is all.

18 Dec 2024

"He optimised websites, she optimised his heart." I asked GPT to create a Christmas movie poster based on everything it knows about me 😱 This is why you shouldn't play with AI at 1 o'clock in the morning.

1/🧵This week's SEO TL;DR rounds up the year with some 2025 predictions from some of my favourite SEOs... @aleyda.bsky.social @lilyray.nyc @nickleroy.bsky.social @mordyoberstein.bsky.social @garrettsussman.bsky.social & @nitinsawhney.bsky.social 🔮 Subscribe for weekly tips seotldr.substack.com

youtube.comGoogle — Year in Search 2024YouTube video by Google

18 Dec 2024

Thanks for the reshare @indiethinkers.com 🙌🏻

Thanks for the repost @garrettsussman.bsky.social 🙏

8/ Google's year in search - the top trends of 2024 include 'Trump VS Kamala' (😬), 'Olympics chocolate muffins' and 'demure meaning'. 📺 Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=61JH...

9/ After 52 editions and a lot of SEO'in, this will be my last newsletter of the year so I can take some time to decompress and enjoy Christmas with the family 👇 If you enjoyed these updates, please subscribe for more in the new year - see you in 2025 🥳 seotldr.substack.com #seo

6/ 150 new #Shopify updates that smooth out the rough edges in the Winter '25 edition seotldr.substack.com/i/153179839/... #ecommerce

youtube.comGoogles GEMINI 2.0 Just SHOCKED The ENTIRE INDUSTRY! (OpenAI Beaten) Full BreakdownYouTube video by TheAIGRID

7/ Gemini 2.0 is here, with some amazing showcases, including Project Mariner - an AI assistant which works in Chrome and can probably do 90% of the things I did in my first job 🙃 #redundancy www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoVk...

4/ Google clarifies some FAQs on their site reputation abuse policy thanks to @rustybrick.com seotldr.substack.com/i/153179839/...

5/ Five obvious tells that your content is over-optimised for SEO, such as 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 and spammy k͟e͟y͟w͟o͟r͟d͟-͟h͟e͟a͟v͟y͟ ͟a͟n͟c͟h͟o͟r͟ ͟t͟e͟x͟t͟ 🙅‍♂️ Stop waffling; get to the point! seotldr.substack.com/i/153179839/...

2/ My predictions... 1️⃣ We'll see 'zero-interaction' searches with AI advances like Project Mariner 2️⃣ Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) will form a bigger part of holistic SEO 3️⃣ Relying solely on Google search is becoming riskier More 👉 seotldr.substack.com/i/153179839/...

3/ Just as you thought we'd seen the last of the 2024 updates, Google sneaked in another with the news that we'd be seeing 'more updates, more often' 😱 seotldr.substack.com/i/153179839/...