Jon Clark

Google searches are up. Clicks to websites aren't keeping pace. And now rank tracking itself is breaking. We talked with Marcus Tober (Searchmetrics founder, now SVP Enterprise at @semrushofficial.bsky.social) about why. 🧵

5/ And his favorite AI visibility fix is almost too simple. A ~30-year category leader had top SEO visibility but trailed in AI. They added plain, neutral homepage copy about who they are and what they do. AI visibility jumped almost instantly.

Google searches are up. Clicks to websites aren't keeping pace. And now rank tracking itself is breaking. We talked with Marcus Tober (Searchmetrics founder, now SVP Enterprise at @semrushofficial.bsky.social) about why. 🧵

3/ That's his read on the impression inflation in Search Console: impressions up sharply on lots of keywords, clicks flat or down. A lot of those "searches" are bots and agents, not people inflating impressions and wreaking havoc on reporting.

Google searches are up. Clicks to websites aren't keeping pace. And now rank tracking itself is breaking. We talked with Marcus Tober (Searchmetrics founder, now SVP Enterprise at @semrushofficial.bsky.social) about why. 🧵

Getting a website ready for AI agents isn't mostly about markup. On this week's @page2pod.com, @tory.thegray.co argues the technical side is the easy part. The harder part is deciding what you want agents to be able to do. 🧵

5/ Also in the episode: - why programmatic SEO without real search demand is an illusion - building UGC systems so you can *be* Reddit instead of just posting there - why migrations often dip around 30% in the first two months.

Getting a website ready for AI agents isn't mostly about markup. On this week's @page2pod.com, @tory.thegray.co argues the technical side is the easy part. The harder part is deciding what you want agents to be able to do. 🧵

3/ On using JavaScript to keep AI crawlers out: @tory.thegray.co wouldn't depend on it. Most AI bots don't render today, but agents can render if a user pays for it, or they may take a screenshot and read that.

Getting a website ready for AI agents isn't mostly about markup. On this week's @page2pod.com, @tory.thegray.co argues the technical side is the easy part. The harder part is deciding what you want agents to be able to do. 🧵

Local SEO isn't just the Google Business Profile anymore. @localseoguide.com walked us through what's moving local visibility across Google, ChatGPT, Apple Maps, and Reddit. A few highlights 🧵

5/ On Reddit and AI visibility: a month of seeded brand mentions spiked AI visibility, and it vanished when they stopped. Now they monitor relevant subreddits and flag threads for clients to join genuinely.

Local SEO isn't just the Google Business Profile anymore. @localseoguide.com walked us through what's moving local visibility across Google, ChatGPT, Apple Maps, and Reddit. A few highlights 🧵

3/ On fast leads for a new service business: open a legitimate second location (a real sublet, signage, a business license, a verified Google Business Profile). Proximity is the top factor for many local queries! One HVAC client's new office did $10K in its first month.

Local SEO isn't just the Google Business Profile anymore. @localseoguide.com walked us through what's moving local visibility across Google, ChatGPT, Apple Maps, and Reddit. A few highlights 🧵

1/ @greggifford.bsky.social has been doing local SEO since before "AI search" was a phrase. Four things from his @page2pod.com episode that most agencies still get wrong about Google Business Profile, reviews, and AI answers 🧵

4/ Review gating (asking "rate us 1-5" and only sending the happy ones to Google) breaks Google's rules and FTC law. Google is removing 400-500 reviews at a time from businesses that told customers what to write. Those don't come back.

1/ @greggifford.bsky.social has been doing local SEO since before "AI search" was a phrase. Four things from his @page2pod.com episode that most agencies still get wrong about Google Business Profile, reviews, and AI answers 🧵

2/ Your primary GBP category is the single most powerful lever you have for the map pack, and most businesses waste it on the generic option. If you're the only Ford dealer for 100 miles, you already rank for that. Pick the category you're actually fighting over.

Everyone has an AI-search theory. Otterly AI is actually testing them. One wild result: publishers with OpenAI licensing deals were cited by ChatGPT ~48% more often. Plus: fake brands can earn recommendations, schema may not help ChatGPT, and YouTube citations are rising.

@landwehr.bsky.social has tested most of the AI search checklist people are selling right now. Three of the most popular items have never produced a measurable visibility lift for him. The thing that does work is boring enough that nobody builds a product around it.

The boring thing that works: describe yourself identically everywhere. Not this .. Website: "SEO agency for lawyers." Founder's LinkedIn: "digital visibility in the jurisdictional industry." Press release: "search visibility for law offices." To an LLM, that's three companies.

@landwehr.bsky.social has tested most of the AI search checklist people are selling right now. Three of the most popular items have never produced a measurable visibility lift for him. The thing that does work is boring enough that nobody builds a product around it.

2. Schema as a delivery mechanism for facts. Published test: when the page text and the schema disagree, the text wins. When the fact lives ONLY in schema, ChatGPT answered ~20% of the time and Claude 0%. Schema is a forcing function for data hygiene. Not a pipeline.

@landwehr.bsky.social has tested most of the AI search checklist people are selling right now. Three of the most popular items have never produced a measurable visibility lift for him. The thing that does work is boring enough that nobody builds a product around it.