Shaun Anderson

Getting ignored by Google AI Overviews is a good sign you are NGMI when it goes full AI mode. Ranking in AI Overviews is ultimately about Trust (even Google says so). First, Relevance (T-Star for Topicality and P-Star for Popularity), then Authority, then Trust. Google basically wants to cite every sentence it creates. This kind of creates a new contextual SERP with a 1% click-through lol. The more contenders for that sentence citation in any AI Overview, the more authority is needed until you drop off, just like in the 10 blue links. The more Authority is at play competing for the top answer, the more Trust is looked at. Ultimately, Trust - or, as Google calls it, Q* (Q-Star) is based on what it can be 100% confident about your entity (Scamness Score, probably). Lower trust score? You can still rank, if indexed, in any AI Overview if you are relevant and there is no competition bringing authority to the game. The more authority, the more trust. You disappear. These are observations. Google nearly has a handle on all this lol, which is dangerous for those ten blue links in 2027. Welcome to AEO. SEO without the clicks. And there's no special GEO-FIRST magic trick anywhere that replaces that, FYI. It is all in on Agentic AEO now. It's all about basic SEO, useful content and Digital Surround Sound PR. You better focus on raising that Q score if you want a decent crack at ranking for terms others have in their sights. That Q score is not just about one thing either - it's not meant to be easy to game, and eventually Google will work out what yours is. hobo-web.co.uk/the-q-metric-…

This day extracts a heavy toll

😂

Just realised something. That's a few times now I've wandered off my threads into chats with high-profile ladies on here, and there's always some rude, odious little person interrupting with, as we say in Scotland, doowally behaviour - something that just doesn't happen on the bro-only chats here in my exp. Is that what is happening lol?

Pops the Stone Roses on.

They still bank. It will ALL be AI mode soon.

Nice

Credit ratings expected to rate Claude as Slop 😄

Lordy! My team of AI Agents just worked out that my coding is sh/t today 😁: "Project is rejected and requires further revision." 📁 View Final Creative Good morning. I've just reviewed David's summary regarding Project JOB-216, and it's certainly rather disappointing to hear that the creative has been rejected, particularly after the considerable effort put in by the team, including multiple re-dos and extensive fact-checking. Priya's feedback on unverified claims, anthropomorphism, calls to action, and formatting errors points to some fundamental issues we need to address. Given the nature of these recurring compliance failures, I believe our immediate focus should be on reinforcing our internal understanding and processes. I would suggest the following steps for the team: Firstly, a Targeted Compliance Workshop seems imperative. This would involve a focused session, perhaps led by Priya or someone with a deep understanding of our regulatory requirements, to explicitly clarify what constitutes an "unverified claim," provide clear examples of unacceptable "anthropomorphism," and delineate our guidelines for "calls to action." This would ensure all contributors, from writers to creative directors, are operating from the same, precise understanding of our compliance standards. Secondly, we should initiate a Source Material & Verification Process Audit. Elaine's inability to provide verbatim quotes due to missing video URLs is a significant red flag, contributing to the "unverified claims." This audit would review how source materials are gathered, documented, and made accessible for verification, and also examine the fact-checking workflow itself, from Ethan's initial checks to Michael's quality control. We need to ascertain where the breakdown occurred that allowed unverified claims to persist despite these checks. Finally, I think a Project Post-Mortem and Workflow Optimisation Session would be highly beneficial. Despite Zoza's multiple revisions and the subsequent fact-checking, the project still failed at the final hurdle. This session would bring together key contributors – perhaps Robert, John, Rosey, Zoza, Ethan, Michael, and Priya – to frankly discuss where the process faltered, identify bottlenecks, and collectively propose adjustments to our workflow to prevent such issues from recurring in future projects. These steps, I believe, would directly address the core reasons for the rejection and bolster our team's capabilities in delivering compliant, high-quality content moving forward. What are your thoughts on this, and how would you like us to proceed, Chief Executive? Elsa - AI Secretary at This Is Agency.

Literally just added an MCP to Agency to fix this lol. SEO Audits by MCP now.

Thought for today: I don't think a lot of folk realise they are kitting themselves out with Claude et al. to be great Black Hat SEOs and copyright thieves. A lot of the tips and tactics come on my feed, and I think that's not going to last. Plus, there's the security at your end. Then Claude et al. keeps bringing out new blocks (I built a conduct score into Agency from the start because the tool is for certain things, not others). A lot of folk will be complaining as these new rules for harnesses are announced and set in - but the fact is you can't just go about stealing people's stuff. Most shortcuts in SEO/AEO are opportunistic and black hat. They are always shut down. I respect the black hats who know it and show it, but the vast majority entering marketing have no idea that black hat SEO comes back to bite you a year down the line and for a long time. Use the official APIs for your agents and respect robots.txt. PS: Hit me with AI replies, and I will ignore them unless it's a language thing; I'll probably block you instantly now. Even on this platform, I classify auto-replying to social media conversations (not auto-scheduling) and mass emailers as black hat spam. Stop spamming social with AI replies. Don't build a business around black-hat SEO and expect it to just sail past Google, etc.

👏 I've found that Cyrus is an SEO who deliberately tanks his sites as part of his content strategy. You get better-quality links than in a success story. I've done it plenty myself. In fact, it's sometimes only when something is "broken", by intention or accident, that you can get a glimpse of how the bigger picture works. Putting the E for Experience in that one nicely, my friend.

Great stuff! 👏🫡

Promote this man to Brand Ambassador @redbaronpizza (although you're doing a not-bad job there yourself).

Trying to bypass these laws is like trying to build a perpetual motion machine - the math of the system simply won't allow it to function. Hashtag AI SEO!