The hottest SEO Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Technology Topics

Zombie news sites are taking over the internet

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 174 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
💼 Business SEO
  1. Marketing firms are buying or hijacking gaming and news sites and filling them with AI-written content and gambling ads to exploit existing SEO and expired domains for easy revenue.
  2. Relying on platform referrals like Google Discover is risky because traffic can drop suddenly. Publishers shouldn’t build their operations around audiences they don’t own.
  3. Media businesses are shifting toward direct monetization and platform-native distribution. Newsletters, specialized ad platforms, and multiplatform streaming personalities are becoming more reliable than chasing programmatic or referral traffic.

10 SEO Myths Killing Your Business

Nail It and Scale It • 99 implied HN points • 01 Jul 24
💼 Business SEO
  1. SEO takes time and money to see real results. If you're looking for quick fixes, SEO might not be the best choice for your business.
  2. AI can help with some parts of SEO, like on-page optimization, but it can't do everything. Good content and backlinks still require a lot of manual effort.
  3. SEO isn’t a one-time task; it's an ongoing process. You need to keep optimizing and updating your site regularly to maintain good search rankings.

Programmatic SEO 🚀

André Casal's Substack • 19 implied HN points • 17 Aug 24
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Creating a list of websites for project submissions can help connect with audiences effectively. It’s important to curate and share valuable resources.
  2. Applying SEO tags is crucial for improving website visibility. It helps attract more visitors once the meta tags are optimized.
  3. Feedback is valuable for improvement. Acting on suggestions can lead to better website design and user experience.

Everyone Should Start a Newsletter. Yes, That Means You!

Michael’s Newsletter • 235 implied HN points • 07 Mar 23
💼 Business SEO
  1. Newsletters are better than software businesses in many ways, like being faster to write and cheaper to operate.
  2. Newsletters can be profitable, even surpassing million-dollar incomes, with examples like 'Pragmatic Engineer' making $2.7 million a year.
  3. To start a successful newsletter, focus on topics you can talk endlessly about, curate content, and answer people's questions for valuable content.
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Toward a better media system

Substack Blog • 1016 implied HN points • 10 May 23
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Writers should not rely solely on social media for sharing their work.
  2. Social media platforms have a history of limiting writers' ability to share their work.
  3. Substack provides tools for writers to grow their audience independently of social platforms.

0 to 20k Traffic, No Budget, Pure Indie Spirit!

Pen, Paper & Pizza • 39 implied HN points • 16 Apr 24
💼 Business SEO
  1. Achieving 20,000 visitors in 4 months without a marketing budget is possible through strategic approaches like SEO and valuable content creation.
  2. Embracing the power of organic traffic through free tools, AI tools, and consistent content creation can lead to significant growth and valuable insights.
  3. Learning from setbacks, adapting strategies like targeting specific pain points, and staying consistent in content creation can pave the way for successful SEO endeavors.

Driving Traffic to Your Blog Using Link Bait

Blogging Guide • 179 implied HN points • 02 Aug 23
💼 Business SEO
  1. Creating link bait can attract backlinks to your blog and improve search engine rankings.
  2. Types of link bait include infographics, controversial posts, in-depth guides, interviews, and humorous content.
  3. To promote your link bait, use social media, email marketing, influencer outreach, make it visually appealing, and ensure it is shareable.

Getting the most out of your organic traffic each month

42 Slash • 117 implied HN points • 30 Jul 23
💼 Business SEO
  1. Optimizing landing pages and testing alternative messaging can help improve conversion rates.
  2. Organic traffic presents a significant opportunity to drive leads, pipeline, and revenue.
  3. Utilize strategies like additional resources, retargeting, building your audience, surveys/feedback, and alternative CTAs to maximize the value of organic traffic.

should you be innovative? or do what works? | #38

The Pole • 79 implied HN points • 02 Dec 23
💼 Business SEO
  1. Create content you want to see and offer something unique to attract an audience.
  2. Analyze what works for others in your field and consider replicating successful strategies.
  3. Strive for a balance between experimentation and following proven methods for optimal results.

GEO Guidelines: How to Get Quoted by AI Through Generative Engine Optimization

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 50 implied HN points • 02 Jul 25
💼 Business SEO
  1. Being mentioned by AI is now really important for brands. If your content isn't cited by AI, it's like being buried on page 5 of search results.
  2. To get AI to mention your content, it’s essential to write clearly and comprehensively. Organizing your information well helps both AI and human readers.
  3. It's necessary to adapt how we measure success in marketing. Instead of just counting clicks, we should track how often we're mentioned in AI-generated answers.

Peak LLM

I have thoughts • 87 HN points • 16 Apr 23
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Prompts in LLMs can affect data usability and lead to bias.
  2. LLMs can be manipulated for SEO purposes, impacting search engine rankings.
  3. Training LLMs on biased content can lead to inaccurate and harmful outputs.

Everything I've learned about YouTube in a 10 minute skim | #47

pole • 39 implied HN points • 11 Feb 24
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. The idea is the most crucial aspect in making YouTube videos, setting the standard for their potential success.
  2. Creating interesting ideas involves asking questions, making them clickable, and presenting them in engaging ways.
  3. Titles, thumbnails, intros, bodies, and outros of YouTube videos each serve specific functions and should be strategically designed to keep viewers engaged.

🧰 Steal My Content Distribution Machine

Cagri's Newsletter • 39 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Automating content distribution can significantly boost visibility and reach for your articles.
  2. Utilizing tools like Google Indexing API, Omega Indexer, and platforms like Medium and social media can streamline the distribution process.
  3. Consistent visibility for content is key in the digital content realm, and automation can help achieve that efficiently.

Rise of the Artificial Influencer

John Mayo-Smith's Substack • 79 implied HN points • 17 Jan 23
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Advertising, SEO, and Artificial Influence are all methods to grab attention for products or services.
  2. AIs are starting to exhibit brand preferences, like humans do, affecting the way they provide recommendations and influence choices.
  3. Influencing AIs involves understanding their training data and providing reliable, consistent, and trustworthy information to align with their preferences.

2 Data Tools to Help You Come Up With Awesome Blog Ideas in 2023

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 99 implied HN points • 07 Dec 22
💼 Business SEO
  1. Google Trends can help you find what topics people are searching for. Just type in a keyword and check the related queries for new blog ideas.
  2. AnswerThePublic shows popular questions about a keyword, which you can answer in your blog. This can attract more visitors from search engines.
  3. In 2023, Medium may start paying writers for traffic coming from outside sources like Google, making it more rewarding to write content that draws readers.

Thinking about using a .xyz domain?

The Hive • 39 implied HN points • 07 Jun 23
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Consider avoiding .xyz domains due to potential issues with email deliverability and adblock
  2. Switching to a .com domain may improve open rates for emails
  3. Using .xyz domains might lead to problems with websockets and may impact SEO

A Guide to Switching Platform to Shopify

Cristian’s Substack • 39 implied HN points • 10 Apr 23
💼 Business SEO
  1. Shopify offers benefits like fast-loading websites, scalable infrastructure, and a great back office user experience.
  2. Potential drawbacks of Shopify include dependency on apps, development costs, mismanagement risks, and limited content management.
  3. Steps before switching to Shopify include assessing pain points, trying out a test store, evaluating costs, planning migration, and making necessary platform checks before the switch.

Rise of the Artificial Influencer (Part 2)

John Mayo-Smith's Substack • 39 implied HN points • 01 Jun 23
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. AI's purchasing influence is increasing, making brands consider AI opinions along with human opinions.
  2. Paid media may not be as effective in influencing AI like ChatGPT-4, focusing on earned media and site accessibility is crucial.
  3. Understanding which sites ChatGPT deems authoritative and optimizing for Bing SEO can impact ChatGPT-4 Browser Model results.

Speak No Evil

Kneeling Bus • 244 implied HN points • 04 Mar 23
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Internet platforms are becoming visually chaotic and cluttered with junk, impacting user experience.
  2. The messy aesthetics of the internet reveal a shift towards desperate monetization strategies.
  3. AI may help clean up the internet's clutter by automating processes and reducing visual chaos.

From PageRank to DeepRank: Attracting AI-Driven Traffic to Digital Properties

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 34 implied HN points • 28 Feb 25
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. AI is becoming more important than traditional search engines for finding information. If your content is not part of AI training data, people may not discover you.
  2. Using email marketing and newsletters is essential for maintaining connections with loyal customers. This helps in creating a solid fan base even if they don't find you through search engines.
  3. To be noticed by AI, your content should be clear, straightforward, and directly answer common questions. This way, the AI can easily reference and cite your work.

16 Research-Backed Tips To Boost The Adoption Of Your Chrome Extension

Harmony • 19 implied HN points • 29 Mar 23
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Improving your Chrome extension details page can increase visibility, installs, and user retention without changing the extension itself.
  2. Including the utility of your extension in the title helps users understand its purpose quickly and improves discoverability.
  3. Utilize images, videos, badges, customer support, description structure, sidebar, and analytics to optimize your Chrome Web Store page for better user engagement and performance tracking.

What do Screaming Frog and film studies have in common?

The Recovering Academic • 19 implied HN points • 26 Sep 23
💼 Business SEO
  1. A humanities PhD found success as an SEO manager after realizing academic career challenges and exploring other options like internships, creating personal projects, and leveraging different skills.
  2. SEO work involves critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration, which can offer engaging problem-solving experiences across various disciplines, blending technical and creative aspects.
  3. When transitioning from academia to industry, the multitude of career pathways may feel overwhelming, but ruling out options based on personal interests and finding a role that blends desired skills can lead to a fulfilling career choice.

SEO & UX: Search Engine Optimization Best Practices

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 19 implied HN points • 05 Mar 25
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. SEO is changing from a focus on tricks to prioritizing what users actually want. It’s about giving people good experiences rather than trying to fool search engines.
  2. Quality content is key for SEO now. Instead of pumping out lots of low-quality articles, businesses should create useful, in-depth content that truly answers user questions.
  3. Building trust and authority online is crucial. Websites need to show expertise and be credible, as Google favors content from trusted sources.

11 Key Takeaways From Canva's Growth Strategy That Can Grow Your Freelance Graphic Design Business

Bold Begin • 1 HN point • 14 Jun 24
💼 Business SEO
  1. Canva focuses on simplicity in their home page, emphasizing creating designs quickly and easily, without the need for a sales pitch.
  2. Their product page highlights a strong value proposition in a single sentence, effectively conveying the essence and benefits of their product.
  3. Canva excels in social media ads with powerful images and clear, fun copy that emphasizes the ease and creativity of using their platform.

The fault in Google's stars

Links I Would Gchat You If We Were Friends • 59 implied HN points • 25 Nov 20
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Google's star ratings for recipes in search results don't reflect the actual quality of the recipes, and sites can manipulate these ratings for more traffic.
  2. Recipe sites often rely on rich snippets and Google star ratings to attract clicks, leading to a lack of consistency and standardization in the ratings.
  3. Simply Recipes stood out with unusually high average ratings, raising suspicions about the authenticity of the ratings across popular food publications.

UX Roundup: Explainer Videos | AI Overload | AI Music | Over-Recuiting | Home Robots | GPT 4.5

Jakob Nielsen on UX • 7 implied HN points • 03 Mar 25
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. AI technology is rapidly advancing, making it hard for anyone to keep up with all the new tools and updates. It's important to focus on the bigger trends rather than getting lost in minor details.
  2. There is a significant improvement in AI-generated music, showing that the quality of compositions and performances has greatly enhanced over a short period. This makes it easier for creators to make engaging music.
  3. When conducting user research, it's wise to recruit more participants than needed to account for no-shows and other issues. This ensures that you still gather valuable insights even if not everyone shows up.

Age of Digital Darwinism and SEO

Baris Can • 1 HN point • 20 May 24
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. SEO continually evolves with search engines and the digital sector, despite claims of its 'death' every year.
  2. Google's use of AI and LLMs in search engines reshapes the SEO landscape towards prioritizing user experience.
  3. Adaptability and understanding of search engine principles are key for organic growth in SEO amidst rapid changes and advancements.

Input Metrics for SEO

The SEO MBA • 32 implied HN points • 31 Mar 23
💼 Business SEO
  1. SEO success depends on more than just the SEO team - it's a cross-functional effort.
  2. Use input metrics, not just output metrics, to drive buy-in for SEO programs.
  3. Choosing measurable input metrics and evolving them over time helps predict success and guide actions for SEO programs.

Look at your fish

The SEO MBA • 13 implied HN points • 26 Jan 24
💼 Business SEO
  1. SEO and customer experience are now tightly linked, with enhancing customer experience being crucial for SEO success.
  2. Senior executives often overlook the impact of user behavior changes on SEO performance, leading to missed opportunities.
  3. Conducting collaborative workshops involving various stakeholders can help in evaluating and improving the customer experience on a website.

How Google Killed the Blogger

Pryor Questions • 6 HN points • 07 Feb 24
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Google's algorithm update prioritizes user-centric content, focusing on authenticity, expertise, and discouraging over-optimized strategies.
  2. The shift towards brand authority and user-generated content poses challenges for small businesses and independent content creators in ranking on Google.
  3. Video content, establishment of expertise, and a presence on various platforms are highlighted as essential strategies to adapt to the evolving SEO landscape.

Exclusive January Offer: Save 10% on SEO MBA Courses Today

The SEO MBA • 5 implied HN points • 02 Jan 24
💼 Business SEO
  1. The importance of communicating the value of SEO to senior management will continue to grow in 2024.
  2. SEO MBA courses are offering a 10% discount until Jan 31st on two key courses: Executive Presence and The Art of Client Management.
  3. The SEO MBA newsletter will focus on delivering more quality content in 2024, with guest columns being opened up as well.

Generating 10k+ sessions/month with programmatic SEO

thedevmarketer • 1 HN point • 12 Jun 23
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Generated 10k+ sessions/month with programmatic SEO by focusing on long-tail keywords and relevancy to the product.
  2. Used a proof of concept (POC) to test the SEO project before fully developing it, ensuring viability and success.
  3. Successfully launched the programmatic SEO project leading to over 12,000 sessions in four months, showcasing significant growth.

How Google Profits from AI-Powered Search, While Killing SEO

Enterprise AI Trends • 2 HN points • 16 May 24
🕹 Technology SEO
  1. Google's AI-powered search, known as SGE, may hurt small publishers but boost Google's own profits. It reduces the number of visible links, pushing advertisers to pay more for visibility.
  2. By integrating generative AI into search, Google can use its large user base to enhance its own cloud services and chip sales, gaining an edge over competitors.
  3. Google needs to carefully deploy AI features to avoid overwhelming users, especially for complex queries, while also being mindful of its most profitable keywords.