The Weekly Bulletin | May 21, 2024

Catch up on your members' content, check out the community buzz, and browse through job opportunities

Author

Vahe Arabian
May 21, 2024

Hi SODP community,

Let’s recap on what’s been happening, the new content, industry updates, tips, and more.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Google’s rollout of AI Overviews in the US (and eventually globally) is ushering in the next era of search. However, the lack of distinct click data in Search Console poses a challenge for content creators who rely on granular insights to optimize their strategies. This raises important questions about transparency and data access.

According to ZipTie.dev, which tracked WP's top 1000 queries weekly between March and May 2024, the data shows significant trends. Auto-generated AI overviews remained reasonably stable, decreasing from 17% to 13%. Forced AI overviews (which appear after pressing "Generate in SERPs") dropped significantly from 45% to 16%. Overall, AI overviews steadily decreased over the last few weeks, falling from 62% to 29%. Conversely, queries with no AI overviews increased from 38% to 70%.

Google claims that AI Overview link cards drive higher engagement, similar to featured snippets, yet the decision not to separate this data in Search Console leaves content creators in the dark. Without clear metrics, how can we measure the true impact of these AI-driven features on our traffic and user engagement?

These are my thoughts:

  1. Transparency in Data Reporting: Google should reconsider its stance on lumping AI Overview data with traditional search results. Providing separate insights would empower content creators to refine their strategies effectively. Advocacy for more detailed reporting is essential.

  2. Accuracy and Reliability: While AI Overviews offer quick answers, they are not infallible. Instances of incorrect information highlight the need for robust reporting mechanisms to swiftly correct inaccuracies. Continuous feedback loops between users and Google will be crucial for improving AI reliability.

  3. Opt-out Options: You can use the 'no snippet' meta robots tag to opt-out but include all other areas in search & Google Discover.

  4. Integration of Ads: As AI Overviews evolve, it’s vital to monitor how they interact with ad placements. Ensuring that AI features complement, rather than compete with, advertising efforts will be key to maintaining a balanced search ecosystem.

Despite the challenges, the introduction of AI Overviews reflects a significant evolution in multimodal search. By leveraging Gen AI capabilities and large data sets from partners like Reddit, Google aims to provide richer, more contextually relevant search results. For content creators and marketers, staying informed about these changes and advocating for better data transparency will be essential.

As the features announced at Google I/O roll out in the upcoming weeks, I will keep you abreast of the changes.

MONETIZATION WEEK – NEW SPEAKERS

Ivo Bobal, Publisher Development Manager, Romania at Geozo

Fact and fiction about native ads: Mythbusting with Geozo

Native ads — the monetization of your web traffic. By separating theory from proof, this interactive presentation will bring the facts to the screen. You will gain valuable knowledge on how to navigate the specifics of native ads and how to get the most out of it.

Radu Cotarcea, Managing Editor, CEE Legal Matters

Exploring Offline and Online Synergies in Publisher Monetization

Radu will be joining the panel with Gabriella Petrova from PhoneArena to discuss how publishers can diversify their revenue streams through ecommerce, affiliate, and offline events.

You still have time to register for Monetization Week – an online event for digital publishing and news media professionals.

5 days, 5 sessions - register for a single session or the entire week.

📍 Online
🗓 27-31 May 2024
🕒 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM CET | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM ET

SODP POSTS

What Is Evergreen Content?

Ahrefs found that of the more than 2 million new web pages it studied, only 5.7% ranked in Google’s top 10 within a year. In other words, focusing on evergreen content is a crucial long-term content strategy for driving traffic, building an audience for less money and establishing topical authority.

Now, it’s all very well to say create high-value and optimized evergreen content, but the process can be challenging. Join us as we look at seven tips that can help any publisher create their own evergreen content and then leverage it to build a sustainable revenue stream while trimming time and resource commitments.

JOB BOARD

➡️ Mamamia is on the lookout for an Audience Intelligence Analyst to join its Research and Insights team (Sydney, NSW, Australia). SEE MORE

➡️ U.S. Soccer Federation is looking for a director of audience insights to lead a small team of analysts (Atlanta, GA, US). SEE MORE

COMMUNITY BUZZ

Industry News

➡️ Pew Research Center: 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible a decade later. 23% of news webpages contain at least one broken link. READ MORE

➡️ OpenAI didn’t launch its much-rumored ChatGPT Search product last week. Or did it? Has OpenAI quietly launched an early version of ChatGPT Search, as part of the GPT-4o rollout? READ MORE

➡️ Google’s John Mueller says the Search team is “explicitly evaluating” how to reward sites that produce helpful, high-quality content when the next core update rolls out. READ MORE

Social Media Discussions

➡️ Barry Pollard on LinkedIn:

My Google I/O talk "From fast loading to instant loading" about the Speculation Rules API is now live!

Hit me up if you have any questions

2 years ago—before I joined Google—some work I did was highlighted at I/O 2022. Then I was lucky enough to get my dream job at Google and prerecorded a talk for I/O 2023. And now I've got to talk live. I guess the only place to go from here is doing Sundar's keynote next year 😜

These are the highlights for the last week.

Until next!

Vahe Arabian and the editorial team at SODP