I know some of you might not like it and think I’m kind of a sucker for covering this, but there’s so much truth and beauty in John Mueller’s recent SEO rant. He said, “maybe you should stop reading SEO blogs and do something useful for your site and its users instead?”
First let me share John’s thread of tweets, so you can all read it:
Catching up on post holiday emails & co, one of the things I wish I had responded to sites asking for SEO advice…
Maybe you should stop reading SEO blogs and do something useful for your site and its users instead?
— 🫧 johnmu from switzerland (staff) 🫧 (@JohnMu) August 2, 2022
…brought to you by another otherwise awesome site, with a passionate owner, who fell for the “17 Best WIDGETS for QWERTY in 2022” trap with a mediocre content compilation. Want to rank even higher? So do even better.
— 🫧 johnmu from switzerland (staff) 🫧 (@JohnMu) August 2, 2022
Dump the shit. Empty the filler. Getting to the point. Don’t dwell. Do useful things that you are proud of. Use affiliate links if you want, but don’t be affiliated: be real, be yourself.
— 🫧 johnmu from switzerland (staff) 🫧 (@JohnMu) August 2, 2022
In short, John says you should stop looking for step-by-step instructions on how to rank better. It just doesn’t work that way anymore and reading someone else’s blog to get these steps won’t help you get there. Instead, focus your efforts on something useful for your users on your site.
Of course, this site is an SEO blog and I want you to read it. But the truth is, I’m not giving much tactical SEO advice here. I cover the news, what’s changing, what’s trending, and what the search community is talking about. I’m not giving you the top 10 SEO tips for getting new links, or the 14 best ways to phrase your title tags. I tell you what changes in research and then offer your own ideas on how to take advantage of it tactically.
I think the readers here are special bread – they are mostly advanced SEOs, who have been doing SEO for years, have had great success, and are also afraid of Google penalties and algorithm tweaks. They come here to find out what’s new, where Google is heading, and formulate their own useful strategies and tactics for SEO success.
I love John’s rant and think reading it will help us all find better SEO strategies that we can tactically implement on our own sites.
Discussion forum on Twitter.
