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Edition 30: You Can't Be Your Own Reference
Jul 28th, 2026

Edition 30: You Can't Be Your Own Reference

Somewhere along the way, publishing a "best in town" list with your own name at the top became standard marketing advice. Google's AI reads those pages and then tends to recommend somebody else. Discover why naming yourself the best quietly works against you, what to do if your site runs on WordPress this week, and the 15-minute check that shows who search actually vouches for. [Read the full edition →]
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Edition 30: You Can't Be Your Own Reference

Edition 30: You Can't Be Your Own Reference

Jul 28th, 2026
Somewhere along the way, publishing a "best in town" list with your own name at the top became standard marketing advice. Google's AI reads those pages and then tends to recommend somebody else. Discover why naming yourself the best quietly works against you, what to do if your site runs on WordPress this week, and the 15-minute check that shows who search actually vouches for. [Read the full edition →]
Read More
Edition 29: Google Answers First Now
Jul 21st, 2026

Edition 29: Google Answers First Now

Google finished the switch on July 10, and the top of a results page is now a written answer rather than a list of links. The links didn't disappear, they moved down. Discover what changes when customers read about you before they ever click, what to do about pages stuck in "crawled, currently not indexed," and the second-question test for your homepage's first screen. [Read the full edition →]
Jul 21st, 2026

Edition 29: Google Answers First Now

Google finished the switch on July 10, and the top of a results page is now a written answer rather than a list of links. The links didn't disappear, they moved down. Discover what changes when customers read about you before they ever click, what to do about pages stuck in "crawled, currently not indexed," and the second-question test for your homepage's first screen. [Read the full edition →]
Read More
Edition 28: About That Traffic Google Says You Didn't Really Lose
Jul 14th, 2026

Edition 28: About That Traffic Google Says You Didn't Really Lose

Google keeps reassuring business owners that the traffic AI answers took was low-quality anyway. This month, researchers ran the first real experiment and the excuse fell apart. Discover why the clicks you lost were never junk, which miniOrange WordPress login plugin needs deactivating today, and the 15-minute check that tells you whether your business is actually inside the AI answer for your own services. [Read the full edition →]
Jul 14th, 2026

Edition 28: About That Traffic Google Says You Didn't Really Lose

Google keeps reassuring business owners that the traffic AI answers took was low-quality anyway. This month, researchers ran the first real experiment and the excuse fell apart. Discover why the clicks you lost were never junk, which miniOrange WordPress login plugin needs deactivating today, and the 15-minute check that tells you whether your business is actually inside the AI answer for your own services. [Read the full edition →]
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Edition 26: The Google Update That's Actually Good News
Published Jun 30th, 2026

Edition 26: The Google Update That's Actually Good News

Google ran a spam cleanup last week, and for once that's a sentence most local businesses can read as good news. Inside: why this update clears junk competitors off your results instead of threatening you, which WordPress email plugin is handing live API keys to attackers right now, and a 15-minute check that tells you whether your own pages look spammy to Google. [Read the full edition →]
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Edition 25: Why ranking #1 isn't filling the calendar anymore
Published Jun 23rd, 2026

Edition 25: Why ranking #1 isn't filling the calendar anymore

Google rankings look great, but the phone is quieter? Here is why search behavior is shifting and how to track the numbers that actually pay bills. [Full edition --->]
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Edition 24: Fast Enough Last Year Might Be Too Slow Now
Published Jun 16th, 2026

Edition 24: Fast Enough Last Year Might Be Too Slow Now

Your site loads fine on your office wifi. Google doesn't grade it there. See why "fast" got harder this spring and how to check yours. [Full edition --->]
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Edition 23: Finally, a Way to See If AI Is Showing Your Business
Published Jun 9th, 2026

Edition 23: Finally, a Way to See If AI Is Showing Your Business

Google finally lets you see if AI search shows your business. Find out what the new Search Console report tracks, and what it still can't tell you. [Full edition --->]
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Edition 22: You Can't Buy Your Way Into AI Search
Published Jun 2nd, 2026

Edition 22: You Can't Buy Your Way Into AI Search

A vendor pitch is making the rounds: pay us, and we'll get your brand "mentioned" so AI tools recommend you. Then Google compared that exact move to buying links. Discover why the "AI mention" packages are the oldest trick in a fresh outfit, which critical WordPress plugin is under active attack right now, and the 3-question test that sorts real help from fear-based sales emails. [Read the full edition →]
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Edition 21: Last Week's Hype, This Week's Reality
Published May 26th, 2026

Edition 21: Last Week's Hype, This Week's Reality

Two keynotes and a Core Update landed in 72 hours, and almost none of it needs anything from you this week. Discover why the flashy I/O announcements won't reach your Erie customers this quarter, why traditional search rank is still the #1 predictor of whether AI tools cite you, and why the smartest move during a Core Update rollout is to sit on your hands. [Read the full edition →]
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