Don't Be a Cat Chasing the Laser Pointer Dot

Surfer Wave 227; Keywords Bad–Topics Good; AI Deep Research; Copyrighted AI Content?; Quality Rater Guidelines Breakdown; LLM Battle Arena; and Much More!

Author

Yoyao
February 08, 2025 • Est. Learning Time: 15 minutes

FIRST …

Thank you to everyone who’s subscribed to a Floyi plan, as well as those who have tried it out!

Floyi is off to a great start 🚀 

There are only 35 spots left (from 100) to get the launch deal of 50% off any plan forever!

I just added OpenAI o3-mini too. If you try Floyi now, it’s the same credit cost as GPT-4o Mini for now. Why? Even though o3-mini outputs cost over 7x more to us, we want you to experience its power without worrying about credit usage.

Here’s a short demo if you haven’t seen it yet. There’s also a playlist of individual videos of Floyi features. It already needs to be updated less than a week after release because I keep adding new features 😅 

SEO

Marie Haynes explains the latest update to Google’s quality rater guidelines, spotlighting changes targeted at eliminating filler and scaled content abuse, and evaluating AI-generated material. She offers actionable strategies: craft clear, valuable main content; avoid excessive paraphrasing and generic rewording; and monitor expired domain redirects and site reputation tactics.

Kevin Indig declares the demise of the old keyword game and urges marketers to embrace aggregate organic traffic as the new benchmark. In a landscape where SERP features, zero-click searches, and AI answers dominate, chasing individual keyword rankings no longer cuts it. Instead, focus on the total traffic that your pages attract, which better reflects user intent and conversion potential. His analysis shows that measuring organic performance at the page or domain level is more reliable and actionable than tracking isolated keywords.

My Take: This is one of the key things I end up talking about with TMU students and Floyi users. Stop chasing “keywords” like a cat and the laser pointer dot. Instead, zoom out and focus on the broader topic and the underlying user intent behind that keyword. Every keyword is simply an entry point into a larger conversation about what your audience truly needs.

By shifting your strategy from isolated keywords to comprehensive topics, you get richer insights and can create content that genuinely resonates with your users. This approach not only refines your content strategy but also aligns with modern search engine behavior—capturing user intent and delivering more relevant, engaging experiences.

AI

Deep Research transforms online investigations by harnessing ChatGPT’s reasoning power to compile actionable insights in minutes. Enter your query—be it competitive analysis or market research—and watch as the tool scours hundreds of sources to deliver a meticulously cited report. It’s only available for Pro users with up to 100 queries per month, but Plus and Team users should be getting it “in about a month.”

My Take: It looks ridiculously awesome and might even put entry-level researchers and VAs on notice. But..human oversight remains essential, so learning to use AI tools effectively is a must. Just look at this side-by-side comparison…crazy…

Not to be outdone by OpenAI, Barry Schwartz also covers Google's experimental AI Mode, an update designed to transform how search handles open-ended, exploratory queries. With detailed internal emails and screenshots, he shows how AI Mode organizes search results into easy-to-digest breakdowns with follow-up links for deeper exploration.

Matt G. Southern breaks down the U.S. Copyright Office’s new report, making it clear that while AI can assist in the creative process, only works with significant human input are eligible for copyright protection. Simply feeding an AI system a prompt won’t cut it; you must transform the output with your own creative flair. Some of the key insights:

  • Human creativity is a must for copyright protection.

  • Prompts alone do not qualify for legal ownership.

  • Collaborative works can share copyright rights.

  • Existing copyright laws already cover AI-assisted creations.

  • Document your creative process meticulously.

AI Ripples

MARKETING

Amanda Natividad shows you how to turn raw audience data into a powerful marketing asset to create effective content and messaging strategies. She explains how to distinguish audience research from market research and offers 12 methods to find your target audience’s behaviors, pain points, and platforms they frequent. Some of the key takeaways:

My Take: Your brand and audience are the key things to driving topical maps and content strategies. It’s why I had to update Topical Maps Unlocked into 2.0 and created the Floyi solution. If you’re just looking up keywords, you’re doing everyone a disservice. You must consider your brand’s goals and audience’s goals first.

CONTENT

Andy Crestodina shares three-step process to find your blog’s best converting content. This method can help you pinpoint high-performing articles, refine your content strategy, and grow your email list.

  • Export your GA4 traffic report for the blog section—filtering by the appropriate URL path and setting a 12‑month date range—to capture all article sessions.

  • Export a conversions report that tracks visits to your newsletter thank-you page, ensuring you isolate the actions that truly matter.

  • Upload both reports to an AI tool to merge the data and visualize conversion rates in a bar chart.

Amaka Chukwuma lays out a framework for news sites drowning in old content. She explains that while historical articles hold value, outdated pieces can drag down SEO and user experience. The key is to methodically assess which content to update, archive, or remove. By developing strict evaluation criteria, benchmarking performance, and carefully executing redirects, you can preserve precious link equity and boost crawl efficiency.

LINK BUILDING

Makayla Wood breaks down the strategy tiered link-building. She explains how to construct a backlink pyramid that funnels link juice effectively. Start by securing 2–5 high-quality tier 1 backlinks from authoritative sites like guest posts or niche edits. Then, build 5–10 tier 2 links from platforms like Reddit and Quora to support those prime links. Finally, generate mass tier 3 links from low-authority sources to maintain a natural profile without triggering penalties.

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

I’ve been seeing a lot more people creating small apps with the ease of AI for coding. The Chatbot Arena and Leaderboard is one of the coolest sites for comparing AI models. You can even test 2 different models side-by-side. Not sure what model to use? Put it into the Chatbot Arena to test 2 models and see how they approach it. You can select the 2 models or do it as a blind test like below and then it’ll tell you what models were used after you select which one you like:

source: web.lmarena.ai (left is o3-mini-high and right is o1)

Gael and Mark discuss how WordPress is losing its edge with outdated code, sluggish editing, and costly plugin dependencies are stalling growth and hampering creativity. They said that while they’ll likely keep WordPress for blogging, they’re moving their sales pages and key conversion elements to Webflow (there’s a pluging to allow you to use both).

My Take: For me, unless changing the CMS of your site will make a dramatic difference in your business, it doesn’t make sense to migrate over. There's so much that you need to do, like relearning a new CMS or paying someone to do it for you.

Ben Collins shares a number of simple changes at the end of a Google Sheets URL can alter how your data is presented and shared. Learn how to convert your sheet into a distraction-free preview, an HTML report, or even force an automatic download as a PDF, CSV, or Excel file.

And if you’re looking to sell Google Sheets, the LowFruits founder has a new venture - GleanWise. You’re able to turn your Google Sheets into private portals that you can also sell.

CASE STUDY

Chima Mmeje’s study reveals how large language models (LLMs) favor content from high Domain Authority sites. Even though Domain Authority isn’t a direct Google ranking factor, its strong correlation with trusted content means that investing in high-quality backlinks and robust brand authority can boost your generative search visibility. Some of the key takeaways:

  • 84.2% of analyzed publishers average a DA of 60 or higher.

  • High DA content signals trust to AI models.

  • Established brands dominate LLM training data.

  • Quality backlinks remain essential.

  • Strong brand authority improves generative search outcomes.

Louise Linehan’s study of 3,000 sites reveals that 63% receive visits from AI chatbots—even though AI accounts for just 0.17% of average site traffic. Smaller websites benefit disproportionately, capturing a larger slice of their total traffic from AI. A number of other interesting takeaways:

  • 98% of AI traffic comes from three chatbots.

  • ChatGPT drives 50% of those AI referrals.

  • Average AI traffic is 0.17% of total visits.

Lily Ray’s report reveals how dominant sites have plummeted in Google’s US search rankings in 2024. The combined March Core and Spam Updates—aimed at removing 45% of “unhelpful” content—along with new spam policies on site reputation and scaled content abuse. Product review sites and content-focused publishers have taken severe hits, while user-generated content now flourish. The takeaway: focus on creating value-driven content and avoid over-optimization tactics.

BUSINESS IDEAS

Glen Allsopp’s latest income report is a treasure trove of revenue insights from digital-first startups, offering a clear blueprint for scaling online businesses in 2025. He digs into diverse success stories—from SaaS companies to eCommerce brands—demonstrating how strategic pricing, smart acquisitions, and agile product development can drive impressive growth. Whether you’re optimizing your subscription model or leveraging AI tools for smarter decision-making, this report is packed with real-world numbers and actionable tips to inspire your next move.

  • AI2Sql.io doubled its MRR to surpass $10K.

  • Game File newsletter generated roughly $100K in its first year.

  • Group.one’s brands (RankMath, WP Rocket, GTMetrix) delivered over €350M in revenue.

  • Judge.me achieved $10M+ ARR with a $15/m plan.

  • Hollow socks generated $24M in 2024.

  • OrangeStudio recorded $243K in revenue from 11 clients.

  • RightMessage’s MRR climbed to $23,142, an 11% increase.

  • Bolt.new reached $1.6M MRR in just two months and secured a $105.5M Series B round.

And if you’re into newsletters, he has a separate Newsletter Report cover 12 newsletters generating $2.6M MRR.

My Take: These reports are always a great read. If you’re thinking about what’s now and what’s next, these reports can give you key insights. Use it to get ideas for your current and new ventures.

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