Google’s Top Search Result? Itself.

Surfer Wave 236; AIO Links to Google; SEO-GEO-AEO-LLMO; Google Betrays Website Makers; ChatGPT and Copilot Memory; Google Reads Emails; and Much More!

Author

Yoyao
April 12, 2025 • Est. Learning Time: 19 minutes

In partnership with

FIRST …

Jumped on the action figure trend. Create an image in ChatGPT and use Kling AI to generate a 5-second clip of stepping out of the box.

Jump on the wagon and create your own action figure. Here are the steps I took:

  1. I got ChatGPT image prompt and Kling AI video prompt templates from this LinkedIn post by John Assaraf.

  2. I attached an image to ChatGPT and told ChatGPT to generate an image prompt for a toy action figure using the image prompt template.

    1. This works well with ChatGPT’s new memory feature.

  3. After the image is generated, I go to Kling AI and upload the image.

  4. I use the video prompt template and there it is!

The video is a bit off with the coffee, but otherwise pretty sweet.

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❝

🎤 "SEO feels vast and technical. I worry about entering a space where client expectations for quick results often don't align with the reality of how SEO works. I don't want to damage the trust we've cultivated by promising results we can't guarantee."

- Erin S., Agency SEO

But there is a way to get started with SEO, even if it hasn't been at the top of your services list. In the guide, you'll get:

✅ Proven templates for pitching SEO services
✅ A simple, actionable framework for upselling
✅ Best ways to find reliable partners for outsourcing technical work
✅ A foolproof method for doing mini site audits that will be the basis of your pitches AND your plan

Stop losing sleep over competitors grabbing your clients just because you don't offer SEO and start giving your clients the visibility they need:

SEO

Google has quietly made it official: AI Overviews now link not just to external sites, but also to more Google search results. Barry Schwartz breaks the news—and the implications. While Google says it’s all about helping users “explore topics,” critics worry it’s a clever way to keep traffic inside the Googleverse (read: ad-heavy SERPs). AI Overviews will still continue linking to third-party sites—when Google's systems have “high confidence” in their value.

Bing is now doing the same thing with their AI Answer Snippets.

My Take: I’ve said it before and will say it again - It’s all about the money 🤑 User stays on Google → sees more ads → Google makes more money → Google stock price increases.

Ryan Law strips the jargon and tells it like it is: if you want visibility in AI answers, keep doing good SEO. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), Large Language Model Optimization (LLMO), and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) are just new names for the same game - publishing relevant, well-structured content that earns mentions and authority. Ryan explains how unlinked mentions, PDFs, and even forgotten brand documents now shape your AI visibility. While others obsess over new acronyms, the savvy will stay the course.

My Take: I’ve been saying the same thing for a while now - algorithms are still just algorithms. If you build a strong topical map and consistently publish well-structured content in plain, high-quality English, you're already ahead of 95% of the field. GEO, LLMO, AEO... the fundamentals haven’t changed. It’s still about topical relevance, clarity, and coverage.

Casey Markee lays out a survival strategy for bloggers navigating Google’s AI-driven SERPs. He urges creators to ditch fluff, focus on firsthand expertise, and structure content for AI readability. That means using jump links, collapsible FAQs, and schema. Build topical depth, not just breadth. Cut the filler. Think like a library, not a scrapbook. If your blog looks like a helpful resource to humans and machines, you still have a shot at visibility. Miss those signals, and you risk becoming invisible.

My Take: These don’t apply to just recipe, travel, and lifestyle bloggers.

Davey Alba and Julia Love discuss how Google’s AI Overviews are gutting independent websites. Creators who once relied on Google traffic are watching their ad revenue vanish as AI answers scrape their content and keep users from clicking through. Some sites have lost over 70 percent of traffic, forcing layoffs, shutdowns, and pivots to other platforms. Despite creators following Google's EEAT guidelines, the algorithmic rug has been pulled. If you run a content site, your real competitor might now be Google's own AI using your words.

It’s a Bloomberg article, but that’s a paid site so the links is to the MSN syndicated article. You’ll find mentions of many of the more vocal creators who have been hit hard like HouseFresh.

SEO Ripples

  • Google Discover is heading to desktops. Barry Schwartz reports that the personalized news feed long seen on mobile is now rolling out on Google.com’s homepage for desktop users. This move could double Discover’s visibility and give content creators a fresh opportunity to drive traffic. If you already perform well in Discover, this is your moment to shine brighter. If not, it is time to optimize for it by focusing on topical relevance, freshness and engagement signals.

  • Google's war on spam in 2024, it blocked 240 million fake reviews, 70 million shady edits, and 12 million bogus business listings. Barry Schwartz reports that AI and Gemini-powered defenses did most of the heavy lifting, catching violators before users ever saw them. Google also slapped restrictions on 900,000 bad actors and rolled out new alerts for suspicious five-star patterns. For local SEOs and business owners, this is a clear signal. Clean up your profiles, tighten your review strategies, and monitor your listings. Google is watching closely and cracking down harder than ever.

AI

ChatGPT can now reference your entire chat history to deliver more personalized responses. The model now “remembers” your preferences and past interactions to make every session feel smoother and smarter. It’s available now for Plus and Pro users (outside the EU/UK). This turns ChatGPT from an assistant into a creative partner that actually knows what you’ve been working on, thinking about, or procrastinating on.

My Take: Can be a very handy feature. When I logged in, I got a pop up to try it out and it gave me a big ego boost (and my new morning affirmations 😂). The new memory feature helps a lot with personal branding efforts. For example, having ChatGPT create the toy prompt for an image was super easy. I didn’t need to feed it any information other than my name:

The condensed 229 announcements from the Google Cloud Next ‘25 conference. Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash leads a new class of AI models across image, audio, video, and even music. Vertex AI now lets you fine-tune custom agents, manage them at scale, and connect them with real-time video, speech, and maps. A new Agent2Agent protocol allows agents to talk to each other. Google Workspace Flows tools released to automate tasks across Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat and more. Google also launched Firebase Studio to design, build, test, and deploy AI apps faster than ever.

Google fused AI Mode with Lens, so you can now upload a photo, ask a question about it, and get a response that goes beyond surface-level search. It’s not just “what is this?” — it’s “tell me everything about this and what to do next.” Google’s query fan-out technique lets AI Mode analyze both the full image and each object in it.

Mustafa Suleyman shares Microsoft’s latest Copilot updates: your AI now remembers who you are, not just what you ask. It will now know your nephew’s birthday and draft personalized podcasts, including take real-world actions like booking trips or making purchases. Some of the updates are:

  • Memory and Personalization – Copilot remembers your preferences, conversations and important details, allowing for a truly customized experience.

  • Actions – It can take actions for you like booking tickets, making reservations or sending gifts using simple prompts.

  • Copilot Vision – Uses your phone’s camera to interpret your environment in real time and offer contextual assistance.

  • Pages – Organizes notes, research, and content into a unified workspace for drafting and editing.

  • Podcasts – Generates personalized, AI-powered podcasts based on your interests or provided content.

  • Deep Research – Performs complex research tasks, pulling from multiple sources to deliver high-quality insights.

AI Ripples

  • Danny Goodwin reveals Apple’s Preference Ranking Guidelines to review AI responses. In a leaked 170-page internal manual, Apple shows how it scores digital assistant responses for truthfulness, conciseness, safety, and user satisfaction. It’s not just about facts - emotional nuance, cultural tone, and even how well the assistant follows subtle instructions matter. They look for a response that’s accurate, safe, clear, and genuinely helpful.

  • Maxwell Zeff reports that Anthropic has joined the AI pricing wars with a new $200-per-month Claude Max plan to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro. It offers 20x higher usage limits, priority access to new Claude models like the reasoning-focused Claude 3.7 Sonnet, and promises faster response speeds. There’s also a $100 version for lighter power users. With no unlimited option yet, Anthropic is testing the ceiling on what serious AI users will pay.

  • OpenAI may soon roll out watermarking for images created with ChatGPT, but it could only apply to free users. Spotted in a line of code, this potential move looks like a nudge toward paid plans while doubling as a content safety net. The watermark may be invisible, embedded in pixels rather than plastered logos, keeping visuals clean but traceable. Willow Roberts breaks it down as a strategic play for monetization and moderation

MARKETING

Andy Crestodina breaks down every critical page on your site, from blog posts to service pages to the About page, and shows exactly what to include (and avoid) to drive action. You’ll get tips on how to write sticky headers, craft CTAs that convert, build trust with visuals and testimonials, and structure content that pulls readers down the funnel.

Copying ads is for amateurs. Si Quan Ong shows you how to ethically spy on your competitors and outthink them - not imitate them. You’ll learn how to use Meta, Google, TikTok, and LinkedIn ad libraries, layer in intel from tools like Ahrefs and Adbeat, and spot gaps your competitors missed. He shows you how to turn insights into a creative edge: uncover ad angles, test underused platforms, dissect landing pages, and craft counter-messaging that actually converts.

Barry Schwartz reports that Google is now auto-subscribing to your marketing emails to show content in Search, Shopping, and Maps. If you’re promoting a sale, launching new arrivals, or sharing brand updates via email, Google wants that info too. Unless you opt out, the Merchant Center will scan your campaigns for promo details, social links, brand tone, and more.

Takeaway? Google reads your emails. Make them readable.

Marketing Ripples

  • Pinterest seems to have ramped up removing the “Visit” links to external pages (Pinterest Help page) on specific Pins and not account-wide. People had started complaining that links were being removed from pins since Dec 2024 - Jan 2025 (Reddit thread) and now I’ve seen some more Pinterest-focused creators say that it’s affecting them too. Check your Pins to see if the “Visit Site” buttons are showing or not.

CONTENT

Caitlin Hathaway shows how to pair evergreen content with AI to squeeze more value from every blog, video, or guide you’ve already created. Her 4-step framework walks you through selecting high-performing assets, breaking them into themes, mapping them to audience pain points, and spinning them into tailored formats for every platform.

Kevin Indig draws from his DJ days, Kevin breaks down where writers still shine: original insight, emotional nuance, moral judgment, and the personal experience AI just can’t fake. He lists the human strengths to lean into and dead giveaways that scream “AI wrote this.” Here are some of the giveaways:

  • Sterile language: Overly formal phrasing no real person would naturally use.

  • Robotic tone: Impersonal voice that lacks emotion or personality.

  • Personality vacuum: No quirks, humor, or human perspective in sight.

  • Generic coverage: Safe, surface-level takes with nothing fresh to say.

  • Shallow insights: Obvious ideas that don’t go beneath the surface.

  • Brand misalignment: Voice or tone that doesn’t match your brand.

  • Weak bookends: Forgettable openings and limp conclusions that miss the mark.

LINK BUILDING

Vince Nero shares a playbook for podcast pitching. Drawing on hundreds of examples, he breaks down how to write pitch emails that get noticed - show your credibility, pitch specific topics, and align with the host’s audience. Vince also shares five smart frameworks: fill a content gap, offer a counterpoint, continue a conversation, do a value swap, or go direct with a killer episode idea.

My Take: Lots of great tips here and not just for podcast pitches either. It’s useful for guest posting and almost anything else cold.

Glenn Gabe goes to bat for SEOs everywhere in this breakdown of how news and media publishers are hurting the web by nofollowing or omitting links that have been earned. Glenn explains why linking out normally isn’t just ethical - it’s essential for the health of the web and for Google’s understanding of authority. He busts myths around PageRank sculpting, clarifies Google's current stance on nofollow (it's just a “hint” now), and arms publishers with a clear FAQ to do it right.

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

  • Answer Socrates - Discover questions that users are asking on Google for any topics. It searches Google Suggests, People Also Asked, and Google Trends.

CREATORS

The Creators Guild of America just dropped a bombshell in the best way: the CGA Rider. This new contract add-on gives creators something they’ve long lacked - legal leverage. From payment timelines and content ownership to name-and-likeness rights and performance analytics, the Rider is built to protect creators from vague contracts and shady deals. Endorsed by Linktree, Beacons, Whalar, and others, they say it’s already becoming a new industry standard.

My Take: I didn’t even know there was a CGA. It can definitely be a good thing if they can hit that critical mass of membership. Anyone a member or worked with creators who are members?

NEWS

With major contributor cutbacks, only one core WordPress release is planned for 2025. Roger Montti breaks down why this matters: new feature rollouts are slowing, Gutenberg innovation is flat, and the backlog has ballooned to 13,000 unresolved tickets. The roadmap now shifts to automation, canonical plugins, and community feedback loops.

WAYS WE CAN WORK TOGETHER

Floyi - The only AI-powered tool that builds 4-level topical maps, so your content strategy isn’t just planned—it’s unstoppable.

Topical Maps Unlocked 2.0 - The blueprint for ranking dominance. Learn how to structure content the way search engines (and audiences) crave.

Topical Map Service - We handle the research, structure, and strategy—delivering a custom topical map that builds authority, so your content dominates its niche

Content Strategy and SEO Consulting – No guesswork, no gimmicks—just you and me, refining your strategy into a clear, proven roadmap for traffic, authority, and conversions.

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