SEO
What Is Forensic SEO?
One of the core areas of SEO services for me over the last 10+ years has been forensic SEO.
And hell, I drop that term all the time in various conversations, groups, interviews like it’s something that everyone knows about.
Apparently, not so much.
There does seem to be a little confusion out there on what it is exactly. And so today, we’re going to try and clear that up.
Oh, by the way, I am quite aware of the myriad of existing “definitions” of forensic SEO that currently litter the landscape.
Uhm, yeah. Sigh.
This is about how those I know that specialize in it, view forensic SEO. Feel free to argue with me about it all you want (I’m kinda used to it lol).
Forensic SEO: The Basics
To start with I’m not even sure where the term came from, but I started using it maybe 10+ years ago.
Essentially, it’s a form of (SEO) audit that isn’t about optimizing. It’s more about dealing with a site that has lost visibility.
It could be a straight-up manual action.
It could be a dampening effect (think: Penguin/Panda back in the day).
It could be on-site issues.
And many times, it’s a combination of things.
I like to teach folks/clients that it’s often about the “Sherlock Holmes School of SEO”:
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
As such, when we’re doing forensic SEO we really do want to cover all the bases and look into areas such as:
- Data assessment (Analytics, Search Console, etc.)
- Recent and past SEO changes to the site
- Accessing developer changelogs (changes to the site)
- Look at hosting (server) changes (updating tech, etc.)
- External factors (link building, etc.)
- Known changes to Google’s algorithms
- Market segment evolution
- Negative SEO (malicious actions by others)
- Site integrity (has it been hacked?)
And there’s always room for more. It’s somewhat situational.
But the main thing is that when one approaches lost visibility, never be myopic.
Look under every stone and never have a biased or preconceived mindset when you get started.
As I touched on above, it’s often a combination of elements. If you approach things with an existing hypothesis, you’re very likely to miss pieces of the puzzle that will gift insight into the overall issues.
The good news is that if you’re thorough and comprehensive about the process, you’ll inevitably find unrelated issues that can be turned into opportunities.
The Process
We really can’t get into the specifics of the approach. Or I’d be writing a book here, not an article.
Maybe if there’s some interest, I’ll work on something more detailed in the future (hit me up in the comments on that… thanks!). But lets at least work out some basic details.
The obvious starting point in most cases will be the client. They’ve brought you in for a given reason. That onboarding meeting makes for a good starting point.
If you’re in-house/agency, then you have a good sense of where to start as well.
If it’s a manual action? Oddly, that’s even better as you have clues and a good recourse (reinclusion request).
But again, this is just a starting point. Now we have to remove ourselves from the situation. Start to dig through the potential offenders as per the points mentioned earlier. Isolate each area and make notes.
Some important considerations include:
Data
Getting the timelines for visibility loss is a no-brainer. That being said, dig back as far as possible historically, because there may be past demons that a short temporal analysis might miss.
Knee Jerk
Often times management, in their panic, will have implemented some potential fixes. This is often done with little or no consideration of the effects.
Make sure you address these in the onboarding. It’s a separate consideration from the original problem.
Lack of Data
Like a doctor that has no patient records, you will often be faced with a lack of data.
If that’s web developer changelogs, SEO activity records (and dates), annotated analytics, etc… it’s a very common obstacle. Some of your process is going to involve instincts.
By the end of the process, you should at the very least, have some solid leads on what the issues are.
Working on Recovery
But identifying the issues isn’t where it ends. The next part is recovery.
Manual actions are reasonably straightforward. You know what the problem is, you just need to fully correct them and work on the reconsideration request.
While they’re scary and can potentially have long term effects (loss of trust, etc.), at least we have a solid starting point.
The rest? Not so much.
We’re going to have to cover as much ground as possible with the data and information at hand.
Those that are struggling financially with lost traffic often have a knee jerk reaction and start plugging away at multiple elements. That won’t work.
You have to actually implement one fix at a time and let it percolate.
This is because one “fix” might have a positive effect, while another has a negative one. As such, it would show a relative net effect of 0.
As tough as it is, we must get the client/webmaster to buy-in to the process for recovery.
Recovery Buy-in
This, much like an audit, can be the hardest part.
There’s often a ton of resistance to the recommendations which can vary from financial, convolution and even egos.
And while you can stand by your assertions and convictions, you may still run out of runway.
I would have to say that in many situations I’ve been in, the adoption of the recommendations and the metered approach isn’t fully realized. That’s the sad truth.
When doing forensic SEO work, focus on the job at hand.
Focus on the health of the site. Listen to the data and info at hand. That’s about all you can do.
Regardless of the possible push-back or the whacky client theories, just clear your mind and find the truth.
And there we have it… if you wanted to the basics of forensic SEO, you got it. Below is just a bit of insight I wanted to add to the conversation… but not mandatory reading for the piece.
On a Personal Note…
All of this brings me to the hardest part, on a personal note; The pain.
I used to do pretty much full-time forensic SEO. I had to give it up on a full-time basis. Each and every person that comes to you is suffering.
I’ve heard stories of people at risk of losing their business, their life savings, kids college fund and more. It’s not a great way to make a living (specializing in forensic SEO).
In fact, the pressure became too much and I often had poor health and sleep habits (couldn’t stop thinking about a given situation). I still work in this area, but not full time. It was just too much.
Which brings me back around to my passion for the industry. Our everyday SEO actions have repercussions. We have a responsibility that can have real-world effects.
People lose jobs and the ability to feed their family. I get very pissed off at crap-hat SEO. I go off constantly on those types in various groups (Facebook, etc.) and peeps know me for that… I don’t stand for garbage SEO.
Please… PLEASE… remember the downside of bad SEO. This is a serious business, this “thing of ours”.
As you were….
SEO
Google Further Postpones Third-Party Cookie Deprecation In Chrome
Google has again delayed its plan to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome web browser. The latest postponement comes after ongoing challenges in reconciling feedback from industry stakeholders and regulators.
The announcement was made in Google and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) joint quarterly report on the Privacy Sandbox initiative, scheduled for release on April 26.
Chrome’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout Pushed To 2025
Google states it “will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of Q4” this year as planned.
Instead, the tech giant aims to begin deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome “starting early next year,” assuming an agreement can be reached with the CMA and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The statement reads:
“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem. It’s also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June.”
Continued Engagement With Regulators
Google reiterated its commitment to “engaging closely with the CMA and ICO” throughout the process and hopes to conclude discussions this year.
This marks the third delay to Google’s plan to deprecate third-party cookies, initially aiming for a Q3 2023 phaseout before pushing it back to late 2024.
The postponements reflect the challenges in transitioning away from cross-site user tracking while balancing privacy and advertiser interests.
Transition Period & Impact
In January, Chrome began restricting third-party cookie access for 1% of users globally. This percentage was expected to gradually increase until 100% of users were covered by Q3 2024.
However, the latest delay gives websites and services more time to migrate away from third-party cookie dependencies through Google’s limited “deprecation trials” program.
The trials offer temporary cookie access extensions until December 27, 2024, for non-advertising use cases that can demonstrate direct user impact and functional breakage.
While easing the transition, the trials have strict eligibility rules. Advertising-related services are ineligible, and origins matching known ad-related domains are rejected.
Google states the program aims to address functional issues rather than relieve general data collection inconveniences.
Publisher & Advertiser Implications
The repeated delays highlight the potential disruption for digital publishers and advertisers relying on third-party cookie tracking.
Industry groups have raised concerns that restricting cross-site tracking could push websites toward more opaque privacy-invasive practices.
However, privacy advocates view the phaseout as crucial in preventing covert user profiling across the web.
With the latest postponement, all parties have more time to prepare for the eventual loss of third-party cookies and adopt Google’s proposed Privacy Sandbox APIs as replacements.
Featured Image: Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock
SEO
How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results
ChatGPT is a game changer in the field of SEO. This powerful language model can generate human-like content, making it an invaluable tool for SEO professionals.
However, the prompts you provide largely determine the quality of the output.
To unlock the full potential of ChatGPT and create content that resonates with your audience and search engines, writing effective prompts is crucial.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the art of writing prompts for ChatGPT, covering everything from basic techniques to advanced strategies for layering prompts and generating high-quality, SEO-friendly content.
Writing Prompts For ChatGPT
What Is A ChatGPT Prompt?
A ChatGPT prompt is an instruction or discussion topic a user provides for the ChatGPT AI model to respond to.
The prompt can be a question, statement, or any other stimulus to spark creativity, reflection, or engagement.
Users can use the prompt to generate ideas, share their thoughts, or start a conversation.
ChatGPT prompts are designed to be open-ended and can be customized based on the user’s preferences and interests.
How To Write Prompts For ChatGPT
Start by giving ChatGPT a writing prompt, such as, “Write a short story about a person who discovers they have a superpower.”
ChatGPT will then generate a response based on your prompt. Depending on the prompt’s complexity and the level of detail you requested, the answer may be a few sentences or several paragraphs long.
Use the ChatGPT-generated response as a starting point for your writing. You can take the ideas and concepts presented in the answer and expand upon them, adding your own unique spin to the story.
If you want to generate additional ideas, try asking ChatGPT follow-up questions related to your original prompt.
For example, you could ask, “What challenges might the person face in exploring their newfound superpower?” Or, “How might the person’s relationships with others be affected by their superpower?”
Remember that ChatGPT’s answers are generated by artificial intelligence and may not always be perfect or exactly what you want.
However, they can still be a great source of inspiration and help you start writing.
Must-Have GPTs Assistant
I recommend installing the WebBrowser Assistant created by the OpenAI Team. This tool allows you to add relevant Bing results to your ChatGPT prompts.
This assistant adds the first web results to your ChatGPT prompts for more accurate and up-to-date conversations.
It is very easy to install in only two clicks. (Click on Start Chat.)
For example, if I ask, “Who is Vincent Terrasi?,” ChatGPT has no answer.
With WebBrower Assistant, the assistant creates a new prompt with the first Bing results, and now ChatGPT knows who Vincent Terrasi is.
You can test other GPT assistants available in the GPTs search engine if you want to use Google results.
Master Reverse Prompt Engineering
ChatGPT can be an excellent tool for reverse engineering prompts because it generates natural and engaging responses to any given input.
By analyzing the prompts generated by ChatGPT, it is possible to gain insight into the model’s underlying thought processes and decision-making strategies.
One key benefit of using ChatGPT to reverse engineer prompts is that the model is highly transparent in its decision-making.
This means that the reasoning and logic behind each response can be traced, making it easier to understand how the model arrives at its conclusions.
Once you’ve done this a few times for different types of content, you’ll gain insight into crafting more effective prompts.
Prepare Your ChatGPT For Generating Prompts
First, activate the reverse prompt engineering.
- Type the following prompt: “Enable Reverse Prompt Engineering? By Reverse Prompt Engineering I mean creating a prompt from a given text.”
ChatGPT is now ready to generate your prompt. You can test the product description in a new chatbot session and evaluate the generated prompt.
- Type: “Create a very technical reverse prompt engineering template for a product description about iPhone 11.”
The result is amazing. You can test with a full text that you want to reproduce. Here is an example of a prompt for selling a Kindle on Amazon.
- Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {product), capture the writing style and the length of the text :
product =”
I tested it on an SEJ blog post. Enjoy the analysis – it is excellent.
- Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {text}, capture the tone and writing style of the {text} to include in the prompt :
text = all text coming from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-bard-training-data/478941/”
But be careful not to use ChatGPT to generate your texts. It is just a personal assistant.
Go Deeper
Prompts and examples for SEO:
- Keyword research and content ideas prompt: “Provide a list of 20 long-tail keyword ideas related to ‘local SEO strategies’ along with brief content topic descriptions for each keyword.”
- Optimizing content for featured snippets prompt: “Write a 40-50 word paragraph optimized for the query ‘what is the featured snippet in Google search’ that could potentially earn the featured snippet.”
- Creating meta descriptions prompt: “Draft a compelling meta description for the following blog post title: ’10 Technical SEO Factors You Can’t Ignore in 2024′.”
Important Considerations:
- Always Fact-Check: While ChatGPT can be a helpful tool, it’s crucial to remember that it may generate inaccurate or fabricated information. Always verify any facts, statistics, or quotes generated by ChatGPT before incorporating them into your content.
- Maintain Control and Creativity: Use ChatGPT as a tool to assist your writing, not replace it. Don’t rely on it to do your thinking or create content from scratch. Your unique perspective and creativity are essential for producing high-quality, engaging content.
- Iteration is Key: Refine and revise the outputs generated by ChatGPT to ensure they align with your voice, style, and intended message.
Additional Prompts for Rewording and SEO:
– Rewrite this sentence to be more concise and impactful.
– Suggest alternative phrasing for this section to improve clarity.
– Identify opportunities to incorporate relevant internal and external links.
– Analyze the keyword density and suggest improvements for better SEO.
Remember, while ChatGPT can be a valuable tool, it’s essential to use it responsibly and maintain control over your content creation process.
Experiment And Refine Your Prompting Techniques
Writing effective prompts for ChatGPT is an essential skill for any SEO professional who wants to harness the power of AI-generated content.
Hopefully, the insights and examples shared in this article can inspire you and help guide you to crafting stronger prompts that yield high-quality content.
Remember to experiment with layering prompts, iterating on the output, and continually refining your prompting techniques.
This will help you stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing world of SEO.
More resources:
Featured Image: Tapati Rinchumrus/Shutterstock
SEO
Measuring Content Impact Across The Customer Journey
Understanding the impact of your content at every touchpoint of the customer journey is essential – but that’s easier said than done. From attracting potential leads to nurturing them into loyal customers, there are many touchpoints to look into.
So how do you identify and take advantage of these opportunities for growth?
Watch this on-demand webinar and learn a comprehensive approach for measuring the value of your content initiatives, so you can optimize resource allocation for maximum impact.
You’ll learn:
- Fresh methods for measuring your content’s impact.
- Fascinating insights using first-touch attribution, and how it differs from the usual last-touch perspective.
- Ways to persuade decision-makers to invest in more content by showcasing its value convincingly.
With Bill Franklin and Oliver Tani of DAC Group, we unravel the nuances of attribution modeling, emphasizing the significance of layering first-touch and last-touch attribution within your measurement strategy.
Check out these insights to help you craft compelling content tailored to each stage, using an approach rooted in first-hand experience to ensure your content resonates.
Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or new to content measurement, this webinar promises valuable insights and actionable tactics to elevate your SEO game and optimize your content initiatives for success.
View the slides below or check out the full webinar for all the details.
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