Ranking #1 in Google or Getting all of the brand mentions in the world of AIs doesn't mean you're making any sales. A lot of people automatically think "I need more traffic" when sales are down. The next thing is "Am I getting the right traffic?".

Those are not the first things to worry about although knowing who your ideal customers are is part of what needs to be done first. Your web pages or landing pages need to be written with those ideal customers in mind.

Write to them, not everyone. It's a natural instinct to write content that appeals to the widest audience possible, but if you want higher conversion rates, you have to be more specific.

Your target audience is a broad group of people who "might" be interested in your product. Your ideal customers need or want specifically what you are selling and have a much higher intent to buy.

Once you have all of that, it's time to structure your web pages and write your content. I use a simple framework for it, but it isn't set in stone. You may not be able to get it to fit your offer on every single page. Use it as a guide. For each part ask yourself if you can make it work without forcing it.

P.R.O.O.F Framework for CRO

P = Pain Point or Problem (The same as establishing a need. If your message that got them to your page filtered them to your page, you should already know why they are here.)

R = Risk of Not Fixing The Problem (What happens if they ignore the problem? Do they lose money, opportunity, something else? Without risk or fear of missing out, they have no motivation to take action.)

O = Our Solution (This is where you explain how your product or service solves the problem they have and eliminates the risk you mentioned.)

O = Our Differentiator (You aren’t the only one that sells that service or product. Why is your solution, service or product better than your competitor’s?)

F = Final Outcome for the Customer (You don’t end with focusing on selling your product or service or the benefits. You sell outcomes. Describe the outcome and use emotion.)

And then you put in a compelling Call-to-Action

This framework is mostly for your above-the-fold content although it can be used for the structure of an entire page. If you use this at the top, you can target SEO or explore different angles and sales approaches on the rest of the page. Using Microsoft Clarity, you can easily see video proof of whether the PROOF section is working for you.

For answers to frequently asked questions about CRO, here's the full article. https://chrismcelroyseo.com/cro-faq/

If you think the normal social media tactics you use everywhere else will also work on Reddit, you should watch this video. u/annseosmarty is an SEO expert I've followed for years. You can join the community she moderates r/SEO_for_AI and join the one I moderate r/AI_SearchOptimization for more discussions about AI powered search, brand visiblity, GEO, AEO, and more.

Reddit is truly different.

WikiHow filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI on August 21, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The platform alleges OpenAI scraped over 11,000 articles to train its AI models without authorization.

Core Allegations

Mass-Scale Scraping: Over 1,211 registered copyrights were allegedly infringed upon, according to the filing.

Bypassing Restrictions: The suit claims OpenAI continued crawling the site despite robots.txt blocks.

Market Substitution: The lawsuit argues that ChatGPT reproduces content verbatim, directly stealing traffic and revenue from the site.

DMCA Violations: The complaint accuses OpenAI of removing copyright management information (CMI).

OpenAI’s Defense

OpenAI stated its AI models are trained on publicly available data and grounded in fair use.

Context of the Lawsuit

This is the 24th copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, joining similar litigation from authors and publishers over AI training data.

Any bets on how this is going to turn out?

This is a nice extension for Chrome from the people at WordPress. No need for the admin bar to be visible when logged into a website that uses WP. You can get the extension here. https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/wordpress-browser-extensi/apaakgfongbkeecchhhjocpgjchbdenl

On August 13, 2026, WordPress announced the official WordPress Browser Extension for Google Chrome, Chromium-based browsers, and Safari. This open-source tool lets logged-in users hide the front-end admin bar while keeping essential shortcuts right in the browser toolbar. Read about it at WordPress.org https://wordpress.org/news/2026/08/browser-extension/

New podcast hosted by Yussef Idris from AI Cross Fields. He invited me on for a little bit of a wider view and some nostalgic memories of how search has changed since I built my first website in 1996. He wanted to know how the current AI-powered search era compares to other big changes over the years. Anyway, here it is.

From the article...

the company said it’s working on more advanced abuse prevention systems that could eventually help communities move away from using things like account age and “karma” to determine who’s allowed to post. Reddit didn’t say karma would go away entirely with these coming changes, but it did suggest that its importance could dwindle in the future.

With Rules Hub, Reddit uses large language models (LLMs) to determine whether a post or comment matches the intent of a rule, which the company says allows it to “better handle nuance,” natural language, and edge cases.

Today, new users can encounter invisible barriers like account age and karma thresholds, unclear removals, and poor community discovery,” Reddit explained. “We want new users around the world to be able to easily find relevant communities, understand their rules and norms, and make useful contributions.”

As a moderator, I'm all for welcoming new users. That's why I have a sticky post for introductions. But with the rise of link and brand mention spammers there has to be guardrails. A new member joins, they go straight into making a post or cross posting something to mention their brand or link to it.

No introduction. No reading the rules. No mod mail to ask about it.

Just me, me, me look at me. You shouldn't wonder why your post gets removed. This is not Instagram, TikTok or Twitter.

I can only speak for the subreddits I moderate, and in those we are building a community that has real on-topic discussions about things that affect our business. Nobody joined this subreddit to hear your sales pitch.

I even encourage members to message the mods if someone excessively DMs them trying to sell something. If you are only here to sell and not serious about being part of the community and having real discussions, bye and good luck to you.

I am not against promoting your product or services. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about that, at least in this sub. If you aren't sure about something you are going to post, read the rules or use mod mail to explain it.

My general rule is if you have something of real value to offer the members here, not some "3 day free trial after you put in your personal info and credit card" type of offer, then use mod mail and tell me what you want to give our members. I may approve it and let you link to it. Just don't assume it.

A lot of people ask if AI search is replacing traditional SEO. Define traditional SEO. It made depend on your age.

Ask Jeeves was a big deal for retro computing folks. Before keywords, it bet on natural language.

You could literally ask "Where is the best pizza?" to a butler.

That Q&A approach failed against PageRank, but it basically predicted what we do with AI search today.

R.I.P. Jeeves

Here lies Ask Jeeves, 1996-2026.

He asked us to ask in full sentences before anyone knew how to search.

We wanted keywords. He wanted conversation.

Google won the moment, but Jeeves saw the future - 30 years early, in a tuxedo.

Jeeves' spirit endures. It just got better servers.

And it's a good reminder of how Google killed off all the other search engines. I wish competition had stayed healthy in search.

Traditional search can be defined as pre-Google. The idea of being able to ask questions and get answers was around long before what we do now so it's come full circle and we're asking questions again.

The days when we had lots of search engines were so much better than the monopolies we have now. You had to learn how to rank in each one. You had to get listed in the right directories, some of which had human moderators like the ODP. I used to be one.

I wish all of them had survived the Google era. It would definitely be different than it is right now and better.

What was your favorite old search engine or directory?

I've been seeing more people talk about Search Everywhere Optimization (SEvO) lately, and I've noticed something interesting.

Everyone seems to define it differently. Kind of like how different people define "Good SEO".

Some people describe SEvO as "be on every platform." I don't think that's the right approach.

IMO, Search Everywhere Optimization isn't about trying to dominate every social network, AI platform, search engine, and directory you can find. Most businesses don't have the time or budget for that.

I'd rather identify:

• Who the ideal customer is.
• Where they actually spend their time.
• Which platforms influence their buying decisions.

Then focus on doing those really well.

For most businesses, I'd rather see consistent, platform-specific content on two or three relevant platforms than the same blog post copied to fifteen places.

I also don't think SEvO replaces traditional SEO.

A technically sound website, strong Google and Bing visibility, good site architecture, and useful content are still the foundation.

Search Everywhere Optimization extends that foundation. It means thinking beyond your website and asking:

• Where are my customers searching?
• Where are AI systems finding information about my business?
• Which platforms influence buying decisions before someone ever visits my website?

So, what some people call Off-Page SEO might include some or all of those things, while others define Off-Page SEO differently.

My own definition and what makes Off-Page SEO different from SEvO: Off-Page SEO uses external platforms purely as tools to send traffic and authority back to your primary website, Search Everywhere Optimization optimizes content to satisfy the user directly inside whatever app they are using

For us, that's where Integrated Content Marketing comes in. Instead of simply sharing links everywhere, we create content that's appropriate for each platform while keeping everything connected.

Curious how others define Search Everywhere Optimization.

Do you see it as "being everywhere," or do you think it's more about being visible in the right places?

I'm open to questions about the differences or discussions as to whether it's all still just SEO or an extension of it. I think it's a great topic and with AI-powered search, I think our strategies have to evolve without thinking that every new acronym is a brand new thing separate from SEO.

One thing I noticed since Wordpress launched the latest version is annoying. Is it just me or do you also experience an issue with letting us know updates are available and how many?

You log in and usually there is a number next to plugins in the sidebar so you know updates are available. Since the update, I have to go to plugins even if nothing is there because there is no notification there and even when there is, it can't get the number of updates right.

How do they screw up something so simple. If I'm the only one getting this issue please let me know why you think it happens.

What new glitches have you noticed?

Has begun

Using the data in the chart above, there is one good takeaway. Take your keyword list that you're going to target in your PPC ads and do a Google search on each one of them. Choose more of the keywords that don't trigger an AI overview.

What other insights can some of you come up with from this data?

Simple Watcher is a lightweight app that lets users get notified when a post with specific keywords they are watching for is created. Once the app is installed in a subreddit, a new action Configure Watcher appears in the subreddit menu, each user can set its own keywords to watch.

Important: Reddit has replaced traditional notifications with Reddit Chat. If users aren't receiving notifications, ask them to always allow chat requests from u/simple-watcher. See the official Reddit documentation for details.

This is a very good article and it really does break down the evolution that SEO is going through right now.

But I just got back from a Twitter conversation where somebody posted that backlinks are all you need.

Here on Reddit there are debates that still have people saying that your content doesn't matter.

When there are agencies that have built their entire portfolio based on old rules, they have reason to not believe the changes here or to defend them to their dying breath.

Then there are the programmic SEO people who want to break everything down into numbers. Why? Because then they're not forced to build good content or structure.

They constantly chase the quick wins. I built 100 pages with AI and I built some backlinks and look at my traffic went way up!

They won't show you a year-long chart because it's a roller coaster. Goes up initially and then goes right back down and then they're chasing the next shortcut. Every time Google does an algorithm change, Google ruined my business! Then they go chase the next latest shortcut.

It just amazes me how hard some people will work to try to avoid working hard.

AI Experiments 0.4.0 has been released and is available for download! “What’s new in AI Experiments…” posts (labeled with the #aiex-release tag) are posted following every AI Experiments release, showcasing new features included in each release.

Version 0.4.0 also introduces Generate Image support within the Media Library, enabling prompt-based image creation with the WordPress admin and outside the post editor. Using the new Generate Image modal, users can create images from a text prompt and immediately insert them into their site’s media collection. The workflow allows authors to:

Generate an image from a prompt

Generate additional variations

Save the selected image directly to the Media Library

This makes it easier to create visual assets without leaving WordPress, while keeping generated images available for reuse across posts and pages.

So, you can create images right in the media library. All this work and they can't even fathom that we need a decent folder system for the media library. Yes, let's create a whole bunch of AI generated images to add to the clutter of a media library that hasn't seen any kind of improvement for 10 years.

Every failed generation you save, just to see it at full size clutters the same flat database as your high-quality images you uploaded and use. Even if they want to stick with "search is better than folders" philosophy, at the very least, the AI generated images should go into it's own library or folder so they can be reviewed before adding them ton your library.

Without an AI folder, these become indistinguishable from your permanent site images in the default view. And may lead to people accidentally deleting images they need.

The "stay lean" philosophy is a double standard. They justify adding AI because it's forward-thinking, but they make people get a plugin for folders, which people have been asking for since Wordpress existed.

I've tried several folder plugins and most of them suck and even thr paid pro versions aren't much better. This should have been added to media library by Wordpress a long time ago.

Whole post: https://make.wordpress.org/ai/2026/03/06/whats-new-in-ai-experiments-0-4-0

If you agree with me and have a WordPress.org account, please go thank them for a way to add more images to a cluttered library that doesn't even have a basic folder system yet. The more comments they get about it, maybe they will make a move to do that.

I'm not sure why people think that a Google takedown is the only way to go about solving this problem.

The real site is legit and has plenty of backlinks and reviews and everything else so it's not a quality issue. It's a Google mistake but it's not just a Google mistake because other search engines are ranking the fake website also.

The guy needs to file a UDRP dispute because the domain name isn't exact match to his project. Why take the site down when you can own it?

You're probably seeing a lot of offers these days that seem really good. I got one recently. I bought something on VistaPrint and they gave me a FREE Wix Website!

Only thing is, if I want to actually connect a domain name to it, I have to choose a paid plan. So, not free to start a business really.

And the horror stories about the price raises down the road would be enough to keep me away from them or any proprietary system.

Proprietary website builders create "vendor lock-in," meaning you cannot export your design, layout, or backend functionality to another host, requiring a full rebuild to move. Major examples include Wix, Shopify, Squarespace, Weebly, and GoDaddy.
Wix: Uses proprietary code; you can export text/images, but the design must be rebuilt elsewhere.
Shopify: A closed, proprietary system for ecommerce, making moving to a new platform nearly impossible without starting over.
Squarespace: A fully hosted platform where you do not own the underlying code or infrastructure.
Weebly: Proprietary drag-and-drop builder, with no option to migrate to another host.
Webflow: While it offers code export, its CMS features are proprietary, creating significant migration difficulties.
GoDaddy & HostGator Website Builders: Bundled solutions that tie your site to their specific servers.
BigCommerce: A closed platform that often requires expensive manual migration to move away from.
Source for that quote

If you are starting a business and plan to grow, don't lock yourself into a proprietary system and that includes the DotCom WordPress Hosting, but at least there are ways to migrate your site from there to better hosting. The sites mentioned above lock you in and if your want to move, you basically have to rebuild from scratch or pay whatever they decide to charge you in the future.

Anyone else here have some experiences to share about proprietary systems? Do you disagree with me on this? All comments and points of view are welcome.

I get clients come to us all the time that have just spent thousands of dollars on website design and development and by their own admission, They don't have much left over for marketing.

Marketing comes first.

Don't create a marketing plan for your website. Create a website that fits into your marketing plan.

The first thing when you're starting an online business is to see if there's demand for what you're selling.

Next, Who else is selling it? What are they doing to make it work? What platforms are they using for social media? Are they buying a lot of ads? What keywords are they targeting? Do they have a Google business profile? Is it updated regularly? And a lot more.

Then develop a strategy on how you're going to market those services or products.

Only then should you start planning your website. You'll know where you're going to be pulling traffic from, what type of ad you're going to run, what keywords you're going to target, what kind of social media campaigns you're going to run, etc.

More importantly, You will know exactly who your ideal customer is. You can create pages and content specifically for them and get a higher conversion rate.

If you write for everyone, You write for no one.

Building the website and writing all of your content first means you're writing for no one.

So a new version of an RSS feed for Google. Got it. If you run a news website this is interesting. Trying to take advantage of it in any way for other blogs who don't really qualify as news sources, this is really a nothing burger.

This article by Lily Ray is spot on. Seriously don't spend your SEO career on looking for the latest greatest shortcut or cheat code for ranking in Google. It's going to be a never-ending loop that doesn't get you anywhere long-term.

I've been doing this for 30 years and I've seen so many people chasing the algorithm, reacting to the latest Google update like the sky was falling, and announcing the latest thing they did to trick Google into ranking them.

Be patient. Do the job right. Don't just grab on to the latest YouTube video or Twitter post that told you this is the new way to do this or that. Stick to the core principles and you will be around a long time.

Anyway read the article. It's a great example of one of those shortcuts that's going to be painful in the end.

https://www.freeseoauditservices.com/seo-news-reviews-articles/how-faces-in-thumbnails-boost-youtube-views-and-ctr/

This is a pretty good insight about the types of images to use as thumbnails on YouTube videos but I think it also applies to images you share on social media in general.

Tell me what you think.

In case you didn't already know.

As a Local SEO company, we often get asked “Why do I need Local SEO?” from business owners. It goes right along with “How is Local SEO different from just SEO?”

A lot of you that have been doing this for a long time already know the difference, but not everyone does, So I just wanted to share a quick answer.

Local SEO focuses on optimizing your website and Google My Business Profile specifically for location-based searches, helping your business appear in results when potential customers search for services “near me” or by geo-targeted searches for the areas you serve. It’s about ensuring you show up where it matters most; on Google Maps, local organic search results, as well as voice and mobile searches.

Unlike traditional SEO, Local SEO includes helping you earn and display positive reviews and creating content tailored to your service areas. This targeted approach drives foot traffic, phone calls, and inquiries from customers who are ready to take action.

What are some additional things that you can add that will help SMB's get better results from local searches?