SODP Dispatch - 16 May 2024

Monetization Week: New Speakers Announced

We are delighted to announce the addition of two new speakers to our panel of experts who will be sharing their knowledge and best practices at Monetization Week.

• Ivo Bobal, Publisher Development Manager, Romania at Geozo
  Fact and fiction about native ads: Mythbusting with Geozo

  Native ads — the monetization of your web traffic. By separating theory from proof, this interactive presentation will bring the facts to the screen. You will gain valuable knowledge on how to navigate the specifics of native ads and how to get the most out of it.

• Radu Cotarcea, Managing Editor, CEE Legal Matters
  Radu will be joining the panel with Gabriella Petrova from PhoneArena to discuss how publishers can diversify their revenue streams through ecommerce, affiliate, and offline events.

27-31 May | Online | Register for the entire event or a single session.

By Vahe Arabian

🔎 Adapting to multi-model search

The March Google core and spam updates underscore the necessity of adapting to multi-model search and a new paradigm.

Recent developments, as highlighted in articles such as this one and this one, shed light on the strategies employed by international publishing giants like Forbes, CNN, and Reddit, capitalizing on content velocity, producing vast content clusters and prioritizing UGC (sometimes older results) to outshine smaller publishers.

Anecdotally, I observed:

1. how multi-navigational elements are used to separate completely different subjects and siloed sections, i.e., here 

2. the recovery of entertainment/culture and local queries for pubs from the old HCU update

3. the ongoing increase in performance for programmatic-driven sites

4. publishers showing resilience and site reputation recovery due to creating brand signals from online magazines or offline events from the first HCU update.

Content velocity remains paramount regardless of the first-hand perspective and E-E-A-T elements added to a site. By covering your content clusters comprehensively, you can cut through your competition.

However, small—to medium-sized publishers face challenges when they spread themselves too thin across multiple categories with minimal content and excessively monetize the site, lowering their perceived expertise.

Generative AI is here to stay as Google begins rolling out the AI overview feature in the main search results and is rumored to release an OpenAI search. It is a confronting period for everyone, and we are working with our newer clients to recover (thank goodness most of our existing clients are okay).

With things relatively more settled, let’s recap on the next steps:

1. Take a multi-model approach to search: Focus on producing relevant content that aligns with AI advancements and multimodal search/conversational inputs to maintain visibility and relevance in SERPs.

2. Balance editorial and commercial content: Concentrate on the core categories deeply into their content clusters. Then, focus on integrating promotional elements/widgets to increase personalization and content syndication. In the worst case, silo product-driven content on a separate section with a separate CMS install.

3. Allocate 5-10% of your budget to marketing that can help you build your business branding, whether it’s digital PR and events or creating new products that distinguish you in the market. Programmatic content could even be the basis for creating product-led or service-led offerings.

Let's avoid becoming case studies of past short-lived publishing successes due to flagged tactics and keep the conversation focused on the constant evolution of search and digital media publishing strategies.

🗓️ The Audiencers’ Festival

The Audiencers has announced its next Festival – this time in London on June 21st. It’s an afternoon of expertise covering everything engagement, conversion & retention, plus a networking drinks evening.
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🛠️ SEO tool tracking SGE

Check out ZipTie.dev to analyze why your website is not reaching its full potential and find areas for improvement and see how well you rank in Google’s SGE.
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Google rolls out AI Overviews in US with more countries coming soon | Search Engine Land

AI Overview link cards get a higher click through rate than normal web search results but Google won't break out click data in Search Consoles for content creators.
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Apple News adds a new original game to boost News+ subscriptions | NiemanLab

On Monday, Apple debuted an original word game, called Quartiles, for Apple News+ subscribers. With the rollout of iOS 17.5, the game is available to Apple News+ subscribers (it’s $13 a month) based in the U.S. and Canada.
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Google Rolls Out New ‘Web’ Filter For Search Results | Search Engine Journal

Google added a new "Web" filter to show only text-based webpage links. The filter caters to searchers who prefer stripped-down, simplistic search results. It's a throwback to the early days of search with just website links.
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Vice Media partners with Savage Ventures to relaunch digital brands | Axios

Vice Media said it will create a joint venture with Nashville-based Savage Ventures to relaunch its digital properties, including Vice.com, Munchies, Motherboard, and Noisey. The investment marks the first effort by Vice Media to substantially re-invest in its digital brands following a bankruptcy buyout last year.
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Web publishers brace for carnage as Google adds AI answers | The Washington Post

Some publishers worry about the impact of AI summaries in Google's Search Generative Experience; Raptive estimates some may lose up to 60% of their traffic.
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