SODP Dispatch - 28 August 2025

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How To Get into Google Discover With Paid Traffic

By RollerAds

If you run a website, you’ve probably come across the buzz around Google Discover—and the hype is well deserved. As one of the most dynamic traffic channels available, Discover can drive thousands (sometimes even millions) of new visitors to your site.

Most publishers associate getting featured in Discover with SEO and strong search rankings, and while that’s true, it’s not the only way to break through. There’s another approach that can generate recurring results and amplify your reach.

In this article, we’ll share insights from our partners at RollerAds, who successfully combine paid traffic with Google Discover to achieve both short-term gains and long-term growth. Let’s dive into how this synergy works.

💡 What you will learn:

• Reach Google discover with paid traffic

• Custom messages mean reach

• Monetizing discover traffic with RollerAds

• Push & other monetization strategies

🍽️ SODP Dinner series

Following our recent dinner event in New York, we are pleased to announce the upcoming editions of our Audience & Revenue Innovation Series, with events scheduled to take place in London and Dubai. This exclusive dinner series will bring together senior media publishing leaders and executives to explore the rewritten global and local playbooks for audience monetization and growth. Seats are limited, register now for the events. Register for London dinner ▸ Register for Dubai dinner ▸

🧭Elements of Audience Engagement

Elements of Audience Engagement is a mindset, an introduction, and a toolkit. It is grounded in the belief that in a digital information ecosystem, prioritising audiences, their needs and habits, is journalism’s most resilient foundation for growth and impact, enabling newsrooms not just to survive but to adapt with purpose. See more ▸

🔍 Edge of Search 2025

The 2025 edition of this in-person conference brings together leading search marketing professionals to share real-world strategies, future-focused SEO skills, and proven frameworks. You will learn how SEO really works, sharpen your search skills for what’s next, and boost the performance of your digital team with insights built for action. See more ▸

By Vahe Arabian

💥 Maximize your SEO with optimized tag pages

Tag pages often get overlooked, but they can be a goldmine for publisher SEO when optimized properly.

Tag pages aren’t just labels for your content—they’re part of your site’s organization system. Think of them as sections that help users and search engines find content on specific topics. When done right, tags and categories support content discovery and boost topical authority.

Here are some types of taxonomy to consider:

• Hierarchical Taxonomy: Categories like “Sports” > “Football” > “Premier League.”

• Flat Taxonomy: Tags that link related entities without hierarchy, like “World Cup.”

• Network Taxonomy: Used for related content across different topics, which helps with contextual navigation.

• Facet Taxonomy: Attributes like price range or ratings, commonly seen in e-commerce, to filter content.

When used correctly, tag pages can be transformed into new sections of your site. If a tag has enough related content, it could even become its own custom post type or a dedicated section. For example, "Cruise Destinations" could evolve into a full section, drawing in more visitors on its own.

Here’s how to make tag pages work for you:

1. Target specific topics: Instead of broad terms like “Events,” go for something more specific, like “Sydney Food Festival” to capture those niche searches.

2. Create depth: Once tags have enough content, turn them into dedicated sections with custom post types.

3. Improve user experience: Clean up the layout to make it easy for users to find related content. Simple navigation, relevant images, and clear headings will keep people engaged.

Mistakes to watch out for:

• Too many tags or categories: Keep it simple. Having too many tags dilutes their effectiveness, causes cannibalization and makes it harder for users to find what they need.

• Thin content: If a tag page only has a handful of posts, it’s not doing much for SEO. Consider merging tags or applying a “noindex” tag if there’s little content to justify the page.

Tag pages shouldn’t just sit there. When optimized well, they can drive traffic and even become a major part of your site’s structure. The more focused and well-organized your taxonomies are, the easier it will be for both users and search engines to find your content.

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Perplexity’s Discover Pages Offer A Surprising SEO Insight | SEJ

A post on LinkedIn called attention to Perplexity’s content discovery feed called Discover, which generates content on trending news topics. It praised the feed as a positive example of programmatic SEO, although some said that its days in Google’s search results are numbered. Everyone in that discussion believes those pages are one thing. In fact, they are something else entirely. Perplexity publishes a Discover feed of trending topics. Read more ▸

Half of UK adults worry that AI will take or alter their job, poll finds | The Guardian

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SEO Has Been Tactical for 20 Years. GenAI Forces the Strategy Question | Duane Forrester Decodes

For as long as I’ve been in this industry, there’s been debate about whether SEO is strategic or tactical. Most SEOs would like to believe their work is strategic. Many executives see it as tactical. The truth is somewhere in between, and the arrival of generative AI is forcing a new level of clarity. This matters because “strategy” and “tactics” are not synonyms. In business, strategy is the plan. Tactics are the moves. Confusing the two doesn’t just muddy language. It leads to wasted resources, stalled initiatives, and misplaced expectations for what SEO can and cannot deliver. Read more ▸