I’ve been doing this for over 20 years. Long enough to watch every supposed “SEO revolution” come and go. Long enough to know that most of what you read about search engine optimisation is either outdated, speculative, or flat-out wrong.

So when I came across recent insights from Barry Schwartz (Search Engine Roundtable founder) and David Quaid (literally called “the king of SEO” by Google), I paid attention. These aren’t people guessing at algorithms from the outside. They’re talking directly to Google.

Here’s what they’re actually seeing – and what it means for your business.

Stop Waiting for Google to Announce Changes

Remember when Google used to tell us about major updates? Those days are done.

Barry’s been tracking algorithm shifts for years, and here’s what he’s noticed: Google confirmed maybe 3-4 major updates in 2024, compared to 6-8 in previous years. Sounds like they’re slowing down, right?

Wrong.

The unconfirmed updates are happening constantly. Google’s just stopped bothering to announce them.

What this means for you: forget waiting for official announcements. Start checking your rankings weekly. Look for patterns. Watch what’s actually happening to your sites, not what some newsletter tells you should be happening.

Your “Jack of All Trades” Website Is Dead

December 2024 was brutal for sites trying to rank for everything.

HubSpot – HubSpot – lost 300 million visits. Gone. Because they chased traffic outside their core expertise.

Google’s decided it knows what your lane is. Try to rank outside it, and you’ll get hammered.

I’ve been saying this for years: most small businesses don’t need 500-page websites covering every tangential topic under the sun. Pick what you’re actually expert at. Go deep on that. Build subtopics within your niche. Each piece of content should reinforce what you’re known for.

Broad used to work. Now it kills you.

AI Mode Isn’t Taking Over Tomorrow (Probably)

Everyone’s panicking about AI Mode becoming Google’s default. “Traditional search is dead!” they cry.

Barry says: not yet. The hallucination problem is too severe.

Nearly 30% of users watch live streams weekly because they want information from real humans, not AI guesses.

Keep building for traditional search. Prepare for AI, sure – but don’t abandon what’s actually working for what might happen. I’ve seen too many businesses chase the shiny new thing and tank their revenue.

The Reddit Gold Rush Won’t Last

I’ve watched this exact pattern play out multiple times:

Yahoo Answers dominated search results. SEOs flooded it. Quality dropped. Google moved on.

Then Quora. Then Wikipedia had its moment. Now it’s Reddit.

Reddit will probably stay strong through 2026. But if your entire content strategy is “post on Reddit,” you’re building on rented land.

Own your domain. Use these platforms for distribution, not as your foundation. When Google inevitably moves on from Reddit (and they will), you need to still be standing.

Backlinks Still Matter (Anyone Telling You Otherwise Is Lying)

Let me be clear: backlinks aren’t going anywhere.

Google actually tested ranking without links. It failed completely.

Yes, they’re using more signals now – user engagement metrics, navigation patterns. But links remain fundamental. And here’s the kicker: if AI Mode does become more prevalent, new sites lose the traffic they need to build those engagement signals.

Which makes backlinks even more critical.

Focus on earning citations from trusted sources in your niche. Real digital PR. Relevant mentions. Quality over quantity, always.

The Listicle Loophole (And Why It’ll Backfire)

Right now, ChatGPT and Perplexity love citing listicles. Especially self-promotional ones where companies rank themselves first.

Some sites are churning out 4,000-5,000 pages of this rubbish, gaming every micro-niche variation they can find.

Barry’s take? It looks cheap and will backfire.

Structured content works. Clear formatting helps. But get OTHER trusted sources to cite you. Self-promotion disguised as authority won’t survive. It never does.

YouTube Is Your Search Engine Now

Most clickable website in search results? Not Reddit.

YouTube.

If you’re not creating video content targeting search keywords, you’re invisible to massive traffic. And YouTube now auto-generates vertical clips from horizontal videos. One 30-minute video becomes 15+ pieces of content.

Put your keyword at the start of your title. Talk about it in the video. Repost with different angles. It’s not complicated.

The Real Skill You Need? Explaining Why You’re Worth It

Traditional metrics are breaking. Traffic numbers mean less when AI doesn’t give click data. Conversions look different when user journeys fragment across platforms.

David says the critical skill is critical thinking. Barry says it’s being able to communicate value as metrics shift.

They’re both right.

The SEOs who survive will prove ROI even when attribution models fall apart. They’ll explain their value in terms clients actually understand.

Most agencies can’t do this. They hide behind vanity metrics and vague promises about “visibility.”

One Last Thing: Multiple Focused Domains Beat One Scattered Site

This used to be considered spammy. Now? With topical authority constraints tightening, having genuinely expert domains for different verticals makes strategic sense.

The key word: genuine. Not thin affiliate sites. Real expertise in specific niches.

Here’s the difference between this advice and what you’ll read elsewhere: this comes from people who talk to Google directly.

Want to discuss what this actually means for your business? That’s what I’m here for.