Industry News

Google started to roll out the Google September 2023 Helpful Content Update last Thursday afternoon and I've been seeing mixed signals about how strong and widespread this update is. There are definitely site owners and SEOs claiming some of their sites were hit hard but the tracking tools are reporting relatively calm weather since the update started.

Last night, Google began to roll out an update to the Helpful content system - the Google September 2023 Helpful Content Update. What is new is not the part about finding hidden gems (that will come later) but a new "improved classifier."

I am seeing some early signs of maybe the first set of tremors post the Google August 2023 core update, which completed rolling out on September 7th. The new tremors seemed to have started yesterday morning and seem to be continuing throughout today.

The Google August 2023 Broad Core update finished rolling out yesterday afternoon at about 4:03 PM ET. It took just over 16 days to roll out, kicking off on August 22, 2023, at about 1:30 pm ET and completing on September 7, 2023, at about 4:00 PM ET.

How to Scale Yourself Down has some really interesting advice on how to go from leading a team at a bigger company to rolling up your sleeves at a startup. A couple of my favorite quotes:

Avoid process out of practice. Leaders who are successful in a startup are the ones who naturally reinvent their own toolboxes, and question what the process is trying to accomplish before establishing something that might be too heavyweight.

However, process is a double-sided coin. “There’s often an...

There’s a concept in UX design that I’ve been thinking about a lot in the context of interpersonal work relationships. It’s called “The 9x Effect” and I wrote about it… checks watch… 10 years ago. In short (and heavily simplified), customers value their existing solution/product 3x more than any new “innovation”, and companies overvalue their innovative new product by 3x of what’s currently in the market. So you end up with a 9x mismatch between what companies build and what people believe...

I came across a couple of really helpful articles recently about how to start a new job well. 30 Tips for New Startup Employees is a long and super useful read—and not just relevant for startups:

Align yourself with the risks of the company. If you’re an engineer but the company is not acquiring customers fast enough, spend your time in marketing. Have range, and don’t try to be too narrow in your focus in the early days. Gain knowledge in a few different areas of the business so you can...

We are expecting Google to announce that the Google August 2023 core update has been completed any minute now. But yesterday, I believe we saw another wave of volatility, maybe the final wave of fluctuations before Google calls this update as being done.