Search Off the Record takes you behind the scenes of Google Search and its inner workings! In each episode, the folks from the Search Relations team will give you background info on the decision-making behind launches, feature prioritization in Search Console, and the projects Google Search teams are working on. They will share fun stories from the many conferences they attend as well as from their day-to-day working life at Google. They will also dive into the currently trending conversations in the SEO community at large. Have a listen!
#332 – 4 PROVEN Steps To Beat Google Updates
Google just released a fat core update and all the rules you know about SEO are about to change again. As Google has already started de-indexing what they deem to be low quality sites, content auditing has never been more important.
It's the process that might save you from an extinction event during the next update, or could resurrect your site if you've already been affected. Plus, it's the only process that's consistently shown results for websites affected by previous large updates like Panda, medic, spam and core updates.
So in this episode, we dive into what this latest core update means for SEO practices, and break down exactly what you need to do to curate content that will keep Google – and you – happy.
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A special thanks to our sponsors for this episode, Digital PR Agency, Search Intelligence.
https://search-intelligence.co.uk/
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Full show notes:
https://www.authorityhacker.com/podcasts/4-proven-steps-to-beat-google-updates/
Debugging the Internet: HTTP, TCP, and You
In this episode of Search Off the Record, Gary Illyes
and Martin Splitt from the Google Search team dive deep into the
foundations of how the web works—specifically HTTP, TCP, UDP, and
newer technologies like QUIC and HTTP/3. The two reflect on how
even experienced web professionals often overlook or forget the
mechanics behind these core protocols, sharing insights through
technical discussion, playful banter, and analogies ranging from
messenger pigeons to teapots. The conversation spans key concepts
like packet transmission, connection handshakes, and the importance
of status codes such as 404, 204, and even 418 (“I’m a
teapot”).
Throughout the conversation, they connect these
protocols back to real-world implications for site owners,
developers, and SEOs—like why Search Console might report network
errors, and how browser or server behavior is influenced by
low-level transport decisions. With a mix of humor and expertise,
Gary and Martin aim to demystify a crucial part of the internet’s
infrastructure and remind listeners of the layered complexity that
makes modern web experiences possible.
Resources:
Episode transcript →https://goo.gle/sotr091-transcript
Listen to more Search Off the Record → https://goo.gle/sotr-yt
Subscribe to Google Search Channel → https://goo.gle/SearchCentral
Search Off the Record is a podcast series that takes
you behind the scenes of Google Search with the Search Relations
team.
#SOTRpodcast #SEO #Http
Speakers: Lizzi Sassman, John Mueller, Martin Splitt,
Gary Illyes
Products Mentioned: Search Console – General
#333 – The Secret to RTINGS.com's SEO Success
RTINGS.com is one of the most successful product review sites of all time. Despite 'only' having a DR 75 domain and competing against sites like PCMag, Tech Radar, New York Times, the Wire Cutter, and CNET (all DR 90+ sites), they have over 4 million monthly organic visits.
So how exactly did they pull this off?
In this week’s episode, Mark sits down Pauline Duthiel, Head of Digital Marketing at RTINGS.com to take a look behind the scenes at what SEO looks like at one of the world's most loved review sites – and it was nothing like we expected.
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A special thanks to our sponsors for this episode, Digital PR and link building solution, BuzzStream:
https://www.buzzstream.com/link-building
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Full show notes:
https://www.authorityhacker.com/podcasts/the-secret-to-rtings-seo-success/
SOTR091_Transcript.pdf
Search Off the Record takes you behind the scenes of Google Search and its inner workings! In each episode, the folks from the Search Relations team will give you background info on the decision-making behind launches, feature prioritization in Search Console, and the projects Google Search teams are working on. They will share fun stories from the many conferences they attend as well as from their day-to-day working life at Google. They will also dive into the currently trending conversations in the SEO community at large. Have a listen!
#334 – March Core Update Analysis with Lily Ray
As we come to the end of the March 2024 Core update, many things have changed in the Google landscape, and it’s time to start looking at where we landed.
To help navigate these changes, we wanted to bring a guest that’s out in the trenches every day – prominent and very opinionated character in the industry, Lily Ray 
She hares a ton of interesting insights about SEO on social media, including a lot of original research.
In this episode, Lily and Gael get straight to it and cover many of the hottest topics in search right now, including:
the visibility changes of pure content sites and how your business model may affect your visibility Reddit and Quora monopolizing search results and how long it may last HCU, and the divergence between Google’s guidelines and what we observe signals outside of the“traditional” that Google is giving a lot of importance to these days
We also take a look at specific examples – and they often break the rules – so don’t miss out on this one.
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Host: Gael Breton
Guest: Lily Ray
Full show notes:
https://www.authorityhacker.com/334-march-core-update-analysis-lily-ray/
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A special thanks to our sponsors for this episode, the all-in-one SEO tool set, Ahrefs:
https://www.authorityhacker.com/recommends/ahrefs/
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Looking for 100s of more episodes like these? Check out our main YouTube channel: https://www.authorityhacker.com/podcast/
Or visit our podcast page: https://www.authorityhacker.com/podcast/
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More about Lily Ray
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lilyraynyc
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lily-ray-44755615/
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