Barry Adams 📰
@polemicdigital.com
Specialised SEO and audience growth consultant for news publishers. Co-founder of the News & Editorial SEO Summit. 🇳🇱 in Northern Ireland.
Consulting: https://www.PolemicDigital.com
Newsletter: https://www.SEOforGooglenews.com
Event: https://NewsSEO.io
Consulting: https://www.PolemicDigital.com
Newsletter: https://www.SEOforGooglenews.com
Event: https://NewsSEO.io
Pinned
Barry Adams 📰
@polemicdigital.com
· Nov 22
No, we don’t need a new acronym. Or a new name. Or a new ‘paradigm’.
Whether search is done on a system built on classic information retrieval or on a large language model, it’s a search engine.
Search engine optimisation. SEO.
Don’t be all Hubspotty and try to create a new industry name.
Whether search is done on a system built on classic information retrieval or on a large language model, it’s a search engine.
Search engine optimisation. SEO.
Don’t be all Hubspotty and try to create a new industry name.
Back home after a short but great weekend trip to Paris to watch France v South Africa.
Stade de France really is my favourite stadium in the world. And the French sure know how to put on a great show.
Stade de France really is my favourite stadium in the world. And the French sure know how to put on a great show.
November 9, 2025 at 8:51 PM
Back home after a short but great weekend trip to Paris to watch France v South Africa.
Stade de France really is my favourite stadium in the world. And the French sure know how to put on a great show.
Stade de France really is my favourite stadium in the world. And the French sure know how to put on a great show.
Bullshit call that’s likely to ruin a great game. Ramos was dropping and De Jager was committed to the tackle. Yellow for sure, never a red. Crowd influenced the decision. #FRAvRSA
November 8, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Bullshit call that’s likely to ruin a great game. Ramos was dropping and De Jager was committed to the tackle. Yellow for sure, never a red. Crowd influenced the decision. #FRAvRSA
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
Google published guidance emphasizing context-driven technical SEO audits over tool-generated scores, explaining when high 404s are normal. via @mattgsouthern.bsky.social
#seonews #Google
#seonews #Google
Google Warns Against Relying On SEO Audit Tool Scores
Google published guidance emphasizing context-driven technical SEO audits over tool-generated scores, explaining when high 404s are normal. via @mattgsouthern.bsky.social
#seonews #Google
www.searchenginejournal.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:55 PM
Google published guidance emphasizing context-driven technical SEO audits over tool-generated scores, explaining when high 404s are normal. via @mattgsouthern.bsky.social
#seonews #Google
#seonews #Google
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
We updated our CTR study analyzing impact of AIO presence on CTRs it's not looking good for traffic ...
Jan 24 ➡️ Sep 25
2.68% ➡️ 1.62% - Organic CTR (NO AIO)
1.41% ➡️ .61% - Organic CTR (AIO)
23.07%➡️13.04% - Paid CTR (No AIO)
8.76% ➡️6.34% - Paid CTR (AIO)
www.seerinteractive.com/insights/aio...
Jan 24 ➡️ Sep 25
2.68% ➡️ 1.62% - Organic CTR (NO AIO)
1.41% ➡️ .61% - Organic CTR (AIO)
23.07%➡️13.04% - Paid CTR (No AIO)
8.76% ➡️6.34% - Paid CTR (AIO)
www.seerinteractive.com/insights/aio...
November 6, 2025 at 3:04 PM
We updated our CTR study analyzing impact of AIO presence on CTRs it's not looking good for traffic ...
Jan 24 ➡️ Sep 25
2.68% ➡️ 1.62% - Organic CTR (NO AIO)
1.41% ➡️ .61% - Organic CTR (AIO)
23.07%➡️13.04% - Paid CTR (No AIO)
8.76% ➡️6.34% - Paid CTR (AIO)
www.seerinteractive.com/insights/aio...
Jan 24 ➡️ Sep 25
2.68% ➡️ 1.62% - Organic CTR (NO AIO)
1.41% ➡️ .61% - Organic CTR (AIO)
23.07%➡️13.04% - Paid CTR (No AIO)
8.76% ➡️6.34% - Paid CTR (AIO)
www.seerinteractive.com/insights/aio...
"Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show."
They know, but don't act, because it makes them money.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
They know, but don't act, because it makes them money.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Meta is earning a fortune on a deluge of fraudulent ads, documents show
Meta projected 10% of its 2024 revenue would come from ads for scams and banned goods, and it internally estimates that its platforms show users 15 billion scam ads a day, company documents show.
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:12 PM
"Meta internally projected late last year that it would earn about 10% of its overall annual revenue – or $16 billion – from running advertising for scams and banned goods, internal company documents show."
They know, but don't act, because it makes them money.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
They know, but don't act, because it makes them money.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
Looks like X is juicing web visit numbers by opening a browser WebView in the background whether the user visits the link or not.
They've re-invented pop-under fraud (allegedly).
news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4580...
They've re-invented pop-under fraud (allegedly).
news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4580...
![Tell HN: X is opening any tweet link in a webview whether you press it or not
247 points by stillatit 10 hours ago | hide | past | favorite | 200 comments
Just saw the CEO of Substack celebrating traffic from X/Twitter shooting up thinking they stopped suppressing tweets with links[0]. Actually, this traffic is because now any time you open a tweet with a link, the in-app webview loads in the background, and displays when you press the link.
I run an ecom store that gets a lot of its customers from Twitter. I was also shocked to see my traffic double or triple overnight and thought the algorithm had blessed me and my business. Soon realized what was actually happening. Thought other traffic-monitors might appreciate this explanation.
Meanwhile Nikita Bier is pretending they never suppressed tweets with links to begin with, offering the alternative explanation: "a common complaint is that posts with links tend to get lower reach. This is because the web browser covers the post and people forget to Like or Reply. So X doesn't get a clear signal whether the content is any good"[1]. A bit of a rewriting of history since Elon and his mom both tweeted about how it wasn't fair to use his platform to promote other links/platforms, even banning people who shared profiles of other social networks (including Paul Graham for a period). They suppressed all links shortly after.
[0] https://x.com/cjgbest/status/1985464687350485092
[1] https://x.com/nikitabier/status/1979994223224209709](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:tpg43qhh4lw4ksiffs4nbda3/bafkreia62cq7p2dn2o76cjuuzl5dpwaatnf5m5cl5bm7lmoprsavebgl4q@jpeg)
November 4, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Looks like X is juicing web visit numbers by opening a browser WebView in the background whether the user visits the link or not.
They've re-invented pop-under fraud (allegedly).
news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4580...
They've re-invented pop-under fraud (allegedly).
news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4580...
It's a feature, not a bug.
Google's new ad layout is causing people to accidentally click on ads www.seroundtable.com/googles-ad-l...
#googleads #ppc #google
#googleads #ppc #google
November 3, 2025 at 6:30 PM
It's a feature, not a bug.
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
If you're using a cloud provider to host images / videos / other content, you can and should verify the host in Search Console, so that you're aware of potential issues that affect Google's crawling & indexing, & Safe Browsing. Use a DNS CNAME to the bucket, then verify with DNS. More: (1/n)
November 3, 2025 at 9:42 AM
If you're using a cloud provider to host images / videos / other content, you can and should verify the host in Search Console, so that you're aware of potential issues that affect Google's crawling & indexing, & Safe Browsing. Use a DNS CNAME to the bucket, then verify with DNS. More: (1/n)
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
My latest post is for all the site owners out there getting hammered by AI tools, scrapers, and bots over the past several months -> Stop the AI Tool and scraper madness – Set up Cloudflare today and watch expensive automated traffic disappear [Case Study]
Stop the AI Tool and scraper madness - Set up Cloudflare today and watch expensive automated traffic disappear [Case Study]
Glenn Gabe explains how to block automated traffic from AI tools, scrapers, and bots using Cloudflare (which can save site owners money).
www.gsqi.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:53 PM
My latest post is for all the site owners out there getting hammered by AI tools, scrapers, and bots over the past several months -> Stop the AI Tool and scraper madness – Set up Cloudflare today and watch expensive automated traffic disappear [Case Study]
"Millions shown fake news about the state pension by Google Discover"
With a quote from yours truly
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
With a quote from yours truly
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Millions shown fake news about the state pension by Google
Google has been accused of promoting fake pension news to Britons after showing spam websites with misleading information at the top of its news feeds.
www.yahoo.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:19 PM
"Millions shown fake news about the state pension by Google Discover"
With a quote from yours truly
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
With a quote from yours truly
www.yahoo.com/news/article...
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
Major milestone: AI-generated articles now officially outnumber human-written ones online. Search engines still favor uniquely human content. BUT, it's a new chapter leading us to think about how knowledge is produced and surfaced on the web.
graphite.io/five-percent...
graphite.io/five-percent...
October 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Major milestone: AI-generated articles now officially outnumber human-written ones online. Search engines still favor uniquely human content. BUT, it's a new chapter leading us to think about how knowledge is produced and surfaced on the web.
graphite.io/five-percent...
graphite.io/five-percent...
I’m a member of a few ostensibly SEO-themed WhatsApp groups, and in one of them @dergal.bsky.social has made me into a Simpsons character.
Eerily accurate.
Eerily accurate.
October 28, 2025 at 3:56 PM
I’m a member of a few ostensibly SEO-themed WhatsApp groups, and in one of them @dergal.bsky.social has made me into a Simpsons character.
Eerily accurate.
Eerily accurate.
A great example of “if you can’t attack the message, attack the messenger”.
He’s one of the loudest voices of the AI haters—even as he does PR for AI companies. Either way, Ed Zitron has your attention.
Ed Zitron Gets Paid to Love AI. He Also Gets Paid to Hate AI
He’s one of the loudest voices of the AI haters—even as he does PR for AI companies. Either way, Ed Zitron has your attention.
wrd.cm
October 27, 2025 at 7:47 PM
A great example of “if you can’t attack the message, attack the messenger”.
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
This is a neat feature, and excellent for a quick overview.
It's also handy to point folks who are a bit less savvy with the performance report, or have less time / interest in the nitty gritty and want some more high level overview stuff.
developers.google.com/search/blog/...
It's also handy to point folks who are a bit less savvy with the performance report, or have less time / interest in the nitty gritty and want some more high level overview stuff.
developers.google.com/search/blog/...
Introducing Query groups in Search Console Insights | Google Search Central Blog | Google for Developers
developers.google.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:26 PM
This is a neat feature, and excellent for a quick overview.
It's also handy to point folks who are a bit less savvy with the performance report, or have less time / interest in the nitty gritty and want some more high level overview stuff.
developers.google.com/search/blog/...
It's also handy to point folks who are a bit less savvy with the performance report, or have less time / interest in the nitty gritty and want some more high level overview stuff.
developers.google.com/search/blog/...
Excellent deck with loads of useful advice and insights.
Last Thursday, I gave my second #BrightonSEO talk - "Lessons Learnt from Crawling 1000+ websites" where I shared 12 useful lessons learnt from my success and failures crawling 1000's of web sites over the last 30 years
speakerdeck.com/charlesmeade...
speakerdeck.com/charlesmeade...
Lessons Learnt from Crawling 1000+ Websites
First presented at BrightonSEO October 2025, this deck contains 12 important lessons for crawling websites based on our success and failures over the la…
speakerdeck.com
October 27, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Excellent deck with loads of useful advice and insights.
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
We went red for a moment; money from Buy Me a Coffee came in and saved us, but only for one week.
#seocharity
If you can spare $10 would be a great help
Single donation (any amount)
donate.stripe.com/6oE15C1Srfzn...
A regular $10 a month donation
buy.stripe.com/9AQ9C87cL4UJ...
#seocharity
If you can spare $10 would be a great help
Single donation (any amount)
donate.stripe.com/6oE15C1Srfzn...
A regular $10 a month donation
buy.stripe.com/9AQ9C87cL4UJ...
October 27, 2025 at 8:03 AM
We went red for a moment; money from Buy Me a Coffee came in and saved us, but only for one week.
#seocharity
If you can spare $10 would be a great help
Single donation (any amount)
donate.stripe.com/6oE15C1Srfzn...
A regular $10 a month donation
buy.stripe.com/9AQ9C87cL4UJ...
#seocharity
If you can spare $10 would be a great help
Single donation (any amount)
donate.stripe.com/6oE15C1Srfzn...
A regular $10 a month donation
buy.stripe.com/9AQ9C87cL4UJ...
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
Oh boy -> Google Investigates Weekslong Security Breach Involving Contractor
"Google is investigating a breach of its security systems involving a contractor who took almost 2,000 screenshots and sensitive internal files, including information related to Google’s Play store systems & guardrails..."
"Google is investigating a breach of its security systems involving a contractor who took almost 2,000 screenshots and sensitive internal files, including information related to Google’s Play store systems & guardrails..."
Google Investigates Weekslong Security Breach Involving Contractor
Google is investigating a breach of its security systems involving a contractor who took almost 2,000 screenshots and sensitive internal files, including information related to Google’s Play store sys...
www.theinformation.com
October 26, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Oh boy -> Google Investigates Weekslong Security Breach Involving Contractor
"Google is investigating a breach of its security systems involving a contractor who took almost 2,000 screenshots and sensitive internal files, including information related to Google’s Play store systems & guardrails..."
"Google is investigating a breach of its security systems involving a contractor who took almost 2,000 screenshots and sensitive internal files, including information related to Google’s Play store systems & guardrails..."
Reposted by Barry Adams 📰
ChatGPT doesn’t have access to Google’s search data. It can’t tell you real search volumes. It can’t analyse actual ranking difficulty. It can’t crawl your website to find technical issues. It can’t show you your competitors’ backlink profiles.
October 24, 2025 at 8:30 AM
ChatGPT doesn’t have access to Google’s search data. It can’t tell you real search volumes. It can’t analyse actual ranking difficulty. It can’t crawl your website to find technical issues. It can’t show you your competitors’ backlink profiles.