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Two Search Experts Discuss Blogging About SEO With Barry Schwartz

March 10, 2023·1 hr 10 min·6 clips

Barry Schwartz defied Google for years by refusing to nofollow his sponsored links.

This episode features a conversation between Loren Baker of Search Engine Journal and Barry Schwartz, the longtime blogger behind Search Engine Roundtable, celebrating nearly 20 years of SEO journalism. Schwartz describes his role as essentially 'copying and pasting' content, but explains his value lies in curating and highlighting important conversations from forums and social media that might otherwise be buried. He publishes approximately 10 posts daily across Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land, covering everything from Google algorithm updates to industry discussions. The conversation shifts to the current AI revolution in search, with both hosts having recently attended Microsoft's ChatGPT-powered Bing unveiling. They discuss how this represents the biggest change in search since Google's Universal Search launch in 2007. Schwartz analyzes how AI search results could disrupt the traditional cost-per-click advertising model that has remained largely unchanged since GoTo.com, noting that when users get comprehensive answers directly in search results, they may not click through to websites or ads. The discussion explores the potential for alternative search engines to gain market share, with particular focus on Apple's position given that over 50% of Google's search traffic comes through Apple devices. They speculate about whether Apple could leverage Siri and AI to create a competitive search experience. Both bloggers share personal stories about their biggest regrets in blogging. Schwartz reveals he only blocked one post in 20 years from his robots.txt file - a story about a girlfriend spamming Google Images with memes of her boyfriend that unexpectedly went viral beyond the SEO community and caused distress to the people involved. Baker discusses early mistakes in content moderation when bringing on guest writers. Schwartz explains his editorial policy of never writing about something unless it's already been discussed publicly elsewhere, which has protected him from breaking embargoes or revealing confidential information despite having access to insider knowledge from both SEOs and Google employees. The conversation touches on the evolution from forum-based discussions to social media, how Schwartz adapted his content sources over time, and the challenges of moderating comments while maintaining an open community. They also discuss Schwartz's brief venture into automotive blogging with Lucid Motors, which he abandoned due to harassment from stock trading communities. The episode concludes with discussion of Google's historical stance on paid links and how Schwartz initially resisted implementing nofollow attributes, eventually yielding to Google's requirements after a prolonged standoff.

As heard by us

A seasoned SEO conversation about publishing discipline, not just rankings.

Barry Schwartz and Loren Baker turn a long friendship into a plainspoken discussion about publishing, judgment, and almost 20 years of blogging.

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Why you'd press play

Barry Schwartz on the one publishing rule that keeps SEO commentary tied to public sources.

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