🚨Black Hats just pulled off something wild...

Hi iwan, Black Hat SEO just made a comeback. December brought some wild stories that could change how you think about rankings, AI, and search in 2026. Here's what's packed into this month's roundup: How Black Hat SEOs may have just pulled off a shocking attack on Disney's website (and the old-school trick that made it work) New research reveals how easy it is to manipulate AI models (Black Hats are already exploiting this weakness) Google's latest move that could make traditional search results disappear for good ...and much more you need to see. Read the roundup here: https://diggitymarketing.com/news-roundup-dec-2025/ Don't miss out on the latest news. To your continued success, Matt Diggity

30 N Gould St, Ste #4000, Sheridan WY 82801 USA
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Former Moz head of SEO reveals truth about AI SEO…

Follow this playbook in 2026

Hi iwan, Cyrus Shepard has 16+ years in SEO and used to run search at Moz. Three months ago, AI optimization made up 0% of his consulting work. Today? 70-80%. And he's expecting that to reach 100% in 2026. Here's the exact playbook he's using with clients right now: 1. Audit your content by type (some will survive, some won't) E-commerce and service-based content is holding strong. Informational blog content is getting destroyed. According to Cyrus,: "If you can write the article with AI without any proprietary knowledge, that's exactly the content seeing declines." Run through your site and separate content into three buckets: Transactional (product pages, service offerings) - these are safe Informational with unique data (case studies, original research) - these can survive Generic informational (standard blog posts anyone could write) - these are dying Focus your energy on buckets one and two. 2. Add proprietary elements AI can't replicate Cyrus is telling every client the same thing: your content needs something AI can't generate. Examples that work: Webinar libraries with actual expert insights Human interviews with industry leaders Custom graphics showing your specific data Proprietary information from your business (manufacturing specs, internal processes, client results) Firsthand experience with photos and specific details One of his attorney clients added "expert in X, recognized by Y" statements directly on their homepage. Near-instant improvement in AI Overview citations. The AI could parse that expertise signal immediately. 3. Optimize your homepage for AI parsing Most people ignore their homepage for SEO. Big mistake in the AI era. Cyrus found that putting "about us" content directly on the homepage with clear expertise signals works. Structure it so AI can easily extract: What you're an expert in Who recognizes that expertise Specific credentials and achievements Clear service or product offerings AI tools need to parse this information quickly to cite you. Make it obvious. 4. Track AI visibility (not just rankings) Cyrus runs AI visibility reports every week for clients using tools like Gumshoe AI. These tools ask thousands of questions to AI search engines about your brand and track how often you appear. Then they reverse engineer why those brands show up and give optimization suggestions. You need to know: How often your brand appears in AI responses What sentiment those mentions carry Which competitors appear instead of you What content types get cited most Traditional rank tracking won't cut it anymore. 5. Accept the automation paradox Here's the conflict every SEO faces right now: Social media tells you to automate everything with AI. Google actively devalues automated AI content. Cyrus is clear: "The content that's really rising, that people want to link to, that Google wants to reward? That's the stuff that's NOT being automated." Use AI to assist your process, not replace it entirely. Curation now matters more than production. 6. Prepare for Google's quality rater changes Earlier this year, Google started instructing quality raters to identify auto-generated AI content. According to Cyrus, it takes about a year for quality rater feedback to work into the algorithm. That means ranking impacts could be coming soon for obviously AI-generated content. If your content looks like it came straight from ChatGPT with no human touch, you're at risk. 7. Focus on content with images and detailed how-tos Generic text-based articles are struggling. Content with rich visuals and step-by-step processes still performs. The more your content requires visual explanation, the better it survives AI summarization. Users still click through for detailed visual guides even when AI provides text summaries. 8. Don't chase AI Overview appearances blindly When asked about the most overhyped trend, Cyrus said: "Appearing as a source in AI Overviews." Why? No click-through rate. He's still doing it for clients because "we have nowhere else to go," but he's honest about the limited value. Appearing in AI Overviews builds brand awareness, not traffic. Adjust your expectations accordingly. Want to know if your content is ready for this shift? I'll audit your site and show you exactly which content types are at risk and what needs to change. Get your free AI audit here. To your continued success, Matt Diggity

30 N Gould St, Ste #4000, Sheridan WY 82801 USA
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How we grew a service business by 46% in 12 months

The 4-step strategy that took organic sessions from 1,712 to 2,512

Hi iwan, A service-based business came to us stuck with weak rankings, barely any authority, and stagnant traffic. 12 months later? Their organic sessions jumped from 1,712 to 2,512 (+46.73% growth). Here's the exact strategy we used to turn things around. 1. Rebuild Domain Authority With High-Quality, Niche-Relevant Links Launch a link campaign focused on earning DR 50+ backlinks from credible, niche-relevant industry sites (not generic directories or low-quality blogs). Strengthen authority by securing links with contextual, keyword-aligned anchor text that point directly to high-value pages. Prioritize link equity routing to core revenue-driving pages to accelerate trust signals, improve rankings, and hit authority-growth targets faster than relying on volume-based link building. 2. Scale Content Volume With Trust-Led On-Page Improvements Expand content by sourcing real user questions from Google's People Also Ask, Search Console queries, Reddit and forums, competitor FAQs to create high-intent, commercially relevant content. Strengthen credibility by adding proof and trust elements (case studies, testimonials, before/after examples, expert bios) across key pages to improve credibility and conversion confidence. Complete technical on-page improvements (heading hierarchy fixes, internal link placements, and making sure all new content was included in sitemaps) to support indexing and discoverability. 3. Improve Core Service Pages for Fast Conversion and Ranking Gains Improve titles, metadata, and H1/H2 structures on core service pages to align with search intent and increase click-through rates. Perform detailed heading tag audits to make sure each high-value page follows a clean, logical structure that Google can interpret and rank more effectively. Prioritize these improvements early to secure quick, high-impact ranking lifts for the most commercially important pages. 4. Stabilize Rankings Through Structured Data and Business Profile Cleanup Perform a deep diagnostic on underperforming pages to identify content, technical, and business profile discrepancies. Fix incorrect Schema markup by including a proper primary address and clearly linking relevant pages within the site's structured data, improving Google's understanding of business entity relationships. Complete a full business profile audit to confirm NAP (name, address, phone) accuracy, adding relevant photos and responding to customer reviews to build trust. The result of these changes? Organic sessions increased from 1,712 to 2,512 (+46.73% growth) Engaged sessions jumped from 973 to 1,469 (+50.98% growth) Want similar results for your site? Head over to The Search Initiative. We'll give you a free audit and actionable strategies to grow your traffic right away. To your continued success, Matt Diggity

30 N Gould St, Ste #4000, Sheridan WY 82801 USA
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Google's Head of Search broke her silence…

Why your traffic dropped (it's not AI)

Hey iwan, After 20 years inside Google, Liz Reid knows more about Search than almost anyone alive. She just gave The Wall Street Journal an interview about AI, traffic drops, and where Search is heading. And what she revealed completely contradicts what most SEO experts are saying right now. Here's what you need to know: 1. AI Overviews aren't killing Google's revenue (but they ARE changing user behavior) Liz Reid confirmed that ad revenue with AI Overviews has been "relatively stable." Here's why: some queries get fewer ad clicks, but AI Overviews cause people to search MORE overall. The math works like this: Most queries don't show ads anyway. Your "who's the parent of this celebrity" searches never had ads before;, they don't have ads now. Commercial queries still convert. If the ads are for shoes, you still need to buy the shoes. AI Overviews help with research, users still click through to purchase. Lower barriers increase search volume. When people believe they can get answers quickly and reliably, they ask more questions overall. Google Lens proved this model. Users now photograph things they'd never have bothered describing with text. Those extra searches compensate for lower click-through rates. The lesson: AI Overviews reduce friction, which increases total search volume, which balances out the revenue equation. 2. The REAL reason your traffic is down (and it's not AI) Liz Reid said publishers are seeing traffic drops because of a massive behavioral shift that's happening alongside AI. Users (especially younger ones) are going to: Short-form video instead of long articles Forums and user-generated content instead of traditional sites Podcasts instead of written content YouTube for cooking recipes instead of food blogs Google's algorithm updates are RESPONDING to this shift, not creating it. They're surfacing more of what users actually want, which means traditional long-form web content is losing ground. 3. Google is updating rankings to match where users actually go This isn't just about AI Overviews. Google runs user research, tests changes, watches how users actually behave, then adjusts the algorithm accordingly. Liz said: "We have to respond to who users want to hear from. We are in the business of both giving them high-quality information, but information that they seek out." Translation: If users prefer Reddit threads over your blog post, Google will rank the Reddit thread higher. Your content strategy needs to adapt to how people actually consume information now, not how they consumed it five years ago. 4. The types of content that survive AI Overviews Here's what Liz said gets clicks even when AI Overviews appear: Richer, deeper content that goes beyond surface-level information Content with unique human perspective and expertise Material from creators who bring real craft and time to their work Sources that users already trust and have relationships with Google is tracking "bounced clicks" where users click a result, immediately regret it, and go back. AI Overviews reduce bounced clicks because they filter out the surface-level content that doesn't add value beyond what the AI already summarized. 5. Inline links are becoming the new citation model Google is adding more inline links within AI Overviews. According to Liz: "We could say, 'According to Bold Names, here's what they have to say,' and then click-through out. Building both the brand as well as the click-through." This is your opportunity. Being cited with inline links means: Your brand gets visibility even without the click Users see you positioned as the authoritative source You build brand recognition that drives direct visits later Position your content to be THE definitive source on specific topics, not just another page covering the same information. 6. The dead internet problem (and why Google cares) When asked about "dead internet theory", where most content becomes AI-generated garbage, Liz acknowledged it's a real concern. But here's what Google is doing about it: Prioritizing content from human perspective and expertise Filtering out "AI slop" that doesn't add value beyond what AI already provides Upweighting content from creators who bring unique insights and real craft She confirmed that Google wants to surface content that shows real human expertise, not recycled AI summaries. 7. How AI actually helps niche creators win This part surprised me. Liz explained that AI search enables more specific queries, which helps niche creators get discovered. Old search: "I want a dress for the wedding". New AI search: "I want a dress for the wedding that is made by a merchant with the following values, and is also red, and is short..." That specificity helps Google connect users with niche merchants and creators who would never have ranked for generic terms. If you serve a specific audience with specific needs, AI search actually HELPS you get found by the right people. Your action plan: Based on everything Liz revealed: Create deeper, more valuable content than AI can summarize. Go beyond surface-level information that users can get from the Overview. Add unique human perspective and expertise. Share your testing results, your failures, your specific process. Adapt to how users actually consume information. If your audience prefers video, create video. If they want quick answers, provide them. Build brand recognition and trust. Being known matters more when users can't distinguish between sources in AI responses. Focus on specific, niche topics where you can be the definitive authority. Generic coverage gets buried. The publishers who survive this shift won't be the ones fighting AI summaries. They'll be the ones creating content so valuable that users WANT to click through even after reading the AI summary. Not sure if your site is ready for what's coming? I'll show you exactly where you stand in AI answers and what needs to change. Get your free AI visibility audit here To your continued success, Matt Diggity

30 N Gould St, Ste #4000, Sheridan WY 82801 USA
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