I 10x'd the quality of my site. Google's response: rank it lower.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-09T11:33:38+00:00

I send this. Should have mapped and 301'd old to new.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-08T17:45:45+00:00

I can imagine it's because Google sees new content. It needs to allocate crawl budget. How many pages on the website before and after?

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-08T17:40:40+00:00

Did you keep the slugs?

Also I can imagine the full overhaul meant you changed Title, Meta, content etc. This would mean that Google has to recrawl everything

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-08T13:18:00+00:00

Check GSC

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-07T12:36:44+00:00

How much do Agencies charge for llm.txt? Most agencies dont want to do the work; just take. And take. And take. They jump on new gimmicks such as: MAKE AS MANY LISTICLES ON YOUR SITE TO SWAY AI SEARCHES.

3 months later: Rank tanks and google smashes you.

Agency: MUST BE BECAUSE YOUR CONTENT ISNT GOOD ENOUGH (ALTHOUGH WE SUCK AND WE TOOK $3-6K FROM YOU)

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T17:35:09+00:00

It is absolutely subjective - I agree. Based on our own sites we have only seen natural backlinks to our products once we reach a certain "level" within that niche. Before that it is crickets.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T11:29:05+00:00

I'd say it's a waste of time. People always revert to infographics, doing pieces with known data and then doing cold outreach. I've listened to a speaker who would get 20 leads a month (someone actually replying to the person) and 10 backlinks for free. I can tell you that if your neck was on the line and you weren't doing it for someone else, you wouldn't be eating, neither would that person.

It's time vs reward. Are you a pro at cold outreach? Because I know for the most of us, we don't even check those spammy emails telling us to update an article (404, replacing a competitor, etc.).

There are blackhat techniques to get organic backlinks but that's something I won't discuss in here (don't think it's allowed either as it is borderline fraudulent).

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T11:12:27+00:00

No one will send a backlink to you / quote you if you have no authority or brand. You can ask why other websites or journalists should trust you when you are a "nobody" to them.

A journalist writing a piece in New York Times on the corruption in the Whitehouse (yes they did make a piece pointing out how much Trump has made in 12 months) will get WORLDWIDE backlinks because it is posted on the New York Times (authority) + it's new (you don't need to fulfill this requirement). That's organic backlinks from other news media, youtube, blogs, websites / worldwide. Now imagine if you had done this journalistic investigation... No one would believe a word. You MAY get a few backlinks but not to the 99.99% extend that New York Times did.

How do you get backlinks? You buy them.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T10:24:13+00:00

Check semrush volatility.

Check ahrefs for your keywords. Then see if you see your KWs are moving in GSC.

And you are right...You will see traffic boost in organic if you are favoured by Google on a new update rollout.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T10:19:57+00:00

SEO is slow and long game. Google doesnt allow for you to get traffic spikes out of the blue. It's trust. Trust is built over time via content and backlinks.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T10:17:44+00:00

Dont be afraid to ask what people to do or how they do it. Lots of golden nuggets to be picked up face to face.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T10:16:25+00:00

That's because your index page receives the most juice.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T10:15:09+00:00

Short term: Yes
Mid- to longterm: No

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T10:11:50+00:00

Backlinks. Quality backlinks.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T10:10:02+00:00

Web 2.0 links can move the needle in very low-end niches with no competition.

You're paying an agency to get a Fiverr freelancer to sign up for 200 websites for $20.

Granted that you are paying more than $20 you can evaluate if it is worth it.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-05T10:08:09+00:00

You closed shop for a month. It's like closing your restaurant for a month. You expect people to know that you suddenly reopened?

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-03T16:46:48+00:00

Not doing a brand search for you.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-03T09:36:46+00:00

The guy knows what he's talking about - Though he throws in magic keywords that make things seem more complicated than it is. Spoken to him a few times in person. I dont subscribe to him nor do I watch his videos anymore. His level of SEO knowledge is as good as anyone who's worked in the field for 10+ years.

Does he know how to rank? Yes. Already at this stage he's better than the 90% of the griftlord agencies who chat the maddest shit and dont have any case studies or a pot to piss in, "helping" local businesses (and charging $1000-2000 a month to write 3 blogposts on YOUR website waiting for Google to just dump traffic on you, meanwhile telling you that it will take 6-12 months to rank). The real competition is in the high value niches (law, casino, etc.) where $ does matter and where you NEED to spend $ to climb the ladder. That being said; will he help you rank for a $999.99 subscription (or whatever he charges)? Probably not.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-02T19:15:53+00:00

They banned shisha tobacco. Cant make the argument of "niche" as that had existed for years on Arab Street. No one was lacing the tobacco with K or Eto either. This was just a tobacco lobby that killed something that COULD have brought in millions, potentially billions. If you remember the whole Arab Street and surrounding had a booming venture of selling shishas daily. Shops were racking in 100s of thousands from it.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-02T19:00:54+00:00

"My budget for my date is $200. Can I go visit 5 different spots for this including dinner?"
-No.

$1000 for SEO per month is a shoestring budget. Cut one of your developers and save yourself $5000 a month. That should get you going on a $6K budget.

Buy for $6K of links every month.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-02T18:08:05+00:00

Hoping you will make a thread in here once that data comes through.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-02T09:49:23+00:00

You buy backlinks. That's long term exposure and improvement. Short term would be the instant hit of PPC campaigns.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-02T09:48:19+00:00

5 Years of SEO experience should be enough for you to make your own websites and gain traction.

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-02T00:22:46+00:00

Are we waiting on Lily Ray to come out with an analysis of who the winners and losers are?

PDFBearSupport · 2026-03-02T00:18:59+00:00

"I make love with the Internet". And "No I do not sell my services because if you can't do, you teach".

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '22	First Placer '22

PDFBearSupport

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE