
Search News You Can Use - SEO Podcast with Marie Haynes
Search News You Can Use is Marie Haynes' Weekly Podcast where she provides useful advice on Google Algorithm updates, tips and information to help you improve your website. During the podcast she breaks down the most interesting and important changes that have happened in SEO and the world of search!
Latest episodes

Jun 23, 2022 • 1h 2min
Diagnosing a Drop in Google Traffic - Part 1
Has your Google traffic dropped? In this episode Marie goes into great detail describing how you can assess a decline in organic traffic. Your losses may be because of a Google update but there are many other reasons. Marie covers technical issues, core web vitals, competitor research and much more.
In the next episode, two weeks from now we will go into even further detail on how you can determine if your drops are due to a change in intent, relevancy or because of quality issues.
Newsletter episode 240
https://www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-240/
Links mentioned in this episode:
Using a knowledge of semantic search to improve E-A-T
https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes/status/1537087939968221188?s=20&t=KOEJWeSmtERtphpydbriWw
SMX Advanced Talk/Agenda
https://marketinglandevents.com/smx/advanced/
Is Google Search Dying?
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/06/google-search-algorithm-internet/661325/
MHC clients that did well with May core:
https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes/status/1536722779889979392?s=20&t=KOEJWeSmtERtphpydbriWw
Google algorithm update list:
https://mariehaynes.com/algo
Screaming Frog article on redirects:
https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/how-to-use-the-seo-spider-in-a-site-migration/
Using Archive.org to get old urls to test redirects:
https://exposureninja.com/blog/extract-urls-archive-org/
Local SEO case study on improving page speed on Moz:
https://moz.com/blog/local-seo-speed-optimization-case-study
Mobile Moxy to monitor SERP changes for your brand:
https://mobilemoxie.com/
Newsletter:
https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter
Hire Marie and the MHC team to help improve your site or assess a traffic drop:
www.mariehaynes.com/contact
help@mariehaynes.com
twitter.com/Marie_Haynes
Submit a question for the next Q&A
Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc

Jun 9, 2022 • 48min
Lily Ray and Marie Haynes Discuss the Early Impact of the May Core Update!
In this episode, Marie Haynes and Lily Ray both discuss the early impact of the May 2022 core update, advice for recovery, a little about how Google handles title tags, and more!
Newsletter episode 238
https://www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-238/
Subscribe to the newsletter:
https://www.mariehaynes.com/seo-newsletter/
Links mentioned in this episode:
How Google generates titles for documents with language or script misalignment
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/06/title-script-misalignment
Lily’s recent article on E-A-T
https://friendsofsearch.com/nl/blog/interview/lily-ray-amsive-digital-any-seo-who-hasnt-jumped-onto-the-e-a-t-wave-is-not-playing-close-enough-attention/
Youtube’s use of knowledge graphs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-bTGefJj0A
Google’s announcement on the core update
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/05/may-2022-core-update
How people read on the web
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/how-people-read-online/
Barry Schwartz and John Mueller on whether machine learning is used to weight ranking factors
https://www.seroundtable.com/how-google-search-uses-machine-learning-31386.html
Register for SMX advanced
https://marketinglandevents.com/smx/advanced/
Contact Marie and the MHC team:
www.mariehaynes.com/contact
help@mariehaynes.com
twitter.com/Marie_Haynes
Lily Ray's Twitter:
twitter.com/lilyraynyc
Submit a question for the next Q&A
Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc

May 26, 2022 • 45min
How MHC Offers SEO to Clients, Discussions on Google Core Updates, and More
In this episode, Marie welcomes MHC’s director of products and services, Callum Scott. Callum has incredible knowledge of how Google’s algorithms work. In this episode, he and Marie discuss the following:
- May 16-18 - unnamed Google update affecting a large number of affiliate sites.
- How MHC’s site reviews developed over the years
- How we help sites improve their E-A-T
- Why knowing semantic search gets SEOs ahead of the game
- Google is likely a lexical search engine and a semantic search engine.
- Semantic search and E-A-T
- Register for SMX Advanced to hear Marie speak on using a knowledge of semantic search to improve E-A-T. It’s free this year! https://attend.marketinglandevents.com/smx-advanced-2022?i=ttmi2mIwsKjtm9Yb56yxhjMCxG2PCGqx
- Marie speaking with John Mueller and Barry Schwartz on Duda’s webinar about Google updates: https://webinars.duda.co/google-updates
- Microsoft Azure article on semantic search: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/search/semantic-ranking
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/search/semantic-search-overview
- Our struggles in offering recurring SEO services
Contact Marie and the MHC team:
https://www.mariehaynes.com/contact
help@mariehaynes.com
https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes
https://twitter.com/mrcallumscott
Submit a question for the next Q&A
Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc
This episode will also be available on Youtube tomorrow where we have added some visuals as well.

May 12, 2022 • 1h 1min
Semantic SEO and E-A-T - with Olaf Kopp
In this episode, search professionals Olaf Kopp and Marie Haynes discuss the concept of Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness in Google’s algorithms in great detail. You’ll learn what E-A-T is and how Google likely uses E-A-T in their algorithms including information on entities, the knowledge graph, the knowledge vault, and more.
At the end of the episode, Olaf gives very specific tips on how to improve E-A-T in ways that Google’s algorithms should reward.
Newsletter episode 234
https://www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-234-light-version/
Subscribe to the newsletter:
Mariehaynes.com/newsletter
Links mentioned in this talk:
Search quality rater guidelines:
https://static.googleusercontent.com/media/guidelines.raterhub.com/en//searchqualityevaluatorguidelines.pdf
Glenn Gabe on Phantom updates:
https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/penguin-2-google-phantom-update-may-2013/
Google’s NLP tool
https://cloud.google.com/natural-language
Knowledge graph API
https://carlhendy.com/knowledge-graph-search/
Jason Barnard on entity hubs for authors
https://kalicube.com/learning-spaces/faq/knowledge-panels/the-3-step-process-to-getting-a-knowledge-panel-for-an-author/
Koray Gübür on creating topical authority
https://www.oncrawl.com/technical-seo/importance-topical-authority-semantic-seo/
Diffbot NL tool to visualize entities as a graph
https://demo.nl.diffbot.com/
Tf-Idf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tf%E2%80%93idf
A few of Olaf’s articles:
https://searchengineland.com/google-mum-update-seo-future-383551
https://searchengineland.com/google-eat-possible-evaluation-signals-382799
https://blog.searchmetrics.com/us/unwrapping-secrets-seo-semantic-google-search/
https://www.kopp-online-marketing.com/entities-from-unstructured-content
https://www.kopp-online-marketing.com/googles-semantic-search-engine
Contact Olaf:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/olafkopp/
https://twitter.com/Olaf_Kopp
Submit a question for the next Q&A
Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc
Contact Marie and the MHC team:
https://www.mariehaynes.com/contact
help@mariehaynes.com
https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes
https://twitter.com/mhc_inc

Apr 28, 2022 • 39min
What is Semantic Search?
In this episode, Marie shares her thoughts on semantic search. Semantic search is search that’s based on understanding the meaning of words and the connections between them. In 2013, the Hummingbird algorithm made it possible for Google to expand their semantic search capabilities. With each new advancement in AI and NLP, they get a little closer. Semantic search could possibly explain how Google can algorithmically tackle the questions they give us in their article on what site owners should know about core updates. This episode discusses how SEOs can use a knowledge of semantic search to improve the quality of their websites in Google’s eyes.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Sponsor:
https://contentfly.com/searchnews
Newsletter episode 232
https://www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-232-light-version/
MHC’s algo update list:
https://mariehaynes.com/algo
Danny Sullivan on Search Engine Land writing about Hummingbird:
https://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816
WSJ article with Amit Singhal describing Hummingbird calling it “semantic search”:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150503223300/http://www.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304459804577281842851136290-lMyQjAxMTAyMDEwNDExNDQyWj.html
What site owners should know about Google core updates:
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/08/core-updates
Stanford seminar by Xin Luna Dong on the knowledge vault and knowledge based trust:
https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkxy93C30py9Kvj8Xd8pYYndOQghr6BKTis
MHC’s QRG book:
https://mariehaynes.com/book
How AI powers Google’s search results:
https://blog.google/products/search/how-ai-powers-great-search-results/
https://www.mariehaynes.com/google-ai-and-seo/
The Quality Update:
https://searchengineland.com/the-quality-update-google-confirms-changing-how-quality-is-assessed-resulting-in-rankings-shake-up-221118
Amit Singhal Panda questions:
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2011/05/more-guidance-on-building-high-quality
Is MUM Google’s next step in becoming a semantic search engine? By Olaf Kopp:
https://searchengineland.com/google-mum-update-seo-future-383551
Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR on topical authority:
https://www.oncrawl.com/technical-seo/importance-topical-authority-semantic-seo/
Some of Marie’s teachings on E-A-T:
https://www.mariehaynes.com/resources/eat/
3 part YT series on E-A-T:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDUhcogUl44
Contact Marie and the MHC team:
https://www.mariehaynes.com/contact
Subscribe to the newsletter
https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter
Submit a question for the next Q&A
https://Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc
Twitter @Marie_Haynes
https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes

4 snips
Apr 14, 2022 • 57min
Glenn Gabe & Marie Haynes Discuss Google Core Algorithm Updates, Traffic Drops and Much More
In this special episode of Search News You Can Use, we welcome Glenn Gabe to the show! Glenn has been assessing traffic drops in websites for many years. He and Marie discuss the types of issues that can cause a site to see traffic drops in conjunction with a Google core update. Glenn breaks these down into three areas:
Relevancy adjustments
Intent shifts
Overall site quality problems
Glenn and Marie share examples of the types of problems they have encountered when analyzing traffic drops and what lead to sites recovering after making changes.
Glenn’s post on traffic drops: https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/google-broad-core-updates-difference-between-relevancy-adjustments-intent-shifts-overall-site-quality/
Contact Glenn: https://twitter.com/glenngabe
Newsletter episode 230
https://www.mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-230-light-version/
Past episodes
https://mariehaynes.com/seo-newsletter/seo-podcast
Contact MHC
https://mariehaynes.com/contact
Book on Unnatural Links and Manual Action Removal
https://mariehaynes.com/product/unnatural-links-book
Quality Raters Book
https://mariehaynes.com/product/quality-raters-guidelines
Subscribe to the newsletter
https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter
Submit a question for the next Q&A
https://Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc
Twitter @Marie_Haynes
https://twitter.com/Marie_Haynes

Mar 31, 2022 • 32min
Google’s Newest Product Reviews update and Google’s use of Entities in Search
In this episode Marie shares information on how Google’s Hummingbird algorithm dramatically changed search to rely less on PageRank as their algorithms learned how to make use of entities. Understanding Google’s use of entities in their algorithms can help us improve E-A-T. More importantly, understanding how Google uses AI to extract entities from content can help us write and optimize content.
Marie also discusses the third release of the product reviews update, sharing which types of sites saw changes and how Google could be algorithmically evaluating product review sites.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Product reviews update
https://blog.google/products/search/more-helpful-product-reviews/
Interview with Jason Barnard re entity use and John Lennon’s confidence score in the knowledge graph
https://fajela.com/seobox/orm/
https://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&p=1&S1=20050055341&OS=20050055341&RS=20050055341
FAQ:All About the New Hummingbird Algorithm:
https://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816
Google’s Hummingbird Takes Flight: SEOs Give Insight On Google’s New Algorithm:
https://searchengineland.com/hummingbird-has-the-industry-flapping-its-wings-in-excitement-reactions-from-seo-experts-on-googles-new-algorithm-173030
This episode corresponds with newsletter episode 228:
https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-228-light-version/
Past episodes
https://Mariehaynes.com/seo-newsletter/seo-podcast
Contact MHC
https://Mariehaynes.com/contact
Book on Unnatural Links and Manual Action Removal
https://Mariehaynes.com/product/unnatural-links-book
Quality Raters Book
https://Mariehaynes.com/product/quality-raters-guidelines
Submit a question for the next Q&A
https://Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc
Subscribe to the newsletter
https://Mariehaynes.com/newsletter

Mar 17, 2022 • 1h
Google’s MUM Technology, “Things to Know” SERP Feature and an SEO Website Review
In this episode we talk about the latest news on Google’s MUM technology. The “Things to Know” SERP feature has been seen live. It is not yet MUM powered, but soon will be. Marie also does a website review for a small business website offering pressure washing. She shares how small business owners who want to work on SEO can do keyword research, use automated site audit tools, and work on things like building links and mentions and improving E-A-T to improve their Google presence.
Links mentioned in this episode
The Local Search Forum:
https://localsearchforum.com/
Past episodes
https://Mariehaynes.com/seo-newsletter/seo-podcast
Contact MHC
https://Mariehaynes.com/contact
Book on Unnatural Links and Manual Action Removal
https://Mariehaynes.com/product/unnatural-links-book
Quality Raters Book
https://Mariehaynes.com/product/quality-raters-guidelines
Submit a question for the next Q&A
https://Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc
Subscribe to the newsletter:
https://Mariehaynes.com/newsletter
Twitter: @Marie_Haynes -
https://Twitter.com/Marie_Haynes

Mar 3, 2022 • 22min
What are toxic links?
In this episode, Marie discusses the idea of “toxic links” and whether they have the ability to hurt your site’s organic traffic.
Discussed in this episode:
What are toxic links?
Semrush’s toxic links report: “Your risk of penalty is increasing”
Google’s documentation on link schemes
Unnatural links created by using automated tools to do spam comments, create forum profiles, etc.
Link auditing in the early days of the Penguin algorithm
Why I created a disavow blacklist
Why we closed down MHC’s disavow blacklist tool
Who needs to disavow in 2022?
Also discussed as SEO news this week:
Algorithmic turbulence Feb 24, but not likely a Google update
“Things to Know” powered by MUM, seen live in the search results
Links referenced in this episode:
https://www.mariehaynes.com/disavow-blacklist-tool/
https://searchengineland.com/googles-project-owl-attack-fake-news-273700
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/advanced/guidelines/link-schemes
https://www.mariehaynes.com/disavow-advice-2021/
Past episodes
https://Mariehaynes.com/seo-newsletter/seo-podcast
Contact MHC
https://Mariehaynes.com/contact
Book on Unnatural Links and Manual Action Removal
https://Mariehaynes.com/product/unnatural-links-book
Quality Raters Book
https://Mariehaynes.com/product/quality-raters-guidelines
Submit a question for the next Q&A
https://Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc
Subscribe to the newsletter:
https://Mariehaynes.com/newsletter

Feb 17, 2022 • 1h 8min
Dawn Anderson & Marie Discuss Google’s use of AI including BERT, RankBrain, Neural Matching & MUM
In this special episode of Search News You Can Use, Dr. Marie Haynes speaks with Dawn Anderson about Google’s use of AI in search including BERT, RankBrain, Neural Matching and MUM. A lot has changed in Google’s algorithms. PageRank is still important when it comes to ranking, but as Google advances in language understanding, there is much more to performing well in search than getting good links.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Dawn’s slideshares on Passage Based Indexing and Zipf's law
https://de2.slideshare.net/DawnFitton/passage-indexing-is-likely-more-important-than-you-think
https://de2.slideshare.net/DawnFitton/zipfs-law-zipfian-distribution-in-seo-pubcon-virtual-fall-2020-dawn-anderson
Reach Dawn at Bertey.com or on Twitter
https://bertey.com/
https://twitter.com/dawnieando
This episode corresponds with newsletter episode 222:
https://mariehaynes.com/newsletter/episode-222-light-version/
Past episodes
https://Mariehaynes.com/seo-newsletter/seo-podcast
Contact MHC
https://Mariehaynes.com/contact
Book on Unnatural Links and Manual Action Removal
https://Mariehaynes.com/product/unnatural-links-book
Quality Raters Book
https://Mariehaynes.com/product/quality-raters-guidelines
Submit a question for the next Q&A: https://Mariehaynes.com/qa-with-mhc
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://Mariehaynes.com/newsletter
Twitter: @Marie_Haynes - Twitter.com/Marie_Haynes
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.