Shalin Siriwardhana

Search, growth, and digital strategy notes.

Personal notes on SEO, AI search, content strategy, and durable organic growth.

A close up shot of a person's hand holding a smartphone displaying a Google Search Console graph, with a physical notebook and a pen resting on a wooden table beside it.

Notes / SEO / Oct 10, 2026

Google Ends Spam Update, Shares Crawl Timing Ranges, SEO Pulse

Google's September 2026 spam update finished rolling out on Oct. 8, according to the Google Search Status Dashboard. The rollout. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

6 min read

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Notes / SEO / Oct 10, 2026

Google Explains How to Use HTML Sitemaps for SEO

Before the introduction of XML sitemaps, SEOs and site owners typically added internal and external links to new web pages to. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

6 min read

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Notes / SEO / Oct 10, 2026

Your Boss Is Nervous About AI, Too

A practical view on Your Boss Is Nervous About AI, Too, focused on the signal to inspect, the risk to avoid, and the decision it should change.

6 min read

Notes / SEO / Oct 9, 2026

AI Overviews Have Spread to Most Big Brand Searches

On Sept. 30, Chris Long, co founder of Nectiv, shared on LinkedIn that he "ran a quick scrape with SerpApi this morning and found. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

7 min read

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Notes / SEO / Oct 8, 2026

A Practical Way to Plan 2027 When Traffic Is Down and AI Won’t Attribute

A practical view on A Practical Way to Plan 2027 When Traffic Is Down and AI Won’t Attribute, focused on the signal to inspect, the risk to avoid, and the decision it should change.

6 min read

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Notes / SEO / Oct 8, 2026

Context Engineering: How to Prevent AI Workflows from Degrading

A practical view on Context Engineering: How to Prevent AI Workflows from Degrading, focused on the signal to inspect, the risk to avoid, and the decision it should change.

6 min read

$A close up shot of a person's hand holding a smartphone displaying a single, detailed AI answer, with the traditional list of blue links completely absent from the screen.$

Notes / SEO / Oct 8, 2026

Google Now Has the Math to Rank Without an Index, and the Results Page Does Not Survive It

In 2021, four Google researchers published Rethinking Search: Making Domain Experts out of Dilettantes, which argued that a. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

6 min read

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Notes / SEO / Oct 8, 2026

The Real Reason Google Search Updates Cannot Be Judged During Early Rollout

Understanding what is happening right now requires us to separate an unfinished update from a stable baseline. Tracking shows. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

6 min read

A close up shot of a person's hand holding a smartphone displaying a Google Search results page, resting on a wooden table next to a ceramic coffee mug.

Notes / SEO / Oct 8, 2026

Google Completes September 2026 Spam Update After Nearly 14 Days

Google said at launch that the September spam update's rollout "may take up to two weeks to complete," and it used nearly all of. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

6 min read

A close-up shot of a person's hand holding a smartphone displaying a Google search result page, with a physical notebook and a pen resting on a wooden table beside it.

Notes / SEO / Oct 8, 2026

Prediction: the Next Massive Google Update Is Around the Corner

in practice, Google updates its documentation with clues before launching major updates. Google rewrote its guidance on AI. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

6 min read