Shalin Siriwardhana

Shalin Siriwardhana

Search, growth, and digital strategy notes.

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

A person holding a smartphone in a crowded airport terminal, scrolling through a travel blog with a photo of a hidden alleyway in a foreign city.

Notes / SEO / Oct 31, 2026

Big Brands Dominate AI Search but Leave Openings for Smaller Sites

What people choose has generally been biased toward whatever is the most well known. That's the idea behind advertising, that the. 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 chatbot interface with a list of recommended B2B services, resting on a clean wooden table.

Notes / SEO / Oct 31, 2026

The AI Search Measurement Gap Brands Must Close in 2027 and Beyond

A disclosure first. Tony and I worked together at Ziff Davis from 1988 to 1993, and he's since been CEO of five businesses. He. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

9 min read
A close up shot of a person's hand using a highlighter on a printed list of websites, with a red pen crossing out several entries.

Notes / SEO / Oct 30, 2026

The Link Building Graveyard: What to Bury & What Still Wins

Johnson argued against making Domain Authority or Domain Rating the primary measure of a placement. A high score did not. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

7 min read
A close up shot of a person's hand holding a smartphone displaying a static data chart, with a physical calendar on the table beside it showing a date from two weeks ago.

Notes / SEO / Oct 30, 2026

What Search Console Can Still Tell You When Indexing Data Lags

Page indexing data fell weeks behind in late 2025, and Google acknowledged the delay publicly. On Nov. 28, a user asked Mueller. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

7 min read
A person holding a smartphone in a brightly lit cafe, their thumb hovering over a screen showing a complex AI agent interface for booking a flight.

Notes / SEO / Oct 30, 2026

Google’s Q3 Earnings Call Casts Shadow Over Classic Search

The Q3 earnings call highlighted strong search query growth and the significant role AI Mode played in driving it. The company. 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 holding a smartphone, using the camera to scan a physical product on a store shelf, with the screen showing a visual search interface.

Notes / SEO / Oct 29, 2026

How Can I Tell If My Images Are Optimized for Multimodal Search?

The very first step to ensuring images can be retrieved as part of a multimodal search is to ensure they are crawlable and. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

8 min read
A close up shot of a person's hand holding a smartphone displaying a friendly custom 404 error page with a search bar, resting on a wooden cafe table.

Notes / SEO / Oct 29, 2026

Google Recommends Using Custom 404 Error Pages

The most interesting part of the podcast is how they contextualized 404 errors as a business and user experience issue rather. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

6 min read