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 results page, with a coffee cup and a notebook resting on a wooden table beside it.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

Google Rolls Out September 2026 Spam Update Globally

The September rollout follows three spam updates earlier this year. Google rolled out spam updates in March, June, and August. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

6 min read

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Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

A Working Framework for Lessons from 15+ Years in Search

A practical view on A Working Framework for Lessons from 15+ Years in Search, 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 holding a smartphone in a dimly lit hotel lobby, the screen showing a chat interface with a text response.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

A Working Framework for Checks to Audit Your AI Visibility Without a Paid Tool

A practical view on A Working Framework for Checks to Audit Your AI Visibility Without a Paid Tool, 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 professional's hand holding a smartphone displaying a calendar with several upcoming meetings, resting on a wooden table next to a closed laptop.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

The Real Reason Agencies Lose Clients in the First 90 Days (And How to Stop It)

Retention problems can often start before a campaign has even been onboarded. After the point of sale and the client has signed. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

10 min read

A close up shot of a person's hand holding a smartphone displaying a Google search results page with several diverse links visible in the AI overview section.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

Google Announces New Query Fan Out Framework: R4T Diffusion

R4T generates better query fan outs because it's trained to identify useful aspects of the original search query. It keeps the. 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 Google search result with an AI Overview, while a laptop screen in the background shows a Search Console graph.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

Search Console Uses Block Flattening for AIOs, Forget Position & Focus on Outcomes

Even before AI arrived, Search Console's ranking numbers could be misleading because they rely on a simple mathematical average. 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 news article, with a blurred coffee shop background and a white ceramic cup on the table.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

Google Search Decline Steepened to 40% YoY for Publishers

In July 2024, Google Search made up about 9% of all pageviews across the network, but by July 2026, it had decreased to 5%. The. 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 blank data dashboard with a few empty line charts on a white screen.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

Baidu Now Measures AI Citations: Here’s What SEOs Should (And Shouldn’t) Read into It

The dashboard is built around four metrics: AI Citations: How often a site's pages are cited in an AI answer. AI Impressions: How. 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 search results page, with a physical notebook and a pen resting on a wooden table beside it.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

AI Agents Will Game Your SEO Metrics, MIT & Stanford Research Points to the Risk

Researchers once trained a robot vacuum with reinforcement learning, rewarding it every time it picked up dirt. The vacuum. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

7 min read

A person holds a smartphone displaying a ChatGPT conversation where a travel recommendation is visible, with a small, clearly labeled sponsored ad appearing in a separate block below the text.

Notes / SEO / Sep 24, 2026

ChatGPT Ads and GEO: Where Paid and Earned AI Visibility Fit Together

Abhilash Edathil, who works on OpenAI's monetization team, demonstrated a travel planning conversation in which an ad appeared. The practical question is what this changes for SEO, content quality, and AI search visibility.

7 min read