Good morning search marketers, let's ease back into the work week with a thought experiment.
You're an SMB (or your client is). One day, you notice that you're not ranking as well as you typically have. A quick search reveals new entrants that rank above you, but the plot twist is that the competitor is operating under a subdomain of a nationally-recognized media publication. What is going through your head? Feel free to tweet a reaction GIF at me, I'm @geochingu.
In some cases of subdomain leasing, it's clear that the third-party content on the subdomain has no relevance to the main site's purpose. In other scenarios, the claim can be made that the third-party content serves the same audience and is an extension of the publisher's content and business strategy. How will search engines know where to draw the line between subdomain leasing and alternative revenue strategy?
Being judged as one or the other can mean an endangered business model for coupon platforms and media outlets, which are currently at the epicenter of the debate, or a new way for publishers to generate revenue — and potentially use their influence in one sector to gain a questionable advantage in others.
If you're an active member of the SEO/SEM community, you interact with and learn from a lot of familiar names and faces at conferences, in the bylines of articles and on Twitter. One of those familiar individuals is Michelle Stinson Ross. You probably aren't familiar with her daughter, Caitlin, who is struggling with some significant mental health issues. It's tough being a single mom like Michelle; I know that because I grew up with just my mom. Michelle and Caitlin's GoFundMe campaign title — Life Shouldn't Be This Hard — sums up the experience, but does not convey the perseverance, patience, love and, unfortunately, financial resources necessary to navigate it. If you have a little bit extra lying around, I encourage you to donate it to Michelle and Caitlin.
Keep on reading for a reminder of how important reviews are to local businesses, to find out what we're reading and, of course, your daily Search Shorts.
George Nguyen,
Associate Editor
