OMG... this is a 100% Spot On article. And it coincides with my thinking exactly. For years I have been fighting Google where they delist my profile, where they tell me this is poor or that is not working or whatever. Everyday depression fighting this demanding fire eating giant, who's only want, is to get you into paid ads. Yes they say keywords are no more, same with metadata and so on and so on. So I returned to email. I returned to posting in Facebook and X with bigger more creative posts and taking advantage of Substack many benefits. I still do some tweaks in G, but I am no longer their slave to nowhere and the stress of spending hours upon hours trying to accomplish something only to find more pages, more issues, more headaches. Google is ONLY focused on big business and it doesn't give two sh* about small business.
I can't wait for Xmail and for Elon to break the G monopoly.
All of your points are spot on with how to email, how to groom your information.
I've got in my list of drafts to see how (if) AI is eating into Googles search share. I have a popup on my site for first time visitors to optin to my list. I think it triggers after X time in the site. 30s? Anyhoo - what do you think - good idea or bad idea?
Thanks Paul! Thorny topics for those of us who just wanna write, but they're important just the same. :) Do you think Substack writers should also have their own website to boost potential?
Definitely that will boost potential. But if you just want to write, you don't have to get too deep into SEO and the like. But you can easily boost your chances of getting found on Google just by following a couple of things: https://pau1.substack.com/p/6-steps-for-more-substack-subscribers
When I had my e-commerce shop, I had 3 websites at once that were driving traffic to my store. Because I write my newsletter as a labor of love, I don't really care if my personal sites direct people anyplace.
Thank you for an interesting read. It's good encouragement not to waste time on SEO beyond the basics. Success comes vastly faster from getting an email address.
OMG... this is a 100% Spot On article. And it coincides with my thinking exactly. For years I have been fighting Google where they delist my profile, where they tell me this is poor or that is not working or whatever. Everyday depression fighting this demanding fire eating giant, who's only want, is to get you into paid ads. Yes they say keywords are no more, same with metadata and so on and so on. So I returned to email. I returned to posting in Facebook and X with bigger more creative posts and taking advantage of Substack many benefits. I still do some tweaks in G, but I am no longer their slave to nowhere and the stress of spending hours upon hours trying to accomplish something only to find more pages, more issues, more headaches. Google is ONLY focused on big business and it doesn't give two sh* about small business.
I can't wait for Xmail and for Elon to break the G monopoly.
All of your points are spot on with how to email, how to groom your information.
Thanks for a great article...
Thanks for that nice Christmas present. Comments like yours make this writing all the more worth it! Have a wonderful holiday!
I've got in my list of drafts to see how (if) AI is eating into Googles search share. I have a popup on my site for first time visitors to optin to my list. I think it triggers after X time in the site. 30s? Anyhoo - what do you think - good idea or bad idea?
That's a great idea. We will have to see how it works in real life. Sounds like a cool add-on product!
Thanks Paul! Thorny topics for those of us who just wanna write, but they're important just the same. :) Do you think Substack writers should also have their own website to boost potential?
Definitely that will boost potential. But if you just want to write, you don't have to get too deep into SEO and the like. But you can easily boost your chances of getting found on Google just by following a couple of things: https://pau1.substack.com/p/6-steps-for-more-substack-subscribers
When I had my e-commerce shop, I had 3 websites at once that were driving traffic to my store. Because I write my newsletter as a labor of love, I don't really care if my personal sites direct people anyplace.
Make sure to download a copy of your subscriber list, and your articles, so you can't get deplatformed. (https://pau1.substack.com/p/how-to-make-your-newsletters-undeplatformable).
Thanks for reading and commenting Cameron! Hope you and yours have an excellent 2025!
I'll definitely take a look at these articles - appreciate the tips!
Best to you, too :)
Thank you for an interesting read. It's good encouragement not to waste time on SEO beyond the basics. Success comes vastly faster from getting an email address.
Right on, write on!