Website Update, Marathon Milestones & the Future of Search

Thank you so much for all your support leading up to the Auckland Marathon! It was an incredible experience from start to finish, and I was honored to walk it in support of Leukaemia & Blood Cancer New Zealand. On my arms, I carried the names of five people we know who have been diagnosed with leukaemia—four children, including my son Theo, and one adult.

I was thrilled to finish in 6:25, faster than my half marathon earlier this year. I’ve caught the running bug and am now working through the Couch to 5K program! The last time I ran 5K, I was 15 years old, and it was a truly awful experience. Picture this: teachers yelling at me as I struggled, convinced I was going to die, panting for two hours straight afterward, and nearly fainting while climbing the stairs to class. That evening, I ended up in emergency care, only to learn I had mono and was promptly put on strict bed rest for two weeks!!! Needless to say, I’m determined to create a new, positive association with running this time around

Our Website Redesign

I’m excited to share that we’ve redesigned our website! If we’ve had the pleasure of working together, I’d love to feature your testimonial on the new site. Simply hit reply to send it over—thank you in advance!

WordPress vs WP Engine

I’ve been following the ongoing dispute between WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and hosting company WP Engine, which has escalated into a lawsuit filed by WP Engine against WordPress.org, Automattic, and Mullenweg. The allegations include extortion, abuse of power, defamation, antitrust violations, and more (!).

Currently, there are no issues with hosting on WP Engine, and the consensus is that websites hosted by WP Engine are not at risk. It’s worth noting that WordPress has not taken any legal action against WP Engine; the lawsuit is solely initiated by WP Engine against WordPress. An injunction hearing is scheduled for November 26, 2024, and I anticipate the outcome will favor WP Engine.

Google Updates

I’ve also been following discussions about Google updates this year, and it seems many content creators are struggling with dramatic traffic drops. The general consensus, as I understand it, is that rankings often self-correct over time without specific SEO adjustments—or, frustratingly, sometimes never recover after periods of strong growth. Many creators are attributing these drops more to Google’s algorithm changes than to SEO issues on their own websites.

There’s also growing skepticism about the value of SEO audits right now, with a notable lack of case studies showing clear recoveries from ranking declines.

At Google’s Web Creator Summit in October, much of the discussion focused on the impact of the Helpful Content Update (HCU). Many creators reported significant traffic declines, even after prioritizing high-quality content. Google acknowledged these challenges, cautioning that immediate recovery might not be possible, though they hinted that newer updates could help some creators over time. It’s all incredibly frustrating! I’d love to hear your perspective and experiences.

ChatGPT Search

Earlier this month, ChatGPT launched a built-in search engine for paid users, with plans to roll it out to all users soon. There’s also a Chrome browser add-on that replaces Google as the default search engine with ChatGPT, which I’ve been testing over the past few weeks. While it’s occasionally frustrating—I’m so used to Google’s search results—it can also be a much more efficient tool and the results feel focused and uncluttered. For the first time, I see ChatGPT as a serious competitor to Google’s dominance in search. Have you noticed any traffic to your website coming from ChatGPT search queries?

For example, here are the results I get for the following:

Show 5 links to highly-rated pumpkin pie recipes, with a photo for each, and time to make.

Compare that to Google:

I’d love to hear what’s new with you or your take on any of these topics. Your support and insights mean the world to me—feel free to email me!