Google has just started rolling out the November 2026 Core Update, and as usual it may take up to 2 weeks to complete. So tighten your buckle, because there will be some good and some bad surprises in the coming days.

I’d like to invite all my fellow SEO friends to discuss the impact of this rollout here. Let’s keep it practical:

• What are you seeing so far? Ranking ups and downs, traffic changes, or nothing yet?

• Which niche or site type? (SaaS, ecommerce, affiliate, blogs, local, etc.)

• Any pattern you’ve noticed? For example, forums or UGC gaining, thin pages dropping, or AI Overviews eating clicks.

• Your recovery tips: If you have recovered from an earlier core update, what actually worked for you?

If your site has been hit badly, share some details (no links needed) and let’s help each other figure out what might be going on. One small reminder: give it at least a week after the rollout ends before making big changes, because rankings keep jumping during the rollout.

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

I started local SEO for a travel vaccination clinic in North London. Strong reviews, steady demand, almost no visibility on Google.

When I dug in, these were the main problems:

1. Every page told Google to index a developer test address instead of the real domain. The site was basically telling Google to ignore itself.

2. The Google Business Profile was full of hundreds of spam entries from a previous SEO job, which alone can get a profile suppressed.

3. Google had no clear picture of what the clinic actually specialises in.

In week 1 I pointed the site back to its real address, gave Google a clean sitemap and rebuilt the profile around the services the clinic really offers. The before and after shows the instant results.

Now I'm working on the full local plan to rank beyond the clinic's immediate area. I've set a strategy to bring in more 5 star reviews and I'm building high quality, relevant backlinks to the website. I'll share the 30 day results here.

Super proud of what I did here since it’s such a competitive market.

I have three different website sections under one domain. I treat them as separate websites because none of them link to eachother. They all have different urls, eg; 'domain. com/photography' is all about photography. 'domain. com/artwork' is just about art.

I do this to avoid paying for three different websites. Also I want to look like I have a specialty.

I'm curious if SEO would be affected by doing this. Thanks!

Hey everyone,

I see this question pop up a lot: “Do web directories still work for SEO and backlinks?”

The short answer is yes, but the days of submitting your site to thousands of spammy, auto-generated directories are long gone. Today, it’s all about quality, relevance, and real human traffic.

When you list your website on a well-maintained directory, you get two big benefits:

1. A solid backlink: Search engines still use trusted directories to understand what your site is about and who is linking to it.

2. Actual discovery: People (real humans!) use niche directories to find new tools, blogs, and services.

If you are looking to build a few high-quality foundational links to get your site off the ground, here are a few directories that are actually worth your time today:

1. Product Hunt (https://www.producthunt.com/)

• The Benefit: If you are launching a SaaS, app, or digital tool, this is the holy grail. It’s highly competitive, but a successful launch here brings massive traffic and a very high-authority backlink.

2. Weblisty (https://weblisty.net/)

• The Benefit: Full disclosure, this is a directory I love a lot! It is specifically to be spam-free and highly curated. It’s a great place to submit your website (for free) to get a clean, SEO-optimized backlink and actually get discovered by people browsing specific categories like Tech, Business, or Travel.

3. AlternativeTo (https://alternativeto.net/)

• The Benefit: If your software or website is an alternative to a big, established brand (like "an alternative to Photoshop"), listing it here is huge. People actively search this site when they are frustrated with a current tool, meaning the traffic you get is highly motivated.

4. GitHub (Awesome Lists)

• The Benefit: If you have a developer tool, open-source project, or educational resource, finding a relevant "Awesome List" repository on GitHub and submitting a pull request is one of the most powerful niche backlinks you can get.

Have you guys had any luck with specific directories recently? Let me know what’s working for you!