Once in a while, Joss and Virlo discuss the updates on Google News as if they are discussing the weather—changes that nearly 7 out of 10 news sources feel, or perhaps even more, is tough to gauge. The algorithm appears to decide who gets visibility and who fades into obscurity; adaptation seems less like a choice and more like a silent culling of those who remain when trust earned in the moment becomes critical.
It appears Joss has this idea about grouping words based on meanings they convey for the year 2025. Semantically, perhaps that is what people would refer to it as. Schema bits? NewsArticle or perhaps a ClaimReview, whatever fits best. Speed is crucial as well, Lighthouse is one tool folks mention a lot, but honestly any site that lags feels old even if it isn’t. Virlo has another idea floating around: when an exciting piece of news loses its edge, you don’t just let it die. Instead, you try to transform it into those classic explainers so its value extends long after its initial buzz. Not sure if that is something people do yet, though.
It’s not all doom and gloom for us, either; Joss keeps telling us things like, just group your keywords in a way that makes sense (not the old random list), toss in some schema markup if you remember, and oh, Lighthouse can help with sluggish sites. What about Virlo? I suppose their suggestion of converting hot-off-the-press stories into long-living explainers seems to stretch their use quite a bit, or at least that is the current trend.
Joss seems to care about the minutiae, but then again, there is a reason why everything is not as straightforward as it sounds. For one, keyword clusters go beyond synonyms. They are more like loosely related concepts grouped together, if you will. Schema markup is still the talk of the town. Sometimes you see NewsArticle or ClaimReview thrown around, yet which one really fits depends a lot on your story type—there is no one-size-fits-all. There is also this overarching goal of maintaining speed and sites being zippy; Lighthouse gets brought up often, but honestly, fixes to speed literally span a range from “compress images” to random tweaks that only might help some. And what about Virlo? They are into turning breaking news into explainer pieces that stand the test of time—headlines fade, but the references live on. It works, but many topics don’t stretch that easily.
Now, think of Google’s algorithm as a picky and unsatisfied restaurant critic. There was a point in time when regurgitating the same information over and over got swept under the radar. In the past few months, however, 4 out of 10 pieces of exact replicas are marked as unsuitable instead of fresh. It seems like Google has been craving more novel options, regardless of how elusive the definition of “fresh” is until after you get the critique delivered to your door. Want a deeper dive into this topic? Read the full explanation here.
After major tweaks, a surprising number of websites cease to exist for long stints of time. Oftentimes only a mere 30% manage to claw their way back to relevance within 6 months. Strangely, if a website is large or small does not seem to matter. Even well known news websites have experienced a rapid decline in reach and visibility overnight, which raises the question: Is anyone safe during sweeping changes? Yeah, people make examples of things that sound ridiculous but turn out too close to real.
Sometimes Joss ponders whether anyone gets excited about accounting or supply chain logistics. He likes to joke that even his cat looks bored while listening to him read drafts aloud. But there is one thing, semantic keyword clusters, that seem to matter a lot more these days, and so does schema markup (ClaimReview and NewsArticle are the obvious ones). As for lighthouse reports, sure, they are useful, but dealing with every speed related issue feels like an endless task. Not everyone agreed with virlo’s idea of turning some breaking news into explainers.
I distinctly recall the moment Google decided to shake things up. Feels like someone ripped a rug out from underneath me. Site speed was an issue I thought was probably fine, but looked towards, and ignored a plethora of warnings for. Lighthouse reports had other plans. Keyword clusters were not a priority for me, and from what I remember, Joss kept on talking about semantic this or schema that; if I am not misremembering, it was either NewsArticle or ClaimReview tags. Breaking news are stories that, in my opinion, disappeared after a while, unless we repurposed explainers to make them seem timeless.
Joss appears to return to this point for the next two years, probably because it has to do with grouping keywords logically rather than just jamming them together. Markups like NewsArticle or perhaps ClaimReview pop up, though I no longer remember which was more relevant. Site speed? Lighthouse scores seem to be the gold standard, but truth be told, “fast” is only clear to most people when their traffic comes to a choppy stutter. So optimize your site better, smart tag, and don’t go overboard, speed things up whilst also breaking some repetitive habits along the way.
Now imagine a newsroom that isn’t particularly busy, but you can almost hear the low murmur of monitors as well as the faint sound of typing. Every screen has headlines flashing, some brand new. While others feel a little too familiar and bold. Sitting at the edge might be a cup of coffee, forgotten. Desks are littered with sticky notes which could have sharp angles and ideas about stories that could turns into hits or flops. Editors are moving from excitement to hesitation in a strange mix of feelings. Deciding if the lead story for today is going to be eye catching or going to fade into that gray digital wallpaper, the background for so many articles. The old clock on the wall seems to be slowing down. Like it knows these headlines are brimming with ideas but need to sit and think for some more time.
