Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search

Building Convertos + NudgeScout. Sharing technical SEO checks, AI search experiments & lessons from shipping both. Project evidence in the pinned post.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

I'm Ethan Liu. I build:

https://t.co/t1PIdH44lk - SEO audits & AI visibility.
https://t.co/6QLPrewGuR - website research & outreach.

Follow for technical checks, AI search experiments & lessons from building both.

Project evidence below. More: https://t.co/lvijsLxmRb

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

A publisher’s monthly visitors aren’t the impressions your sidebar ad will receive. The slot may appear on fewer pages, rotate with other ads, or disappear on mobile.

Before forecasting clicks, ask for the proposed placement’s pages, devices, rotation and reporting scope. If only sitewide traffic is available, the exposure for that slot is still unknown.

I build NudgeScout; this guide includes a placement worksheet:
https://t.co/9RKj6o3p4Q

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

Smashing Magazine asks for a 200–300-word outline before a finished article: audience, takeaways, your expertise, and what each section will cover. It also explicitly rejects obvious content marketing.

If your outreach starts with “where can I put my link?”, the missing step may be an article their readers need—not a better subject line.

https://t.co/3xzg0LBHiF

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

Before choosing the cheaper outreach quote, ask who writes the article and who handles revisions. “We’ll publish your finished draft” and “we’ll produce and publish it” are different offers.

I’d send the same brief to the publisher and supplier, then compare the fee alongside the work left for my team. If writing is already included, don’t add it again as a separate cost.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

Checking a backlink’s rel attribute is only part of the check. The source page can also specify nofollow in a robots meta tag or an X-Robots-Tag response header.

Before calling it an unqualified link, inspect those page-level rules too. A clean-looking anchor alone doesn’t establish that.

https://t.co/p618IwYNZb

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

If you already have a disavow file, uploading a few new URLs replaces the existing list for that property—it doesn't append them.

Save the old file, review what still belongs, then upload the complete revised list. Most sites won't need this tool at all; a red toxicity score isn't enough reason to use it.

Google's instructions:
https://t.co/DRWtwq5FQv

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

A blank starting rank → position 23 isn't a measured gain of 77 places. That calculation quietly assumes the starting position was 100.

In the 2025 example in our NudgeScout guide, I'd keep newly recorded rankings separate from keywords with two known positions. Otherwise the average mixes observations with guesses.

I build NudgeScout; the worked example is here:
https://t.co/T6QcU5xaxZ

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

For an ecommerce site, I'd start with suppliers or partners who already list stockists, then check whether your store actually qualifies. For editorial outreach, offer something useful to the specific article—a comparison, original photos, or instructions—not just a homepage link. Which site are you working on, and what have you tried so far?

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

@abhijitnr I'd give the data-deletion date separately from the trial-end date. 'You lose editing access Friday, but can export until X' is much clearer than 'your trial expires.' Also check that the export link still works after the account drops to the free tier.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

Start with one job your SaaS replaces, then look for people describing how they do that job today. A specific workaround—copying the same data into three tools, for example—is a better reason to contact someone than 'founder' in their bio. Ask about that workaround first; if there isn't a real fit, don't pitch.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

You can't separate them from a before/after move where both changed. I'd want the same message tested across providers, then a format test within one provider, with comparable audiences assigned to separate groups. Count qualified replies or booked meetings per assigned prospect—not opens—and never send both versions to the same person.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

I'd split those 693 visits by device before judging the landing page. A phone visitor may still own a Windows PC, so a 'send the download link to myself' option could help. Then compare sources by Windows downloads and first completed recordings, not just visits—you need to know where people actually get a usable demo.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

@madsmadsdk Moving the goal later is worth trying, but I'd judge it by first completed recordings, not just people passing screen one. I'd test the framing step separately if you can; changing both together makes it harder to tell what helped or where the drop-off moved.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

@yildirimsertbas Google says that report includes links found over time, even if they've since disappeared, and groups target pages by canonical URL. I'd open one listed source/target pair before treating it as a new bug.
https://t.co/MOhKRszERy

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

@joelsstafford @Guronnimo Are you counting inference per request or per finished task? Retries, failed runs and support still cost you. I'd work out that floor first, then test a price for a result customers care about, rather than let the model's token bill set the whole price.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

@liebertjohanm I'd make the paid part clear in the post or store screenshots before changing the price. If people expect free, a cheaper surprise is still a surprise. Then compare new reviews and subscriptions from that traffic before deciding the price itself is the problem.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

@Tajine1x @MilaChervenkova An EMD can still rank; that isn't a guaranteed keyword-domain boost. Google's guide says it limits excess credit from exact-match domains. I wouldn't assume a CTR lift without query-level data.
https://t.co/nfEhHJEbRV

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

@realharleychu Was the higher-plan customer from today's PH launch, or an earlier signup? I'd keep those groups separate and follow the new PH users through their first return visit; today's total of one new payer doesn't tell you how that launch group converts yet.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

I’d mention the specific issue briefly, then ask whether it’s still a problem. An old review tells you what frustrated someone then, not whether they want to switch now. If the public profile doesn’t clearly identify the reviewer, use it for research rather than guessing who to contact.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

@aadits25 @karthiknish A person copying one transcript and a developer embedding transcription in a workflow need different demos. I’d pick one for the next outreach batch and show the complete job, not just the API. Ask what they use now and what would make switching worth the setup.

[Ethan Liu | SEO & AI Search @HeyEthanLiu]

Has Googlebot fetched the new subpage yet? I’d compare URL Inspection’s last crawl time with the indexing-service submission time. That separates a discovery/crawl delay from a page Google has already crawled but not indexed; two hours alone doesn’t establish an update-wide slowdown.