7 Old Matt Cutts Videos Unarchived
One of my favorite websites is TheShortCutts.com because it categorizes every Matt Cutts’ video out there.
All you need to do is type in a category and then a list of Matt Cutts videos on that category will pop up. You can sort by Newest, Oldest, Longest, or Shortest first.
Fun Fact:
Matt Cutts’ first video State Of the Index 2008 came out on February 17, 2009 and was almost 24 minutes long.
I went through and checked out a few different categories that have anything to do with improving traffic to your website, and I tried to focus on videos from 2009-2011. These are pretty old school, but some of the information is not to miss.
1. Is Google putting more weight on brands in rankings?
March 4, 2009
The Skinny:
According to this video, Google does indirectly put more weight on larger brands because these brands can be trusted, they have a high PageRank, and they’re good quality.
Why It Matters Today:
Seeing this video from 2009 was incredibly interesting because this is still such a huge question today. Today, the big debate is whether or not Google should be doing this because it makes it hard for small businesses to compete.
This will probably always be a topic of discussion, so it’s cool to see that even in 2009 Google was thinking about how they weigh big brands versus small.
2. Why does Google index blogs faster than other sites?
Mar 5, 2009
The Skinny:
Google likes to see fresh content, it’s as simple as that. Content has always been known as the “king,” and whether you believe it or not, even in 2009 it was still prevailing.
Google wants to see authority, and I think many of the moves they’ve made since this video was made show that this idea hasn’t left.
Why It Matters Today:
I liked this video because it reminds us that great content and authority have been on Google’s mind for years.
Authority was specifically interesting to me now that we’re seeing more and more advances in Google authorship, reviews, and local search. These are ways that help put authority into your hands.
3. What’s a preferred site structure?
March 6, 2009
The Skinny:
Basically, the fewer clicks that someone has to take to get to a piece of content or a page, the better.
Cutts explained that this isn’t SEO advice, but rather just general advice for how to improve your ROI.
Why It Matters Today:
User-friendly blog structure is still true today and it’s something we should continue to remind ourselves about for future success—this fact won’t be changing anytime soon.
We now have breadcrumbs and category pages and filters all to help us keep our site easy to navigate. Internal links are also stressed a lot today for this exact reason.
4. Can product descriptions be considered duplicate content?
May 26, 2009
The Skinny:
Duplicate content has always been a huge issue even back in May 2009. Today we’re constantly worrying about duplicate content on blogs and long-form articles, but Cutts has always been reminding us that duplicate content can happen anywhere.
Why It Matters Today:
This is a question that isn’t talked about much anymore, so I think it’s something that has gotten lost in the shuffle.
It’s important to remember that even product descriptions can be considered duplicate content. You need to make sure you’re always adding unique value to your pages. As long as product pages still exist, this rule still exists.
5. What is Google doing to combat the effects of comment spam?
June 10, 2009
The Skinny:
Google asks Webmasters to use the nofollow attribute when posting links from someone you don’t really know.
You should do this for all of your blog comments so that spammers can see that it isn’t going to do them much good to spam your comments.
This launched in 2005, and he’s seen this to work. He also mentions Akismet and other spam combating third-part tools.
Why It Matters Today:
Comment spam is still an issue today, and Google’s response has apparently been the same since the beginning—nofollow links.
Getting familiar with nofollow links and how they work is likely not going to go away anytime soon, so starting now will be well worth your time.
6. Should I link to all press mentions of my site?
October 27, 2009
The Skinny:
This is an interesting video because Cutts says that you probably shouldn’t because it could be seen as a reciprocal link. This was a little piece of information I had completely forgotten about!
Try to highlight just the few places that you’re really proud of and not “look at every time my company has been mentioned on the web.”
Why It Matters Today:
It’s good to have your company talked about every once and a while without jumping into the conversation. Google wants to see that your company is being discussed without you immediately linking back and giving that reciprocal link.
What’s interesting about in today’s world is that this really isn’t talked about much anymore. That doesn’t make it untrue—if you ask me, that just means that Matt Cutts hasn’t repeated himself.
Of course, in Ana’s Weekly Marketing Skinnies, she does link out to everyone who mentions her blog posts during that week, but in situations like these you have to ask yourselves: should you be more concerned with Google bots or the humans that actually read your content and feel appreciated and encouraged as a result?
7. Will SEO still exist in five years?
March 8, 2009
The Skinny:
SEO in some ways is like a resume. SEO tries to figure out how to put your best foot forward for your website.
There are many white-hat ways to do SEO; for instance, canonicalization, avoiding duplicate content, making sure your site is well presented and useful to the visitors. That, as a practice, will definitely still exist in 5 years.
On the other hand, any spammy tactics that pollute the web won’t be as productive in 5 years.
Why It Matters Today:
It’s now been 5 years since Matt Cutts released this video. Was his take on the future of SEO accurate?
It certainly depends on who you ask, but overall, I’d say yes.
SEO is not dead. It’s alive and well and, as long as there are search engines to rank websites, there will be things we can do to maximize our chances of showing up on the first page as well as, unfortunately, ways to spam our way the top – however short-lived that victory might be.
Matt Cutts Videos – Marketing Takeaway
Are there any classic Matt Cutts videos you’ve still remember all these years later? Anything interested you stumbled upon when using TheShortCutts.com?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Amanda DiSilvestro
Amanda DiSilvestro gives small business and entrepreneurs SEO advice ranging from keyword density to recovering from Panda and Penguin updates. She writes for the nationally recognized SEO Company HigherVisibility.com that offers online marketing services to a wide range of companies across the country.
