Hayden SchusterSenior SEO Manager

My SEO decision log

The 8 big calls behind my sites, in order: what I decided, why, and what happened after. Newest: .

Next The whole career on one page

EMeasure, then double downOne of six principles in my SEO method; its mascot is Jolteon

  1. Pages answer the reader's question first, then lead to the next step

    BTell it as a storyPillar B, Vaporeon

    Why

    Content now succeeds when it helps users move from understanding toward application, evaluation, or decision.

    From my writing, Feb 7, 2026

    What happened after

    Independent fan reference

    43% of the site's Google clicks went to the page built around fans' release-date question, Jul 11 to Oct 8, 2026

    Source: Google Search Console, daily site and page rows, data through .

    The calls under it

    1. , an independent fan reference: A measured result

      Answered a question fans kept asking before anyone had the answer

      Data through

      July 2026

      A measured result,

      Answered a question fans kept asking before anyone had the answer

      • Google: up, 1.8K clicks the four weeks before and 6.6K the four weeks after
      • Bing: up, 608 clicks the four weeks before and 971 the four weeks after

      This lines up the four weeks before and after; it doesn't prove the decision caused the change.

      HI-SCORE the best month so far

      Google Bing A measured result Each marker sits under its month; tap one to see the four weeks before and after. Under each month, how much it rose or fell from the month before. Complete months only. An independent fan reference search clicks, Google and Bing, data through .

    2. : A decision

      New Template design system for Programmatic AI and SEO best practices

      From the decision log on my old site.

  2. When a mistake shows up on a page, fix the system that let it through

    FTurn every lesson into a systemPillar F, Glaceon

    Why

    SEO strategy defines direction. SEO systems make that direction repeatable.

    From my writing, Feb 10, 2026

    What happened after

    WireRef

    0 of 98 wire-size pages pair a breaker above what the wire can carry

    Down from 23 before the fix on Oct 3, 2026.

    Source: WireRef's pages, read from its code history, data through .

    The calls under it

    1. , WireRef: A mistake, and the fix

      Made WireRef round breakers down, and let one failed check stop the deploy

      Cleared : found the cause, fixed, and a check now stops it coming back.

    2. , CheckMyTap: A decision

      Build a scalable local-intent SEO system for a buyer-first water project

      Options considered: Many. There are roughly 30 versions of the site.

      Outcome: The project launched with standardized page structures for comparisons and solution education, with consistent internal linking and content modules designed to reduce ambiguity for both users and crawlers. Currently in the wait-and-see phase, monitoring how Google treats the site over time.

      From the decision log on my old site. Tags: Technical SEO, Enterprise SEO, Programmatic SEO.

  3. Built a set of side sites as a public test bed

    EMeasure, then double downPillar E, Jolteon

    Why

    Every site I build teaches the next one.

    From my writing, Mar 1, 2026

    What happened after

    24K search clicks across all my sites in September 2026, Google and Bing

    up 21% from August 2026, every site counted, named here or not.

    Source: Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, data through .

    The calls under it

    1. : A decision

      New Website Launch (PASSION PROJECT): Oregon Ducks Football Fan Site. Go ducks baby. this year is our year?????

      From the decision log on my old site.

    2. : A decision

      New Case Study: Wireref.com

      From the decision log on my old site.

    3. : A decision

      New Case Study: Gageref.com

      From the decision log on my old site.

  4. Use AI, and check what it writes against the source before it goes live

    DNever ship a wrong factPillar D, Umbreon

    Why

    Plausible and accurate are not the same thing, and on reference sites, the gap between the two has real consequences if not done right.

    From my writing, Mar 4, 2026

    What happened after

    UpOrbit

    25 of 72 studies cited across its pages linked to the wrong paper when checked in April 2026

    Each one was replaced after the right paper was confirmed on PubMed.

    Source: the PubMed links in UpOrbit's code, each looked up on PubMed, data through .

    The call under it

    1. : A decision

      Use day-by-day GSC performance data combined with AI analysis to interpret organic visibility trends

      Status: Active. Ongoing evaluation as reporting cycles accumulate.

      From the decision log on my old site. Tags: Measurement, Google Search Console.

  5. Reference sites follow their readers to Bing and AI answers instead of fighting Google

    CBe the source worth citingPillar C, Leafeon

    Why

    Google showed WireRef 2.3K times on Mar 5, 2026 and 243 times on Mar 6, 2026.

    Source: Google Search Console.

    What happened after

    WireRef

    2.8K Bing clicks in September 2026

    Against 11 Google clicks, April to September 2026.

    Source: Bing Webmaster Tools and Google Search Console, data through .

    The call under it

    1. , WireRef: A measured result

      Moved WireRef's effort from Google to Bing and AI answers

      Data through

      April 2026

      A measured result,

      Moved WireRef's effort from Google to Bing and AI answers

      • Google: too few to tell, 0 clicks the four weeks before and 1 the four weeks after
      • Bing: no data

      This lines up the four weeks before and after; it doesn't prove the decision caused the change.

      HI-SCORE the best month so far

      Google Bing A measured result Each marker sits under its month; tap one to see the four weeks before and after. Under each month, how much it rose or fell from the month before. Complete months only. WireRef search clicks, Google and Bing, data through .

  6. Reader corrections and graded calls go public next to the wins, fixed or not

    DNever ship a wrong factPillar D, Umbreon

    Why

    Before an independent fan reference put its corrections in public on Sep 6, 2026, 4 reader reports named the same page, and the oldest waited 75 days for its fix.

    Source: the reference's own corrections list.

    What happened after

    An independent fan reference

    11 of 11 reader corrections fixed, each listed on the site's public corrections page

    Source: the reference's own corrections list, data through .

    The calls under it

    1. , an independent fan reference: A mistake, and the fix

      Put every reader correction on the reference in public, fixed or not

      Found the cause, fixed, and a check now stops it coming back. Still open: a flag when a reader's report sits unread.

      Data through

      September 2026

      A mistake, and the fix,

      Put every reader correction on the reference in public, fixed or not

      • Google: up, 9.7K clicks the four weeks before and 12.8K the four weeks after
      • Bing: down, 1.2K clicks the four weeks before and 1K the four weeks after

      This lines up the four weeks before and after; it doesn't prove the decision caused the change.

      HI-SCORE the best month so far

      Google Bing A mistake, and the fix Each marker sits under its month; tap one to see the four weeks before and after. Under each month, how much it rose or fell from the month before. Complete months only. An independent fan reference search clicks, Google and Bing, data through .

    2. , The Quack Report: A mistake, and the fix

      Stopped building fan features that need a crowd to work

      Found the cause and fixed. Still open: a check that stops it coming back.

      Data through

      September 2026

      A mistake, and the fix,

      Stopped building fan features that need a crowd to work

      • Google: down, 323 clicks the four weeks before and 216 the four weeks after
      • Bing: up, 600 clicks the four weeks before and 933 the four weeks after

      This lines up the four weeks before and after; it doesn't prove the decision caused the change.

      HI-SCORE the best month so far

      Google Bing A mistake, and the fix Each marker sits under its month; tap one to see the four weeks before and after. Under each month, how much it rose or fell from the month before. Complete months only. The Quack Report search clicks, Google and Bing, data through .

  7. Rebuilt this site around the people who look it up and the question each one brings

    AStart from the personPillar A, Espeon

    Why

    “This page helps someone who searched [X] decide [Y].” If you can’t finish that sentence, the page needs work.

    From my writing, Jan 25, 2026

    What happened after

    This site

    80 of 80 pages name their reader and the question they bring; a page without both can't go live

    Live since Oct 12, 2026. I haven't measured this site's own search numbers yet.

    Source: this site's page map, checked on every build.

    The call under it

    1. , This site: A decision

      Put the new site live with the mistakes beside the work

  8. Stopped promoting two young sites readers haven't found yet, with a date to look again

    EMeasure, then double downPillar E, Jolteon

    Why

    I started Hear Homer and SaltCellCheck in July 2026. Featured spots on this site go to the work readers are finding.

    Source: each site's first commit.

    What happened after

    Hear Homer

    8 search clicks in September 2026

    SaltCellCheck has no Search Console or Bing data yet. Both sites keep their pages and still count in the totals, and I look at them again in January 2027.

    Source: Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, data through .

Smaller calls and milestones

Entries that sit outside the big calls. Older entries keep the words I used at the time; when a project has a case study, that page shows what happened later.

  1. : A decision

    Shit, got busy, whoops. Let’s catch up: From a side-projects perspective, launched hearhomer.com (find your audiobook match for the Odyssey) and SaltCellCheck (cause there’s a gap in the market for this information), among a million other things. Also continuously improving my other projects. A few of them are taking off!!!! Very busy! Keeping momentum flowing. just haven’t had time to update this site much.

    From the decision log on my old site.

  2. : A decision

    Joined Optimal, a OneMagnify company, as Senior SEO Manager

The same log, by pillar

Each big call serves one of the six pillars of how I work, and so do 13 of the 14 smaller entries; 1 served none of them. Pick an evolution to see its calls.

A. Start from the person, Espeon's pillar

  1. Rebuilt this site around the people who look it up and the question each one brings
  2. New Website Launch (PASSION PROJECT): Oregon Ducks Football Fan Site. Go ducks baby. this year is our year?????
  3. Build a scalable local-intent SEO system for a buyer-first water project

B. Tell it as a story, Vaporeon's pillar

  1. Pages answer the reader's question first, then lead to the next step
  2. New Case Study: Wireref.com
  3. New Case Study: Gageref.com

C. Be the source worth citing, Leafeon's pillar

  1. Reference sites follow their readers to Bing and AI answers instead of fighting Google
  2. Answered a question fans kept asking before anyone had the answer
  3. Shit, got busy, whoops. Let’s catch up: From a side-projects perspective, launched hearhomer.com (find your audiobook match for the Odyssey) and SaltCellCheck (cause there’s a gap in the market for this information), among a million other things. Also continuously improving my other projects. A few of them are taking off!!!! Very busy! Keeping momentum flowing. just haven’t had time to update this site much.
  4. New Template design system for Programmatic AI and SEO best practices

D. Never ship a wrong fact, Umbreon's pillar

  1. Use AI, and check what it writes against the source before it goes live
  2. Reader corrections and graded calls go public next to the wins, fixed or not
  3. Made WireRef round breakers down, and let one failed check stop the deploy
  4. Put every reader correction on the reference in public, fixed or not

E. Measure, then double down, Jolteon's pillar

  1. Built a set of side sites as a public test bed
  2. Stopped promoting two young sites readers haven't found yet, with a date to look again
  3. Stopped building fan features that need a crowd to work
  4. Moved WireRef's effort from Google to Bing and AI answers
  5. Use day-by-day GSC performance data combined with AI analysis to interpret organic visibility trends

F. Turn every lesson into a system, Glaceon's pillar

  1. When a mistake shows up on a page, fix the system that let it through
  2. Put the new site live with the mistakes beside the work
The numbers, month by monthSearch clicks across my sites, data through Oct 23, 2026

Search clicks across my sites, month by month

In September 2026, an independent fan reference had its best Google month yet (13.8K clicks), and its run of 100+ Google clicks a day is at 99 days and still going. WireRef had its best Bing month yet (2.8K clicks).

Search clicks up 21% in September, a new best month, and the fifth month in a row it grew.

Data through

April 2026

A measured result, , WireRef

Moved WireRef's effort from Google to Bing and AI answers

  • Google: too few to tell, 0 clicks the four weeks before and 1 the four weeks after
  • Bing: no data

This lines up the four weeks before and after; it doesn't prove the decision caused the change.

July 2026

A measured result, , an independent fan reference

Answered a question fans kept asking before anyone had the answer

  • Google: up, 1.8K clicks the four weeks before and 6.6K the four weeks after
  • Bing: up, 608 clicks the four weeks before and 971 the four weeks after

This lines up the four weeks before and after; it doesn't prove the decision caused the change.

September 2026

A mistake, and the fix, , an independent fan reference

Put every reader correction on the reference in public, fixed or not

  • Google: up, 9.7K clicks the four weeks before and 12.8K the four weeks after
  • Bing: down, 1.2K clicks the four weeks before and 1K the four weeks after

A mistake, and the fix, , The Quack Report

Stopped building fan features that need a crowd to work

  • Google: down, 323 clicks the four weeks before and 216 the four weeks after
  • Bing: up, 600 clicks the four weeks before and 933 the four weeks after

This lines up the four weeks before and after; it doesn't prove the decision caused the change.

May 2026: what else happened

This is what else was going on that month. I list it for context; nothing here shows any of it moved my clicks.

June 2026: what else happened

This is what else was going on that month. I list it for context; nothing here shows any of it moved my clicks.

August 2026: what else happened

This is what else was going on that month. I list it for context; nothing here shows any of it moved my clicks.

September 2026: what else happened

This is what else was going on that month. I list it for context; nothing here shows any of it moved my clicks.

HI-SCORE the best month so far

Google Bing A measured result A mistake, and the fix Each marker sits under its month; tap one to see the four weeks before and after. A Google or Bing change The row under the markers is what else happened; tap a month for it. Under each month, how much it rose or fell from the month before. Complete months only. Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, data through .

These compare months; they don't prove what caused a change. Too few to tell means under 50 clicks in both months, where a percentage swings on a handful of clicks.

The numbers behind these calls, the high scores and the month-by-month results, have their own page.

Why I keep a log

From the decision log on my old site: “I kept losing context on my own decisions.” And what I wrote next: “write down what you're doing and why before you know if it works. Then come back and see if the reasoning held up.”

What would you like to know?

Pages shown most in search
  1. What is commercial search intent, and what page does it need?What is commercial search intent?
  2. What is navigational search intent?What is navigational search intent?
  3. What has he written about search behavior and intent, and how does he think about it?Search behavior and intent

Ranked by page impressions, including former addresses redirected here. An impression is one time a page showed up in search, so this says nothing about visits or about what people typed.

Google: Jun 22, 2026 to Oct 19, 2026
Bing: Jun 25, 2026 to Oct 15, 2026

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