Despite my initial thoughts on leveraging bite-sized content for LLM and AI search mentions, Google has made it clear that this approach is not sustainable in the long run.
Recently, Danny Sullivan, who once served as Google’s Search Liaison, advised against breaking down content into small chunks to cater to AI systems. Comments from Google’s engineers confirmed his stance, emphasizing, “we don’t want you to do that” for LLMs.
More insights. In the latest Search Off the Record podcast, Danny spoke about the misconceptions and guidance surrounding LLM optimization.
“One common piece of advice is to turn your content into bite-sized chunks because LLMs prefer that format,” Danny observed, but immediately warned against adopting this method.
He reiterated, “We really don’t want you to think you need to craft content specifically for search. We maintain that position and discourage creating dual versions of your content – one for LLMs and another for general audiences.”
What about scenarios where it seems effective? Danny acknowledged, “In some edge cases, or perhaps more, you might notice certain advantages.”
However, he stressed that any gains would be short-lived. As Google’s ranking systems evolve, they will shift towards rewarding content authentically written for humans, rendering bite-sized content strategies obsolete.
Danny explained, “Systems improve by prioritizing human-centric content. Past tactics designed to exploit LLM systems might not hold up over time.”
The advice I took away was akin to the strategy of “Skating to where the puck is going, not where it has been.”
The podcast. Check out the 18-minute mark of the podcast for in-depth details.
Why this matters. Sure, even this platform has praised content chunking in the past, but SEO has consistently evolved towards delivering what users genuinely want. Creating a loyal audience independent of Google and LLMs is crucial. While there might be short-term wins, sacrificing user trust isn’t worth it.
Ultimately, as an SEO, continuous testing is necessary. Yet, today’s effective strategies might fail tomorrow.
Inspired by this post on Search Engine Land.
Leave a Reply