Mark Williams-Cook
@markwilliamscook.com
💌 Core Updates SEO newsletter: https://coreupdates.com
💻 Director at Candour https://withcandour.co.uk
💬 Founder at AlsoAsked https://alsoasked.com
Once called “by far the least annoying voice in a very annoying field”
💻 Director at Candour https://withcandour.co.uk
💬 Founder at AlsoAsked https://alsoasked.com
Once called “by far the least annoying voice in a very annoying field”
Pinned
🎉 It's 2026, which means it is time to announce @withcandour.co.uk's charity of the year! This year, I'm delighted we will be supporting Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse Services, with an initial £10,000 donation and on-going support and fundraising activities throughout the year.
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
We're pleased to announce our 2026 charity partner:
Leeway!
Leeway is a specialist domestic abuse charity that has been supporting people across Norfolk and Suffolk for over 40 years.
Keep an eye out to see what we’re up to (there are rumours of skydiving 🪂) and how you can help us support them.
Leeway!
Leeway is a specialist domestic abuse charity that has been supporting people across Norfolk and Suffolk for over 40 years.
Keep an eye out to see what we’re up to (there are rumours of skydiving 🪂) and how you can help us support them.
January 7, 2026 at 2:46 PM
We're pleased to announce our 2026 charity partner:
Leeway!
Leeway is a specialist domestic abuse charity that has been supporting people across Norfolk and Suffolk for over 40 years.
Keep an eye out to see what we’re up to (there are rumours of skydiving 🪂) and how you can help us support them.
Leeway!
Leeway is a specialist domestic abuse charity that has been supporting people across Norfolk and Suffolk for over 40 years.
Keep an eye out to see what we’re up to (there are rumours of skydiving 🪂) and how you can help us support them.
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
If you like my photos, please vote for me in the EIZO contest: www.eizophotoawards.ch/galerie/eter...
#photography #landscape #switzerland
#photography #landscape #switzerland
Eternal Love
Emotions don't have to be loud and bold. Emotions can be intimate, quiet, consistent, too. This elderly couple embodies this. They share this quiet moment, away from daily routine, away from the crowd...
www.eizophotoawards.ch
January 8, 2026 at 1:13 PM
If you like my photos, please vote for me in the EIZO contest: www.eizophotoawards.ch/galerie/eter...
#photography #landscape #switzerland
#photography #landscape #switzerland
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
The num=100 change Google made recently was pretty disruptive
It was also annoying, quite complicated to communicate if you weren’t already that “in to” the complexities of rank tracking.
This change impacted:
- Accuracy of data
- Costs of rank tracking
- Top line reporting metrics
🧵 1/2
It was also annoying, quite complicated to communicate if you weren’t already that “in to” the complexities of rank tracking.
This change impacted:
- Accuracy of data
- Costs of rank tracking
- Top line reporting metrics
🧵 1/2
Why Does Google Parameter &num= Matter?
The &num=100 search parameter was recently deprecated. This seemingly small change in a Google search URL parameter is having a massive impact on the SEO industry. In this Whiteboard Friday, Tom…
moz.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:15 PM
The num=100 change Google made recently was pretty disruptive
It was also annoying, quite complicated to communicate if you weren’t already that “in to” the complexities of rank tracking.
This change impacted:
- Accuracy of data
- Costs of rank tracking
- Top line reporting metrics
🧵 1/2
It was also annoying, quite complicated to communicate if you weren’t already that “in to” the complexities of rank tracking.
This change impacted:
- Accuracy of data
- Costs of rank tracking
- Top line reporting metrics
🧵 1/2
If you're emailing my e-commerce business to pitch your services and putting "Issue with my order" as your subject so I open your email, you're going straight to spam. 🗑️
January 7, 2026 at 11:37 AM
If you're emailing my e-commerce business to pitch your services and putting "Issue with my order" as your subject so I open your email, you're going straight to spam. 🗑️
Internet of Shit
My mouse doesn't work properly because Logitech let one of their server certificates expire, so now their config software fails. What a time to be alive.
January 7, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Internet of Shit
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
There’s a huge spam war going on⛔️
It’s far larger than it ever has been. If you think you’re worried about AI slop in your social feeds, Google’s Discover team has seen it far worse.
Besides the spam-fighting they're doing, they also illustrated a critical point at Search Central Live 2025
🧵 1/3
It’s far larger than it ever has been. If you think you’re worried about AI slop in your social feeds, Google’s Discover team has seen it far worse.
Besides the spam-fighting they're doing, they also illustrated a critical point at Search Central Live 2025
🧵 1/3
January 6, 2026 at 8:30 PM
There’s a huge spam war going on⛔️
It’s far larger than it ever has been. If you think you’re worried about AI slop in your social feeds, Google’s Discover team has seen it far worse.
Besides the spam-fighting they're doing, they also illustrated a critical point at Search Central Live 2025
🧵 1/3
It’s far larger than it ever has been. If you think you’re worried about AI slop in your social feeds, Google’s Discover team has seen it far worse.
Besides the spam-fighting they're doing, they also illustrated a critical point at Search Central Live 2025
🧵 1/3
🎉 It's 2026, which means it is time to announce @withcandour.co.uk's charity of the year! This year, I'm delighted we will be supporting Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse Services, with an initial £10,000 donation and on-going support and fundraising activities throughout the year.
January 6, 2026 at 11:52 AM
🎉 It's 2026, which means it is time to announce @withcandour.co.uk's charity of the year! This year, I'm delighted we will be supporting Leeway Domestic Violence and Abuse Services, with an initial £10,000 donation and on-going support and fundraising activities throughout the year.
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
Our first 2026 webinar
#dudawebinar
Defining, Measuring & Winning With Quality Content in 2026
@markwilliamscook.com @bngsrc.bsky.social @yagmursimsek.bsky.social
@withcandour.co.uk
Live on Jan 15!
Register now
www.duda.co/webinars/win...
#dudawebinar
Defining, Measuring & Winning With Quality Content in 2026
@markwilliamscook.com @bngsrc.bsky.social @yagmursimsek.bsky.social
@withcandour.co.uk
Live on Jan 15!
Register now
www.duda.co/webinars/win...
January 6, 2026 at 10:43 AM
Our first 2026 webinar
#dudawebinar
Defining, Measuring & Winning With Quality Content in 2026
@markwilliamscook.com @bngsrc.bsky.social @yagmursimsek.bsky.social
@withcandour.co.uk
Live on Jan 15!
Register now
www.duda.co/webinars/win...
#dudawebinar
Defining, Measuring & Winning With Quality Content in 2026
@markwilliamscook.com @bngsrc.bsky.social @yagmursimsek.bsky.social
@withcandour.co.uk
Live on Jan 15!
Register now
www.duda.co/webinars/win...
The ending to Stranger Things was disappointing.
January 5, 2026 at 9:18 AM
The ending to Stranger Things was disappointing.
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
@markwilliamscook.com is forever the optimist.
https://bsky.app/profile/markwilliamscook.com/post/3lq5ldbnagc2t #SEO
https://bsky.app/profile/markwilliamscook.com/post/3lq5ldbnagc2t #SEO
January 1, 2026 at 9:39 PM
@markwilliamscook.com is forever the optimist.
https://bsky.app/profile/markwilliamscook.com/post/3lq5ldbnagc2t #SEO
https://bsky.app/profile/markwilliamscook.com/post/3lq5ldbnagc2t #SEO
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
"Cursor CEO warns vibe coding builds ‘shaky foundations’ and eventually ‘things start to crumble’"
fortune.com/2025/12/25/c...
fortune.com/2025/12/25/c...
a bald man wearing a suit and tie is sitting in front of a starz logo
ALT: a bald man wearing a suit and tie is sitting in front of a starz logo
media.tenor.com
December 29, 2025 at 2:04 PM
"Cursor CEO warns vibe coding builds ‘shaky foundations’ and eventually ‘things start to crumble’"
fortune.com/2025/12/25/c...
fortune.com/2025/12/25/c...
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
I have made many many notes this year as I work through my ideas about the state of independent content creation. Here's my summary.
www.hiblue.com/five-pillars...
www.hiblue.com/five-pillars...
Five Pillars of Independent Content Creation and Monetisation in 2026 – HiBlue
www.hiblue.com
December 26, 2025 at 9:49 PM
I have made many many notes this year as I work through my ideas about the state of independent content creation. Here's my summary.
www.hiblue.com/five-pillars...
www.hiblue.com/five-pillars...
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
12YO girl signed up to do “stand up comedy” at the talent show. 13YO boy decided to heckle her. Teacher started to tell the boy to leave her alone, but the 12YO comedian said “no, no, let him go, this is the closest he’s ever going to get to having a conversation with a girl.”
What's an insult you'll never forget?
December 26, 2025 at 4:43 PM
12YO girl signed up to do “stand up comedy” at the talent show. 13YO boy decided to heckle her. Teacher started to tell the boy to leave her alone, but the 12YO comedian said “no, no, let him go, this is the closest he’s ever going to get to having a conversation with a girl.”
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
One more speaker spot left and a few sponsors spots still available.
December 27, 2025 at 12:25 PM
One more speaker spot left and a few sponsors spots still available.
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
Image SEO in 2026 is about machine readability.
FDA font sizes (0.9mm) fail AI OCR.
Glossy packaging causes data hallucinations.
Weird facial expressions = unreliable sentiment scores.
I have some thoughts and advice here:
FDA font sizes (0.9mm) fail AI OCR.
Glossy packaging causes data hallucinations.
Weird facial expressions = unreliable sentiment scores.
I have some thoughts and advice here:
Image SEO for multimodal AI
Images are now parsed like language. OCR, visual context and pixel-level quality shape how AI systems interpret and surface content.
searchengineland.com
December 23, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Image SEO in 2026 is about machine readability.
FDA font sizes (0.9mm) fail AI OCR.
Glossy packaging causes data hallucinations.
Weird facial expressions = unreliable sentiment scores.
I have some thoughts and advice here:
FDA font sizes (0.9mm) fail AI OCR.
Glossy packaging causes data hallucinations.
Weird facial expressions = unreliable sentiment scores.
I have some thoughts and advice here:
Bad week for the MAGA 'alpha' males. Woke is back 😅
December 21, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Bad week for the MAGA 'alpha' males. Woke is back 😅
Jaw broken in two places ✅
December 20, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Jaw broken in two places ✅
If you're not involved in scraping, you won't know about some massive changes Google made a couple of weeks ago to make it harder to scrape some parts of their SERP. This latest legal action in another brick in the wall Google is building to make life hard to competitor LLMs using their index.
December 19, 2025 at 11:25 PM
If you're not involved in scraping, you won't know about some massive changes Google made a couple of weeks ago to make it harder to scrape some parts of their SERP. This latest legal action in another brick in the wall Google is building to make life hard to competitor LLMs using their index.
Shame the murder isn't on until 3:30am 😴
December 19, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Shame the murder isn't on until 3:30am 😴
On 15th January, I'll be talking to @yagmursimsek.bsky.social and @bngsrc.bsky.social about one of the most tricky areas of SEO: "Content quality". It's a free webinar you can join, and we'll try and field your questions too!
You can register here: www.duda.co/webinars/win...
You can register here: www.duda.co/webinars/win...
Defining, Measuring & Winning With Quality Content in 2026
www.duda.co
December 19, 2025 at 2:21 PM
On 15th January, I'll be talking to @yagmursimsek.bsky.social and @bngsrc.bsky.social about one of the most tricky areas of SEO: "Content quality". It's a free webinar you can join, and we'll try and field your questions too!
You can register here: www.duda.co/webinars/win...
You can register here: www.duda.co/webinars/win...
Every year, instead of sending Christmas gifts to clients, @withcandour.co.uk make a £2,000 donation to Future Projects who provide for the thousands of local households that are struggling to afford food and daily essentials over Christmas. 🎄
December 17, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Every year, instead of sending Christmas gifts to clients, @withcandour.co.uk make a £2,000 donation to Future Projects who provide for the thousands of local households that are struggling to afford food and daily essentials over Christmas. 🎄
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
Cheers to my very first article on @sejournal.bsky.social 🥂Posting this with a very proud smile 🥳
SEO teams can tie organic performance to revenue by mapping full user journeys in GA4 and uncovering hidden conversion opportunities.
How To Track User Journey In GA4 To Make SEO Wins More Visible
SEO teams can tie organic performance to revenue by mapping full user journeys in GA4 and uncovering hidden conversion opportunities.
www.searchenginejournal.com
December 16, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Cheers to my very first article on @sejournal.bsky.social 🥂Posting this with a very proud smile 🥳
December 14, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Mark Williams-Cook
“While the AI industry claims its models can “think,” “reason,” and “learn,” their supposed achievements rest on marketing hype and stolen intellectual labor. In reality, AI erodes academic freedom, weakens critical reading, and subordinates the pursuit of knowledge to corporate interests.”
AI Is Hollowing Out Higher Education
Olivia Guest & Iris van Rooij urge teachers and scholars to reject tools that commodify learning, deskill students, and promote illiteracy.
www.project-syndicate.org
November 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM
“While the AI industry claims its models can “think,” “reason,” and “learn,” their supposed achievements rest on marketing hype and stolen intellectual labor. In reality, AI erodes academic freedom, weakens critical reading, and subordinates the pursuit of knowledge to corporate interests.”