Hello, {{ first name | my friend}}!
How are you doing? 😊
Time for a quick April recap, and honestly, I’m really excited to share this one because some of these insights you probably won’t find anywhere else. 👀
In April:
I got to meet Neil Patel (yes, that Neil Patel 😄) — the mind behind Ubersuggest and CEO of NP Digital. I’ll share my notes from the AI marketing conference and what I learned from our chat below.
Later that month, I was invited to the first-ever Google Search Central event in Canada. 🇨🇦 I had the chance to talk directly to the Google team and ask all my burning questions about AI + SEO. More on that below.
I also teamed up with Semrush to record a case study, where I broke down how you can automate your SEO content strategy using Claude + Semrush MCP + GSC.
I also closed two brand collaborations with KIME, an AI Visibility tool, and Hostinger. 🤝
And revenue-wise, my site brought in $5,123.62 USD in April from affiliates and partnerships. 💸
Not sharing this to brag, but to show you what’s possible.
I’m doing all of this as a one-person business while working a full-time job and managing… well, life. It’s not easy, but it is doable with the right tools and mindset.
Alright, let’s get into the details because April turned out to be one of my best months of 2026. 🔥
What the Google team told me about AI SEO (in person)
On April 21, 2026, I spent half of the day in a room with the Google team at the first-ever Search Central Live event in Canada.
I came with a short list of questions, and all of them were about AI SEO. It’s not surprising since this is the most confusing part of our work right now, and honestly, the one I’m trying to figure out myself.
Here’s what I wanted to understand:
Is there actually anything we can do to influence how our content gets picked for AI Overviews? Or once the content is “good enough,” is it out of our hands?
Are we going to get better visibility into AI search visibility inside Google Search Console (like a separate report for AI Overviews and AI Mode)?
And with everyone plugging GSC data into LLMs… is Google planning to support that workflow officially and launch an MCP connector?
I didn’t get perfectly clear answers to all of these.
But I picked up enough from the talks and Q&A to start connecting the dots and form an opinion on where things are heading.
Here’s what I took away from the event, and what I think every site owner should understand right now. 👇
What Neil Patel told us about AI, SEO, and marketing
On April 8, I went to the Full Circle AI Marketing conference in Toronto, hosted by NP Digital, the agency founded by Neil Patel.
To be honest, his talk was the main reason I went. 🎤
I’ve been learning from Neil Patel since my early days in marketing, and I can confidently say his SEO perspective has influenced how I think about search engine everywhere optimization today.
My biggest takeaway is that no one really knows the right way to use AI yet. We are still early. Most speakers shared ideas and opinions rather than clear step-by-step guides.
However, we can all agree that AI gives us the ability to do more with fewer resources.
That’s actually why I didn’t spend hours writing this recap. I asked Claude to turn my messy handwritten notes into something readable and help me put this post together.
Because if there’s one thing the conference taught us, it’s this — be creative. 🎨
Google Search Console + Semrush MCP + Claude
Who wants to see how to automate your entire SEO content strategy with Semrush MCP, Google Search Console custom connector, and Claude? 👀
I had such a great chat with Lizzie LaCour from Semrush, where I walked through my entire workflow — from technical audits and competitor analysis to keyword research, strategy, and content creation.
And yes… it’s all automated with Claude + Semrush MCP + Google Search Console. 🚀
There’s a super actionable case study coming soon from Semrush, and trust me, you’ll want to see this.🔥
I’ll share it via my newsletter once it’s live on the Semrush site.
Self Made Millennials is becoming Behind Rankings 🚀
Back in April, I kicked off one of the biggest projects on my site this year — a full domain migration.
This also means I’ll soon be saying goodbye to the domain name my younger self came up with almost 5 years ago… and hello to something that better reflects who I am today, my vision, and where the site is going.
Here’s what pushed me to finally make this move: Another well-known brand with a very similar name. I started noticing that AI tools and LLMs were mixing us up, even attributing mentions to my site that had nothing to do with me 😅
And when your brand name isn’t clearly unique, it becomes much harder to build a strong brand presence, especially now, when people search across multiple AI tools, not just Google.
So… I made the tough call to rebrand and move to a new domain.
Very soon, it’s goodbye Self Made Millennials 👋
And hello Behind Rankings ✨
I’m excited (and a bit nervous) about this change, and doing everything I can to minimize any traffic drops along the way.
Quick tip: If you’re building a website, make sure your brand name is truly unique even outside your niche. Similar names can confuse AI systems and hurt your visibility.
Once the migration is done, I’ll share exactly how I handled it to reduce the risks of losing traffic. Stay tuned! 👀
Write content that ranks (even in the AI era)
For $9.99, my ebook shows you how to create human-first content that actually aligns with Google’s E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trust) — your biggest edge in the AI era.
Inside, you’ll learn:
How to write content that feels real and ranks
The exact writing principles I use on my own site
How to align your content with E-E-A-T (without overthinking it)
Practical ways to stand out from AI-generated content
If you want your content to perform over the long term, not just exist, this is for you.
How did you like today's edition?
That’s all for now!
Talk soon,
Victoria
Victoria Kurichenko
P.S. To learn more, check my full collection of newsletters for free: Behind Rankings.