In 2023 I had the opportunity to attend the 8th edition of SEOPlus, Spain's biggest web positioning congress. Two intense days with the leading minds in Spanish-language SEO: debate on artificial intelligence, documented case studies, advanced content strategies and a very honest conversation covering the full spectrum of techniques — including those that rarely appear in industry blogs.
Two years on, many of the ideas I heard there still form the core of how I think about and execute web positioning. This article covers the learnings that have had the most impact on my work.
SEOPlus: Spain's benchmark SEO event
SEOPlus was created as a meeting space for web positioning professionals in Spain and Latin America. Its 8th edition brought together top-level speakers: SEO directors from major agencies, independent consultants with documented case studies and representatives from tools like Ahrefs, SISTRIX and Semrush. What sets SEOPlus apart from other digital marketing events is its technical depth — this is not a space for beginners asking "what is SEO?", it's for professionals who want to know exactly what works, what has stopped working and what is about to change.
AI applied to SEO: tools and real limits
In 2023, AI was already the central topic of any digital marketing conversation. At SEOPlus the debate got technical: not "do you use AI?" but "how, for what and with what criteria?".
Content generation and optimisation with AI
Speakers agreed on one key point: AI generates volume, the professional provides judgement. Using language models to structure articles, generate meta title variations or create drafts is efficient and legitimate. The problem appears when content is published without review, without proprietary data and without a differentiated editorial perspective — which is exactly what Google labels E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust).
Key tools mentioned for combining AI with search intent: Surfer SEO for brief generation based on real top-10 analysis; Clearscope/MarketMuse for LSI term identification; NeuralText for keyword clustering and content architecture planning.
AI for technical analysis
Beyond content, AI is transforming technical audits: large-scale keyword cannibalization detection, server log analysis to map Google's crawl patterns, and pre-migration impact prediction before executing structural changes.
The full SEO spectrum: White, Grey and Black Hat
One of the most candid sessions covered the complete technique spectrum without euphemisms — a rare level of honesty that made it one of the most valuable parts of the congress.
White Hat SEO: the non-negotiable foundation
White Hat techniques are those Google explicitly endorses: original quality content, excellent user experience, organically earned links and technically sound code. It's the only path that builds sustainable long-term positioning without penalty risk. Techniques reinforced with case studies: Topical Authority (Google favours vertical specialists), Digital PR (media mentions with proprietary data), linkable assets (free tools, original datasets, comprehensive guides) and EEAT as editorial strategy (showing who writes, their credentials and their sources).
Grey Hat SEO: calculated risk
Grey Hat techniques don't explicitly violate Google's guidelines but occupy a legitimacy grey area. The SEOPlus consensus: those who apply them must understand the real risk and have a contingency plan. Techniques analysed: expired domains for link equity transfer, unlabelled sponsored posts, parasite SEO on high-DA platforms, and niche PBNs.
Black Hat SEO: know it to defend against it
Understanding Black Hat is not about applying it — it's about detecting when a competitor uses it against you, recognising negative SEO attacks and understanding what patterns Google penalises. Topics covered: cloaking, keyword stuffing, mass link spam (what Penguin was built to neutralise) and negative SEO — pointing thousands of spam links at a competitor's site. Every SEO professional should monitor their backlink profile regularly with Ahrefs alerts or Search Console.
Strategic content: architecture before volume
One of the most impactful talks dismantled the myth that "publishing more content equals more traffic". Quantity without architecture is noise. What ranks in 2023 — and still ranks now — is semantic site structure.
Content clustering: the pillar-satellite model
The hub-and-spoke model organises content around a pillar article covering a broad topic, bidirectionally linked to satellite articles that go deep on each subtopic. This structure sends Google clear signals of complete thematic coverage, distributes link authority efficiently across related pages and improves dwell time as users navigate between complementary content without leaving the site.
Search intent: the first filter
Before writing a single line, answer: what does the user searching this query actually want? The four base intents (informational, navigational, transactional, commercial/investigational) determine format, length and tone. Mismatching intent — a product page without trust signals, or an informational article with aggressive buy CTAs — is something Google detects through behavioural metrics: CTR, dwell time and bounce rate.
Content updates: the underused asset
One of the most underrated strategies at the congress: updating existing articles with fresh data, expanding semantic coverage and adding sections answering related People Also Ask queries. A well-updated article often generates more incremental traffic than a new one, because it already accumulates indexation history, behavioural signals and inbound links.
Web architecture: efficient crawling and thematic silos
The technical module covered one of the least visible but most impactful SEO factors: site architecture and crawl budget management.
Thematic silos and strategic internal linking
Organising URLs into silos — thematic groups with coherent, contained internal linking — concentrates semantic relevance in each section. A well-built silo makes Google immediately identify which part of the site should rank for each query category, without dispersing signals across unrelated pages.
Crawl budget
On sites with hundreds or thousands of pages, Google's bot doesn't crawl everything. Parameterised URLs, unoptimised pagination, duplicate content and redirect chains all consume crawl budget that should be directed at strategic pages. Key levers: correctly configured robots.txt, canonical tags, proper pagination attributes and periodic audits with Screaming Frog or Sitebulb.
Core Web Vitals
With Page Experience consolidated as a ranking factor, the congress detailed how to optimise each metric: LCP (optimise the main page element — WebP/AVIF formats, CDN, resource preload); INP (minimise blocking JavaScript, defer non-critical scripts); CLS (reserve space for images and ads before loading to eliminate visual shifts).
Link building: one quality link beats a hundred low-quality ones
Link building generated the most debate among speakers. The consensus: one real authority link has more impact than a hundred low-quality ones, and scalable bulk strategies from years past perform increasingly poorly against algorithmic detection. Strategies validated with case studies: HARO/Connectively for expert citations in media, broken link building, original data studies that earn citations as primary sources, and sectoral ecosystem presence for natural long-term mentions.
Local SEO: the highest-ROI channel for physical businesses
The local SEO talk was, for me, the most directly applicable to working with businesses in Granada. Local SEO determines which businesses appear in Google Maps and the Local Pack — the three listings above organic results that capture 44% of clicks in searches with local intent.
Local ranking factors covered: optimised Google Business Profile (correct primary category, updated hours, quality geotagged photos, active Q&A, regular posts, review management); NAP consistency (identical Name, Address, Phone across all directories); review volume and quality (one of the highest-weight local ranking factors — responding to all reviews, including negative ones, signals trust to both Google and users); LocalBusiness schema markup; relevant local citations; and hyperlocal content that explicitly mentions neighbourhoods, city districts and local landmarks as geographic relevance signals.
What changed in my work after SEOPlus 2023
Three concrete changes I've applied since then:
- Architecture first, content second. Before writing any article, I map the complete content architecture: which pillars, which clusters, which intent each URL covers and how they interlink.
- Local SEO as priority for physical businesses. For restaurants, clinics, shops and professional offices in Granada, appearing in the Google Maps Local Pack generates more direct contacts than any other digital strategy. It's the highest-ROI channel for businesses with a geographic catchment area.
- E-E-A-T as a strategic differentiator. In a market where AI generates content in seconds, real first-hand experience and genuine perspective are the hardest assets to replicate — and what Google weights more heavily with each successive algorithm update.
Want your business in Granada to rank first on Google? I can carry out a free SEO audit of your website and Google Business Profile — no generic templates, a real diagnosis of the highest-impact improvement points. Write to me at pablogomezvillen@gmail.com and you'll have my analysis within 48 hours.
Frequently asked questions about SEO and web positioning
What is SEOPlus and why does it matter for the industry?
SEOPlus is the most important web positioning conference in the Spanish-speaking world, held in Spain since 2015. It brings together the sector's leading figures to discuss trends, strategies and real-world case studies. Attending allows you to anticipate where SEO is heading before changes reach the general market.
Is SEO still worth it in 2025 with AI so prevalent?
Yes, more than ever. AI has changed how Google understands content, but it has not eliminated the need for SEO — it has raised the standards. Shallow content is penalised more heavily, while content with genuine experience (E-E-A-T) is rewarded. SEO and AI are now complementary tools.
What is the pillar-cluster model in SEO?
It is a content architecture strategy where a pillar article covers a topic in depth and cluster articles address related subtopics, always linking back to the pillar. It consolidates the site's topical authority and makes it easier for Google to crawl the content cluster.
How long does SEO take to deliver results?
Between three and twelve months, depending on competition, domain authority and content quality. Local SEO for physical businesses can deliver visible results in two or three months with a well-executed Google Business Profile strategy and localised content.
What is the difference between White Hat and Black Hat SEO?
White Hat SEO applies techniques within Google's guidelines: quality content, speed, user experience and natural links. Black Hat SEO tries to manipulate the algorithm using techniques like bulk link buying or duplicate content. The first is sustainable; the second leads to penalties that destroy a site's rankings.
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