Google Search Console is a must have account for owners of blogs and websites. It is critical for SEO because it helps webmasters understand Google’s view of their website or blog. And the great tools inside Google Search Console don’t stop at reporting. Google also provides multiple data points and suggestions for resolving issues you may not have even known existed. When I first discovered Google Search Console I was thrilled. I was fascinated by the data it provided and it has only gotten ... Read More
Search Engine Optimization Articles
SEO related blog posts, discussion and instruction covering all aspects of search engine optimization for small to mid-market companies.
The Shifting World of SEO in 2016 and 2017
In 2016 I fell back in love with SEO. I truly did and I didn’t even notice it happening until late in the year. A large part of this transformation was because I saw an increasing need to help people understand what SEO is and why it matters. I spent a great deal of time coaching, educating, and working on SEO consulting projects. As I think about how SEO changed in 2016, I realize part of my regained love for SEO was due to the fact that 2016 was a unbelievable and crazy year of SEO ... Read More
What Google’s Mobile-First Indexing Means to You and Your Website
This month Google made a major announcement on the future of search and stated it would break away from the traditional desktop search index (aka database of websites and blogs) and move to a mobile-first search index. Google indicated this shift was coming at industry conferences, but made the change official with an article on the Google Webmaster Central Blog on November 4th. In the announcement Google stated: To make our results more useful, we’ve begun experiments to make our index ... Read More
Our Year End Giveaway is an SEO Package Worth Checking Out
Our agency uses a lot of software that ranges from templates and plugins to analytics and reporting. These tools have helped us function better as a company and they've greatly influenced my ability to make better decisions. I decided it would be great to share some of these helpful tools with our readers, so I kicked off a year end giveaway that offers an SEO package of goodies worth close to $6,000. 1st Place Price – $3,900+ USD Value Online SEO course One hour of personalized SEO ... Read More
Website Hosting and SEO: Is Your Provider Helping or Hurting You?
Marketers and bloggers need to be aware of the interconnection of website hosting and SEO. The correlation of strong website hosting and SEO is many times overlooked and even I'm at fault of this oversight. Or I was at fault. I was reminded of it this month when I moved a website from one hosting company to another. My Recent Experience With Website Hosting and SEO In late 2015 Liquid Web announced the release of their managed WordPress hosting offering. I've been following Liquid Web and ... Read More
Register for One of Our Free SEO Webinars
Before we know it 2017 will be upon us. While you may not be thinking about marketing in 2017, I am and I've been working on scheduling some free SEO webinars through our partners Liquid Web and iThemes. Below is a list of SEO webinars scheduled for late 2016 and all throughout 2017. Feel free to browse through the list below and register for the events that interest you most. Liquid Web - Learn the Basics of SEO December 5th, 2016: The SEO Formula for Driving Success in 2017 We need to ... Read More
SEO is a Process and Not a Plugin
I recently had the pleasure of speaking about search engine optimization at WordCamp Ann Arbor and WordCamp Dallas Fort Worth. There was one focal point I wanted to hit home at both conferences: SEO isn’t a plugin or a green dot. SEO is a process. So many times WordPress users get caught up with installing plugins and chasing a green dot of approval. Don’t get me wrong. I think the Yoast team and their SEO plugins are awesome. It’s the way WordPress users implement the plugins that I find ... Read More
The SEO Power of a 301 Redirect
I’m a huge fan of protecting a page’s SEO value with 301 redirects. For a long time I knew a 301 redirect would not only redirect traffic, it would also pass SEO value. I just didn’t quite have precise data to prove the massive value of a 301 redirect. If you are unfamiliar with this SEO tool, you can learn more about their usage in a post I recently wrote titled Upgrading Your Website? Don’t Forget 301 Redirects or You’ll Be Sorry. They are powerful, so you'll want to educate yourself on ... Read More
Google Adwords Keyword Planner Alternatives
If you've talked to me about SEO, you know keyword research is at the heart of my SEO process. I've long believed it is a core part of search engine optimization and I focus an entire lesson on it in my online SEO course. For years I've lived by the Google Adwords Keyword Planner. I knew the data was skewed towards pay per click advertisers, but honestly, I didn't care. I could put in my own suggestions, import a keyword seed list, or even a URL and receive back hundreds of ideas with monthly ... Read More
Technical SEO for WordPress: What Webmasters Need to Know
Basics of Technical SEO Technical SEO can sound really intimidating. But don’t worry, because it doesn’t have to be scary at all! Technical SEO simply refers to “things” that are related to code, settings, and servers. It includes things you can see and things you can’t see. Today I'm going to primarily focus on those items you can discover and fix, which means you can "see" them online. What I like about technical SEO is it focuses on discovering issues and fixing these problems. All ... Read More
What Matters in Today’s SEO
Two weeks ago I wrote a blog post about SEO lies and misconceptions. As a follow up to that post, I recently visited WP Tavern's WordPress Weekly podcast and chatted with Jeff Chandler and Marcus Couch. We discuss a number of topics surrounding SEO including what’s changed in the past five years, the purpose of SEO plugins, common misconceptions about search engine optimization, and the amount of effort involved in obtaining real, long-term results. As Jeff stated, I was on fire and ... Read More
SEO Bootcamp is Coming!
I am super excited to announce open registration for SEO Bootcamp. This is an onsite, interactive training session that is taking place this winter. We're holding three days of intensive SEO training in a hands-on, collaborative setting. The Backstory on Hatching the Event I've been doing group training sessions since 1995. Back then it was operational training for businesses my company had recently acquired. I had to mix in how-to instructions with empathy for employees who were in massive ... Read More
Getting Rid of SEO Lies and Other BS You’ve Heard
On my way home tonight my Twitter notifications started to chime. Apparently there was some chatter about SEO being similar to “nasty oil salesman, slimy tactics” and I was being brought into the conversation. For the last year I have been a very loud advocate for SEO within the WordPress community and I've really tried my best to remove the remove SEO lies and other BS discussions from SEO conversations, blog posts, and webinars. Today's Chatter on SEO Lies and BS Here is how the Twitter ... Read More
Blending On-Page and Off-Page SEO Efforts
Successful search engine optimization utilizes a blend of both on-page and off-page SEO efforts. It is the marriage of these two techniques that produce long-term, sustainable results and page one ranking in search. Website owners - including myself - tend to get caught up with only one technique. They focus entirely on on-page SEO and forget about off-page SEO or vice versa. In real-world application, you really need both to rank in search. This is especially true if you are competing at a ... Read More
Are You Struggling with eCommerce and SEO?
This week I had the opportunity to visit Bob Dunn’s Do the Woo Podcast, where he and I chatted about eCommerce and SEO on episode 13 of the show. While the show is typically focused on WordPress and WooCommerce, our discussion was not specific to WordPress or the WooCommerce plugin. The podcast episode covered SEO techniques that apply to all eCommerce websites built with or without WordPress. The eCommerce and SEO Podcast If you’re struggling with getting eCommerce and SEO right on your ... Read More
What is Local Search Optimization?
What is local search optimization? Local search optimization refers to the practice of optimizing a website for search engine activity related to a small geographical area like a state or city. While local SEO has similarities to national SEO, there are a number of differences. The Different Types of Local Searches Let's start by reviewing the different types of local searches and results that occur within search engines: Keyword Only – Keywords without a city name rely more heavily on ... Read More
Free SEO Tools and Software
I use a variety of free SEO tools and software each business day. And in a few rare cases, I subscribe to premium SEO software. But guess what? The best tools are ones that require a little work and investigation by you. You don’t have to be rich to have great SEO data. You just need to do a little research and investigation on your own. Today I want to share my favorite SEO tools with you. While all the below links will have free versions available, a few will also have premium upgrades for ... Read More
An Introduction to Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
What is Search Engine Optimization? Search engine optimization (SEO for short) is simply the process of obtaining website visitors (or traffic) from “free” or “organic” search results in search engines like Google or Bing. All major search engines have primary search results that are ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users. We call these organic results, because they are free and not driven by paid advertisements. Search engine optimization helps maximize ... Read More
Upcoming SEO Webinars
In December my friend Cory Miller and I held a four part webinar series called SEO Week. The webinar series was a big success and the iThemes team received a lot of positive feedback, so we thought we would extend the education and schedule additional webinars over the next six months. If you're taking our online SEO course, these events will be a nice addition on to your educational journey. Schedule of Upcoming SEO Webinars April 20th 2:00pm EST - Understanding Search Intent & Content ... Read More
What is a Content Silo?
A content silo is a method of grouping related content together to establish the website's keyword-based topical areas or themes. Bear with me now. Content silos are important to both SEO and usability. Think back to your last visit to a library - you know before Kindles and iPads existed. How did the library staff help you find books of interest? They grouped content into sections such as fiction or nonfiction. Well guess? That is a content silo, but the old school kind. A Real-World ... Read More
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