It’s been a busy couple of months. In addition to our normal WordPress development activity, I’ve been very busy working with a large number of SEO consulting clients. While I normally have an active list of SEO clients, we saw a pretty big upswing in activity after my SEO Week webinar series over at iThemes. By upswing, I mean I literally had many more people wanting help with search engine optimization then I could possibly allocate into our project calendar. Although this has been great ... 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.
Basics of SEO Webinar Series
In December I had the pleasure of presenting a four day webinar series to the iThemes community. My friend Cory Miller, founder of iThemes, had invited me to perform the Basics of SEO webinar series for his very loyal community of end users and WordPress developers. We had a great week and each session had between 400-700 attendees. I'd like to share this series with our own readers and allow you to view the content presented as well as the follow up Q&A we did at the end of each ... Read More
SEO Week: Four Part SEO Webinar Series
I can 100% tell you that everyone struggles with search engine optimization. I've worked on SEO for well over a decade, so I know this is pure truth. If someone tells you otherwise, they're fooling themselves. There’s so much information available on SEO that it is difficult to know who to listen to and what to believe. Google and Bing provide great information on the subject, but this is cluttered with millions of blog posts, white papers, and courses that may or may not provide reliable ... Read More
Content Marketing vs. SEO
The topic of content marketing vs. SEO baffles me and honestly it has always confused me. I thought this discussion had been addressed and marketers knew it was no battle at all, but last week I realized it is still alive and well. I was on a sales call and the marketer I was speaking with said she didn't believe in SEO. She said she believes you simply need to focus on content marketing and you'll be fine. I'm paraphrasing, but that sums up the comments. The SEO consultant in me felt a ... Read More
My Epic SEO Fail
Ten years ago I had an epic SEO fail. I’m not referring to a little mistake that I was embarrassed to discuss. I mean a full on epic failure that should have cost me my job and reputation. Today I was reminded of this colossal mistake while I was sitting in church. Pastor Chris’s sermon was on managing failure. He began his message by discussing his epic failure and in turn he asked the congregation how many of us remember our epic failure. My mind immediately went back ten years to the ... Read More
Perfecting WordPress Multisite SEO
A few weeks ago I had someone tweet me while I was at WordCamp Ann Arbor. The gentleman wanted to chat about WordPress multisite SEO and was hoping I was still at the venue so I could answer some questions he had about his university website. This week another gentlemen messaged me on Quora asking the very same questions. It appears WordPress users are fearful of multisite and the implications it has on SEO. Fear not my friends! WordPress multisite SEO isn’t that different then regular ... Read More
Are You Missing the SEO Basics for WordPress? Let Me Tell You Why Your Website is Underperforming
So many users feel their website is underperforming and they wonder if they're missing the SEO basics for WordPress. After working with lots of WordPress website owners, I can validate they are indeed missing the basics! These users thought WordPress was supposed to be super SEO friendly and they thought they would add an SEO plugin and rank on page one. Yet their websites or blogs don’t rank well in search engines and they can’t figure out why. This is especially true if that little dot ... Read More
One Hour of WordPress SEO Training Can Produce Big Results
One hour of WordPress SEO training can have a major impact on your website or blog. If you can allocate sixty minutes, I promise I'll change the way you think about SEO and how it applies to your WordPress website or blog. I've been educating people on WordPress SEO for over six years, so I see the impact quality training can have on a website owner. It's impactful because it's one-on-one training that is highly personalized and it is presented using your content and your existing SEO efforts ... Read More
SEO Coaching and that “Come to Jesus” Moment
This week I had a SEO coaching call with a law firm. It’s a service I offer to WordPress website owners and it is actually something I really enjoy. The client was a referral from another WordPress developer. The website was a number of years old and it had not had many updates in recent years. It was originally developed by another developer who specialized in legal website design, which sadly, ended up giving the client a sense of false confidence. After spending about 20 minutes ... Read More
WordPress Accordion and Tabbed Content Can Negatively Affect SEO
Late last year Search Engine Roundtable posted an article about the usage of tabs, accordions, and hidden content in websites. This article was a quick overview of how these design elements will negatively affect SEO within a website. The article seemed to lie under the radar and most people missed it. It’s so far under the radar, I haven’t heard much about it since I read the post in November. I decided this topic needed further discussion because a lot of designers and website owners are ... Read More
The Danger of Not Having a Mobile Friendly Website
If you don’t have a mobile friendly website and you’re not overly worried about, you’re making a mistake. It’s a mistake that is big enough to cause you keyword ranking and a decrease in search traffic from Google. Think I’m being overly dramatic? I’m not and I’ll show you why. On January 20th I received an email from Google alerting me that an old client website needed to “fix mobile usability issues.” Here is a screen capture of the email: I received another notification on ... Read More
Don’t be Greedy When Selecting Keywords
Of all the lessons I can offer on SEO, one of the most important lessons is about greed. And while it is an important SEO lesson, it is a simple one. My SEO lesson is merely this - Don't be greedy when selecting keywords. I learned this lesson through trial and error, through hard work, and through years of working on real-world search engine optimization. I didn't come to this conclusion lightly or even quickly. It is something I learned over time and as I advanced forward in my SEO ... Read More
Use Keyword Mapping to Stop Competing With Yourself
The last month I had the pleasure of speaking at WordCamp Grand Rapids. At the end of my presentation someone in the audience asked about keyword mapping and I found myself going off on a tangent about companies and bloggers competing with themselves on SEO. This idea came to the surprise of many people, including my friend Chris Lema. He was sitting right in front of me as I spoke and I could tell by his reaction that it was something he had not yet contemplated. Keep in mind that Chris ... Read More
Natural SEO is a Seed and PPC is an Over Ripened Banana
Natural SEO represents the planted seed that brings long-term growth and produces endless amounts of nutrients. PPC is the ripened banana you purchase to obtain a quick potassium fix. I have long believed in the power of natural SEO. I’ve been preaching it for about a decade and I’ve been screaming it from the rooftop for over five years. This isn’t just an idea or thought, it is a strong conviction that is rooted in the core of who I am and it is central to what I believe. This weekend ... Read More
Digging Deeper Into WordPress SEO Tools
A few weeks ago I published an article about maximizing SEO efforts in WordPress. I had promised a follow up post to cover additional features like automatically populating meta titles and descriptions, configuring the permalink structure, integrating Webmaster Tools, and creating XML sitemaps. Today we're digging deeper into WordPress SEO tools and covering all those additional SEO goodies. Don't worry, I won't go so far into each topic that I lose you. We'll go just deep enough to get your ... Read More
Maximizing SEO in WordPress With Yoast
On any given week, I talk a lot about maximizing SEO in WordPress. This discussion takes place with prospects, existing clients, and even fellow WordPress developers. While there are many great tools available, the majority of WordPress users are simply not maximizing SEO in WordPress. In some cases people are simply not sure where to start. In other cases, people have installed an SEO plugin and have forgotten to configure it or to even use it. The sad part of this is optimizing content ... Read More
Do You Need an SEO Advocate?
Your Website Can Be a Maze of Hidden SEO Issues Over the last month I’ve been helping a client with search engine optimization. Normally we help clients with both website development and SEO, but this time the website was already in process by a large firm in another state. The client reached out to me because the web development firm did not have anyone on staff that is knowledgeable about SEO. As the client prepared to launch their beautiful new website, we started to discover critical SEO ... Read More
Slow and Steady Wins the SEO War
For over ten years, I've had virtually the same process. When it comes to internet marketing, I simply follow SEO fundamentals. While the minutia of my process has changed slightly, the overall philosophy and process has not. I've read Google's SEO guide and I've followed it closely. I've ignored internet marketing fads and I refused to jump on the latest trends that promise overnight success. I've stuck with hard work and a methodical system. I've stayed true to what I believe in and what I ... Read More
The Small Business Guide to Google Webmaster Tools
When I first discovered Google Webmaster Tools I was thrilled. I was fasinated by the data it provided and it has only gotten better over the years. I love showing it to clients, as many don’t even know it exists. Okay – 99% of my clients don’t know it exists until I show it to them. And the remaining 1% had no idea how much the tool really offered. If you’re like most small business owners, you have limited time and resources to dedicate to sleuthing around in Webmaster Tools. Don’t fret! ... Read More
SEO is Like Milk and Cookies
When I think of SEO, I think of milk and cookies. Pretend you're back in preschool and on the carpet at reading time. You remember - the bright colored rug full of red, blue, and green colors that has a distinct smell of Play-Doh. Now think about what you were instructed to do by your teacher? What will ultimately bring the best reward? You were most likely told to sit nice with criss-cross applesauce legs, keep your hands in your lap, think about those around you, and simply follow the ... Read More
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