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Link Building
How to Earn Backlinks as a Quoted Expert
April 21, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Being quoted in reputable publications drives backlinks and topical authority as an entity.
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Analytics & Data
How to Track ChatGPT Traffic in GA4
April 14, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Traffic from ChatGPT is low volume but often the most engaging referral source, even more than organic search.
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Keyword Research
How Keywords Drive Helpful Content
April 8, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Keywords no longer guarantee traffic, but they do reveal prospects' needs.
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Keyword Research
Search Volume Tools for Marketers
March 31, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Search terms rise and fall in popularity. Understanding the movements aids informed decisions.
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SEO
Brand Visibility Is the New SEO
March 24, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Search engines drive brand discovery for genAI platforms and research for humans.
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SEO
Bad SEO Advice: 5 Tips to Ignore
March 18, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Four common SEO recommendations that waste time, or worse.
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SEO
‘Do’ Queries Are an SEO Priority
March 11, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Google's quality raters' guidelines suggest a new approach to searchers' intent: "know simple," "know," and "do."
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SEO
Why Search Rankings Are Driving Less Traffic
March 4, 2025 • Ann Smarty
A drop in traffic usually stems from lower rankings. But what if rankings are unchanged?
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SEO
How to Optimize for GenAI Answers
February 24, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Consumers increasingly turn to ChatGPT and similar channels for product and brand recommendations.
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SEO
SEO Considerations for New Domain Names
February 17, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Shoppers are discovering brands on generative AI and then searching for them on Google.
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On-page SEO
‘Helpful Content’ per Google’s Latest Guidelines
February 10, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Google's core search algorithm includes a "helpful content" component, making its definition of the term critical.
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SEO Tools
It’s Time to Pay Attention to Bing
February 3, 2025 • Ann Smarty
ChatGPT uses Bing's index and search platform. And Bing's advertising program is growing.
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On-page SEO
‘Your Money or Your Life,’ Defined by Google
January 27, 2025 • Ann Smarty
YMYL topics affect a person’s health, safety, financial stability, and well-being.
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SEO Tools
How to Track Rankings with Search Console
January 20, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Google now blocks third-party organic rank-tracking tools. Here's how to monitor rankings in Search Console.
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Technical SEO
What to Know about Meta Descriptions
January 14, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Here's how meta descriptions impact traffic but not organic search rankings.
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Technical SEO
How Google Detects Duplicate Content
January 6, 2025 • Ann Smarty
Google seeks diverse search results and must choose when two or more pages are the same or similar.
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On-page SEO
Google’s Site Reputation Abuse Policy, Explained
December 9, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Sites that publish unrelated third-party content abuse their reputation, per Google, and risk penalties.
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On-page SEO
Content Optimization Checklist for SEO
December 2, 2024 • Ann Smarty
The best content for search engines and humans places keywords and concepts strategically and naturally on a page.
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SEO
Action Steps for Bing’s AI SEO Guidelines
November 25, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Bing's newly published optimization guidelines are short on implementation tactics.
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SEO Tools
How to Audit HTML Headings on Any Page
November 18, 2024 • Ann Smarty
H1, H2, and H3 headings are among the most important SEO elements on a page. Here are tools to identify, audit, compare, and more.
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Keyword Research
Keyword Volume: Google vs. Semrush vs. Ahrefs
November 12, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Keyword search volume metrics are imprecise and vary among the three principal sources.
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Product Pages
Structured Data Markup for Ecommerce Product Pages
November 4, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Structured data helps search engines understand a page's purpose and elevate its visibility in organic listings.
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On-page SEO
SEO for Product Category Pages in 7 Steps
October 30, 2024 • Ann Smarty
The purpose of category pages is not just to attract traffic but to engage visitors into buying products.
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Link Building
Is Your Site Vulnerable to a Google Update?
October 21, 2024 • Ann Smarty
No site is safe from a Google update, but some experience more ranking declines than others.
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SEO Tools
My Top SEO Tools to Analyze Backlinks
October 14, 2024 • Ann Smarty
External backlinks, especially from trustworthy sites, remain a key ranking factor and generate clicks and engagement.
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Analytics & Data
Handy Chrome Extensions for Google Analytics
October 8, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Here are three third-party extensions to create GA4 reports, add annotations, and access data quickly.
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SEO Tools
Free SEO Spreadsheet for Better Rankings
September 30, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Here's how to create a detailed spreadsheet identifying the best-performing pages, missed opportunities, and areas of improvement.
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SEO Tools
How to Compare SEO of Competing URLs
September 23, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Only Google knows most ranking signals, although some are public. Examples include keyword usage, content structure, and backlinks.
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SEO Tools
Google’s ‘About this result’ Explained
September 15, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Google provides additional info on every organic search result behind the three dots to its right.
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SEO Tools
Underused SEO Reports in Search Console
September 9, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Search Console is the free powerhouse for organic rankings. Yet some helpful reports are little used.