Ann Smarty

Articles by: Ann Smarty

Ann Smarty

Ann Smarty is the founder of Smarty Marketing, a boutique SEO agency based in New York, focusing on viral and Reddit marketing as well as cross-channel organic visibility.

Ann's search engine optimization career began in 2005. She is the former editor-in-chief of Search Engine Journal and contributor to prominent search and social blogs, including Small Business Trends and Mashable.

Ann is also a frequent speaker at Pubcon and many other digital marketing events.

Contact Ann via email or LinkedIn.

SEO
Bing Adds AI Visibility Reporting

February 16, 2026 • Ann Smarty

The new "AI Performance Report" in Webmaster Tools is an industry first.
SEO
Traffic Impact of Google Discover

February 9, 2026 • Ann Smarty

Last week's core update focused entirely on Discover, a first for Google.
SEO
Better Metrics for AI Search Visibility

February 2, 2026 • Ann Smarty

AI-generated search is pushing merchants to measure product visibility, but traditional metrics fall short.
SEO
New Microsoft Retail AI Guide Echoes SEO

January 26, 2026 • Ann Smarty

"A guide to AEO and GEO" includes actionable tips that align with longstanding SEO tactics.
Technical SEO
Google’s Core Updates, Explained

January 19, 2026 • Ann Smarty

Unlike Spam Updates, Core Updates generally do not penalize but, instead, alter how the algorithm treats certain queries.
SEO Tools
Tools for Fast Search-Query Analysis

January 13, 2026 • Ann Smarty

Queries are becoming longer, more diverse, and less predictable, fueling the need for extended research and analysis.
Technical SEO
Yes, 404 Status Codes Hurt SEO

January 5, 2026 • Ann Smarty

"404" pages are not direct ranking signals, but they disrupt the user experience and block link equity.
SEO
3 SEO Predictions for 2026

December 30, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Generative AI increasingly dominates search results through AI Overviews and AI Mode, rendering traditional optimization ineffective.
SEO Tools
GSC Groups Keywords as AI Queries Expand

December 23, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Google Search Console's "Insights" section no longer shows click trends for single keywords, only by group.
SEO
Primer on ChatGPT’s 3 Bots

December 15, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Knowing which bot is responsible for which task is essential before attempting to disallow it.
SEO
Long-Tail SEO in an AI World

December 9, 2025 • Ann Smarty

The top benefit of targeting long-tail searches could now be AI visibility.
SEO
Tools to Track GenAI Citations, Sources

December 2, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Understanding how AI platforms conduct searches is key to optimizing visibility in the answers.
SEO
How Google’s Web Guide Helps SEO

November 24, 2025 • Ann Smarty

The new Google Labs experiment uses AI to organize a user's search results. It's also handy for SEO.
SEO Tools
New GSC ‘Insights’ Show Trends, Status

November 17, 2025 • Ann Smarty

The relaunched "Insights" section in Search Console doesn't provide data unavailable in other reports, but it's helpful for quick trends and items needing attention.
Technical SEO
URL Case Sensitivity and SEO

November 10, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Inconsistent capitalization can harm organic rankings in three ways.
SEO
Regex in GSC Reveals ChatGPT Searches

November 3, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Search Console reports AI-bot queries as if they're human. Here's how to isolate the bots from real people.
SEO
Does Schema Markup Help AI Visibility?

October 27, 2025 • Ann Smarty

What matters for AI visibility is relevant content and long-term brand building, not structured data.
Technical SEO
How to Remove a Web Page from Google

October 20, 2025 • Ann Smarty

The reasons for deindexing a page haven't much changed over the years, although the tools and tactics have evolved.
SEO
Google’s AI Reshapes Organic Listings

October 13, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Google is changing organic search results as it integrates AI, necessitating new traffic tactics and priorities.
SEO
GEO for ChatGPT Instant Checkout

October 7, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Generative engine optimization relies on context, not just product data.
On-page SEO
Google’s Spam Updates, Explained

September 29, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Traffic declines from spam updates are typically drastic and result from violations of Google's published policies.
SEO
Recover ChatGPT 404 Traffic with GA4

September 22, 2025 • Ann Smarty

ChatGPT sometimes hallucinates source URLs, sending users to 404 "not found" pages.
SEO Tools
Did Google Just Prevent Rank Tracking?

September 15, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Search bots and AI crawlers can no longer generate 100 listings per page. It's a telling change by Google.
On-page SEO
Quick SEO: 6 Key Elements, 3 Free Tools

September 9, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Six elements on a page drive visibility on search engines and generative AI platforms. Three tools can quickly analyze.
SEO
Control AI Answers about Your Brand

September 1, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Search engine optimization has shifted from traditional organic rankings to AI-generated citations.
SEO
More Fan-Out SEO Tactics

August 26, 2025 • Ann Smarty

There's more to fan-out optimization than on-site FAQ pages.
SEO Tools
Chrome Extensions for AI Bot Access

August 18, 2025 • Ann Smarty

AI crawlers are not as sophisticated as Google's and other traditional search engines. They require extra effort by web admins to access a page.
SEO
Is GEO the Same as SEO?

August 12, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Optimizing for generative AI is different from traditional search engines. The distinction lies in the underlying technology.
SEO
AI Crawler Optimization Tips

August 5, 2025 • Ann Smarty

Robots.txt directives and JavaScript often prevent generative AI bots from accessing content.
SEO
Google’s Index Now Powers ChatGPT

July 28, 2025 • Ann Smarty

ChatGPT does not maintain an index of global websites, instead relying initially on Bing's index and now, apparently, on Google's.