Ann Smarty
Ann Smarty is the founder of Smarty Marketing, a boutique SEO agency based in New York, and Viral Content Bee, a social media promotion tool.
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.
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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.
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Link Building
Tips for Internal and External Page Links
September 3, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Links remain critical to search engine optimization despite confusion and suggestions otherwise.
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SEO Tools
Get Your Free Bing SEO Scan
August 26, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Site scans in Bing Webmaster Tools are helpful and free. Here's how to get started.
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Design & Dev Tools
7 Image-to-Text Tools, AI-powered
August 20, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Generating text from images accelerates accessibility, SEO, social media captions, language translation, and more.
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SEO Tools
SEO Tools to Analyze HTML Headings
August 12, 2024 • Ann Smarty
HTML headings such as H2 and H3 help Google understand a page and are thus powerful ranking signals.
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Technical SEO
SEO Aspects of Content Syndication
August 5, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Publishers who syndicate their content can drive referral traffic and raise brand visibility. The tactic does little for search engine optimization, however.
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Technical SEO
The Right Way to Pass PageRank
July 29, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Inbound links remain critical for organic rankings. Managing PageRank is critical, too.
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On-page SEO
How to Audit Content for Better SEO
July 22, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Organic search performance starts with optimized content. Here's how to improve both.
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SEO Tools
Why Use Google’s Disavow Tool?
July 15, 2024 • Ann Smarty
There's one possible reason to disavow inbound links in circa 2024.
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SEO Tools
SEO Tools for Keyword Intent, Audience
July 8, 2024 • Ann Smarty
AI is transforming traditional keyword research. Here are innovative tools for search intent, audience targeting, and more.
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SEO Tools
Tracking AI Overviews: Queries, Citations
July 1, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Organic search optimization now requires knowing which queries trigger AI Overviews and the URLs those summaries reference. Neither metric — queries or links — is easily identified.
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SEO Tools
3 Ways to Depersonalize Google SERPs
June 24, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Google search results vary by user based on search history, clicks, and more. Removing the personalization helps understand what others may see.
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SEO Tools
How to Monitor Google’s Updates
June 17, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Tracking the changes to Google's search algorithm takes work. These four tools can help.
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Technical SEO
AI Overviews: Initial Tests and Studies
June 10, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Thus far AI Overviews appears in a relatively small percentage of queries. The impact on conventional listings changes near daily.
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SEO
Yes, Clicks and Engagement Impact SEO
June 3, 2024 • Ann Smarty
For years Google denied using clicks on organic listings in its ranking algorithm. Recent revelations show otherwise.
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SEO Tools
Chrome Extensions for Search Console
May 27, 2024 • Ann Smarty
Data from Search Console can seem overwhelming. These three tools can help.
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Technical SEO
Early Look at Google’s AI Overviews
May 20, 2024 • Ann Smarty
The new feature in search results is an AI-generated response to queries. Here's our first assessment of the traffic impact.
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Platforms & Apps
AI Tools to Convert Articles into Videos
May 14, 2024 • Ann Smarty
New AI tools can repurpose text into video — suitable for TikToks, Reels, YouTube Shorts, and more.
Keywords Don't Work for AI SEO
How to Survive a Million-Dollar Loss
New Ecommerce Tools: July 3, 2025
BNPL Loans to Impact Credit Scores
Llms.txt Could Help AI Find Your Store
USPS Rate Change Analysis July 2025
Tariff Turmoil: How Ecommerce Brands Can Still Win