One tiny acronym separates the best-performing websites from the rest in the search results — SEO. No matter the business, the right SEO strategy can take you from invisible to indispensable.

In this article, I’ll highlight three compelling SEO success stories across industries. You’ll see how different businesses tackled unique obstacles and the strategies that led to their breakthroughs.

SEO Success Story No. 1: Local Drug Testing Services

National Drug Screening (NDS), a trusted provider of drug testing services, had trouble ranking well and bringing in qualified leads. Their website wasn’t built with technical SEO in mind, and it was hurting their performance. NDS reached out to Bruce Clay for help.

Recognizing these foundational issues, our SEO experts suggested doing a full site migration as the solution for long-term SEO growth.

Here are the broad strategies that drove the transformation:

• Built a new SEO-friendly website. Guided NDS through the process of developing and launching a new, responsive website designed to meet modern SEO standards. This included collaborating with the new web development team to ensure the technical foundation supported long-term search engine visibility and performance.
• Enhanced site architecture and navigation. Redesigned the site’s navigation and silo structure to improve responsiveness, user experience and search engine crawlability. This included a complete overhaul of the blog structure and the addition of on-site search functionality.
• Content optimization and expansion. Improved content readability and relevance by optimizing headings, bullet points and informational sections. FAQs and videos were enhanced and strategically placed to increase engagement, while content gap and keyword analyses created a strategy for valuable new content.
• Technical SEO enhancements. Implemented key technical fixes, including schema markup (breadcrumb, video and FAQ), XML sitemaps, canonicals, proper 301 redirects and link cleanups. Core Web Vitals and page experience optimizations were prioritized for mobile performance and speed.

The results?

NDS experienced remarkable growth across key metrics:

• 301% increase in organic search visibility within their target markets.
• 215% growth in organic leads, translating into tangible business opportunities.
• Top rankings for competitive localized keywords, such as “drug testing near me.”
• Website engagement improved with a 20% increase in time-on-page. This showed users were finding the information they needed.

Key Takeaway

A technically sound website is the cornerstone of a successful SEO strategy. Building a strong website foundation and then expanding an SEO program from there can improve visibility, engagement and lead generation.

A thorough audit of your website’s technical health can give you a baseline of what needs to be fixed before you can get momentum in an SEO program.

SEO Success Story No. 2: Home Furniture E-commerce

Home Gallery Stores is an online retailer specializing in furniture. The business enjoyed strong performance, ranking on the first page of Google Search results for many top keywords — that is until they launched a website redesign when traffic and rankings took a downturn.

Here’s what we did:

• Thorough index analysis and diagnosis. Conducted an in-depth audit to identify problematic URLs. This included pinpointing duplicate content, soft 404 pages, product variation pages with minimal organic value and URLs with unnecessary parameters.
• Strategic index management. Developed targeted solutions to address each index-related issue, such as eliminating duplicate URLs, adding noindex meta tags, and removing low-value pages and unnecessary URL parameters.
• Reducing crawl waste. By focusing on reducing the number of irrelevant or low-value pages indexed, the team improved crawl efficiency.

The results?

Home Gallery Stores saw dramatic improvements in their online performance:

• A 230% increase in organic traffic, driving more customers to their website.
• Top rankings for high-converting long-tail keywords, which lead to a boost in online sales.
• Enhanced site usability with a 15% decrease in bounce rates.
• A 120% growth in revenue from organic search.

Key Takeaway

In competitive industries like e-commerce, success often rides on maintaining technical SEO and user experience — especially during significant changes like a website redesign.

Prioritize site audits, publish keyword-specific content and ensure your website redesigns are built with solid technical SEO foundations. Your rankings will be safeguarded and you’ll create an e-commerce experience that attracts and retains shoppers.

SEO Success Story No. 3: B2B SaaS Startup

A startup in the B2B SaaS space was determined to carve out a presence in an emerging tech market. While their highest converting leads came from organic search traffic, previous efforts with SEO firms failed because those firms didn’t fully understand the nuances of their business.

Internal efforts also struggled due to limited bandwidth. Bruce Clay stepped in with a strategic SEO plan tailored to their unique challenges and goals.

Here’s how the client turned it around with our help:

• Keyword research and targeting. The Bruce Clay team created a comprehensive list of 100+ industry-specific keywords to align with their offerings and target audience. The keyword list was regularly updated based on new marketing initiatives and trends.
• Content development and siloing. Created 71 pages of research-driven content, including glossary pages, tutorials and blog posts. These silos of industry-specific content were designed to position the company as a trusted resource and authority in their field.
• Technical SEO and site infrastructure improvements. Addressed foundational issues, including navigation problems, broken links and Core Web Vitals metrics to improve the site’s speed, user experience and overall search performance.

The results? In just 17 months, the company achieved exceptional growth:

• 367% increase in organic traffic, significantly expanding their audience.
• 359% growth in clicks from non-branded keywords, capturing new prospects unfamiliar with their brand.
• Substantial improvements in keyword rankings, driving more qualified leads to their website.

Key Takeaway

Even in emerging or niche industries, SEO can be a powerful tool for growth. This B2B SaaS startup proved that research-driven content, targeted keyword strategies and strong technical foundations can drive results in emerging markets.

If you’re operating in a new or specialized space, focus on becoming the go-to authority by creating valuable, educational content and ensuring your website performs flawlessly.

5 Things That Successful Brands Do in SEO

Regardless of the industry or business size, the strategies that led to transformative SEO results for the businesses highlighted in this article shared a common thread:

1. Successful brands build a strong technical foundation. Every successful program began by addressing technical weaknesses that hindered their website’s performance. Creating a solid foundation helps ensure any SEO strategies built from that point on have a chance at succeeding.
2. Successful brands invest in tailored strategies. Every business faces its own set of unique obstacles, so generic approaches just won’t cut it. Working with SEO experts who take time to learn your needs will put your business on a solid foundation for long-term success.
3. Successful brands align content with searcher intent. SEO strategies thrive when you align with what your audience is actively searching for, ensuring content delivers real solutions.
4. Successful brands prioritize high-quality content. Brands that position themselves as trusted authorities with meaningful content attract improved rankings and qualified traffic.
5. Successful brands adapt to change. Transformative SEO often requires tough decisions in less-than-ideal circumstances. Whether it’s a website redesign that went wrong, a new site build or shifting to or from SEO agencies, successful businesses embrace change when necessary.

Final Thoughts

These SEO case studies show that there’s no single path to SEO success. Each business faced unique challenges and required a tailored strategy to overcome them.

The takeaway? SEO will change your life — with the right approach. It can be the transformative solution for business and website growth, despite any challenge you face.

By the way, you can read more about how Bruce Clay helped clients get better SEO results.

Bruce Clay has helped thousands of clients get more website traffic, improve search ranking and increase revenue for nearly 30 years. If you need better results from your SEO efforts, we can help you, too.

Get your free consultation

26,000+ professionals, marketers and SEOs read the Bruce Clay Blog

Subscribe now for free to get:

• Expert SEO insights from the “Father of SEO.”
• Proven SEO strategies to optimize website performance.
• SEO advice to earn more website traffic, higher search ranking and increased revenue.

FAQ: How can tailored SEO strategies help my website perform better in a highly competitive industry or niche?

SEO strategies offer your website personalized protection in today’s increasingly competitive environment, helping it stand out from its peers and become visible online. Instead of employing generic approaches, tailored SEO offers custom techniques specifically tailored for each industry and its requirements. By targeting specific keywords and understanding more about your audience you can increase site visibility and ranking resulting in visitor conversion that drives increased sales growth and business expansion.

Custom SEO strategies designed specifically to fit niche markets involve in-depth market analyses, studying competitors and understanding target audience motivations.

SEO strategies must be tailored specifically for every industry; each sector includes its own keywords, customer habits and competition levels that must be taken into account when formulating strategies designed to achieve business goals. Customized approaches ensure alignment with business aspirations while simultaneously improving content production, web structure optimization and user experience.

Customized strategies often incorporate cutting-edge tactics like local SEO, voice search optimization and mobile-friendly designs. These tools help you reach audiences across platforms and remain relevant in markets.

Implementing SEO strategies takes constant fine-tuning; with its ever-evolving landscape, SEO requires constant adjustment that ensures your site performs at its highest capacity, drawing in and converting visitors.

SEO strategies provide many advantages for building brand authority and trust among target audiences. By consistently producing engaging, high-quality content that keeps audiences coming back for more, SEO strategies can position your business as an industry expert – keeping customers coming back.

Companies can build online presence, foster growth and experience lasting success by meeting niche requirements, employing sophisticated techniques and tracking performance closely.

Step-by-Step Procedure:

1. Know Your Industry: Take the time to fully understand the challenges, opportunities and latest trends within your industry.
2. Establish Your Audience: Determine who your target audience is by conducting research into demographics, preferences and online habits of this target market.
3. Conduct Competitor Analysis: Evaluate which competitors do well and where their weaknesses exist.
4. Search Keyword Research: Research the search terms that your audience uses.
5. Optimize Your Website Architecture: Make sure your site is user-friendly and structured efficiently.
6. Create Engaging Content: Produce engaging material that caters to audience needs while including appropriate keywords.
7. Conduct On-Page SEO: Optimize meta tags, headers and images to increase search visibility for improved search visibility.
8. User Experience: Give visitors to your website an enjoyable experience by making it load quickly, accessible across devices and viewable from all mobile phones.
9. SEO Tools: Use tools like our SEOToolSet® to keep an eye on performance, gather and analyze data, and adjust strategies as required.
10. Use Local SEO: Strengthen local presence through business listings and backlinks from local websites.
11. Engage in Content Marketing: Provide valuable, informative material across platforms in order to draw customers in and hold onto them.
12. Implement Technical SEO: Overcome technical issues preventing effective indexing and crawling.
13. Monitor SEO Performance: Track analytics to measure the efficacy of your strategies.
14. Adjust Strategies as Needed: It is wise to remain flexible regarding any adjustments required based on performance data.
15. Build Brand Trust: Establish credibility through engaging content creation.
16. Sought Customer Feedback: Use customer testimonials and reviews as an avenue for building trust and improving services.
17. Paid Advertising: Give SEO efforts an extra push with carefully tailored paid campaigns.
18. Stimulate Social Media Engagement: Increase engagement on social platforms by driving traffic to them.
19. Keep Up With Changes In Industry: Keep abreast of changes that might alter your SEO plan and plan.
20. Collaborate With Experts: Join forces with SEO specialists to improve strategies and implementation processes.
21. Target Long-Tail Keywords: Choose phrases less competitive to your audience to target long tail keywords effectively.
22. Employ Schema Markup: Help search engines understand your content more fully by using schema markup.
23. Build Quality Backlinks: Acquire links from credible sources in order to increase authority and rankings of your website.
24. Acknowledging Milestones: Remember achievements and establish new goals for growth.

The post SEO Success Stories: What You Can Learn from These 3 Businesses appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

This article updated February 26, 2025

Picture this: You are at the starting line of an auto race with nine other competitors. Your car is tuned, and the pit crew is ready. The race is on.

You’re speeding along — your competitors are all in front of you, traveling as fast as you or even faster, and you are stuck in last place.

Suddenly, something happens, and all nine cars stop or slow down. Do you stop as well? Or do you seize the opportunity to catch up and pass them? I opt to drive faster.

This is a great allegory that illustrates what businesses have experienced in recent times.

As a search marketing advisor to many high-growth businesses, we’ve been closely following both search trends and economic trends. I want to provide my current thinking from a market opportunity perspective.

• Navigating the Highs and Lows of Recent Years
• SEO Growth in Uncertain Times
• FAQ: How can I leverage SEO growth to overcome uncertainty while outperforming my competitors in challenging times?

Navigating the Highs and Lows of Recent Years

Starting with the 2019 COVID event, the world experienced something unlike anything else in our lifetimes.

COVID and the subsequent impact it had on the health and well-being of people, their businesses and their livelihoods was a major setback for many — devastating for some.

Since then, we’ve experienced more volatility. Here in the U.S., headlines about wars, shortages, inflation, rising prices and potential recessions dominated the airwaves.

At the same time, many businesses have been impacted by Google’s search engine algorithms.

Sweeping algorithm updates have led to sudden fluctuations in rankings, penalties and even de-indexing from spam violations. The March 2024 core update comes to mind as one example.

From “page experience” updates to “core algorithm” updates and “helpful content” updates, maintaining rankings in Google requires constant vigilance and the most trusted SEO strategies.

To me, the state of affairs over the past handful of years has meant an opportunity to protect those we care about by driving more business.

Despite the volatility, here’s what we’ve seen: Most businesses that have invested in quality search marketing over the past five years have succeeded in driving growth.

Instead of freezing up, the most common reaction among our client base in the face of uncertainty has been to keep working hard and to get creative about operating under a new paradigm while the competition is paralyzed by current events.

For brick-and-mortar businesses, despite closed doors and empty buildings, many realized new ways of doing business, knowing that their websites still persisted.

So, our advice to clients is to quickly push forward and leapfrog over competitors who are not as nimble.

There is a great opportunity to gain traction in the coming year by expanding your search marketing programs.

SEO Growth in Uncertain Times

The search marketing economy remains very favorable for short- and long-term growth:

• Google processes more than 6 million searches per minute. A segment of those searches will be for services, products or information you can provide.
• In fact, the organic search channel drives 53% of traffic to websites.
• Plus, the SEO market is projected to expand from an estimated $66.97 billion in 2024 to approximately $98.38 billion by 2029, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.98%.

Our SEO agency is well-acquainted with navigating turbulent times — both in the economy and within the ever-changing search results.

When it comes to SEO, the industry may as well adopt the motto: “The only constant is change.”

With more than 29 years of experience in business, we’ve weathered countless cycles of highs and lows, building resilience and adaptability along the way.

Despite all this, we know one thing to be true: If you focus on the fundamentals of creating a good website backed by a solid SEO strategy, you can weather the storm.

As we face more unknowns, the opportunity to focus your energy has never been greater. While your competition is:

• Slow to act
• Uncertain about the economy
• Has decided Google is too volatile
• And has analysis paralysis

… you can embrace the opportunity to get ahead.

Correct the flaws in your website, add meaningful, insightful and compelling content, tune up your performance and pass the competitors.

Everyone has their own race to win … do not stop. And, if anything, drive faster. As with any great race, your future depends on your next decision. This is an all-in moment.

Don’t let uncertainty slow you down — our SEO experts can help you develop an SEO strategy that accelerates your business growth.

Get your free consultation

26,000+ professionals, marketers and SEOs read the Bruce Clay Blog

Subscribe now for free to get:

• Expert SEO insights from the “Father of SEO.”
• Proven SEO strategies to optimize website performance.
• SEO advice to earn more website traffic, higher search ranking and increased revenue.

FAQ: How can I leverage SEO growth to overcome uncertainty while outperforming my competitors in challenging times?

With markets constantly shifting and adaptation key for survival, optimizing content for search engines ensures not only visibility to audiences but resonates with them too – helping turn it into a trusted name that reduces anxieties caused by uncertainty.

How can SEO growth become part of your business DNA? By keeping your website relevant and using data to measure customer sentiment. Also be ready to adapt with changes in the market. SEO isn’t something you do once and then be done with. It’s an ongoing journey that evolves just like your market environment.

As more users access websites via mobile phones these days, make sure your website is optimized for viewing on these mobile phones. Speed matters, too — fast load times keep users happy while improving search rankings. Furthermore, having an impressive backlink profile boosts credibility of the site itself and should never be underestimated.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Conduct an in-depth SEO audit on your website in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses.
2. Research and select keywords that accurately reflect both your industry and target audience.
3. Adjust meta tags, headers and content so they correspond with your chosen keywords.
4. Make your website mobile-responsive for the optimal user experience.
5. Speed up your website with optimized images and intelligent code.
6. Produce content of premium quality that not only engages and benefits your audience, but is also high-quality and engaging.
7. Implement a strategy to build more links to strengthen your credibility.
8. Use social media to create buzz and send people to your content.
9. Use Google Analytics and Search Console to track your website performance.
10. Adjustment SEO strategies as needed based on data analysis and industry developments.
11. Utilize local SEO techniques to target nearby customers if this fits into your business model.
12. Staying abreast of changes to search engine algorithms will maximize success.
13. Form relationships with influential figures and industry leaders for possible collaboration opportunities.
14. Add schema markup to boost visibility.
15. Content should be regularly revised and refreshed to remain relevant and engaging.
16. Examine competitors to identify potential gaps and capitalize on opportunities within your SEO approach.
17. Make use of A/B testing in order to optimize advertising campaigns and landing pages.
18. Engage your target audience through comments, surveys, and feedback mechanisms.
19. Establish an extensive FAQ section in order to meet customer inquiries and satisfy common inquiries.
20. Use paid ads as a supplement to organic growth efforts.
21. Explore voice search, AI and other cutting-edge tech to stay competitive.
22. Make a content calendar to build a pipeline of high-quality articles for your audience.
23. Create a strong brand presence across digital channels.
24. Monitor and adapt your SEO strategy regularly in response to changing conditions.

SEO growth can be an excellent way to address uncertainty and outwit competitors. By prioritizing quality content production, website optimization, agility and building real relationships with your audience – as well as ensuring lasting success – SEO growth offers any brand the chance to experience long-term success.

The post Time for High-Growth Businesses To Drive Faster appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

You’ve just written an article. And you think it’s pretty good. But is it fit to compete with the millions of other articles in Google’s index on the same topic?

In this post, I’ll explain how to boost your articles to be the most relevant for a person’s search on the topic.

Read to learn:

• What Is an SEO Article?
• Why Should You Write an SEO Article?
  1. Web Content Is Why Google Exists
  2. Google’s Algorithm Is Getting Smarter, but Still Needs Help
  3. Being Found for a Search Can Impact Your Revenue
  4. Establish Your Expertise and Authority on a Topic
  5. Delight Your Audience
  6. Beat Your Competition in the Search Results
• How Do You Write an SEO Article? 7 Key Steps
  • Step 1. Define the Document Specs
  • Step 2. Research Keywords (aka Search Queries)
  • Step 3. Identify and Analyze the Competition
  • Step 4. Create Expertly Written Content
  • Step 5. Optimize the Content in Your SEO Article
  • Step 6. Review the Content
  • Step 7. Track the Content’s Performance
• Compete Better in the Search Results with Optimized Articles
• FAQ: How can an SEO article improve my website’s visibility and help it drive more organic traffic?

What Is an SEO Article?

An SEO article is a piece of written content, like a blog post, featured on your website as a page with a unique URL.

An SEO article educates, informs, and entertains your target audience with expertise and quality.

An SEO article is also optimized for search engines to have a better chance of getting on Page 1 of the search results.

Why Should You Write an SEO Article?

Here are six reasons why you should write an SEO article.

1. Web Content Is Why Google Exists

Webpages, including articles, are what search engines like Google store in their index.

When someone performs a search, the engine analyzes their query and matches it to the most relevant indexed items.

Without these webpages, Google would have nothing to show users in its search results.

2. Google’s Algorithm Is Getting Smarter, but Still Needs Help

An SEO article is optimized for search so that it can help search engines better understand what the topic is about (see Google’s Search Essentials for more on this).

This increases the chance it will be considered relevant to a query and show up in the top results.

3. Being Found for a Search Can Impact Your Revenue

The organic search channel drives more than 50% of traffic to a website on average (and up to 64% for B2Bs). Organic search is also responsible for up to 59% of revenue over other channels.

4. Establish Your Expertise and Authority on a Topic

Google places more value on websites with high expertise and authority, and a well-written article is one of the key ways to demonstrate this.

5. Delight Your Audience

SEO articles can result in things like return visits to your site, more time on your site viewing other content and conversions.

Creating compelling and useful content will likely influence your website more than any of the other factors discussed here.

Users know good content when they see it and will likely want to direct other users to it. This could be through blog posts, social media services, email, forums or other means. That can also translate to relevant links to your site, another SEO factor.

6. Beat Your Competition in the Search Results

A search-optimized article uses data to make it better. Find out what the top-ranked content is doing on the same topic. Then, you can meet or exceed it.

For more, see: SEO Should Beat the Competition, Not the Algorirhm.

How Do You Write an SEO Article? 7 Key Steps

To write an SEO article, follow these seven key steps:

Step 1. Define the Document Specs

At the top of your document, create a table with key details for new content. This table helps you organize all the details of a well-optimized article before you publish.

First, specify the basic article specs such as the topic, target keywords, meta title, meta description and URL.

You might add other things, too, like the date written, a place for notes about the content and anything else that is helpful to you and your teams.

You may not have all the information to fill in this table upfront, but it’s there to populate as you go along in the process.

Step 2. Research Keywords (aka Search Queries)

What is your audience typing into Google’s search bar when looking for the info you have on your website?

In its SEO Starter Guide, Google explains the very basics of keyword research:

You want to have at least one primary search term you optimize your article with and up to two secondary keyword phrases.

Does that mean you have to use more than one? No. But it can be an advanced strategy for some.

For more, check out:

• Our free keyword suggestion tool to get started.
• Our article on how to do keyword research for SEO.

Step 3. Identify and Analyze the Competition

Did you know your online competition is the top-ranked pages for your keywords? These are the webpages in which you are vying for attention in the search results.

Once you have your keywords, you can begin a competitive analysis. Using the right SEO tools — like our AI-powered content development suite at PreWriter.ai or the SEOToolSet® — you can find out which pages are ranking in the top spots on Google for your search query.

With PreWriter, you can research and structure your SEO article before writing by analyzing top-ranking pages. It gives you:

• A full-page analysis of the top search results for your keyword.
• Outlines based on content published by competitors to show you how to make it better.
• Keyword recommendations based on real search intent.
• Meta descriptions and related questions for more relevance.

And with the SEOToolSet, you can:

• Track keyword rankings over time.
• Look at top-ranking competitors to see how they optimize their content.
• Evaluate title tags, meta descriptions and keyword usage in competing pages.
• Assess readability and content length to match or improve content that performs best.

Remember that all of this is in real-time before or during the writing process, not after.

Step 4. Create Expertly Written Content

Google wants the top search results to have an element of expertise. That’s because Google wants its users to be satisfied with its results. Quality content keeps your audience happy, too.

That said, before you write an article, make sure you have at least one of the following:

• Subject matter expertise or a subject matter expert you can interview.
• Writing ability or a professional writer or editor.
• Tools to help with efficiency and optimization.

From Google’s helpful content documentation, Google recommends the following ways you can create quality content:

• Self-assess your content using their list of questions on quality and expertise.
• Provide a great page experience.
• Focus on people-first content.
• Avoid creating search engine-first content.
• Get to know E-E-A-T and the Search Quality Rater Guidelines.
• Ask “who, how and why” about your content.

Keeping Google’s guidelines in mind for writing quality, helpful content, you will now create the content.

How you create the content is up to you, but keep in mind it must pass the quality test no matter how it’s made.

Generative AI is helping many businesses create content. (You can check out our AI tool, PreWriter.ai.)

For those businesses that already have skilled writing pros, AI tools are helping them automate certain parts of the content creation process.

For other businesses that lack the in-house expertise of a writer, they are also relying on AI to draft content. But, you must be careful when going this route.

AI cannot replace human creativity, insight and experience — and Google knows this. In March 2024, Google unleashed new spam policies on AI-created content and many sites were penalized.

The bottom line is this: Just because we have AI as a tool, we should not view it as a replacement for talent.

We must keep our brand image and audience in mind, and make sure the content we create is still innovative.

So where does that leave businesses? No matter how you are using AI, there needs to be a system in place to preserve quality.

• Some businesses may prefer to have writers create the content but use AI to automate parts of the process, like outlines, research and editing.
• Other businesses might like to have Gen AI deliver first drafts, and then have subject matter experts edit the content for accuracy and impact.

I’ve written about this topic at length, and you can explore more here:

• Stress-Free Writing: How To Streamline Your Content Creation Process
• Crafting High-Quality SEO Content: A Comprehensive Guide
• The AI Content Quality Discussion: 7 Steps To Improve AI Content
• 3 ways to add a human touch to AI-generated content (Search Engine Land)
• How to survive the search results when you’re using AI tools for content (Search Engine Land)
• AI content creation: A beginner’s guide (Search Engine Land)

Step 5. Optimize the Content in Your SEO Article

At this point, you should have both the well-written article and your keywords. Now is the time to optimize.

It’s worth noting that an article will be naturally optimized when you write it. That’s because if you write enough (quality) words on a subject, the words you use will describe the content well.

So why optimize? To help your great content better compete in the search results.

Using specific keyword queries in your content tells Google that this piece of content is a better match to the query of the searcher than other content out there.

First, figure out how you can switch up a few words or phrases with your key terms.

Rule No. 1: Always make sure it reads well. Slapping your keywords in any old place without regard to grammar can make your article look spammy to Google and annoy readers.

In general, you want your keywords to be evenly distributed throughout the content from top to bottom.

For more on this, see:

• How to use keywords in content.
• Our always-up-to-date SEO checklist for more optimization ideas.
• Our article on optimizing page content.

Step 6. Review the Content

Next up — your SEO article needs to be reviewed and edited to make sure it’s written well, free of errors and follows Google’s guidelines before you publish. How this process looks will depend the size of your company and/or circumstances.

An important thing to keep in mind: if you decide to publish guest posts on your site, hold the content to the same standards you would as if you made it in-house. Substandard content can hurt your site quality.

For example, guest posts done wrong can cause a site to get hit with a manual penalty by Google.

Step 7. Track the Content’s Performance

Writing an SEO article is not a set-it-and-forget-it approach. You will want to track the performance of that article and learn from the data.

You can see how an SEO article is performing in search by using Google Analytics. You’ll want to look at things like:

• The number of page views.
• Average time on page.
• What queries are bringing search traffic to that SEO article.

With this data, you can:

• Learn what’s working and not working in comparison with your other SEO articles.
• Update the content with new, more relevant keywords.

Compete Better in the Search Results with Optimized Articles

An SEO article is a quality, search-optimized article written for readers and search engines. Optimized articles have a better chance of ranking higher and bringing in more qualified web traffic.

Follow the steps we’ve discussed, and you’ll win over your readers and search engines in no time.

Our SEO experts can help you create high-quality, optimized content that outperforms your competitors.

FAQ: How can an SEO article improve my website’s visibility and help it drive more organic traffic?

SEO articles have a ton of benefits. They give value to your audience with helpful information, establish you as an expert in your niche, and when done right, they bring in more leads, customers, sales and revenue. Include SEO articles in your marketing strategy if you want more online visibility and traffic.

Start by doing keyword research to learn what your audience is searching for. Add those words throughout your content. Engaging articles keep people coming back for more and tell search engines you have quality material to offer.

Next, focus on on-page SEO. Optimize meta titles, descriptions and header tags to structure your content effectively. Consider including images, videos and infographics to increase engagement with readers.

Link building is key to increasing any website’s credibility and user experience — be sure to add new articles with timely information regularly to keep repeat visitors.

A mobile-friendly website makes users and search engines happy. Focus on making your website fast, and use secure connections for a better user experience.

SEO articles are an effective way to increase website visibility and drive organic traffic. Optimize them using the tips above to attract visitors who are likely to convert into long-term customers.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Determine who it is you wish to reach with your article.
2. Use tools like PreWriter.ai, SEOToolSet, Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs or Semrush to do keyword research.
3. Understand what it is your audience is searching for. Are they looking for information, comparisons, products, or services?
4. Look at the content your competitors are producing, specifically top-ranking articles.
5. Structure your content logically with clear sections.
6. Write a catchy title that uses keywords to draw readers in.
7. Draw in readers with an introduction that highlights their issues and gives them viable solutions.
8. Use keywords naturally throughout your content. Avoid keyword stuffing.
9. Your content should be written in short paragraphs. Include bullet points and bolded text to make important points stand out.
10. Internal links to relevant content on your site improves navigation and builds SEO value.
11. External links to authoritative sources gives your points more credibility.
12. Tell readers what to do next. Do they sign up? Buy something?
13. Write concise meta tags which contain keyword-rich meta titles and descriptions that include pertinent terms.
14. Use the correct heading tags (h1, h2, etc) to organize and structure your content.
15. Add alt text to your images.
16. Incorporate engaging elements like images, videos, infographics, etc.
17. Share your great content with your audience on social media.
18. Connect with industry influencers and bloggers to build authority through quality backlinks.
19. Refresh outdated content regularly.
20. Create a responsive design to optimize content for mobile users.
21. Reduce image file sizes and use caching techniques to make pages load faster.
22. Secure your site with SSL encryption to build trust.
23. Track rankings, traffic, engagement, and other performance metrics using Google Analytics and Search Console.
24. Frequently refine your content based on performance data and user feedback.

The post What Is an SEO Article? Why Should You Write One? And How? appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Wondering which marketing strategy yields the best returns for businesses? SEO still reigns supreme, and HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report 2024 confirms it — SEO outperforms the other channels with the most significant ROI.

Yet marketing teams are still unclear on exactly how to drive traffic.

So what to do? As a content creator or strategist on a marketing team, the answer is SEO training.

Investing in SEO training on your own or with your team can give you the exact insights you need to transform your website content strategy to drive more traffic to your site.

In this article, find out how SEO training (specifically, ours) can help content creators and strategists by:

Getting to Know SEO Content Fundamentals

Does a falling tree in the woods make a sound if there’s nobody around to hear it? This question equally applies to content on your website. You could write the greatest article in history, but does it even matter if it doesn’t rank and no one reads it? Is it helpful, relevant and worth the effort?

SEO training covers the fundamentals of how to optimize content. These fundamentals turn a great article that no one will see into a great article that has a chance to compete in the search results.

Consider that for every given search, there are millions of search results. And all that matters is the first 10—maybe 20—results (depending on how far people are willing to scroll, and we know from historical data on SERP positions that it ain’t that far).

Without knowing how to ideate, create and optimize content in a way that competes in the search engines, you’re essentially wasting resources.

SEO training helps students learn the basics of search-engine-optimized content from start to finish, including:

• Finding the appropriate keywords. Keywords are words or phrases your target audience searches for when looking for what you offer in search engines. Selecting the right keywords ensures your content stays relevant and is picked by search engines when they decide which websites will rank for specific queries.
• How to do keyword research. Doing keyword research well requires more than just a list of words generated from a keyword tool. It takes discernment and strategy. Using the right tools is important, yes, but also understanding nuances like the intent behind keywords, choosing just the right keywords (traffic volume vs. competition) and choosing long-tail keywords is key.
• Optimizing content with keywords. Making sure your target keywords show up on the webpage in a way that actually reinforces the topic so that search engines understand that the content you wrote is an authoritative source takes some work. You can get pretty technical here, going so far as how often and where the keywords show up, as well as what related words should be on the page.
• Tweaking content for readability. SEO training can help you understand readability scores and how those might factor into how Google evaluates a webpage against others like it.
• Optimizing other elements of the content. SEO content doesn’t begin and end with keywords. Creating and optimizing content for meta tags, using header tags correctly and using alt attributes all contribute to a well-rounded, search-optimized webpage. And these types of tasks can fall squarely on the shoulders of content creators.

Understanding How to Enhance Content Quality

You most likely know what it takes to make great content, but do you know what Google thinks about it? SEO training gives you a complete understanding of Google’s content quality guidelines.

In most cases, if you are creating excellent content, you have nothing to worry about. But it is still critical to understand the rules.

Once you know what search engines like Google consider quality content, you can begin to see the connection between content and the algorithms that filter out poor-quality content in favor of high-quality content.

Just some of the things you can explore in more detail during SEO training include:

• How to create people-first content. Content should be made for people, not search engines, says Google. SEO training gives you the knowledge to prioritize the needs of your audience over search engine algorithms.
• E-E-A-T. Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust are key signals in Google’s quality guidelines. Being able to break down these concepts into your content strategy and individual content pieces helps you better compete in the search results.
• AI-generated content. AI is quickly becoming a go-to tool for marketers, and understanding how to use it effectively without the risk of losing rankings or suffering search engine penalties is critical. Marketers who get this piece wrong risk more than just lost rankings but also lost business revenue. For more, see my article on Search Engine Land about how to survive the search results with AI content.
• Other Google-created quality concepts. This includes “your money or your life” content, “needs met” ratings and how the reputation of content creators factors into quality content as outlined in Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

SEO training helps you enhance the quality of your content by delving deeper into the framework of what quality means to search engines.

By the way, it’s worth mentioning that we are bringing back my In-Person SEO Training course in 2025. Our next course is January 28–30 (see the website for the rest of this year’s dates).

Now is the perfect time to join me and learn my expert insights that will help you improve your content — and SEO — strategy. Seating is limited, so reserve yours before they fill up.

Register for the In-Person SEO Training

Keeping Up with Trends

Keeping up with search engines and SEO is a full-time job for content creators, strategists and marketers, and they already have enough on their plates!

SEO training is great because it informs you about the newest search engine algorithm changes and industry updates, and how to adapt to them.

Google has long championed quality content and continues to evolve its algorithms to suppress low-grade material from search results. Content creators and strategists have to stay on top of the changes if they want to stay competitive.

For instance, Google core algorithm updates, which can happen several times a year, can impact websites in many ways, with content often being a factor (see my article on Search Engine Land for more on surviving these updates).

And when Google rolled out new spam policies related to AI content, many marketers needed to quickly shift their content strategies.

Of course, nothing beats reading up-to-date news about SEO so you can adjust strategies as soon as needed.

However, given the current climate, SEO training takes a deeper dive into how to best handle SEO content and allows you to ask questions and clarify strategies with SEO experts.

In addition, incorporating new SEO techniques is another way training can make a significant difference. As technology advances, so do SEO strategies.

A good course will cover emerging practices like voice search optimization, AI-driven content creation and mobile-friendly content, which are increasingly important.

When content creators and strategists keep up with the latest changes in SEO, they can pivot quickly and stay ahead of the game.

Final Thoughts

SEO training covers essential areas of content that are competitive in the search results, including optimization basics, enhancing content quality, mastering SEO tools and staying updated with the latest trends.

Each area contributes to a more robust, data-driven content strategy that aligns with user expectations and search engine algorithms.
With a better understanding of SEO, you can make your content creation efforts pay off in competitive search results.

That’s why SEO training is not just an educational investment; it’s a strategic move that empowers marketers, content creators and strategists to drive significant improvements in their content strategy to attract more traffic and customers.

Join us for our next In-Person SEO Training With Bruce Clay. This training course will give you the knowledge and skills to build a content strategy that drives more visibility, leads, sales, customers and revenue. Reserve your seat today before they fill up!

Reserve your In-Person SEO Training seat

FAQ: How can I utilize SEO training to develop and execute strategies that improve my website’s ranking?

Search engine optimization training provides essential skills and knowledge needed for increasing website visibility in a highly competitive digital landscape. SEO training arms professionals with the knowledge of keywords optimization, link building strategies, content production techniques and technical SEO, all key elements to creating successful SEO campaigns.

SEO training teaches you how to adapt to changes in ranking factors as they evolve. It covers how to create high-quality, relevant content that ranks and appeals to your audience.

SEO training also covers advanced techniques such as schema markup and mobile optimization that are key for optimizing website performance and accessibility.

Implementing these strategies can be difficult. A lot of website owners struggle to stay abreast of SEO trends and algorithm updates, leading them to experience stagnation or decline of site performance. Continuing SEO education is necessary in order to remain current in search results and keep your website competitive in them.

SEO training is a great way for anyone looking to expand their SEO capabilities. It not only builds your expertise but also empowers you to build an SEO strategy that generates more traffic and visibility.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Explore SEO Training Options: When considering various SEO training programs, ensure they cover both foundational and advanced subjects.
2. Understand Search Engine Algorithms: Learn about how search engines rank pages and the factors which contribute to them being listed at the top.
3. Master Keyword Research: Conduct keyword research using tools such as Ahrefs, SEMRush or PreWriter.ai to discover high-value keywords relevant to your target audience.
4. Analyze Your Competitors: Research what your competitors are doing. Find any gaps and areas for potential improvement.
5. Optimize Website Architecture: Build your site with a well-structured architecture that is logical for users and easy to crawl.
6. Engaging Content Creation: Develop keyword-rich articles that meet user needs with engaging articles that capture reader attention and draw them in.
7. Enhance On-Page SEO: Increase search engine visibility through optimizing title tags, meta descriptions and internal hyperlink strategies.
8. Focus on User Intent: Align content with what users are seeking out for an increase in relevancy and satisfaction for them.
9. Create Quality Backlinks: Attract quality links through guest blogging, partnerships and content promotion to establish yourself as an authority figure online.
10. Utilize SEO Tools: Track performance with tools like Google Analytics, Moz and SEMrush in order to gain actionable insights.
11. Combat Technical SEO Issues: Fix broken links, and address duplicate content and slow page speeds to increase rankings.
12. Optimize for Mobile Users: Build your site so that it is easy to navigate for mobile users.
13. Implement Schema Markup: Use structured data to improve how search results display on your site.
14. Optimize Local SEO: Increase local searches by claiming and updating your Google My Business listing.
15. Voice Search Optimization: Develop strategies that specifically target natural-language queries used in voice searches.
16. Track SERP Performance: Evaluate keyword ranking performance to gauge how successfully your strategies have taken hold in search results pages (SERPs).
17. Conduct Regular SEO Audits of Your Site: Conduct routine SEO audits on your site in order to detect and address performance bottlenecks and performance bottlenecks that hinder its overall efficiency.
18. Keep Up With Industry Trends: Stay informed by industry developments by following reliable SEO blogs and attending relevant webinars. Keep Your Knowledge Current: To stay abreast with industry developments, subscribe to top SEO blogs and attend relevant webinars regularly.
19. Experiment With Innovative Tactics: Explore innovative tactics like interactive content in order to outshout competitors.
20. Collaboration Within Your Team: Share insights and align strategies across marketing, content production and technical teams.
21. Measuring Return On Investment (ROI): In order to demonstrate their investments’ return on effort, companies need to assess how SEO efforts impact traffic, leads, and conversions.
22. Continuously Refine Strategies: Leverage insights gained through analytics to refine campaigns and achieve improved results.
23. Celebrate Milestones: To maintain momentum for SEO efforts and spur team members forward onward, celebrate milestones to celebrate progress along your SEO journey and recognize progress made along your SEO path. Doing this can serve to reinforce and sustain efforts moving forward.

The post How SEO Training Can Transform Your Content Strategy appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

The SEO community is buzzing with talk about generative AI.

Excitement is high, and in some corners, there’s a push to label AI as “the next SEO” or to position it as a standalone discipline.

But this misses a fundamental point: AI is not a methodology; it’s a tool.

Much like keyword research platforms or link analysis software, AI can accelerate and enhance existing SEO practices, but it does not replace time-tested SEO methodologies.

In this post:

• The Difference Between a Methodology and a Tool
• AI as an Enabler, Not a Replacement
• Beyond the Buzz: A Clear, Grounded Perspective
• FAQ: How can I successfully integrate AI into established SEO practices to improve website performance and rankings?

The Difference Between a Methodology and a Tool

A methodology — such as SEO, PPC or content marketing — is a framework for achieving specific outcomes.

A methodology outlines the specific processes, techniques, tools and principles used to achieve a particular objective.

SEO, for instance, combines on-page optimization, technical audits, content strategy and off-page authority tactics to improve search visibility.

By contrast, tools serve these methodologies.

SEO software — like, for example, our SEOToolSet® or ChatGPT — isn’t a methodology itself; it’s an instrument designed to assist marketers in making more informed decisions or speeding up productivity.

Gen AI can support processes but does not have the human skills and experience to define a “just right” SEO brand strategy on its own.

AI as an Enabler, Not a Replacement

Most leaders in the SEO industry agree: AI cannot replace human expertise in an SEO strategy.

Rand Fishkin talks about the three things humans have over AI: emotion, novelty and creative insight.

Lily Ray says that SEOs should use AI with discernment: “Above all, if you think it’s adding value for your customers, you think it’s truly good content — go for it! But I always recommend reviewing it, editing it, modifying it.”

As I myself have said many times, AI is a tool, not a solution. It’s a dynamic assistant for your best team members but not a replacement for them.

If you think about digital marketing, it’s a management exercise. You bring together the right resources — people, processes and tools — to achieve your objectives.

SEO benefits from various human roles or skills in digital marketing, ranging from technical specialists and outreach managers to skilled writers.

The addition of AI doesn’t upend this matrix; it simply adds another helpful resource.

Beyond the Buzz: A Clear, Grounded Perspective

SEO fundamentals are as relevant as ever — I wrote about this in my article at Search Engine Land on AI-powered strategies for 2025.

Yes, we should give credit where credit is due. AI is a remarkable productivity booster, but it does not provide the strategic backbone that methodologies like SEO require.

Foundational methodologies and expert professionals are at the heart of our strategic SEO planning.

AI doesn’t replace the seat at the SEO table; it’s simply another powerful device in our arsenal, much like our analytics suites and research platforms.

We can help improve your SEO and content strategy by integrating AI as a tool into your processes. Find out how by scheduling a free consultation.

Get your free consultation

FAQ: How can I successfully integrate AI into established SEO practices to improve website performance and rankings?

AI technology offers unprecedented insights and efficiencies that could transform how businesses approach search engine optimization. Businesses that embrace and implement advanced AI techniques may significantly improve their SEO strategies for increased visibility and higher rankings online.

AI technology can automate tedious tasks, optimize workflows and uncover deeper insights into user behavior. This permits SEO professionals to allocate more time and energy toward strategic thinking and creative approaches instead of becoming tied down by repetitive activities like keyword research.

AI tools quickly analyze large volumes of data for patterns and trends that might inform SEO strategies. For example, machine learning algorithms can identify keywords likely to drive traffic and conversions, enabling businesses to target efforts more directly.

AI-driven techniques make content creation and optimization simpler than ever before. Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools, for instance, can produce articles that are relevant, engaging and search engine optimized. Additionally, they analyze existing articles to offer suggestions meeting both user needs and search engine criteria for maximum ranking optimization.

AI technology plays a critical part in building engaging user experiences. By analyzing user behaviors and preferences, AI can tailor content and advertisements specifically for individual users to increase engagement and conversion rates. User satisfaction increases, as well as SEO performance by decreasing bounce rates and improving dwell time across websites.

Integrating AI into SEO can pose businesses a range of difficulties. Many businesses struggle to meet initial implementation costs while finding qualified personnel capable of managing these tools. However, long-term rewards far outweigh any temporary setbacks they create — integrating AI technology into your SEO processes will help generate higher rankings and increased revenue.

One of the greatest obstacles facing SEO today is keeping pace with constantly shifting search engine algorithms. AI can assist businesses by offering real-time data and analysis that allows them to adapt strategies quickly in response to new requirements, maintaining effective SEO efforts.

AI tools like PreWriter.ai can be powerful tools for enhancing SEO methodologies. Businesses can leverage these tools to automate tasks, gain deeper insights, optimize content and personalize user experiences. For optimal results when employing this technology, take the time to understand its capabilities before integrating them within an overall SEO strategy.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Set clear goals for your SEO strategy. These include things like ranking higher and increasing web traffic.
2. Choose AI tools that fit your business needs and objectives.
3. Collect as much data as you can, such as website analytics, user behavior tracking software and market trends.
4. Analyze data using AI and look for patterns that can inform your SEO strategy.
5. Leverage AI to identify keywords with high potential, then adapt your content appropriately.
6. Utilize AI-generated content suggestions to increase relevancy and engagement.
7. Implement AI-powered personalization to provide content and ads tailored specifically for individual users.
8. Track SEO performance using AI tools to track progress and pinpoint areas for improvement.
9. Real-time data allows you to quickly adapt your strategy in response to rapidly shifting search engine algorithms.
10. Conduct A/B tests using AI to establish which strategies and tactics work most efficiently.
11. Utilize AI to research competitors’ SEO practices and uncover opportunities for differentiation.
12. Use AI to generate detailed reports that measure success and inform future strategies.
13. Make sure your team has been thoroughly educated in how to use and interpret AI tools.
14. Establish a feedback loop to continuously optimize your SEO strategy based on AI insights.
15. Consider how AI tools can grow with your business over time.
16. Optimize your budget so as to achieve maximum return from AI investments.
17. Make sure that the AI tools in use comply with data security and privacy regulations.
18. Discover ways AI capabilities can be enhanced by connecting to other digital marketing tools.
19. Staying aware of AI advances and SEO trends to remain competitive.
20. Take steps to form relationships with AI providers so you can access advanced technologies and assistance.
21. Encourage innovation among your team in order to identify new approaches for using AI for SEO purposes.
22. Engage with SEO and AI communities in order to share knowledge, strategies and best practices.
23. Formulate an extensive plan for incorporating AI in your SEO processes.
24. Assess AI’s effects on your SEO performance regularly and make any necessary modifications as required.

The post AI as a Tool, Not a Methodology: Rethinking AI’s Place in SEO appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

SEO is full of advice, best practices and yes, even myths!

SEO misconceptions often exist. Many people think that more links will improve rankings, while others believe they only need to do SEO once. These create false expectations.

So let’s separate fact from fiction. In this article, we’ll debunk seven common SEO myths so you can focus on the strategies that drive real results.

1. Myth: SEO Is a One-Time Task
2. Myth: SEO Is All About Rankings
3. Myth: More Links = Better Rankings
4. Myth: Meta Tags Don’t Matter Anymore
5. Myth: Long-Form Content Always Ranks Better
6. Myth: Duplicate Content Will Get You Penalized
7. Myth: You Can See Immediate Results With SEO

• Final Thoughts
• FAQ: How can I effectively maintain my website’s SEO performance despite frequent changes to ranking signals and algorithms?

Myth: SEO Is a One-Time Task

Many businesses mistakenly believe they can complete an SEO checklist and move forward without further planning or action. This usually doesn’t work out very well.

SEO needs regular maintenance like any vehicle or home. Failure to maintain it properly could spell disaster for businesses.

Google and other search engines regularly introduce new ranking signals in order to stay current in their results. Any site that falls behind quickly becomes irrelevant, unvisited and ineffective.

Content quickly becomes out of date as competitors emerge and user behavior shifts. Staying competitive requires regularly updating content, building backlinks and managing technical SEO tasks to keep audiences engaged.

SEO is not once-and-done, and success doesn’t happen overnight. Stay focused, learn what it takes to outrank your competitors and always optimize to keep up.

For more, read: Myth-busting SEO for the CMO: Myth No. 3 – SEO Is a One-Time or Sometime Initiative

Myth: SEO Is All About Rankings

SEO involves much more than increasing search rankings to drive visitors to your website. And while ranking higher is important, it’s just part of the bigger picture:

Rankings can be misleading. A keyword’s rank depends on multiple variables including search intent, the device being used, the location of the searcher, etc. Investing resources just to rank highly for something nobody searches for is a waste of time.

Instead, prioritize the keywords your target audience searches frequently and optimize your content around them to drive more qualified traffic. We helped one client rank successfully for a generic one-word term — it only took two years, but it did pay off for them.

Relevant traffic is the key. SEO success isn’t measured by rankings alone; it should be gauged against organic traffic growth since this provides the clearest indication as to whether SEO is fulfilling its role effectively or not.

While rankings are just one piece of the puzzle, it’s the relevant visitors that SEO brings who will engage with your content and potentially convert.

Rankings don’t always mean business growth. SEO’s primary function is to increase organic search visibility and bring people to your website, regardless of conversion rates influenced by outside factors (website design, sales processes or pricing structures, for instance).

While our job as SEOs is to bring visitors in through organic searches, converting them into sales, leads or customers is the job of the website and the business.

SEO should always be seen as a long-term commitment, focused on producing tangible business outcomes rather than mere rankings gains.

Focusing on organic traffic quality and optimization rather than search position is your path to greater success.

Myth: More Links = Better Rankings

It’s commonly believed that more backlinks will lead to better ranking. This is actually a myth.

Backlinks remain essential for SEO, but the quality, not quantity, of links is what really counts.

Google places considerable weight on the authority and relevance of sites that link back to you.

A few high-quality backlinks from reputable sites can have a bigger impact on your rankings than dozens of low-quality or irrelevant links.

According to Google’s own guidance, links are no longer one of the only top-ranking factors as they once were, meaning a hyper-focus on building as many links as possible can be ineffective.

“I think they are important, but I think people overestimate the importance of links. I don’t agree it’s in the top three. It hasn’t been for some time.”
—Gary Illyes, Google

Instead, prioritize earning natural links by creating high-quality content that authoritative websites want to link to. Google will view your site as more credible than others who use outdated link-building strategies.

Using links from unsuitable sources like spam sites and link farms can hurt your SEO performance. You might even get penalized by Google, so avoid these kinds of links.

Quality is the guiding principle when it comes to link building.

For more, read: The New Link Building Manifesto: A Complete Guide to Earning Links That Count

Myth: Meta Tags Don’t Matter Anymore

Meta tags might seem like minor details when considering SEO, yet they remain important despite Google changing how your snippet renders in the SERP.

Here’s why meta tags matter:

Context for crawlers: Meta tags provide important context to search engine crawlers about your page’s content. Crawlers use meta tags to evaluate relevance, so optimizing your tags helps search engines display your website as part of queries more often.

Good first impression = improved click-through rates (CTR): Title tags and meta descriptions make up your search result snippet, and they are the first things searchers see on your listing.

Although their optimization doesn’t directly influence rankings, an optimized title and description can greatly boost CTR by making your listing more enticing for searchers to click on. A higher CTR can indirectly support relevance signals that Google values when ranking content.

Boosting relevance: If your title tag and description closely match the content and the search query, they are more likely to be displayed as-is, without adjustments by Google. Well-written tags reduce the likelihood of modifications and ensure your site is presented clearly and consistently in search results.

For more, read:

• What Are Meta Tags? Why Are They Important to SEO? How Do You Create Them?
• Why Does Google Change My Webpage Title in the Search Results? (And What To Do About It)
• Do Meta Descriptions Matter Anymore?

Myth: Long-Form Content Always Ranks Better

You’ve probably seen those studies — you know, the ones that say there is a definitive number of words that help your content perform better (like this and this)?

While that data is interesting, it doesn’t tell the whole story about content performance.

While length could potentially be a factor in relevance and therefore ranking, it’s not a golden rule.

Google has disputed the idea that word count matters, saying it’s not a ranking factor.

The reality is that it could be more nuanced than that. Here are some things to consider:

Relevance over length: Google’s goal is to deliver users content that addresses their queries effectively. Writing 500 or 3000 words doesn’t matter as long as it meets searchers’ needs. That said, understanding an appropriate range for the type of topic and industry is helpful.

Intent is key: Different queries demand different content lengths. Google understands user intent, ranking content that aligns with what a searcher wants instead of content type or length.

For instance, when people search for egg boiling instructions, they don’t care about lengthy essays on the science behind water temperature, they just want a quick answer. Knowing the average length for top-ranked content gives you a starting point so you’re not wasting your efforts.

Engagement and user experience matter more: Engagement metrics send signals to search engines about the value of content. Long-form content must engage readers for it to rank well, otherwise they’re likely to leave quickly. This will ultimately hurt your ranking.

On the other hand, well-crafted, relevant pieces that keep visitors coming back are more likely to rank highly regardless of length.

Long-form content may not always rank highly, but it’s still valuable and worth your time.

Longer articles containing relevant, well-researched content will establish your site as an authority resource that is likely to earn more backlinks and shares, helping your SEO.

For more, read:

• The Complete Guide to the Basics of Google’s E-E-A-T
• Want Customized SEO Advice per Keyword? There’s a Plugin for That

Myth: Duplicate Content Will Get You Penalized

People often believe that duplicate content on your site will result in a Google penalty. The truth is duplicate content doesn’t automatically spell trouble.

Google recognizes duplicate content occurs naturally across the web and does not penalize websites for it unless it’s done to manipulate search rankings (for instance when one site scrapes all the content from another).

Non-manipulative duplicate content include things like product descriptions on e-commerce websites, printer-friendly pages or content that’s shared across multiple URLs in the same site.

So rather than issuing penalties, Google filters duplicate content and only shows the most pertinent version in search results.

Duplicate content can still cause issues for your website, however, without incurring penalties.

Google might struggle to figure out which version of the content to show, meaning your pages may compete against each other, and the page Google picks may not be the one you’d want to rank.

If you don’t want to leave this up to Google, you can take control by implementing canonical tags or 301 redirects.

These tools signal to search engines which version of your content should be indexed and consolidated, preserving SEO value and ensuring that your best page ranks.

For more, read:

• Is Duplicate Content Bad for Search Engine Rankings?
• Understanding Duplicate Content and How to Avoid It

Myth: You Can See Immediate Results with SEO

SEO is a long-term strategy, and immediate results are rare — unless there’s some technical fix that quickly gets a bunch of content indexed that wasn’t before.

The reality is that SEO doesn’t deliver quick wins like paid ads.

It’s a slow-build process that typically takes several months up to a year to show significant improvements.

Factors like competitiveness, the site’s history and the complexity of your industry can all impact this timeline.

• Your industry’s competitiveness plays a huge role in how fast you see results. For less competitive niches, you might see traction earlier, but for more saturated industries, it could take up to a year to make a noticeable impact.
• Though SEO is typically slow to show results, there are occasional cases where businesses see faster progress, but this is rare. New content, technical fixes or targeting low-competition keywords might yield quicker wins, but these are exceptions, not the rule.

If you’re making changes today, also know that it will take time before Google even “sees” them.

Depending on the size and authority of your site, this can take weeks or even months.

It’s a long-term investment, and the payoff builds gradually, but it lasts longer than quick, short-term tactics.

For more, read my article at Search Engine Land: How long SEO takes to work

Final Thoughts

SEO is an ever-evolving process that demands consistency, relevance and adaptation for success. The key is to stay informed and always be strategic.

Now that you’ve debunked these common SEO myths, you can approach your SEO efforts knowing that what truly matters are the results driven by relevance, engagement and sustained effort.

Need more website traffic? Better ranking? Higher engagement and qualified leads? Our SEO experts are happy to help you build a successful SEO program that drives business growth.

Get your free consultation

FAQ: How can I effectively maintain my website’s SEO performance despite frequent changes to ranking signals and algorithms?

Maintaining your website’s SEO performance may feel like trying to catch smoke with one hand, as algorithms constantly shift and evolve. To stay ahead, the trick lies in being flexible while adapting quickly using strategies that meet both search engine rules and users’ needs. Let’s break down how you can keep SEO performance on track.

SEO is essential to digital marketing success, especially now when search engines like Google regularly make algorithm adjustments that affect user experience and content relevance. One effective strategy to stay up to date on the latest trends is reading SEO news, joining webinars, and participating in industry forums. Doing this allows you to detect emerging issues early and ensure your site meets these criteria.

Content creation is a major part of successful SEO. Search engines favor materials that provide real value to their users, so take time in crafting articles that not only engage but are original and informative as well. Using tools like keyword planners will help identify terms your audience searches for. Don’t forget to update older posts; outdated information could harm your rankings.

Be mindful not to overlook the technical side. A website that is fast, mobile-friendly and secure will rank higher with search engines than one that doesn’t. Think of your site like an efficient machine — all its parts must work together seamlessly for maximum SEO success. Utilizing regular audit tools can detect technical glitches before they cause SEO failure.

Gaining quality backlinks is like giving yourself an SEO boost from reliable sites. High-quality links help build up the authority and visibility of your site, so consider guest blogging or teaming up with influencers as means for building backlinks. Quality is always the goal.

Imagine you’re stuck in a store and can’t locate anything you’re looking for. It’s frustrating, and you’re not likely to go back there.

Similarly, a well-organized, fast-loading and mobile-friendly website keeps users satisfied and engaged. Visitors are happy, and it’s great for SEO.

It’s important to leverage social media, which you should think of as the buzz on your block. Sharing content on these platforms increases reach and interaction without impacting ranking factors. In fact, more shares can lead to backlinks that boost your authority.

Advanced tools are invaluable when it comes to tracking performance and making smart moves. Tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush or our own SEOToolSet® provide insights into user behavior, traffic sources and keyword performance. These tools give you valuable data to determine what works for your strategies and tweak accordingly.

Schema markup can increase search visibility by providing search engines with an outline of where your content lives and making it simpler for them to understand it.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Stay Informed: Keep up with trends and algorithm changes.
2. Review SEO Tools: Utilize tools such as Ahrefs, SEMrush or SEOToolSet® for insights.
3. Assess Content: Ensure all content remains relevant and engaging for readers.
4. Optimize Keywords: Research and utilize relevant search terms.
5. Boost Technical SEO: Optimize speeds, mobile-friendliness, and security as key areas to address.
6. Build Quality Links: Engage people through guest blogging or content that people will want to share.
7. Increase User Experience (UX): Provide users with an easy navigational experience when visiting your site.
8. Make the Most of Social Media: Share content widely across various social networks to extend reach and engagement.
9. Monitor Analytics: Conduct an in-depth data analysis to pinpoint strengths and areas for improvement.
10. Implement Schema Markup: Utilize structured data to enhance search visibility.
11. Conduct Regular Audits: Address any technical issues quickly.
12. Participate in Communities: Join SEO forums and webinars for updates and insights.
13. Adjust Your Strategies: As new information or trends emerge, adjust your strategies as necessary.
14. Optimize Your Mobile Site: Make sure your website is mobile responsive by optimizing for full mobile functionality.
15. Be Diverse with Content Types: Utilizing videos, infographics and more as differentiators will keep content varied and unique.
16. Produce Content That Fulfils User Needs: Develop content to satisfy user requirements.
17. Optimize for Voice Search: Take into account how voice searches differ from traditional searches when optimizing for them.
18. Utilize Local SEO: Increase search visibility with local listings.
19. Increase Page Speed: Optimize images and use caching.
20. Experiment With A/B Testing: Investigate different strategies to see what works.
21. Establish a Powerful Brand Presence: Engage with your audience regularly.
22. Comply With SEO Guidelines: Implement best practices to avoid penalties.
23. Promote Interaction: Collect feedback from comments and discussions on social media platforms.
24. Examine Competitor Strategies: Gain insights from studying competitors to see where they excel and fail, then utilize this knowledge to adapt your strategy accordingly.

The post Fact or Fiction? 7 Popular SEO Myths Debunked appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

This page has been reviewed and updated as of November 19, 2024.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an evolving discipline rooted in both best practices and trending strategies. This is why having the latest information on hand is vital when optimizing website content to be found in search engines.

An SEO checklist lists best practices and reminders that help you optimize a website to perform better in search engine rankings.

Not making mistakes is an important first step for helping search engines, notably Google, reward your site in rankings.

One checklist can’t uncover everything an individual business should do regarding SEO and its website. But this one is pretty close with more than 50 SEO categories that will improve how customers and search engines find and use your site.

We try to keep this checklist brief for easy reference. If you want more explanation, check the linked resources or our SEO Guide to learn how to do search engine optimization.

The SEO checklist is divided into sections, so jump around as needed:

• Content optimization
• On-Page optimization
• Local optimization
• Mobile optimization
• Sitewide optimization
• Server / HTML optimization
• Webmaster tools
• Advanced SEO methods (NEW)
• Case study (NEW)
• Closing recommendations
• FAQ: How can I effectively optimize my website using the SEO checklist to improve search engine rankings?

Content Optimization

1. Target Audience Research

This is a biggie: Know your target audience, their questions and their pain points. Knowing what questions and types of queries they might ask Google helps inform your keyword research.

This, in turn, will help you create content that answers those questions and solves their pain points. (You’ll use keywords you select as a basis for this content — one main keyword topic per webpage — but more on that shortly.)

One great way to get to know your target audience is to create a sample of it and then interview them. There are many ways to go about this — either manually in-house or outsourcing to a third party like AYTM.

Understanding searcher intent is an important step in crafting content. Answering typical questions your target audience might ask can help your page be found for voice search queries.

Remember to update your persona profiles, and trends shift. One small study by NN/g found that 46% of the professionals surveyed update their personas every one to four years.

2. Keyword Strategy and Research

If you want to catch fish, you need to know two things: what bait the fish are biting and where the fish are swimming. Content and keywords work together to attract and convert your fish.

Keyword research needs to be an ongoing process. It starts by identifying a focus phrase or two for the topic you want to write about (using your preferred tools — dozens of good ones are out there, including our SEOToolSet®. Google Ads Keyword Planner, Semrush, Ahrefs and more).

When you have a keyword phrase in mind for a page or a section of your site, check it in Google Search. View the top results, the “People also ask” questions and the rest of the search engine results.

This search engine results page (SERP) provides your best clues to the searcher’s intent for this query. Make sure your content fulfills what searchers want when looking for this keyword or look for a more appropriate keyword phrase.

Competitor research is also a big part of keyword strategy. Look at what keywords your competitors are ranking for so you can evaluate if those make sense for you, too.

Finally, map your keywords. This means assigning primary and secondary keywords to specific pages. This is something you will be sure to do if you implement SEO siloing, as discussed in No. 10 a little later.

Keyword research is part of any solid SEO checklist. Be sure to read our in-depth guide on how to do keyword research for SEO. You can also check out our SEO Guide that includes a free version of the SEOToolSet Keyword Suggestion tool.

3. Quality Content

Quality content is the priority for any good SEO checklist.

Google’s algorithm detects low-quality content and demotes its rankings. Google’s “helpful content” update (aka the helpful content “system”), which hit in August 2022, is part of Google’s efforts to clear out the junk in the search results.

So avoid thin content. Focus on robust coverage of your website topics to prove your subject matter expertise, get to know Google’s E-E-A-T principles, and leverage industry experts when possible.

In addition to all of this, know the appropriate content for your keywords and the stage of the conversion funnel your audience is in.

This requires knowing the intent of the keyword for that page and matching the conversion actions. If it’s a page on a more general topic, then a simple element on the page (like a sign-up box) may be an appropriate next step for people.

If the topic is comparing two products — say yours and a competitor’s — you might need to create a conversion-focused landing page, leading people to buy your product.

Also be aware of the growing trend of using AI to generate SEO content. AI-generated content is a tool, NOT a solution, so use those types of tools wisely.

Read these related articles:

• AI content creation: A beginner’s guide (Search Engine Land)
• Why AI-Powered Content Creation Is a Game-Changer for Marketers Everywhere
• What Makes a Webpage Quality?.

4. Featured Snippet Opportunities

As you conduct keyword research, you might find that Google displays a featured snippet (aka answer box) above the search results for your targeted keyword (aka “position zero”).

You have an opportunity to claim a featured snippet if you provide answers to question-type queries.

To win featured snippets, you’ll need to structure the content according to the type of snippet (usually video, text, list or table). Optimize the answer and formatting, whether it’s a table, bulleted list, ordered list, text question-and-answer or other.

You may be able to increase your chances of securing a featured snippet spot (see “More Structured Data” below) by applying schema markup, but it’s not required.

One tool that we like that can help you target featured snippets is inLinks.net.

5. Word Count

The amount of content needed on a webpage can vary by topic, keyword, competition and the intent of the query. (The graphic below outlines the three main intents behind search queries.)

How many words is enough? There’s no black-and-white rule. In fact, Google has been saying for a while now that word count doesn’t matter.

But I believe it’s more nuanced than that. If you analyze the search results for different keyword types, you’ll find that some require more content on a topic than others.

To determine an approximate minimum page length, look at the top-ranked URLs for your target keyword. How long are those pages?

A tool like our SEOToolSet Multi Page Analyzer is handy for this kind of competitive analysis.

Averaging the top competitors gives you a ballpark for what a search engine considers the normal word count for that topic. It’s safe to say that informational webpages almost always warrant more text.

6. Call to Action (CTA)

For each of your pages, ask yourself what the user would need/want to do from here. Then make it easy to do!

Your key pages should clarify what primary action a visitor can take next.

• The call to action (CTA) should be prominent on a product page (for example, “add to cart” or “start a free trial”).
• On a service page, the CTA might be “call us” or “get a quote.” Make the CTA clear and easy to select.
• On the homepage, help the visitor to take the next step in your conversion funnel.

The actual language of a CTA should be active (usually an imperative verb). The placement and design of the CTA should draw the visitor’s attention. But test variations to see what works best for you.

A page doesn’t have to be transactional to warrant a call to action. If an informational page is a top-performing traffic driver, such as a blog post (like this one) that answers a common question or an FAQ page, the call to action might encourage the visitor to “find out more” and enter the conversion funnel or to tell two friends.

For instance, you should bookmark this SEO checklist for future reference now. If you find it helpful, please consider sharing it!

7. Content Freshness

Periodically review your content (webpages and blog posts) to ensure the information is current.

For example, we regularly refresh this checklist. SEO best practices must evolve as search engine guidelines and technology do. If your industry also moves quickly, your content needs to keep up.

Google agrees. From Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines (PDF):

Tip: If parts of your website could use a refresh, see our guide to refreshing your site content for a step-by-step tutorial.

8. Static Content on the Homepage

Your homepage acts as a central hub, passing authority to the top pages on your site through internal links. It’s probably also where people often land when searching for your brand or main products/services.

It’s important to have static text that talks about your brand and top theme(s) on the homepage.

If your homepage has content that constantly changes, such as headlines, it can dilute the theme of your site, which can result in poor rankings for key terms.

So, try to maintain sections of consistent text on the homepage.

9. Duplicate Content

Do searches to see if your content exists elsewhere on the web. You may want to check out CopyScape.com and use it regularly.

If your site appears to have copied content from another source, that’s a low-quality signal to search engines and may cause your site to rank lower. Similarly, if other sites have copied your content, it could be a problem from an SEO standpoint.

A search engine will filter out the dupes if you have duplicate content within your site, such as three URLs with the same content.

Only one URL will display in the results for relevant queries — and the page that Google chooses might not be the page that you want to rank.

One option is to use a “canonical tag” to tell search engines which version should be indexed.

Here’s more on duplicate content.

10. SEO Siloing

SEO siloing structures a website’s content by grouping related webpages in section categories (silos) on the site, either through the URL structure or through cross-linking.

The goal is to have the top of each silo (the landing page of the section) be based on popular search engine queries, and then to build out the section with pages of content related to the primary query/keyword.

Siloing helps search engines understand the content and improves user experience. When done well, it aligns with Google’s principles of E-E-A-T from its Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

For more, check out: SEO Siloing: What, Why, How

On-Page Optimization

Review each important page, from the homepage to a high-priority product page, with an eye to the following issues in this on-page SEO checklist.

11. Title Tag

SEO has always stressed a webpage’s HTML title as a vital tag containing the relevant keywords you want to rank for on this page.

Google has its own guidelines for title tags, and we have our own based on experience.

In general, title tags should be about nine words (within the range of six to 12). You want to ensure that each page’s meta title is unique and describes the most important information about the page.

Use the top keyword before the cutoff in the SERP, which for Google is roughly 60–70 characters including spaces. (Tip: You can use a title tag preview tool to estimate how much will show.)

Remember, the title tag often becomes the clickable title that searchers see in search results (though Google reserves the right to choose a different title for your result).

Nonetheless, even when Google changes the title in the search results, it still uses the HTML on your webpage to understand what the page is about.

A well-crafted title tag may also stand a better chance of being displayed in the search results exactly how you want it to be.

Both the title and description text can influence click-throughs to your site, so focus on writing compelling tags. You don’t want to waste your prime real estate in the SERP with boring copy.

For more, read Why Does Google Change My Webpage Title in the Search Results?

12. Meta Description Tag

The meta description tag should also include the most important information and keywords near the beginning.

If the search engine chooses to display your description text, it will include approximately 24 words or 160 characters with spaces.

Google indicates that it does not consider this tag an important ranking factor. I think anything appearing on a Google SERP page is important. It certainly helps us get clicks — so be sure to act like it is important because it is.

Remember that Google reserves the right to replace your meta description text with a search snippet generated by Google, which is usually pulled from the page’s body content.

A search snippet (aka auto-snippet) appears instead of your meta description whenever Google deems the snippet of text more relevant for a given search. This is common when your description does not contain the query keyword.

Read more about meta tags.

13. Heading Tags

Headings allow a reader to see a page’s main sections and points. They give visual cues for how body content is organized and signal to search engines and readers what topics are covered on a page.

As a technical point, make sure the first heading tag within the body of a page is an <h1>. (Note that WordPress’s text field at the top of the editor that says “Add Title” is actually for the Heading 1.)

The following heading tags can be <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, etc., and should be used like a page’s table of contents. You may have more than one <h1> on a page according to Google, though we recommend only one in most cases.

And be sure not to use heading tags to control font sizes as that may confuse the search engines. Instead, use CSS to control style, and headings to describe content organization.

Navigation elements and other global text should be styled with CSS and not heading tags (watch our Ask Us Anything video for more about this).

For more on heading tags, check out: What Are Heading Tags and Why Are They Important to SEO?

14. Keyword Optimization

Do you have to do keyword optimization? No. But can you help strengthen a webpage’s relevance with a little extra effort? I believe so.

First, let’s discuss the elephant in the room: keyword optimization can seem outdated. Yes, your content is naturally optimized when you write about a topic.

However, all else equal, if you spent a little more time than the competition making sure all the target keywords showed up on your page, and all the relevant related words showed up as well, do you think you might have a better chance of ranking than the competition?

For more, read: How a WordPress SEO Plugin Can Help You Optimize Your Content with Keywords, and check out LSIGraph as a handy tool as well.

15. Image Optimization

Images greatly enhance your pages. Content needs visual elements to break up the text and keep readers interested.

Images also provide additional ranking opportunities through image searches and blended web search results.

However, images can slow down a page’s loading time. To reduce file size and to increase speed as much as possible, resize the files to their display size rather than uploading the original file and making the browser shrink it. Also, include width and height attributes in image tags.

Note: We use a plugin that automatically provides JPEG and PNG images in the WebP image format to browsers that support it, reducing image size by approximately 50%. This seriously improves SEO by decreasing page size and speeding page loads.

File names should describe the image and include a keyword when possible. You can also optimize the caption and the text surrounding an image to reinforce its content.

For more about optimizing images for SEO, review our article on how to improve Google Image Search ranking.

16. Alt Attributes

Make sure to include an alt attribute with each image. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that a website should describe the image on a page for the vision impaired when the description contributes to an accurate understanding of the content.

Please take this seriously; although not mainstream SEO, compliance failure can lead to serious fines and penalties.

Accessibility is important to users and Google. According to Google, having alt attributes is a primary indicator that your site is accessible.

As an SEO checklist item, ensure that your images have accurate alt text that, if appropriate, includes a keyword for the page.

If an image is purely decorative, it should still have an empty alt attribute within its image tag. Alt attributes are required of validated HTML code (per W3C standards).

17. Video Optimization

Videos are powerful engagement objects that add multimedia interest to keep visitors on your page longer. As highly consumable content, videos provide additional SEO benefits and social sharing opportunities.

Also, note that video is one of the formats for featured snippets in the SERP. To go further, I imagine that a significant portion of how-to query results (in the organic results area) will evolve to be video answers.

So optimize your videos to be found in search. Video content provides ranking opportunities both in regular searches and in video-only search engines where they’re uploaded, especially YouTube.

Like images, embedded videos can slow down a page’s load time. There are a ton of optimization best practices for YouTube, Vimeo and other video hosting sites.

Read our quick beginner’s guide to video marketing and optimization and our article on 10 video SEO tips to improve SERP rank.

15. Structured Data Markup with Schema

Structured data clarifies for the search engine what the content on your page is about. Specifically, marking up your HTML content based on the standards at schema.org helps search engines understand what type of information you’re presenting.

For example, you could use structured data markup to indicate an upcoming event your business is hosting, specifying its date, time, location, and other details. If Google is clear about what’s on your site, then additional information has the potential to show up in your search results.

Dozens of schema types may apply depending on the content you have on your site.

Consider for example:

• HowTo Article Structured Data – Use this to identify how-to articles.
• FAQ Structured Data – Markup a Q&A section with this type of schema, and you may earn a hefty featured snippet such as the one shown below.

Google’s guidelines allow three supported formats for marking up a website:

• JSON-LD (recommended)
• Microdata
• RDFa

This is a technical SEO checklist item: Google requires your markup to include all the required properties for an object to be eligible for enhancements in your SERP listing.

To make sure you’ve done it right, check your page or code snippet using Google’s Rich Results Test Tool.

For more on how to implement structured data on your site, check out:

• What Is Structured Data and Why Is It Important for SEO?
• How to Use Schema Markup to Improve Your Website Visibility in Search

19. More Structured Data

Besides the schema markup we just mentioned, there are other ways you can structure your data to make it more digestible for search engines:

• HTML tables
• Bulleted lists
• Ordered lists
• Breadcrumb navigation
• Table of contents at the top (especially with anchor links)
• Headings that contain a key term or question, followed by the answer in the body text
• TL;DR (“too long, didn’t read”) summary near the top of your article

All of these structural formats can help people read your content more easily. They also encourage Google to use your content in featured snippets, as discussed above. Google gives more information about structured data in the search results here.

20. Social Meta Tags

Social markup, or social meta tags, refers to the code used to enhance content on social media sites like Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

Content in these tags dictates what image and text will appear when someone posts a link to your content on a social network. While not a link for SEO, social mentions about your pages are considered trust signals that can boost your content’s reputation.

Including social markup in your HTML ensures you look your best on social media. Facebook Open Graph tags, X Cards markup and Pinterest Rich Pins are the major social markup tags.

Click through if you want more details on each platform’s options:

• Facebook Open Graph tags
• X Cards
• Pinterest Pins in various formats
• LinkedIn Share

21. URL Optimization

This item is featured in nearly every SEO checklist. Long ago URLs were heavily keyword-stuffed, and it is believed that they now have minimal impact on rankings. Still, a descriptive URL can certainly assist with clicks by users.

You want URLs to be descriptive and contain keywords, without being spammy. And shorter URLs are preferable to long URLs. One study by Backlinko found that short URLs tend to have a slight ranking advantage.

For example, don’t do this:

www.acmewidgets.com/T&Xyhtbhyd8ut

Instead, do this:

www.acmewidgets.com/blue-widgets

Also: Use dashes rather than underscores in page URLs. Underscores are alpha characters and do not separate words. Dashes (or rather, hyphens) are word separators, but should not appear too many times or it could look spammy.

URL structure is also important when doing SEO siloing (see No. 10 in this list).

For more on this topic, check out this post by Google’s Matt Cutts (an oldie but a goodie) and ours explaining what is spam.

22. Fully Qualified Links

If you make your internal links fully qualified, search engine spiders, browsers, etc., will have no question as to where the file is located and what it’s about.

If your link looks something like “../../pagename” (a relative link), then it may cause crawl issues for some search engines.

Rather than relative URLs, use fully qualified links, which means beginning with https:// (hopefully not http://). Your sitemap should always have fully qualified URLs. (You can read more about sitemaps below.)

For more, see: Absolute vs. Relative URL Linking — What’s the Big Deal, Anyway?

23. Make JavaScript and CSS External

Externalizing JavaScript and CSS code that blocks keyword-rich content is a best practice for removing unnecessary lines of code in your body text.

Externalizing large files can speed up page load time, which is a factor in Google’s ranking algorithm.

However, there is a tradeoff to consider especially in light of Core Web Vitals.

In some cases, Google recommends leaving smaller CSS or JavaScript code elements inline in your HTML page to reduce the round trip time it may take for the server to request the external resource.

Local Optimization

Businesses with a local brick-and-mortar presence or local service areas have a special set of SEO factors to consider. Here are a couple of important local SEO checklist items.

24. Claim Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile listing is free and is a critical first step for local brick-and-mortar and businesses with service areas.

A Google Business Profile can enable your site to appear in Google Maps, the local pack of Google Search results and Knowledge Graph panels for your business.

Since SEO aims to send traffic to your site from search engines, these appearances are important as SEO items.

There’s a lot more involved in local SEO but claiming your Google Business Profile and a listing in Bing Places for Business gets you started.

25. Local Schema Markup

Local businesses can benefit from on-page schema markup related to their business. (You can browse the available codes at Schema.org).

Especially important for all businesses is the NAP + W code, which designates the business’s name, address, phone number and website.

26. Local Citations and Links

Local citations are usually found in directories where multiple businesses are listed either by business type or by region.

At a minimum, an online citation should include the business name, address and phone number (NAP) as well as the website address. Many directory sites offer opportunities for additional business information, as well.

Local links are different from citations in that they exist on local websites, such as related businesses in the area or hyper-local blogs about the area, rather than on a directory.

Both citations and local links help establish your local presence.

Check out my list of other local search ranking factors. Many factors you may not have considered are vital to SEO.

Mobile Optimization

We’re truly living in a mobile-first world. Businesses need to ensure that their websites cater to the mobile browsing experience.

Google looks at the mobile version of your content when it comes to indexing and ranking.

Yes, you may edit your pages on a desktop for convenience, and perhaps you have very few mobile users on your site. But the Google spider is only concerned with mobile formatting, which is how your site is viewed.

As an SEO checklist to-do, make sure you’re using a mobile-first strategy. I’ve listed a few specifics below.

27. Mobile Usability

Search engines are invested in providing users with a great mobile experience.

First and foremost, Google recommends implementing a responsive design because “it’s the easiest design pattern to implement and maintain.”

Then, you can see how your site performs on mobile devices with Lighthouse, an open-source tool.

You can also use the URL Inspection tool within Google Search Console to understand the way Google sees a specific page rendered on different mobile devices.

Lastly, Bing offers a Mobile Friendliness Test Tool.

Page load speed is also a ranking factor. Skip to the Site Speed and Performance in this SEO checklist for the SEO tools to check page speed.

28. Mobile and Voice-Related Keywords

When was the last time you tried a voice search for your keywords? Try to find your business and competitors as your customer would with a voice search.

Consider:

• Are you using relevant voice search terms like “[keyword] near me”?
• Are you accounting for searches formed as questions or full sentences? (These are increasingly common with the advance of voice queries.)

As an additional test, are your keywords easily pronounced? Do you have an exotic-sounding product or company name? How well do you perform in voice search right now? Are you ranking No. 1 but getting no mobile traffic?

Keyword recognition is an important part of a query, and the wrong query throws off SEO data.

Check out our articles on voice search optimization and mobile SEO for guidance.

Server / HTML Optimization

With Google’s page experience update and the introduction of Core Web Vitals, server-level optimization has become a priority. This section will help you optimize your page experience at the server level.

29. HTTPS

Having a secure site (HTTPS) has been a minor ranking signal in Google for years, and now as part of the page experience ranking factor, HTTPS is no longer optional.

If your site is unsecured (HTTP), users likely see a warning in their browser whenever they try to visit your site. So if you want traffic and rankings, you need a secure site.

Also, consider upgrading your site to HTTP/3. This protocol lets sites be better optimized for performance.

30. No Intrusive Interstitials

Intrusive interstitials are pop-ups that get in a user’s way by covering up too much of a webpage soon after the user arrives.

This no-no is on Google’s page experience list, so be sure your site avoids blocking the content with a pop-up or at least waits until 20–30 seconds after the page is opened.

31. Core Web Vitals

Three metrics that Google calls Core Web Vitals now have some influence on the ranking algorithm.

These metrics are LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), INP (Interaction to Next Paint) and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), which measure how easily people can view and interact with your webpage.

Check your scores per page using the Core Web Vitals Report in Search Console among other tools.

For more details, read our Overview of Core Web Vitals and to go in-depth, watch our on-demand webinar 3 Expert Tips to Improve Core Web Vitals.

32. Server Configuration & Maintenance

Regularly check your server looking for 404 errors, improper 301 redirects and other errors. The many diagnostic reports in Google Search Console also point out errors to be fixed.

Server configuration also impacts site speed. This is a major checklist item because speed is a significant SEO issue. Run Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool and pay attention to its recommended fixes.

Server maintenance, especially plugin maintenance, is important at many levels.

For instance, you may have suffered a malware attack. In such cases, a hacker may have exploited a system weakness and installed hidden links or transfers to other sites into your code without your knowledge.

Such attacks will harm your SEO efforts by poisoning your content and potentially harming people visiting your site. That makes safe browsing a priority even if Google decided to drop it as a page experience ranking signal.

To better understand Google’s recent update, read our CMO’s overview of the page experience update or get a free copy our complete page experience guide.

33. Site Speed and Performance

Check PageSpeed Insights in Google Search Console or use tools like GTmetrix.com to analyze and improve a website’s performance on desktop and mobile devices.

For more details on improving page speed, read our page speed issues overview for SEO.

Sitewide Optimization

A website as a whole should demonstrate experience, expertise, authority and trust while conveying subject relevance and optimizing for search engine accessibility.

While your basic content strategy is a big piece of this (see the Quality Content section, above), the following items help support E-E-A-T.

34. Contact Information

An explicit trust signal is to have the business contact information, such as a phone number and physical address, clearly visible on the site. The search engines expect that a trustworthy site will provide this for users. Seriously, be easy to find.

35. Testimonials

Testimonials located on your site support your trustworthiness as a business. They also demonstrate tangible proof of your experience, expertise and value to your customer base. Testimonials are great for signaling your value to your human visitors, too!

Make sure your testimonials and reviews can be indexed. That means displaying them in text (not just images) that’s easy for search robots to digest.

Schema markup allows review ratings to be displayed, extending SEO value by increasing the possibility that your site will be shown for review featured snippets in the search results.

36. Privacy Statement

Another trust signal is having a privacy statement on your site. A privacy statement lets site visitors know what you’re doing with any data you collect about them.

Every site should have a privacy link in its footer to the privacy page. You are welcome to take our privacy statement from our site and modify it for your use.

In addition to bolstering your trust with Google and Bing, offering a privacy statement is a best practice. Privacy laws such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (aka GDPR) require many sites to clarify their privacy policies, have visitors opt-in to allow data collection, and more.

For those not concerned with Europe, there are equally strong laws for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other states have their versions, too. Be sure to research the privacy laws where your site visitors are located and make sure your website complies.

37. Text Navigation

Verify that there is text navigation within your site. You want text links, which are more SEO-friendly than using images for menu items.

Make sure you have text navigation at least on the bottom of the page if there aren’t any crawlable navigation links in the top menu. This is a search engine accessibility issue.

As a note, I strongly encourage you to use breadcrumbs with their schema markup throughout your site. Replace “Home” in that breadcrumb with a top-level keyword appropriate to your homepage (unless you sell homes).

Having internal links that point up from lower-level pages gives an SEO advantage and is also a usability factor.

For more, check out:

• Internal Links: What, Why, How?
• A Jam-Packed Guide on Internal Linking for SEO

38. Sitemaps

Your site should have an HTML sitemap (see Google’s sitemap info). Every page should link to that sitemap, probably in the footer.

You should also have an XML sitemap that you submit to search engines. If you already have sitemaps, check and update them regularly to ensure they contain the currently active pages on your site.

You can learn how to create a sitemap for users and search engines to easily access all areas of your site in our SEO Guide. See: What Is an XML Sitemap and How Do I Create One?

39. Robots.txt File

The robots.txt file tells the search engine spiders what not to index. This file must exist, even if it’s empty. Also make sure the file doesn’t accidentally exclude important files, directories, or the entire site. (This has been known to happen!)

One important item in this file is the locator for your XML sitemap file. We encourage you to have a reasonable robots.txt file (see our robots.txt file if you are an SEO — and read the top eight lines).

For more on this, see: What Is robots.txt? A Beginner’s Guide to Nailing It with Examples

40. Linking Strategy

This section warrants way more than just a few sentences, but it should be noted as part of the SEO checklist.

Your internal linking structure typically stems from your siloing strategy, which is vital to establishing SEO relevance.

In addition, your inbound/outbound links should be part of an organic, natural strategy in compliance with search engine guidelines. As part of site maintenance, monitor your link profile regularly.

It is worth mentioning that with Google promoting PageRank in the past, links became a commodity. As such, a big-money business developed around selling links.

Google has considered selling links as spam for a long time (see its spam policies on links), has enforced several penalties around it and has built a great amount of technology to fight it.

There are still gray areas — see my post discussing guest posting for links as one example. But links do not hold as much weight as they used to. However, quality links still matter.

Also, check out:

• A Jam-Packed Guide on Internal Linking for SEO
• What Are Outbound Links?
• The New Link Building Manifesto

41. Static URLs

Complex, dynamic URLs can be a problem. If your site has any of the following, consider converting your URLs to static URLs:

• More than two query string parameters.
• Dynamic pages that aren’t getting indexed.
• A lot of duplicate content getting indexed.

You can also use mod_rewrite or ISAPI_rewrite as appropriate to simplify URLs. Rewritten URLs will appear to be static URLs. This tends to be a lot of work but is a surefire way to address this issue.

You can also use the canonical tag to tell search engines which page is intended to be indexed as the canonical version. Also see: How to Use the Canonical Link Element for Duplicate Content.

42. No Spam Tactics

Ensure your SEO strategy follows Google Search Essentials and Bing Webmaster Guidelines. If ever in doubt about any of your tactics, you can also refer to what Google recommends for SEO.

Note that many sites have no idea why they do not rank. They have used cheap SEO consultants who perhaps have done cheap tricks to fool the search engines into thinking you deserve rankings.

Such deceptive acts are spam, they may have hurt your site, and until repaired you will not rank. Do not buy cheap.

Webmaster Tools

What’s an SEO without their tools?

There’s a difference between data and wisdom. SEO tools can help you discover what’s happening with your site, but plotting an action plan requires an understanding of SEO. That’s SEO wisdom.

43. Web Analytics

No question — analytics data is important for SEO. Ensure your analytics are properly set up and monitor them regularly to find out if the keywords generating traffic are in your keyword list, and if your site is optimized for them.

A ranking monitor (such as the one in our SEOToolSet) is also useful for tracking SEO changes across search engines.

Admittedly, this is more difficult without specific keyword-tracking data. Google long ago decided to suppress that data (but keep it for PPC) for privacy concerns. Now, that argument is invalid, but the data remains lost to the SEO community.

Our SEO Guide unpacks the role of analytics in how to monitor your SEO rankings.

44. Webmaster Tools Accounts

Webmaster tools, which are known by various names for Google and Bing, give site owners insight into how search engines view their sites.

These free tools collect data and provide essential reports on issues like what search queries bring traffic to your site, crawl errors you need to fix and penalty notifications.

• If you haven’t already, set up Google Search Console for your site.
• Install Google Analytics 4 as well.
• For help setting up a Bing Webmaster Tools account, view this help file.

45. SEO Plugins

Plugins make a WordPress site more SEO-friendly. Many exist, with both free and premium versions. Many people use more than one.

Check out:

• Bruce Clay SEO Plugin for WordPress Users
• Yoast SEO: Plug In the Gaps with Bruce Clay SEO WP

46. Other SEO Tools

Every SEO needs a good tool stack; one tool alone will not do everything. As you are building that stack, consider the following:

• The Top SEO Software That Experts Use Every Day
• What Is an SEO Ranking Report?
• 7 Keyword Suggestion and Research Tools to Figure Out the Right Keywords for Your SEO Strategy

47. Manual Penalty Review

If you have been subject to a manual penalty, Google will report it to you within Google Search Console. Check the Manual Actions report and the Search Console message center.

You can also find out if you’ve suffered a penalty from Bing. Review the Search Performance chart within the dashboard of Bing Webmaster Tools. If the number of pages for a given site is set at zero, you have been hit with a penalty.

Note that a manual action penalty is the kiss of death for your SEO efforts. Once you have one, you cannot see the consequences of your improvements until the penalty is lifted. And a search engine never forgets … a penalty can have a lasting impact for some time even after repair.

Read more about dealing with manual penalty actions.

48. Algorithm Updates Review

If your site runs Google Analytics, use the Panguin Tool to check your traffic levels against known algorithmic updates.

If you see big drops or rises in search referrer traffic that coincides with known algorithm updates or receive a manual action notice from Google, you may be affected by a penalty. Read more about penalty assessment and recovery.

Google changes its algorithm all the time, much to the dismay of SEO consultants everywhere. RankBrain and machine learning — powered by artificial intelligence technology — are changing the search results.

While optimization for AI is not as straightforward as checking for traffic drops, familiarize yourself with the real impact of RankBrain and my advice on the shrinking of organic results in Google SERPs.

Advanced SEO Methods

During the lifespan of your website, you will encounter many situations that impact SEO. You will also want to go beyond following a checklist to understanding how to approach SEO from a bird’s eye view.

This section covers some common, more advanced SEO strategies and how to handle them.

49. SERP Features

Understanding the types of features that show up on a search engine results page helps you know what and how you need to optimize to show up on page one.

For more, read:

• What Are SERP Features and Why Should I Care?
• A Quick Reference Guide to Common Google Search Features

50. Whole-SERP SEO Strategy

There is much more to SEO than just ranking in the “blue links” section. Most know that by now.

However, many may not know how to compete at the top of the search results when there are so many SERP features to optimize for.

This is where a whole-SERP SEO strategy comes into play. A whole-SERP SEO strategy analyzes the features that show up most in the search results for target keywords and then optimizes for them.

For example, if you are targeting “how-to” queries, you might find that YouTube videos pop up more often in the search results as an answer to those queries.

That means you will want to focus on creating video content in addition to webpage content for those queries to compete.

For more, check out: What Is a Whole-SERP SEO Strategy?

51. Website Migrations

A website migration is a term used to describe when a website undergoes major changes. Some examples include:

• Redesigning the website and changing the code.
• Renaming URLs.
• Consolidating webpages and implementing 301 redirects and/or URL changes.
• Changing domain names.
• Merging with another website.
• Rearranging the website structure/navigation.
• Moving a website from HTTP to HTTPS.
• Switching to a new content management system.
• Switching to a new hosting provider.

These types of changes can have a profound negative impact on SEO if they are not handled properly.

For more on how to handle this, see: SEO Website Migration Guide and our on-demand webinar Website Migration Dos and Don’ts to Avoid Disaster.

52. Handling New and Old Content

Should you spend your time creating new webpages for SEO, or optimizing old ones? The answer is yes to both.

We recommend spending about 50% of the time generating new pages and 50% optimizing and refreshing old pages so the website remains relevant.

For more, read:

• Creating New Pages vs. Optimizing Old Webpages: Which Is Better for SEO? [Search Engine Land]
• How to Remove a Webpage

53. Diagnosis

There will likely be a time when you lose rankings and traffic. Traffic loss happens for any number of reasons: Lost links, new competition, algorithm updates, reputation blunders — and more.

When this happens, you need to have a plan for how you will diagnose the problem. So check out these articles:

• 7 Ways to Diagnose a Drop in Traffic Right Now
• 5 Things to Know When Your Site Loses Rankings

There will be other times when your website fails to produce results (traffic, leads, revenue, etc.) and/or just plainly fails to rank. We’ve hosted a couple of webinars on this subject to help you diagnose the root factors that can cause website failure. Catch these on demand:

• 5 Reasons Why Your Website Is Failing
• 5 Reasons Your Website Isn’t Ranking

54. Press Releases

At first glance, press releases may seem like an outdated SEO tactic. Not so.

It’s true that at one point, SEOs used press releases as a way to stuff keyword-rich links to their site. That tactic has fallen by the wayside, but that doesn’t mean press releases still aren’t good for SEO.

Press releases are still good for what they were created for, which is increasing visibility, which can lead to more brand recognition and traffic.

There are rules, however, for doing press releases in an SEO-friendly way–and best practices that help entice the media to pick up the story.

For more, check out: Why Press Releases Still Matter to SEO and How to Write One That Entices Media

55. Technical SEO Audits

Conduct regular SEO audits to fix any outstanding issue that may be hindering the website’s ability to rank.

How often do you do this?

With ongoing SEO projects, you typically only need the initial SEO audit.

However, any time there is an event, like sudden traffic loss, a site migration, site-wide upgrade, merger and/or every time Google changes the rules, conduct a thorough site audit.

For more, see SEO Audits and Tools: The Good, The Better and The Best.

56. Continuing Education

Implementing the right optimization techniques requires a commitment to learning the foundation of SEO and staying up-to-date on trends and search engine changes.

This is why everyone — from beginner to advanced — benefits from continuous learning, be it through an SEO training class or online SEO training, books, publications, podcasts, webinars, conferences, local in-person events and more.

To learn more, check out:

• In-Person SEO Classes vs. Online SEO Training: The Differences
• 5 questions to evaluate any SEO training course (my article at Search Engine Land)

Case Study

There is no clear-cut way to succeed in SEO; often, we use a variety of strategies to boost a website’s performance in search results and improve user experience.

In this section, I’ll share one case study that uses several of the steps outlined in this checklist. It proves that there is no “one way” to get you from Point A to Point B. It takes experience and wisdom to apply the strategies that will work for each website.

166% Traffic Jump

Through technical analysis, on-page analysis, internal linking analysis and a backlink audit, we implemented the following and boosted a client’s organic traffic by 166%:

• Content siloing
• Content improvements
• Schema markup
• Disavowed links
• XML sitemaps
• Canonicals
• 301 redirects
• Page experience, Core Web Vitals and speed improvements

Read more about our client success stories on our Case Study page.

Closing Recommendations

This is a very high-level summary of the things you need to consider about performing SEO on your site. Many people only do what is convenient. Some work cheaply and get it wrong. Some SEO teams do not have management support. As I always like to say: Don’t be surprised by the traffic you didn’t get for the SEO work you didn’t do.

One common mistake is not studying SEO before you do it. Seriously, you need to have a reasonable idea of what it is.

Take a course (I recommend ours at SEOtraining.com). To do the initial dust and clean, follow our How To Do SEO Guide.

Also, be sure to ask yourself these questions before doing DIY SEO.

Finally: Get your copy of the Declaration of SEO: 6 Fundamental Truths To Live By e-book and share it with your company. It also comes with a video presentation. This is important if you are an SEO. Trust me.

Bookmark this SEO checklist for future reference. And if you found it helpful, please share it!

If you’re struggling to implement any of the SEO tips and strategies outlined in this checklist, our SEO experts can help.

Schedule a free consultation

FAQ: How can I effectively optimize my website using the SEO checklist to improve search engine rankings?

There is no easy button when it comes to SEO — from keyword research to technical SEO and content development to link building, there are a lot of areas you have to pay attention to in order to build a successful SEO program.

Utilizing an SEO checklist is a great way to stay organized and ensure you are following every step in the process. This comprehensive guide outlines the core principles and strategies to optimize your website, improve your SEO and earn more organic traffic.

Whether you’re writing compelling content that resonates with your target audience, or employing savvy on-page optimization techniques, each step of our SEO checklist contributes to your website’s success — and your business.

The journey to successfully optimizing your website starts with a deep understanding of your target audience. Research their challenges, pain points, questions, and search queries to inform your entire optimization process.

Next, develop a keyword strategy to align your content with user intent. Analyze search engine results, identify relevant keywords and focus phrases, and look for opportunities to display your content in featured snippets. Moreover, optimizing your content’s structure and ensuring readability can enhance the chances of securing a featured snippet spot.

For local businesses, optimizing for local SEO is critical to stay competitive online in your area. Create, claim and optimize your Google Business Profile, and ensure you have accurate business information listed. Implement local schema markup, too. You’ll want to include customer reviews and consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) details across all platforms.

As search engines emphasize user experience, understanding Core Web Vitals and optimizing your server and HTML configuration must be a priority. HTTPS adoption, avoiding intrusive interstitials, and excelling in Core Web Vitals improves user experience and establishes trust, ultimately increasing your search engine ranking.

Finally, webmaster tools like Google Analytics 4 provide invaluable insights into your site’s performance. SEO tools like SEOToolSet®, SEMRush or Ahrefs can help you track your SERP rankings data, conduct keyword research, uncover potential issues hindering your website performance and much more. Use these tools regularly to make informed decisions that will get the best results from your SEO campaign.

Implement the strategies and tips in this SEO checklist to build a strong online presence, earn more qualified traffic and increase your search engine ranking.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Understand your target audience by researching their pain points and search queries.
2. Do keyword research to identify focus phrases.
3. Regularly review search engine results for insights on target keywords.
4. Look for opportunities to appear in featured snippets.
5. Optimize content structure and readability.
6. Focus on website speed and mobile optimization.
7. Use proper heading tags for organized content.
8. Implement structured data to improve search visibility.
9. Optimize Core Web Vitals for better page experience, improved user experience and a technically sound website.
10. Maintain a user-friendly URL structure.
11. Adopt HTTPS for a secure and trustworthy website.
12. Create, claim and maintain your Google Business Profile for local optimization.
13. Implement local schema markup to boost visibility in local search.
14. Obtain local citations, reviews and links for an improved local presence.
15. Check for manual penalties using webmaster tools.
16. Stay current on algorithm changes and the latest updates in SEO.
17. Optimize server configuration and maintenance.
18. Regularly monitor web analytics to track performance and adjust your SEO strategy as needed.

The post The Always Up-to-Date SEO Checklist appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Increasing organic traffic levels is the number one priority of any SEO program. But merely getting people to your site is not enough.

Attracting and keeping visitors’ attention after they click through to your website is essential to ongoing conversions and search engine success.

Keep in mind that Google always looks at your site’s experience as part of its ranking algorithm.

Read on as I discuss a few ways you can boost website user engagement, including some of the necessary tools.

• Prioritizing Speed and Performance
  • Optimize the Experience
  • Upgrade Your Hosting
• Mastering Content Creation for Engagement
  • Quality
  • Engaging Videos
  • Accessibility
• User Feedback
• Final Thoughts
• FAQ: How can I effectively improve my website speed to increase engagement and keep users on the site longer?

Prioritizing Speed and Performance

Research conducted by Google indicates that 53% of people will abandon a website if its load time is over three seconds.

Website performance and speed are critical for user engagement. A website that loads at a snail’s pace can cause user frustration and lead visitors to click off before engaging with your content.

Optimize the Experience

Optimizing your website for maximum speed and functionality is fundamental for a satisfying user experience.

Google outlines ways to do this, including looking at key areas such as:

1. Core web vitals: Are your pages performing well in terms of loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability?
2. Security: Is your site served over HTTPS?
3. Mobile usability: Does your content display well on mobile devices?
4. Ad placement: Does your content avoid excessive or intrusive ads that distract users?
5. No intrusive interstitials: Do your pages have pop-ups that block access to content?
6. Content layout: Can visitors easily distinguish between the main content and other elements on the page?

To assess your page experience, use resources such as:

• Core web vitals: Understand how these impact your page ranking.
• Search Console’s HTTPS report: Monitor your site’s security status.
• Chrome Lighthouse: This tool identifies page experience improvements, including mobile usability and other performance metrics.

Learn more by reading our page experience series of articles.

Upgrade Your Hosting

Your servers and web hosting provider can impact how your website performs, especially during traffic surges.

Shared hosting, while cost-effective, can lead to slower load times as resources are shared with multiple sites.

Consider upgrading to cloud hosting or dedicated hosting solutions for enhanced speed, performance and security.

These options offer better resource allocation, ensuring a smoother user experience even with increased traffic.

Mastering Content Creation for Engagement

To increase time on page, your content should resonate with your audience and offer practical value.

Not every website visitor will convert into a paying customer, but creating premium content increases the probability of repeat visits and helps to affirm that your website is a trustworthy resource.

But how can you develop content that truly captivates your audience?

Quality

High-quality content is crucial for engagement. A visitor who finds your content valuable is more inclined to return, strengthening engagement over time.

Top-notch content encompasses elements like E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust), ethical journalism and professional-level writing.

Google wants us to focus on people-first, helpful content rather than search engine-first content.

Today, AI can assist in content creation to make things more efficient, but it should be used carefully with human editing to ensure value and uniqueness.

There are many AI content tools out there — I recommend trying our own PreWriter.ai, which automates the time-consuming aspects of writing to move SEO projects forward faster.

Learn more: Crafting High-Quality SEO Content: A Comprehensive Guide

Engaging Videos

Research from Wistia indicates that people spend 1.4 times longer on pages with video content than those without such media.

Simply put, video content is a highly immersive media channel. Videos can distill complex ideas, making it easier for viewers to understand topics.

This makes videos a great tool for educational content or product demonstrations, boosting audience engagement.

But don’t stop at just creating videos; make sure they are optimized so they have a better chance of showing up for a search.

Learn more: A CMO’s Guide to YouTube SEO in Less Than 5 Minutes

Accessibility

Web design accessibility ensures that everyone can use your website, including those who are living with disabilities.

Incorporating accessible design principles, like providing alt text for images, helps to boost your site’s inclusivity.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which were developed by W3.org, act as the universal benchmark for web content accessibility geared toward individuals with disabilities, including those who have vision, cognitive, hearing and motor impairments.

WCAG compliance levels run the gamut from minimal to optimal. Start by meeting the basic requirements and use your available resources to build upon them.

User Feedback

Deploying a feedback loop is important for refining your website and satisfying customer demands.

Collecting users’ input provides insight into what’s working and which areas could use improvement, ultimately enhancing the user experience overall.

You can use several methods to collect feedback, including surveys, polls and contact forms.

This invaluable information allows you to make data-backed changes and build a website that’s easier to use and more engaging for all users.

Go to Ask Your Target Market (AYTM) for key insights.

Final Thoughts

Getting a firm grasp on user engagement and making efforts to improve it is integral to any website’s digital success.

Constantly assess user habits, amass feedback and tweak your tactics to address your customers’ evolving needs and expectations.

And be sure to make use of helpful tools along the way to amplify your effectiveness.

Need better website user engagement? Our SEO experts can help!

Schedule a free SEO consultation

FAQ: How can I effectively improve my website speed to increase engagement and keep users on the site longer?

There are multiple strategies you can employ to speed up and enhance website user engagement, keeping visitors browsing.

Image optimization is one of the key elements to ensure websites load fast. Large images without proper optimization can substantially slow page loads times — reduce file sizes by compressing them with modern formats like WebP without compromising quality.

Utilize browser caching effectively; it enables frequently visited resources to be stored locally on users’ devices instead of being downloaded again upon subsequent visits. Setting appropriate cache headers will further expedite site speed.

Minifying CSS, JavaScript and HTML code is another useful strategy to reduce file sizes and speed up loading times. Tools like UglifyJS and CSSNano make this process even simpler by automating its processes to keep your code nice and clean.

It’s important to select the right hosting provider. A top-quality hosting service with resources tailored specifically for your website’s requirements can significantly speed it up. Look for dedicated servers or content distribution networks (CDNs) that distribute content globally to reduce load times regardless of where your users are located.

Implementing lazy loading is an advanced strategy designed to delay loading non-critical resources until they’re needed. Deferring loading until the resources are within view of users decreases initial load times while improving performance.

You’ll also want to focus on reducing server response times. Optimize your server configuration, implement HTTP/2 and upgrade resources as appropriate to handle more concurrent users efficiently.

Regularly monitor your site performance using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix. Look for bottlenecks and areas for improvement.

Implementing these strategies to increase your website speed, keep visitors on your pages longer and increase the chances of conversion.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Assess your current website speed. Tools like GTmetrix and Google PageSpeed Insights can help.
2. Reduce file sizes and convert images into current formats like WebP.
3. Implement browser caching by setting appropriate cache headers.
4. Minify CSS, JavaScript and HTML files using automated tools.
5. Choose a high-quality hosting provider with robust resources.
6. Consider using a CDN to distribute content globally.
7. Implement lazy loading for images and videos.
8. Optimize server configuration for faster response times.
9. Upgrade your server resources if necessary.
10. Regularly monitor performance and adjust strategies based on data.
11. Reduce the number of HTTP requests by combining files.
12. Use asynchronous loading for JavaScript files.
13. Eliminate unnecessary plugins and scripts.
14. Optimize font loading by using display swap.
15. Implement server-side rendering if using JavaScript frameworks.
16. Use HTTP/2 for improved loading times.
17. Secure your site with SSL to enhance performance.
18. Test your site across different devices and browsers.
19. Analyze competitor sites for best practices.
20. Continuously update and refine your optimization strategies.
21. Educate your team on web optimization techniques.
22. Keep up on the latest in technology and trends.
23. Gather user feedback to identify performance issues.
24. Set performance goals and track progress over time.

The post How To Increase Website Speed for User Engagement appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

Building a strong brand goes beyond recognition — it creates trust, a key factor that can boost your search engine visibility, drive organic traffic and enable conversions. A trusted brand engages your audience and can earn the credibility that search engines prioritize.

In this article, I’ll talk about how branding can influence the success of your SEO program:

Branding + SEO

Branding and SEO might seem like they are separate elements of a marketing program, but they actually have a synergy that makes them powerfully effective when you combine them together. (Read more about brand identity and why it matters to SEO.)

A strong brand can influence search engine rankings, and that is through brand authority. Brand authority refers to your company’s reputation for being a trustworthy, credible and knowledgeable source.

Trust between customers and brands increases significantly when people engage with it and search for it directly on search engines.

Trust Is the Foundation

“The most important member at the center of the E-E-A-T family is Trust,” according to Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

Trustworthiness is earned with consistent delivery of high-quality content and user experiences that surpass expectations, along with authoritative leadership within an industry. This trust can influence your site’s ability to rank well.

Credibility Earns Links

A credible brand also naturally attracts more backlinks, which remain a vital component of SEO. Backlinks from high-authority sites serve as an endorsement of your content, signaling to search engines that your site can be relied upon as a reliable source.

As your brand’s credibility grows, more websites will want to link back to your content, further elevating search rankings.

Read more: The New Link Building Manifesto

User Engagement May Influence Rankings

User engagement is another key factor where branding and SEO intersect. Engaged users are more likely to interact with your site by reading articles, watching videos or making purchases.

This increased interaction sends positive signals to search engines, suggesting that your site is effectively meeting users’ needs.

A Google engineer once said that “Google is now integrating machine learning … training models on when someone clicks on a page and stays on that page, when they go back or when they and trying to figure out exactly on that relationship.”

And Bing already admitted that “short page dwell times can indicate the content is not capturing the visitor’s interest.”

Additionally, a strong brand encourages repeat visits and branded search queries (where users search specifically for your brand name), which further enhances your site’s visibility and ranking potential.

What Factors Make Your Brand Stronger Online?

If you already have a strong brand, it is likely to spill over into everything you do online, including the quality of your website.
But even the most powerful brands can face challenges in optimizing their SEO strategy and effectively leveraging brand strength to improve search rankings.

Here are some tips for strengthening your brand presence online:

• Build a brand that people love. Put your customers first, create exceptional experiences and provide quality offerings. This is perhaps the most important and most challenging aspect of brand building. Remember, the overall sentiment about your brand online can indirectly impact your search rankings.
• Create a high-quality website with great content and user experiences. Google evaluates quality and trust in several ways, including whether the content on a site was created with the necessary expertise and experience. Google also looks at the overall authoritativeness of the site on a topic.

  Other factors can include secure payment systems, reliable customer service and avoiding conflicts of interest — generally anything that a strong brand would ensure to do or not to do.

  Also, make sure your site is providing a good user experience when it comes to things like site speed, creating a site that has well-organized content and offers great mobile experiences.

  For more, see: The Complete Guide to the Basics of Google’s E-E-A-T.

• Make sure your brand translates online. Treat your website not only as an extension of your brand but as the hub of your brand online. Creating high-quality, brand-aligned content is essential. When your content reflects your brand’s values, it builds trust and strengthens your brand identity. This alignment not only enhances user experience but also creates a seamless experience for your target audience across channels.

And be sure to read 3 Ways To Use SEO for Brand Awareness.

Final Thoughts

The impact of brand trust on SEO boosts your SEO program and solidifies your brand’s position in the marketplace.

When users and search engines recognize your brand as an authoritative, trustworthy source, your site is more likely to rank higher, attract more organic traffic and achieve higher conversion rates.

Our SEO experts can help you build brand authority for better SEO results.

Arrange a free consultation now

FAQ: How can the integration of branding strategies and SEO optimization contribute to the growth of my brand’s authority?

At the intersection of branding strategies and SEO optimization lies one of the keys to growing your brand’s authority. When combined together, these elements can propel your business to new heights — not just through logos or catchy taglines but by being visible when prospective audiences search online for information about it.

Branding goes far beyond creating memorable identities which resonate with audiences while SEO ensures visibility online when people search.

Effective branding creates trust and recognition, which are two core components of authority. When you consistently deliver value that aligns with the values of your audience, they will trust you as their source for information or products. As trust increases, so will engagement, loyalty and eventually authority.

SEO plays a pivotal role here by optimizing content to rank higher on search engine results pages thereby expanding reach and increasing reachability of content creation efforts.

Integrating branding and SEO creates a coherent strategy where every piece of content reflects your brand’s voice and values, enriching user experience while reinforcing authority as a reliable source. Keyword research plays an invaluable role in SEO by helping understand what your audience searches for so you can craft content to meet these specific requirements more easily.

Many brands struggle with maintaining their unique voice while optimizing for search engines. To fix this problem, hire SEO experts who understand both creativity and technical optimization. Experts can ensure your branding efforts supplement SEO strategies to create greater authority and expansion for your brand.

Establishing an easily recognisable identity that consistently publishes SEO-optimized, relevant content builds trust with audiences while cementing you as an authority within digital spaces.

Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Define your brand identity clearly, including mission, vision and values.
2. Conduct comprehensive market research in order to gain a deep understanding of your audience and their requirements.
3. Align your brand message with SEO goals for optimal consistency across platforms.
4. Conceive and implement a content strategy which incorporates both brand and optimized material.
5. Use keyword research tools to quickly discover keywords that resonate with your audience.
6. Develop high-quality content that accurately represents your brand voice while optimizing for search engines.
7. Implement on-page SEO techniques such as meta tags and alt texts to increase visibility.
8. Leverage social media to extend your brand message and drive visitors directly to your site.
9. Keep a close watch on analytics to track the effectiveness of your branding and SEO initiatives.
10. Adjust your strategies based on data insights to continuously strengthen engagement and authority among employees.
11. Develop relationships with influential figures and industry leaders to bolster credibility.
12. Use email marketing to establish consistent communication with your audience and reinforce the image of your brand.
13. Make sure your website is optimized to be used efficiently on both desktops and mobile devices.
14. Integrate visuals that harmonize with your brand identity and support SEO initiatives.
15. Stay abreast of SEO trends and algorithm updates to remain competitive in your market.
16. Engage in community building activities to strengthen your brand’s presence and authority.
17. Promoting user-generated content to build trust and advance your brand’s image.
18. Consider investing in PR efforts to gain media coverage and heighten brand visibility.
19. Make use of testimonials and case studies to establish social proof and reinforce authority.
20. Conduct periodic brand audits in order to gauge how closely their SEO objectives align.
21. Train your team on the importance of aligning branding and SEO practices.
22. Create a crisis management plan in order to protect the reputation of your brand.
23. Discover new technologies and tools that could enhance your branding and SEO strategies.
24. Constant innovation and adaptation to changing market dynamics is necessary to sustain growth.

The post How Branding Helps Drive SEO Success appeared first on Bruce Clay, Inc..

]]> https://www.bruceclay.com/blog/branding-drive-seo-success/feed/ 7 https://www.bruceclay.com/blog/ai-powered-content-creation-game-changer-marketers/ https://www.bruceclay.com/blog/ai-powered-content-creation-game-changer-marketers/#comments Mon, 07 Oct 2024 15:48:21 +0000 https://www.bruceclay.com/?p=232043 Discover how AI-powered content creation tools are revolutionizing content production by automating tasks, enhancing efficiency, and improving quality. Learn about the key benefits and practical applications in this insightful article.

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Let’s face it: content creation is nothing short of a grind. Between the constant brainstorming and search engine optimization, the process is typically drawn out and monotonous.

This is where AI can make a monumental difference. By automating time-intensive and sometimes tedious content production tasks, AI saves you a ton of time, so you can devote your attention to what really matters — all things creative.

The good news? You don’t need an astronomical budget for marketing — most AI-powered platforms are easily accessible to everyone.

In this article:

• AI Is Streamlining the Content Process
  • Starting Strong
  • Enhancing Overall Efficiency
  • Increasing Visibility
  • Boosting Quality
• Final Thoughts
• FAQ: How can AI-powered content creation tools streamline your content production and improve overall quality?

AI Is Streamlining the Content Process

AI tools do a ton of the heavy lifting for blog posts, social media updates, video scripts and presentations. With the bulk of the work done for you in these areas and more, you can devote more time towards creativity and strategic planning.

Starting Strong

Few content creation steps are more daunting than figuring out what to write about and what to say about it.

This is where AI really shines. It can suggest topics and angles that resonate with audience interests. According to Databox research, brainstorming topics was among the top three use cases for gen AI.



Once the key ideas are in place, AI can help organize them into a logical structure, providing a clear outline to inform your writing process.

Our own AI-powered content creation suite, PreWriter.ai, is a great tool that can help with this.



And, instead of manually sifting through endless sources and trying to determine what’s most relevant, AI can quickly analyze vast amounts of information, highlighting the key insights you need.

This makes AI an indispensable tool in streamlining the content creation process.

Enhancing Overall Efficiency

For content writers, we can safely assume that you are aware of the difficulties and time-intensive nature of creating engaging, high-caliber content.

Researching, drafting, editing and optimizing an average quality blog post can take four to six hours.

According to Databox, generative AI tools save the majority of people 25% to 49% of their time creating content.



With AI tools, much of that workload is automated. Our AI content tool, for example, gives you the ability to generate outlines, summarize articles, get writing tips and update existing content within minutes with a few simple prompts.



Increasing Visibility

What’s the point of creating great content if no one reads it and it does not drive traffic to your business?

SEO is not intuitive for everyone, so AI guidance in this area can help a lot. AI provides keyword research assistance, meta tag generation and linking suggestions in an efficient manner.

Through these helpful functions, you can build a strong foundation of SEO best practices, inject the principles into your content workflow and dramatically boost your content’s probability of ranking highly on search engine platforms.



Boosting Quality

Producing high-quality content is no simple task. Writing well requires hard work and practice if it’s not one of your strengths.

Artificial intelligence takes the edge off in a big way. It makes content creation less intimidating and more user-friendly for everyone, regardless of their writing aptitude. Among the most immediate AI content creation benefits is the ability to fix grammar and punctuation problems.

In addition to minimizing errors, AI can also refine your writing style through helpful suggestions for how to strengthen your content’s quality.



With access to AI, marketers everywhere can take on the content creation process with renewed confidence and level up on content quality.

Final Thoughts

AI-powered content creation tools have become content production game changers for marketers.

It automates the most mind-numbing tasks, dramatically improves efficiency and enhances content quality, freeing up much-needed time for creativity and strategy.

These tools help writers and content creators of all skill levels to simplify their workflow and optimize their content to follow SEO best practices. Just be sure you’re not completely relying on AI — after all, AI-generated content is a tool, not a solution.

Sign up for free access to PreWriter today and discover the power of AI in transforming your content creation process.

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FAQ: How can AI-powered content creation tools streamline your content production and improve overall quality?

Thanks to AI-powered content creation tools, businesses and everyday people create and manage content way differently than they used to.

Not only do AI-enabled tools simplify the entire content production process, but they also revamp your content’s quality. Natural language processing, machine learning and other advanced technologies come together to automate a plethora of content development functions.

This saves creators valuable time and greatly decreases mistakes stemming from human error. Since AI can quickly dissect enormous volumes of data, it can provide invaluable insights into target audience preferences, topic trends, content strategy and more – a clear edge over traditional methods.

AI-powered content creation tools offer many advantages, one being their ability to automate redundant tasks. They can take over common content creation elements you’d normally handle manually, from drafting blog posts and articles to updating social media pages to writing product descriptions and more.

With these things taken care of by AI, you can allocate more time and effort to more involved functions of strategic content development, like content ideation, target audience engagement and refining your message. Mundane task automation not only speeds up the content creation process but fosters consistency and accuracy in your pieces.

​​You can also achieve huge improvements in content quality with AI’s innovative editing and proofreading abilities. The algorithms can reliably identify errors in grammar, spelling and syntax. They can also highlight stylistic errors with astounding accuracy – much better than traditional proofreading can.

Leading AI-powered tools offer tone, engagement and readability pointers to help writers effortlessly perfect their content to more closely align with audience preferences. The result is polished, professional, top-quality content.

On top of that, AI-driven content production tools also deliver performance and engagement insights that go far beneath the surface. This is made possible due to the fact that AI can analyze data from countless sources. Through the data, AI can determine which content types best connect with your desired audience, the best posting times and the best distribution channels.

With this information on hand, you can make reliable, data-backed choices to revamp your content marketing strategy. Cultivating a deep understanding of your target market’s behavior and preferences allows you to create highly tailored, focused content pieces.

Aside from the above, real-time collaboration and feedback are also made easier with artificial intelligence-enabled tools. They come with helpful features that allow several team members to manipulate a document at the same time. That means you get instant access to feedback and suggestions.

Operating in such a collaborative environment helps with creativity and keeps your team members on one accord, and your content will be better for it – more cohesive and well-rounded. And because you’re getting instant access to feedback, revisions happen quicker, enabling you to get content out faster.

Content production and quality improvements are a big deal. But that’s not all AI-powered tools can do. They can also analyze keywords, generate relevant phrases and share pertinent information about competitors’ strategies.

With access to all these helpful insights, you’ll be in the prime position to create search engine-ready content. If you closely follow changing search engine algorithms and trends, you can achieve higher content visibility and search engine rankings and bring in more organic website traffic.

After adopting AI tools and adding them to their content workflow, content creators often struggle with maintaining a distinctive, genuine voice. The best way to address this issue is to use AI tools as content creation assistants instead of replacements for humans. When you combine AI’s efficiency with human creativity, you can keep your brand personality and voice intact.

Tweaking custom settings and training your AI model on specific writing styles can also go a long way to protecting your content’s authenticity. Keeping these points in mind and using them in practice enables you to capitalize on AI’s productivity-related benefits without compromising originality.

All in all, AI-enabled content production holds loads of benefits for creators, ranging from content quality improvements to better-streamlined processes to data insights and more. All of these advantages make for sweatless collaboration and SEO optimization.

Content creators can take advantage of AI to produce top-quality, engaging, relevant material more quickly and efficiently than ever. Any business or individual striving to stay ahead in their digital efforts needs AI tools in their strategy.

Step-By-Step Procedure

1. Select an AI-powered content creation platform that fits your needs.
2. Integrate the platform with your existing content management system (CMS).
3. Create a project and define your content strategy and goals within the platform.
4. Input relevant audience data and preferences to train the AI on your target demographic.
5. Use AI to conduct topic research and generate a list of relevant content ideas.
6. Draft initial content using the AI’s text generation capabilities.
7. Utilize real-time collaboration tools to allow team members to provide instant feedback.
8. Employ AI for initial proofreading and editing to catch grammatical and stylistic errors.
9. Refine content based on AI’s suggestions for tone, readability, and engagement.
10. Optimize the draft for SEO by analyzing keywords and incorporating AI’s recommendations.
11. Run the content through AI-powered plagiarism checkers to ensure originality.
12. Use automated scheduling features to plan and publish content across various platforms.
13. Review AI performance metrics to learn how your content is engaging its target audience and whether your audiences have found anything of use.
14. Update your content strategy based on AI’s data-driven insights.
15. Train the AI models on specific writing styles to maintain a consistent brand voice.
16. Utilize AI tools for real-time adjustments during the content lifecycle.
17. Incorporate audience feedback collected via AI analytics into future content planning.
18. Regularly update the AI platform to leverage the latest features and improvements.
19. Hold periodic training sessions for your team to maximize the use of AI tools.
20. Monitor competitor content using AI and adjust your strategies accordingly.
21. Conduct A/B testing using AI to determine the most effective content variations.
22. Balance AI efficiency with human creativity to preserve authenticity.
23. Use AI to plan out and execute tailored content marketing campaigns.
24. Consistently evaluate and tweak AI workflows for the best possible performance.

Through these steps, you can quickly and efficiently create winning content, inject your unique brand personality and connect with your audience.

Incorporating advanced AI tools not only increases efficiency but also lends brands a competitive advantage in the digital space.

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