SEO guides you can follow without a dictionary

Keyword Ranking Report: What to Include and How to Build One

A ranking report should answer one question: is the SEO work paying off? Here is how to build one that does, with a template you can copy.

Mobile Rank Tracking: How to Check and Improve Your Mobile Rankings

Google ranks your mobile page, and most searches happen on phones. Here is how to track mobile rankings properly and what to fix when they lag behind desktop.

Daily Rank Tracking vs Weekly: How Often to Check Keyword Rankings

Track daily, judge weekly, report monthly. Here is when daily rank tracking is worth it, when weekly is enough, and how to read daily data without panicking.

Agency Rank Tracking: How to Track Rankings for Every Client

Tracking rankings for one site is easy. Tracking 40 clients across cities and devices is a system. Here is how agencies set it up so it runs itself.

Rank Tracking API: How to Pull Keyword Rankings Into Your Own Tools

An API for rank tracking hands you keyword positions as JSON instead of a dashboard. Here is how it works, what to build with it, and how to pick one.

Local Rank Tracking: How to Track Google Rankings by City and Map Pack

Local rankings change from one block to the next. Here is how to track the map pack and local organic results from the places your customers actually search.

Keyword Research Guides

Find keywords you can actually rank for, from long-tail terms to competitor gaps.

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Competitor Keyword Research: How to Find the Keywords Rivals Rank For

Your competitors already did the hard work of finding keywords that convert. Here is how to see their list, spot the gaps, and pick the terms you can take.

How to Find Long Tail Keywords That Rank Faster (With Examples)

Long tail keywords are the specific searches most sites ignore. Here is how to find hundreds of them for free and pick the ones that will actually rank.

Low Competition Keywords: How to Find Terms You Can Rank For

A new site cannot outrank Wikipedia. It can outrank a thin forum thread. Here is how to find the keywords where that is the whole competition.

What Is Search Volume? Meaning, How to Check It, and What Counts as Good

Search volume is the most quoted number in SEO and the most misread. Here is what it means, where it comes from, and how to use it without getting fooled.

LSI Keywords: What They Are, What Google Says, and What to Use Instead

Google has said there is no such thing as LSI keywords. The idea behind them still matters. Here is what to keep, what to drop, and how to find related terms.

Local Keyword Research: How to Find Keywords That Bring Local Customers

Local keywords have tiny volumes and big value. Here is how to find the terms customers near you actually type, with examples and a template.

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Backlink Guides

Check, monitor, and clean up your backlink profile without getting lost in the jargon.

How to Check Backlinks to Your Site or a Competitor's

Google Search Console shows your links for free. A backlink checker shows everyone else's. Here is how to use both and what to look for in the results.

Referring Domains vs Backlinks: The Difference and Which to Track

A backlink is a single link. A referring domain is the website it came from. The second number tells you far more about a site's strength, and here is why.

Toxic Backlinks: How to Find Them and When to Disavow

Most spam links do nothing. A few patterns can. Here is how to tell the difference, check your profile, and use the disavow tool only when it helps.

Site Audit Guides

Technical SEO explained in plain words: checklists, templates, and fixes that matter.

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SEO Audit Report Template: Sections, Sample, and How to Fill It

An audit report should tell someone what is broken, how much it matters, and what to fix first. Here is a template that does that, with a filled-in sample.

Technical SEO Checklist: The Checks That Actually Move Rankings

Most technical SEO problems come from a short list of causes. Here is the checklist we run on every site, in the order that pays off fastest.

Orphan Pages: How to Find Them and What to Do With Each One

An orphan page is a page nobody links to. Here is how to find every one on your site and what to do with each, from linking to deleting.

How to Fix Broken Links on Your Website (Internal, Outbound, and Inbound)

Broken links waste clicks, crawl budget, and backlinks. Here is how to fix broken links the right way, from finding them to redirecting or removing them.

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AI Search Guides

How AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and other AI answers pick sources, and how to become one.

AI Overviews: What They Are and How to Get Cited in Them

AI Overviews sit above the first organic result and answer the question before anyone clicks. Here is how they work and how to become one of the sources they cite.

AI Search Optimization: How to Get Your Brand Into AI Answers

AI assistants answer the question and name a few sources. This guide explains how those sources get picked and how to become one of them.

How to Rank in ChatGPT: What Works and What Is Hype

ChatGPT does not have a results page, but it does pick winners. Here is how it chooses which brands to name and how to become one of them.

llms.txt: What It Is, How to Write One, and Whether It Helps

A small markdown file at your site root that tells AI models where to look. Cheap to add, easy to get wrong, and still unproven. Here is the honest version.

SEO Content Guides

Plan, brief, write, and refresh content that ranks and reads well.

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How to Write SEO Content That Ranks and Reads Well

SEO content is a normal, useful page with a few decisions made on purpose. Here is the process, from keyword to publish, with examples.

SEO Content Strategy: How to Plan Content That Ranks

A content plan should tell you why every page exists before it is written. Here is how to build one, with a template and a worked example.

Content Brief Template: What to Include, With an Example

A brief is the contract between the person planning a page and the person writing it. Here is the template we use, with every field explained and an example.

Featured Snippets: What They Are and How to Win Them

Featured snippets sit above the first result. Google chooses them, but you can make the choice easy. Here is how, with examples and a tracking plan.

SEO Reporting Guides

Reports, dashboards, and KPIs that clients understand and that prove your work.

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SEO Report Template: The Sections to Include and a Layout to Copy

An SEO report has one job: show whether the work is paying off. Here is a template that does that in nine sections, with an example and a delivery plan.

SEO KPIs: The 12 That Matter, What They Tell You, and Where to Get Them

Most SEO reports track too many numbers and explain none of them. Here are the KPIs that connect rankings to revenue, and how to choose yours.

SEO Dashboard: What to Include, Three Examples, and How to Build One

A dashboard is a report that never goes stale. Here is what to put on it, who each layout is for, and how to wire the data so it updates itself.

Google Updates and SERP Guides

Read SERP volatility, spot algorithm updates early, and understand every SERP feature.

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SERP Volatility: What It Means and What to Do When Rankings Jump

When rankings jump around, the first question is whether it is you or Google. SERP volatility answers that. Here is how to read it and what to do next.

SERP Features: The Full List, What Each One Means for Your Rankings

Position 1 is not what it used to be. Here is every box Google puts above and around the blue links, what each does to your traffic, and how to win them.