This post was updated in August 2024, during the latest Google August core update. Though it always seems relevant to say Google just had an update, they tend to target different things. Some may hit small business websites harder than others. In all cases, the meat and potatoes fundamentals of SEO haven't changed much in [...]
Sometimes things in the Google algorithm make sense and sometimes we are left scratching our heads. This one makes sense. This post should be short and to the point but addresses something that can often be overlooked and can be handled strategically. Your menu items matter for your local search presence. When we say "menu" [...]
Search intent has become a hot phrase in the past year. I just want to touch on it a bit. Some of it seems obvious, but it is good to understand to properly approach your keyword strategy properly, especially for small businesses. Though we all want the success at the end of the tunnel, sometimes [...]
I like to try to simplify things as best I can for my clients and followers. Yesterday, I shared a great new article from Moz on the Google Business Profile fields that affect your rankings. Though they touch on the 11 fields, I wanted to discuss them briefly. Some of these you have a lot [...]
The ability to measure the effectiveness of digital marketing strategies is crucial for small businesses. You'd think as technology improves we would get better at it, but in actuality, recent trends toward data privacy have made it more and more difficult to nail down key performance indicators to specific audiences. Accurate measurement of marketing strategies [...]
This is an update on a post from 2021. As I always say, the ABC's of SEO have been the same since it started, but the DEF's change every ten minutes. Google just gets better at measuring what they deem important. With the "Helpful Content" updates in recent years, we have seen the supporting content [...]
Darren Shaw, who has been a big part of the annual local ranking factors study in recent years, recently announced data showing that service areas seem to be ranking factors. This is big news as data has suggested in the past that it had no bearing on rankings. I wanted to quickly touch on why [...]
This is a post I wrote in 2020 that has proven to be more important than ever with the evolution of AI content. With the "helpful content" adjustments to the Google algorithm since 2022, combined with many people using generic AI to spin content, Information Gain has become a differentiator. Check out what I said [...]
This is an updated version of a previous post. It is edited for updated information. A friend relayed to me a clickbait experience they had and asked me what the point of this was from an SEO perspective. The answer is kind of nuanced and a bit difficult, as many SEO questions are once you [...]
Google is in the business of providing the best answers to user’s searches. There are certain basic SEO elements to keep in mind when building or redeveloping any business website. The basics of Google search have been the same for 20 years. They are just getting better at measuring and understanding the content and adjusting [...]
