Local SEO

This guide will show you how to use ChatGPT the right way. Brand new to using it? I’ll help you skip the rookie mistakes that leave most beginners frustrated. Tried it before and had an average experience? No problem. You’ll learn how to refine your approach to get useful, high-quality responses (finally). Because here’s the thing: ChatGPT IS a powerful tool. But only if you know how to use it effectively. Let’s make that happen. What is ChatGPT (And What Can It Do)? ChatGPT is an AI assistant that answers your questions like a human would. It can also generate ideas and assist with writing, problem-solving, and research tasks. How does it do this? It analyzes …

The difference between getting discovered on YouTube search and being invisible? Strategic keyword research. By optimizing videos with the right terms, you can dramatically increase your organic traffic. Take YouTuber Caren Magill’s ADHD coaching channel, for example. With 4.95M lifetime views and 116K subscribers, it’s safe to say Caren has found a successful niche. But this wasn’t luck. Caren optimizes her video’s titles, descriptions, and tags with terms that attract her target audience. The good news? You can do it, too—all you need is a reliable keyword research tool. To help you with this task, I evaluated five of the most popular YouTube keyword tools. …

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is one of Google’s three Core Web Vitals. Like the other two (Cumulative Layout Shift and Interaction to Next Paint), it’s not exactly clear what it means. Lots of tools can show your LCP score and outline ways to improve it. But their tips are often generic, and lack the detail you need to actually take action. So, in this guide I’ll walk you through actionable steps to improve your LCP. I’ll separate them by: Their potential impact The effort required to make the fix Which specific aspect of your LCP score they help with But first, let’s talk about what LCP actually means for your website (jump to this part for the fixes). What Does…

Want to 2X, 3X, or even 4X your ecommerce sales? Start by diagnosing what’s working on your site and what isn’t. Then, apply targeted fixes based on real data. Not hunches. In this guide, I’m sharing my lessons and strategies from 10+ years in digital marketing. Plus, I interviewed four leading ecommerce website optimization experts for their best conversion-driving insights: Leigh McKenzie from UnderFit (also head of SEO @ Backlinko) Rishi Rawat from Frictionless Commerce Anna Bolton from Conversion Copy Co. Kurt Philip from Convertica Let’s start by identifying the biggest roadblocks standing between you and more revenue. Phase 1: Analyze and Diagnose Your Site…

The internet is full of recycled lists claiming to reveal the “most profitable blog niche ideas.” But most lack any actual data to back up their recommendations. That’s why we decided to do something different. We analyzed 100 blog niches using a comprehensive methodology to identify the top 25 opportunities based on cold, hard numbers. This included: Search volume data Keyword difficulty scores Average cost per click (CPC) Search intent Short- and long-term growth trends For each winning niche, we created a detailed scorecard that ranks its performance across three critical dimensions: Growth, monetization, and ranking potential. These metrics are presented on …

Growing your website starts with reaching the right people. Not random traffic. People actively searching for the solutions you provide. That’s where organic traffic shines. Unlike paid advertising or social media, organic traffic attracts visitors with clear intent. At Backlinko, organic traffic brings us over 571K monthly visitors—each one specifically interested in SEO and digital marketing. In this guide, you’ll learn all about organic traffic, including how to measure and increase it. Let’s start with what organic traffic is and how it differs from other traffic sources. What Is Organic Traffic? Organic traffic refers to visitors who land on your website or …

If you’ve ever run an ad campaign, you know that keyword costs can quickly eat up your budget. This is especially true if you’re not strategic about your selections. Of course, you can’t control all the factors that determine pricing. But you can reduce costs by choosing the right keywords and creating experiences that convert. Take digital marketing agency Turn Key Lead, for example. They reduced a mortgage bank client’s cost per conversion in Google Ads by 30% in seven days. Source How’d they do it? Through keyword and landing page optimization—tactics you’ll master today. In this guide, you’ll learn: How to find keyword costs using proven tools Optimization t…

If you publish writing, you’d be crazy not to use artificial intelligence. It’s like telling a carpenter not to use a drill. You can build a deck without one. But why would you? Writers have always embraced new tools to improve their craft. The challenge with AI, or any technology, is that we want the easy way out. We hope the tech will magically automate everything. And for mediocre content, AI is the perfect solution. But creating exceptional content is HARD. No matter what tool you use. For example, I used AI extensively to write this article. Yet, it still took me 40+ hours to produce. Why? AI has made me realize how much I can improve my content. And you ca…

Strategic ecommerce keyword research can help you reach the right audience and directly impact your bottom line. Just look at Cosmetify’s success. This beauty retailer was struggling with an all-too-common challenge: no traffic on its revenue-generating pages. The team identified and mapped transactional keywords to these money pages. Dorothy Edgar, SEO Manager at Cosmetify, shares more about her strategy: “We also created new money pages to fit customer needs and gaps in our current website hierarchy. For example, we segmented the fragrance category page into ‘women’s perfume …

Meta tags are snippets of HTML code that live in your webpage’s <head> section. Your website’s visitors won’t see them. But search engines, browsers, and social media platforms can see and use them. You can think of meta tags as a way to tell Google and other search engines about what your page contains and how they should display it in search results. Some meta tags are more important than others. In fact, there are really only a couple of meta tags you need to worry about. I’ll explain exactly what these are below and how you can optimize yours. The Components of a Meta Tag Here’s what a basic meta tag looks like: <meta name="description" content="This is …

Running PPC campaigns isn’t for the faint of heart. You’re constantly juggling dashboards, tweaking campaigns, and fielding requests from clients who wanted performance reports yesterday. That’s why the best PPC tools don’t just offer features. They help you move faster. In this guide, I’ve curated this list of the best PPC tools marketers swear by, organized by use case. The goal? To help you quickly find what fits your workflow and skip the ones that don’t. What Are the Best PPC Tools? PPC Tool Best for Price Semrush Advertising Toolkit All-in-one PPC campaign management Starts at $139.95/month. 14-day Pro trial available. Spyfu Competitor research Start…

AI has infinitely sped up the hype cycle in marketing. So when the term “vibe marketing” came onto the scene, you may have rolled your eyes for a moment before you said, “I have to try this.” In basic terms, vibe marketing means using AI to run entire marketing workflows. Usually, this involves a combination of: Vibe coding: No-code AI tools where you type what you want (e.g., “Build me a landing page”), and the tool spins it up AI agents: Always-on assistants that handle background tasks, like checking your inbox for leads or updating your CRM And whether or not they consider themselves “vibe marketers,” many teams are already doing this. In a survey of marketing …

Whenever you move content, change domain names, or simply tweak a page’s URL, you’ll likely use a redirect. This ensures your users (and Google) get to the right page, and it preserves the SEO value from your backlinks. You can use .htaccess redirects specifically to do this. But I get that messing with your site’s server files can sound daunting. So the goal of this guide is to make .htaccess redirects as accessible as possible. To help, there are two free resources you’ll find in this post: A simple spreadsheet to automatically generate rules for the most common scenarios An…

Back in the early 2000s, keyword stuffing actually worked. All you had to do was repeat the same phrases, and you could rank pretty well. (Readability be damned.) I’m not exaggerating here — these sites were literally littered with keywords. Like this one from 2005. Yes, this is a real site I found on The Wayback Machine. And yes, “online casinos” was used enough times to make your eyes burn. But that game is over. Today, keyword stuffing makes your content unreadable and unrankable. Google’s smarter. Users are pickier. And spammy tactics? They get flagged fast. So, if you’re still stuffing keywords, you’re not just stuck in the past — you’re tanking your chanc…

You’re setting goals. Publishing content. Reporting on growth. But deep down, you’re still asking: “Are we aiming too high? Too low? Are we even on track?” That uncertainty is normal — but it’s also a signal that you need an SEO forecast. At Backlinko, we do SEO forecasting throughout the year. We use it to map planned content, track production costs, and project traffic and revenue gains. This approach lets us prioritize effectively. Pivot when content underperforms. And build lasting trust with our stakeholders. As Leigh McKenzie, our Head of SEO puts it: “Forecasting is har…

Your SEO and PPC teams probably don’t share data. That’s problematic. Organic traffic is slipping. CPCs are climbing. And conversions aren’t keeping pace. It’s not just the LLMs — the SERP itself has changed. In 2025, every query is a blended battlefield of ads, AI overviews, videos, shopping units, map packs, and organic links. Yet, most teams operate with SEO and PPC in silos. That doesn’t work anymore. Because to users, there’s no “organic vs. paid search.” They just click what’s useful. And “useful” now shows up in more places than ever. If you don’t align your channels, you end up with duplication, cannibalization, and wasted spend. This guide will show you …

ChatGPT recommends products — complete with photos, pricing, and purchase links — to its 700 million weekly users. And now customers can complete purchases without leaving the chat. BIG deal. But will ChatGPT recommend your products? That’s not automatic. And you can’t pay for placement. What you can do is optimize your site so ChatGPT understands what you sell, trusts your brand, and surfaces your products when buyers search. This guide shows you how. You’ll learn the eight-step framework for getting featured in ChatGPT Shopping. I also spoke with Leigh McKenzie, Backlinko’s Head of Growth and founder of the ecommerce brand UnderFit, to get his insights on what’s …

The men’s fashion world has evolved into a thriving online marketplace, ranging from timeless tailoring and premium streetwear to sustainable basics and cutting-edge accessories. For creators, bloggers, and influencers, joining the right affiliate program can turn style expertise into a consistent income stream. But finding the perfect fit isn’t about volume; it’s about choosing brands that align with your audience’s lifestyle, values, and spending habits. Whether your focus is minimalist menswear, high-end luxury, or casual everyday essentials, there’s a men’s fashion affiliate program tailored to your platform. We’ve curated a list of the top men’s fashion affiliate…

Marketers are making bold statements about AI SEO every day. The problem? Most of them are half-right at best. “SEO is dead.” “Long-form content is pointless.” “AI SEO is just good SEO.” Here’s the truth: When it comes to AI, the answer is rarely that simple. Are you trying to show up in ChatGPT or Google’s AI Overviews? Do you want the AI to recommend your brand or cite your content? Is the model pulling from training data or live web results? Each of those questions has a different approach. Trying to generalize only causes confusion. So, let’s skip the hype and get specific. This guide tests today’s biggest AI myths in SEO to uncover what’s true, what’s …

There’s been a lot of buzz around llms.txt. But no major AI platform has confirmed that they use it. Not yet, anyway. And there’s no evidence that any major large language model (LLM) actually uses it when crawling. So, why are some SEOs and site owners already adding it to their sites? Because LLM traffic is projected to explode over the next few years. Which means AI models could soon become your biggest traffic source. Remember: robots.txt was once optional, too. Today, it’s essential for managing search crawlers. LLMs.txt could follow a similar path — becoming the standard way to guide AI to your most important content. In this guide, you’ll learn how llms.…

Reddit marketing is delicate work. Show up with a sales pitch — or just a little too much enthusiasm for your product — and they’ll shut you down quickly. Without mercy. But that hostility is really standards in disguise. Redditors care about their communities. They care about real conversations and keeping the place worth coming back to. Meet those standards, and the mood turns. They’ll start to trust you. Sometimes, they’ll even ask where they can buy your stuff. That’s when you know you’ve earned the hard-to-win, harder-to-fake Reddit trust. A kind of credibility so strong it travels far beyond Reddit. (More on that later.) This guide shows you how. Just thre…

Websites have been the foundation of SEO strategy for 20-odd years. That’s changing with AI search. When someone asks ChatGPT for a product in your category, it doesn’t always crawl websites in real-time. Its first move is to pull from what it already knows about you and your competitors from its existing knowledge. Clear and recognizable entities in AI training data are just as important as having the most authoritative and optimized website. This shift means your webpage might rank #1 in classic search, but if your brand isn’t well-structured for entities, AI might overlook you entirely in the answer. The rules we’ve relied on for decades don’t fully apply when m…

Managing local search marketing for one location is straightforward. But managing multi-location SEO — whether it’s 10, 50, or 100 branches — gets complicated fast. Each location needs unique content. A single mistake in your business info can mislead customers and hurt trust. And it’s tough to see which branches are actually driving results. Everything changes when you’re managing SEO for multiple locations. Our six-step system below tackles these challenges in order of priority. You’ll learn exactly how to: Create high-performing location pages Optimize Google Business Profiles (GBPs) across every branch Manage reviews, citations, and backlinks efficiently Tra…

In the good ol’ days of blogging, traffic was the main goal, and it was relatively easy to get. Now, especially for ecommerce blogs, it’s getting harder to stay visible. The number of Google searches that end with a click is slowly decreasing, while the number of searches that end with no clicks has increased. While the number changes are small, they’re continuing to move in the direction of no-click searches. AI Overviews give people the answers they need at a glance, and website traffic is taking a toll as a result. Aside from these trends in Google search, ecommerce blogs also face an uphill battle against big players like Amazon or Walmart. With all of this in m…

When a potential user asks ChatGPT, Google AI, or Perplexity for recommendations, does your brand appear in the answer? Not just cited — actually mentioned in the response? That’s a crucial distinction. Brands that AI systems mention with context and positive sentiment attract the most intent-driven traffic. Semrush research shows that visitors who find a brand in an AI answer are 4.4 times more valuable than those from traditional search. They’re pre-qualified. They’ve seen AI endorse your solution. And unlike SEO, AI doesn’t care about website authority. Most sources cited in AI responses don’t even rank in Google’s top 20. So if you follow best practices, your…