SEO Tools and Resources

Google is launching a limited test using AI to automatically generate background images for Shopping Ad product listings. How it works. The AI system will: Generate contextual background scenes for existing product images. Maintain the original product appearance without alterations. Require human review and approval before ads go live. Why we care. This update represents a significant shift in how product photography can be handled in ecommerce advertising. Moreover, since product presentation directly influences consumer purchasing decisions, this automated enhancement could potentially improve conversion rates without requiring additional investment …

The start of the year is always a good moment to start or update your SEO roadmap. This is a structured collection of tasks you plan to do to enhance your site’s performance. If you already have one, great! If not, read this article to find out what you can do and why you need an SEO strategy. Table of contents What is an SEO roadmap? Why do you need an SEO roadmap for that? How to create an SEO roadmap Define your goals and priorities Audit your website Estimate time and resources Review and adjust A roadmap is the groundwork for SEO success What is an SEO roadmap? An SEO roadmap is a strategic outline for enhancing a website’s visibility in search eng…

An SEO audit is a health checkup of your site. It allows you to know what works and what does not, and it allows you to make improvements based on what you find. This can lead to improved performance — both on the search results pages and how visitors engage with your website. Table of contents What is an SEO audit? An SEO audit checklist Step 1: Preparing an SEO audit Step 2: User experience & content SEO Step 3: General on-page SEO Step 4: Site speed and engagement Step 5: Monitoring and tracking results Conclusion on doing SEO audits What is an SEO audit? An SEO audit looks at how well a website performs in search results to find areas that need wo…

In an era where efficiency is key, many businesses question the time and resources spent on technical SEO audits. However, cutting corners in this critical area can lead to incomplete insights and missed opportunities. Let’s dive into why technical SEO deserves a firm investment in both human effort and time, starting with the often-overlooked challenge of crawl time. Crawl time: The primary hindrance Reducing human resource time in your SEO or digital marketing department by cutting technical SEO may be unwise. Why? The primary factor behind the time taken for audits is crawl time. With today’s complex web architectures, this is inevitable.…

Valentine’s Day is an interesting shopping event for ecommerce stores. Customers are looking for gifts that help express their love for one another, with flowers, jewelry, and other interesting options. It’s a great opportunity to attract and convert online shoppers. Here are some SEO tips to help make the most of your Valentine’s Day sale! Table of contents Start preparing early Optimize your product pages Create gift guides and seasonal content Focus on local SEO for delivery or pick-up Use social media and influencers Use user-generated content Run exclusive Valentine’s Day promotions Add festive details to your website Offer last-minute shopping options Track an…

Budgeting for paid ad campaigns has long been a static process – set a monthly budget, monitor spending, and adjust incrementally as needed. This method works for industries with stable demand and predictable conversion rates but falls short in dynamic, competitive markets. Still, static budgets aren’t obsolete. In industries with long sales cycles, consistent conversion trends, or strict financial planning – like B2B SaaS and healthcare – planned budgets remain essential. The key isn’t choosing between static and dynamic budgeting; it’s knowing when and how to adjust PPC spend using data-driven signals. The role of Smart Bidding and Performance Max in budge…

Google is testing a new search results display for a small group of EU users when they search for products, restaurants, flights, and hotels. The test is part of Google’s efforts to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. What’s happening. According to a report from Dow Jones Newswires: “Under the test started Monday, Google has set up new units for users to choose between results from price comparison sites such as Booking Holdings’ Booking.com and results that take them directly to supplier websites when they are searching for products, restaurants, flights or hotels.” What Google EU search results look like. Here are screenshots showing what it looks lik…

Yahoo appears to be testing some new AI related features within Yahoo Search. In fact, some are seeing Yahoo show a banner at the top of Yahoo’s home page that says, “We’re building a new yahoo.com to show more of what’s interesting to you.” The new search features include: AI powered chat AI generated answers within search Note, you need to login to Yahoo to see the new Yahoo Search features. AI chat in Yahoo. For the past week or so, we’ve been seeing signs of Yahoo incorporating AI Chat features in Yahoo Search. Now, we are seeing that more prominently in the Yahoo Search interface. Here are some screenshots from Sachin Patel on X: Here is…

In marketing – whether digital or not – we all understand the power of a strong brand. A recognizable brand is vital for earning and keeping attention, driving trust, and building loyalty. On the agency side, this connection is clear: branding influences how we engage clients and deliver value. But how often do we consider the importance of branding within our teams? Establishing and maintaining a strong team brand is just as crucial. A well-defined team identity can foster collaboration, earn the trust of internal stakeholders, and secure advocacy for the team’s work. More importantly, it shifts the focus from individual contributions – often…

Apple’s internal playbook for rating digital assistant responses has leaked — and it offers a rare inside look at how the company decides what makes an AI answer “good” or “harmful.” The leaked 170-page document, obtained and reviewed exclusively by Search Engine Land, is titled Preference Ranking V3.3 Vendor, marked Apple Confidential – Internal Use Only, and dated Jan. 27. It lays out the system used by human reviewers to score digital assistant replies. Responses are judged on categories such as truthfulness, harmfulness, conciseness, and overall user satisfaction. The process isn’t just about checking facts. It’s designed to ensure AI-generated responses a…

SEO is like a never-ending story. There are always things to do. And these things need your undivided attention, from keyword research to content audits and performance reporting. Many of these are repetitive, recurring, and time-consuming. And that’s why you need SEO automation. Table of contents What is SEO automation? The benefits of SEO automation Tasks you can automate right now How to get started with SEO automation Final thoughts on automating your SEO What is SEO automation? By automating SEO, you use tools and software to do the repetitive optimization tasks for you. These tools don’t eliminate the need for a person to be involved, but they can …

Microsoft Ads will soon roll out four major updates to Performance Max, significantly expanding your ability to target, measure, and optimize your campaigns. These updates will give advertisers more granular control over their automated campaigns while introducing LinkedIn’s professional targeting data — a unique advantage over competing platforms. What’s new. Here are the four new features: LinkedIn integration. Advertisers in six major markets (U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, France, and Germany) will be able to tap into LinkedIn’s professional targeting data, including company, industry, and job function signals. Reporting gets granular. Advertisers will b…

In 2025, my LinkedIn feed became flooded with SEO thought leaders scrambling to define and stake their claim on the future of consumer search: generative engine optimization (GEO). Yet, most industry experts face a stark reality – few truly understand how to influence brand visibility in AI-driven search platforms and large language models (LLMs), let alone explain what this shift means for search marketing or how brands can capitalize on it. This article unpacks the rise of GEO, debunks common myths, and outlines what businesses must do to adapt before they fall behind. AI search and LLMs: A new era of information discovery AI-driven search platforms, lik…

Title tags play a key role in attracting clicks from search results. In 2025, standing out means going beyond keywords – it’s about crafting concise, compelling titles that draw attention and match what users are looking for. This article shows you how. Title tags and their key characteristics Title tags are the clickable headlines displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs). They summarize a webpage’s content and play a crucial role in helping users and search engines understand what the page is about. They remain largely consistent year over year, as they still need to adhere to pixel count limits (55 characters or fewer with spaces is recommen…

What could be the matter if your perfectly optimized post isn’t ranking? Is the problem that your site is not on Google, or is something else going wrong? What is keeping your content from reaching that coveted #1 position? In this post, we’ll discuss many possible reasons why your page is not ranking, even though it’s optimized. We’ve divided the possible issues you might be having into four sections: Indexing and crawl issues: How to check if your site is on Google, plus reasons why your site/page might not be on Google Technical issues with your website: Is Google disregarding it because it’s incorrectly set up? Linking issues: Is your internal linking …

SEO has changed significantly over the last decade, largely because Google has continuously updated its algorithms to improve search results. These updates aim to better understand user intent, reward high-quality content, and discourage manipulative practices. From foundational changes like Panda and Penguin to more recent updates like the November and December 2024 core updates, each has shaped how websites rank and how we approach optimization. Below is a look at some of Google’s most impactful updates and what they mean for SEO today. Table of contents 2011 – Panda 2012 – Venice 2012 – Penguin 2013 – Hummingbird 2014 – HTTPS/SSL 2015 – Mobile Update 2015 – RankB…

Google just made a move that disrupted rank tracking, potentially increasing costs and changing how search visibility is measured. In January, Google implemented a requirement for JavaScript to render search results, which significantly impacted SEO tools that rely on scraping. (You may recall there was suddenly a great deal of volatility in the SERPs that was initially attributed to another update. Still, it turned out to be a disruption in data collection that was causing the reports to be all over the place rather than the rankings fluctuating.) This change raises questions about the future of rank tracking and how SEOs can adapt. While some are read…

Google acknowledged that Performance Max (PMax) campaigns can be controlled through API placement exclusions — contradicting months of its own documentation and support guidance, according to new research from ad tech firm Optmyzr. This revelation gives advertisers more programmatic control over their PMax campaigns than previously thought possible, potentially saving significant time and resources in campaign management. The big picture. Performance Max campaigns, Google’s AI-driven ad format, have been a source of frustration for advertisers seeking more granular control over where their ads appear. Lead up. Earlier this year we saw that despite Navah Hopkin…

Enterprise SEO comes with unique challenges: massive websites, coordination across departments, and the need for a strategic vision. Without careful planning, common SEO mistakes can lead to wasted resources and underperformance in the search results. This article explores some of the top strategic mistakes enterprises make with SEO and, more importantly, how to avoid them. Failing to secure the “right” buy-in for SEO initiatives. Underinvesting in SEO continuing education or training. Ineffective hiring and onboarding of an SEO agency. Overlooking the value of maintaining high-quality content. Not prioritizing technical SEO. 1. Failing to sec…

Organic and paid click-through rates (CTRs) are down – and Google AI Overviews are partially to blame. However, paid CTR declined regardless of whether AI Overviews were present. The new analysis of ~10,000 informational intent keywords ranking in the top 20 positions was conducted by digital marketing agency Seer Interactive. Organic CTR drop. For queries where AI Overviews appeared, organic CTR fell sharply – from 1.41% to 0.64% – year over year. But when AI Overviews were not present, organic CTR actually increased: Paid CTR drop. Paid CTR was down year over year regardless of whether AI Overviews were present: But. Paid and organic CTR a…

SEO is a way to get more traffic to your website. By ranking high on Google, you attract more people to your site, which leads to more sales and returning visitors. You must optimize your content for the right words to get people to your site. However, you should consider search intent to increase your chances of ranking, convincing people to buy your stuff, subscribing to your newsletter, or even returning to your website. We’ll tell you what search intent is and how you can optimize your content for search intent. Table of contents What is search intent? Four main types of search intent How to optimize your content for search intent Conclusion on search intent for…

HubSpot’s SEO collapse has been the talk of the SEO world for the last several days. As a reminder, here’s a screenshot of HubSpot’s organic traffic drop, based on Semrush data: Among the endless reactions and perspectives, two former HubSpot employees shared five good reminders about SEO strategy. 1. SEO takes time Pruning content and focusing on E-E-A-T were among the many obvious remedies SEOs pointed out following the news of HubSpot’s apparent organic traffic decline. Well, these aren’t simple tweaks for a brand the size of HubSpot. They’re massive undertakings, according to this LinkedIn post by Bianca Anderson, HubSpot’s former SEO strategis…

Every business owner with a website is looking for ways to get noticed in the search results. There are loads of tactics to rank well as a local business, but unfortunately, there is no silver bullet. As with most things SEO, this is a combined effort. One of the ways to get noticed is by offering customers up-to-date information like opening hours and contact information. You can do this using Google Business Profile, formerly Google My Business. But what is it exactly, and why is it so important for local SEO? Table of contents What is Google My Business? How does it work? Ranking factors Optimize your Google Business Profile listing Ranking factors beyond your co…

SEO analysis can be time-consuming, but automating the process helps eliminate repetitive tasks and speeds up important website optimizations. This guide will show you how to build a custom tool using Google Sheets, Google Search Console (GSC), and the ChatGPT API to streamline SEO audits and gain AI-powered insights. With this tool, you’ll be able to: Automate GSC data retrieval for faster analysis. Use AI to generate actionable SEO recommendations. The plan? You’ll select a URL from a GSC-connected domain, enter your ChatGPT API key, inspect the page, and run an AI-driven analysis – all within Google Sheets. What SEO analysis are we automating? …