SEO Tools and Resources

Google Analytics now allows administrators and editors to customize report collections and groupings, making navigation more tailored to business needs as announced by Carly Boddy, Product Manager at Google Analytics. How it works. Creating a Collection: Admins and editors can create up to seven collections per property. Navigate to Library in the left-side menu. Click Create new collection and choose either a blank collection or a predefined template. Add a Collection Name and create up to five topics. Drag and drop Detail and Overview reports into the topics (each topic can hold up to 10 reports). Click Save and Publish to make the collection…

YouTube citations in Google AI Overviews grew 25.21% since Jan. 1 – and this surge was particularly seen in the healthcare industry, according to new data from enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge. Why we care. Even though Google’s lawyer said less than 1% of YouTube video views come from search, Google continues to give preference to videos from its YouTube platform – especially for visual demonstrations, step-by-step tutorials, and product comparisons. If you want to be visible in AI Overviews, you may want to align your YouTube and SEO strategies so your videos are cited in AI Overviews. By the numbers. Here is where YouTube’s presence in AI Overviews increas…

“Blocked by robots.txt.” “Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt.” These two responses from Google Search Console have divided SEO professionals since Google Search Console (GSC) error reports became a thing. It needs to be settled once and for all. Game on. What’s the difference between ‘Blocked by robots.txt’ vs. ‘Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt’? There is one major difference between “Blocked by robots.txt” and “Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt.” The indexing. “Blocked by robots.txt” means your URLs will not appear in Google search. “Indexed, though blocked by robots.txt” means your URLs are indexed and will appear in Google…

Welcome to our weekly Search Engine Land series, Everything you need to know about Google Ads in less than 3 minutes. Every Wednesday, I’m highlighting a different Google Ads feature, and what you need to know to get the best results from it – all in a quick 3-minute read (or, you can scroll down to watch the video). Let’s explore Target CPA bidding, one of the four Smart Bidding strategies in Google Ads. If you’re looking to gain more control over your Google Ads campaign costs, Target CPA may be the right bidding solution for you. I’ll cover: What is Target CPA bidding? How does Target CPA bidding work? How to set up Target CPA bidding in your Google…

Google Search may now be faster when you use Chrome for Google Search. Google is leveraging Speculation Rules API to prefetch results, ultimately making the overall Google Search experience faster. “Google Search has been making use of the Speculation Rules API to improve navigation speed from the search results page to the result links and they’ve been using a few features of the API that may be of interest to other site owners,” Google wrote on the Chrome Developers blog. More details. Google will prefetch the first two search results to speed up the search experience. Google said it does this through using the requires configuration, to ensure prefetches use t…

Generative AI is transforming how people search for and consume information. Rather than sifting through traditional search results, users now get instant AI-generated answers – often sourced from multiple websites. For brands, instead of competing for a single featured snippet, you now have the chance to be included in AI-generated responses. The key? Creating interactive content that engages users and provides AI-friendly insights. This article explores why interactive content outperforms static content in AI-driven search and how brands can leverage it to increase search presence, engagement, and website traffic. What is interactive content? In…

Google Ads is rolling out mandatory brand guidelines. It requires you to officially document your business names and logos by March – or face automated changes to your ad campaigns. The big picture. The move represents Google’s latest effort to standardize brand presentation across its advertising platforms while giving businesses more control over their digital identity. Key details: Advertisers must update their brand guidelines before March. If no action is taken, Google will automatically select “top-performing” business names and logos based on campaign data. The change affects how brands appear across all Google’s ad platforms. Why we care. Cl…

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…

One of the things you can do to present your local business better in search results is to use structured data for rich snippets. Adding structured data to your site can help search engines understand your business and how it performs. Because of this, you’ll need to add your NAP details, store/location map, reviews, and images. Find out how Schema.org structured data can help your local SEO. Table of contents Local customers use search engines Improve local rankings Why schema structured data Rich search results for businesses Why you should use JSON-LD How to add structured data to a local business listing Required properties for local businesses Recommended prope…

Google will soon fully transition to automatically generated publication pages next month, in March. Back in April 2024, Google told us Publisher Center will soon stop allowing you to add publications and now this is the next step. This means that all publication pages in Google News will be generated automatically by Google. What Google said. Google wrote: Following our announcement in April 2024 last year, Google News will fully transition to automatically generated publication pages in March. This change improves our existing publisher workflow and simplifies our current product experience. Moving forward, all publication pages in Google News will be genera…

Less than 1% of views of YouTube videos come from Google search clicks, according to a member of Google’s legal team. The quote. Here’s what Attorney John Schmidtlein said, according to Courthouse News Service: “Roughly less than 1% of views on YouTube come from people who click on [search] links,” Attorney John Schmidtlein of Williams & Connolly, who represented Google, said in court. Why we care. This is the first time this statistic has been revealed publicly, as far as I know. It might be 100% true. The majority of people likely discover and view videos directly on YouTube, either via YouTube search or YouTube’s recommendation algorithm. But. Go…

Google Ads is launching a new video enhancement feature for Demand Gen campaigns. The update automatically creates shorter versions of existing video ads to better engage diverse audiences. Details: The enhancement will automatically generate condensed versions of existing video ads. The feature will be enabled by default across all Google Demand Gen ad campaigns. Advertisers have until March 10 to opt out of the automatic enhancement. Why we care. Short-form content consistently captures higher engagement, especially on mobile and social platforms. By automatically generating shorter video versions, this could aid in reaching diverse audiences without …

With marketing spending down and Google reporting higher earnings, we know that SEO is a tough sell. Below are seven proven methods to increase clients’ payments for SEO (and the value they receive). First, a word on value Before I provide solid ways to increase revenue, we need to discuss value and price. Humans are hard-wired to fear and avoid loss. Loss aversion is heavily linked with SEO because it’s the “pay now, might gain later” of the marketing world. So, as an offer, SEO is automatically less appealing than 99.9% of other marketing activities. Knowing this, SEOs need to understand value like the back of their hands. There are two co…

As third-party cookies phase out, measuring marketing performance is becoming more complex. Advertisers rely on various attribution methods, each with strengths and limitations. Choosing the right one requires understanding their differences. For instance, Google Analytics doesn’t capture LinkedIn lead gen forms, while multi-touch attribution (MTA) does. MTA, however, misses YouTube views and other upper-funnel initiatives MMM accounts for. This article breaks down the pros and cons of: Google Analytics (session-based) attribution. Advertising platform (click- and impression-based) attribution. Multi-touch attribution. Salesforce (CRM-base…

Last week, Avinash Kaushik said, “The best way to make a Super Bowl ad effective is through ‘spike and sustain’ marketing.” He also explained that releasing teasers, ads, and extended versions before the Big Game is part of the “sustain” strategy, building momentum ahead of the “spike” in viewership. Super Bowl LIX drew 113 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Many brands embraced this strategy, unveiling their commercials early to build buzz and maximize exposure. By midday Sunday, more than 40 ads had already been released, and several organizations had analyzed those aired before Feb. 9. Pre-game Super Bowl ads that made an impact For exampl…

Website migrations are one of the most challenging aspects of SEO. No matter how much experience you have in technical SEO, how detailed your plan is, or how thorough your checklist may be, unexpected issues can still arise. That’s why post-migration monitoring is just as crucial as the migration itself – especially in the first month when hidden problems are most likely to surface. This article tackles some of the most surprising post-launch errors I’ve encountered, along with practical tips on how to identify and resolve them before they cause serious damage. Random 404 pages This issue drove me crazy. It’s a nightmare for SEO testing because it skew…

If you noticed that your local business listing on Google is showing fewer reviews, you are not alone. Since Friday, tons of reviews have been disappearing from the local listings within Google Search and Google Maps. More details. On Friday, I reported on the issue on the Search Engine Roundtable, not knowing if it was a bug or a feature. I noticed dozens and dozens of complaint threads popping up in the Google Business Profiles forums from concerned small businesses and local SEOs. Some businesses say they lost only a few reviews, while others say they lost dozens of positive reviews. Some say the count of reviews is not adding up and the reviews themselves …

Your WordPress site might be packed with great content and stunning visuals, but without proper search engine optimization (SEO), it could be hard to find. SEO ensures your site gets noticed, eventually driving traffic to your content and boosting engagement. Thankfully, SEO doesn’t have to be complicated. Many WordPress plugins simplify key tasks like optimizing content, structuring your site, and improving performance, all of which contribute to better rankings. Below, we’re exploring reliable and widely used SEO plugins that can help your site stand out and attract the audience it deserves. Here at Kinsta, ranked as G2’s top WordPress hosting pro…

Meta is expanding its AI-powered advertising tools to help businesses get better results from their campaigns, with early tests showing significant cost reductions and performance improvements. Details. Meta is rolling out these new features: A streamlined Advantage+ campaign setup that automatically applies AI optimizations to sales, app, and leads campaigns — removing the need for marketers to choose between manual or automated campaigns New Advantage+ leads campaigns specifically designed to help advertisers find high-quality leads more efficiently. Early tests show a 10% lower cost per qualified lead compared to campaigns without these AI features …

UK news site the Sun ended 2024 by losing half of its audience, due in part to “algorithm changes at certain platforms,” according to the latest earnings report from parent company News Corp. On the earnings call, News Corp Chief Financial Officer Lavanya Chandrashekar was more specific, blaming “industry headwinds on search algorithms.” Yes, that means Google search algorithm updates. The drop. Glenn Gabe, SEO consultant at G-Squared Interactive, shared a screenshot showing the massive visibility drop on X: Why we care. Not all websites are losing Google traffic, but many are and have been over the past couple of years following multiple helpful content …

Mastering user intent is all about putting yourself in your user’s shoes. It’s easier to do that if you know what kind of shoes they’re wearing and why. Create and incorporate user personas in SEO decision-making to create actionable insights in the best interest of your actual users. Build your search personas User personas can help you develop a more customized approach to applying user intent to a topic and to your specific users. You aren’t just selling a garden rake to someone in Indiana – you’re selling a metal rake to Gretel in Pawnee so she can get rid of slugs in her front yard. To develop your personas, make a list of your typical users base…

In digital marketing, a common belief is that everything can be measured – clicks, conversions, and ROI. Many advertisers assume that brand awareness is unnecessary and that performance marketing alone is enough to drive sales. After all, brand awareness campaigns don’t always generate immediate traffic or conversions visible in analytics. Their effects unfold over time, making them harder to measure than performance-driven campaigns. However, this overlooks a critical factor: brand strength acts as a multiplier for performance marketing effectiveness. A well-known brand increases ad click-through rates (CTR), lowers cost-per-click (CPC), improves con…

Google is reportedly testing a new search feature named “AI Mode.” AI Mode in Google seems like a new way to search by asking more open-ended and exploratory questions, with the option to follow up. What is AI Mode. AI Mode is described as “Search intelligently research[ing] for you – organizing information into easy-to-digest breakdowns with links to explore content across the web,” according to a leaked email obtained by 9to5Google. AI Mode is more for open-ended and exploratory questions that may not be served well by what we see today from the Google Search results. This includes queries that ask Google Search for advice and comparisons, as well as exchanges…

People are adopting AI as a complement to classic search, not a full replacement, according to a new survey by digital marketing agency Higher Visibility: 71.5% reported using AI tools for search; 14% use them daily. 79.8% prefer Google or Microsoft Bing for general information searches. 20.2% have changed their primary search platform within the last year. Why we care. Classic search engines still dominate – but we also know it is becoming more challenging as Google click-through rates are declining. However, AI answer engines and tools, social media platforms (like Instagram and TikTok), and shopping platforms all play a role in today’s messy search land…