SEO Tools and Resources

We’re celebrating 15 years of Yoast, and we can’t celebrate without offering some SEO insights. So, here are 15 SEO essentials to focus on in this year and beyond. Whether you are a beginner or an SEO expert, these tips will help you focus on what’s important right now. In collaboration with our Principal SEO, Alex Moss Table of contents 1. Embrace AI-powered SEO tools 2. Optimize for zero-click searches 3. Invest in video content 4. Improve e-commerce SEO 5. Prioritize local SEO 6. Improve user experience (UX) 7. Participate in SEO communities 8. Optimize for AI discovery 9. Focus on content pruning 10. Implement structured data markup 11. Keep focusing on mobi…

Search industry experts are sounding the alarm over a growing Google experiment that’s creating a kind of “SERP Inception” — search results inside search results, with increasingly prominent Sponsored labels that don’t appear to be paid ad placements in the traditional sense. Driving the news. SEO consultant Glenn Gabe posted a screenshot on X showing a People also consider box labeled Sponsored. The twist? Clicking a link launches a new Google results page – complete with ads and another Sponsored box, perpetuating the loop. “They lead to a fresh SERP with more ads and yet ANOTHER ‘People also consider’ block that’s SPONSORED,” Gabe wrote. The backstory. …

Even the best content is useless if it can’t be found or reused. And for too many marketing teams, Digital Asset Management (DAM) systems have become more burden than benefit — bogged down by manual tagging, inconsistent metadata, and time-consuming workflows. In Unlock Your DAM: Fuel Your Creative Process with Generative AI, we’ll show how marketers are integrating Generative AI into DAM systems to break through these barriers — streamlining asset discovery, automating tagging, and enabling faster ideation. You’ll learn how forward-looking teams are reducing repetitive work while surfacing the right content at the right time. What You’ll Learn How GenAI can g…

SEO reporting and tracking are major sticking points for anyone in the industry. Data that you find important may be less valuable to C-suite executives. Or you may not have enough data to show growth, changes, and significant events clearly and concisely. Reports must tell a story. Without the right data, you’ll end up with a confusing plot that won’t be well-received. Before you can begin reporting and tracking data, you need to gather it, which requires using the right tools. SEO reporting and tracking tools Most SEOs use a combination of different tools to properly collect, track and report data. A few of the main ones include: Google…

Target ROAS is the most sophisticated of Google’s smart bidding strategies. In previous articles, we’ve tackled Maximize Conversions, Target CPA and Maximize Conversion Value. This article explores the ins and outs of Target ROAS bidding, including: What does conversion value mean in Google Ads? What does ROAS mean? How Target ROAS bidding works in Google Ads 8 Expert Tips for using Target ROAS effectively Should you use Target ROAS bidding in Google Ads? What does conversion value mean in Google Ads? Before we can discuss Target ROAS bidding, or even ROAS, we need to understand what “conversion value” means in Google Ads. Conversion…

Google just made it easier for merchants to manage messy product catalogs. Driving the news. Emmanuel Flossie shared on LinkedIn that Google is rolling out an AI-driven search feature in Google Merchant Center Next that simplifies how retailers find and filter their products. How it works. The new “Search for Products” tool uses AI to translate plain-English queries into powerful filters across your product data. Plain English filters. Merchants can now easily filter by entering plain English searches, which AI would translate to filter headings. So, for example, you could filter by: Manually added products. Out-of-stock items still getting traffic…

Separate accounts, separate campaigns, or one shared setup? It’s often the first question marketers face when launching Google Ads in multiple countries or languages. The structure you choose lays the groundwork for how well you can: Localize ads. Manage regional budgets. Analyze performance by market. While consolidation simplifies PPC management, it can limit your ability to connect with diverse audiences. Full separation allows for maximum customization but can lead to administrative overhead and missed efficiencies. Striking the right balance is key to aligning effort with impact while maintaining centralized data. Effective loca…

Google has a number of announcements around Al Mode, including dropping the waitlist, adding products and place cards to the answers, a new history panel, and that they are doing a limited test without having to opt in to Al Mode within Search Labs. Testing Al Mode in the wild. Google is now testing Al Mode within Google Search without you having to opt in to Al Mode within Search Labs. That means that you might see the tab for Al Mode without specifically opting into the feature. Soufi Esmailzadeh, Director, Product Management, at Google Search wrote, “Because our power users are finding it so helpful, we’re starting a limited test outside of Labs. In the coming …

Google started placing ads inside chat conversations with some third-party AI assistants, according to a Bloomberg report, marking another step in its push to monetize AI-powered search alternatives. Driving the news. Google’s AdSense network — traditionally used for placing ads in search results and across websites — is now running ads within chatbot interactions, according to people familiar with the rollout. The company reportedly began testing the feature earlier this year with conversational AI search startups iAsk and Liner. A Google spokesperson confirmed that AdSense is available “for websites that want to show relevant ads in their conversational AI e…

Users are visiting Google more often but staying less. That’s one of several insights from a new analysis by Kevin Indig, in partnership with Similarweb, based on 5 billion search queries and 20 million websites across the U.S., UK, and Germany. The big picture. In the U.S., visits to Google are up +9% since AI Overviews launched in May 2024. Also: Time on site and pages per visit are flat or falling across markets. Query length has barely changed. The numbers point to a new user pattern: more frequent visits, shorter sessions – a shift toward “resolve and leave” behavior, according to Indig. By the numbers. Google visits are up in the U.S.: U.S. …

More than a third of consumers – including nearly 4 in 10 Gen Z users – have ditched Google Search in favor of Pinterest’s visual-first search experience, according to a new Adobe survey. And businesses are following their lead to capture traffic and engagement. By the numbers. Thirty-six percent of consumers said they start searches on Pinterest instead of Google. That includes 39% Gen Z users. Other findings: 39% of consumers use Pinterest as a search engine. 24% of business owners use Pinterest – and nearly a quarter of those businesses plan to boost ad spending on Pinterest this year. 80% of businesses say Pinterest drives more engagement than other sea…

LLMs and AI tools have transformed nearly every industry, including marketing. We’ve become accustomed to AI’s ability to: Generate text, images, and video. Summarize articles. Transcribe audio. Write code. Access webpages. But as these models evolve, their capabilities are entering a new phase with the introduction of Model Context Protocol (MCP) – a development that will also reshape how we think about search visibility. MCP allows LLMs and AI systems to connect more easily to external data sources and tools, giving organizations a new way to deliver meaningful content to both AI systems and their users. What is Model Context Protocol? …

While Google still dominates local search, ChatGPT has made notable strides. Its local results, though not yet on par with Google’s, have improved significantly since we ranked it last among AI search tools less than a year ago. The key change? ChatGPT’s integration with Microsoft Bing’s search index last fall. While it now pulls web content from Bing, it applies its own algorithm to organize results. As a result, the best way to make your business visible in ChatGPT is to ensure it’s included in Bing’s index. However, ChatGPT processes local queries differently than Bing does. Here are several key differences I uncovered by running side-by…

AI is coming for your organic search traffic. More people are turning to ChatGPT for quick answers, and AI Overviews are rapidly improving at delivering the kind of fast, surface-level information your website used to provide. But as long as people are searching, there will be demand for content created by those with real-world experience. The SEOs who will continue to capture traffic are the ones focused on producing unmistakably human content – the kind AI simply can’t replicate. Right now, the industry is fixated on what AI can do, while largely ignoring what it can’t. Your edge over generative AI is clear: real-world experience that adds depth, nua…

Google’s latest update to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns—featuring Channel Reporting, Asset Reporting, and Search Term Reports—has triggered a wide range of responses from marketers. From cautious optimism to pointed critiques, advertisers are weighing in on how these long-awaited features may reshape their campaign strategies. Deeper insight arrives – finally Optmyzr Brand Evangelist Navah Hopkins celebrated the newfound visibility: “Google just announced some really important updates to PMax and I think it’s important we talk about just what they mean for us as we continue to market in the AI world. Google is FINALLY giving transparency into where budget i…

Google has doubled down on its automation-first strategy with a key update to Performance Max (PMax) campaigns: some advertisers can now add up to 50 Search themes. Why we care. This update gives advertisers more flexibility and control in guiding Google’s AI-powered targeting. Search themes, which help steer PMax toward relevant search traffic, are increasingly critical for advertisers looking to influence automation without relying on traditional keywords. Catch up quick. Search themes act as keyword-like signals to help Performance Max campaigns align with user intent. The limit started at 10, was raised to 25 in late 2023, and now sits at 50. Between …

SEO is all about optimizing for, well, search. In 2018, I defined SEO as: “The art and science of persuading search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, to recommend your content to their users as the best solution to their problem.” In 2025 (and beyond), we can define search, answer, and assistive engine optimization as “The art and science of persuading recommendation engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Siri, Alexa, and Copilot to recommend your solution to their users as the best in the market.” The aim is the same – get the conversion. The difference? We have more engines. The recommendation is often further…

Google Ads launched four new tools to help improve first-party data use and better measure app performance – especially in the face of evolving privacy standards and complex user journeys. Driving the news. Google today announced a slate of updates aimed at strengthening measurement and data capabilities: Google tag gateway for advertisers: A simplified way to upgrade tags so they serve from the advertiser’s own server, improving signal reliability and data control. Google plans to add confidential computing by default for enhanced security and transparency. New diagnostics for data quality: You can now access diagnostics across Google Ads products to t…

The title tag is one of the most important SEO elements. It can have a great impact on your rankings. In my experience, optimizing title tags can give rankings a strong boost. There are many different ways to optimize a title tag. One is to make sure it fits within the 55- to 60-character limit (which I think is a bit outdated today). Other SEOs suggest it’s OK to have title tags up to 70 characters long (or longer). There are also concerns that having the title truncated in search results or rewritten by Google can negatively affect organic performance and click-through rate. This article explores the basis for such concerns, Google’s official state…

What would you do if you realized that you had lost 15% of your market share last month? Can your brand afford to fall behind in Google Ads, even for a week? Right now, the recent tariff shifts (taxes on imported goods) are sending shockwaves through global industries. Supply chains are strained. Pricing strategies are in flux. And consumer behavior is shifting faster than many advertisers can track. When the ground moves this quickly, visibility into your paid search market share isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. Even a few percentage points can mean the difference between leading or lagging in Google Ads. That’s exactly what Adthena’s PPC Market Share Rep…