SEO Tools and Resources

Ecommerce businesses always look for ways to improve their online presence to drive sales. Google Merchant Center (GMC) is an essential tool for achieving this, as it helps businesses showcase their products across Google’s ecosystem. This guide aims to provide retailers with an understanding of GMC. It offers useful insights on optimizing product listings and enhancing visibility on Google Shopping. Table of contents What is Google Merchant Center? Setting up Google Merchant Center Merchant Center product data feeds Strategies for performance improvement All about Google Merchant Center What is Google Merchant Center? Google Merchant Center (GMC) is a fr…

Measuring marketing effectiveness is essential for any business investing in multiple channels. Two popular approaches – multi-touch attribution and marketing mix modeling – help marketers understand which strategies drive results. This article tackles the key differences between each attribution method to help you determine which one best fits your business needs. The growing need for smarter marketing attribution With Google’s recent update to its open-source marketing mix model, Meridian, interest in marketing mix analysis and channel modeling has surged. While enterprise brands have long benefited from these insights, smaller businesses running m…

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? …

Even in 2025, as platforms like LinkedIn (not known for creativity) double down on video, many new clients coming to us still haven’t made it part of their organic strategy. So, why should you invest in video? Here are three key reasons: Increased SERP visibility: With a targeted strategy, YouTube videos have a higher chance of appearing prominently in the SERPs, enhancing brand visibility and driving organic traffic. Higher (and longer-lasting) engagement: Video content fosters deeper engagement, encouraging longer view times and generating sustained traffic over months or years. Multi-platform reach: Optimized videos could appear on both Google …

Imagine telling someone that www.mysite.com/blog/myarticle and www.mysite.com/myarticle are actually the same page. To you, they’re the same, but to Google, even a small difference in the URL makes them separate pages. That is where the canonical tag steps in. In this guide, we will walk you through what a canonical URL is, how URL canonicalization works, when to use it, and which mistakes to avoid so that search engines always understand your preferred page version. Table of contents What is a canonical URL? How does URL canonicalization work? Why do canonical tags matter for SEO? When to use canonical tags? Implementing canonical URLs and canonical tags Implementi…

Chinese ecommerce giant Temu was a dominant force in paid acquisition across Google, Meta, and other platforms – until mid-April, when it abruptly halted all U.S. advertising. This was a stunning move from one of the internet’s most aggressive spenders. Temu’s sudden absence opened up a flood of ad inventory – and with it, new questions: Who won? Who lost? And what does it say about market dynamics? The impact on the digital ad ecosystem was immediate and profound, based on research by Mike Ryan, head of ecommerce insights at Smarter Ecommerce. Catch up quick: Over three days in April, Temu’s Google Shopping impression share collapsed, signaling a total …

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…

On episode 331 of PPC Live The Podcast, I speak to Dale Olorenshaw, Head of Paid Media and Search at StrategiQ, who shares a painful but valuable experience involving a high-budget test campaign and a critical oversight. The costly PPC mistake The story centers on a test campaign with a £15,000 budget. Despite strong clicks and engagement, the campaign delivered almost no conversions. After a month, the client emailed to point out that traffic had been sent to the wrong landing page. The dedicated test page they built had never been used. What went wrong internally The error happened for several reasons. Dale bypassed the internal QA process because he manag…

SEO forecasting is essential for predicting the future performance of your strategies, measuring progress, and making data-driven decisions. This guide will show you how to use Google Sheets to create accurate forecasts for traffic, rankings, and revenue, even if you’re not a data expert. Forecasting: The secret to navigating SEO’s biggest hurdles In marketing and SEO, it’s often necessary to illustrate our vision for what lies ahead. Common scenarios include: Getting buy-in for a new SEO or content strategy: We need to demonstrate the expected ROI of the proposed strategy. While it may not be perfectly precise, providing an estimate of the potential growt…

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 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 …

Agencies are navigating a marketing world powered by AI, evolving platforms, and consumer expectations that change overnight. The pace is dizzying, but it’s also full of opportunity. When we asked marketing agencies what new trends they anticipate for the year ahead, their insights revealed a shared focus on leveraging AI to scale operations, diversifying content strategies to stay ahead of declining organic reach, and adopting tools that balance creativity with efficiency. These trends reflect where the industry is heading and how agencies are preparing to meet new challenges. We’ll unpack the key insights from over two dozen marketing agencies, explore the stra…

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. Today, we’re discussing exact match keywords – the intuitive and the not-so-intuitive facts you need to know about how keyword match types work today. I’ll cover: What are keywords? Keyword match types in Google Ads: Broad, Phrase, Exact The evolution of exact match keywords When to use exact match keywords The power of negative keywords What are keywords in Google Ads? …

YouTube is testing a new advertising offering that lets brands own its most prominent ad space — the Masthead — by the hour, marking a significant shift in how marketers can capture attention. This new Cost-Per-Hour (CPH) Masthead gives advertisers 100% share of voice across all YouTube devices during crucial timeframes, potentially transforming how brands approach major launches and cultural moments, according to a slide obtained by Search Engine Land. The big picture. The CPH Masthead complements YouTube’s existing CPM (cost per thousand impressions) Masthead offering, providing advertisers more flexibility in how they dominate YouTube’s prime advertising real e…

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’s controversial site reputation abuse policy certainly ruffled a few feathers since its rollout last year. Some publishers, like Forbes, blame the policy for forcing devastating decisions in newsrooms – like the firing of all freelance journalists. Others argue that it’s yet another example of Google “abusing its dominant market position” to dictate how websites can and cannot generate revenue in an already fiercely competitive industry. Well, like it or not, the policy is here to stay. That’s why publishers must fully understand what is and isn’t allowed – and what Google is actually trying to achieve – before making any drastic decisions. Act…

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…

Google today rolled out new AI-driven shopping features to help users visualize and try on fashion and beauty products virtually. These updates aim to make online shopping more interactive and personalized. Key features: Vision match. Users can describe desired clothing items and AI generates visual suggestions with similar shoppable products. For example, search for a garment, scroll to “Can’t find it? Create it” prompt, refine the AI-generated ideas, and browse shoppable products. Virtual makeup try-on. Shoppers can test celebrity-inspired makeup looks using AR, combining products from multiple brands. For example, search for celebrity looks or trends l…

There is so much you can do to optimize your online store, whether for users or Google. To help you cover all your bases, we’ve written this ecommerce SEO checklist. It doesn’t cover absolutely everything, but if you at least start by optimizing all the aspects in this post, you will definitely be doing a great job! Table of contents Site-wide ecommerce checklist Homepage Product search and categories Product pages Shopping cart and checkout Search and social appearance One last thing… Site-wide ecommerce checklist The first part of our ecommerce checklist is all about changes you can make site-wide to make sure your online shop is up to scratch. Some of …

You can sell your products online in many marketplaces, and all these platforms benefit from SEO. From improving your photos to writing better product descriptions, on-page SEO is key if you want your product listings to rank in search. Table of contents What is marketplace SEO? On-page SEO for marketplaces Optimizing images Create great titles and meta descriptions Writing great product descriptions Using product specifications properly Implementing Schema markup Use Yoast SEO for Shopify Conclusion to marketplace SEO What is marketplace SEO? Marketplace SEO is about making a platform with many sellers — like Airbnb, Etsy, or Amazon — easy to find on s…

Want AI search engines and agents to find and use your content? Traditional SEO isn’t enough. AI systems process information differently. This guide breaks down key optimizations to help your content stay visible and rank in the AI era. TL;DR: Quick AI optimization checklist To optimize for AI search and agents: Make content accessible with clean HTML/markdown and good structure. Allow AI crawlers in robots.txt and firewall rules. Return content fast, with key info high up. Use semantic markup, metadata, and schemas. Create an llms.txt file. Check your content’s AI visibility. Traditional SEO vs. AI search: The key difference…

People nowadays are uninterested in cold and business-like pieces of content. They want something authentic. They want conversations with people. That’s partly why Reddit is grabbing top spots in the search results because people know they’ll be reading something authentic. Hence why it’s smart to create more conversational content. But how do you do that? Read this blog to find out! What is conversational content? Plain and simple, it’s writing like you’re talking with someone. Not to someone. You’re not lecturing. You’re having a conversation with your audience. Though I’d suggest that you leave out the ‘ums’ and ‘ahs’ and multiple uses of ‘like’ or other filler …

Google’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP) offers more than just a list of links. Its layout can change based on what you’re searching for, presenting various SERP features tailored to your needs. You might see different elements like featured snippets, shopping options, or local listings and also AI Overviews. Understanding these can help you navigate the results more effectively. This guide will help you identify and differentiate between the paid and organic results you encounter. Table of contents What are SERP features? A new SERP feature: Google AI Overviews It depends on what you’re searching for Browsing through the result page Sponsored results and ads Orga…

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…

Google is getting worse – or at least, that’s what “we” say. The common complaint: Search is dying, SEO is trash, and Google is nearly unusable. X, LinkedIn, and Reddit are awash with complaints about deteriorating search quality. The contradicting reality: Search remains the dominant channel for web traffic. Google still holds 90% of the search market, grew 20% year over year, and processes 5 trillion searches annually. If it were truly broken, wouldn’t we have left by now? The complex truth: Poet John Keats described “negative capability” as the ability to hold conflicting ideas without demanding a simple answer. That’s whe…