SEO Tools and Resources

As AI-led search becomes a real driver of discovery, an old assumption is back with new urgency. If AI systems infer quality from user experience, and Core Web Vitals (CWV) are Google’s most visible proxy for experience, then strong CWV performance should correlate with strong AI visibility. The logic makes sense. Faster page load times result in smoother page load times, increased user engagement, improved signals, and AI systems that reward the outcome (supposedly) But logic is not evidence. To test this properly, I analysed 107,352 webpages that appear prominently in Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, examining the distribution of Core Web Vitals at the p…

LLMs and their influence on traffic to a brand’s website are a major topic in our client conversations. Everyone wants to know what’s happening, how they can do better, and what the best practices are. My recommendation to brands right now is to start with the data and focus on what they can know for sure. To glean insights into how LLM traffic is influencing key metrics, we analyzed our dataset of LLM prompt referral traffic in Google Analytics across our customer base over the last 13 months (Jan. 1, 2025 to Feb. 7, 2026). We focused on traffic from various LLM models to brand sites and the conversion events closest to true business outcomes. In some cases,…

After more than 15 years in enterprise SEO across six major corporations, I’ve seen more careers derailed by internal politics than by Google updates. Many SEOs moving from agency to in-house assume that staying current with algorithms and improving rankings will be enough. In reality, the harder work is navigating the organization and the people within it. Agency life rewards deliverables and reports. Corporate life runs on relationships, repeatable processes, the right platforms, and visible performance – all carrying equal weight with technical skill. The following lessons reflect where SEOs can grow, avoid common pitfalls, and build sustainable care…

We analyzed nearly two million LLM sessions across nine industries from January through December 2025. We started with a simple assumption: ChatGPT dominates, usage patterns are uniform, and the volume is small and inconsequential. The data proved us wrong. ChatGPT commands 84.1% of trackable AI discovery traffic, but it functions primarily as the default tool for broad-market discovery. That reality changes the strategy. Brands can no longer rely on a single, discovery-first approach. You need a multi-platform strategy that aligns with how users expect to be productive at different moments. Success now depends on knowing which platforms actively enable u…

We’ve tested Google AI Max over the past nine months, analyzing 23 individual tests across 16 already mature advertisers operating within a range of verticals. This article reveals what we did to maximize success with this campaign type. Your experiments and observations may vary. If so, we’d welcome the debate. This is intended to be just one voice among many in the conversation around AI Max. All the analyses we discuss are replicable within your own accounts, so you can ratify or dispute the findings based on your own data. The ground rules for AI Max Before launching an AI Max test, consider several factors. Two are particularly significant: Your c…

AI search influence didn’t show up in our SEO reports or AI prompt tracking tools. It showed up in sales calls. “Found you via Grok, actually,” a new lead said. That comment stopped us cold. We hadn’t tried to rank in Grok. We weren’t tracking it. Yet it was influencing how buyers discovered and evaluated us. That disconnect kept appearing in client conversations, too. Everyone was curious about AI search, but no one trusted the data. Teams wanted visibility in ChatGPT and other AI tools, then asked the same question: “Why invest in a channel that doesn’t show up cleanly in attribution?” To answer that, we ran controlled experiments using assets we could fu…

The SEO versus GEO debate has dominated industry discourse over the past year. New acronyms appear weekly, sentiment swings quickly, and even trusted voices often contradict positions they held just months earlier. That volatility isn’t happening at the edges of the industry. It’s coming from a small group of highly visible SEO influencers whose framing of AI-era search shifts in response to news cycles, platform announcements, and branding pressure. To understand how widespread – and how unstable – this discourse has become, we analyzed how 75 leading SEO influencers discuss AI-driven search on LinkedIn. The goal wasn’t to decide which acronym woul…

A new report from Cint reveals that 74% of market researchers are already using AI in their workflows — especially for data analysis (81%) and project setup (78%). For agency and brand marketers that rely on audience insights, testing, and fast-turnaround campaign planning, this shift signals how research partners and internal teams are evolving their methods. However, the same study finds a sharp divide around synthetic data. While it’s occasionally used to boost niche sample sizes, a full 60% of respondents view it negatively, citing concerns around ethics, authenticity, and reliability. Download the full report to see how AI and synthetic data are reshaping mar…

If you’re planning to build a website or publish a blog post, you’ve probably heard the word permalink pop up. But what is a permalink, really? In simple words, it’s the permanent link to a page on your website, like the official street address of your house. No matter how many times you update your content, this link remains the same and tells people (and Google) exactly where that page is located. In this blog, we’ll break down what a permalink is, why it matters, how to pick the right permalink structure, and how Yoast SEO helps you manage everything easily. Quick note: If your website is already established, changing existing permalinks can cause broken links and …

Every Black Friday reveals how consumers search, compare, and decide. This year added something new: a real-world test of how AI models interpret commerce under true demand. So we ran a structured test across major LLMs and analyzed 10,000 responses. The goal was simple: to see how these systems form their internal view of the retail landscape and which signals shape the answers they generate. As we reviewed the dataset, a clear pattern emerged: Black Friday acts as a natural stress test for AI-driven discovery. The sheer volume of queries, the range of categories, and the speed of shifting consumer attention expose the sources, structures, and behavioral tend…

If you’re still chasing a flat 10% conversion rate across all campaigns, it’s time for a reset. According to Unbounce’s latest Conversion Benchmark Report , industry medians range from just 3.8% (SaaS) to 12.3% (Legal) — and that variance can reshape how you interpret your landing page performance. This free report doesn’t just give you numbers. It gives you context — by vertical, by strategy, and by conversion event — so you can benchmark smarter, optimize where it matters, and stop second-guessing your results. Download the full report to see where your landing pages really stand. View the full article

Yoast SEO is a free WordPress SEO plugin that helps your site perform better in search engines like Google. It also gives you the tools to bring your content to the highest SEO and overall readability standards. Here, we’ll explain how our plugin helps you build the best website possible! Table of contents What Yoast SEO does SEO for your posts and pages Technical SEO for your website Learn SEO by doing SEO with Yoast A quick recap What Yoast SEO does Yoast SEO offers many tools and features to boost your SEO. Some of these features influence the SEO of your whole site, while others help you optimize individual posts and pages for search engines. At …

Generative engine optimization (GEO) represents a shift from optimizing for keyword-based ranking systems to optimizing for how generative search engines interpret and assemble information. While the inner workings of generative AI are famously complex, patents and research papers filed by major tech companies such as Google and Microsoft provide concrete insight into the technical mechanisms underlying generative search. By analyzing these primary sources, we can move beyond speculation and into strategic action. This article analyzes the most insightful patents to provide actionable lessons for three core pillars of GEO: query fan-out, large language model (LLM…

AI search hasn’t killed SEO. Now you have to win twice: the ranking and the citation. Google searches for almost anything today, and there’s a good chance you’ll see an AI Overview before the organic results, sometimes even before the ads. That summary frames the query, shortlists sources, and shapes which brands get considered. AI Overviews now appear for about 21% of all keywords, according to Ahrefs. And 99.9% are triggered by informational intent. Search rankings still matter. But AI summaries increasingly determine who wins early consideration. Here’s what we’re seeing: brands aren’t losing visibility because they dropped from position thr…

Google’s AI Overviews have moved beyond the experimental phase and are now a permanent part of search. To assess their impact, Adthena analyzed data across six major industries from late December 2025 to January 2026, tracking performance metrics from hundreds of thousands of advertisers, including more than 5 million ads. While aggregate data suggests stability, a deeper look reveals a different picture. For advertisers, these automated summaries are no longer just a visibility concern; they directly threaten PPC revenue. What AI Overviews mean for paid search revenue Generative summaries fundamentally change the math of a successful campaign. When an AI Overv…

Ever clicked a link and landed on a “Page Not Found” error? Redirects prevent that. They send visitors and search engines to the right page automatically. Redirects are crucial for both SEO and user experience. For SEO, they preserve link equity and keep your rankings intact. Additionally, it enhances the user experience, as no one likes dead ends. Table of contents What is a redirect? How redirects work Why redirects matter When to use a redirect Types of redirects How redirects impact SEO Common redirect mistakes How to set up a redirect Troubleshooting redirects Conclusion about redirects Key takeaways A redirect automatically sends users …

If it feels like the entire internet woke up one day and decided to start every sentence with “AI,” you’re not wrong. Marketers are being hit with a daily wave of LinkedIn thought leaders, half-baked prompt hacks, and promises that ChatGPT is either going to 10x your productivity or take your job entirely. And in the middle of all this? You (the digital marketer). Marketers are trying to figure out if this is just another buzzword cycle or the beginning of a complete rewrite of how we do content, SEO, PPC, reporting, and, well, everything. So let’s break it down. Consider this your AI starting guide, written for marketers who are tired of needing a young…

A good XML sitemap serves as a roadmap for your website, guiding Google to all your important pages. XML sitemaps can be beneficial for SEO, helping Google find your essential pages quickly, even if your internal linking isn’t perfect. This post explains what they are and how they help you rank better and get surfaced by AI agents. Table of contents What are XML sitemaps? Why do you need an XML sitemap? Do XML sitemaps matter for AI search? Adding XML sitemaps to your site with Yoast Frequently asked questions about XML sitemaps Check your own XML sitemap! Key takeaways An XML sitemap is crucial for SEO, as it guides search engines to your important pages, …

Anchor text, which is also known as link text, is the visible, clickable text of a hyperlink. It usually appears in a different color and is often underlined. Good anchor text tells readers what to expect when they click and gives search engines valuable context about the linked page. Getting your anchor text right helps users navigate your content more easily, improves your internal link structure, and provides search engines with clues about your page relationships, which can positively influence your SEO. Table of contents What does an anchor text look like? Why are link/anchor texts important? Different kinds of anchor text The competing links check in Yoast…

Interest in AI technology and, more specifically, OpenAI’s ChatGPT product has skyrocketed in recent years. People are looking for information about both topics. Source: Google Trends Millions are writing about ChatGPT across the web… …and talking about it in various communities. Interest shot up almost immediately. This is the first couple of weeks after ChatGPT launched to the public. Source: Exploding Topics And as you can tell from the graphs, all of this happened quickly. Whether your X and LinkedIn feeds have been persistently inundated with threads and posts about AI in general and tools like Claude, DeepSeek, and ChatGPT (like min…

Last week, OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search — a new way to search the web using AI inside a chatbot interface. Thanks to the integration of Microsoft Bing real-time data and other interesting sources, this could challenge traditional search engines. Table of contents What is ChatGPT Search? ChatGPT Search vs. Google’s AI Integration with Microsoft Bing What does this mean for SEO? Future developments Conclusion on ChatGPT Search What is ChatGPT Search? ChatGPT Search is a helpful tool that makes it easier to find information with a little help from AI. It is connected to the web in real time and uses Bing’s index and other sources to show up-to-date results…

Google AI Mode is search with a brain. It uses AI to answer questions directly, so it’s no longer about just blue links. Type, talk, or upload a photo, and it gives you a useful summary plus follow-ups. Here’s how it works and why it matters. Table of contents Say hello to Google’s AI Mode Search becomes a lot smarter How Google AI Mode works in practice The focus of content is changing What does Google AI Mode mean for SEO? Where it’s going How to access Google AI Mode Meet Google’s AI Mode Say hello to Google’s AI Mode Google AI Mode is a feature in Search that uses generative AI to deliver full, conversational answers instead of just showing a …

Link building is the practice of earning links from other websites to your own. These links act as signals of trust and authority for search engines, helping your pages rank higher in search results. Quality matters more than quantity. A few relevant, high-authority links are far more valuable than many low-quality ones. Modern link building focuses on creating genuinely useful content, building genuine relationships, and earning links naturally, rather than manipulating rankings. Table of contents What is link building? What is a link? Why do we build links ? How to earn high-quality links Link building in the era of AI and LLM search Examples of effective link bui…

Natural language is quickly becoming the default way people interact with online tools. Instead of typing a few keywords, users now ask full questions, give detailed instructions, and are starting to expect clear, conversational answers. So, how can you make sure your content provides the answer to their question? Or better yet, how can you make it possible for them to interact with your website in a similar way? That’s where Microsoft’s NLWeb comes in. Meet NLWeb, Microsoft’s new open project NLWeb, short for Natural Language Web, is an open project recently launched by Microsoft. The aim of this project is to bring conversational interfaces directly to websites,…

Search has moved far beyond blue links and basic ranking signals. People now discover information on Google, TikTok, Pinterest, Amazon, YouTube, and an expanding layer of generative AI platforms that synthesize answers from trusted sources. As SERPs shift toward rich results and AI summaries, users often get what they need without needing to click at all. In this environment, brand authority isn’t just tied to your domain. It spans platforms, formats, and the systems that learn from your content. Modern off-page SEO must support both search engines and the AI models that evaluate and surface your expertise. This off-page optimization guide breaks down …