HomeBlogSEO

Blog Category

SEO

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the practice of optimizing your website to generate more traffic from search engines. Learn how to improve your rankings, build links, run technical website audits, track performance, write content that’s fully optimized for Google, the difference between white hat and black hat SEO, and much, much more. The WordStream blog is your home for all things SEO this year.


Google’s Title Rewrite Dropped Our CTR by Up to 37%! (Here’s How We Fixed It)

Learn about how Google's recent title tag rewrite significantly hurt our traffic, how we fixed it, and what the community and Google has been saying about it—plus what it means for all of us.

Kristen McCormick
August 26, 2021 | SEO

9 Important SEO Metrics to Track (+ How to Improve Them)

Understand nine of the most important SEO metrics to track, plus how to find and improve them so you can drive more website traffic and rank higher on Google.

George Konidis
July 27, 2021 | SEO

7 Traffic-Crushing Google Penalties and How to Prevent Them

The consequence of any Google penalty is a drop in (or removal from) rankings. Learn the difference between algorithmic and manual Google penalties, how to avoid seven of the most common ones, plus how to identify and fix.

Guest Author
June 30, 2021 | SEO

How to Use Google Search Console (the Right Way!) to Improve SEO

Though it's a powerful SEO tool, not enough marketers know how to use Google Search Console to its fullest potential. Learn four ways to use Google Search Console data to rank higher, drive traffic, and produce top-quality content.

Guest Author
June 16, 2021 | SEO

SEO Content Readability: 5 Mistakes Your Plugin Won’t Detect

As Google's algorithm becomes more sophisticated and human-like in its preferences, writing that factors in human readability will rise to the top. Use these five tips to improve your SEO with human readability.

Guest Author
June 4, 2021 | SEO

Are You Ready for Mobile-First Indexing? 5 Things to Check Now

Google's mobile-first indexing deadline has arrived! Is your website optimized to rank with this algorithm change? This post clarifies what the mobile-first indexing update means and provides some steps you can (and should) take now to ensure your site is not negatively impacted.

Gordon Donnelly
April 15, 2021 | SEO

5 Steps You Can (& Should) Take to Improve Your Core Web Vitals Now

Learn the five things you must do to keep your Core Web Vitals (and Google rankings!) from flatlining.

Guest Author
April 2, 2021 | SEO

5 Key Best Practices for SEO Testing (+9 Ideas to Try Now)

In this post, we cover five best practices for SEO testing: measure more than rankings, evaluate pages for inclusion, know your tools, get control variable right, and repeat tests. We also provide 9 ideas for SEO tests you can try, involving meta title experiments, external links, social buttons, and more.

Guest Author
March 24, 2021 | SEO

7 Solid Strategies to Stand Out From Your Competitors on Google

Today's rich search engine results pages are filled with opportunities to stand out above your competitors on Google. There are ads, organic results, local results, images, Shopping results, and more. This post covers six attainable ways to set yourself apart on the search platform.

Jessica Thiefels
March 22, 2021 | SEO

7 Truths About Google E-A-T to Help Increase Your Content Authority

This post takes a deep dive into what Google EAT is, how it is involved with ranking factors, and how to implement it to improve your content authority and SEO.

Guest Author
March 12, 2021 | SEO

The 8 Ingredients to a Traffic-Generating, Rank-Boosting SEO Strategy

While there are fundamentals to any good digital marketing campaign, the blueprint for the best SEO strategy changes each year. Here are some pointers for building a winning SEO strategy for 2021.

Guest Author
March 5, 2021 | SEO

7 Easy Ways to Get More Traffic from Evergreen Content

Let's face it—even the most evergreen content starts to show its age. In this post, we provide 7 ways you can refresh your posts and guides to keep traffic coming in. We'll cover keyword targeting, information updates, image refreshing, and more!

Kristen McCormick
March 3, 2021 | SEO

The Top 10 SEO Trends To Drive More Traffic in 2021

To rank higher on Google and generate organic traffic, you need to modify your SEO strategy as Google's algorithm evolves. This post covers 10 important SEO trends for 2021 to leverage for your ranking success, including Core Web Vitals, BERT, EAT, and more.

Guest Author
January 12, 2021 | SEO

What Is Lazy Loading? Understanding Lazy Loading for SEO

Page loading speed is crucial for SEO these days, and lazy loading can make your website load faster. What is lazy loading? Learn how lazy loading works, how to implement it, and whether you need it for your site.

Gordon Donnelly
December 8, 2020 | SEO

15 Ways to Make Your Website More Visible on Google

You know you need a website to run a business in 2020. But how can you make sure your website is easy to find and highly visible? Here are 15 actionable ways to increase your website's visibility.

Kristen McCormick
November 17, 2020 | SEO

What is Google AMP and Do I Need It for SEO?

Google AMP is a technology used to create a cleaner, faster, mobile experience for visitors to your website. This post goes through the pros and cons of AMP and provides the steps to implement it on your site, should it be the right SEO solution for you.

Guest Author
November 6, 2020 | SEO

Core Web Vitals: The Page Experience Update Is Coming, And It Could Be A Big One

Google's page experience update is coming, and it could be a big one. Learn what Core Web Vitals are, what exactly the page experience update entails, when it will happen, and how you can prepare for this potentially landmark shift.

Gordon Donnelly
October 19, 2020 | SEO

How to Find the Right SEO Service for Your Small Business

Understanding SEO is hard enough, let alone finding an agency you can trust. This post equips you with everything you need to know to get the right small business SEO services for your site—including what to look for, questions to ask, and terms to know.

Kristen McCormick
September 15, 2020 | SEO

10+ Free Ways to Get on the First Page of Google

For those in the business of trying to drive organic traffic, Google is the all-powerful. It crawls the web, determining which pages are the most useful and relevant for its users for virtually any topic. We don’t just trust Google’s results, we rely on them.

Kristen McCormick
August 19, 2020 | SEO

9 SEO Copywriting Tips to Rank Sky-High (with Examples!)

Learn how to write content that ranks with these nine SEO copywriting tips we swear by.

Conor Bond
December 3, 2019 | SEO

What to Do About BERT & Google’s Recent Local Algorithm Update

Two big Google algorithm updates took place in the past two weeks: BERT and Possum, a local algorithm update. Learn exactly what these updates mean and how you should respond to them.

Gordon Donnelly
November 12, 2019 | SEO

5 Ways to Optimize Your Site for Google Page Speed Criteria

Lighthouse 3.0 brought new reports and new measurements for site speed and performance—and Google's kept updating algorithms since. Here are five ways to optimize your site for Google's page speed criteria, including using a Content Delivery Network, purging plugins, and more!

Guest Author
October 22, 2019 | SEO

4 Ways to Find Low-Volume Keywords for SEO

Low search volume keywords can help your target your ideal audience and expand your reach. Here are four ways to find them, including user-generated communities, social media posts, and more!

What Mobile-First Indexing Means for You as an Advertiser

Are you sure your website is mobile-friendly? With mobile-first indexing now the norm, you need to be absolutely sure. In this guide, you'll learn how to get your website ready for mobile users and how to fix common issues including missing Alt-text, slow page speed and more.

Guest Author
August 6, 2019 | SEO

SEO Case Study: How I Increased SEO Traffic by 600% in 24 Months

That's right: SEO traffic grew 600% in just 24 months. In this new SEO case study, we share the strategies that drove these amazing results, including building links, creating SEO-driven content, and more!

Guest Author
August 1, 2019 | SEO

How to Do a Technical SEO Audit in 6 Steps

Technical SEO is too often overlooked because it can get tricky fast—but having a site that's crawlable, fast, and secure is crucial. Here's our quick, easy six-step technical SEO health check.

Guest Author
May 28, 2019 | SEO

The 7-Step Image SEO Checklist

Image SEO is an important on-page SEO factor that can help make your site more visible in organic search. Learn seven ways to optimize your images for higher rankings in Google starting today.

Gordon Donnelly
May 8, 2019 | SEO