The Moz Blog

How Is Google's New "Questions and Answers" Feature Being Used? [Case Study]

One of Google's newest features in the local SERPs doesn't seem to have great adoption by business owners. How are people Google's new Questions & Answers, and who gets the most benefit from participation? Check out the takeaways from this case study by Miriam Ellis.

Why It Can Pay to Get Links from Domains that Don't Always Rank Highly

Contrary to popular opinion, high ranking pages aren't always the best targets for link building. This Whiteboard Friday delves into the pros and cons of targeting top ranking sites for links, and why you should consider a link intersect strategy, targeting sites that rank for broader topics, and earning links from publications ranking beyond page 1 of the SERPs.

An Investigation Into Google's Maccabees Update

When his site was unexpectedly hit by a recent core Google algorithm update, one SEO was determined to find out why. Follow along with all the steps taken to see just what went wrong and how to determine the right fix.

Should SEOs and Content Marketers Play to the Social Networks' "Stay-On-Our-Site" Algorithms?

Increasingly, social networks are tweaking their algorithms to favor content that remains on their site, rather than send users to an outside source. This spells trouble for those trying to drive traffic and visitors to external pages, but what's an SEO or content marketer to do? This edition of Whiteboard Friday goes into detail on the pros and cons of each approach, then gives Rand's recommendations on how to balance your efforts going forward.

Free Local SEO Tools That Belong in Your Kit

If you've been looking to ramp up your local SEO work without busting your budget, this is the post for you. Local SEO expert Miriam Ellis shares over 25 free tools, spreadsheets, resources, and more to make your job easier in the year ahead.

What to Do When a New Potential SEO Client Contacts You

How do you react when a new potential client contacts you? Discerning between a good fit and an adequate (or poor) fit can be key to both retaining those clients and growing your business. John Doherty walks you through the client vetting process, including the initial call and how to determine whether you should pitch your project or move on.

Why Google AdWords' Keyword Volume Numbers Are Wildly Unreliable

Broad and unusable volume ranges, misalignment with other Google tools, and conflating similar yet distinct keywords — these are just a few of the serious issues that make relying on AdWords search volume data alone so dangerous. In this edition of Whiteboard Friday, we discuss those issues and offer a few alternatives for more accurate volume data.

9 Predictions for SEO in 2018

For the past ten years, Rand has made a set of predictions for SEO in the year ahead, and for all ten years he's been largely correct. Check out what he got right in 2017, and pay close attention to his predictions for 2018 — they're doozies!

How to Troubleshoot Local Ranking Failures [Updated for 2018]

Your site's local rankings are dropping fast — is it because of Possum? Local Service Ads? Lack of organic authority? Or something else entirely? Miriam Ellis uncovers the most common causes of lost or low local rankings in the Google SERPs and helps you diagnose just what went wrong with her actionable 10-point checklist.

Selling SEO to the C-Suite: How to Convince Company Executives to Support SEO

If you've ever had trouble getting buy-in or budget approval for SEO, you know how hard it can be to convince stakeholders of the value of your work. Rebecca Maynes offers up advice on how to present your case to execs, educate them on the points they care about, and win respect (and budget) for your SEO efforts.

SEO Ranking Factors & Correlation: What Does It Mean When a Metric Is Correlated with Google Rankings?

Correlations data isn't always as clear as it seems. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand shares the myths and realities of correlations in SEO ranking factor studies, then offers five smart ways to glean more trustworthy, useful information from the data.

How Does Mobile-First Indexing Work, and How Does It Impact SEO?

Slowly but surely, mobile-first indexing is coming. In this post, Bridget Randolph explains what’s changing and answers commonly asked questions about how this change will affect SEO. If you've got one we haven't covered, leave it in the comments!