Keyword Research Alternatives to SEOmoz and Wordtracker?

SEOmoz results

Research is the smart first step when starting a new SEO campaign or growing an existing SEO effort. I talk with clients to brainstorm a few keyword ideas and then feed those seed keywords into tools to find related keywords. Then, ideally, I look at  traffic and competition metrics to identify low hanging fruit of … Continue reading Keyword Research Alternatives to SEOmoz and Wordtracker?

SEO Usability Vacuum

That SEO and usability don't flourish in a vacuum has been on my mind lately. Sound doesn't travel in a vacuum. If there's nobody to hear your pearls of SEO wisdom do they make a sound? The sound of silence sends no sales. Four cases of constructive complaining follow. Case #1 - Hire Experts + … Continue reading SEO Usability Vacuum

xCommenter Bad for SEO – Bad for your site

Got an email from one of my contract coders today about a supposed SEO plugin for WordPress called xCommenter: Hey Dan -- Ever heard of xCommenter wp-plugin? https://vimeo.com/36628711 Just wondering what your opinion is on these sort of tools. What is xCommenter? Will it help my site's SEO? xCommenter parses your post's tags, title and … Continue reading xCommenter Bad for SEO – Bad for your site

Advanced Web Ranking Here I Come

WebPosition's old standalone version finally stopped querying Google correctly. I'm now in the process of switching to Advanced Web Ranking (AWR). Per my earlier post about finding a WebPosition replacement and some followup in the comments, AWR is the only solution to meet all of the critical SEO software criteria. I'm still apprehensive; it's always … Continue reading Advanced Web Ranking Here I Come

SEO Blogging Best Practices

(WARNING! This article is several years old now. The world of SEO changes often. Take this and any other SEO advice with a grain of salt and an eye for the contemporary.) This article assumes your web team has already configured your blog on a good blogging platform like WordPress with all the best SEO … Continue reading SEO Blogging Best Practices

Top 5 SEO Plugins for WordPress

What plugins do you add to WordPress installs for better SEO? Use the comments to let me know what's missing from the list. (this list is old as dirt. Ignore it, please) Platinum SEO Pack - It does auto 301 redirects, canonical URLs and plenty more. Google xml sitemaps - Creates your sitemap.xml and updates … Continue reading Top 5 SEO Plugins for WordPress

Wordtracker KEI Fail, Wordtracker Alternatives & SEO News

I recently reluctantly renewed my subscription to Wordtracker, a keyword research tool and database. Why was I so reluctant? (And why am I considering asking for a refund?) Wordtracker provides poor documentation and regularly switches the formulas they use for data they offer without notifying its customers. Wordtracker Changes the Meaning of "Searches" In 2009 … Continue reading Wordtracker KEI Fail, Wordtracker Alternatives & SEO News

Need Help Finding a WebPosition Replacement

WebPosition was pretty great until Infospace bought them in 2009. Then came the outages. What was once a wonderfully supported suite of SEO SERP tools turned into a nightmare. The newly released Webposition is a web-only interface (vs. software you install on your computer.) Whereas you used to pay a few hundred bucks to own … Continue reading Need Help Finding a WebPosition Replacement

SEO Reduces PPC Cost

One of my clients recently opened a second Google Adwords account to advertise one of his many businesses. "Why does it cost so much more to go after the same PPC keywords on my new website with this new Adwords account?! Is it because it's new?" I'd previously mentioned to him that good SEO reduces … Continue reading SEO Reduces PPC Cost