What was that slight chill down your spine? Was it the first cool wind of fall? The spooky vibes of October? Or, are you just scared that you’re going to miss out on the next big trend in SEO?

Fear not. It’s all treats and no tricks in this month’s roundup of all the most important case studies, guides and news items.

The case studies of the month are going to reveal what a survey of thousands of SEOs says about the future of the industry, whether you really know the best length for meta titles and what 3.25 billion data points say about where niches get their traffic.

Then, the guides are going to hit you with a new outreach technique that gets insane results, suggest reasons your CTR data may be flawed, how to adapt to Google’s quality standards, and why you need to go the extra mile to verify your local rank.

Finally, it’s the news. We’ll hit you with the biggest SEO headlines including the changes to “no-follow” (we’ve even got some new tests for you), the need-to-know details from the small September update, and how you’ll soon be able to control your own search snippet.

Let’s jump into the first item and learn what 1000+ SEOs have to say about which ranking factors really matter. read more…

The dog days of summer are upon us—that special time from July to about Mid-August marked by the most sweltering days of the year.

Well, if you’ve been focusing on your online business to escape the heat, you’re out of luck. It’s rising in here, too. But if you’re reading this, you can take the heat. So, let’s get to the advice that will keep you cooking.

First, check out these data-laden case studies to make sense of recent changes. We’ll start by looking at whether CTR is a ranking factor, some tests into the best backlink checker and, what’s working for SEO in 2019. Then, I have a case study for you built off my link service.

After that, I’ll take you through the guides that will show you how to drive traffic to your site, analyze your competitors, and cheaply boost content linkability like a pro. After my choice of guides, I’ll show you the ones Cyrus Shephard considers the best for SEO this year.

Finally, the month’s big news and lively discussions. If you’ve been wondering what’s causing rule-abiding sites to lose traffic or why some GMB reviews are missing—your answers are a few scrolls away.

Your answer as to whether CTR is a ranking factor? Let’s start by looking at what Dan Taylor has to say. read more…

Got your cookouts, fireworks and family vacations out of the way? Good. Because summer school is now in session and there will be a test. This month’s roundup comes with one of the heaviest collections of case studies and guides that I’ve ever published.

First up, my case studies are going to give you data experts’ perspective on some of the most vital trends in search, including Google’s June core update, the best CMS platforms and what clients expect from SEO services.

Then, my collected guides are going to teach you some intensely valuable lessons about how to be an amazing SEO, fix a plateauing rank and understand how Google values different types of links.

Finally, there weren’t many big news items last month, but what there were, you better not have missed. I’m going to cover the shutdown of CCN and what it means that Google has canceled support of robots.txt.

I’ve got a lot to cover, so better jump right in. Let’s start with one of the first really in-depth data dives into the June 2019 core update. read more…