Harry Strong Seo Sea

Navigating the future of finance. Sharing insights on blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and the latest trends in decentralized finance (DeFi)

[Lior Alexander @LiorOnAI]

Anthropic released one of the best series of tutorials on prompt engineering.

It's literally everything you need to know.

[Aadit Sheth @aaditsh]

This guy literally breaks down every AI coding rule in under 15 minutes. Save this.

[Alex Albert @alexalbert__]

We wrote up what we've learned about using Claude Code internally at Anthropic.

Here are the most effective patterns we've found (many apply to coding with LLMs generally):

[Charles Floate 📈 @Charles_SEO]

Most people in SEO will say link building is the most difficult activity, but I'm here to tell you it's actually one of the easiest! 🔗

Here is a TEN STEP guide on how to build high quality, relevant links affordably, for any website:

Step 1 - Use Google search operators to find relevant websites, you can use MozBar or AhrefsBar (for free) to get metrics like DR or DA in the SERP.

Step 2 - Add each site to your sheet and manually analyze them to make sure they aren't guest post farms, inactive, hacked, spammy or not relevant enough to your site/niche.

Step 3 - Use the MailDump Email Finder (FREE) via the website or browser extension to find emails for your target domains - You can use Hunterio ($34+/mo) for better data.

Step 4 - Create a PVA Gmail account.

Step 5 - Create a template to send to the site owners or editors asking how much it costs for a post or link on the site. I build more niche edits than guest posts, so try to specify the page you want a link on first, if possible.

Step 6 - Use GMass/MailMeteor/MailsAI to send your outreach emails to the entire list and use a catchy subject line with an emoji to get maximum CTR. Always ask for the site's price, never offer money upfront as they could be offering it cheaper than what you're willing to pay for - You can use PitchBox ($495/mo+) for a LOT more features, multiple email addresses and way better UI.

Step 7 - Negotiate link type (guest post or niche edit) and pricing with the site owner. I always try to get links for under $100, and even if you don't buy a link, still add it to your database to track, as it could be valuable in the future.

Step 8 - Some people like to use Escrow to guarantee their links go live, but I think it's a bit too much hassle... I just try to have them send me a PayPal link or pay via wise.

Step 9 - Choose your anchor text, target page and link type wisely.

Step 10 - Monitor your links (Use ScrapeBox or LinkValidator) to make sure site owners don't tamper with them (like changing to NoFollow or deleting the guest post)

Now you can run link building campaigns, and it's really not all that difficult or expensive! If you enjoyed this post, please drop it a like and RT 🙌

[Connor Gillivan @ConnorGillivan]

You can't rank on Google until you understand the 1st page of results.

In SEO, we call them SERPs -- search engine result pages.

I've studied them for 10+ years for 1,000s of keywords.

They tell you what you're going up against.

Here's the exact 7 step process I follow:

[Mark Williams-Cook @thetafferboy]

SEO updates you ✨NEED✨ to know [28 Oct]:

📈 Google has published new documentation about Google Trends. This page now includes helpful recommendations about analysing trends, keyword research and even creating content around trends.

💰 ​AI Overviews are inaccurate in 43% of finance-related searches. Data from The College Investor's recent study shows that AI Overviews particularly struggled with nuanced topics such as investment, taxes and loans.

🤖 ​Google is rumoured to launch an AI Chrome assistant that will "help with common web browsing tasks". This assistant, codenamed Jarvis, was hinted at Google IO earlier this year and may be announced in December.

🖥️ ​Anthropic has introduced 'computer use', allowing Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Haiku to "use computers the way people do" - by looking at the screen and moving the cursor, via the API only currently.

🖼️ ​Google recommends using higher resolution favicons. The previous minimum recommended size was 8x8 pixels and the updated recommendation is 48x48. This likely ties to recent experiments with larger favicons in SERPs.

☐ ​Google is removing the sitelinks search box from SERPs. This feature has been around for 10 years and will be removed on 21 November 2024. This suggests that the sitelink search was not used by many users.

🔗 ​Google has updated its URL parameter documentation. Google specifies that = should be used to separate key-value pairs and & should be used connect multiple parameters. It also advises against using colons, brackets or commas.

🍝 ​Redditors are purposefully disrupting AI Overviews with misinformation. These Redditors are giving fake restaurant recommendations to ensure that their favourite restaurants receive fewer tourists.

▶️ ​Creators can remove links from their YouTube comments. This appears to be a response to the introduction of clickable topics in YouTube comments in 2023. This feature has received a lot of spam so this change is not surprising.

📉 ​The "from sources around the web" SERP feature is another way of taking traffic away from websites. This feature has existed for years but has increased in prevalence in 2024. via @pelogia

📍 ​Google is testing new rich results linking to Google Business Profiles. There are two variations with a 'shop nearby' text link and the second showing the distance to the business's location in brackets.

💌 If you like these kinds of updates, we curate and send them out weekly, along with SEO tips and a deep-dive podcast, this week with Myriam Jessier and Stéphanie Walter

Links to everything in my next tweet ⬇

[Nick Zviadadze 🇺🇦 @Nick_zv_]

5 Semrush Hacks for Busy Marketers

(Bet you didn't know about #4)

[Lily Ray 😏 @lilyraynyc]

Absolute gold for HCU sites.

“Pull back on the SEO”

Go @CyrusShepard. With a shout out to @jonoalderson 🤣❤️

#AhrefsEvolve

[Nathan Gotch @nathangotch]

“Never change your URLs, or it will destroy your SEO!”

Here’s the truth:

The only time it’s dangerous is when you have a lot to lose.

But if you’re working on a campaign that isn’t ranking well, making a change often works.

We often see local campaigns with URL structures like this:

❌ /personal-injury/car-accidents/

They’ll try to use this URL structure to rank for “CITY + car accident lawyer.”

It can work (if you get everything else right).

It’s just easier to rank if you simplify the URL structure.

✅ Make it 100% clear what you’re trying to rank for.

The URL structure above is problematic for a few reasons:

1️⃣ It’s too long and adds unnecessary folders

A tiny website doesn’t need a complex URL structure. Instead, it’s better to go right off the root domain—more on this in a second.

2️⃣ It doesn’t satisfy the intent

What is this page trying to rank for if you had no other context?

Are they providing general information about car accidents?

It’s impossible to know.

The harder you make it for Google algorithms, the worse you rank.

3️⃣ It doesn’t specify the location

Google is effective at understanding pages, but it’s not perfect.

Treat the algorithms like you're teaching a toddler.

Here’s a URL structure that works:

/st-louis-car-accident-lawyer/

And this:

/st-louis/car-accident-lawyer/

Or this:

/missouri/st-louis/car-accident-lawyer/

Notice the commonalities:

⬩It specifies the location
⬩It establishes the intent (it’s a lawyer, not a general law website)
⬩It includes the entire keyword phrase

I prefer going off the root domain for smaller websites.

But a folder structure works as well.

It's a matter of preference.

💡 What matters is that you get the keyword phrase in the URL.

So if we see this: "/personal-injury/car-accidents/"

⬇️

We change it to: "/st-louis-car-accident-lawyer/"

Then we 301 redirect.

It produces positive outcomes 99% of the time when executed on underperforming pages.

Every page you’re trying to rank should have two simple goals:

⭐️ Be the most relevant option.

This begins with the URL, then bleed into the title, meta description, H1, and content itself (use NLP here via Rankability)

⭐️ Be the best page for the target keyword

Find a unique angle and build your content with the intent to rank for years, not months.

[Brodie Clark @brodieseo]

Ecommerce SEO Tip: if you work with a site that has an online store and physical locations, this is a non-brainer to have in place (many sites don't).

Within Google Merchant Center Next, there is a section that you can access under Settings > Add-ons to enable "free local listings".

This setting allows you to sync up the eCommerce component of the business with Google map-related surfaces such as the associated Google Business Profiles, and for other newer features that Google is currently testing within the standard organic listings.

To make the connection, you'll need to send a request to the email that manages the GMB listings from Merchant Center, which will arrive under the 'Linked accounts section' in Google Business Profile Manager (which should be instantaneous). Note: make sure the email you're requesting *only* has the relevant GBP profiles attached to it.

There are then various regional-specific settings in Merchant Center related to products displayed in-store and inventory where you can manage most of this. It is important to note that the free local listings feature can cross over with local inventory ads, which is an important consideration in all of this.

There is quite a bit to learn and experiment within this feature of GMC Next that I would highly recommend looking into to gain more visibility for your products in Google's free listing surfaces. Let me know if there's interest in learning more and I may write guide to this feature on my blog.

[Noah Stancati @noahstancatiii]

I have studied 10,000+ TikTok videos.

And discovered almost 100% of viral videos have these 3 common traits.

• Like this post
• Comment “Viral”

And I’ll DM you the 3 traits I’ve used to generate over 250 million organic views.

(Must follow, 24 hours only)

[Brodie Clark @brodieseo]

Google AI Overview (AIO) tracking in Semrush vs. Ahrefs.

I'm a fan of both tools, but there are core differences worth highlighting.

Semrush launched AIO tracking on September 3rd and Ahrefs on October 7th – with the Ahrefs database still fully populating.

Here are the main differences from my POV and what I like best about AIO tracking within each:

*Semrush*

• Device type

Within Semrush, you're able to toggle by desktop/mobile to see AIO inclusions. On mobile, you generally see less compared to desktop. AIOs on mobile appear quite differently (in terms of showing the link for a source), so I'd expect CTR to be lower. It's helpful to see this insight in Semrush. Ahrefs has device filtering, but I believe this is constrained to search volume.

• SERP screenshots

This feature is a major standout for Semrush in general. For every keyword in their database, they keep screenshots of SERPs for ~30 days. So I'm able to see what the actual search results look like for an AIO. This can be extremely helpful.

• Speed of release

It is commendable how quickly Semrush released AIO tracking in their toolset. They probably have the most extensive set of features being tracked in their Organic Research report out of any tool, being a key point of difference for them.

• AIO traffic value

When filtering by a feature, they have a traffic value metric assigned for that traffic. For instance, the overall value metric for Investopedia for AIOs on desktop in the US is $2.6M, being a helpful figure to share with clients. Ahrefs has a similar metric, but I don't believe you can get this to show when filtering by specific features.

*Ahrefs*

• Country comparison

While both tools have the ability to filter features by country, I quite like how I can click on the locations list in Ahrefs and very quickly see AIO traffic for all locations and specifically what it shows for others. e.g. I can see at a glance that NZ has AIOs appearing for Investopedia.

• Ranking in the AIO itself

Being different to the SERP screenshots tool for Semrush, all the data is stored in Ahrefs for each of the data points more intricately. So much so that you can see where your website appears in the top 3 results of the AIO itself. You can technically do this with Semrush, but it requires viewing the screenshot.

• Position assignment

Ahrefs assigns the AIO as position 1 within their dataset, whereas Semrush currently shows it without a position assigned. I suspect Semrush will have reasoning behind this due to managing historical performance, but I do like the Ahrefs approach considering standard AIOs do appear at the top.

• Specific date comparisons

Within Ahrefs, you can select very specific dates and see how AIOs have changed. I'm a big fan of this feature, especially when completing product grid analysis for eCommerce stores.

Note: if either tool thinks something isn't correct in this comparison, please feel free to comment with a screenshot showing otherwise.

[Nathan Gotch @nathangotch]

The only SEO metric that really matters:

Organic search traffic inside of Google Analytics 4.

Everything else is noise.

Even data inside Google Search Console is often disconnected from reality.

[Charles Floate 📈 @Charles_SEO]

I am in the trenches everyday! Here is my current SEO 🧰

Best Free SEO Tools I Use 🆓
- ChatGPT
- Sheets + Docs (+ Addons)
- Yoast + RankMath
- Analytics + GSC
- Looker Studio
- Answer Socrates
- Schema Validator
- PageSpeed Insights

Best Paid SEO Tools I Use 💰
- Ahrefs
- SEMRush
- Topical Map AI
- MarketMuse
- Parasite SEO Tool
- Exploding Topics
- Wincher
- SiteBulb
- LinkResearchTools

SEO Chrome Extensions I Use 🖥️
- Detailed SEO
- Keywords Everywhere
- Word Counter Plus
- VidIQ
- Spark SEO
- Grammarly Premium
- Hunter For Chrome
- Check My Links
- SimilarWeb

Are there any I've missed that you use on a daily basis?

[Connor Showler | SEO & Marketing Master @ConnorShowler]

Bonus Sneaky Backlink: ✨ Softr(.)io

🎯 84 DR
💰 FREE
✅ Do-Follow

Softr is actually a very cool No-Code app builder that will let you publish templated apps and websites onto their subdomains for absolutely free! 👌

Slap as many links as you want into your published pages, these don't do well as parasites cuz the UR is low on subdomains, but still a great sneaky to add to the arsenal. 💥

Blessings, enjoy your Sunday fam. 👑

[Lily Ray 😏 @lilyraynyc]

This HCU site just hit a full recovery 🥳

Recipe niche. And yes, they took bold action to fix the site. Love to see it.

[Nick Zviadadze 🇺🇦 @Nick_zv_]

Link-building can cost 1,000s of dollars...

Want to build backlinks for free?

Do this:

1. Join my ABC link swap group
2. Make a post w/ your site details
3. Connect w/ websites and exchange links safely

Drop a comment and I'll invite you to the group.

[James Lee @monetizedfuture]

I just had my first $2k month with the FB Bonus program!

[Brodie Clark @brodieseo]

Whoa, this looks awesome. A new (and free) SEO Chrome extension for Google Search Console named 'Gandalf' just launched.

Create instant visualisations with your GSC data. Note: owner confirmed data is only processed in GSC – not sent anywhere. Install: https://t.co/ftSyyi23Z3

[Nathan Gotch @nathangotch]

It took 7 years to get to 100k, but YouTube is 100% worth the effort.

I've been shouting from the rooftops that YouTube is one of the best marketing channels.

In fact:

40% of my leads and sales for SEO business are directly attributed to YouTube.

But it doesn't tell the full story.

Many people watch your YouTube content and search for your brand on Google.

Google will get the credit as the lead source.

In reality, it stemmed from YouTube.

I'm not a YouTube expert, but here are a few things I've learned:

1. Ignore Results

Until you've published 100 videos.

But once you've done that:

2. Identify the Frameworks That Work

You'll realize that there are 3-5 video frameworks that work best. Just repeat those frameworks.

3. Write Scripts

Word-for-word is best when you're new because:

4. Assume You're Boring

Change frames, use different video types (talking head, over the shoulder, etc), and cut the fluff.

5. Stay in Your Lane

YouTube seems to reward you for relevance and punishes you when entering different topics.

Focus on one niche for a long time.

6. Learn Basic Video Editing

This is critical if your niche has timely topics.

7. Use Simple Thumbnails

You can see my CTR growth over time:

Better thumbnails are a big reason.

I've tried fancy designers, but my simple (Canva-made) thumbnails always outperform.

8. Outlast Everyone Else

You don't need to be great.

You just need to outlast the people who give up and try to get better with every video.

Lastly:

9. Don't Delete Your Terrible Videos

I've kept my old videos as a benchmark to measure growth.

You haven't grown if you're not embarrassed by your old videos.

Good luck!

P.S. Check the offer below ⬇️