Since I continuously seek simplicity in my own life, it's one of my goals to make learning SEO as simple as possible for you. That's why I'm compiling my favorite, must-read SEO articles here.
These posts have been foundational in my SEO career, and I'm so happy to be sharing them with you :)
Without further ado, here are my favorite SEO articles!
Readability and SEO by AJ Kohn
This article by AJ Kohn was one of the first SEO articles I ever read.
After annoying my boss with endless questions, he sent me this article. It breaks down SEO so simply, and SEO felt much more learnable and doable after reading it.
How to find sites that will link to your content by Gisele Navarro of Neomam
If you've ever heard me discuss link building, you know that it's tough to do. The strategies are clear, but the execution is anything but.
This article by Gisele Navarro explains link-building tactics that work today, in particular, outreach tactics. Her recommendations are human-centric, making link building way more about relationships than marketing.
How to write a blog post that ranks by Andy Crestodina of Orbit Media
I'm a big Andy Crestodina fan—he thinks great content is key to SEO, and I couldn't agree more.
In this blog post, he fast-forwards a four-hour screen recording of his process when writing a blog post. Getting such a close look at someone's blog writing process (for SEO specifically) is incredible. It's a 20-minute video that's worth every second of watch time!
Copywriting: the definitive guide by Brian Dean of Backlinko
If you're looking for high-quality articles on everything SEO, look no further than Backlinko.
This article on copywriting is one of the best pieces I've ever read on the subject. It's tactical, but more so, Brian Dean teaches an approach to writing that's all about the reader. This kind of writing will get you ranking on Google.
What we learned from a "Google-only" marketing approach by Mike Blumenthal of GatherUp
If you're looking for in-depth (but easy!) local SEO strategies, this is the post for you.
Local SEO expert Mike Blumenthal discusses a case study of a local diner's Google-only marketing approach using Google My Business and a Google My Business website.
It's so eye-opening, and it reveals many strategies that anyone can use to market their business locally.
Local search ranking factors by Darren Shaw of WhiteSpark
Although this article's content changes every year, the content is always invaluable (I refer back to it often). Darren Shaw polls dozens of local SEO experts to get their take on the top ranking factors for local search (i.e. ranking on Google My Business or Google Maps) of that particular year. This article then summarizes and interprets the results of that survey. Once you know the ranking factors, you can optimize yourself!
How to do keyword research for SEO by Ahrefs
My go-to SEO tool is Ahrefs.com. Although I use their platform for many things, keyword research is the main one.
Since keyword research is their bread and butter, Ahrefs made a beginner-friendly guide that explains keyword research fundamentals and how to use their tool to do it.
What's the right content for each stage of the marketing funnel? By Eric Siu of Single Grain
This post isn't about SEO specifically, but it's so good that I had to include it.
If your marketing strategy involves a lot of content (maybe for your coaching business, membership, course, etc.), then knowing which kind of content to market and when is a huge advantage. The article is great, but I refer back to their infographic on the marketing funnel the most.
25 tips for updating old blog posts for SEO and boosting organic traffic by Elise Dopson of DataBox
You could only update articles and get way more website visits than if you just wrote new content.
Updating old content is a fantastic content strategy, and DataBox explains how they did it and how it increased their traffic by 75%.
50 things we've learned about content marketing by Jimmy Daly of Animalz
This post is just zinger after zinger of amazing tips on content marketing. The Animalz (content marketing agency) blog is one of my favorites, but this post might be their best (in my opinion).
Growing Cup & Leaf: 0 to 150,000 monthly organic visitors in eight months by Nat Eliason
I love a good case study, and this is one of my favorites.
Nat Eliason, the founder of the SEO agency Growth Machine, explains his process in growing a blog about tea. The strategies are excellent, and they're mostly content-focused (meaning that you could do this too!).
That's all for now!
Most SEO specialists learn from blogs and experience--no one has a degree in SEO! These articles are a fantastic place to start learning foundational approaches to SEO that really work.
I hope you enjoyed this list! Now grab a cup of coffee and get to reading 🤓
