Blog posts/articles about marketing, SEO, and link building

The image shows a comparison of two different versions of section 11.0 (Page Quality Rating FAQs) of the Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines.

February 14, 20240Comments

Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines

The Google Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines is the instruction document used by the human quality raters who help Google figure out what the "digital fingerprint" of websites and webpages looks

by Kevin Carney

Topical Authority

February 13, 20240Comments

Topical authority requires comprehensive and in-depth content

The lead post in this series is Mastering Topical Authority: A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your SEO. In a world where content is king and where brands publish in pursuit of

by Kevin Carney

The AI generated image shows a number of factors, represented as small circles around the perimeter of a larger circle being relevant to the building of topical authority, which is represented by the larger circle in the center.

Topical Authority

February 12, 20240Comments

Strategies for building topical authority

The lead post in this series is Mastering Topical Authority: A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your SEO. These are test links that will be removed once the testing is done: link1,

by Kevin Carney

AI generated image of a dog standing in front of a whiteboard giving a lecture to an audience of other dogs on the topic of cats.

Topical Authority

February 11, 20240Comments

How Google uses topical authority to determine expertise

The lead post in this series is Mastering Topical Authority: A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your SEO. At it's core, the Google search engine is a very sophisticated and complex pattern

by Kevin Carney

Topical Authority

February 10, 20240Comments

Importance of topical authority in search engine rankings

The lead post in this series is Mastering Topical Authority: A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your SEO. Topical authority has emerged as a critical factor in SEO rankings, not because it

by Kevin Carney

AI generated image showing a penguin giving a lecture about fish.

Topical Authority

February 9, 20240Comments

Definition of topical authority

The lead post in this series is Mastering Topical Authority: A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your SEO. The phrase "topical authority" has kind of an overarching meaning as it is used

by Kevin Carney

Topical Authority

February 8, 20240Comments

Why is topical authority important for SEO?

The lead post in this series is Mastering Topical Authority: A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your SEO. In short, topical authority is important for SEO because Google is taking us there,

by Kevin Carney

Topical Authority

February 7, 20240Comments

Mastering Topical Authority: A Comprehensive Guide to Boost Your SEO

This post is the lead post in a series on the topic of topical authority. What it is, why it matters, how you establish it, and how you grow it. Each

by Kevin Carney

The image shows the property designation screen for creating a Google Search Console property.

Tutorials

August 17, 20230Comments

Verifying site ownership via Google Search Console

This feature is no longer something that is in the future. After the development was completed, we had to apply to Google for them to verify our API setup (specifically

by Kevin Carney

Image of a presentation about Google's Search Generative Experience with a large slide displayed and presenter on stage

Tutorials

August 17, 20230Comments

Google Search Generative Experience and Links

https://youtu.be/H_7iFlk-t8Y Transcript Hi I want to show you guys something that I stumbled across the other day that I think is is relevant to the whole concept of link building in general and… Tanya,

by Kevin Carney

Image is a cartoon showing a woman holding a monitor with the word "blog" on it in one hand and money in the other

Content Marketing

July 23, 20230Comments

SEO for startup businesses

To be clear, the issue is not startup businesses per se, but businesses whose marketing activities are constrained by limited resources. Startup businesses tend to be short of time and money And

by Kevin Carney

An image of the front page of The Furrow from the spring of 1897.

Content Marketing

July 11, 20230Comments

Content Marketing is older than Search Engine Optimization

The world's first known content marketing effort was a quarterly print magazine that was started by John Deere in 1895. Here is an image of the front cover of the spring

by Kevin Carney

Image shows a writer whose typewriter is taking over the writing

Digital PR

May 22, 20230Comments

SEO: Link building, digital PR, and the Google origin story

Introduction At its core, SEO is about content and links, with an overlay of something Google calls E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authority, and trust). In this post, I argue that once you understand

by Kevin Carney

Content Marketing

September 26, 20220Comments

Finding unique content marketing perspectives

How do you write on a topic without saying what thousands, if not millions, have already said? How can your content marketing stand out against an entire Internet of content, also

by Kevin Carney

Tutorials

September 22, 20220Comments

Software update: Link Earning Community

This blog post details the software upgrades made as a result of some early adopter users, and myself, finding errors and making enhancement requests. Enhancements Enhancements are divided into two categories, functional

by Kevin Carney

A cartoon image of three people who seem to be wondering about something

SEO

August 24, 20220Comments

Google’s helpful content update and E-E-A-T?

Google has been pushing “content quality” for years While some people have expressed concern about Google’s “helpful content update”, we’ve been repeatedly warned about it for years. We all knew it was

by Kevin Carney

Tutorials

July 6, 20220Comments

Start Here: Overview of the Link Earning Community

IMPORTANT: While the post contains the registration URL at the end, please read this post before you register, as the concepts described in this tutorial are important to understand. The Link

by Kevin Carney

An imaging showing your site in the middle and other sites linking to it

Link Building

August 4, 20213Comments

As regards SEO, is everything link building?

This phrase has been stuck in my mind for about a year now, after I interviewed a few dozen people for an article I wrote for Search Engine Watch and

by Kevin Carney

Link Building

July 6, 20210Comments

When it comes to link building, what matters most?

The headline implies there is one thing that matters most, and for what it’s worth, that title occurred to me after I wrote this article, as I decided that in

by Kevin Carney

Image of a dark blue upgraph against a neon red background, leading up to gold dollar signs

Inbound Marketing

June 14, 20211Comments

Why Your Blog on Your Website is the Hub of Your Online Marketing

The primary reasons are... It’s real estate on the Internet that you own. You can not control the rules at Facebook, LinkedIn, etc, and the people who do sometimes change them

by Kevin Carney

Brand Journalism

February 15, 20210Comments

Digital PR vs Link Building

Featured image attribution: The Castle Group, image URL, and image license. What is Digital PR, and why does it matter? Backlinks, link building, and domain authority are not terms traditional public relations

by Kevin Carney

Brand Journalism

December 4, 20200Comments

Public Relations and SEO

Testing: link test Image credit: geminos creative This article starts with a very brief summary of the top ranking articles for the search phrase "public relations and SEO". They're presented and summarized in

by Kevin Carney

Link Building

November 30, 20200Comments

How to write link building pitches that get noticed

About this article In the spirit of full disclosure, this article about writing link building pitches is based on, and is a bit of a rewrite of an article written by

by Kevin Carney

Image shows Send mail as configuration within Gmail

Tutorials

November 7, 20200Comments

Creating and using the Gmail aliases feature (“Send mail as”)

Using the Gmail aliases feature ("Send mail as")? Why not just use Google G Suite? Which makes it easy to have email addresses that are within your domain:? Because when compared

by Kevin Carney

Screen shot of Plugins within a WordPress Dashboard

Misc

January 11, 20194Comments

Which WordPress Plugins Should You Use and Why

Every WordPress Site Needs Plugins But which ones? And why? Last night I met someone who was confused about this. I told him I would send him a list of which

by Kevin Carney

Image of old vintage Avis Unique Selling Proposition that really helped grow their business.

Marketing

June 8, 20180Comments

In Closing: Your High Growth Unique Selling Proposition

Getting your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) right is not quick and is not easy, but when you get it dialed in right, it carries your business. It explains to people in

by Kevin Carney

Image shows a woman talking into a metal can with a string attached and is representative of communication, or in this specific instance, communicating your Unique Selling Proposition to the market.

Marketing

June 6, 20180Comments

How to Communicate Your High Growth Unique Selling Proposition

Communicating your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) starts while you’re testing it, and continues after you think you’ve got it right. When you come to the realization you’ve got a product that

by Kevin Carney

Image business meeting representing a customer and/or prospect giving feedback, in this instance on how the USP meets its needs.

Marketing

June 4, 20180Comments

How to Test Your High Growth Unique Selling Proposition

Once you’ve developed what you think is a good Unique Selling Proposition (USP), how do you test it? There are two ways that make sense. Of course, if you think

by Kevin Carney

Image shows the iterative process of creating a high growth Unique Selling Proposition.

Marketing

June 1, 20180Comments

How to Craft a High Growth Unique Selling Proposition

Once you’ve got background information on the whole USP thing, how do you craft YOURS? I found a great method described in a blog post titled 5 Ways to Develop a

by Kevin Carney

Image shows a jungle overgrowing and walkway. It is representative of the idea of a High Growth business fueled by a strong Unique Selling Proposition.

Marketing

May 27, 20180Comments

How to Figure Out a High Growth Unique Selling Proposition

So…. How do you create a great USP (Unique Selling Proposition)? The short answer is….. Slowly, through iterations. But…. And this is critical….. If you don’t have data to back up

by Kevin Carney

Marketing

May 26, 20180Comments

Examples of Fantastic and Terrible Unique Selling Propositions

Some brands have experienced impressive growth during periods where they used a really effective Unique Selling Proposition (USP), then lost market share later when they stopped. This has occurred often enough

by Kevin Carney

Image shows a Volkswagen Beetle (cira 1960 to 1970 ish) which is representative of an exceptionally great ad campaign which positioned small cars as “cool”.

Marketing

May 23, 20180Comments

Very Important Ideas About High Growth Unique Selling Propositions

Sometimes, for your message to get through, it’s necessary to (metaphorically speaking) hit someone over the head with a message that effectively says “What you know is wrong”. Solid unique selling

by Kevin Carney

Image shows robots being assembled in a factory. It is intended to invoke the idea of “The Customer Factory” which is a model of monitoring and measuring customer acquisition activities.

Marketing

May 20, 20180Comments

How The Customer Factory Helps You Achieve Massive Growth

When you get your USP right, EVERY “flow” of The Customer Factory is better. Monitoring The Customer Factory for your business tells you if your USP is working. The Customer Factory I

by Kevin Carney

Image of giant sequoia redwood tree as a representative of “massive growth” within the context of your business, which is achieved in part by figuring out your Unique Selling Proposition.

Marketing

May 15, 20180Comments

How Your Unique Selling Proposition Fuels Massive Growth

How are your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and your UVP(Unique Value Proposition) different? It depends on who you ask. When you Google USP vs UVP, you get various answers. Some people say

by Kevin Carney

This image shows a vintage ad for M&Ms candy, with the Unique Selling Proposition clearly identified, which is “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand”.

Marketing

March 19, 20180Comments

Creating Your Unique Selling Proposition (Brand Strategy)

A great Unique Selling Proposition (USP) will cause the market to pull your business along. You'll have trouble keeping up. A mediocre one makes you just like everyone else. Your USP, is the simple

by Kevin Carney

Image shows how Contextual Marketing is enabled via social media and “lives” at the intersection of how we define ourselves (profiles), and what we do online (behaviors) allowing advertisers to place highly targeted ads in front of people who are very likely to be interested.

Misc

February 26, 20183Comments

How to generate high quality leads with contextual marketing

What Contextual Marketing is Not Contextual marketing is neither Outbound Marketing nor Inbound Marketing, both of which provide a lower ROI today. To better understand Contextual Marketing, it’s important to first understand the

by Kevin Carney

Image showing what “Walking the Controversy Tightrope” is like

Inbound Marketing

January 18, 20181Comments

How to increase blog traffic with controversial topics

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics The topic of using controversial topics to grow blog traffic and generate leads is, in and of itself, controversial. I’ve read articles online that talk about how

by Kevin Carney

An image showing a traditional sales funnel.

Marketing

December 27, 20170Comments

How to increase leads and revenue with Pipeline Marketing

What is Pipeline Marketing? At its core, Pipeline Marketing is nothing more than the attribution of “credit” for generating revenue, across various activities that are required to capture a lead, nurture

by Kevin Carney

SEO

September 24, 20170Comments

What is semantic search? How to do SEO like a professional

What is Semantic SEO? The commonly cited concise definition of semantic SEO is a bit cryptic. “Semantic search is a search or a question or an action that produces meaningful results, even

by Kevin Carney

How do you use presuppositions phrases to help sell stuff?

Inbound Marketing

August 30, 20170Comments

How to Sell More Easily and Naturally with Presuppositions

Presuppositional Phrases are the Language of Advertising The following all contain presuppositions. “Nothing whitens better than Crest” “Why suffer another summer?” “This year, I’ll stop asking ‘Do I look fat’?” Notice the first statement does

by Kevin Carney

Optimizing internal website linking to improve SEO

Inbound Marketing

August 27, 20170Comments

What Is Internal Linking and Why Is It Important for SEO?

Internal linking matters. The internal link structure of your website has a HUGE effect on your SEO. Ideally your internal link structure should be a hierarchy, not a web. The diagram below

by Kevin Carney

What are the steps to continuous content marketing improvement?

Inbound Marketing

August 2, 20170Comments

How to continuously improve your content with Deming lessons

The ideas taught by W. Edwards Deming can help you improve your content. Who was Deming? W. Edwards Deming was an American engineer, statistician, professor, author, and a management consultant. He transformed Japanese

by Kevin Carney

The MozBar chrome plugin shows the Domain Authority Score

SEO

June 26, 20170Comments

Find better citation links with mozbar domain authority

What is Domain Authority? It is an integer, between 1 and 100, that was created by Moz (an SEO tool vendor located in Seattle, WA) that provides an indication of the

by Kevin Carney

Glossary

May 24, 20170Comments

Google E-E-A-T: What it is and why it matters

Google E-A-T recently became Google E-E-A-T, and this is important. Google has been pushing E-A-T as their main set of quality metrics for years now. This has become especially relevant with Google's

by Kevin Carney

Glossary

April 9, 20170Comments

Customer Journey / Buyers Journey

The customer journey or the buyers journey is the steps taken and decisions made by a prospect in the course of deciding to buy whatever it is that you sell. The main

by Kevin Carney

Glossary

March 29, 20170Comments

Snippet Post

Snippet posts are fairly short posts and either answer one question or convey one main idea. They are contrasted with Pillar Posts which are longer, better researched, and convey more information. Both of which

by Kevin Carney

Glossary

March 17, 20170Comments

SERP (Search Engine Result Page)

Introduction A SERP (Search Engine Result Page) is the page Google (and the other search engines) return to you in response to a search query. This post is part of a series and

by Kevin Carney

Glossary

March 12, 20170Comments

Private Blog Network

Introduction A Private Blog Network (PBN) is a privately owned network of servers that have obtained high domain authority via some means (generally via what where called Black Hat SEO techniques)

by Kevin Carney

Glossary

March 8, 20170Comments

Outbound Links

Introduction Outbound links are links from pages on your website to web pages on other websites. A study of the effect of outbound links was conducted and demonstrates the positive impact of outbound

by Kevin Carney

Glossary

February 13, 20170Comments

Brand Publishing/Journalism

Introduction Brand publishing or brand journalism is simply the strategy of practicing journalism, but for marketing. Brand publishing describes how brands (businesses) directly publish content for their customers, their prospects, and to

by Kevin Carney

« Older Articles Newer Articles »