Category: SEO Advice
Indexing isn’t ranking, and why your freelancers (probably) hate you
(This is the 29/07/2025 issue of my newsletter – subscribe here) Hey hey! What’s been happening in SEO-land this week? Well, the fabulous Aleyda Solís ran a test showing that ChatGPT uses Google’s search snippets for answers – which pretty much shows that what a lot of good SEOs have been… Read More
Working with freelancers – stop managing them like employees
Whether you’re hiring a freelance SEO specialist, web designer, accountant, graphic designer, or consultant, working with freelancers requires a different approach to managing employees. Get it right, and you’ll access expert skills without employment overheads. Get it wrong, and you’ll frustrate everyone involved. Understanding what you’re hiring When you hire… Read More
SEO Myths Debunked: Parasite SEO is the new secret weapon!
Parasite SEO promises easy rankings by publishing content on high-authority sites instead of building your own domain strength. The problem is, Google killed this strategy in 2024 – the people still banging on about it just haven’t kept up. Parasite SEO sounds tempting on paper. Find a high-authority website, publish… Read More
LinkedIn bollocks, link obsessions, and why your copywriter needs that bloody brief
(This is the 22/07/2025 issue of my newsletter – subscribe here) Hey hey! It’s been a week, right? The June Google update is over, but my advice remains the same – hold tight until things settle down (there’s still a lot of volatility in SERPs, which means rankings are still fluctuating)…. Read More
7 reasons you’re avoiding that copywriting brief, and why it’s costing you money
That copywriting brief has been glaring at you from your inbox for three weeks like an overdue tax return. Here’s why every excuse you’re making is costing you money. “I don’t have time for this” You’re too busy running your business to fill in some lengthy form. Meetings, deadlines, actual… Read More
Why your SEO Copywriter won’t start writing until you fill in that brief
You’ve finally bitten the bullet and hired an SEO copywriter. Woohoo – awesome decision! But then they send you what looks like a university dissertation worth of questions to answer, and you start wondering if you’ve made a terrible mistake. “Isn’t it their job to do the writing?” you mutter,… Read More
There’s a difference between “AI Copy Won’t Hurt Your SEO” and “AI Copy at Scale”
A fab study that appears to show that AI content doesn’t hurt your Google rankings is doing the rounds on social media. Cue the stampede of businesses rushing to pump out hundreds of AI-generated articles faster than you can say “content at scale.” Hold your bloody horses. Yes, the Ahrefs… Read More
How to write SEO copy that doesn’t make readers want to cry
Your website copy is driving away the exact people you want to attract. Harsh? Maybe. True? Absolutely. I’ve audited hundreds of B2B websites, and the copy problems are so predictable I could create a bingo card. Generic buzzword soup. Keyword-stuffed nonsense that reads like a robot wrote it during a… Read More
SEO Myths Debunked: Social shares directly impact rankings!
“Get more Facebook shares and watch your rankings soar!” If I had a pound for every time I’ve heard this myth, I’d be writing this from my yacht rather than my home office. The idea that social shares directly impact Google rankings is one of those persistent SEO myths that… Read More
Google’s June update is here (and AI search still isn’t the apocalypse)
(This is the 08/07/2025 issue of my newsletter – subscribe here) Hey hey! Google’s June 2025 core update started rolling out on 30th June, and it could take up to three weeks to complete. So if your rankings are doing the digital equivalent of a washing machine on spin cycle, that’s… Read More
AI search changes everything!!!! (except it doesn’t)
I read a LinkedIn post by Tyler Cooper recently that perfectly captured something I’ve been banging on about for months. While everyone’s running around like headless chickens claiming AI search changes everything, the reality is far more boring (and reassuring). 🟢 AI search engines still want well-structured, helpful content that… Read More
AI SEO “hacks” that will fuck up your traditional SEO
The “AI revolution” (bleurgh, I just did a little bit of sick in my mouth, sorry!) has brought out the absolute worst in SEO grifters. Every day, some LinkedIn “expert” is flogging a new “AI-powered SEO hack” that’s supposedly going to transform your search rankings overnight. These techniques aren’t just… Read More