Zoe Ashbridge

I'm not on the market for a new SEO agency job, but if I was, here's one way I would stand out from the crowd: A significant amount of agencies that manage their client's website put some tag to themselves in the footer of the client. We've all seen it before: "Marketing handled by Acme Corp". These send backlinks back to the agency's website. Which means that, using a site explorer backlink tool like Ahrefs, I could find the actual clients who belong to the agency I want to work for. I would then audit their client's sites to find areas of improvements. I'd leverage my findings to pitch the Head of SEO, creating a compelling narrative that is authentic to their actual clients and proves my expertise. In this competitive market, we have to do everything to stand out and be exceptional. Go the extra mile. Show me you know me, my pains, and my problems. Instead of another generic cover letter about how you "increased organic traffic by 200%," imagine getting an application that starts with: "I noticed your client, Acme corp, is struggling to rank for "Keyword". Here's three low-hanging fruits I'd go after to address that..." That candidate gets the interview. Every time. Most people won't do this level of research. They'll spray and pray with the same template to 50 agencies and wonder why they never hear back. But the ones who dig this deep? They understand that exceptional results require exceptional effort. What's the most creative job application approach you've seen in SEO? Pro tip: Most backlink auditors let you search for a specific phrase, so you can easily mine their backlink profile for keywords like "Built by", "Managed by", "Created by", etc.

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The debate around SEO, GEO, AIO, AEO, SXO or whatever hustle bro term you call it needs to end: The only thing that matters is the phrases and terminology your ICP uses because they pay you! SEOS are so concerned right now about labels , but you're all thinking from an SEOs perspective vs what your target audience may be looking for. Write your marketing and business copy how your customers think and don't make things harder than they need to be. The phrase Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS) goes a long way right now. This post inspired by Taylor Scher post yesterday. Do you care about all these acronyms, or is it just SEO to you?

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Why Local and Service Business SEOs Are Best Placed to Embrace the Future. Over recent days I've seen SEO gurus and many agency owners show how behind they are. As many desperately try to save their cash cow (knowledge content). They are simultaneously showing they don't understand search and are unable to think divergently about search. The quote in this post is by Kevin Kelly, from his book; 'The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future' It was published in 2016! That book was clearly years ahead of its time. SEO will rapidly become GEO because the market needs it. Firstly and most obviously, knowledge search is over for the SEO industry. Clicks from knowledge based search will vanish to near nothing. It's a declining market. The key here is not what known information your business writes about. The key is what problems your business solves. But search engines will exist. They make life easier and faster for AI. Having an organised list of the world's information matters and this will not vanish soon. The next key aspect comes from another quote in the same book. "Being found is valuable". This will be the new SEO. Already data is showing that while AI reduces traffic, the traffic it sends converts at a far higher rate. The reason is why writing knowledge based content for search is futile. When people do click through AI results, it's to take action. Business information not knowledge is the future of search. Being discovered by AI is the key. And this is what GEO is centred on. You no longer need to be ranked number 1 or on the first page of Google. This opens up SEO/GEO as a service. Gone are content retainers. Replacing them are context retainers. The development of on and off page signals that match the context businesses can be discovered. These are pathways. Also known as category entry points. While in Rome you don't search 'Cafes near me'. You ask AI "I'm hungry, find me a cafe with great reviews and views a short walk away". AI returns a list of 3 with commentary about each. This same approach applies to solving any issue. OK so here's where it's at. There are types of SEOs that exist. And the SEOs that are best prepared for the future of search are actually local and services business SEOs. Yes, those who are able to optimise local and service businesses for discovery are arguably better prepared than content focused SEOs. Why? Because they have been thinking about business discovery rather than knowledge discovery. What about E-commerce? My view here is that E-commerce stores need to invest heavily in their brands. Brand marketing and off-site signals namely digital PR is a must. It matters for everyone, but E-commerce more so. Search is changing. Gurus are seeing their rhetorics and business models collapse. The future is about business discovery not knowledge discovery.

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SEO agency we're working with has an interesting theory: ultra-granular collections based on search intent. Example: Instead of just one collection called 'Mens Shirts' with filters, they want 'Mens Blue Shirts Size L' as its own collection. Following this approach, they're adding 150+ collections total. The logic: Collections rank better than product pages in Shopify, and exact-match URLs capture specific buyer intent. Potential wins: - Capturing high-intent searches (size + color + product type) - Collection authority vs individual products - More indexed pages targeting long-tail keywords The alternative would be one strong collection with robust filtering, but that assumes shoppers use filters (many don't). Anyone tried this granular approach? Genuinely curious about real-world results.

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Stop Letting Redirects Kill Your SEO.... Most sites don’t crash SEO because of missing pages… They crash because of redirect chaos. Too many layers. CMS auto-redirects stacking up. Protocol & domain loops. Faceted navigation creating thousands of variations. The issue isn’t creating redirects it’s creating conflicting, multi-step, and invisible chains that waste crawl budget and frustrate users. The solution is simple: → Audit and clean up legacy rules. → Consolidate URL variations and parameters. → Coordinate CMS, server, and CDN redirects. It’s not about redirecting everything. It’s about smart, clean, and efficient redirect management. 👉 Swipe through the carousel to discover common causes of too many redirects + actionable fixes that actually improve SEO. ----------------------------- Find this useful? Share it to help your network. Let’s Connect and Optimize Together. #SEO #TechnicalSEO #Redirects #SiteMigration #CMS #SEOTips #techSEO #SEOservices #SEOconsultant

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SEO works when you stop overcomplicating it. Here’s what drives results: ✅ A site that loads fast and works smoothly on any device ✅ Content that answers buyer questions better than anyone else ✅ Keywords tied to intent, not vanity phrases ✅ Consistently publishing and optimising every week That’s literally it. The problem is most companies treat SEO as a side project.  They put out short blogs, chase irrelevant keywords and expect overnight results.  Then they call SEO “dead.” It’s not dead. It’s just being done wrong. SEO doesn’t replace ads. Ads create demand today. But SEO makes sure you’re visible when buyers search tomorrow. If you ignore it, you’re invisible when it matters most. if you do it right, SEO becomes the channel that compounds for years.

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Over the past few months, many SEOs (myself included) have noticed a surprising X-graph trend in Google Search Console (GSC) data, and it’s showing up across multiple client accounts. 👉 Decline in desktop impressions 👉 Increase in average position This pattern has been appearing since early September and has sparked a lot of discussion in the SEO community. Some believe it may be due to reporting or measurement changes within GSC. Others suggest that Google’s ongoing experiments with AI-driven search features (such as AI Overviews and LLM integrations) could be reshaping how impressions are tracked. Interestingly, clicks remain stable for now, but it’s definitely something worth keeping an eye on. ❓ Has anyone else observed a similar pattern in their accounts? If yes, what’s your take on the possible reasons behind it? 👉 Curious to hear thoughts from experts like Amit Tiwari, Lily Ray, Nathan Gotch, Peter Rota, and the team at Search Engine Land #seo #seoupdates #aisearch #seostrategy

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10 years in the same SEO niche? You might be falling behind. Many SEOs I know have worked in the same markets for years, and when they publish content on LinkedIn, you can immediately spot the difference. The problem? They often have limited real SEO experience because they've only worked for big brands (in general). Starting SEO on a personal, small, or medium-sized site is completely different. Generally, you don't have a history, no authority, start from zero, etc. This is where you see the difference between those who truly know SEO and those who just have "industry experience." I've personally worked across: • Adult sites • Lead generation • B2B and B2C eCommerce • Marketplaces • Content sites • One SaaS • Real estate • Local markets And more. Each sector taught me something different and opened my mind to new possibilities. Working 10 years in the same market is fine, but you're probably not growing as much as you could. I've seen many SEOs who worked in consulting agencies for 10 years (for example), but never tried other experiences. This type of SEO isn't effective, in my opinion. And in many cases, they have master's degrees or certifications that are unhelpful. This SEO is dangerous to the SEO industry because, in many cases, he interviews younger SEO figures or has worked with big brands. I think if you have diverse experience, you develop a strong personal brand. And it's important to have personal projects or assets like courses, products, etc. Diverse experience beats narrow specialization every time.

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SEO audit complete. Tickets submitted. 14 months later… They fixed the favicon. If you’ve worked in SEO long enough, you’ve seen this happen. It’s usually not because the dev team doesn’t care. It’s because they’re given too much, all at once. Here’s the mistake I see often: → You submit 47 technical tickets → Each one marked “high priority” → And expect them all done by next sprint What actually happens? → Most get ignored → Some get misunderstood → One gets fixed (usually the favicon or alt text for logo) Here’s what I’ve found works better: 1️⃣ Prioritize clearly and plan long-term Don’t drop everything at once. Instead, create a technical roadmap: → Group tasks by priority, difficulty and business impact → Assign deadlines → Spread them over a realistic timeline (even over the full year) This keeps everyone aligned and avoids overload. 2️⃣ Break down big issues into smaller tickets Instead of one giant ticket like “Fix internal linking,” split it up: → By page type (e.g. blog, product, category) → By action (add links, update anchor text, fix broken links) Smaller, focused tickets are more likely to get picked up. 3️⃣ Write instructions that make sense to devs SEO terms don’t always translate. Be clear about what the issue is, what it impacts, and what the expected outcome is. 4️⃣ Think in sprints, not checklists Ask yourself: What’s actually feasible this month? What can be batched? What needs more time or testing? 5️⃣ Build a working relationship Good communication goes a long way. Respect their time, be available to clarify, and say thanks when things get done. SEO can’t move forward without developer support. So it’s on us to meet them halfway. And to the devs, I really do appreciate your work ❤️ Respect your developers. Build the roadmap together. That’s how technical SEO actually gets done. #seo #technicalseo

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After "Build it and they will come", one of the biggest SEO myths out there is that having decent Google/search engine rankings means you'll always sell loads of products/services/'stuff'. Sadly, even with top 3 or front page rankings for relevant key phrases, sometimes content just doesn't convert. Why? Here are just some of the reasons I've identified: 🔵 You’re answering the wrong search intent 🟢 Your content delivers the answer too quickly 🔵 You’re missing trust signals 🟢 Your user experience is sabotaging conversions 🔵 You’re not connecting emotionally 🟢 Your page design lacks visual hierarchy 🔵 You’re attracting the wrong audience entirely 🟢 Your content doesn’t showcase your unique value 🔵 You have a gap between content promise and product reality 🟢 You’ve got credibility killers on your page 🔵 Your site makes visitors work too hard 🟢 Your Call to Action is wrong (or missing) 🔵 Your content ends conversations instead of starting them Luckily, there are ways to identify your conversion problem, and I've covered them in my latest blog post - https://lnkd.in/eviUe7nV Go have a read, then drop me a line if you think I can help.

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The counterintuitive SEO tip that actually works: linking AWAY from your website 🔗 I know what you're thinking: 'But won't people leave and never come back?!' Don't we want people to stay and engage with our site? 📌 Here's why this strategy actually helps your site rank better: ➡️ Google sees you as a resource: When you link to high-quality, relevant sources, you signal to Google that you're creating valuable content that fits into the larger web ecosystem. ➡️ You build instant credibility: Backing up your claims with links to studies, data, and trusted sources shows both readers and search engines that you've done your homework. (this is HUGE for ChatGPT searches) ➡️ You create discovery paths Google: follows links to discover content. When you link out, you create pathways for Google's crawlers to find your site through those connections. ➡️ You join the conversation: The web is a network, not a collection of islands. Linking out shows you're part of the larger conversation in your industry. You open relationship doors: The sites you link to notice. This can lead to natural backlinks, shares, and relationships with other content creators. Start small: Add 1-2 quality outbound links to your next blog post. Don't forget to add internal links too, we still do want engagement. ----- 👋🏼 Hi. I am Meg. I help founders get more traffic and better leads.

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POV, a creative agency managed your seo for a year 😬 Large MSO losing non branded traffic for over a year while a creative agency managed their SEO. No backlinks built, two aimless blogs a month, no content on key pages, failed site migration and the list goes on. If you look at the search console without filtering out branded traffic the site is getting thousands of clicks per day which is 99% branded. Your SEO agency should be providing you with a branded vs non branded search report. If you get a lot of branded traffic you can filter by going to search console 'add filter' > 'Query' > select 'Custom Regex' > 'Doesn't match regex' and insert your brand name and all misspellings and variations you see in search console using regex like this: brand|brandmisspeling|brandvariation| ect ect Then you'll see your true performance. I'm sure the creative agency is great at creating pretty logos ect, but leave the SEO to the SEOs. #Cannabis #SEO #Accountability

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Google Tag Diagnostics are now integrated into the Google Analytics consent settings hub, offering enhanced tools to diagnose and fix consent-related errors. This update simplifies the process for website owners to identify and resolve issues with user consent and data collection.

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