AI SEO Myths, Debunked: A No-BS Guide For Marketers
Marketers are making bold statements about AI SEO every day. The problem? Most of them are half-right at best. “SEO is dead.” “Long-form content is pointless.” “AI SEO is just good SEO.” Here’s the truth: When it comes to AI, the answer is rarely that simple. Are you trying to show up in ChatGPT or …
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Entity SEO in the Age of AI Search
Websites have been the foundation of SEO strategy for 20-odd years. That’s changing with AI search. When someone asks ChatGPT for a product in your category, it doesn’t always crawl websites in real-time. Its first move is to pull from what it already knows about you and your competitors from its existing knowledge. Clear and …
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SEO and PPC: 8 Smart Ways to Align for Maximum ROI in 2025
Your SEO and PPC teams probably don’t share data. That’s problematic. Organic traffic is slipping. CPCs are climbing. And conversions aren’t keeping pace. It’s not just the LLMs — the SERP itself has changed. In 2025, every query is a blended battlefield of ads, AI overviews, videos, shopping units, map packs, and organic links. Yet, …
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Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): How to Win in AI Search
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is one of the most important topics in search right now. It’s about making sure your brand shows up inside AI-generated answers — not just on traditional SERPs. As large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity reshape discovery, AEO ensures your content gets mentioned and cited where buyers are …
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SEO vs. GEO, AEO LLMO: What Marketers Need to Know
If you do any kind of marketing, you’ve probably come across at least one of these acronyms recently: GEO: Generative Engine Optimization AEO: Answer Engine Optimization LLMO: Large Language Model Optimization AIO: Artificial Intelligence Optimization Here’s the truth: They all mean essentially the same thing. But they are subtly different from SEO (search engine optimization). …
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Branded GEO: How to Control What AI Says About Your Brand
A few months back, one of my clients pinged me on Slack and said: Sure enough, when prompted, ChatGPT confidently responded, “No, the platform does not have that feature, but this other competitor does!”. For obvious reasons, this was worrying for the client. Not only was ChatGPT spreading misinformation about their product, it was actively …
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Is SEO Dead?
Short answer: Not yet. But SEO as we know it is dying. SEO used to work fairly consistently: write great content, sprinkle in keywords, land a few links — boom, rankings. The better you followed the recipe, the better your results. That worked because search was a relatively closed system. Now? It’s probabilistic. You show …
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LLM Seeding: A New Strategy to Get Mentioned and Cited by LLMs
I asked ChatGPT: “What are the best resources to learn SEO in 2025?” The response mentioned Backlinko twice. Here’s the thing: We don’t rank #1 in Google for “best SEO resources.” (Ads, Reddit, and AI Overviews take up that real estate). We haven’t even optimized for “best SEO resources,” but we got mentioned anyway. That’s …
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How Brian Dean Would Launch Backlinko in 2025
In 2012, Brian Dean launched Backlinko with one goal: publish world-class SEO content that ranks. And it worked. He built one of the most trusted SEO brands in the world, powered almost entirely by blog posts and Google traffic. But what if he started today? We asked him. And here’s what he said. 1. Build …
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Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): How to Win in AI Search
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is quickly becoming one of the most important new topics in search. As large language models (LLMs) change how users discover brands and make decisions, GEO helps ensure your content and brand show up in AI-generated answers — not just in traditional search results. But GEO is just one part of …
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How to Create an SEO Report That Wins Trust (and Budgets)
Most SEO reports go unread. Or, worse — they get skimmed, misunderstood, and ignored. But knowing how to create an SEO report that demands attention can change everything. It’s not just a performance recap. It’s a strategic tool that helps you build trust with decision-makers. Win bigger budgets. And keep your SEO efforts on track. …
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7 Ways to Find Related Content (+ Free Topic Planner)
Continually coming up with fresh, relevant content ideas isn’t easy. But you might be overlooking something important: related content. Related content includes topics that connect to your primary content themes. And it’s more powerful than you might realize. It helps you: Spot content gaps before competitors do Build topical authority Create smart internal linking opportunities …
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The SEO KPIs That Actually Matter (And How to Track Them)
Proving the value of your SEO efforts can seem like an uphill battle. What’s the cheat code to getting buy-in from stakeholders? Tracking the right SEO KPIs. Not just the default ones in your dashboards. But the right metrics. In this guide, you’ll learn how to choose and monitor SEO KPIs that actually mean something. …
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Programmatic SEO: What It Is and When to Use It (+ Examples)
Imagine if your website could rank for every single keyword related to your niche. That’s the promise of programmatic SEO. It’s how Tripadvisor creates “Things to Do in” pages for countless locations across the globe… …and ranks for almost 100K keywords featuring the words “things to do in”: But the reality is more nuanced. It’s …
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LLM Visibility: The SEO Metric No One Is Reporting On (Yet)
You lost half your Google traffic. But suddenly…more people are searching for your brand. What’s going on? Welcome to the invisible influence of LLMs, where your visibility goes up even when traffic goes down. New research from Semrush reveals a seismic shift happening right now: LLM traffic will completely overtake traditional Google search by 2027. …
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Search Everywhere Optimization Guide (+ Free Checklist)
Imagine you’re looking for after shave oil. You type a few keywords into Amazon. A brand called Truly Beauty pops up. You’ve never heard of them. So you go to YouTube to find the “best after shave oil”. At the top of the results, someone has reviewed Truly Beauty’s product. Okay, interesting… Let’s stay on …
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How to Do Realistic SEO Forecasting Step-by-Step (+ Template)
You’re setting goals. Publishing content. Reporting on growth. But deep down, you’re still asking: “Are we aiming too high? Too low? Are we even on track?” That uncertainty is normal — but it’s also a signal that you need an SEO forecast. At Backlinko, we do SEO forecasting throughout the year. We use it to …
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Organic Traffic: What It Is & How to Increase It (6 Ways)
Growing your website starts with reaching the right people. Not random traffic. People actively searching for the solutions you provide. That’s where organic traffic shines. Unlike paid advertising or social media, organic traffic attracts visitors with clear intent. At Backlinko, organic traffic brings us over 571K monthly visitors—each one specifically interested in SEO and digital …
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How to Sell SEO Services in 5 Steps+ Expert Tips & Templates
Learning how to sell SEO isn’t easy. Why? Your prospects don’t want to buy SEO—they want to buy results. I learned this the hard way. After years of trial and error, I found a system. It consistently delivers what people want: more customers, revenue, and growth. In fact, I’ve maintained a 75% close rate by …
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6 Steps to Win at Real Estate SEO
Want more buyers and sellers from Google without relying on Zillow or Redfin? Or more leads for listings that support your cold-calling and door-knocking efforts? Then, become skilled at real estate SEO. SEO is about ranking your site in search engine results pages (SERPs). This will attract qualified buyers and sellers to your agency. Just …
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How To Improve Your Travel SEO In 10 Steps
Travel SEO is about turning strangers into guests. But it’s no small task competing with major sites like Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and Expedia. With so many players in the market, standing out in search engine results can feel impossible. Yet, small players can still succeed. Live Oak Lake, a boutique resort in Texas built a strong …
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How Do Search Engines Work? (Quick Guide for Beginners)
Search engines help users find webpages related to specific search terms (called queries). Understanding how search engines work can help you make your pages more accessible. And ultimately direct more potential customers to your site. This guide explains how search engines discover, store, and rank content. You’ll also get tips on how to increase visibility …
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How to Find Competitors’ Keywords to Boost Your SEO
Finding competitor keywords is essential to building your SEO strategy. Why? Because they show what’s working for others, highlight opportunities, and uncover gaps in your approach. At Backlinko, we’ve spied on Ahrefs, Moz, and Semrush’s keywords for years—and found many opportunities. For instance, Ahrefs gets an estimated 2.5k monthly organic visits from the keyword “website …
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How to Do SEO for Contractors (5 Steps + Examples)
As a general contractor, you want a steady stream of customers for your business. What’s a surefire way to get your business top-of-mind for potential clients? Make sure they can find you online through search engine optimization (SEO). When someone in your local area searches for services like yours, you want your website at the …
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SEO for Manufacturers: Definition, Benefits, and Top Tactics
What Is Manufacturing SEO? Manufacturing SEO is the process of making changes to a manufacturing website to increase its visibility in organic search results. This can help it rank (appear high in search results) for keywords related to your company. For example, your target keywords might include “plastic manufacturers,” manufacturing services,” or “clothing manufacturer.” When …
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SEO Maintenance: Here’s What to Do & How Often
The real secret to continuously ranking well in search engines lies in consistent, strategic maintenance. In this guide, we’re going to show you exactly how to maintain your SEO the right way. Let’s kick things off with some basics. What Is SEO Maintenance? SEO maintenance is the ongoing process of monitoring, updating, and optimizing your …
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SEO Analytics: The “I Can’t Believe It’s This Easy” Guide
SEO analytics involves digging into your site’s data to see how it’s doing. You track metrics like traffic, rankings, and user behavior to figure out what’s working. And what’s not. Why do it? It helps you stop wasting time on activities that don’t work. And double down on what does. At Backlinko, SEO analytics is …
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Quality SEO Content: The QRIES Approach for Better Rankings
Quality SEO content keeps readers glued to the page. The key? Producing content that satisfies both search intent and user experience. But most SEO content fails to do this. The focus is on on-page optimizations while ignoring what actually keeps readers engaged. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use my QRIES framework to: Create …
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SEO Jobs: How to Build a Career in Search Marketing
SEO jobs are booming. The global SEO industry is projected to reach $157 billion by 2032. (Up from $68 billion in 2022.) Why is this happening? Businesses NEED skilled SEOs to compete in the digital space. And they’re willing to pay top dollar for that expertise (more on that later). In this post, you’ll learn: …
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10 Brilliant SEO Newsletters: Master Search From Your Inbox
SEO newsletters make it easy to keep up to date with what’s going on in the world of search engine optimization. And they show you the strategies that are working right now. To save you time (and declutter your inbox), I’ve curated a list of the top newsletters I think are worth subscribing to. After …
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Keyword Mapping: A Step-by-Step Guide to Better SEO
If you have a website, keyword mapping should be a priority. Why? Because it can help you get more visitors, leads, and conversions. Noticeably more. At Backlinko, keyword mapping helps us reach 500k+ organic sessions every month. In this step-by-step guide, you’ll find everything you need to get started with keyword mapping. Plus, a free …
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8 Remarkable SEO Podcasts to Level Up Your Knowledge
With dozens of SEO podcasts vying for your attention, choosing the right one(s) can be overwhelming. That’s why we’ve curated a list of the best SEO podcasts. To help you navigate the world of SEO and stay on top of the latest industry news. Our Head of SEO, Leigh McKenzie, also reached out to the …
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