They're Simply the Best: The Top 25 Moz Blog Posts of 2020

Posted by morgan.mcmurray

Here we are again — that time of year filled with wrap-ups and lookbacks and “best of” compilations. 2020 was a year like no other, and that’s certainly reflected in the topics covered by the blogs in the list below.

We published 170 blog posts this year (including Whiteboard Friday episodes) — not too shabby for a year rife with personal and professional challenges! We’re looking forward to what 2021 has in store, but in case you missed anything, we’ve compiled the top 25 most-read pieces from the last 12 months*. You’ll find several Whiteboard Friday episodes (past and present), local SEO tips, and advice for empathetic marketing, along with the optimistic SEO predictions for 2020 and beyond — made in pre-COVID times. 

So without further ado, here are the best Moz Blog posts of 2020. Enjoy!



*The top 25 Moz Blog posts listed below were published between January 1 - December 22, 2020, and are in order by unique pageviews generated during that timeframe.

---

1. What Readers Want During COVID-19: Content Ideas for Every Niche

Author: Amanda Milligan | Published: March 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 49,889

Amanda tested a variety of keywords to see which ones exhibited a trend during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and might warrant some attention from content marketers. Here's what she found. 

2. Pay Attention to These SEO Trends in 2020 and Beyond

Author: Suganthan Mohanadasan | Published: February 4, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 45,553

In the past several years, we've already seen a sea of change in how we think and execute on SEO, but the future holds even more change — and more opportunity. Explore a rundown of key SEO topics to keep an eye on in the future.

3. Are H1 Tags Necessary for Ranking? [SEO Experiment]

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: February 25, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 35,414

In earlier days of search marketing, SEOs often heard the same two best practices repeated so many times it became implanted in our brains: Wrap the title of your page in H1 tags and use only one H1 tag per page. Despite assertions from one of Google's most trusted authorities that sites "can do perfectly fine with no H1 tags or with five H1 tags", many SEOs didn't believe it. So of course, we decided to test it scientifically.

4. Google My Business: FAQ for Multiple Businesses at the Same Address

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: February 17, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 31,883

How should I get listed in Google My Business if I’ve got multiple businesses at the same address? How many listings am I eligible for if I’m running more than one business at my location? Get answers to your top questions in this comprehensive FAQ.

5. Google's January 2020 Core Update: Has the Dust Settled?

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: January 27, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 31,800

The January 2020 Core Update peaked from January 13-15. We dig into the numbers, including winners and losers.

6. Google's May 2020 Core Update: Winners, Winnerers, Winlosers, and Why It's All Probably Crap

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: May 14, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 24,159

The May 2020 Core Update was the second-hottest update since the August 2018 "Medic" Update. Dr. Pete takes a hard look at the numbers, including why measuring winners and losers has turned out to be a tricky business.

7. Core Web Vitals: The Next Official Google Ranking Factor

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: July 17, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 21,281

There's a new ranking factor in town: Core Web Vitals. Expected in 2021, this Google-announced algorithm change has a few details you should be aware of. 

8. SEO for 2020

Author: Britney Muller | Published: January 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 20,783

SEO Scientist Britney Muller offers a seventeen-point checklist of things you ought to keep in mind for executing on modern, effective SEO. You'll encounter both old favorites (optimizing title tags, anyone?) and cutting-edge ideas to power your search strategy into the future.

9. 4 Google My Business Fields That Impact Ranking (and 3 That Don't)

Author: Joy Hawkins | Published: October 23, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 20,330

Joy and her team at Sterling Sky have come to the conclusion that there are only four things inside the Google My Business dashboard that a business owner or a marketing agency can edit that will have a direct influence on where they rank in the local results on Google.

10. Crawled — Currently Not Indexed: A Coverage Status Guide

Author: Christopher Long | Published: March 9, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 18,354

Within Google's Index Coverage report, there are many different statuses that provide webmasters with information about how Google is handling their site content. While many of the statuses provide some context around Google’s crawling and indexation decisions, one remains unclear: “Crawled — currently not indexed”. This post will help you identify some of the most common reasons this mysterious status might be affecting your website, and how to address them.

11. How to Get Backlinks in 2020 [Series]

Author: Britney Muller | Published: June 26, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 15,523

A little creativity and smart tactics can uncover high-quality link building opportunities. This week, Britney Muller kicks off a new Whiteboard Friday series on modern link building.

12. Position Zero Is Dead; Long Live Position Zero

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: February 5, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 14,825

On January 22, 2020, Google started removing Featured Snippet URLs from organic listings. We take a deep dive into the before and after of this change, including its implications for rank-tracking.

13. 2020 Local SEO Success: How to Feed, Fight, and Flip Google

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: January 6, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,969

Feed Google the right information, fight spam, and flip it into an opportunity: these are the top three ways to chase local SEO success.

14. Which of My Competitor's Keywords Should (& Shouldn't) I Target?

Author: Rand Fishkin | Published: February 21, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,638

Which of your competitor's keywords are worth targeting, and which can be ignored? Learn how to tell the difference in this fan favorite Whiteboard Friday.

15. 10 Basic SEO Tips to Index + Rank New Content Faster

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: October 16, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,381

When you publish new content, you want users to find it ranking in search results as fast as possible. Fortunately, there are a number of tips and tricks in the SEO toolbox to help you accomplish this goal. 

16. 7 SEO Processes That Get Easier with Increased PageRank/Domain Authority

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: February 7, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,883

What factors are affected as you improve PageRank or Domain Authority, and how? Cyrus details seven SEO processes that are made easier by a strong investment in link building and growing your authority.

17. Marketing in Times of Uncertainty

Author: Rand Fishkin | Published: April 3, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,861

Our work as marketers has transformed drastically in 2020. Our good friend Rand talks about a topic that's been on the forefront of our minds lately: how to do our jobs empathetically and effectively through one of the most difficult trials in modern memory.

18. A Beginner’s Guide to Ranking in Google Maps

Author: Alex Ratynski | Published: March 16, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,836

The majority of your potential customers still use Google to find local businesses near them. In fact, 80% of searches with “local intent” result in a conversion. This begs the question: “What’s the best way to catch the attention of local searchers on Google?” The answer: through Google Maps marketing.

19. The Rules of Link Building

Author: Britney Muller | Published: February 28, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,532

Are you building links the right way? Or are you still subscribing to outdated practices? Britney Muller clarifies which link building tactics still matter and which are a waste of time (or downright harmful) in one of our very favorite classic episodes of Whiteboard Friday.

20. How We Ranked a Single Page for 2.6K Keywords Driving 30K Monthly Searches [Case Study]

Author: Kristin Tynski | Published: May 4, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,359

In rare cases, SEOs create content that generates results so far beyond what was anticipated that a single project can greatly move the needle. Kristin walks through one such instance for her team's client, ADT.

21. Understanding & Fulfilling Search Intent

Author: Britney Muller |  Published: June 12, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,262

Understanding what your target audience is searching and why is more important than ever. Britney Muller shares everything you need to begin understanding and fulfilling search intent, plus a free Google Sheets checklist download to help you analyze the SERPs you care about most.

22. Title Tags SEO: When to Include Your Brand and/or Boilerplate

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: August 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 11,850

If your websites are like most, they include a fair amount of extra "stuff" in the title tags: things like your brand name or repeating boilerplate text that appears across multiple pages. But should you include these elements in your titles automatically?

23. How to Query the Google Search Console API

Author: Brian Gorman | Published: March 18, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 11,095

If you’ve been an SEO for even a short time, you’re likely familiar with Google Search Console (GSC). It’s a valuable tool for getting information about your website and its performance in organic search. That said, it does have its limitations. In this post, you’ll learn how to get better-connected data out of Google Search Console and increase the size of your exports by 400%.

24. How to Choose Google My Business Categories (With Cool Tools!)

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: September 9, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 10,873

Your choice of your primary and secondary categories contributes a lot to Google’s understanding and handling of your business. With so much riding on proper categorization, let’s empower you to research your options like a pro today!

25. A Must-Have Keyword Research Process for Winning SEO

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: May 8, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 10,745

Smart keyword research forms the basis of all successful SEO. Cyrus Shepard shares the basics of a winning keyword research process that you can learn and master in a short amount of time. 

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

The Link Building Webslog

Posted by rjonesx.

This is not the link building article you — or really anyone — were probably hoping for. It isn't a step-by-step guide to getting the best backlinks, it isn't some list of hot tips or new opportunities, and it isn't the announcement of some great tool. What it is, unashamedly, is a window into the brutal slog that is outreach-based link building. 

What can you expect?

1. YELLING IN CAPSLOCK.

2. Some tips and tricks.

3. Weeping and gnashing of teeth



Courtesy Some Ecards

All kidding aside, one of the few aphorisms I’ve come to believe is that sharing how we do things as SEOs is almost never a problem, because 99% of people don't have the follow-through and resources to make it happen. I would love to be proven wrong by the readers on Moz.

My goal here is to give a realistic understanding of the monotonous slog that is white-hat, outreach-based link building. I happen to think that link building is a perfect counterexample to the "Pareto Principle". Unlike the Pareto Principle, which states that 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the cause, I find that unless you put in 60-80% of the effort, you won't see more than 20% of the potential effect. The payoff comes when you have outworked your competitors, and I promise you they are putting in more than 20%.

Courtesy Quotiss

The goal of this "Webslog" is to document the weeks and months that go into a link building campaign, at least as far as how I go about the process.

Courtesy Aaron Burden

Also, look at that gorgeous fountain pen. I frickin' love fountain pens.

I will try and update this document every week or so with progress reports, my motivation level, the tips and tricks I’ve employed over the last few days, the headaches, wins, and losses. By the end of this, I hope to have accomplished something along the lines of a link building journal. It won’t be a blueprint for link building success, but hopefully it will mark on the map of your link building journey the things to avoid, the best way to get through certain jams, and when you’re just going to have to tough it out.

---

Journal Entry Day One

Day one is almost always the best day. It’s a preparation day. It's the day you buy the gym membership, purchase a veritable ton of whey protein and protein shaker bottles, weigh yourself — in all reality you accomplish nothing, but feel like you have done so much. Day one is important because it can provide momentum and clear a path to success, but it also presents the problem of motivation being incredibly disproportionate to success. It's likely that your first day will be the most discordant with respect to motivation and results. 

Rand does a great job explaining the relationship between ROI and Effort:

However, I think the third component here is motivation. While it does largely track the chart Rand provides, I think there are some notable differences, the first of which is that, in the first few days, your motivation will be high despite not having any results. Your motivation will probably dip very quickly and become parallel with the remainder of the "effort" line on the graph, but you get the point.



Courtesy Drew Beamer

It's essential to keep your motivation up over the course of the "slog", and the trick is to disconnect your motivation from your ROI and attach it instead to attainable goals which lead to ROI. It's a terribly difficult thing to do. 

Alright, so, Day One prep.

Project description

For this project, I'll be employing a unique form of broken link building (Part 2). If you've seen any of my link building presentations in the last 2-3 years, you may have caught a glimpse of some of the techniques in the process. Nevertheless, the link building method really isn't important for the sake of this project. All that matters for the sake of our discussion in the method is:

1. Outreach Based (requires contacting other webmasters).
2. Neutral with regard to Black/White hat (it could be done either way).
3. Requires Prospecting.
4. Ultimately brings Return on Investment through either advertising or an exit.

In addition, I won't be using any aliases in this project. For once, I'm building something respectable enough that I don't mind my name being associated with it. I do still need to be careful (avoid negative SEO, for example) as this is a YMYL industry (health related). The site is already in existence, but with almost no links.

So, what are the returns on investment (or effort) that I'll be tracking and, importantly, won't be tracking?

Courtesy financereference.com

1. Emails sent to links placed relative to:

• Subject line
• Pitch email
• Target broken link

2. Contact forms filled to links placed:

• Subject line
• Pitch email
• Target broken link

3. Anchor text used in links placed

4. Not tracking:

• Deliverability
• Open rate
• Reply rate
• Domain Authority of source

I know #4 will sound like a cardinal sin to many of the professional link builders reading this, but I'm really just not interested in bothering a recipient who chooses to overlook the email. I'm certain that the speed of emails sent will not impact deliverability, so the other statistics just seem like continuing to ring the doorbell at someone's house until they are forced to answer. Sure, it might work, but it also might get you reported.

Preparation

There are a couple of steps I take every time I begin a project like this.

1. Set up email, obviously. I typically set up russ@, info@, contact@, media@ and a catch all. I don't use Google. It just seems, well, wrong. I have had success with Zoho before, although honestly I just need the email so I often go with a CPANEL host and then add the MX records to Cloudflare.

2. Set up a phone number for voice mail. I like Grasshopper, personally. This is not to improve rankings (although I do put it on the site), it's to improve conversion rates. Email messages with a real phone number and real email address from a real person, with the same domain promoted as the domain in the email, just seem to do better when your project is truly above-board.

3. Set up SPF and DKIM records for better deliverability.

4. Set up a number of Google Docs sheets which will help with some of the prospecting and mail sending.

5. Set up my emailer. I know this is vague, but one of the things I try to do is create stumbling blocks to cheating. There are some awesome tools out there Pitchbox, BuzzStream, LinkProspector and more, but I find each very tempting to take shortcuts. I want to make sure I pull the trigger personally on every email that goes out. Efficient, no. Effective, not really. Safe, yeah.

Honestly, this is about as much as I can do in one day. I look forward to updating this regularly, make sure you follow @moz or @rjonesx on Twitter to get notified when we update this journal.

---

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

They're Simply the Best: The Top 25 Moz Blog Posts of 2020

Posted by morgan.mcmurray

Here we are again — that time of year filled with wrap-ups and lookbacks and “best of” compilations. 2020 was a year like no other, and that’s certainly reflected in the topics covered by the blogs in the list below.

We published 170 blog posts this year (including Whiteboard Friday episodes) — not too shabby for a year rife with personal and professional challenges! We’re looking forward to what 2021 has in store, but in case you missed anything, we’ve compiled the top 25 most-read pieces from the last 12 months*. You’ll find several Whiteboard Friday episodes (past and present), local SEO tips, and advice for empathetic marketing, along with the optimistic SEO predictions for 2020 and beyond — made in pre-COVID times. 

So without further ado, here are the best Moz Blog posts of 2020. Enjoy!



*The top 25 Moz Blog posts listed below were published between January 1 - December 22, 2020, and are in order by unique pageviews generated during that timeframe.

---

1. What Readers Want During COVID-19: Content Ideas for Every Niche

Author: Amanda Milligan | Published: March 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 49,889

Amanda tested a variety of keywords to see which ones exhibited a trend during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and might warrant some attention from content marketers. Here's what she found. 

2. Pay Attention to These SEO Trends in 2020 and Beyond

Author: Suganthan Mohanadasan | Published: February 4, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 45,553

In the past several years, we've already seen a sea of change in how we think and execute on SEO, but the future holds even more change — and more opportunity. Explore a rundown of key SEO topics to keep an eye on in the future.

3. Are H1 Tags Necessary for Ranking? [SEO Experiment]

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: February 25, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 35,414

In earlier days of search marketing, SEOs often heard the same two best practices repeated so many times it became implanted in our brains: Wrap the title of your page in H1 tags and use only one H1 tag per page. Despite assertions from one of Google's most trusted authorities that sites "can do perfectly fine with no H1 tags or with five H1 tags", many SEOs didn't believe it. So of course, we decided to test it scientifically.

4. Google My Business: FAQ for Multiple Businesses at the Same Address

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: February 17, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 31,883

How should I get listed in Google My Business if I’ve got multiple businesses at the same address? How many listings am I eligible for if I’m running more than one business at my location? Get answers to your top questions in this comprehensive FAQ.

5. Google's January 2020 Core Update: Has the Dust Settled?

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: January 27, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 31,800

The January 2020 Core Update peaked from January 13-15. We dig into the numbers, including winners and losers.

6. Google's May 2020 Core Update: Winners, Winnerers, Winlosers, and Why It's All Probably Crap

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: May 14, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 24,159

The May 2020 Core Update was the second-hottest update since the August 2018 "Medic" Update. Dr. Pete takes a hard look at the numbers, including why measuring winners and losers has turned out to be a tricky business.

7. Core Web Vitals: The Next Official Google Ranking Factor

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: July 17, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 21,281

There's a new ranking factor in town: Core Web Vitals. Expected in 2021, this Google-announced algorithm change has a few details you should be aware of. 

8. SEO for 2020

Author: Britney Muller | Published: January 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 20,783

SEO Scientist Britney Muller offers a seventeen-point checklist of things you ought to keep in mind for executing on modern, effective SEO. You'll encounter both old favorites (optimizing title tags, anyone?) and cutting-edge ideas to power your search strategy into the future.

9. 4 Google My Business Fields That Impact Ranking (and 3 That Don't)

Author: Joy Hawkins | Published: October 23, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 20,330

Joy and her team at Sterling Sky have come to the conclusion that there are only four things inside the Google My Business dashboard that a business owner or a marketing agency can edit that will have a direct influence on where they rank in the local results on Google.

10. Crawled — Currently Not Indexed: A Coverage Status Guide

Author: Christopher Long | Published: March 9, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 18,354

Within Google's Index Coverage report, there are many different statuses that provide webmasters with information about how Google is handling their site content. While many of the statuses provide some context around Google’s crawling and indexation decisions, one remains unclear: “Crawled — currently not indexed”. This post will help you identify some of the most common reasons this mysterious status might be affecting your website, and how to address them.

11. How to Get Backlinks in 2020 [Series]

Author: Britney Muller | Published: June 26, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 15,523

A little creativity and smart tactics can uncover high-quality link building opportunities. This week, Britney Muller kicks off a new Whiteboard Friday series on modern link building.

12. Position Zero Is Dead; Long Live Position Zero

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: February 5, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 14,825

On January 22, 2020, Google started removing Featured Snippet URLs from organic listings. We take a deep dive into the before and after of this change, including its implications for rank-tracking.

13. 2020 Local SEO Success: How to Feed, Fight, and Flip Google

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: January 6, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,969

Feed Google the right information, fight spam, and flip it into an opportunity: these are the top three ways to chase local SEO success.

14. Which of My Competitor's Keywords Should (& Shouldn't) I Target?

Author: Rand Fishkin | Published: February 21, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,638

Which of your competitor's keywords are worth targeting, and which can be ignored? Learn how to tell the difference in this fan favorite Whiteboard Friday.

15. 10 Basic SEO Tips to Index + Rank New Content Faster

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: October 16, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,381

When you publish new content, you want users to find it ranking in search results as fast as possible. Fortunately, there are a number of tips and tricks in the SEO toolbox to help you accomplish this goal. 

16. 7 SEO Processes That Get Easier with Increased PageRank/Domain Authority

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: February 7, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,883

What factors are affected as you improve PageRank or Domain Authority, and how? Cyrus details seven SEO processes that are made easier by a strong investment in link building and growing your authority.

17. Marketing in Times of Uncertainty

Author: Rand Fishkin | Published: April 3, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,861

Our work as marketers has transformed drastically in 2020. Our good friend Rand talks about a topic that's been on the forefront of our minds lately: how to do our jobs empathetically and effectively through one of the most difficult trials in modern memory.

18. A Beginner’s Guide to Ranking in Google Maps

Author: Alex Ratynski | Published: March 16, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,836

The majority of your potential customers still use Google to find local businesses near them. In fact, 80% of searches with “local intent” result in a conversion. This begs the question: “What’s the best way to catch the attention of local searchers on Google?” The answer: through Google Maps marketing.

19. The Rules of Link Building

Author: Britney Muller | Published: February 28, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,532

Are you building links the right way? Or are you still subscribing to outdated practices? Britney Muller clarifies which link building tactics still matter and which are a waste of time (or downright harmful) in one of our very favorite classic episodes of Whiteboard Friday.

20. How We Ranked a Single Page for 2.6K Keywords Driving 30K Monthly Searches [Case Study]

Author: Kristin Tynski | Published: May 4, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,359

In rare cases, SEOs create content that generates results so far beyond what was anticipated that a single project can greatly move the needle. Kristin walks through one such instance for her team's client, ADT.

21. Understanding & Fulfilling Search Intent

Author: Britney Muller |  Published: June 12, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,262

Understanding what your target audience is searching and why is more important than ever. Britney Muller shares everything you need to begin understanding and fulfilling search intent, plus a free Google Sheets checklist download to help you analyze the SERPs you care about most.

22. Title Tags SEO: When to Include Your Brand and/or Boilerplate

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: August 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 11,850

If your websites are like most, they include a fair amount of extra "stuff" in the title tags: things like your brand name or repeating boilerplate text that appears across multiple pages. But should you include these elements in your titles automatically?

23. How to Query the Google Search Console API

Author: Brian Gorman | Published: March 18, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 11,095

If you’ve been an SEO for even a short time, you’re likely familiar with Google Search Console (GSC). It’s a valuable tool for getting information about your website and its performance in organic search. That said, it does have its limitations. In this post, you’ll learn how to get better-connected data out of Google Search Console and increase the size of your exports by 400%.

24. How to Choose Google My Business Categories (With Cool Tools!)

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: September 9, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 10,873

Your choice of your primary and secondary categories contributes a lot to Google’s understanding and handling of your business. With so much riding on proper categorization, let’s empower you to research your options like a pro today!

25. A Must-Have Keyword Research Process for Winning SEO

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: May 8, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 10,745

Smart keyword research forms the basis of all successful SEO. Cyrus Shepard shares the basics of a winning keyword research process that you can learn and master in a short amount of time. 

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

The Link Building Webslog

Posted by rjonesx.

This is not the link building article you — or really anyone — were probably hoping for. It isn't a step-by-step guide to getting the best backlinks, it isn't some list of hot tips or new opportunities, and it isn't the announcement of some great tool. What it is, unashamedly, is a window into the brutal slog that is outreach-based link building. 

What can you expect?

1. YELLING IN CAPSLOCK.

2. Some tips and tricks.

3. Weeping and gnashing of teeth



Courtesy Some Ecards

All kidding aside, one of the few aphorisms I’ve come to believe is that sharing how we do things as SEOs is almost never a problem, because 99% of people don't have the follow-through and resources to make it happen. I would love to be proven wrong by the readers on Moz.

My goal here is to give a realistic understanding of the monotonous slog that is white-hat, outreach-based link building. I happen to think that link building is a perfect counterexample to the "Pareto Principle". Unlike the Pareto Principle, which states that 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the cause, I find that unless you put in 60-80% of the effort, you won't see more than 20% of the potential effect. The payoff comes when you have outworked your competitors, and I promise you they are putting in more than 20%.

Courtesy Quotiss

The goal of this "Webslog" is to document the weeks and months that go into a link building campaign, at least as far as how I go about the process.

Courtesy Aaron Burden

Also, look at that gorgeous fountain pen. I frickin' love fountain pens.

I will try and update this document every week or so with progress reports, my motivation level, the tips and tricks I’ve employed over the last few days, the headaches, wins, and losses. By the end of this, I hope to have accomplished something along the lines of a link building journal. It won’t be a blueprint for link building success, but hopefully it will mark on the map of your link building journey the things to avoid, the best way to get through certain jams, and when you’re just going to have to tough it out.

---

Journal Entry Day One

Day one is almost always the best day. It’s a preparation day. It's the day you buy the gym membership, purchase a veritable ton of whey protein and protein shaker bottles, weigh yourself — in all reality you accomplish nothing, but feel like you have done so much. Day one is important because it can provide momentum and clear a path to success, but it also presents the problem of motivation being incredibly disproportionate to success. It's likely that your first day will be the most discordant with respect to motivation and results. 

Rand does a great job explaining the relationship between ROI and Effort:

However, I think the third component here is motivation. While it does largely track the chart Rand provides, I think there are some notable differences, the first of which is that, in the first few days, your motivation will be high despite not having any results. Your motivation will probably dip very quickly and become parallel with the remainder of the "effort" line on the graph, but you get the point.



Courtesy Drew Beamer

It's essential to keep your motivation up over the course of the "slog", and the trick is to disconnect your motivation from your ROI and attach it instead to attainable goals which lead to ROI. It's a terribly difficult thing to do. 

Alright, so, Day One prep.

Project description

For this project, I'll be employing a unique form of broken link building (Part 2). If you've seen any of my link building presentations in the last 2-3 years, you may have caught a glimpse of some of the techniques in the process. Nevertheless, the link building method really isn't important for the sake of this project. All that matters for the sake of our discussion in the method is:

1. Outreach Based (requires contacting other webmasters).
2. Neutral with regard to Black/White hat (it could be done either way).
3. Requires Prospecting.
4. Ultimately brings Return on Investment through either advertising or an exit.

In addition, I won't be using any aliases in this project. For once, I'm building something respectable enough that I don't mind my name being associated with it. I do still need to be careful (avoid negative SEO, for example) as this is a YMYL industry (health related). The site is already in existence, but with almost no links.

So, what are the returns on investment (or effort) that I'll be tracking and, importantly, won't be tracking?

Courtesy financereference.com

1. Emails sent to links placed relative to:

• Subject line
• Pitch email
• Target broken link

2. Contact forms filled to links placed:

• Subject line
• Pitch email
• Target broken link

3. Anchor text used in links placed

4. Not tracking:

• Deliverability
• Open rate
• Reply rate
• Domain Authority of source

I know #4 will sound like a cardinal sin to many of the professional link builders reading this, but I'm really just not interested in bothering a recipient who chooses to overlook the email. I'm certain that the speed of emails sent will not impact deliverability, so the other statistics just seem like continuing to ring the doorbell at someone's house until they are forced to answer. Sure, it might work, but it also might get you reported.

Preparation

There are a couple of steps I take every time I begin a project like this.

1. Set up email, obviously. I typically set up russ@, info@, contact@, media@ and a catch all. I don't use Google. It just seems, well, wrong. I have had success with Zoho before, although honestly I just need the email so I often go with a CPANEL host and then add the MX records to Cloudflare.

2. Set up a phone number for voice mail. I like Grasshopper, personally. This is not to improve rankings (although I do put it on the site), it's to improve conversion rates. Email messages with a real phone number and real email address from a real person, with the same domain promoted as the domain in the email, just seem to do better when your project is truly above-board.

3. Set up SPF and DKIM records for better deliverability.

4. Set up a number of Google Docs sheets which will help with some of the prospecting and mail sending.

5. Set up my emailer. I know this is vague, but one of the things I try to do is create stumbling blocks to cheating. There are some awesome tools out there Pitchbox, BuzzStream, LinkProspector and more, but I find each very tempting to take shortcuts. I want to make sure I pull the trigger personally on every email that goes out. Efficient, no. Effective, not really. Safe, yeah.

Honestly, this is about as much as I can do in one day. I look forward to updating this regularly, make sure you follow @moz or @rjonesx on Twitter to get notified when we update this journal.

---

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

They're Simply the Best: The Top 25 Moz Blog Posts of 2020

Posted by morgan.mcmurray

Here we are again — that time of year filled with wrap-ups and lookbacks and “best of” compilations. 2020 was a year like no other, and that’s certainly reflected in the topics covered by the blogs in the list below.

We published 170 blog posts this year (including Whiteboard Friday episodes) — not too shabby for a year rife with personal and professional challenges! We’re looking forward to what 2021 has in store, but in case you missed anything, we’ve compiled the top 25 most-read pieces from the last 12 months*. You’ll find several Whiteboard Friday episodes (past and present), local SEO tips, and advice for empathetic marketing, along with the optimistic SEO predictions for 2020 and beyond — made in pre-COVID times. 

So without further ado, here are the best Moz Blog posts of 2020. Enjoy!



*The top 25 Moz Blog posts listed below were published between January 1 - December 22, 2020, and are in order by unique pageviews generated during that timeframe.

---

1. What Readers Want During COVID-19: Content Ideas for Every Niche

Author: Amanda Milligan | Published: March 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 49,889

Amanda tested a variety of keywords to see which ones exhibited a trend during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and might warrant some attention from content marketers. Here's what she found. 

2. Pay Attention to These SEO Trends in 2020 and Beyond

Author: Suganthan Mohanadasan | Published: February 4, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 45,553

In the past several years, we've already seen a sea of change in how we think and execute on SEO, but the future holds even more change — and more opportunity. Explore a rundown of key SEO topics to keep an eye on in the future.

3. Are H1 Tags Necessary for Ranking? [SEO Experiment]

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: February 25, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 35,414

In earlier days of search marketing, SEOs often heard the same two best practices repeated so many times it became implanted in our brains: Wrap the title of your page in H1 tags and use only one H1 tag per page. Despite assertions from one of Google's most trusted authorities that sites "can do perfectly fine with no H1 tags or with five H1 tags", many SEOs didn't believe it. So of course, we decided to test it scientifically.

4. Google My Business: FAQ for Multiple Businesses at the Same Address

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: February 17, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 31,883

How should I get listed in Google My Business if I’ve got multiple businesses at the same address? How many listings am I eligible for if I’m running more than one business at my location? Get answers to your top questions in this comprehensive FAQ.

5. Google's January 2020 Core Update: Has the Dust Settled?

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: January 27, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 31,800

The January 2020 Core Update peaked from January 13-15. We dig into the numbers, including winners and losers.

6. Google's May 2020 Core Update: Winners, Winnerers, Winlosers, and Why It's All Probably Crap

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: May 14, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 24,159

The May 2020 Core Update was the second-hottest update since the August 2018 "Medic" Update. Dr. Pete takes a hard look at the numbers, including why measuring winners and losers has turned out to be a tricky business.

7. Core Web Vitals: The Next Official Google Ranking Factor

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: July 17, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 21,281

There's a new ranking factor in town: Core Web Vitals. Expected in 2021, this Google-announced algorithm change has a few details you should be aware of. 

8. SEO for 2020

Author: Britney Muller | Published: January 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 20,783

SEO Scientist Britney Muller offers a seventeen-point checklist of things you ought to keep in mind for executing on modern, effective SEO. You'll encounter both old favorites (optimizing title tags, anyone?) and cutting-edge ideas to power your search strategy into the future.

9. 4 Google My Business Fields That Impact Ranking (and 3 That Don't)

Author: Joy Hawkins | Published: October 23, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 20,330

Joy and her team at Sterling Sky have come to the conclusion that there are only four things inside the Google My Business dashboard that a business owner or a marketing agency can edit that will have a direct influence on where they rank in the local results on Google.

10. Crawled — Currently Not Indexed: A Coverage Status Guide

Author: Christopher Long | Published: March 9, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 18,354

Within Google's Index Coverage report, there are many different statuses that provide webmasters with information about how Google is handling their site content. While many of the statuses provide some context around Google’s crawling and indexation decisions, one remains unclear: “Crawled — currently not indexed”. This post will help you identify some of the most common reasons this mysterious status might be affecting your website, and how to address them.

11. How to Get Backlinks in 2020 [Series]

Author: Britney Muller | Published: June 26, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 15,523

A little creativity and smart tactics can uncover high-quality link building opportunities. This week, Britney Muller kicks off a new Whiteboard Friday series on modern link building.

12. Position Zero Is Dead; Long Live Position Zero

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: February 5, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 14,825

On January 22, 2020, Google started removing Featured Snippet URLs from organic listings. We take a deep dive into the before and after of this change, including its implications for rank-tracking.

13. 2020 Local SEO Success: How to Feed, Fight, and Flip Google

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: January 6, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,969

Feed Google the right information, fight spam, and flip it into an opportunity: these are the top three ways to chase local SEO success.

14. Which of My Competitor's Keywords Should (& Shouldn't) I Target?

Author: Rand Fishkin | Published: February 21, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,638

Which of your competitor's keywords are worth targeting, and which can be ignored? Learn how to tell the difference in this fan favorite Whiteboard Friday.

15. 10 Basic SEO Tips to Index + Rank New Content Faster

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: October 16, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,381

When you publish new content, you want users to find it ranking in search results as fast as possible. Fortunately, there are a number of tips and tricks in the SEO toolbox to help you accomplish this goal. 

16. 7 SEO Processes That Get Easier with Increased PageRank/Domain Authority

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: February 7, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,883

What factors are affected as you improve PageRank or Domain Authority, and how? Cyrus details seven SEO processes that are made easier by a strong investment in link building and growing your authority.

17. Marketing in Times of Uncertainty

Author: Rand Fishkin | Published: April 3, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,861

Our work as marketers has transformed drastically in 2020. Our good friend Rand talks about a topic that's been on the forefront of our minds lately: how to do our jobs empathetically and effectively through one of the most difficult trials in modern memory.

18. A Beginner’s Guide to Ranking in Google Maps

Author: Alex Ratynski | Published: March 16, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,836

The majority of your potential customers still use Google to find local businesses near them. In fact, 80% of searches with “local intent” result in a conversion. This begs the question: “What’s the best way to catch the attention of local searchers on Google?” The answer: through Google Maps marketing.

19. The Rules of Link Building

Author: Britney Muller | Published: February 28, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,532

Are you building links the right way? Or are you still subscribing to outdated practices? Britney Muller clarifies which link building tactics still matter and which are a waste of time (or downright harmful) in one of our very favorite classic episodes of Whiteboard Friday.

20. How We Ranked a Single Page for 2.6K Keywords Driving 30K Monthly Searches [Case Study]

Author: Kristin Tynski | Published: May 4, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,359

In rare cases, SEOs create content that generates results so far beyond what was anticipated that a single project can greatly move the needle. Kristin walks through one such instance for her team's client, ADT.

21. Understanding & Fulfilling Search Intent

Author: Britney Muller |  Published: June 12, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,262

Understanding what your target audience is searching and why is more important than ever. Britney Muller shares everything you need to begin understanding and fulfilling search intent, plus a free Google Sheets checklist download to help you analyze the SERPs you care about most.

22. Title Tags SEO: When to Include Your Brand and/or Boilerplate

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: August 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 11,850

If your websites are like most, they include a fair amount of extra "stuff" in the title tags: things like your brand name or repeating boilerplate text that appears across multiple pages. But should you include these elements in your titles automatically?

23. How to Query the Google Search Console API

Author: Brian Gorman | Published: March 18, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 11,095

If you’ve been an SEO for even a short time, you’re likely familiar with Google Search Console (GSC). It’s a valuable tool for getting information about your website and its performance in organic search. That said, it does have its limitations. In this post, you’ll learn how to get better-connected data out of Google Search Console and increase the size of your exports by 400%.

24. How to Choose Google My Business Categories (With Cool Tools!)

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: September 9, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 10,873

Your choice of your primary and secondary categories contributes a lot to Google’s understanding and handling of your business. With so much riding on proper categorization, let’s empower you to research your options like a pro today!

25. A Must-Have Keyword Research Process for Winning SEO

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: May 8, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 10,745

Smart keyword research forms the basis of all successful SEO. Cyrus Shepard shares the basics of a winning keyword research process that you can learn and master in a short amount of time. 

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

The Link Building Webslog

Posted by rjonesx.

This is not the link building article you — or really anyone — were probably hoping for. It isn't a step-by-step guide to getting the best backlinks, it isn't some list of hot tips or new opportunities, and it isn't the announcement of some great tool. What it is, unashamedly, is a window into the brutal slog that is outreach-based link building. 

What can you expect?

1. YELLING IN CAPSLOCK.

2. Some tips and tricks.

3. Weeping and gnashing of teeth



Courtesy Some Ecards

All kidding aside, one of the few aphorisms I’ve come to believe is that sharing how we do things as SEOs is almost never a problem, because 99% of people don't have the follow-through and resources to make it happen. I would love to be proven wrong by the readers on Moz.

My goal here is to give a realistic understanding of the monotonous slog that is white-hat, outreach-based link building. I happen to think that link building is a perfect counterexample to the "Pareto Principle". Unlike the Pareto Principle, which states that 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the cause, I find that unless you put in 60-80% of the effort, you won't see more than 20% of the potential effect. The payoff comes when you have outworked your competitors, and I promise you they are putting in more than 20%.

Courtesy Quotiss

The goal of this "Webslog" is to document the weeks and months that go into a link building campaign, at least as far as how I go about the process.

Courtesy Aaron Burden

Also, look at that gorgeous fountain pen. I frickin' love fountain pens.

I will try and update this document every week or so with progress reports, my motivation level, the tips and tricks I’ve employed over the last few days, the headaches, wins, and losses. By the end of this, I hope to have accomplished something along the lines of a link building journal. It won’t be a blueprint for link building success, but hopefully it will mark on the map of your link building journey the things to avoid, the best way to get through certain jams, and when you’re just going to have to tough it out.

---

Journal Entry Day One

Day one is almost always the best day. It’s a preparation day. It's the day you buy the gym membership, purchase a veritable ton of whey protein and protein shaker bottles, weigh yourself — in all reality you accomplish nothing, but feel like you have done so much. Day one is important because it can provide momentum and clear a path to success, but it also presents the problem of motivation being incredibly disproportionate to success. It's likely that your first day will be the most discordant with respect to motivation and results. 

Rand does a great job explaining the relationship between ROI and Effort:

However, I think the third component here is motivation. While it does largely track the chart Rand provides, I think there are some notable differences, the first of which is that, in the first few days, your motivation will be high despite not having any results. Your motivation will probably dip very quickly and become parallel with the remainder of the "effort" line on the graph, but you get the point.



Courtesy Drew Beamer

It's essential to keep your motivation up over the course of the "slog", and the trick is to disconnect your motivation from your ROI and attach it instead to attainable goals which lead to ROI. It's a terribly difficult thing to do. 

Alright, so, Day One prep.

Project description

For this project, I'll be employing a unique form of broken link building (Part 2). If you've seen any of my link building presentations in the last 2-3 years, you may have caught a glimpse of some of the techniques in the process. Nevertheless, the link building method really isn't important for the sake of this project. All that matters for the sake of our discussion in the method is:

1. Outreach Based (requires contacting other webmasters).
2. Neutral with regard to Black/White hat (it could be done either way).
3. Requires Prospecting.
4. Ultimately brings Return on Investment through either advertising or an exit.

In addition, I won't be using any aliases in this project. For once, I'm building something respectable enough that I don't mind my name being associated with it. I do still need to be careful (avoid negative SEO, for example) as this is a YMYL industry (health related). The site is already in existence, but with almost no links.

So, what are the returns on investment (or effort) that I'll be tracking and, importantly, won't be tracking?

Courtesy financereference.com

1. Emails sent to links placed relative to:

• Subject line
• Pitch email
• Target broken link

2. Contact forms filled to links placed:

• Subject line
• Pitch email
• Target broken link

3. Anchor text used in links placed

4. Not tracking:

• Deliverability
• Open rate
• Reply rate
• Domain Authority of source

I know #4 will sound like a cardinal sin to many of the professional link builders reading this, but I'm really just not interested in bothering a recipient who chooses to overlook the email. I'm certain that the speed of emails sent will not impact deliverability, so the other statistics just seem like continuing to ring the doorbell at someone's house until they are forced to answer. Sure, it might work, but it also might get you reported.

Preparation

There are a couple of steps I take every time I begin a project like this.

1. Set up email, obviously. I typically set up russ@, info@, contact@, media@ and a catch all. I don't use Google. It just seems, well, wrong. I have had success with Zoho before, although honestly I just need the email so I often go with a CPANEL host and then add the MX records to Cloudflare.

2. Set up a phone number for voice mail. I like Grasshopper, personally. This is not to improve rankings (although I do put it on the site), it's to improve conversion rates. Email messages with a real phone number and real email address from a real person, with the same domain promoted as the domain in the email, just seem to do better when your project is truly above-board.

3. Set up SPF and DKIM records for better deliverability.

4. Set up a number of Google Docs sheets which will help with some of the prospecting and mail sending.

5. Set up my emailer. I know this is vague, but one of the things I try to do is create stumbling blocks to cheating. There are some awesome tools out there Pitchbox, BuzzStream, LinkProspector and more, but I find each very tempting to take shortcuts. I want to make sure I pull the trigger personally on every email that goes out. Efficient, no. Effective, not really. Safe, yeah.

Honestly, this is about as much as I can do in one day. I look forward to updating this regularly, make sure you follow @moz or @rjonesx on Twitter to get notified when we update this journal.

---

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

They're Simply the Best: The Top 25 Moz Blog Posts of 2020

Posted by morgan.mcmurray

Here we are again — that time of year filled with wrap-ups and lookbacks and “best of” compilations. 2020 was a year like no other, and that’s certainly reflected in the topics covered by the blogs in the list below.

We published 170 blog posts this year (including Whiteboard Friday episodes) — not too shabby for a year rife with personal and professional challenges! We’re looking forward to what 2021 has in store, but in case you missed anything, we’ve compiled the top 25 most-read pieces from the last 12 months*. You’ll find several Whiteboard Friday episodes (past and present), local SEO tips, and advice for empathetic marketing, along with the optimistic SEO predictions for 2020 and beyond — made in pre-COVID times. 

So without further ado, here are the best Moz Blog posts of 2020. Enjoy!



*The top 25 Moz Blog posts listed below were published between January 1 - December 22, 2020, and are in order by unique pageviews generated during that timeframe.

---

1. What Readers Want During COVID-19: Content Ideas for Every Niche

Author: Amanda Milligan | Published: March 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 49,889

Amanda tested a variety of keywords to see which ones exhibited a trend during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, and might warrant some attention from content marketers. Here's what she found. 

2. Pay Attention to These SEO Trends in 2020 and Beyond

Author: Suganthan Mohanadasan | Published: February 4, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 45,553

In the past several years, we've already seen a sea of change in how we think and execute on SEO, but the future holds even more change — and more opportunity. Explore a rundown of key SEO topics to keep an eye on in the future.

3. Are H1 Tags Necessary for Ranking? [SEO Experiment]

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: February 25, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 35,414

In earlier days of search marketing, SEOs often heard the same two best practices repeated so many times it became implanted in our brains: Wrap the title of your page in H1 tags and use only one H1 tag per page. Despite assertions from one of Google's most trusted authorities that sites "can do perfectly fine with no H1 tags or with five H1 tags", many SEOs didn't believe it. So of course, we decided to test it scientifically.

4. Google My Business: FAQ for Multiple Businesses at the Same Address

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: February 17, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 31,883

How should I get listed in Google My Business if I’ve got multiple businesses at the same address? How many listings am I eligible for if I’m running more than one business at my location? Get answers to your top questions in this comprehensive FAQ.

5. Google's January 2020 Core Update: Has the Dust Settled?

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: January 27, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 31,800

The January 2020 Core Update peaked from January 13-15. We dig into the numbers, including winners and losers.

6. Google's May 2020 Core Update: Winners, Winnerers, Winlosers, and Why It's All Probably Crap

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: May 14, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 24,159

The May 2020 Core Update was the second-hottest update since the August 2018 "Medic" Update. Dr. Pete takes a hard look at the numbers, including why measuring winners and losers has turned out to be a tricky business.

7. Core Web Vitals: The Next Official Google Ranking Factor

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: July 17, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 21,281

There's a new ranking factor in town: Core Web Vitals. Expected in 2021, this Google-announced algorithm change has a few details you should be aware of. 

8. SEO for 2020

Author: Britney Muller | Published: January 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 20,783

SEO Scientist Britney Muller offers a seventeen-point checklist of things you ought to keep in mind for executing on modern, effective SEO. You'll encounter both old favorites (optimizing title tags, anyone?) and cutting-edge ideas to power your search strategy into the future.

9. 4 Google My Business Fields That Impact Ranking (and 3 That Don't)

Author: Joy Hawkins | Published: October 23, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 20,330

Joy and her team at Sterling Sky have come to the conclusion that there are only four things inside the Google My Business dashboard that a business owner or a marketing agency can edit that will have a direct influence on where they rank in the local results on Google.

10. Crawled — Currently Not Indexed: A Coverage Status Guide

Author: Christopher Long | Published: March 9, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 18,354

Within Google's Index Coverage report, there are many different statuses that provide webmasters with information about how Google is handling their site content. While many of the statuses provide some context around Google’s crawling and indexation decisions, one remains unclear: “Crawled — currently not indexed”. This post will help you identify some of the most common reasons this mysterious status might be affecting your website, and how to address them.

11. How to Get Backlinks in 2020 [Series]

Author: Britney Muller | Published: June 26, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 15,523

A little creativity and smart tactics can uncover high-quality link building opportunities. This week, Britney Muller kicks off a new Whiteboard Friday series on modern link building.

12. Position Zero Is Dead; Long Live Position Zero

Author: Dr. Peter J. Meyers | Published: February 5, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 14,825

On January 22, 2020, Google started removing Featured Snippet URLs from organic listings. We take a deep dive into the before and after of this change, including its implications for rank-tracking.

13. 2020 Local SEO Success: How to Feed, Fight, and Flip Google

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: January 6, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,969

Feed Google the right information, fight spam, and flip it into an opportunity: these are the top three ways to chase local SEO success.

14. Which of My Competitor's Keywords Should (& Shouldn't) I Target?

Author: Rand Fishkin | Published: February 21, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,638

Which of your competitor's keywords are worth targeting, and which can be ignored? Learn how to tell the difference in this fan favorite Whiteboard Friday.

15. 10 Basic SEO Tips to Index + Rank New Content Faster

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: October 16, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 13,381

When you publish new content, you want users to find it ranking in search results as fast as possible. Fortunately, there are a number of tips and tricks in the SEO toolbox to help you accomplish this goal. 

16. 7 SEO Processes That Get Easier with Increased PageRank/Domain Authority

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: February 7, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,883

What factors are affected as you improve PageRank or Domain Authority, and how? Cyrus details seven SEO processes that are made easier by a strong investment in link building and growing your authority.

17. Marketing in Times of Uncertainty

Author: Rand Fishkin | Published: April 3, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,861

Our work as marketers has transformed drastically in 2020. Our good friend Rand talks about a topic that's been on the forefront of our minds lately: how to do our jobs empathetically and effectively through one of the most difficult trials in modern memory.

18. A Beginner’s Guide to Ranking in Google Maps

Author: Alex Ratynski | Published: March 16, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,836

The majority of your potential customers still use Google to find local businesses near them. In fact, 80% of searches with “local intent” result in a conversion. This begs the question: “What’s the best way to catch the attention of local searchers on Google?” The answer: through Google Maps marketing.

19. The Rules of Link Building

Author: Britney Muller | Published: February 28, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,532

Are you building links the right way? Or are you still subscribing to outdated practices? Britney Muller clarifies which link building tactics still matter and which are a waste of time (or downright harmful) in one of our very favorite classic episodes of Whiteboard Friday.

20. How We Ranked a Single Page for 2.6K Keywords Driving 30K Monthly Searches [Case Study]

Author: Kristin Tynski | Published: May 4, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,359

In rare cases, SEOs create content that generates results so far beyond what was anticipated that a single project can greatly move the needle. Kristin walks through one such instance for her team's client, ADT.

21. Understanding & Fulfilling Search Intent

Author: Britney Muller |  Published: June 12, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 12,262

Understanding what your target audience is searching and why is more important than ever. Britney Muller shares everything you need to begin understanding and fulfilling search intent, plus a free Google Sheets checklist download to help you analyze the SERPs you care about most.

22. Title Tags SEO: When to Include Your Brand and/or Boilerplate

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: August 31, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 11,850

If your websites are like most, they include a fair amount of extra "stuff" in the title tags: things like your brand name or repeating boilerplate text that appears across multiple pages. But should you include these elements in your titles automatically?

23. How to Query the Google Search Console API

Author: Brian Gorman | Published: March 18, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 11,095

If you’ve been an SEO for even a short time, you’re likely familiar with Google Search Console (GSC). It’s a valuable tool for getting information about your website and its performance in organic search. That said, it does have its limitations. In this post, you’ll learn how to get better-connected data out of Google Search Console and increase the size of your exports by 400%.

24. How to Choose Google My Business Categories (With Cool Tools!)

Author: Miriam Ellis | Published: September 9, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 10,873

Your choice of your primary and secondary categories contributes a lot to Google’s understanding and handling of your business. With so much riding on proper categorization, let’s empower you to research your options like a pro today!

25. A Must-Have Keyword Research Process for Winning SEO

Author: Cyrus Shepard | Published: May 8, 2020 | Unique Pageviews: 10,745

Smart keyword research forms the basis of all successful SEO. Cyrus Shepard shares the basics of a winning keyword research process that you can learn and master in a short amount of time. 

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

The Link Building Webslog

Posted by rjonesx.

This is not the link building article you — or really anyone — were probably hoping for. It isn't a step-by-step guide to getting the best backlinks, it isn't some list of hot tips or new opportunities, and it isn't the announcement of some great tool. What it is, unashamedly, is a window into the brutal slog that is outreach-based link building. 

What can you expect?

1. YELLING IN CAPSLOCK.

2. Some tips and tricks.

3. Weeping and gnashing of teeth



Courtesy Some Ecards

All kidding aside, one of the few aphorisms I’ve come to believe is that sharing how we do things as SEOs is almost never a problem, because 99% of people don't have the follow-through and resources to make it happen. I would love to be proven wrong by the readers on Moz.

My goal here is to give a realistic understanding of the monotonous slog that is white-hat, outreach-based link building. I happen to think that link building is a perfect counterexample to the "Pareto Principle". Unlike the Pareto Principle, which states that 80% of the effect comes from 20% of the cause, I find that unless you put in 60-80% of the effort, you won't see more than 20% of the potential effect. The payoff comes when you have outworked your competitors, and I promise you they are putting in more than 20%.

Courtesy Quotiss

The goal of this "Webslog" is to document the weeks and months that go into a link building campaign, at least as far as how I go about the process.

Courtesy Aaron Burden

Also, look at that gorgeous fountain pen. I frickin' love fountain pens.

I will try and update this document every week or so with progress reports, my motivation level, the tips and tricks I’ve employed over the last few days, the headaches, wins, and losses. By the end of this, I hope to have accomplished something along the lines of a link building journal. It won’t be a blueprint for link building success, but hopefully it will mark on the map of your link building journey the things to avoid, the best way to get through certain jams, and when you’re just going to have to tough it out.

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Journal Entry Day One

Day one is almost always the best day. It’s a preparation day. It's the day you buy the gym membership, purchase a veritable ton of whey protein and protein shaker bottles, weigh yourself — in all reality you accomplish nothing, but feel like you have done so much. Day one is important because it can provide momentum and clear a path to success, but it also presents the problem of motivation being incredibly disproportionate to success. It's likely that your first day will be the most discordant with respect to motivation and results. 

Rand does a great job explaining the relationship between ROI and Effort:

However, I think the third component here is motivation. While it does largely track the chart Rand provides, I think there are some notable differences, the first of which is that, in the first few days, your motivation will be high despite not having any results. Your motivation will probably dip very quickly and become parallel with the remainder of the "effort" line on the graph, but you get the point.



Courtesy Drew Beamer

It's essential to keep your motivation up over the course of the "slog", and the trick is to disconnect your motivation from your ROI and attach it instead to attainable goals which lead to ROI. It's a terribly difficult thing to do. 

Alright, so, Day One prep.

Project description

For this project, I'll be employing a unique form of broken link building (Part 2). If you've seen any of my link building presentations in the last 2-3 years, you may have caught a glimpse of some of the techniques in the process. Nevertheless, the link building method really isn't important for the sake of this project. All that matters for the sake of our discussion in the method is:

1. Outreach Based (requires contacting other webmasters).
2. Neutral with regard to Black/White hat (it could be done either way).
3. Requires Prospecting.
4. Ultimately brings Return on Investment through either advertising or an exit.

In addition, I won't be using any aliases in this project. For once, I'm building something respectable enough that I don't mind my name being associated with it. I do still need to be careful (avoid negative SEO, for example) as this is a YMYL industry (health related). The site is already in existence, but with almost no links.

So, what are the returns on investment (or effort) that I'll be tracking and, importantly, won't be tracking?

Courtesy financereference.com

1. Emails sent to links placed relative to:

• Subject line
• Pitch email
• Target broken link

2. Contact forms filled to links placed:

• Subject line
• Pitch email
• Target broken link

3. Anchor text used in links placed

4. Not tracking:

• Deliverability
• Open rate
• Reply rate
• Domain Authority of source

I know #4 will sound like a cardinal sin to many of the professional link builders reading this, but I'm really just not interested in bothering a recipient who chooses to overlook the email. I'm certain that the speed of emails sent will not impact deliverability, so the other statistics just seem like continuing to ring the doorbell at someone's house until they are forced to answer. Sure, it might work, but it also might get you reported.

Preparation

There are a couple of steps I take every time I begin a project like this.

1. Set up email, obviously. I typically set up russ@, info@, contact@, media@ and a catch all. I don't use Google. It just seems, well, wrong. I have had success with Zoho before, although honestly I just need the email so I often go with a CPANEL host and then add the MX records to Cloudflare.

2. Set up a phone number for voice mail. I like Grasshopper, personally. This is not to improve rankings (although I do put it on the site), it's to improve conversion rates. Email messages with a real phone number and real email address from a real person, with the same domain promoted as the domain in the email, just seem to do better when your project is truly above-board.

3. Set up SPF and DKIM records for better deliverability.

4. Set up a number of Google Docs sheets which will help with some of the prospecting and mail sending.

5. Set up my emailer. I know this is vague, but one of the things I try to do is create stumbling blocks to cheating. There are some awesome tools out there Pitchbox, BuzzStream, LinkProspector and more, but I find each very tempting to take shortcuts. I want to make sure I pull the trigger personally on every email that goes out. Efficient, no. Effective, not really. Safe, yeah.

Honestly, this is about as much as I can do in one day. I look forward to updating this regularly, make sure you follow @moz or @rjonesx on Twitter to get notified when we update this journal.

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