10 Must-Read Resources For SEO Writers
Let’s talk about a big SEO secret.
Once upon a time, I was sitting around a table with a bunch of other SEO experts. At one point, someone said, “Do you have a hard time keeping up with all the SEO news?”
As I looked around the table, I saw everyone was nodding. And, yes, I was nodding too. Because, once upon a time, I could keep up with all the SEO news. I could read every article, check out every newsletter, and stay informed.
That conference was 22 years ago. This was before blogging blew up and before social media ruled our lives…
Is it any wonder we have problems keeping up with the latest and greatest?
One of my SEO Copywriting Certification students asked for my “must-read” shortlist. Why? Because he was feeling overwhelmed and needed a way to focus his efforts.
I get it.
His question prompted me to brainstorm the shortlist resources I keep up with no matter what. Do I read and follow others? Heck yes. But, I find myself returning to these resources when time is tight.
Here’s my shortlist of 10 must-follow resources:
The Ahrefs blog has excellent SEO and marketing information for every knowledge level — from high-level technical advice to beginner-level, 101 how-tos. Plus, I enjoy their myth-busting research — for example, Do Links Still Matter for Rankings?
This blog is laser-focused on content providers and written in an engaging, fun-to-read style. I’ll devour their articles about how to fix my Google Analytics and how to add social proof. But what I really dig are their studies — for instance, a survey of 1,067 bloggers sharing content marketing strategies that work. Good stuff.
SEL is a great all-around source covering SEO, SEM, local search, and more. This site was founded by search marketing’s O.G. Danny Sullivan (did you hear Danny works at Google now?) and Chris Sherman, who has since moved on. Their news editor, Barry Schwartz (who also runs the slightly more technical Search Engine Roundtable), has been reporting on the industry for practically as long as I’ve been a part of it.
Neuromarketing, by Roger Dooley
Learning about neuromarketing will turn your copywriting knowledge up to a Spinal Tap 11. Roger Dooley takes an extremely geeky subject and makes it accessible and fun. Plus, he understands the SEO side of the street and has presented at search marketing conferences. You will learn a lot. Trust me.
Anything by Larry Kim
Larry. Is. Brilliant. He dives into the data and serves you up a hot helping of “wow, I never thought of that.” He frequently publishes on his Medium account, with viral post titles, like “13 Easy LinkedIn Hacks That Will Boost Your Profile Views” and “Five Facebook Power Tips That Will Make You Shout For Joy.” You’re going to dig Larry. I just know it.
I’ve been a BuzzSumo fangirl for years. The writers comb through big data, pull out the tasty bits, and serve them up in extremely detailed (but not too geeky to read) blog posts. If you want to know if you should create content for zero-click keywords, how to create evergreen content or the words that work in social media, you must read this blog.
OK, the entire Moz blog is good — let’s get that out of the way. But Whiteboard Fridays are off-the-hook awesome. The Moz team answers questions (some of them highly technical) in an easy-to-understand style. Plus, for those of us who hate sitting through videos, there’s a nicely formatted transcript for us to read. Enjoy! Rand has since moved to another company, but the Moz team has kept Whiteboard Fridays alive.
The CMI site has everything an SEO content marketing strategist needs. Do you need content marketing stats for management buy-in? Check. Are you looking for writing tips? Yup, you’ll find them. You’ll also find a wealth of other information, like training courses and case studies. When I’m training clients, I always have at least one slide listing CMI as a resource.
This site, like the CMI site, has it all. Salary surveys, marketing tips from expert authors, original research, and more. Ann Handley, the chief content officer, is a marketing genius. If you get a chance to see her live, go! She’s great!
What about you?
What are your must-read blogs and folks to follow? Let me know in the comments!
Hi Heather, thank you very much for the list. I am going to put some of the sources mentioned into my rss reader for sure. Right next to https://backlinko.com/ (I like that guy and his easy to follow tutorials).
Hey Nils, I was about to mention the same blog backlinko.com. Dean Brian is your answer whenever you are looking for actionable seo strategies.
Didn’t now Dooley’s. Veeeery interesting! Thanks for the tip, Heather. By the way, my favourite one is Ahrefs blog.
My favorite blog is Kim Schwalm’s blog. Her blog is about copywriting in general. Not much about SEO. But she gives away a lot of valuable insights for copywriters and marketers!