Guides
How to check where you rank, find the keywords a competitor holds that you don't, and plan the page that takes them. Written for one-person content sites.
2 min readUpdated
How to do topic research for a blog
A four-step process for topic research: pick a topic, list the subtopics people search for, sort by difficulty, and pick what to write next.
4 min readUpdated
How to track keyword rankings for a blog, and which keywords to pick
How to track keyword rankings by hand, in Search Console, or with a tracker, how many keywords a blog needs, and what to do with the numbers each week.
4 min readUpdated
How to check keyword ranking in Google for free: five ways
Five free ways to check a keyword ranking in Google: a private window, Search Console, two free checkers, and a free tracker, with what each hides.
4 min readUpdated
How to do a content gap analysis for a small site, and what to write first
Run a content gap analysis against one competitor, sort by difficulty and intent, drop the keywords that aren't yours, and turn the rest into a writing order.
3 min readUpdated
How to find low-hanging fruit keywords: your pages at position 8 to 20, and the edit that moves them
Find low-hanging fruit keywords, also called striking distance keywords, in Search Console in five minutes, and the edit that moves each one to page one.
4 min readUpdated
How to write a content brief: a template with the eight fields that matter, filled in
Write a content brief in ten minutes with a template to copy: keyword, intent, action, angle, outline, secondary keywords, and reader questions.
2 min readUpdated
How to find competitor keywords for free
Four ways to see which keywords a competitor ranks for without an all-in-one SEO tool: a free gap check, the results page, their sitemap, and Search Console.