Ryan Jones

Ryan, aside from his biggest passions which are football and motorsports, loves SEO. Finding new and ingenious ways to drive organic traffic is what motivates him to get up and do the work every single day. He’s a content creator for http://SEOTesting.com, covering most SEO topics but with a specific interest and expertise in testing and delivering ROI through SEO.

In his day-to-day role, he’s the SEO Specialist at Land of Rugs and spends his days working to improve organic traffic and revenue using every tool available.

You can find Ryan on Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Articles

How to Set Up GA4 for Your Website

Discover the essential steps to setting up Google Analytics 4 (GA4) for your business with our comprehensive guide. From creating a GA4 account to installing it on your website, this article walks you through every necessary action to ensure you have a fully functional GA4 dashboard. Whether you're installing GA4 manually, through Google Tag Manager, or using a website plugin, we cover all the methods to get you started immediately. Learn how to harness the power of GA4 to track your website's performance effectively.

How to Optimize URLs for SEO to Increase Organic Traffic

This article guides readers through URL optimization, highlighting its significance for SEO and user experience. It covers the basics of URL structure and the importance of using clear, keyword-rich URLs. It also provides best practices and practical steps to enhance your website's search engine visibility.

How to Create a Monthly SEO Report: The Ultimate Guide for SEOs

This guide outlines the comprehensive process of building effective monthly SEO reports, suitable for in-house SEO teams, marketing agencies, and freelancers. It covers the significance of SEO reporting in identifying successful strategies and areas needing improvement by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) like keyword rankings, organic traffic, and backlinks. The post also highlights the benefits of monthly reporting, including performance tracking, competitor analysis, and technical SEO monitoring, to enhance website visibility, drive traffic, and improve conversions.

Internal Link Audits: The Ultimate Guide, by SEOs, for SEOs

This article delves into the critical role of internal link audits in SEO, highlighting their benefits, types, and essential processes. It offers a comprehensive guide to conducting an audit, addressing common issues like broken links and optimizing site structure for better user experience and search engine rankings.

How Accurate is Google Search Console?

This article delves into Google Search Console's accuracy and usefulness for SEO, detailing its reliability in providing insights on website traffic, ranking, and issues. It highlights the differences between first-party and third-party data, addressing the precision of clicks, impressions, and average positions, and explains potential discrepancies with Google Analytics data.

How Often Should I Update My Website's Content?

This article explores the necessity of updating website content regularly, suggesting businesses audit content at least every three months to find content that needs to be refreshed. It outlines methods to identify outdated content, including manual audits and tools like the Content Decay Report, and discusses the impact of content updates on SEO, user engagement, and competitiveness.

What is a Marketing Audit & How to Conduct One

This article guides digital marketers through conducting a comprehensive marketing audit. This audit is essential for identifying strengths and areas for improvement and optimizing marketing strategies to drive customer acquisition and revenue growth. It outlines the process, from defining objectives to analyzing data and making informed strategic decisions.

How to Choose the Right Keywords to Target with SEO: The Step-by-Step Guide

Use this article to replicate the step-by-step process that we have created to choose the right keywords for your business to target with SEO. We explore different ways to find keywords to target for your business, how to organize them by opportunity, the importance of search intent, how to conduct SERP analysis, and how to choose target keywords. Read this today and supercharge your SEO game.

Does Google Search Console Include Paid Traffic?

This article addresses a common query about whether Google Search Console (GSC) includes paid traffic data. It clarifies that GSC exclusively tracks organic search metrics and does not cover paid campaign data from Google Ads. The article suggests using Google Ads or GA4 for insights into paid traffic. Additionally, it provides an overview of the types of data GSC offers, including queries, page popularity, and traffic by country and device.

What is the Difference Between Google Analytics and Google Search Console?

This article delves into the differences between Google Search Console and Google Analytics. We explore each tool, its strengths and weaknesses, and whether they can be used together. On top of all this, we also give you details on the key differences between the tools.

How Long Does Google Search Console Keep My Data?

This article explores Google Search Console's 16-month data retention policy, detailing the types of data held, its uses for SEO, and the challenges posed by this limitation. It suggests alternatives like SEOTesting for longer-term data storage and analysis to enhance website performance in Google's search results.

How to Create a Content Plan & What Should It Include?

This article explores crafting a content plan that boosted SEOTesting's website traffic by 234%. It covers developing a content strategy, creating templates, identifying unique angles, task assignments, and scheduling. It highlights key content plan components like topic summaries, target audiences, content types, and goals, ensuring content aligns with business growth objectives.

How Does User Experience Impact SEO?

Explore the critical connection between User Experience (UX) and SEO, revealing how UX metrics, mobile optimisation, accessibility, and user feedback influence search rankings. As the digital landscape evolves, anticipate a future where UX and SEO become even more intertwined, leading to user-centric digital strategies that enhance satisfaction and business success.

Top Search Volume Tools to Use in 2024

Learn how understanding search volume impacts SEO success. Dive into the importance of search volume data and its role in revealing user intent, market trends, and competition. Discover essential tools like Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz, offering unique insights into keyword popularity and competitive analysis. These tools empower digital marketers to craft data-driven strategies that enhance online visibility and relevance. Whether you're a novice or an SEO expert, mastering search volume is crucial for success in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Stay ahead by utilising these valuable resources to boost your SEO efforts.

Brilliant Tools for Monitoring Content Decay in 2024

This article explains content decay and its impact on digital content. It introduces tools like SEOTesting, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and BuzzSumo for monitoring and addressing content decay, which is essential for maintaining an effective online presence in 2024.

Keyword Research Guide: The Ultimate Guide for Dominating SEO in 2024

This article provides a comprehensive guide on keyword research for SEO in 2024, detailing its evolution, significance in digital marketing, and practical steps for effective implementation. It emphasizes understanding audience needs and leveraging AI advancements to craft dynamic SEO strategies and optimise content visibility.

9 of the Best Content Writing Tools for SEO to Increase Traffic in 2024

This article reviews essential content writing tools for 2024, dividing them into free and paid categories. It highlights tools like Google Docs, Grammarly, and Hemingway for their strengths in collaboration, grammar checking, and readability. The piece also covers paid tools such as Surfer SEO, Jasper, and ChatGPT, emphasising their advanced features for SEO optimisation and AI-driven content creation. The summary emphasises the importance of selecting appropriate tools to enhance SEO performance and content quality, catering to different needs and budgets.

How to Share Access to Google Search Console with Others

This blog post gives you a step-by-step guide to adding users to properties within Google Search Console. We will show you exactly how to do this with screenshots so you can share this with the more junior members of your team. We also use the first part of this guide to explain the different permission levels that GSC offers.

The Best Free & Paid SEO Tools to Use in 2024

This blog post explores the critical role of SEO tools for businesses in 2024, focussing on free and paid options. We review various tools including GSC, Google Analytics (GA4), and Bing Webmaster Tools as well as many others, highlighting their benefits and limitations. Additionally we spotlight specialist SEO tools like ScreamingFrog's SEO Spider and SEOTesting's Chrome Extension.

Domain Authority: What it is, what it isn't, and how it's calculated

In this article, we delve into the intricacies of Domain Authority (DA), a crucial metric developed by Moz that predicts a website's ranking potential on search engines. We explain what DA is, and its significance in SEO and clarify whether it is a ranking factor. The article also guides readers on how DA is calculated and provides practical tips on enhancing DA through quality content, robust backlinks, and effective on-page SEO strategies.

Google Search Console's Best Features According to the Experts at SEOTesting

This blog post provides an in-depth guide to Google Search Console's best features. It covers critical features such as the Performance Report, URL Inspection Tool, Page Indexing Report, Sitemaps Report, and Page Experience Report. The post explains how to use these features to monitor website performance, resolve indexing issues, and enhance user experience, ultimately increasing a site’s visibility in Google search results.

Nine of the Best Internal Linking Tools for 2024

This comprehensive article delves into the significance of internal linking for SEO, highlighting top tools in 2024, such as LinkStorm and InternalLinking, alongside SEO suites like Ahrefs and Semrush. It emphasises the efficiency and SEO benefits of using these tools for large websites, aiding link distribution and fixing broken links. Additionally, the piece explores WordPress-specific plugins like LinkWhisper and All in One SEO, underscoring their tailored solutions for enhancing website navigation and overall site health.

What Data Does Google Search Console Provide About My Website?

This blog post answers the question of what data Google Search Console is capable of holding about your website at any given time. It also answers a few other questions about what GSC is and whether it can be classed as a ‘proper’ SEO tool. To find out more, give the post a read.

A Guide to Recovering from Google Algorithm Updates

Our guide offers essential strategies for understanding and adapting to Google's Core Algorithm Updates. It analyses their impact on SEO and provides practical steps for adequate recovery. This concise resource is ideal for digital marketers and website owners navigating the evolving SEO landscape.

How to Fix a URL Blocked by the Page Removal Tool in Google Search Console

In this article, you will learn how to fix a URL that is being blocked by the Page Removal Tool in Google Search Console. You’ll learn what the error is and what it means, whether seeing the error means there is a problem with your SEO, how to find instances of URLs being blocked and, of course, how to fix it!

How Long Does SEO Take to Work? Thoughts from SEOTesting

Today, we answer the age-old question. How long does SEO take to work? Find this out today. We’ll also take you through the different factors that impact SEO timing, we’ll give you a breakdown of how a typical SEO campaign goes, and we’ll also give you tips on how to build an SEO strategy and measure your success.

How to Fix the Blocked Due to Other 4xx Issue in Google Search Console

This blog post will teach you all you need to know about the Blocked Due to Other 4xx Issue that constantly appears within your Google Search Console account. We will use this post to explain what the error is, what causes the error, where to find instances of the error within GSC, and (of course) how to fix the error.

How to Fix URL Not Found (404) Errors in Google Search Console

This blog post will teach you all you need to know about any URL Not Found (404) errors inside Google Search Console. We'll use this post to explain what the errors are, whether they need to be fixed, where to find them in your Google Search Console account, and how to fix them.

How to Fix Blocked Due to Access Forbidden (403) Error in Google Search Console

Within this blog post, you will learn all about the complex Blocked Due to Access Forbidden (403) error within Google Search Console. We give you all the information you need to know. We’ll talk through what the error is, what causes the error, where to find impacted pages, and how to fix the error within your GSC dashboard.

How to Fix the Blocked Due to Unauthorised Request (401) Error in Google Search Console

Use this blog post to learn all about the Blocked Due to Unauthorised Request (401) error within Google Search Cole. Within the article, we talk about what the error code is, how to use your Page Indexing Report to find impacted URLs, and, of course, how to fix the error code.

How to Fix the Submitted URL Marked 'Noindex' Error in Google Search Console

In this blog post, you will learn everything you need to know about the common Google Search Console error, Submitted URL Marked ‘Noindex’. You will learn what the error means, be talked through how to find all the URLs on your site that have this error. You will also be taken through a step-by-step guide on how to fix the error.

How to Avoid Mistaking Correlation for Causation in SEO Testing

This blog post dives into SEO testing, correlational and causal results. You will learn the problem of mistaking correlation for causation, both in general and in SEO testing. You will also learn about the problems of mistaking correlation for causation and how to avoid it within your SEO testing program.

URL Blocked by Robots.txt - What is this Error? How do I Fix It?

The Blocked by Robots.txt error within Google Search Console can sometimes be a complicated error to find and fix. In this article, we’ll take you through exactly what the error is and what it means for your website. We will also give you a step-by-step guide on how to find URLs affected by this error and how to fix the error.

The Ultimate Guide to Schema Markup

This article takes you through schema markup in its entirety. We’ll talk through what schema markup is, why it’s important for SEOs and other marketers, and some of the basics including JSON-LD, RDFa and Microdata. We’ll also take you through how to implement schema on your site, and some advanced schema techniques that you can use to get the most out of the markup.

How to Fix Server Error (5xx) in Google Search Console

This article highlights the importance of addressing and resolving 5xx server errors. These errors can negatively impact your website performance, rankings and user experience. This article covers their significance, causes, and steps to fix them. Proactively addressing these issues is crucial for maintaining a reliable online presence and ensuring long-term SEO success.

What is Local SEO? The Ultimate Guide, By SEOs for SEOs

Use this article to dive into the intricacies of local SEO, where businesses’ success often hinges on their visibility in local search results. This guide covers everything from understanding how search engines work to the critical importance of local SEO. Explore the key rankings factors and strategies that can help SEO professionals (and business owners) enhance their online presence and engage with a highly-targeted, local audience.

Duplicate Without User-Selected Canonical - How to Fix this Indexing Issue

Discover how to resolve the Duplicate Without User-Selected Canonical error on Google Search Console. This error indicates duplicate content without a user-defined canonical tag, potentially harming SEO and user experience. Learn why it matters, how to identify affected pages, and various solutions including 301 redirects, canonical tags, and more.

How to Fix Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag in Google Search Console

Discover the significance of the Alternate Page with Proper Canonical Tag message in Google Search Console. Uncover the role of canonical tags in managing duplicate content and get insights into whether fixing this error is necessary. Follow our step-by-step guide to resolve the issue and enhance your website's SEO performance.

What is Off-Page SEO? The Definitive Guide

Explore the critical realm of off-page SEO in the latest blog post in our ongoing SEO series, where we delve into the fundamental aspects of off-page SEO. We clarify the concept of off-page SEO, highlighting its pivotal role in enhancing search engine rankings and online visibility. We also discuss the differences between on-page SEO and off-page SEO, delving into some critical factors that will help you improve your off-page SEO on your site.

What is On-Page SEO? The Complete Guide for New SEOs

Learn all about On-Page SEO effortlessly with our complete guide crafted for beginners. Explore keyword strategies, harness the potential of optimised content, and enhance your website's visibility, ultimately growing your website traffic sustainably.

What is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO is a crucial element of SEO to understand, and yet it is often one of the most difficult aspects of SEO to learn. In this guide you will learn what technical SEO is, why it is important, and what the shared traits of a well-optimised website are. We will also talk through the different stages to consider when technically optimising your site. Crawling, rendering, indexing and ranking.

What is Discover in Google Search Console?

This guide delves into the essence of Discover traffic from Google. We talk about what Google Discover traffic is and how to get your content featured within this section of Google's own app. We also talk about the Follow feature, also available directly in Google's search app, how this works and how it relates to Google Discover.

Introduction to SEO in 2024 - How to Learn SEO and Rank Your Websites

This article discusses the importance of learning SEO in 2024 and provides actionable insights into how to effectively learn the subject. It emphasises that SEO is a dynamic field that continues to evolve and offers significant benefits for businesses. The article covers various "SEO basics" and provides tips on how to learn it quickly and effectively.

Google Search Console 'No Referring Sitemaps Detected' Issue - How to Fix

What is the "No Referring Sitemaps Detected" message, often displayed on various pages of your page indexing report within Google Search Console? In this blog post, we take you through what the message means, how you can fix it, and we will answer some of the web's most searched questions surrounding this error message.

Mastering the Five Pillars of SEO - Unleash Your Success

Successful SEO campaigns, generally, have five pillars. This is subjective, and everyone has their own opinion. In this article, we give our take on what the five pillars of SEO are and how we have used them to increase our monthly organic clicks by 96% since the turn of the year.

How to Fix "Ownership Verification Failed" in Google Search Console

Encountering the "Ownership Verification Failed" error in Google Search Console can be frustrating due to a large number of possible causes. This article explores the error's nature, causes, and solutions. From verifying the correct Google account to rectifying server issues, various steps are crucial. Learn how to solve the “Ownership Verification Failed” error within Google Search Console quickly and easily by following the steps outlined in this article.

What is a Product Display Page (PDP)?

This blog post dives deep into product display pages. We will talk about what a product display page is, why they matter, and the key elements of good product display pages. We will also give you advice on how to structure your product display pages and answer some of the web’s most searched questions on the topic!

Help! My Google Search Console Is Not Updating

Logging in to your account and finding that Google Search Console is not updating is very inconvenient, especially for SEOs who rely on it to monitor organic performance. In this blog post, we go through the various different reasons your Google Search Console may not be showing up-to-date information and what you can do to fix it.

How to Use Google Search Console for Keyword Research

Discover quick win keywords, a step-by-step on how to optimise individual pages/articles, and how to find branded traffic all within this blog post. Learn how to ace keyword research using nothing but Google Search Console.

The Comprehensive List of Keyword Clustering Tools

Here, we're sharing our ultimate list of keyword clustering tools. We feature several keyword clustering tools of all types, to suit all businesses and budgets. Whether you're a freelancer with a handful of clients or a multi-national company with clients all over the world, one of the keyword clustering tools on this list is sure to suit your needs.

The Complete SEO Checklist to Follow in 2024

In 2024 so far, we have increased our traffic by 141%. This blog post details the checklist we followed to do this. We talk about keyword research, technical SEO, on-page optimisation, content creation and link acquisition.

What is a Product Listing Page (PLP)?

This blog post focusses on product listing pages, otherwise known as PDPs. We take you through what product listing pages actually are, why they matter, what the key elements of the page type are and we will also give you some examples of our favourites.

How to Link Google Search Console to GA4

In this blog post, we will give you a step-by-step guide to show you how to connect your Google Search Console account to your GA4 property. This will give you access to several reports and metrics, not usually found within GA4 which will give you even more data to make better decisions for your business.

How to Create an SEO Workflow for Content Success

SEO workflows are useful for several reasons. They can help speed up work, increase the quality of work done, ensure less mistakes and help when team members leave and new team members join. In this article, we're going to talk about how to create an SEO workflow to ensure content success. We'll talk about what a workflow is, why you need one and some of the different SEO workflows you can use.

Google Search Console Enhancements: The Complete Guide to Using Structured Data

In this article, we'll talk you through what structured data is, what rich results are and all the different elements to be found within the Enhancements section of Google Search Console.

Google Search Console Errors: How to Find and Fix Them All

When you see errors in your Google Search Console Page Indexing Report, it can be difficult to find out what the errors mean and how to solve them. In this article, we take you through all the Google Search Console error codes, what they mean and how to fix them.

Top 11 AI Tools to Improve your SEO Workflow

AI seems to be all we are talking about at the moment, for good reason. It has tremendous potential to help SEOs do their jobs better. We've put together a list of the top 10 AI tools that will help you improve your SEO workflow.

What is the Best Google Search Console Alternative?

Discover the top Google Search Console alternative. Learn why SEOTesting is the best choice, with enhanced reporting and testing capacity, saving you time and allowing you to make the most of your Search Console data.

How to Diagnose a Google Search Traffic Drop

Spotting a traffic drop is a scary thing to see, especially as a marketer. One of your key KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) is your website traffic. In this article, we will go through the different types of traffic drops you are likely to see on a website. We will also discuss how to diagnose these traffic drops using SEOTesting.

What Does Average Position Mean in Google Search Console?

The Average Position metric in Google Search Console performance reports can be a confusing number. We look at how it's calculated and how best to use it to help your SEO reporting.

How to Fix Redirect Error in Google Search Console

We review the main reasons the Redirect Error is reported in Google Search Console and the common ways to fix them.

Why has my Click Through Rate Dropped in Google Search Console?

Have you seen a big drop in click-through rate reported in Google Search Console even though your keyword ranking hasn't changed? We look at some of the potential reasons for this.

Google Search Console Data Limitations

While it's hugely valuable and critical to every SEO, being able to understand the limitations of the data available within Google Search Console is important.

What are Impressions in Google Search Console?

We take a look at what the impressions number in Google Search Console represents and how it is calculated.

Link-Building SEO Interview Questions

Looking to hire a Link-Building SEO person? We've put together some questions, answers, and discussion points to help you with the interview process.

The Best Interview Questions and Answers for a Content Marketing Manager

Looking to hire a Content Marketing Manager? We've put together some questions, answers, and discussion points to help you with the interview process.

The 9 Best Technical SEO Interview Questions and Answers for your Next Hire

Get Ready to Hire the Best Technical SEO Candidate with Our Comprehensive Guide to Technical SEO Interview Questions, Answers, and Discussion Points.

SEO Reporting Tools for Agencies

Putting together weekly and monthly client reports can be a time-consuming process for agencies. We've taken a look at the best tools to help make the process quicker, improve communication, and help you show the ROI of SEO campaigns to clients.

How to Avoid Keyword Cannibalization in PPC Campaigns

Keyword Cannibalization is not just an SEO problem, as it can also occur in your PPC campaigns. We take a look at some of the common PPC cannibalization issues, and how you can go about finding and fixing them.

How to Prevent Keyword Cannibalization

Keyword cannibalization can happen to any site that has been publishing content for a period of time. We cover what it is and how to prevent it.