SEO & AI Search (GEO) Expert

Improve your Google ranking with Peter Mahoney, 20+ years SEO & Wordpress experience

Why search volume matters in your keyword strategy

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When planning an SEO strategy, one of the most important questions is not simply which words describe your business, but which words are people actually searching for. You may have the perfect phrase to capture your services, but if nobody types it into Google, it’s not going to bring visitors to your website.

This is where search volume comes in. Search volume refers to how many times a particular keyword or phrase is entered into a search engine over a given period. The higher the volume, the more people are looking for that term. But raw popularity is only part of the equation- you also need to consider how many other websites are competing for the same word too.

Take the example of “sports psychology” versus “performance psychology”, which is a real world example I worked on with a client recently.

On the surface, both describe a similar area of practice in the same industry. But data shows that in the UK, “sports psychology” has been searched far more frequently over the past year. At the same time, when you compare the number of sites optimised for each phrase, the balance between competition and demand becomes less clear. This is why data-driven analysis matters: it reveals the difference between what you think people are searching for and what they actually are.

The key lesson here is that SEO success depends on striking the right balance between popularity and competition. Sometimes the most obvious keyword is worth pursuing because of its sheer search volume. But other times a slightly less common term provides a better chance to rank because fewer competitors are targeting it.

In practice, the best approach is usually to target both high-volume keywords and their close alternatives. And then over time your analytics will show which terms bring the right visitors to your site, helping you refine your SEO strategy for maximum success.

And of course, these are all things I do for all my own clients, all the time.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Don’t rely on gut instinct – always check actual search data.
  2. Balance keyword popularity against the the level of competition.
  3. Use both primary and secondary terms, then refine based on the data.

AI Search (also known as GEO) – the biggest change in SEO & search since Google launched

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Keeping ahead of the AI component of search is essential – and I am actively managing this for my clients.

I have been discussing for some time the growing role of AI in search results – both how users interact with it and the best practices for optimising for these new formats.

We have now reached a stage where many users are engaging with AI-generated search results directly. In fact, for most people, these AI-powered summaries are appearing prominently at the top of their usual search results pages.

The underlying principles remain largely the same. AI systems select the most reliable websites to recommend using very similar criteria to traditional search rankings. However, there are subtle differences in how certain elements of SEO are prioritised. In other words, some of the same technical and content signals I manage for you carry slightly different weight in AI-driven results compared to standard search.

I expect significant changes in this area over the coming years. Keeping ahead of the AI element of search is crucial – and this remains a core focus of my work for you.

Content Creation for AI Search

When creating or editing content for your site, it helps to keep AI and voice search strategies in mind.

In particular, AI-powered search tools often prefer content written in a way that poses and answers a questions. Where possible, structure your articles accordingly.

Here’s my updated guidance for crafting blog posts and articles:

  • Title – ideally framed as a question.
  • Length – aim for 360–520 words in paragraph form.
  • Images – at least one image, 1200 × 600 pixels or larger.
  • Subheadings – use two H2 headings, with at least one phrased as a question.
  • Opening sentence – summarise the main point of the article and, where relevant, link a few words to a primary page on your site.

Note: Longer posts are fine, but once you exceed around 800 words it’s usually better to split the content into two shorter, focused posts.

I’ve slightly increased my recommended word count based on the latest research from Google and Bing. If possible, consider repurposing your existing blog posts to align with these updated recommendations – it is often much faster than starting from scratch.

 

Feedback on another SEO company’s proposal

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I’m looking at a local firm for my digital marketing and would like your feedback on their proposal.

The company we met proposed £900 per month for a full package including paid advertising on google/ socials and SEO.

SEO Analysis

The current domain authority score of your website stands at 9 out of 100. Given the fact that your site has only secured 7 backlinks, this is a respectable figure. It’s clear that no prior search engine optimization efforts have been made on the site, presenting us with a blank canvas to start our work. This means there’s no need to undo any previous SEO mishaps. At present, your site is listed for 27 distinct keywords within the UK market, the specifics of which are included in the attachment to this email. Currently, the keyword foundation is quite minimal.

Our strategy should encompass a dual approach of link building and content generation. These foundational SEO practices do not require extraordinary measures. Your website exudes a high-end, luxurious appeal, though it lacks substantial textual content. Enhancing the blog and integrating more content throughout the site will significantly contribute to improving your D/A rating and achieving organic rankings for your chosen keywords.

Paid Advertising Insights

Google Ads allows for precision in selecting search terms to appear on the first page, leveraging our existing data on effective terms, optimal times, and target demographics.

Social Media Advertising requires more targeted efforts, focusing on individuals who have expressed interest in similar products, even if they have not specifically searched for yours. We advise directing users to a Meta-generated form upon ad click, facilitating direct communication.

Advertising Budgets

We suggest a minimum budget of £500 for Google Ads and £300 for social media to begin.

Our Agency Services

We offer a comprehensive package that includes SEO efforts, such as content and blog creation and link building, alongside management of Google Ads and Social Media Ads, for a monthly fee of £900 plus VAT.

There’s a couple of red flags in that proposal.

900 quid a month is a lot. And I guarantee that almost all of that will go towards PPC, which has a very low ROI.

They also mentioned something about getting you first page listings through PPC. That’s a bit of a bait and switch – hearing ‘first page’ sounds exciting but of course they’re just buying that, there’s nothing clever or sustaining about it (like there is with proper SEO). Also all kinds of studies have demonstrated people are a lot less likely to click on ads they see in search compared to organic results–which is precisely why Google keeps experimenting with ad placement, style, etc.

In my experience (which is longstanding, it predates even Google and certainly their PPC system) people selling PPC and SEO are usually just focussing on PPC. It requires the lowest amount of work from them (and therefore easy income) and looks like it gives quick results (“Look! You’re on page one!”) even though that’s not really what’s going on, nor is it providing the most useful visitors.

Your crew here may be different. There are definitely exceptions, and also some really awesome people out there.

I would suggest this as a measure. SEO grows over time and builds upon itself, but PPC doesn’t – it’s just one click costs x – so in that regard any return you get should be immediate.  Ask them to give you access to the PPC account, so you can see the monthly spend. If you didn’t make more than that spend in that month from revenue sourced through ads–it’s not worth it.

I know they say they’ll do SEO too – and I do hope that’s the case. But a red flag there is that they seem to put a real focus on link building…again, ask to see the list of links they made in a month. Because most people focusing on link building as a primary strategy are just clicking a few buttons and auto-generating (through inexpensive software) low quality links that will hurt in the long term. And it takes them about 30 seconds a month to action that.

I guess all I’m saying is…be careful out there. 🙂

The Critical Role of Digital Marketing and SEO during Economic Downturns

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As businesses grapple with the challenges of economic recessions and difficult financial times, the importance of maintaining a robust digital marketing strategy, particularly in the realm of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), becomes ever more critical.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a stark reminder of our increasing reliance on digital platforms for discovering products and services.

This shift in consumer behavior underscores the necessity for businesses to prioritize their digital presence, ensuring they remain visible and competitive in an increasingly crowded online marketplace.

During times of economic uncertainty, companies often scrutinize their budgets, looking for areas to cut costs. However, reducing investment in digital marketing, and SEO in particular, can be a short-sighted decision that jeopardizes long-term success. Organic search remains one of the most cost-effective and powerful digital marketing strategies, offering unparalleled opportunities for businesses to reach potential customers without the need for paid advertising.

The benefits of a well-optimized website extend beyond immediate visibility. SEO enhances user experience, making it easier for customers to find the information they need and interact with your brand. This improved engagement not only boosts your site’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) but also fosters trust and loyalty among your target audience. In a recession, where every customer’s decision is more deliberate, being the top choice in organic search results can make all the difference.

Furthermore, SEO is a long-term strategy. The efforts you put in today will continue to yield results months and even years down the line. Unlike paid advertising campaigns that stop the moment funding is pulled, SEO builds a foundation for sustained organic growth. This resilience is particularly valuable in uncertain times, providing businesses with a steady stream of potential customers even when budgets are tight.

Investing in digital marketing and SEO during a recession is not just about surviving; it’s about positioning your business for growth when the economy rebounds. History has shown that companies that continue to market aggressively during downturns often outperform their peers once the economy recovers. The digital landscape is no exception. Maintaining or even increasing your SEO efforts can give you a significant advantage over competitors who cut back, allowing you to capture a larger share of the market as conditions improve.

As the world becomes increasingly digital, with more people than ever turning to the internet to find products and services, the value of a strong online presence cannot be overstated. SEO is at the heart of this presence, helping businesses connect with their audience at the moment they’re searching for solutions.

To help businesses navigate these challenging times and strengthen their digital footprint, I offer a comprehensive WordPress SEO overhaul service. This service is designed to optimize every aspect of your website, from improving site speed and mobile responsiveness to crafting keyword-rich content that resonates with both search engines and customers. By investing in a thorough SEO overhaul, businesses can enhance their online visibility, attract more organic traffic, and build a solid foundation for growth, regardless of the economic climate.

In conclusion, while economic downturns present undeniable challenges, they also offer unique opportunities for businesses willing to invest in their digital future. SEO, with its unmatched ability to connect businesses with their target audience organically, should be at the forefront of this effort. By prioritizing SEO, even in tough times, businesses can not only weather the storm but emerge stronger on the other side. For those ready to take their digital marketing to the next level, my complete WordPress SEO overhaul service offers the perfect solution to ensure your business remains visible, viable, and competitive, no matter what the economic landscape looks like.

Visit here to learn more and get started on fortifying your digital presence today.

 

SEO backlinks, what is Reverse Outreach linking?

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Backlinks are SEO gold, but only if they’re legitimate. Essentially, all off-site SEO boils down to creating backlinks. Directory listings, local citations, they’re all much the same when it comes to it.

When I say legitimate, I mean someone genuinely appreciates your site and has a valid reason to link to it. Nearly any attempt to manipulate your link profile goes against Google’s guidelines, and they’re pretty adept at catching those who try, and dish out penalties accordingly.

Here is one simple (albeit time consuming) technique I have long recommended for building organic, useful links.

And Google loves this one, because it’s not just a nonsense URL in a profile or some other low status link – it’s authoritative content that adds to the usefulness of the web.

I’ve been recommending it for twelve years (it’s in my e-book people get when they start working with me) but has now become recognised widely enough it has it’s own proper name in the industry: reverse outreach.

It’s based around targeting journals and articles on high profile sites.

When a story appears in the mainstream press that relates to your industry, quickly write a post about it. Then find the story on news outlet’s websites (The Guardian, The Telegraph, etc.) and post in the comments section something similar to:

You know, I’m an expert in this industry, and have shared my thoughts here…

Then add a link back to your post.

The impact is twofold: an immediate boost in site visitors who see you as a field authority and a new relevant backlink from a major site.

Beyond instant gains, this strategy improves your page’s visibility when a similar story surfaces in the future, increasing the likelihood of your site being the go-to source for more information.

It’s a proven, enduring technique, valued by Google for its authenticity and contribution to the web’s usefulness.

 

Page Indexing in Search Console

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Good morning Peter

When you come to do this month’s checks, please can you take a look at the Page Indexing in Search Console. We have a rocketing number of not indexed pages.

Digging deeper, it seems that a lot of the recent new Posts and Pages I have added have randomly duplicated themselves up to 23 times.

They all have suffixes of /page/ then a number ???

Actually I’m going to look at this for you right now. 🙂

So, a few things. It appears some of those 400+ redirected URLs of made up /page/# go back to 2021! I know during our time together you redeveloped the site at some point…by any chance was it around then?

Essentially Google is finding those /page/# links somewhere, following them and quite right seeing they’re being redirected to where they should be.

WordPress does that redirect by default, even on my site if I head to a blog post and add, say , /page/19 it will redirect to the correct post URL.

So the trouble with your site is that somewhere something is trying to link to those spurious URLs. It could easily be a theme issue and some problem there.

Some good news though – it really doesn’t matter. It’s untidy which I don’t like myself, but from an SEO point of view Google is simply informing us that there are URLs redirecting to other proper pages. It doesn’t hurt you in any way.

Yes I think the new site went live in spring 2021.

Also in the unlisted section, and Alternative page with proper canonical tag, they all have a suffix of ‘am’.

And in the Crawled – currently not indexed, most have the suffix ‘feed’ which has appeared?!?

Good news though, in the last 3 weeks I’ve added content to 270 of the case study pages and internal links incoming and outgoing so there is content there for google to rank now rather than just four or five images per page.

I have a constant stream of ideas and changes I want to do at the moment, it’s finding the time to do them all.  I have built a page cluster around a particular keyword and will follow that with others. Each will have 10 Posts pointing at the main Product page to build topical authority.

Also in the unlisted section, and Alternative page with proper canonical tag, they all have a suffix of ‘am’.
It’s ‘/amp’, which is part of how Google’s own Accelerated Mobile Pages system works. So that’s all doing what it should.

And in the Crawled – currently not indexed, most have the suffix ‘feed’ which has appeared?!?

Some of those date back 8 months – and again this is just how things work with WordPress and Google. There’s no problem though – Google is literally just saying “We’ve found these feed pages that we know you won’t want indexed so we’re not going to.” 🙂

There is something I can do though. The AMP pages we need to leave as is, but if you’re certain you don’t have any posts that are multi page (and would need the /page/#) I can force Google to ignore those in the robots.txt file. Same for feed pages.

It’s purely a cosmetic thing for us though, to make Search Console look as beautiful as possible.

Great news on the case studies – always remember the rule of thumb that you need 300+ words in paragraph format to get indexed.

Your content is really stellar – and you’re one of my few clients who actually commit to it – which is why you do so well!!

Cheers,

Peter Mahoney
WordPress SEO Expert

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