As you would expect for a topic such as SEO the internet is full of SEO “advice” but how do you know what is trustworthy? Has it been written by someone with experience or someone who is just starting out? (The Dunning–Kruger effect is a real thing in this industry!)
Even when SEO advice is accurate it may be “black hat” and can therefore expose the uninitiated to SEO techniques that may not be suitable for businesses. To help you sort the wheat from the chaff and put you on the right path we have pulled together a list of “White hat” trusted sources that everyone on our team use on a regular basis.
Straight from the horse’s mouth
The first place to start is always Google themselves. Google produces a lot of content designed to help all types of marketers. Here are some of their best outlets:
- Beginners guide
- Google Search Central – YouTube
- Developers Blog
- General digital marketing trends and views
SEO Tool Providers
Sure, they are trying to sell you something but they put a lot of effort into their help and advice!
Moz
Moz is possibly the most trusted source on the internet. It’s where many of us first started to learn SEO and their beginners guide is still the foundation of all our in-house training.
Yoast
Yoast is THE standard SEO plugin for WordPress. In order to ensure their tool remains useful for SEO they do a significant amount of research in the topic and they share many of their learnings on their blog. Unlike Moz, to read their content requires setting up a free account.
Ahrefs
As well as offering a very useful SEO tool these guys produce excellent content. They split their content in to three areas:
- Blog – regular updates on tips, tricks and the industry
- Beginners guide to SEO
- Academy – Further expand skills after the beginners course
SEMRush
Not only is this our go-to SEO tool but they also help keep the team here at WRD up to date on all things SEO.
SEO News Websites
The SEO industry moves fast and the following sites are great to stay up to date with, especially when large algorithm changes happen.
SEO Bloggers
Many of the famous names in SEO started as bloggers but traditional SEO bloggers seem to be a dying breed. Most now write for agencies or news websites but here are a few that are still going.
- Neil Patel
- Blog Tyrant
- Built Visible
- SEO by the Sea – Are all these resources too lightweight for you? Well, try keeping up with Bill!
Backlinking
This is always a challenge in SEO but there is hope and real world advice out there:
Backlinko
Local SEO
Sometimes a business doesn’t need to conquer the world, just their local town. Here are some useful go to resources:
Conversion Rate Optimisation
Getting new people to your website is great but it can be just as valuable, and sometimes more cost effective, to make sure you are squeezing everything out of your existing visitors!
- Search Pilot – Search Pilot are A/B testing specialist and impart useful tips on how to improve your website.
- Unbounce – Unbounce impart great information on improving conversions.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is the most widely used traffic monitoring tool on the internet and is a vital tool. With the change from UA to GA4 it’s time you brushed up on your measure skills!
- Measure School – This is a great YouTube channel with in depth guides
- Analytics Mania
- Optimize Smart
Other Agencies
Sure, they may be competitors of ours but the industry is full of clever people that are too good to ignore!
- Aira – These guys have a great collection of strategy how tos
- Rise at Seven – We like the way these guys give actionable information to improve your processes
- iPullRank – Mike King has been in the industry for a long time, and his agency blog has some great real world tips and tricks.
Phew! That’s a long list but it’s by no means complete. Check back from time to time to see who else has made our list and let us know if you think we have missed your most trusted SEO resource.
