7 July 2026
AI Citation Dashboards Big Lie
Jim Stewart explains the limitations of AI citation tracking and why brand-building and agent experience matter when assessing a website.
Read the article →Jim Stewart · Writing
What we are learning by doing the work.
Practical observations on search, ecommerce and AI from Jim Stewart. Client work, things we have tested and what they mean for your business.
Latest writing
Articles keep their original dates. Older pieces describe the tools and thinking at the time.
2 June 2026
The Agentic-First Web is Already Here
Agentic Workflows, Business Economics, and What’s Really Changing in SEO Welcome back! It’s been a busy period — there have been several speaking gigs on the go, with another one coming up next week on the…
Read the article →12 May 2026
AI Agents Are Changing How We Run Our Agency
Why I Haven’t Posted in a While — And Why That’s a Good Thing G’day Rankers, welcome back. Things are moving incredibly fast right now, which is exactly why I haven’t recorded in a little while — I’ve simply…
Read the article →29 April 2026
SKAW app is now free for all Shopify merchants!
SKAW is Now Free for Shopify Merchants — Plus How AI Agents Are Changing the Game Welcome back, Rankers! It’s been another big week, and if you’re a Shopify merchant, I’ve got some great news for you. SKAW is…
Read the article →20 April 2026
Shopify’s AI Toolkit Changes Everything – Here’s Why.
Shopify’s New AI Toolkit: A Game Changer You Can’t Ignore There’s no shortage of things to talk about in the world of AI and e-commerce right now, but one release this week from Shopify genuinely stands out …
Read the article →14 April 2026
You can scale content with AI! Please don’t. Here’s why.
Keeping Up With AI: What You Need to Know Right Now If you’ve been trying to stay across all the AI announcements lately, you’ll know exactly how overwhelming it feels. It’s like drinking from a fire hose.…
Read the article →7 April 2026
Every business needs an AI hero.
Why AI Reports Are Only as Good as the Human Behind Them G’day Rankers, welcome back. AI tools are everywhere right now, and chances are you’re already using them. If you’re not, you should be. But as useful as…
Read the article →19 March 2026
Agents Are Now Your Customers – Is Your Store Ready?
Agentic AI Is Going Mainstream — And It’s Changing Everything G’day Rankers, welcome back. A lot has happened this week, so let’s get into it. The Agentic Framework Wave Is Here It wasn’t that long ago — a…
Read the article →16 March 2026
Is Schema Dead? Why That Viral Experiment Got It Wrong.
Schema Is Not Dead — Stop Listening to Bad Takes A viral experiment claimed schema markup is useless for AI. Here’s why that conclusion is dangerously wrong. There’s a lot happening in the agentic commerce…
Read the article →11 March 2026
Would You Hire an AI Agent for $10k/Month?
An ad appeared on X this week that stopped me in my tracks. Not a job listing for a human — for an AI agent. The listing was offering $10,000 a month for an agent (or the human who built one) to handle content…
Read the article →3 March 2026
The Agentic Web is Here – Stop Denying It
The Agentic Web Is Here — And Most Marketers Are in Denial There’s a quiet shift happening in the digital marketing world, and many people are choosing not to see it. Yes, Google still drives the lion’s share…
Read the article →24 February 2026
OpenAI just acquired OpenClaw
Meet Jan: Why Every Business Needs an AI Employee (Not Just a Chat Button) The race to own the personal assistant layer just got a whole lot more serious — and if you’re running a business, it’s time to pay…
Read the article →17 February 2026
Agentic Commerce is about to take off – buckle up!
2026: The Year Agentic Commerce Explodes Why Your E-commerce Business Needs to Prepare Now G’day Rankers, what a year 2026 is turning out to be! Everything is starting to fall into place for agentic commerce…
Read the article →4 February 2026
Is Your Store Ready for the Personal Bots?
The Wild Weekend That Changed Everything: Moltbook, OpenClaw, and the Dawn of Agentic Commerce G’day Rankers, welcome back. It’s been an amazing weekend, and I need to tell you about something that’s taking the…
Read the article →22 January 2026
Is your store invisible to AI?
How to Optimise Your E-Commerce Store for AI Shopping Agents: A Complete Guide The landscape of online shopping is undergoing a fundamental transformation. With major platforms like Shopify, Google, and OpenAI…
Read the article →15 January 2026
Bye Bye Websites
The Dawn of Agentic Commerce: Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol Changes Everything Happy new year, and what a year it’s starting out as. About 18 months ago, I wrote about agentic commerce and dedicated an…
Read the article →18 December 2025
Shopify Winter 2026: The Sidekick Update Explained
Transcript Three Years of AI Transformation: What eCommerce Businesses Must Focus on in 2026 As 2025 draws to a close, it’s worth stepping back and recognising just how dramatically the digital landscape has…
Read the article →11 December 2025
How Google AI mode selects websites to rank (It’s not standard SEO)
Transcript How Google AI Mode Really Chooses Which Sites to Show (and What You Can Do About It) If you’ve played with Google’s new AI mode lately, you’ve probably noticed something: the way links are surfaced…
Read the article →4 December 2025
ChatGPT code red and why we’re switching to Gemini
Transcript Is Your Site AI-Ready? What Black Friday, Gemini and ChatGPT Just Revealed About E-commerce If you’re still wrapping your head around social media bans, age verification, AI tools and another Black…
Read the article →27 November 2025
How the social media ban will impact business – it’s bad!
Transcript Australia’s New Online Safety Rules: What the Under-16 Ban and Search Age Checks Mean for Marketers After a short escape to Penang in Malaysia it’s jarring to come home to a very different kind of…
Read the article →12 November 2025
Agentic commerce – what path will you take?
Agentic Commerce Is Here: What Amazon vs Shopify Means for Your Store (and Your GA4) Lately there’s been a lot of chatter about agentic commerce—and for good reason. A public spat has emerged around whether…
Read the article →3 November 2025
Whoa! These guys built a great agentic browser!
Transcript Agentic Browsers Are Here: What “Flow” Means for E-commerce, Ads, and the Next Wave of Shopping If the last wave of AI helped write product pages, the next wave will shop for your customers. Agentic…
Read the article →27 October 2025
ChatGPT Atlas browser – Is it a threat to Google?
Transcript The Promise of a Smarter Search For months, there’s been anticipation around OpenAI’s next big move: giving ChatGPT its own browser. On paper, it sounded revolutionary — a chance to skip Google…
Read the article →14 October 2025
Buy it in ChatGPT
Transcript Stop Worrying About AI Taking Your Job—Start Using It to Remove Friction and Lift Conversions AI was pitched as a productivity tool (and it absolutely is), but when you can do more, you inevitably do…
Read the article →28 July 2025
Beyond the AI Hype: How One Ecommerce Business Grew Revenue 153% in 12 Months
Transcript In the face of relentless noise about AI Overviews, declining organic reach, and the next big search algorithm shake-up, it’s easy for business owners to feel paralysed. But the fundamentals of good…
Read the article →1 July 2025
Avoid the AI snake oil and prepare for Jarvis
Transcript Why Traditional SEO Is Dead—and What Smart Businesses Are Doing Instead Brand Over Backlinks: The New SEO Reality For years, businesses were sold the dream that blogs and backlinks would bring in…
Read the article →3 June 2025
The biggest Google update ever. Search will never be the same.
Transcript “We’re not going to get that traffic anymore.”That’s the uncomfortable truth business owners need to face after Google’s latest updates. At its annual developer conference, Google confirmed what many…
Read the article →13 May 2025
SEO Isn’t Dead—It’s Evolving into Shopper Experience Optimisation for the AI First Web
Transcript “SEO Is Dead” … or Just Different? Every few years someone declares search‑engine optimisation finished. Today the culprit is AI Overviews—Google’s new answer boxes that summarise the web so well…
Read the article →29 April 2025
Shopify checkout coming to ChatGPT
Transcript Google Search is Changing Fast — Here’s How Smart Businesses Are Adapting The New Search Reality: Why AI Is Reshaping Everything If you have noticed a drop in website traffic or changes in ad…
Read the article →2 April 2025
GPT-4o. Awesome until it’s not.
Transcript From Prompt to Poster: How AI Tools Like GPT-4o Are Revolutionising Event Marketing AI Isn’t Just for Coders Anymore—It’s Now a Designer Too AI image generation tools are no longer just experimental…
Read the article →31 March 2025
Which AI tool for which job?
Transcript AI Tools Showdown: Choosing the Best LLM for Digital Marketing in 2025 In the fast-paced digital marketing landscape, AI has shifted from optional innovation to essential necessity. Digital marketers…
Read the article →26 March 2025
How Google’s AI Studio Can Transform Your E-Commerce Workflow (And Save Hours Each Week!)
Transcript As e-commerce continues its relentless growth, the stakes get higher for business owners and digital marketers who need to stay ahead of the curve. With each technological advancement, there are new…
Read the article →17 March 2025
Big changes for Google & OpenAI as China challenges again.
Transcript Unlocking Productivity: How Manus AI is Revolutionising Business Operations Artificial intelligence continues to transform the landscape of business productivity, and one of the most exciting…
Read the article →4 March 2025
Free AI deep research and much more.
Welcome back Rankers! This week I take you on a deep dive into the rapidly evolving world of generative AI and digital marketing. I share firsthand insights into the latest models and research tools that are…
Read the article →13 February 2025
David Meerman Scott on AI
Welcome back, Rankers! In this insightful conversation with David Meerman Scott, we explore the transformative impact of AI on marketing, content creation, and business strategy. David shares his expertise on…
Read the article →4 February 2025
DeepSeek Powers My Personal Search Engine
Welcome back Rankers! This week I dive into the latest disruptions in AI, how search is evolving, and why brand is more important than ever for businesses. You’ll discover insights into DeepSeek, the latest…
Read the article →14 January 2025
AI & Search Marketing – The Future is Now
Welcome back Rankers! This week I dive into the seismic shifts happening in the world of search and digital advertising as we enter a brave new world in 2025. With AI tools like ChatGPT and competitors like…
Read the article →19 December 2024
Using AI to Expand Our Team. This is Gold
Welcome back Rankers! This week we’ll explore the evolving landscape of Generative AI, sharing insights on how tools like Google’s Gemini 2.0 and custom GPTs are reshaping efficiency and client outcomes. You’ll…
Read the article →11 December 2024
AI Conversational Agents. Wow!
Welcome back, Rankers! This week I dive into the exciting possibilities unlocked by Eleven Labs’ new Conversational Agents. You’ll learn how these advanced AI tools can transform the way businesses interact…
Read the article →28 November 2024
New AI Shopping Assistant is So Good
In this blog, I sit down with Michael Tutek, CEO of Preezi.com, to explore how their groundbreaking AI shopping assistant is transforming the e-commerce landscape. Michael shares the journey of building this…
Read the article →13 November 2024
The End of Search Engines is Coming
Welcome back Rankers! This week I’m sharing insights into some of the biggest trends shaping the digital landscape right now, plus some personal milestones like our 19th year on YouTube and the launch of my new…
Read the article →24 October 2024
Beyond Google Book Giveaway
Welcome back Rankers! This week I’ll explore how the evolving world of AI is reshaping the way we search and interact with the web, focusing on major developments from tech giants like Google and Microsoft.…
Read the article →25 September 2024
Google Traffic is Shifting to LLMs
Welcome back Rankers. This week we explore the evolving landscape of SEO as large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Bard, and Claude become more prominent in everyday search behaviour. With traditional…
Read the article →17 September 2024
Google Search Query Analysis Podcast
Welcome back Rankers. This week we take a deep dive into the Harris-Trump debate, analysing audience reactions through the lens of Google Trends. By examining real-time search spikes and breaking down what…
Read the article →27 August 2024
Google traffic drops dramatically!
Welcome back Rankers! This week I’ll explore the evolving landscape of digital search and artificial intelligence, particularly focusing on how tools like ChatGPT and Claude are reshaping the way we find…
Read the article →8 August 2024
Google is in big trouble…finally!
Hey Rankers! Today I’ll be covering the recent antitrust case against Google, exploring the implications of the court’s findings and comparing it to past cases like the Microsoft antitrust case. You’ll discover…
Read the article →10 July 2024
“Search” Killers are “Answers”
G’day Rankers! This week we’ll explore the evolving landscape of search technology and its impact on e-commerce. Discover how AI assistants like Perplexity and Siri are revolutionising the way users find…
Read the article →29 May 2024
Google is in trouble.
Hi Rankers! This week I’ll go over the recent mishaps by Google, specifically focusing on their latest venture, AI Overviews. You will learn about the background and implications of these AI-driven results…
Read the article →9 May 2024
AI & SEO: Why Brand Building is the Key to Success
Welcome back Rankers! Apologies for my lengthy absence but the world of AI is moving at such a breakneck pace that by the time I’ve planned a new video, the content is outdated! We’re celebrating 25 years in…
Read the article →27 March 2024
Google, AI & the Future of Search
Welcome back, Rankers! This week’s blog post delves deep into the seismic shifts we’ve witnessed in the search engine landscape and the monumental role Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing in reshaping our…
Read the article →22 February 2024
Gemini launch – Google says “search” is going away.
Welcome back, Rankers! This week, we’re delving deep into the transformative shifts happening in the realm of search technology and the pivotal role of Artificial Intelligence (AI). From Google’s strategic…
Read the article →7 February 2024
Will Google lose to AI search? What everyone is missing.
Welcome back Rankers! This week I’ll dive into the transformative landscape of digital marketing, e-commerce, and the revolutionary role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as we move through 2024. From the…
Read the article →18 December 2023
AI and Future Proofing Your Business
Welcome back to our last video for 2023! Dive into our latest blog as we explore the transformative power of AI in 2024. From revolutionising business processes to enriching personal education, discover how AI…
Read the article →28 November 2023
Our AI Marketing GPTs Give Our Clients the Edge
How purpose-built GPTs can support repeatable marketing work when they use real business context and review.
Read the article →13 November 2023
This is Huge! Build Your Own GPT!
What custom GPTs make possible and how to turn business knowledge into a focused, reviewable assistant.
Read the article →8 November 2023
Teams of AI agents to grow your business.
What teams of AI agents can do for a business, and why tools, context and approval boundaries matter.
Read the article →11 October 2023
AI won’t replace you, someone using it will. Skill up!
Why practical AI skills matter at work and how to start building them through real tasks.
Read the article →16 August 2023
ChatGPT SEO content deluge
Why publishing more AI-generated pages is not an SEO strategy, and where human judgement still matters.
Read the article →8 August 2023
AI SEO E-I-E-I-Oh!
A practical look at AI search visibility, useful content and what still matters for SEO.
Read the article →27 July 2023
The True Impact of Website Performance: A Client’s Cautionary Tale
Performance Under Scrutiny: The Caveats of Neglect When the client – a growing cupcake delivery service – first connected with us, they brought along a significantly outdated website. Even before we stepped in…
Read the article →25 July 2023
My Top AI Tips for eCommerce Owners
Practical ways ecommerce owners can use AI to investigate, create and improve work without losing oversight.
Read the article →4 July 2023
Using Google Partner Intelligence for Digital Marketing & The AI Revolution
Welcome back, Rankers! Digesting the Latest Google Partner Intel The freshest Google Partner intelligence hot off the press – May 2023 edition – is buzzing with data-driven insights that light the way for your…
Read the article →4 April 2023
AI is eating the world. How not to be eaten.
How businesses can adapt as AI changes markets, customer expectations and the work people do.
Read the article →8 March 2023
The AI shopping assistant is here.
How AI shopping assistants change product discovery and what ecommerce stores need to make clear.
Read the article →9 February 2023
The Importance of Site Speed & Performance for Your Business Website
By focusing on Core Web Vitals and taking the necessary steps to improve your website speed and performance, you can enjoy the benefits of increased search engine rankings, conversions, and improved user…
Read the article →9 February 2023
AI Wars: Winners and Losers
What the competition between major AI platforms means for businesses, workers and customers.
Read the article →30 January 2023
ChatGPT won’t take jobs. It will destroy markets.
How generative AI can reshape entire markets rather than simply replace individual jobs.
Read the article →11 January 2023
How we’re using ChatGPT
Examples of how StewArt Media uses ChatGPT in practical agency work, with human review and clear limits.
Read the article →10 January 2023
How Can I Build My Brand?
Building a brand is an important step for any business, as it helps establish a unique identity and sets you apart from your competitors. Here are a few steps you can take to build your brand: Define your brand…
Read the article →19 October 2021
How to annoy shoppers on your website.
A historical example of hidden mobile search and the small frustrations that stop customers finding products.
Read the article →27 September 2021
Earthquakes & Search Intent
How can Google Trends reveal search intent and related queries for content/SEO planning?
Read the article →16 August 2021
Shipping & Shopping Cart Abandonment
A historical discussion of shipping costs, delivery promises and why customers should know the terms before reaching checkout.
Read the article →9 June 2021
Shopper Experience Optimisation
Our focus of late has been about redefining SEO. Ecommerce sites should be all about the shopper, not the search engine. Google labelled “trust” as an element of brands back in 2009, and we took that to mean…
Read the article →19 May 2021
Measuring UX changes across device/channel.
A historical account of a mobile usability change and why its impact needed to be checked across organic, direct and paid traffic.
Read the article →3 May 2021
Can SEO hurt sales?
What metrics should ecom dashboards track instead of rankings to drive revenue/sales goals?
Read the article →1 April 2021
Core Web Vitals: keep the customer in view
Use performance measurements alongside the real buying journey, rather than treating a score as the whole customer experience.
Read the article →10 March 2021
Conversion rates are misleading.
Why a store-wide conversion rate can hide important differences between traffic channels, devices and the experience of finding a product.
Read the article →8 October 2020
Prioritising website work: start with the business outcome
Choose the next website task from customer evidence, likely business impact and the effort needed, not a long list of technical imperfections.
Read the article →10 July 2020
Do you spend too much on Ads?
Jim Stewart’s historical discussion of agency fee incentives, advertising waste and the work behind a budget decision.
Read the article →12 June 2020
Another fatal eCommerce fail.
How does slow homepage load (e.g. auto-play video) impact shopper experience and sales?
Read the article →5 February 2020
A Google fail with ironic win?
Why should brands bid on their own name in paid search, and what sales are missed if not?
Read the article →15 January 2020
Build the business, not just the SEO report
Connect search work to customer experience and commercial outcomes rather than treating rankings as the whole business.
Read the article →8 January 2020
Black Friday and Boxing Day: compare the right search intent
Separate shopping interest from other meanings in seasonal search data before drawing conclusions about retail demand.
Read the article →7 November 2019
Conversion rate is a measure, not the whole objective
Review traffic mix, buying friction and commercial outcomes together rather than optimising one percentage in isolation.
Read the article →15 July 2019
Three checks before you spend more on SEO
Validate commercial data, page performance and the buying journey before assuming more search traffic is the answer.
Read the article →13 February 2019
Find the gaps in your buying journey
Compare meaningful customer segments and test the site before assuming that more advertising traffic is the answer.
Read the article →18 January 2019
Revenue tracking: reconcile it before you trust it
Compare analytics with the operational source of truth and investigate material gaps before using channel reports to make decisions.
Read the article →4 December 2018
Moving premises? Update the customer-facing details
Check business listings, website content and structured data when your address changes, then verify what customers actually see.
Read the article →20 November 2018
Advertise where your buyers are
Choose advertising channels around your customers and buying journey, not a blanket rule about which platform deserves the budget.
Read the article →13 November 2018
Do not build your business on borrowed access
Use search, social and marketplaces to reach customers while building direct, permission-based ways for those customers to return.
Read the article →7 November 2018
Catalogue ads: check the path from product to purchase
Use product catalogue advertising with a clear buying journey and reliable product information, not an old performance promise.
Read the article →13 September 2018
SEMrush 2018 Australian Search Awards: judging announcement
A historical record of Jim Stewart’s announced appointment to the judging panel for the inaugural SEMrush Australian Search Awards in 2018.
Read the article →4 September 2018
Site search should shorten the path to a product
Treat internal search as a customer route, then inspect failed queries, result quality and purchase behavior before claiming an uplift.
Read the article →16 July 2018
AI and ad spend: the data still matters
A revised 2018 discussion of advertising automation, data requirements and why automated bidding still needs commercial oversight.
Read the article →6 July 2018
Facebook ad metrics: start with the business result
Interpret reach, frequency, clicks and cost per result together, without mistaking engagement or an old platform score for profitable advertising.
Read the article →25 June 2018
Ten checks for a customer-first website
Review the journey from finding a product to completing a purchase, using customer tasks rather than design preferences.
Read the article →12 June 2018
At Google HQ Sydney: early lessons in ad automation
A revised account of a 2018 partner training visit, covering product data, advertising automation and clear brand messages.
Read the article →5 June 2018
Domain migration: protect the customer journey
Changing a domain affects more than search rankings. Customers, advertisements, supplier records and saved links may still point to the old address. Treat the move as a business handover, not just a DNS change.
Read the article →29 May 2018
Retail checkout ideas worth testing
Use truthful dispatch information and carefully tested post-purchase recommendations without creating artificial urgency.
Read the article →8 May 2018
Digital marketing goals: choose the right measure
Use brand searches, traffic and conversions to investigate progress without mistaking a single metric for the business goal.
Read the article →27 April 2018
When should similar pages be consolidated?
Review the purpose and evidence for overlapping pages before merging content or changing URLs.
Read the article →5 March 2018
Lessons from communicating the .au campaign
A revised historical account of choosing audiences, publishing in context and measuring a message without claiming proof of ranking causation.
Read the article →28 February 2018
Should you bid on your own brand?
Assess incremental customers and the combined paid and organic result before deciding whether brand search advertising earns its budget.
Read the article →31 October 2017
Deleting old content: decide URL by URL
Review usefulness, evidence, links and a relevant replacement before keeping, consolidating or retiring an older page.
Read the article →10 October 2017
Build Your Brand. Forget About Google.
Hey welcome back Rankers! You doing well? Spring is here, finally and well, I was in the garden all day yesterday, it’s lovely. Having a lovely time. I want to talk to you this week a little bit more about…
Read the article →12 September 2017
Buying backlinks is not a business strategy
Check what a backlink proposal delivers for your customers and reputation before buying a report full of links.
Read the article →8 August 2017
Homepage sliders: test the customer journey
Assess whether a rotating homepage banner helps visitors find products, rather than assuming it helps or harms every store.
Read the article →17 July 2017
Brand Vs Backlinks
Welcome back Rankers! Coming to you from a bar in Dubai somewhere. I’m on my way home, so wasn’t sure where I’d be doing the show from this week. I had a spare few hours here, so I thought I’d do the show. It’s…
Read the article →13 June 2017
Cloudflare and SEO: verify the change, not the promise
Plan DNS changes carefully and distinguish availability, response codes and measured performance from ranking claims.
Read the article →16 May 2017
Hosting and SEO: know who controls your website
Record hosting ownership, keep recoverable backups and test the public site instead of relying on a provider label or plan feature.
Read the article →1 May 2017
DNS and SEO: know who controls the route to your site
Document domain, DNS and hosting ownership, then test changes and response times without treating one lookup as an SEO verdict.
Read the article →8 February 2017
Use Google Trends to test demand, timing and language
Compare relative search interest carefully and use it as a research prompt, not proof of sales, intent or future rankings.
Read the article →30 November 2016
Moving to HTTPS: five important steps
A certificate is only the beginning. Check redirects, page resources, search signals and the customer journey.
Read the article →11 September 2016
Internal linking in an agentic age
How to build internal links that help customers, search engines and agents find the right page, understand the evidence and take the next useful step.
Read the article →24 August 2016
International SEO starts with the market and the customer
Validate overseas demand, choose a maintainable site structure and make language, currency and local information clear to customers.
Read the article →29 June 2016
Technical SEO Case Study
A national retailer site that had to have extensive technical SEO work and the results that followed. No new backlinks were sought.
Read the article →1 June 2016
Check the site before buying another backlink campaign
Existing links may not be the problem. Inspect technical readiness and the customer journey before funding another backlink campaign.
Read the article →24 May 2016
Recovering from deindexing: find the blocking rule first
A fall in traffic does not prove that a site has been deindexed. Start by checking whether important URLs are indexed and accessible, then trace what changed.
Read the article →30 March 2016
When a local listing sends customers to the wrong place
Check authoritative address details, map placement and the real customer journey before changing a local business listing.
Read the article →24 February 2016
A suspected Penguin update: why the first diagnosis changed
A historical ranking-change observation became a lesson in checking location and evidence before naming an algorithm update or changing an SEO strategy.
Read the article →17 February 2016
SEO and social proof: a correlation is not a ranking rule
Historical traffic and crawling observations raised a hypothesis. They did not prove that direct visits, likes or foot traffic caused a ranking improvement.
Read the article →10 February 2016
Reviewing a large backlink list without blanket disavow rules
Organise backlink evidence by source and domain, investigate patterns and reserve disavowal for cases where the evidence and Google guidance justify it.
Read the article →3 February 2016
What Google News taught us about clear page titles
Clear titles and meaningful headings help readers understand a page. Keep the durable lesson without turning historical Google News guidance into universal SEO rules.
Read the article →20 January 2016
Three current tactics for search visibility
Answer customer questions clearly, distribute relevant work responsibly and keep business profiles accurate. None of these is a shortcut to a guaranteed search position.
Read the article →13 January 2016
SEO hysteria: check the impact before naming the update
Search volatility is a prompt to investigate, not a diagnosis. Separate observed ranking changes from claims about which Google system caused them.
Read the article →16 December 2015
Should mobile SEO be supported by paid search?
Inspect the searches your customers use, compare device-level results and test paid reach against business outcomes rather than assuming a ranking guarantees visibility.
Read the article →9 December 2015
Four checks before treating a backlink as spam
Review how a link was created, its context and its purpose. A suspicious-looking link is a reason to investigate, not an automatic instruction to disavow it.
Read the article →2 December 2015
Realtime Penguin: a historical warning, not a recovery timetable
Keep link reviews evidence-led. Historical Penguin forecasts are not a reason to rush a disavow file or promise a recovery date.
Read the article →25 November 2015
Speed, SEO and conversion: keep the outcomes separate
A faster site, more traffic and higher revenue can coincide while conversion rate still falls. Investigate each measure before declaring the problem solved.
Read the article →18 November 2015
SEO 2016: the useful lessons behind a historical forecast
A dated State of Search recap revisited: useful content, performance and accurate structured data matter without turning old forecasts into current guarantees.
Read the article →11 November 2015
WordPress permalinks: treat an address change as a migration
Choose stable, understandable URLs. If an established permalink structure must change, map and test the move rather than assuming shorter addresses improve rankings.
Read the article →4 November 2015
Check what your SEO agency means by link building
Inspect reported link work, ask how placements were obtained and judge relevance without assuming agency size or a tool score establishes quality.
Read the article →28 October 2015
An agency-exit indexing incident: the historical lesson
In 2015, we reported finding code on a new client’s WordPress site that fetched content from a remote address and inserted it into the page head. The fetched content included a noindex directive.
Read the article →28 October 2015
SEO tools part two: turn Search Console queries into page improvements
Group related queries, compare consistent periods and inspect the actual landing page before turning impressions into an SEO opportunity.
Read the article →21 October 2015
Four steps to review unwanted indexed URLs
Build an evidence-based URL inventory, inspect unexpected pages and choose the right treatment without confusing crawling controls with indexing controls.
Read the article →14 October 2015
SEO tools: fewer clicks to better evidence
Choose tools that make page inspection and search comparisons easier. The tool should improve the investigation, not substitute for it.
Read the article →7 October 2015
Ad blockers and targeting: measure what the advertising delivers
Relevant advertising needs a clear purpose, appropriate audience use and measurement of business results. Impressions alone do not tell you whether the campaign works.
Read the article →30 September 2015
Two on-page checks: useful links and clear descriptions
Improve the routes readers take through your site and make page and image descriptions accurate, without adding keywords to every available field.
Read the article →23 September 2015
Seven questions to ask before a website upgrade
Agree who owns migration testing, URL continuity and post-launch monitoring before a new theme or platform goes live.
Read the article →16 September 2015
Two SEO checks that help detect unexpected changes
Monitor search performance and indexing changes, then investigate against your site history before deciding what to fix.
Read the article →9 September 2015
A new ecommerce site still needs an SEO review
A functioning storefront is only the starting point. Check the offer, page structure, indexing and customer experience rather than assuming the platform has finished the job.
Read the article →26 August 2015
Russ Gries on building a useful YouTube channel
Lessons from a historical interview: answer specific product questions, make production manageable and respond to the people who watch.
Read the article →19 August 2015
The visitor your buyer personas leave out
Make your site useful to customers and accessible to search crawlers before chasing more backlinks. Technical access supports the customer journey; it does not replace it.
Read the article →12 August 2015
Check the SEO basics before chasing an exploit
Review redirects, page relevance, indexing and image weight before attributing ranking changes to an SEO shortcut.
Read the article →5 August 2015
Googlee Blues: what an informal click test could not prove
A historical audience-click experiment illustrates why a traffic spike and ranking movement do not establish cause and effect.
Read the article →29 July 2015
SEO speed humps: measure the page your customer loads
Crawler response statistics and a browser performance test measure different things. Diagnose images, caching and server behaviour before choosing a fix.
Read the article →22 July 2015
Where SEO housekeeping goes wrong: counting instead of checking
Review the purpose and behaviour of URLs. Matching a crawl total, sitemap count and estimated search-result count is not an SEO objective.
Read the article →15 July 2015
A focused SEO review: investigate before removing pages
Use a short review to identify problems worth investigating, not as a promise of page-one rankings or a reason to delete every URL missing from your sitemap.
Read the article →8 July 2015
Use SEO and paid advertising as one customer journey
Give SEO, Google Ads and Facebook advertising distinct jobs, test the economics and measure the customer journey without double-counting results.
Read the article →24 June 2015
Unexpected content on your site: investigate before calling it a hack
Distinguish injected content, comment spam, stale search results and legitimate pages. Fix the underlying cause and verify the cleanup, not just the visible symptom.
Read the article →17 June 2015
Buy a focused piece of good SEO, not a long list of activity
A limited SEO budget needs a clear business priority, reliable measurement and work you can verify. Price or task volume alone does not establish quality.
Read the article →9 June 2015
SEO for a new site: seven migration checks
Preserve valuable pages, map changed URLs and verify the new site before cutover. A migration plan reduces risk but cannot guarantee unchanged rankings.
Read the article →20 May 2015
A 15 Minute SEO Audit
Next week I’ll be at the PeSA Conference where amongst other things, I’ll be conducting SEO audits in 15 min blocks. Here is how I quickly assess a site for SEO.
Read the article →30 May 2014
Plan connected content around customer questions
Use related customer questions, useful internal links and sound technical foundations to build a coherent content plan.
Read the article →30 April 2014
Ecommerce SEO and 404s: help the shopper find the next step
Choose between keeping a product page, redirecting to a genuine replacement, and retiring it with a useful error page.
Read the article →15 February 2014
Digital marketing: goals, strategy and the work underneath
Distinguish the business outcome from the channel and the task, and keep learning as customers and technology change.
Read the article →25 October 2013
Search Engine Optimisation or Optimization?
From the archive: Jim Stewart's 2013 discussion of Australian and American spelling, keyword targeting and the search results he observed at the time.
Read the article →14 August 2013
Checking search results in another location
Keep location, query and device context clear when reviewing search visibility, rather than treating a single search as a universal ranking.
Read the article →5 June 2013
Four practical checks for useful business video
Choose a useful subject, publish consistently, protect audio quality and connect each video to a real customer question.
Read the article →23 February 2013
Marketing Speaker David Meerman Scott
From the archive: Jim Stewart's 2013 account of meeting David Meerman Scott and working on his website's technical SEO.
Read the article →6 February 2013
Structured data and SEO: describe what is really on the page
Structured data gives machines an explicit description of the things a page contains: a product, organisation, person, article or event, for example. It adds context. It does not replace useful content or make an unsupported claim true.
Read the article →16 December 2012
New Year’s Eve Melbourne: preparing a seasonal site for demand
A dated example of preparing a client site for seasonal demand with a content delivery network and work on server response time.
Read the article →29 November 2011
When to use a 301 redirect
Match moved pages to their real replacements. Keep useful URLs and avoid sending every old link to the homepage.
Read the article →7 October 2011
Keep a paid landing page out of organic search
Distinguish crawling, indexing and private access when configuring a landing page used for advertising.
Read the article →14 September 2011
SEO tutorial: check the basics before adding more content
Check duplicate URLs, descriptive titles and whether each page answers its intended customer question.
Read the article →12 September 2011
Last Week in Search – Part 1
Got an article you want us to check out? Send it to us on Twitter at @StewArtMedia Squeeze More Out of Your No. 1 Results Rank So you’ve got that coveted number 1 ranking, now what? Here’s some great tips on…
Read the article →7 September 2011
Make technical product information useful and easy to find
Help buyers find accurate technical sheets, understand their context and return to the relevant product without breaking resource links.
Read the article →25 June 2011
Four website outage checks that protect customers and search
Prepare independent access, recoverable backups, temporary responses and a tested URL inventory before an outage becomes a crisis.
Read the article →9 March 2011
Five checks before redesigning your website
Protect useful pages, customer journeys and search visibility when changing your website.
Read the article →3 March 2011
Does your website give customers a human route?
Use forms, self-service and human contact deliberately, based on the customer task and the support the business can actually provide.
Read the article →8 August 2009
What does it cost to win a customer?
Include marketing time and tools when assessing acquisition cost, and distinguish a lead from a sale before judging performance.
Read the article →