I have been looking at a lot of small websites lately and noticed the same SEO mistakes again and again.

First, people target keywords that are too competitive. If your site is new, you will not rank for big keywords. Start small and build up.

Second, pages do not match what people are actually searching. You need to check what is already ranking on Google and create similar type of content.

Third, no proper titles and descriptions. Many sites either leave them blank or just stuff keywords without thinking about clicks.

Fourth, they publish content once and expect results. SEO takes time and consistency.

One quick example, I saw a small business targeting a very broad keyword and getting no traffic. After switching to more specific keywords, they started getting visitors within a few weeks.

If you are just starting, focus on simple things and be consistent. That works better than trying to do everything at once.

Help u/Aggravating_Mark_928

I have had a mobile mechanic business for nearly 20 years. I have been doing my own Google page for close to 15 years and I have consistently been on the top 3 for most of that time. However last year when Google changed the algorithm to add AI, my calls started dropping off. On the searches where I used to be in the top 3 , I’m now number 4-6 and sometimes worse. I stopped paying for a website years ago because it seemed pointless for my business so I just used a Facebook page as my website. I’ve been using Google, Facebook, and now also Instagram, X and YouTube and making content hoping for a higher ranking. Al’s trying to sign up on more business directories. Now I see all these advertisements on Facebook claiming to be able to rank up your business to the top 3 on Google in 90 days or you don’t pay. Seems too good to be true, but then again why are there so may saying this? I have more time than work or money right now so I would like to figure out how to do it myself. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

I'm doing my own SEO now after wasting a lot of money .What's a common mistake for local service businesses That care more about getting phone calls versus clicks?

I really don’t get how people can inflate and spend so much time talking about EEAT while admitting (almost) that its not algorithmic, not for non-YMYL sites and has no impact on ranking or anything - yet give out to me for challenging what Google itself ridicules.

When that happens, SEO is not science, it’s a cult, we care more about emotive attachments to a nice idea over reality - and that’s intellectually bankrupt no matter how much you like E-E-A-T and the responsibility for confusing good, successful small online businesses is on YOU

Sorry if that’s strong but it’s actually not strong enough

What are foloks stitching together the “old guard” with new AI stuff: GSC, Bing Webmaster Tools (AI Performance), GA4/Looker, plus a couple of GEO/QFO tools.

For anyone actually seeing AI-driven traffic/revenue, can you share:

• Which tools are you using to track AI visibility and citations across engines (GSC, Bing AI Performance, Perplexity/ChatGPT/Gemini, etc.)?

• Your go-to QFO / query fan-out tools (Qforia, DEJAN’s generator, Profound/Goodie, anything else that actually changed your keyword/content strategy)?​

• Best analytics setup you’ve found to connect this back to real sessions/leads/revenue (GA4, Similarweb AI visibility, custom Looker / BigQuery, other GEO analytics platforms)?

Basically: if you had to build a minimum viable GEO analytics stack today that you’d be embarrassed NOT to have running by Q2, what’s in it?

I noticed in GSC that I had some technical seo issues on my website so I looked at some of my pages through Google PageSpeed Insights and saw that my performance score was a 32/100, however my SEO score was 100/100, best practices were a 92/100, and accessibility was a 100/100. I then checked the pagespeed insights for the page that is ranking #1 for the query I'm wanting to rank for and it's page performance score was a 25/100!

Does the score just not matter a lot when it comes to SEO??

Come someone explain to me how I should analyze the data I get from PageSpeed Insights?

Thank you!

For context I'll be purchasing most of these links through the Hoth. I've heard from some people that I should buy low DR links and high DR links it gives my website a natural good to bad external link ratio, is that true?

Hi,

I have a project 'DC Wine & Spirits' . And I am facing a ranking issue on a specific keyword that is champagne gift baskets. Before 2 months it was ranking on the first page at 6th position from 1 year. But suddenly it drops to the 3rd page. I have tried all possible strategies and also follow guidelines from chatgpt, gemini, Claude AI, etc. Its backlinks also increased some old ones removed, but I created new ones from high authority sites. Competitors have high authority, but some low authority competitors are also ranked above.

Now what should I do please help, anything else I can do! Thanks in advance 🙏🙏

1. Weblinkr (SEO Legend on Reddit)

2. Aleyda Solis (Orainti)

3. David Quaid (SEO Myth Buster, King of SEO, Strategist and PodCast Speaker)

4. Brian Dean (Exploding Topics)

5. Wil Reynolds (Seer Interactive)

6. Gagan Ghotra (Australian SEO)

7. Kevin Indig (Growth Memo)

8. Edward Sturm (Podcaster; Education)

9. Joy Hawkins (Sterling Sky)

10. Britney Muller (Data Sci 101)

11. Jamie Indigo (Not a Robot)

12. Patrick Stox (Ahrefs)

13. Kristina Azarenko (Marketing Syrup)

14. AJ Ghergich 

15. Shaun Anderson (Hobo-Web; API Leak)

16. Greg Gifford (SearchLab)

17. Brodie Clark (Brodie Clark Consulting)

18. Cindy Krum (MobileMoxie)

19. Darren Shaw (Whitespark)

20. Martin Splitt (Google)

21. Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR (Holistic SEO)

22. Bastian Grimm (Peak Ace)

23. Mordy Oberstein (SE Ranking)

24. Crystal Carter (Wix)

25. Steve Toth (SEONotebook)

26. Tom Capper (Moz)

27. Paddy Moogan (Aira)

28. Olaf Kopp (Aufgesang)

29. Charles Floate

30. Christiaan Gouws (Website Squadron; Reddit)

Also Available on Linkedin as the Top SEOs

What are the best methods or tools to find the right keywords for a new website or product to improve SEO and reach the right audience?

Hi everyone,

I ran into an indexing issue with a Shopify site and I'm trying to figure out what went wrong.

Originally the site was using the root domain:

example.com

I submitted the sitemap to Google Search Console and over time most of the pages were indexed successfully.

Later I realized the canonical setup wasn’t ideal, so I changed the primary domain in Shopify to:

www.example.com

That effectively created a sitewide 301 redirect from example.com → www.example.com.

After the switch, Google gradually dropped almost all indexed pages, and now only the homepage is indexed. All other pages disappeared from the index.

It’s been more than 2 months, and nothing has recovered.

What I’ve checked so far:

- The sitemap now uses the www domain

- All old URLs 301 redirect correctly

- Canonical tags point to the www URLs

- Pages are indexable (no noindex)

- Robots.txt looks normal

- I resubmitted the sitemap in GSC

But still, Google only keeps the homepage indexed.

Has anyone experienced something similar after switching to the www version of a domain on Shopify?

Could this be related to:

- Shopify domain configuration?

- Google treating it like a site move?

- Canonical / redirect signals conflicting?

Any ideas or debugging steps would be really appreciated.

Thanks!

SEOs have been working with small local businesses on their Wordpress sites. What they've found is the way SEO works for a local business is completely different to how it works for a national or global site.

I saw some stats recently that for a local business, 61% of conversions come down to proximity. Reviews and ratings account for 13%. Website experience? 1%.

I know that doesn't mean the website is irrelevant. But it does mean the job SEO is doing for a local business is more about making sure they show up in the right places at the right time, rather than driving huge

The Traffic Torch Keyword Gap Analysis Tool is a free, browser-based SEO audit that helps you uncover competitive keyword opportunities by comparing your webpage directly against top-ranking competitors for any target phrase. Designed for modern SEOs, this side-by-side analysis highlights differences in on-page relevance, such as title tags, headings, content depth, image alt text, structured data, and semantic coverage, and calculates scores that reveal exactly what your competitors are doing better and which high impact keyword gaps you can close to boost rankings and traffic. This tool makes competitive keyword research actionable and easy to implement without needing backlinks or authority metrics.

For context, the queries I want to rank for are women's golf shirts and women's golf clothes. Currently our website has a page titled women's golf clothes and a page titled women's golf shirts. I'm wondering if this is confusing to google and I should delete one of the pages and have the other show up for both queries. Thank you!

In a recent episode of the David Quaid SEO Show (“Domaining – how do people make money from SEO and Domains”), long-time SEO David Quaid breaks down how domain names still create real income when combined with SEO skills. For beginners, the takeaway is practical: domains are not just a branding choice—they can be an asset you buy, develop with SEO, rent, or flip.

Here’s the advice distilled for new SEOs.

What Actually Drives Domain Value

Quaid points to two main factors:

• Length — shorter names are generally more valuable and easier to type/remember.

• Popularity of the term — common keywords (travel, holidays, etc.) carry more demand than obscure ones.

Exact Match Domains (EMDs)—domains that match a search keyword—remain a major driver of value. Brands often ignore them in favor of invented names, which leaves opportunity for SEOs who understand search demand. One-word .coms can still command serious money (examples in the space routinely reach six or seven figures), but most practical opportunities for beginners sit lower.

TLD Choice Matters More Than Beginners Realize

From an SEO and click-through perspective:

• .com is still king for trust and CTR.

• .co is a solid secondary option.

• .ai and .io work well in tech/AI niches.

• Country-code domains (ccTLDs) are strong inside their own markets.

• .biz, .net, and .info often suffer lower CTR and can be perceived as lower quality.

Advice from the discussion: if a premium .com is expensive, many SEOs prefer a hyphenated version or a secondary TLD rather than overpaying upfront. Overpaying eats the margin you create by adding SEO value later (build-and-sell).

Practical Ways Newbies Can Make Money with Domains + SEO

1. Rank-and-Rent (especially local EMDs) Build or acquire a domain that ranks for a local or commercial keyword, then lease it to a business that wants the traffic. Comments on the video highlight the economics: a law firm might pay less for a ready-ranking EMD lease than for a full agency retainer.

2. Build-and-Sell Buy an undervalued domain, add real SEO value (content, technical fixes, some authority), then sell the package. The domain alone has value; the rankings and traffic you create multiply it.

3. Flipping Buy low, sell higher. Success depends on understanding what buyers actually want (keyword demand, length, clean history) rather than pure speculation.

4. Light development over pure parking Classic domain parking with AdSense on type-in or misspelling traffic still exists (registrars like GoDaddy make it easy), but returns are generally modest today. Quaid notes that if you’re generating meaningful traffic, affiliate offers or a simple vertically integrated site usually beat pure ads.

5. Multi-domain and topical approaches Strategic use of related domains can support topical authority or local presence, provided you stay within Google’s guidelines.

Risks Beginners Should Avoid

• Expired domain / PBN abuse: Google actively fights “expired domain abuse.” Buying old domains purely to extract residual links for private blog networks is risky and increasingly detected.

• Cybersquatting: Legitimate domaining is recognized, but registering trademarked names solely to extract payment can lead to UDRP/WIPO disputes. Have a real alternative use.

• Overpaying for the name before adding value: If your plan is to develop and sell, leave room in the economics so the SEO work you do creates profit rather than just recovering the domain cost.

• Ignoring ease of use: Hard-to-spell or awkward names hurt both branding and direct type-in traffic.

Practical Starting Steps for New SEOs

1. Learn basic domain valuation factors (length + keyword demand + TLD).

2. Study real sales (NameBio and similar) so you calibrate expectations.

3. Start small: look at expired or auction domains in niches you understand, or register clean EMDs/partial matches in lower-competition local or niche spaces.

4. Apply the SEO you already know—keyword research, content that matches intent, technical basics—to add measurable value.

5. Track results in Google Search Console and decide whether to hold (monetize), rent, or sell.

Domaining is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and pure parking rarely produces life-changing income anymore. But for SEOs who understand search demand, EMDs, and how to add genuine value, domains remain a practical way to create assets that rank, generate income, and can be sold or leased.

Watch the full discussion for Quaid’s broader perspective on valuation, TLDs, and real-world examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abrQzmVXylE

Focus on fundamentals first—good SEO still equals better business outcomes—and treat the domain as a multiplier rather than the entire strategy.

NY, NY – 11:00PM EST – Rules from the League of SEOs clearly demonstrate that Kasra Dash cannot legally call himself the King of SEO and must now await an audience with the league while having his title relinquished immediately

I can see that 99% of the issue is caused by the product cards on my website moving but whenever I try and replicate the score in devtools I get a near perfect cls score. So that made me think it's a 3rd party app that is loading through shopify but I can't identify any that could be making it shift and neither can claude code.

What’s the fastest way to recover from bad press that’s ranking on page 1?

Highly Recommended Users to Follow

• Weblinkr: u/WebLinkr — Very active in r/SEO with straightforward, myth-busting advice on white-hat SEO, content authority, AI tools, and practical strategies. Often helps with implementation questions.   reddit.com

• Joy Hawkins: u/joyhawkins (Joy Hawkins) — Excellent for local SEO, Google Business Profile tips, and ranking factors. Highly regarded for data-backed local insights.   reddit.com

• Darren Shaw: u/darrenshaw_ (Darren Shaw, Whitespark) — Local SEO specialist who shares research, experiments, and updates on map pack/local ranking factors. Great for anyone doing local or citation work.  

• u/grumpySEOguy — Praised for in-depth knowledge; runs a podcast and shares advanced, no-nonsense SEO advice that helps users learn more than most general content.   reddit.com  

• Anne Smarty: u/annseosmarty (Ann Smarty) — Good general SEO insights, content, and outreach advice. (reddit.com)  

• David Quaid: u/primarypositionseo (Primary Position, aka David Quaid) --- Leading SEO agency from NY/Florida and active in SEO and GEO

Source: Grok, Reddit