Post of the Week
Advanced Duplicate Content Consolidation with Python
I'm a big fan of Hamlet Batista and love what he's doing to inspire SEOs to use Python. This article looks at a data-driven method, using Python, SEMrush and Tableau, to determine which product pages to canonicalise.
Sponsored Link
A Simple SEO Strategy for 2019 (The ‘Middleman’ Method)
Want to boost your 'Money Pages'? Joshua Hardwick describes a simple SEO strategy to do just that: The 'Middleman' Method.
News
To Break Google’s Monopoly on Search, Make Its Index Public
Worth a read this one. Dr. Robert Epstein, who has been studying Google for more than six years through both experimental research and monitoring projects, argues that Google's index should be made public to break up the company's search monopoly.
Tech
Understand the JavaScript SEO basics
Google's latest guide on understanding JavaScript SEO basics. From how Google processes Javascript to writing compatible code.
Why the Divide Between SEOs & Developers Is a HUGE Problem (& How to Fix It)
SEO and developer relationships can be interesting. They are however a fundamental part of the implementation of our SEO strategies. Rachel Costello describes 5 ways to learn to work better with developers.
Tools
Is my host fast yet?
A monthly leaderboard of the server responses of popular hosts, like WP Engine. 👏
Discover exploding trends
Great idea! This tool surfaces rising Google Search topics (absolutely free) 🔥
I've just came back from my honeymoon to a wave of new Weekly SEO subscribers, so hey! 👋
To our existing subscribers, you'll know I'm busy writing my first piece of content. I'm now 1,000 words down, and looking forward to putting it out in the open. There's some controversial thinking, so I hope it opens up new debate in the industry.
One of which is my growing opposition to broad auditing approaches. At MozCon, Areej AbuAli delivered a fantastic 182 slide presentation (impressive) about a case where she delivered a 60 page technical audit. Only some of her recommendations were ever implemented, and others were implemented incorrectly. Traffic plummeted as a result, but she learned a great deal in the process.
This is a common story, right? Auditing in this way is a massively inefficient use of our time. We need to improve our understanding of the problem; use our intuition, as well as data, and recommend less but deliver stronger recommendations.
Andrew Charlton