The Seotistics newsletter is written by Marco Giordano, an SEO Specialist focused on content and Data Analyst. Tired of the usual SEO content? Seotistics teaches you how to use Analytics and data in your workflow while helping you with Content Management & Strategy.
π₯ My SEO Stack In 2024: 10x Your Productivity
Use Data Or Be Used By Data!β The January 15 issue of Seotistics is here for you! I know that many businesses and SEOs right now have to decide which tools to use this year... and what they should keep an eye out for. This Seotistics issue will go over some of the tools I recommend to maximize value. |
βοΈ P.S. I sent you the BigQuery handbook by email yesterday, be sure to check your inbox! Please move this email to your Primary inbox or reply to it. This is to prevent Seotistics goes into spam by accident. Gmail users can read this tutorial to do it. βRead this in your browserβ What It's UsedThe current SEO tools are quite standard and I bet many (if not all of you) use at least:
This is the bare minimum and it's quite an effective stack. Now, I want to show you some additions to work on bigger websites and maximize your value. SEO is already unpredictable, so it's better to boost your odds of adding value to a website. π You can find some sample workflows in this past Seotistics issue. π My SEO StackThe most useful and interesting output came out from the following:
This doesn't mean that you should exclude the "traditional" tools! Use all of them and get the ultimate skillset. N.B. I am writing an extended article on this topic, I will notify you when it's live! Google Cloud PlatformGoogle Cloud is key for large projects, you can't possibly analyze that much data on your laptop. BigQuery is particularly useful due to its Bulk Export feature and intuitiveness, so you don't need to spend time setting up things. But can you imagine working on a big website on your laptop? It'd probably crash or not be able to handle tasks.
So that's why we use cloud solutions, other than the extreme ease compared to setting up everything by yourself. Right now, it's my #1 focus and my favorite weapon in the arsenal of SEO tools because you can automate everything in one place. AirtableAirtable is another strong companion due to its flexibility and since it's a mix between a spreadsheet and a database. You can get everything there from BigQuery or vice versa with a paid connector like Make or Zapier. Integrating data from content plans is a must for content websites and agencies, as you can add more value if you go beyond Google tools. I've mentioned Airtable too many times, I think I deserve some ownership at least ;)
The key takeaway here isn't much about the tool but rather about data labeling. Big companies spend a lot of time getting labeled data for a reason. The ability to combine your GSC and GA4 data with the most 1st-party data ever is massive! SERP APIsSERP APIs are probably the most underrated way of doing market research. You can scrape SERPs and then analyze the text inside pages, titles and so on to get entities. Then, you can simply establish which ones are the most common.
This activity is good if repeated once, but what about later on? There are too many APIs, I use the cheapest out there, ValueSERP API. So far, so good! Keyword ClusteringFolks, this is mandatory for me. You can't spend time checking thousands of SERPs, you have better to do. The best way to perform clustering for SEO is by checking SERPs, which is precisely what many tools on the market do. There are other methods, for example, you could cluster by semantics but what matters is what Google shows the user. Using Machine Learning/AI adds bias, checking SERPs and then grouping the results doesn't change what Google shows you. For projects of a different kind, you can try:
It would take too much to list all the differences but anything goes as long as you get work done. The Data Triad (R/Python/SQL)You know I always talk about the data triad R/Python/SQL because they are invaluable. Now, I don't encourage all SEOs to learn coding just for the coolness, but rather because it makes sense to handle some projects. AI reduced the entry barrier a lot and I make daily use of ChatGPT for writing code, it's quite good!
Consider them as your reference for doing data analysis, the main benefits are:
Custom GPTsYou know I am not the biggest AI fan out there but there are a lot of nice use cases. Anyone should use ChatGPT for coding as it makes the task quite simple, even if you have never touched a computer before. Not all the code will work first try but it's still a huge progress! Now, Custom GPTs are ChatGPT models trained to perform specific tasks. There are a lot out there and you should try some to boost your productivity. Are they necessarily related to SEO? Not always, but it's worth a shot. βCaitlin Hathaway is working extensively on this topic, you can find a recap here. N.B. ChatGPT for entity extraction can work but always prefer more "complete" solutions like TextRazor. Gephi + Bonus RoundβLowFruits and AlsoAsked are 2 tools that offer a great alternative for keyword research compared to the goliaths. βSEOTesting is a great software for testing changes, especially if you are on the tech side of things. βGephi is a free tool to analyze graphs... in plain English, you can use it to analyze internal and external links, as you can see below: You can learn more about Gephi here. What You Can SkipI've gotten much better results when I started thinking about processes and what a business needs. I will tell you what can be easily skipped:
Be wise with your time and build solutions that don't exist in the market (or are crazy expensive). So... Where's The Value?Many think that SEO is only ranking, which I do not blame but to rank you need processes. Now, when handling big and long-term projects, you can't waste 5x the time working on repetitive tasks. Most SEO work doesn't make you rank, it's decorative! Not only that, you can say out loud that:
This isn't quite possible with the traditional tools unless you were already aware of these solutions. π₯ Join Our CommunityIf you hate all the noise of social media, join our exclusive Discord group.
π Analytics For SEO Ebook (v6)If you want to expand on the use cases I showed and get the best resource on Analytics for SEO, this is for you. It will teach you or your employees to: π Prepare audits that make sense and are actionable π₯ π Avoid common pitfalls that cost you money πΈ π Create analyses that add value and moneyπ― π Move the needle faster with efficient SEO systems β³ This comes with periodical updates to keep the content fresh.
v7 will include additional info on DataViz and topics on request and is out this month. π Recommended Reads - Peak Content π»The peak reads are always the same:
If you want a recap of the best books and Seotistics' content for 2023, check this out.β Cool stuff you must absolutely check out:
π One-Hour CallWant to build a solid system to maximize the use of your SEO data? Problems with 1,000s or even 10,000s of pages and don't know what to do? Look no further, I can help you: β
βοΈ Feedback and RecommendationsIf you have ideas/recommendations for the next issues of Seotistics, you can simply reply to this email. Marco Giordano Follow me on π½π½π½: |
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Seotistics - Analytics & SEO
The Seotistics newsletter is written by Marco Giordano, an SEO Specialist focused on content and Data Analyst. Tired of the usual SEO content? Seotistics teaches you how to use Analytics and data in your workflow while helping you with Content Management & Strategy.
Use Data Or Be Used By Data! The September 16 issue of Seotistics is here for you! Everyone talks about data but not many showcase actual processes that support the business. Seotistics exists to tie (Web) data to business and I am here to show you some nice examples. You should adjust them based on your specific use cases, so follow the logic! Please move this email to your Primary inbox or reply to it. This is to prevent Seotistics goes into spam by accident. Gmail users can read this...
Use Data Or Be Used By Data! The September 9 issue of Seotistics is here for you! It was hard to put these concepts into words and connect them to Web Analytics. Pretty much any job isn't about hard skills alone... the highest-paid professionals think differently. I want to show you how to abstract concepts and what is common sense in daily data life. P.S. Seotistics has a new look! Go check it out π Please move this email to your Primary inbox or reply to it. This is to prevent Seotistics...
Use Data Or Be Used By Data! The September 2 issue of Seotistics is here for you! It's finally September and as the end of the year draws near, companies still miss some key factors. When auditing websites, you will see that the stuff you want is never there... so you educate your client(s) and teach them the value of data. I am here to show you the way. P.S. My previous issue contains a lot of information on Content Management instead. Please move this email to your Primary inbox or reply to...