As we move into the excitement and opportunity of a brand-new year, it’s a great time to reflect on what we’ve learned in 2018.
Table of Contents
TOP 20 SEO BLOGS OF THE YEAR
The OG and best-known name in SEO, Moz, has created a blog that’s jam-packed with up-to-date information, the latest techniques, and pretty much everything you need to know about the craft, whether you’re brand new or highly-experienced.
The blog is also really nice to look at. We’re not here to judge a book by its cover, but when (sometimes complex) information is presented in a way that’s fluid and easy to digest, it’s far more effective than a wall of text.
We love the Whiteboard Friday format, and our favourite post of the year is part of this series. In SEO “Dinosaur” Tactics That You Should Retire – Whiteboard Friday, Rand Fishkin provides a worthwhile update that forces us to reevaluate what we thought we knew about SEO.
Brian Dean is the man behind Backlinko, a blog that’s become synonymous with high-quality, information-dense posts. Although we’re not treated to new posts that frequently, when they do arrive, they’re game-changers.
Our favourite Backlinko post of 2018 was Mobile SEO: The Defiitive Guide. It’s simply the best resource for marketing professionals who want to get the most out of smart devices. Not all SEO is created equal, and this piece explores the techniques that will deliver tangible results.
HubSpot is a highly-regarded SEO resource for beginners right up to professionals. If you’re new to SEO, this blog covers the basics in a way that’s engaging and accessible, without compromising on depth. There’s no better place to start learning!
But the usefulness of HubSpot doesn’t stop at the elementary level. It’s full of tips, tricks, and innovative techniques to help marketing professionals and experts to unlock the power of SEO.
The post we loved the most in 2018 was The Ultimate Guide to SEO in 2018. As you can probably guess, this is a comprehensive manual that covers all aspects of understanding SEO, developing a marketing strategy, and measuring its success. Even the most seasoned SEO nerds will find something new and exciting!
Nineties throwbacks were all the rage in 2018; from fashion to music to pop culture references. Search Engine Watch was established in the late 1990s and continues to make up-to-date, relevant content to this day.
It’s another site that offers a wealth of resources to SEO beginners, and there’s plenty to learn if you’re a more experienced connoisseur. Posts are well-researched and backed by science, while the website itself is well-organised and easy to navigate.
Our favourite post of the year was How to move from keyword research to intent research, which looked at the psychology behind search decisions and how SEO professionals can harness this powerful concept.
Jason Acidre is the man behind Kaiser The Sage, and he’s pretty much the guru of link building. What we love about this blog is that Acidre breaks down complex topics into posts that are easy to understand, intelligently constructed, and always full of valuable information.
We’d advise starting with our pick of the year, The Definitive Guide to Enterprise Link Building, which walks you through the entire process. There are helpful screenshots, how-tos and infographics to make a densely-packed post genuinely interesting.
We’re taught not to judge a book by its cover, but we’ll suppress that instinct for Search Engine Land, a website that’s so visually engaging, you can’t help but explore.
Beyond the superficial, this blog has countless posts that are full of useful information for SEO beginners, enthusiasts, and experts. It has a substantial focus on Google, so if you’re looking for something niche, this is the best place to start.
With that in mind, our pick for 2018 is How do you optimize for Google Discover?, which introduces us to the replacement for Google Feed, and provides practical ways to use it for business.
Ahrefs is well-known as a brilliant resource for people keen to learn about backlinks and how they can be utilised to optimise a website. The blog takes SEO concepts – sometimes pretty complex – and translates them into scenarios, lists, and guides that make sense.
Our favourite post of the year was the ambitious What’s the Cost of Buying Links in 2018? I Reached Out to 630 Blogs to Find Out. As you can tell from the title, a great deal of work went into this comprehensive assessment of one of the most valuable commodities in online marketing. Well worth a read!
Shaun Anderson is the expert behind the underrated but always impressive Hobo blog. He has almost 20 years of experience in the SEO game, and it really shows in the care that he puts into every post.
These aren’t quick reads, but they’re so well-written packed with valuable information that they don’t feel like mammoth tomes. We’d recommend starting with Link Building: How To Build Links To Your Website in 2018.
Where better to find information about the world’s leading search engine than on its own blog? This is an outstanding resource for professionals who want to brush up on their skills and learn about the most exciting upcoming developments.
Google’s new Search Console was rolled out in early 2018, and this post about its new features was super helpful for SEO specialists.
The brainchild of Will Critchlow and Duncan Morris, Distilled is an online marketing agency with a beautifully-designed, knowledge-packed website. Blog posts are fairly infrequent, but they are a treat for the SEO connoisseur.
Our favourite post from 2018 was Proposing Better Ways to Think about Internal Linking, which acknowledges the problems with conventional wisdom about internal linking, and offers useful proposals for a better approach.
We love the bold look of this site, and the resources it contains are impressive in their breadth and detail. Everything you want to know about SEO can be found on this blog. It’s also intuitively designed, so you can find your way around with zero difficulty.
The SEJ site contains illuminating blog posts, in-depth manuals, and industry news. Our favourite piece from 2018 was How to Build an SEO Business Case That Your Boss Can’t Say No To; an essential read for marketers who want to secure funding for their next successful campaign.
This blog is aimed more toward copywriters than SEO specialists, but it manages to find a perfect equilibrium between the two. If you’re already a marketing expert, you might be better served elsewhere, but if you’re creating content and want to know the theory behind what you’re writing, this is the right space to find out.
Our favourite post of the year was The Copyblogger Guide to the Best WordPress Tools: Hosting, Themes, Plugins, SEO, Security, and More. As you’ve probably gathered, this is quite a substantial read, but there’s a lot to be taken away by creatives who want to sharpen their SEO skills.
This blog is a collaborative project between Nick Eubanks, a well-regarded expert in keyword research, and Ryan Stewart, an authority in link building. From The Future is impressive from the moment you land, with a gorgeous interface and easy navigation.
FTF is another example of a blog that isn’t updated regularly, but when it is, you’re guaranteed a great read that will actually teach you something valuable. Our pick from 2018 is SEO Case Study – 313% More Organic Traffic with REAL Examples.
Yoast’s tagline is SEO for everyone, and it couldn’t be a more accurate description of this awesome blog. The main product is an SEO plugin for WordPress, and while there are plenty of promotional posts on the blog, there’s also a great deal of content that’s useful for anyone – whether or not you use the plugin.
Our favourite post of the year was The 6 most common SEO mistakes and how to avoid them. It’s a wonderful piece that’s predominantly focused on the SEO newbie, making the topic accessible for all – just as promised in Yoast’s tagline!
If you’re looking for a blog that keeps you up to date with the latest developments in SEO, this is the place to be. Posts are frequent – usually around five per day – so if something important is happening in the SEO dimension, you’re going to find it here.
With so much to choose from, it was difficult to pick our favourite! However, in the interest of encouraging outlandish headlines, we had to go with Google Guidelines: Can You Hypnotize Someone For Links? It’s impossible to feel anything but admiration for a prospect so seemingly left field, but it’s a genuine scenario that was picked up by Google. A very interesting read!
We’re huge fans of the expertise that Will Reynolds and his team craft into every post on this blog. Each piece delivers genuine value, and there are no misleading titles to worry about. Instead, Seer’s blog is the perfect destination for professionals who crave articles that provide unique, well-researched perspectives.
We’re happy to recommend binging all recent posts, but one of our favourites from 2018 was Going Premium: Is Google Analytics 360 Worth It? A pertinent question with a valuable answer.
It would be remiss of us to omit the site with the closest tie to the subject. SEO.com is a digital marketing agency – and props to them for securing that domain! – with a substantial education section, which comprises blogs and eBooks.
As with many of the other blogs we’ve chosen for this list, there’s content for every level of expertise, from beginners to industry leaders. Our favorite post of 2018 was one that addressed several audiences at once: SEO Risks to Take and SEO Risks to Avoid.
The ultimate in quality over quantity, Merj is a blog with a distinct difference: there’s only one post per month. Each entry is a roundup of all the important news, developments, and innovations within the SEO space, and there’s a heavy technical focus. As such, it’s one for the seasoned SEO expert.
However, that doesn’t mean that it’s dry or inaccessible. In fact, we love the writing style that’s found on Merj. All posts follow a similar format, so we’ve chosen the latest entry as our pick of the year.
In 2012, Matthew Woodward’s somewhat audacious plan to develop an SEO plan without link building would probably have been laughed off as a failed experiment in waiting. However, he managed to pull off the seemingly impossible and craft a six-figure blog in less than a year.
Woodward continues to push the boundaries, and his blog is now a huge resource for SEO professionals to devour. Our favourite post from 2018 was How To Increase Search Traffic By Lowering Your Bounce Rate, which is packed with tips, tricks, and a thorough explanation of the often-misunderstood bounce rate.
Bill Slawski knows the SEO business inside and out. He’s been a digital marketer for almost 30 years, so he’s seen every fad, every innovation, and every strategy. His blog is predominantly focused on the search engine to end all search engines, Google, and if you’re looking for technical aspects explored with an unmistakably creative flair, this is the right blog for you.
Our pick of the year is a long piece, but nothing else approaches the expert analysis of this feature. Grab a coffee and a snack, then settle into Five Years of Google Ranking Signals. An excellent read!
We hope you enjoyed this review of the top SEO blogs of 2018. Click here to check out more from our blog
