Keeping up-to-date with the latest news and trends can be challenging when you are running a business where you have to cater for multiple clients. Falling behind is something that can be detrimental to your business and to your reputation as an SEO Expert. In this article, I will cover the best way to stay current on SEO trends.
Read Reputable SEO Blogs
Online new blogs focused on SEO are my favourite source of information.
I would shy away from blogs around big SEO personas like Neil Patel or Brian Dean (Backlingo). These blogs intend mostly to attract individuals that are new to the SEO trade. They continuously regurgitate the same content over and over again. They rarely provide fresh content, and the content is optimized to drive traffic.
The following is my go-to list.
Google Webmaster
If you want to get the latest announcement and technical details, there is no better starting point than the Google Webmaster blog. The Webmaster blog is a good source for technical aspects of SEO like javascript, page optimization, crawl budgets etc.
If you are not into reading and you are a visual person, they also have Youtube channel, filled with essential topics delivered by John Mueller (Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google), Martin Splitt (Developer advocate on the Webmaster Trends Analyst team) and many others.
The community section of the youtube video channel is also suggested. A lot of people post useful questions which are answered by googlers.
Search Engine Land
SEO Search Land is the best place to get the latest updates within search, covering all aspects of different search engines, not just Google. They cover a lot of content on Bing, Yandex, and other search engines. Another important note is that SEO Search Land consistently publish content with new articles being delivered multiple times a day.
Search Engine Roundtable
Search Engine Roundtable is the blog you have to follow if your main focus is Google. They cover all aspects related to google PPC, search engine updates, news, and SEO technical details. The executive editor is Barry Schwartz, who is a veteran when it comes to the SEO Arena. He produces many interviews with googlers, providing a lot of insights on google search issues and updates.
SEO by the SEA
SEO by the Sea is maintained by Bill Slawski. Bill Slawski is a unique individual in the SEO arena. He dives deep into the technical details of SEO and covers aspects of Google search engine patents and white papers. He gives rare insights into the different aspects of Google algorithm.
Email Newsletters
Email newsletters may sound a bot of school, but I like the concept of receiving news in my inbox. I am constantly checking emails and having a quick look at the latest updates while I am reading emails is an efficient way to keep up to date.
The Moz Top 10 is a good source of information. Every two weeks, you will receive a newsletter sharing the 10 most valuable articles on SEO and online marketing. It’s an excellent way to keep up-to-date if you have a busy schedule, and you can only afford a couple of minutes a month to read news articles.
Social Media
I am not a big fan of social media, but it can be an excellent source of information. It is also convenient as you do not need to hunt for information, but it gets delivered to you through push notifications. I find twitter as the best platform as I can selectively focus on people or organizations prominent in the SEO field, such as John Muller, Barry Swartz, and Bill Slawski, to name a few.
Facebook groups are also a good source of information, particularly if you want to engage with other SEO experts in your area
Online Social Communities
Blackhatworld
Blackhatworld has the best online community around SEO. You can ask assistance ranging from White Hat SEO to Black Hat SEO and anything that lies in between. It a good source to get insights when there is a Google Algorithm update as you can quickly get feedback from other SEOs particularly if they work in your niche.
I regard Reddit is a very good online community to get information about any topic. Over 150 million pages are viewed on Reddit every day, making it the 7th most visited site in the world.
If you are new to Reddit, it can be overwhelming at first, but very simple to use. Each community can create and manage a subsection of the site called subreddit. Once you join a subreddit you receive daily updates about issues and new trends. The following is my preferred list of subreddits.
Networking
It is a known fact that SEO experts guard their secrets and very rarely divulge any unique insights they might have in the industry. However more often than not, if you are having an issue, other SEO experts are the best source of information.
Going to meetups and panels on SEO gives you the opportunity to share your daily struggles and understand how the rest of the community is adapting to changes around SEO and Globally. Even from a social aspect you can ceate long lasting relationships with other people that can help you understand changes in the industry and relationship with clients.
You can gain access to influential people in the industry that can provide you with valuable guidance and advice.
News Aggregator
News aggregators are also a good way to read the news targeting a particular niche/s on which you may want to focus. If you’re going to opt for such an approach, I would recommend Digg. Digg novel approach pulls articles based on who you follow on your social media. If you follow a lot of people from the SEO arena, it will give you news on the latest trends in SEO.
Gain Changer co-founder Sean Bianco is well-versed in determining market trends. Emphasis is placed on understanding relationships between technical problems and customer impact, resulting in customer-driven products and services.
