My Awesome SEO Blog

By Jen Ruhman, San Diego SEO Expert One of the first questions I hear from prospective clients is: "Do I need a new website?" It's understandable why people ask. Maybe their website is a few years old. Maybe a competitor launched a beautiful redesign. Maybe another...

By Jen Ruhman, SEO Expert in San Diego Every SEO Audit Starts the Same Way... People often ask me what software I use when performing an SEO audit. The truth is... Software isn't where I start. Yes, I eventually use tools like Google Search Console, Google Analytics,...

By Jen Ruhman, San Diego SEO Expert When I start working with a new SEO client, I almost never begin by looking for backlinks. That surprises a lot of people. One of the first questions I hear is: "How many backlinks do we need?" My answer is usually... "Let's make...

By Jen Ruhman, San Diego SEO Expert If you've followed SEO news for any length of time, you've probably noticed a pattern. Every week there's another headline claiming everything has changed. "Google released another core update." "SEO is dead." "AI is replacing...

By Jen Ruhman, San Diego SEO Expert When I first start working with a new client, I almost always hear the same goal. "We just want more traffic." There's nothing wrong with wanting more people to visit your website. But here's the question I always ask next. "More...

If you're a small business owner in Poway considering SEO, one of the first questions you're probably going to ask is: How much does SEO actually cost? It's a reasonable question. But if you've already started researching SEO companies, you've probably discovered that...

By Jen Ruhman, San Diego SEO Expert After more than 20 years working in SEO, I’ve audited hundreds of websites. Some belonged to brand-new businesses. Others had been around for decades. Some ranked well. Others barely showed up in Google at all. But regardless of the...

By Jen Ruhman, San Diego SEO Expert If you've been working in SEO for as long as I have, you learn one important lesson very quickly: SEO never stands still. When I first started optimizing websites more than 20 years ago, the SEO landscape looked completely different...

What Is Topical Authority? A Simple Guide for Business Owners One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO is that ranking on Google is all about targeting the right keywords. While keywords are important, Google has become much better at understanding whether a...

Ranking on page 2 of Google can be one of the most frustrating places for a business website to be. You're close. Google clearly understands your website. Your page is indexed. You're relevant enough to rank for the keyword. You may even be sitting at positions 11,...

If you've ever been told, "Just publish more blog posts," you're not alone. For years, businesses believed that writing as many articles as possible was the secret to ranking on Google. While consistently publishing helpful content is important, more content doesn't...

If you own a business in Poway and can't find your company when you search Google Maps, you're probably wondering what you're doing wrong. Maybe your Google Business Profile is completely filled out. You have a website. You've collected some reviews. You know your...

If you own a business in Poway, some of your best potential customers may already be searching Google for exactly what you offer. The question is: Are they finding your business—or one of your competitors? I've worked in SEO for more than 20 years, and one thing I...

One of the biggest surprises for business owners is learning that websites don't usually rank for just one keyword. A well-optimized page can rank for dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of related search terms. Meanwhile, another website may publish plenty of content...