Rank Math vs Yoast: which plugin to use
Rank Math vs Yoast: neither plugin ranks your site. Rank Math's free tier includes more; Yoast has more installs. Choose on workflow, not SEO power.
Writing
Notes from inside the data
We spend our days looking at what is actually ranking. Notes on niche research, Google updates, link prospecting and programmatic SEO — no listicles, and no predictions we cannot back with numbers.
Meta robots tag: every directive, with examples
The meta robots tag controls indexing page by page. Every directive with examples, when to use the X-Robots-Tag header instead, and the robots.txt trap.
Google manual actions: find and fix them
What is a Google manual action? A human reviewer's penalty for spam, shown in Search Console. How to confirm one, fix it and request a review.
Does FAQ schema still work in 2026?
Does FAQ schema still work? Google stopped showing FAQ rich results on 7 May 2026. The markup is harmless, but adding it for a SERP feature wastes effort.
Should you disavow links? Usually not
Disavow links SEO advice from Google: most sites don't need it. When disavowing is right, when it wastes your time, and why random spam can be ignored.
404 vs 410: which status code to use
404 vs 410 status code: Google drops indexed URLs returning either. Use 410 for pages removed for good, 404 when unsure, redirect if a successor exists.
SEO vs PPC (and SEM): which should you choose?
SEO vs PPC is a question of timing, not quality: ads buy traffic today, SEO compounds slowly. Plus what SEM means, as it can cover both or paid…
What is a private blog network (PBN)?
What is a private blog network? How PBNs work, what Google's John Mueller has said about spotting them, and why the risk now outweighs the links.
On-page vs off-page SEO: the difference
On page SEO vs off page SEO: what each covers, which factors you control, why on-page usually comes first, and where technical SEO fits between them.