10 Strategic SEO Insights & Tactical Advice For 2025 And Beyond via @sejournal, @gregjarboe

At the beginning of 2002, there were more than a dozen “search engines,” including crawlers, directories, and paid/PPC/CPC engines.

But by the end of that year, Google had emerged from the pack to become the leading player. (According to Nielsen//NetRatings, Google had a 39% share of 47 million “search hours” in December 2002.¹)

I recently called the past 20 years “The Age of the One-Trick Pony.” Back at the beginning of 2003, if you figured out how to improve a website’s visibility in Google’s organic search results, then you could get a well-paying job at an SEO agency.

But, SEO professionals need to prepare for a paradigm shift as that age is about to end.

This means you must invest more time learning innovative marketing disciplines, and demonstrate prudent judgment to manage change.

As we step into the future of search, I can share five strategic insights and five pieces of tactical advice.

Strategic Insights

According to Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese military strategist, “Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.”

And far too many SEOs have spent too little time exploring and evaluating different digital marketing strategies.

This explains Why There Are So Few Vice Presidents of Search Engine Optimization.

So, what can you do to outline a strategy for 2025 and beyond?

1. Embrace AI As A Powerful Tool

You’ve already learned how to use SEO tools that help you improve your company or client’s search engine rankings by analyzing keywords, content, and backlinks.

So, instead of feeling threatened by AI, embrace it as just another tool to add to your toolbox.

Jensen Huang, the founder, president, and CEO of Nvidia, has said, “AI is not going to take your job. The person who uses AI is going to take your job.”

Almost two years later, we’ve learned by comparing the content output generated by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude that generative AI tools may be smarter than newbies at times, but not people with more education, expertise, and experience.

For example, researchers at the University of Reading in England created over 30 fake psychology student accounts and used them to submit ChatGPT-4-produced answers to examination questions.

On average, ChatGPT-4 scored better than human students in the first- and second-year exams, where the questions were easier.

In their last year at the university, students are expected to provide deeper insights and use more elaborate analytical skills. Generative AI isn’t particularly good at that, which is why third-year human students got better grades than ChatGPT-4.

So, embrace AI as a powerful tool – but one that requires someone with education, expertise, and experience to use it effectively. And whatever you do, don’t become a tool of your tools.

2. Conduct Audience Research

I’ve been using keyword research tools since 2002, but I started using an audience research tool in 2020.

With classic keyword research, you learn how many searches a keyword gets. With an audience research tool, you also learn about the audience that searches for a keyword, uses words in their bio, or visits a website.

This is a game changer – and it’s arriving at the precise moment when SEO pros need to start creating the kind of user, buyer, marketing, and customer personas that can transform SEO, PPC, and content marketing.

To get a seat at the big table, SEO marketers must move beyond optimizing their sites, pages, articles, and content for an undifferentiated group of search engine users.

Why? Because one size does not fit all.

Digital marketers have been targeting ads at segments of people with specific demographics, intents, and interests for decades.

However, SEO professionals seemed satisfied with trying to guess the intent of users based on the words or phrases in their queries.

Who can blame them? Previously, keyword research tools could only tell SEOs “what” people searched for, but not “who” they were.

Now, SEO and content marketers can get surprising insights into the demographics, interests, and information sources that influence their intent.

For example, let’s say that the B2B company or client you work for wants to know who searches for “customer retention”?

Well, SparkToro tells you that 5,000 to 6,000 people search for “customer retention” each month in the United States.

Screenshot from SparkToro, December 2024

The tool also tells you that 52.6% are female, and 46.8% are male. Surprised?

They also visit websites like HelpScout.com and Userpilot.com, as well as search other keywords like “lifetime customer value formula” and “tools for customer success.”

Or, let’s say that the target audience that your B2C company or client wants to reach is a “nutritionist.”

Screenshot from SparkToro, December 2024

The tool tells you that 15,000 people have “nutritionist” in their social media bios. The tool also tells you that 81.9% are female, and 174.3% are male.

They also visit websites like Cenegenics.com and CleanPlates.com. And they’re searching for keywords like “fat content of foods” and “how much eggs have protein.”

Finally, let’s say you’ve just started doing work for TheSill.com.

You could tell Eliza that 125,000 people globally visit TheSill.com each month.

Screenshot from SparkToro, December 2024

And the audience located in the United States is 52.4% female, and 47.2% male.

This audience also visits BHG.com and FoodandWine.com, And they search for “how to clip plants” and “cheap tall plants.”

That’s why I think conducting audience research gives you a competitive advantage over keyword research when it comes to crafting more resonant, effective content.

3. Focus On High-Quality, Original Content

It’s worth re-reading Google’s guidance on building high-quality sites published in 2011, following the first Panda algorithm change.

It’s also worth reading the Googe Search Center documentation for creating helpful, reliable, people-first content.

If you have time, then it’s also worth checking out Leveraging YouTube, LinkedIn, And Cross-Channel Strategies For Success.

What will you learn from all this background reading? Content is still king.

And while AI may help you crank out content more efficiently, it still doesn’t create the high-quality, original content that readers crave and Google rewards.

However, it’s important to recognize that there are different perspectives on creating high-quality, original content.

Some experts are focused on increasing efficiency (doing things right), while others are focused on improving effectiveness (doing the right things).

Spoiler alert: I’m in the second camp, along with a lot of content marketers. But, a lot of senior executives, especially chief financial officers (CFOs), are in the first camp.

So, SEO marketers won’t be surprised when they read what Stephanie Stahl said: “Creating content that prompts a desired action isn’t easy.”

SEO professionals may feel a surge of empathetic pain when they read that the biggest challenge that 54% of B2B content creation teams face is “lack of resources.”

But, SEO pros may also feel a surge of hope when they read that Stahl also said, “a group of top performers has found a way to surge ahead. They’ve figured out how to understand their audience’s needs, produce high-quality content, and use AI to create more efficient workflows.”

So, how do the most successful content marketers differ from their less successful peers? Well, according to Stahl, top performers are more likely to:

• Have the right technology to manage content across the organization.
• Have a scalable model for content creation.
• Say their scalable model is creating the desired outcomes.

But the factors that B2B top performers say contribute to their content marketing success are:

• Understand our audience (82%).
• Produce high-quality content (77%).
• Possess industry expertise (70%).
• Have high-performing team members (69%).
• Set goals that align with their organization’s objectives (62%).
• Measure and demonstrate content performance effectively (53%).

So, the debate between efficiency and effectiveness isn’t over. You don’t need to pick sides, but you should be aware that executives at your company are probably debating this topic, too.

4. Build Strong Backlinks

I don’t need to tell SEO pros they need to build strong backlinks. I also don’t need to tell you that this is getting harder to do.

Back in 2002, all you needed to do was submit your URL to the Yahoo! Directory and the Open Directory Project (also known as DMOZ). But, both directories have since been shut down, with the Yahoo! Directory closing in 2014 and the Open Directory Project in 2017.

Meanwhile, Google’s Penguin algorithm update, which rolled out from 2012 to 2016, targeted link spam and manipulative link-building practices.

So, how do you build strong backlinks these days?

You can start by reading What Links Should You Build For A Natural Backlink Profile?

Or,  download “Link Building For SEO: A Complete Guide.”

5. Prioritize User Experience (UX):

Finally, read about how AI is transforming user experiences and influencing SEO rankings.

Every SEO I’ve met over the past 20 years knows how to evaluate the usability of webpages.

For any of the new SEO experts that I haven’t met yet, here’s what Google has to say about the usability of webpages:

“Our systems also consider the usability of content. When all things are relatively equal, content that people will find more accessible may perform better.”

Google adds:

“For example, our systems would look at page experience aspects, such as if content is mobile-friendly, so that those on mobile devices can easily view it. Similarly, they look to see if content loads quickly, also important to mobile users.”

Get it? Got it? Good.

Tactical Advice

It’s worth knowing that Sun Tzu also said, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.”

This quote reminds me of the scene from the superhero comedy film, Mystery Men (1999), where Mr. Furious says, “If you want to push something down, you have to pull it up. If you want to go left, you have to go right.”

But I must admit that the ancient Chinese military strategist is right. You need tactical advice as well as strategic insights to achieve your professional goals and advance in this field or industry.

1. Stay Updated With Algorithm Changes

In November 2003, Google surprised SEO professionals with its first major algorithm update. It was called the “Florida Update” because it hit the industry like a hurricane.

Since then, SEO pros have monitored Google’s algorithm updates and adjusted their strategies accordingly.

If you want to stay updated about algorithm changes, start by reading, Why & How To Track Google Algorithm Updates.

2. Leverage Schema Markup

You’ll also want to implement schema markup to help search engines understand your content and display rich snippets.

If you don’t already know how to do that, then read What Is Schema Markup & Why Is It Important For SEO?

After you’ve done your homework, use tools like Google’s Schema Markup Testing Tool to test your structured data.

3. Optimize For Core Web Vitals

You already know that improving page load speed, interactivity, and visual stability enhance your user experience.

You can brush up on reading about page speed and Core Web Vitals.

4. Track And Analyze Your Performance

It goes without saying that you need to use digital analytics tools to track and analyze your performance. But it’s well worth reading: Beyond Rankings and Beyond Pageviews.

SEO professionals need to have a seat at the table when digital marketing teams decide which events to turn into “key events” in GA4.

Why? So, we can go beyond tracking which default channel was the source of website traffic and begin measuring which channels are generating leads or driving online sales.

5. Adapt To Emerging Trends

SEO marketers have been doing this for more than two decades. But it won’t hurt you to download the “State of SEO 2025.”

Summary: Adapting To The New Age Of Search

By following these strategic SEO insights and tactical advice, you can position yourself for success in the ever-evolving digital landscape – whether you remain at your current company or need to re-invent yourself at another one.

To close with another quote from Sun Tzu: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

Footnote:

¹ Sullivan, D. (2002, March 4-6). Search Engine Strategies 2003 [Conference Handbook (p. 42)]. Hilton Boston Park Plaza, MA, United States.

More Resources:

Featured Image: Buravleva stock/Shutterstock

8 Metrics To Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Internal Linking Strategy via @sejournal, @xandervalencia

You might’ve thought we’ve covered everything there is to know about internal linking.

But few dare to dig into the tricky details of tracking the success of an internal linking hierarchy. That’s because it’s messy, it’s difficult, and it’s not always straightforward – but it’s worth it.

In this guide, we’re covering the metrics that matter most when it comes to internal linking, how to track them, and what they mean in terms of the collective benefit to your website’s SEO strategy.

Is Internal Linking “Measurable”?

Yes, it is measurable, but it’s not always simple.

With something as indeterminate as “internal linking,” it’s easy to assume that the results are more subjective than objective.

For instance, it is difficult to tag individual internal links to assess how a user navigates your site — let alone determine if that results in a goal completion or conversion.

So, measuring the success of your internal linking strategy requires some creative thinking.

While the metrics may not be direct, in context, they can paint a picture of whether the internal links are benefiting your website’s SEO. You just need to know where to look!

Why Measure Your Internal Linking Results?

Internal linking is one of those SEO activities most often treated as a “best practice,” less often venturing into the realm of technical assessment and in-depth strategy.

Sure, there’s an understanding that one should link to the most important pages of their website, but how far do we go beyond that?

Glad you asked because there are a few ways to nerd out about internal linking. If you’re an SEO savant, I’m sure you will appreciate this.

• User Navigation and Intent: Auditing your internal linking strategy via Google Analytics will reveal surprising insights about how users navigate your site. It will allow you to infer what users intend to find when perusing your site content (i.e., where are they going next?).
• Page Authority: You’ll likely notice that some pages get more traffic than others. This may be a result of higher search volume keywords, volume and quality of backlinks, page authority, and a range of other factors. Internal links allow you to direct some of this authority to lower-performing pages.
• Information Architecture: Internal linking is an essential part of facilitating an intuitive and easy user experience. By directing users to relevant pages and posts, you remove friction from their navigational process, lifting barriers to purchase.
• Content Gaps: Through auditing, you will likely find gaps in your content. Have you thoroughly exhausted the topic “pillar” on your website, or are there more items to cover? Where would a user likely want to venture next? How can you take them there?

In essence, there are several benefits to auditing, analyzing, and updating your internal linking strategy.

If you’re ready to go beyond “best practices” and dig into the data, you’ve come to the right place.

Internal Linking: How To Measure Success

As we all know, in SEO, some things are subjective, and others are objective. An internal linking strategy involves a bit of both.

The metrics used to assess internal linking success are mostly objective, while observations and applications can be wholly subjective.

Feel free to interpret the data as you see fit for your own SEO strategy purposes, and know that you’re not limited to these metrics when it comes to analyzing your internal links.

1. Crawl Depth

One of my favorite metrics for analyzing internal links is crawl depth. This metric, reported by Google Search Console’s Crawl Stats report, measures how many pages search engine bots can access and index within a single crawl.

Before implementing internal link updates, I take a baseline of the site’s current crawl depth.

As internal links are added/updated, I most often see an increase in the number of pages found and indexed (assuming there was a discrepancy at the beginning).

An optimized internal linking structure can help search engines crawl deeper into the site, ensuring more pages are indexed and capable of being ranked by Google.

2. Bounce Rate

There are pros and cons to using bounce rate to measure SEO success. The metric alone can miss a lot of context.

For example, in cases of law firm SEO, a higher bounce rate might not be concerning if the end goal is a phone call rather than a user continuously navigating the site. There are many nuances to measuring and assessing the importance of bounce rate.

But when it comes to internal linking, assessing bounce rate can be informative.

Bounce rate (reported by Google Analytics) measures the percentage of website visitors who land on a website and then leave without taking any action. “Action” here could mean clicking on another page, completing a form, making a purchase, etc.

Internal links can increase the likelihood that a user will venture to another page on your website.

Again, compare the results before and after implementing your internal link improvements. A lower bounce rate may indicate that users are finding more relevant content, and are staying on your site for longer.

3. Behavior Flow

Universal Analytics’ “Behavior Flow” report was depreciated with the upgrade to GA4, but there are other ways to view a user’s navigational path through your website.

With the new “path exploration report,” you can analyze a user’s journey through your site, including the pages they land on and the actions they take.

Though not exactly a “metric,” this report does reveal data about which pages users are visiting and where they navigate to next. It also reveals where they drop off.

This is critical information when it comes to internal linking, as you can add links to pages to reduce drop-off, add visual aids to direct users to important pages, and change the placement of your links to improve click-throughs.

4. Pages Per Session

Another Google Analytics metric, Pages Per Session measures the average number of pages a visitor views during a session.

For example, if a visitor only visits two pages and then leaves, that’s not ideal. But if they visit more than two pages, indicating an intent to find information and, potentially, make a purchase, things are looking up!

This can be a helpful metric because it (in part) indicates whether your internal links are well-placed and are making it easy for visitors to navigate to additional pages.

Effective internal linking encourages users to explore more content, increasing page views per session, and signaling good user engagement.

Note that, like bounce rate, there are many nuances to assessing the importance of pages per session as an indicator of SEO performance.

For example, a business would likely prefer that a user calls them right away rather than venturing to several pages of their website. Immediate action is ideal!

5. Time On Page

While pages per session measures the number of pages a user visits within a session, time on page measures the amount of time a user spends on a single webpage before navigating to another page.

In the context of internal linking, higher time on page may indicate that your links are effective in guiding users to content that holds their attention.

Also, while not a direct ranking factor, time on page can contribute to search engines’ understanding of your site’s quality.

Pages that keep users engaged signal a positive user experience, which search engines may consider when determining your rankings.

In that way,  higher time on page as a result of internal linking improvements may indicate the success of your strategy.

6. Page Authority

Page Authority is a score developed by Moz to assess how well a particular page will rank in the SERPs based on a variety of factors. Scores range from 1 to 100, with a higher score indicating a higher expected ranking.

I like to look at Page Authority when it comes to internal linking because internal links can “send” authority to the pages they link to.

Basically, when you link from high-authority pages to other pages on your site, it helps distribute “link equity” across your site. This practice can raise the authority of less visible or lower-ranking pages.

You may notice that the Page Authority of a destination page increases after you link to it from a high-authority page. Measuring this, across multiple pages, can be a strong indicator of internal linking effectiveness.

7. Conversion Rate

You can use Google Tag Manager (GTM) to track conversions from users who click on internal links.

Internal links can guide users down the sales funnel as they navigate from one page to another and, ultimately, make a purchase, submit a form, etc.

Tracking whether linked pages lead to conversions (e.g., purchases or sign-ups) is crucial for assessing the effectiveness of your internal linking strategy.

Here’s how to track internal link conversions with GTM:

1. Log into Google Analytics.
2. Create a conversion event representing the action you want to track (e.g., form submissions, purchases, sign-ups).
3. Take note of the event name and/or parameters (you’ll use them later).
4. Log into Google Tag Manager and click “Triggers” in the sidebar. Select “New” to create a new trigger.
5. Name the trigger (e.g., “Internal Link Click”).
6. Choose “Click – Just Links” as the trigger type.
7. In the Trigger Configuration section, set the following:
   • This trigger fires on: “Some Link Clicks”
8. In the next section, create a condition to target only internal links. Set the condition to:
   • Click URL → Matches RegEx → ^https?://(www.)?yoursite.com
9. Replace yoursite.com with your actual domain.
10. Save the trigger.
11. Next, go to the Tags section in GTM and click “New.” Name the tag (e.g., “Internal Link Click Event”).
12. Choose Tag Type as “Google Analytics: GA4 Event.”
13. Under Tag Configuration, fill in the following:
    • Configuration Tag: Select your GA4 configuration tag.
    • Event Name: Name the event (e.g., “internal_link_click”).
    • Event Parameters: Add additional parameters for deeper insights. Example: Parameter Name: “link_url”
    • Value: {{Click URL}}
14. In the Triggering section, select the “Internal Link Click” trigger you created earlier.
15. Save the tag.
16. Back in GA4, click on Admin.
17. Under the Property column, click on Events.
18. You will see a list of events that GA4 has already tracked (including any custom events like “internal_link_click” if you’ve set up your GTM tag correctly).
19. Find the event you want to track as a conversion (e.g., “internal_link_click”). If it is not listed, it means the event hasn’t been triggered yet, and you’ll need to wait until it fires or manually create the event (explained below).
20. Once the event appears in the list, toggle the “Mark as conversion” switch next to the event. This will now track the event as a conversion in GA4.

8. Organic Traffic

One of the clearest signs of SEO success is increased traffic. However, it can be challenging to directly link traffic growth to changes in your internal linking strategy.

But you can compare traffic stats before and after internal link updates, all else being held equal.

Be sure to track the organic traffic to your website over time using tools like Google Analytics or Semrush.

The addition of internal links can direct more traffic flow to other pages on your site, improve the rate at which pages are indexed, and distribute page authority, which can boost your overall organic traffic.

Improve Your Internal Linking Strategy With These Tips

Internal linking is an important yet oft-overlooked strategy in SEO. It’s so simple that it’s easy to forget how impactful it can be.

With the help of the metrics above and some creative thinking, you can drive better organic results for your site and your clients.

• Audit Often: Analyze your website performance every quarter (if not more) to assess your internal pages and determine whether any content gaps exist on your site. Audit your website for broken and/or redirected links, fixing these as needed to improve user experience and the crawlability of your website.
• Add Links Regularly: Any time you add new content, look for opportunities to link to existing pages or articles. Aim for at least three internal links on each page.
• Examine Your Traffic: Identify high-traffic, high-authority pages and add internal links from these to your lower-performing pages. Compare traffic before and after these changes.
• Play With Placement: Experiment with the placement and prominence of your internal links. Use different visual components, weight, and colors to make internal links more obvious and enticing.

With this guide, you can get a clear picture of how well your internal linking strategy is performing and make adjustments to improve your SEO results.

Want more user engagement and action on your website? Internal linking is one way to do that!

More resources:

Featured Image: denayunebgt/Shutterstock