The StepForth Web Marketing Blog
Informing on SEO, SEM, and PPC since 2001
SEO 101 Ep 399: Stephan Spencer
In this episode of SEO 101, the hosts interview a special guest, and long time friend, Stephan Spencer. Stephan describes his journey into SEO and the great strides it has taken. He shares excellent tips on everything from link building to digital PR, artificial...

SEO 101 Ep 398: Google SEO Tips for 2021
Ross Dunn and guest host, Scott Van Achte, review Moz’s SEO tips for 2021 and share their own. They also cover some of the latest search news in mobile, local SEO, and a search engine taking more user share than many expected it would. [spreaker type=player...
SEO 101 Episode 386: Google’s New “Off the Record” Podcast, Structured Data Insights, and an SEO Question Answered
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 386 John and Ross discuss the feasibility of “algorithm-proofing” a website, insight into the past indexing issues with Google, and news on the increased use of descriptive text with images in search. They follow-up with insights from the...
SEO 101 Episode 385: Google Agrees to Pay for News Content, More Google Properties Closing, and Local SEO News
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 385 John and Ross discuss Google’s amazing acquiescence towards paying news organizations for the right to use their content. A sure game-changer for anyone in the news market. The SEOs next discuss an assortment of Google News from the...
SEO 101 Episode 384: Google’s Page Experience Update and How to Leverage the Web When Re-Opening During COVID-19
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 384 Scott and Ross discuss the Google Page Experience Update and what it means to website owners, followed by tips on re-opening during COVID and how to attract business during this difficult time. The Local SEO component of the show delved...
SEO 101 Episode 383: Carcutt is Back, Core Web Vitals by Google, More News on the Latest Core Algorithm Update, and Much More
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 383 Ross and John cover Core Web Vitals as a ranking signal, more news on Google’s May Core algorithm update, indexing issues, and the impact of COVID-19 on SEO agencies. We follow this info with local SEO news, a Mueller file, and answers...
SEO 101 Episode 382: Latest Broad Core Google Algorithmic Update, Tips for Business During COVID-19
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 382 Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte welcome a surprise guest before discussing the recent broad core update from Google that has significantly affected a large number of websites. Ross shares examples of how businesses can make the most of the...
SEO 101 Episode 381: Bad Advice, JavaScript Don’ts, and Common Issues Found During SEO Audits
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 381 Scott and Ross discuss John Mueller’s hilarious “Quick, The moderators are all busy, post bad advice!” on Reddit, an overview of a few 101 tips on using JavaScript properly for SEO, followed by Ross’s recent SEO 101 tips from his recent...
SEO 101 Episode 380: More Conferences Go Online, EAT Not a Ranking Factor, The Importance of Calls to Action, and SEO Questions Answered
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 380 Scott and Ross discuss a wide variety of news in this episode. From Google’s latest conference video series and dissuading people from believing EAT is in the algorithm, to a reminder that calls to action are a key component of web...
BC Business Creates COVID-19 Websites to Make a Difference
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a soul-wringing experience for many around the world and to some extent, that has included me. You see, my wife works on the front-lines in our local Jubilee Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and I've been privy to just how terrifying...
COVID-19: Innovative Ways Businesses Are Staying Afloat
The COVID-19 pandemic is a difficult time for everyone, but businesses are the ones that are hurting the most. Stores, restaurants, and services closed down their physical businesses due to the recommendations for social isolation. While essential businesses like...
SEO 101 Episode 379: Pandemic Web Survival Tips, General SEO News and Questions Answered
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 379 COVID-19 has taken over all of our lives and many businesses are understandably putting their online marketing on hold. Scott and Ross discuss some of the reasons not to put marketing on hold and how to do it yourself to keep costs low...
How to Add Your Business’s COVID-19 Alert to Google My Business
Although Google My Business has been curtailing its services during the COVID-19 pandemic, they have finally provided business owners with a way to announce their special hours and operating circumstances using a new post-type in Google Posts. Up until now, companies...
SEO 101 Episode 378: Important Bug Warnings, FAQ Markup Updates, and SEO Questions Answered
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 378 From Let’s Encrypt’s critical SSL glitch, to SEO WordPress plugins such as Yoast bugging out… bugs were a hot topic in this episode. Ross Dunn and guest host Scott Van Achte also cover issues with multilingual websites, some Mueller...
SEO 101 Episode 377: An Inside Peek into SEO Strategy at Yahoo News & Entertainment
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 377 This week John and Ross interview Ryan Miller, Senior SEO Strategist at Yahoo News & Entertainment. The interview delves into many aspects of his job: from day-to-day SEO, to training, suggested SEO tools, and more. The show ends...
SEO 101 Episode 376: Even Enterprise Level Companies Need Basic SEO and More Google My Business News
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 376 This week John and Ross discuss how an enterprise-level company shared SEO deficiencies in a quarterly report to shareholders revealing SEO 101 level issues. Then, after discussing some useful intel on the Coverage Report in Google...
SEO 101 Episode 375: Meta Descriptions Driving Cilckthroughs, Another Google My Business Bug, and More
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 375 This week John and Ross discuss Google’s dumpster fire that is Google My Business reveals another bug, Facebook’s purchase of an augmented reality (AR) startup brings to mind the likelihood of SEO with AR, and a clickthrough study shows...
SEO 101 Episode 374: January 2020, A Mighty Month of Google Changes
Summary of SEO 101 Episode 374 This week John and Ross discuss how Google’s made a few changes this month. It started with the January 2020 Core Update followed by the rolling out of a redesigned desktop search result experience and Google’s latest business purchase...