SEO
The Current State of Google PageRank & How It Evolved
PageRank (PR) is an algorithm that improves the quality of search results by using links to measure the importance of a page. It considers links as votes, with the underlying assumption being that more important pages are likely to receive more links.
PageRank was created by Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page in 1997 when they were at Stanford University, and the name is a reference to both Larry Page and the term “webpage.”
In many ways, it’s similar to a metric called “impact factor” for journals, where more cited = more important. It differs a bit in that PageRank considers some votes more important than others.
By using links along with content to rank pages, Google’s results were better than competitors. Links became the currency of the web.
Want to know more about PageRank? Let’s dive in.
In terms of modern SEO, PageRank is one of the algorithms comprising Experience Expertise Authoritativeness Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).
Google’s algorithms identify signals about pages that correlate with trustworthiness and authoritativeness. The best known of these signals is PageRank, which uses links on the web to understand authoritativeness.
Source: How Google Fights Disinformation
We’ve also had confirmation from Google reps like Gary Illyes, who said that Google still uses PageRank and that links are used for E-A-T (now E-E-A-T).
When I ran a study to measure the impact of links and effectively removed the links using the disavow tool, the drop was obvious. Links still matter for rankings.
PageRank has also been a confirmed factor when it comes to crawl budget. It makes sense that Google wants to crawl important pages more often.
Crazy fact: The formula published in the original PageRank paper was wrong. Let’s look at why.
PageRank was described in the original paper as a probability distribution—or how likely you were to be on any given page on the web. This means that if you sum up the PageRank for every page on the web together, you should get a total of 1.
Here’s the full PageRank formula from the original paper published in 1997:
PR(A) = (1-d) + d (PR(T1)/C(T1) + … + PR(Tn)/C(Tn))
Simplified a bit and assuming the damping factor (d) is 0.85 as Google mentioned in the paper (I’ll explain what the damping factor is shortly), it’s:
PageRank for a page = 0.15 + 0.85 (a portion of the PageRank of each linking page split across its outbound links)
In the paper, they said that the sum of the PageRank for every page should equal 1. But that’s not possible if you use the formula in the paper. Each page would have a minimum PageRank of 0.15 (1-d). Just a few pages would put the total at greater than 1. You can’t have a probability greater than 100%. Something is wrong!
The formula should actually divide that (1-d) by the number of pages on the internet for it to work as described. It would be:
PageRank for a page = (0.15/number of pages on the internet) + 0.85 (a portion of the PageRank of each linking page split across its outbound links)
It’s still complicated, so let’s see if I can explain it with some visuals.
1. A page is given an initial PageRank score based on the links pointing to it. Let’s say I have five pages with no links. Each gets a PageRank of (1/5) or 0.2.
2. This score is then distributed to other pages through the links on the page. If I add some links to the five pages above and calculate the new PageRank for each, then I end up with this:
You’ll notice that the scores are favoring the pages with more links to them.
3. This calculation is repeated as Google crawls the web. If I calculate the PageRank again (called an iteration), you’ll see that the scores change. It’s the same pages with the same links, but the base PageRank for each page has changed, so the resulting PageRank is different.
The PageRank formula also has a so-called “damping factor,” the “d” in the formula, which simulates the probability of a random user continuing to click on links as they browse the web.
Think of it like this: The probability of you clicking a link on the first page you visit is reasonably high. But the likelihood of you then clicking a link on the next page is slightly lower, and so on and so forth.
If a strong page links directly to another page, it’s going to pass a lot of value. If the link is four clicks away, the value transferred from that strong page will be a lot less because of the damping factor.
The first PageRank patent was filed on January 9, 1998. It was titled “Method for node ranking in a linked database.” This patent expired on January 9, 2018, and was not renewed.
Google first made PageRank public when the Google Directory launched on March 15, 2000. This was a version of the Open Directory Project but sorted by PageRank. The directory was shut down on July 25, 2011.
It was December 11, 2000, when Google launched PageRank in the Google toolbar, which was the version most SEOs obsessed over.
This is how it looked when PageRank was included in Google’s toolbar.
PageRank in the toolbar was last updated on December 6, 2013, and was finally removed on March 7, 2016.
The PageRank shown in the toolbar was a little different. It used a simple 0–10 numbering system to represent the PageRank. But PageRank itself is a logarithmic scale where achieving each higher number becomes increasingly difficult.
PageRank even made its way into Google Sitemaps (now known as Google Search Console) on November 17, 2005. It was shown in categories of high, medium, low, or N/A. This feature was removed on October 15, 2009.
Link spam
Over the years, there have been a lot of different ways SEOs have abused the system in the search for more PageRank and better rankings. Google has a whole list of link schemes that include:
- Buying or selling links—exchanging links for money, goods, products, or services.
- Excessive link exchanges.
- Using software to automatically create links.
- Requiring links as part of a terms of service, contract, or other agreement.
- Text ads that don’t use nofollow or sponsored attributes.
- Advertorials or native advertising that includes links that pass ranking credit.
- Articles, guest posts, or blogs with optimized anchor text links.
- Low-quality directories or social bookmark links.
- Keyword-rich, hidden, or low-quality links embedded in widgets that get put on other websites.
- Widely distributed links in footers or templates. For example, hard-coding a link to your website into the WP Theme that you sell or give away for free.
- Forum comments with optimized links in the post or signature.
The systems to combat link spam have evolved over the years. Let’s look at some of the major updates.
Nofollow
On January 18, 2005, Google announced it had partnered with other major search engines to introduce the rel=“nofollow” attribute. It encouraged users to add the nofollow attribute to blog comments, trackbacks, and referrer lists to help combat spam.
Here’s an excerpt from Google’s official statement on the introduction of nofollow:
If you’re a blogger (or a blog reader), you’re painfully familiar with people who try to raise their own websites’ search engine rankings by submitting linked blog comments like “Visit my discount pharmaceuticals site.” This is called comment spam, we don’t like it either, and we’ve been testing a new tag that blocks it. From now on, when Google sees the attribute (rel=“nofollow”) on hyperlinks, those links won’t get any credit when we rank websites in our search results.
Almost all modern systems use the nofollow attribute on blog comment links.
SEOs even began to abuse nofollow—because of course we did. Nofollow was used for PageRank sculpting, where people would nofollow some links on their pages to make other links stronger. Google eventually changed the system to prevent this abuse.
In 2009, Google’s Matt Cutts confirmed that this would no longer work and that PageRank would be distributed across links even if a nofollow attribute was present (but only passed through the followed link).
Google added a couple more link attributes that are more specific versions of the nofollow attribute on September 10, 2019. These included rel=“ugc” meant to identify user-generated content and rel=“sponsored” meant to identify links that were paid or affiliate.
Algorithms targeting link spam
As SEOs found new ways to game links, Google worked on new algorithms to detect this spam.
When the original Penguin algorithm launched on April 24, 2012, it hurt a lot of websites and website owners. Google gave site owners a way to recover later that year by introducing the disavow tool on October 16, 2012.
When Penguin 4.0 launched on September 23, 2016, it brought a welcome change to how link spam was handled by Google. Instead of hurting websites, it began devaluing spam links. This also meant that most sites no longer needed to use the disavow tool.
Google launched its first Link Spam Update on July 26, 2021. This recently evolved, and a Link Spam Update on December 14, 2022, announced the use of an AI-based detection system called SpamBrain to neutralize the value of unnatural links.
The original version of PageRank hasn’t been used since 2006, according to a former Google employee. The employee said it was replaced with another less resource-intensive algorithm.
They replaced it in 2006 with an algorithm that gives approximately-similar results but is significantly faster to compute. The replacement algorithm is the number that’s been reported in the toolbar, and what Google claims as PageRank (it even has a similar name, and so Google’s claim isn’t technically incorrect). Both algorithms are O(N log N) but the replacement has a much smaller constant on the log N factor, because it does away with the need to iterate until the algorithm converges. That’s fairly important as the web grew from ~1-10M pages to 150B+.
Remember those iterations and how PageRank kept changing with each iteration? It sounds like Google simplified that system.
What else has changed?
Some links are worth more than others
Rather than splitting the PageRank equally between all links on a page, some links are valued more than others. There’s speculation from patents that Google switched from a random surfer model (where a user may go to any link) to a reasonable surfer model (where some links are more likely to be clicked than others so they carry more weight).
Some links are ignored
There have been several systems put in place to ignore the value of certain links. We’ve already talked about a few of them, including:
- Nofollow, UGC, and sponsored attributes.
- Google’s Penguin algorithm.
- The disavow tool.
- Link Spam updates.
Google also won’t count any links on pages that are blocked by robots.txt. It won’t be able to crawl these pages to see any of the links. This system was likely in place from the start.
Some links are consolidated
Google has a canonicalization system that helps it determine what version of a page should be indexed and to consolidate signals from duplicate pages to that main version.
Canonical link elements were introduced on February 12, 2009, and allow users to specify their preferred version.
Redirects were originally said to pass the same amount of PageRank as a link. But at some point, this system changed and no PageRank is currently lost.
A bit is still unknown
When pages are marked as noindex, we don’t exactly know how Google treats the links. Even Googlers have conflicting statements.
According to John Mueller, pages that are marked noindex will eventually be treated as noindex, nofollow. This means that the links eventually stop passing any value.
According to Gary, Googlebot will discover and follow the links as long as a page still has links to it.
These aren’t necessarily contradictory. But if you go by Gary’s statement, it could be a very long time before Google stops crawling and counting links—perhaps never.
There’s currently no way to see Google’s PageRank.
URL Rating (UR) is a good replacement metric for PageRank because it has a lot in common with the PageRank formula. It shows the strength of a page’s link profile on a 100-point scale. The bigger the number, the stronger the link profile.
Both PageRank and UR account for internal and external links when being calculated. Many of the other strength metrics used in the industry completely ignore internal links. I’d argue link builders should be looking more at UR than metrics like DR, which only accounts for links from other sites.
However, it’s not exactly the same. UR does ignore the value of some links and doesn’t count nofollow links. We don’t know exactly what links Google ignores and don’t know what links users may have disavowed, which will impact Google’s PageRank calculation. We also may make different decisions on how we treat some of the canonicalization signals like canonical link elements and redirects.
So our advice is to use it but know that it may not be exactly like Google’s system.
We also have Page Rating (PR) in Site Audit’s Page Explorer. This is similar to an internal PageRank calculation and can be useful to see what the strongest pages on your site are based on your internal link structure.
Since PageRank is based on links, to increase your PageRank, you need better links. Let’s look at your options.
Redirect broken pages
Redirecting old pages on your site to relevant new pages can help reclaim and consolidate signals like PageRank. Websites change over time, and people don’t seem to like to implement proper redirects. This may be the easiest win, since those links already point to you but currently don’t count for you.
Here’s how to find those opportunities:
I usually sort this by “Referring domains.”
Take those pages and redirect them to the current pages on your site. If you don’t know exactly where they go or don’t have the time, I have an automated redirect script that may help. It looks at the old content from archive.org and matches it with the closest current content on your site. This is where you likely want to redirect the pages.
Internal links
Backlinks aren’t always within your control. People can link to any page on your site they choose, and they can use whatever anchor text they like.
Internal links are different. You have full control over them.
Internally link where it makes sense. For instance, you may want to link more to pages that are more important to you.
We have a tool within Site Audit called Internal Link Opportunities that helps you quickly locate these opportunities.
This tool works by looking for mentions of keywords that you already rank for on your site. Then it suggests them as contextual internal link opportunities.
For example, the tool shows a mention of “faceted navigation” in our guide to duplicate content. As Site Audit knows we have a page about faceted navigation, it suggests we add an internal link to that page.
External links
You can also get more links from other sites to your own to increase your PageRank. We have a lot of guides around link building already. Some of my favorites are:
Final thoughts
Even though PageRank has changed, we know that Google still uses it. We may not know all the details or everything involved, but it’s still easy to see the impact of links.
Also, Google just can’t seem to get away from using links and PageRank. It once experimented with not using links in its algorithm and decided against it.
So we don’t have a version like that that is exposed to the public but we have our own experiments like that internally and the quality looks much much worse. It turns out backlinks, even though there is some noise and certainly a lot of spam, for the most part are still a really really big win in terms of quality of search results.
We played around with the idea of turning off backlink relevance and at least for now backlinks relevance still really helps in terms of making sure that we turn the best, most relevant, most topical set of search results.
Source: YouTube (Google Search Central)
If you have any questions, message me on Twitter.
SEO
The 11 Best SEO Books You Must Read Today
SEO is a rapidly evolving field, making it important for professionals to continuously expand their knowledge and skills.
We’ve put together a list of essential SEO books suitable for readers at various levels.
Some books on this list provide a foundation in core concepts, while more advanced practitioners can explore topics such as entity optimization.
The list includes specialized resources tailored to specific areas of SEO. For example, some books offer strategies for businesses targeting local audiences, while others serve as comprehensive guides to link building tactics.
For those interested in Google’s perspective, another book provides insights into the company’s philosophies and principles.
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced professional, this list caters to diverse interests and skill levels, ensuring there’s something for everyone.
Books On Search Engine Optimization
1. SEO For Beginners: An Introduction To SEO Basics
Published by Search Engine Journal, this is a comprehensive guide to SEO. It covers everything from link building and SEO history to busting common myths and offering expert tips.
While it’s for beginners, veterans can also gain new insights. The book breaks down complex ideas into bite-sized pieces, making it a great starting point.
It’s well-structured, with each chapter tackling a different SEO aspect – from search engine mechanics to the latest algorithm updates.
The authors don’t just stick to theory. They provide real-world examples and case studies to show how these concepts work in practice. This mix of theory and application makes the book a valuable resource for anyone looking to improve their SEO.
Key reasons to give it a read:
- Get a solid grasp of SEO basics from industry pros.
- Easy-to-follow explanations of tricky concepts.
- Practical advice you can apply to your SEO strategies.
- Stay in the loop with current SEO trends and Google updates.
- Benefit from the collective wisdom of top SEO experts.
2. Entity SEO: Moving From Strings To Things
By Dixon Jones, CEO of InLinks
Dixon Jones’ book “Entity SEO: Moving from Strings to Things” explains the shift from old-school keyword SEO to modern entity-based optimization.
It explains how search engines now use the Knowledge Graph to understand relationships between concepts and offers practical advice on adapting your SEO strategy.
Key points:
- Making your brand an “entity” in your niche.
- Using structured data effectively.
- Getting quality links and mentions.
- Creating content rich in entity information.
The book uses real examples to show how these concepts work in practice. It’s meant to help SEO professionals at all levels understand and prepare for where search is heading.
Worth reading if you want to:
- Get a solid grip on entity SEO.
- Learn actionable entity optimization tactics.
- Establish your brand as a recognized entity.
- Master the use of structured data for SEO.
- Future-proof your SEO strategy.
3. The Art Of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization
by Eric Enge of Stone Temple Consulting, Stephan Spencer, and Jessie C. Stricchiola
Covering everything from SEO 101 to advanced tactics, this book starts with the basics of how search engines work and then dives into the meat of SEO: keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO, and link building.
The authors break down complex strategies into actionable steps, making implementation a breeze.
What sets this book apart is its holistic approach. It’s not just about ranking; it’s about aligning SEO with your business goals and integrating it into your digital strategy. The book also discusses the role of content marketing and social media in boosting SEO performance.
Reasons to read this book:
- Get a complete SEO education, from basics to advanced strategies.
- Learn to align SEO with your business objectives.
- Access practical, step-by-step guides for implementing SEO tactics.
- Understand how to integrate SEO with content marketing and social media.
- Benefit from the collective wisdom of three renowned SEO experts.
4. The Psychology Of A Website: Mastering Cognitive Biases, Conversion Triggers And Modern SEO To Achieve Massive Results
Matthew Capala’s “The Psychology of a Website” offers a fresh take on website optimization. Instead of focusing on technical aspects, it dives into the psychology behind user behavior and conversions.
Capala, a seasoned digital marketer, shares actionable tips for creating websites that perform well in search results and keep visitors engaged and more likely to convert.
The book kicks off by exploring how our brains work when we browse websites. Capala then gets into the nitty-gritty of optimizing different website elements, from how they look to what they say.
A big focus throughout is user experience (UX). Capala stresses that a great website isn’t just about ranking high on Google – it needs to be easy and enjoyable for people to use.
While UX is key, Capala doesn’t ignore SEO. He offers practical advice on keyword research, on-page optimization, and building links while keeping the focus on creating content that actually connects with users.
By blending psychological insights with practical digital marketing strategies, Capala offers a well-rounded approach to website optimization that can lead to significant improvements.
Reasons to read this book:
- Gain insights into the psychology driving user behavior and conversions.
- Learn to create websites that not only rank well but also engage visitors.
- Get practical strategies for optimizing design, content, and calls-to-action.
- Discover how to enhance user experience and mobile performance.
- Learn to integrate SEO best practices with a focus on user engagement.
- Benefit from real-world examples and expert insights from a seasoned digital marketer.
5. The Best Damn Website & Ecommerce Marketing And Optimization Guide, Period
SEO veteran Stoney DeGeyter’s book “The Best Damn Website & Ecommerce Marketing And Optimization Guide, Period” covers SEO basics to advanced tactics for websites and online stores.
It starts with SEO essentials and then dives into advanced topics. The book’s standout feature is its focus on ecommerce, addressing product pages, category optimization, and effective product descriptions.
DeGeyter emphasizes a holistic SEO approach that aligns with business goals and user experience. He also covers analytics for strategy refinement.
This guide suits both small business owners and ecommerce marketers.
Reasons to read:
- Master SEO fundamentals and advanced strategies.
- Learn ecommerce-specific optimization tactics.
- Discover product page and description best practices.
- Understand user-generated content’s SEO impact.
- Align SEO efforts with business objectives.
- Benefit from decades of industry expertise.
6. Ecommerce SEO Mastery: 10 Huge SEO Wins For Any Online Store
Kristina Azarenko’s “Ecommerce SEO Mastery” offers 10 key strategies for online stores. The book tackles common ecommerce SEO challenges like thin content and complex site structures.
Azarenko breaks down each “SEO win” with practical advice on implementation.
Topics include:
- Ecommerce keyword research.
- Product & category page optimization.
- Leveraging user-generated content.
- Building quality backlinks.
- Site speed and mobile optimization.
- Structured data.
The book provides real-world examples and emphasizes data-driven SEO. It guides readers through using tools like Google Analytics and Search Console to track progress.
Reasons to read:
- Learn 10 powerful ecommerce-specific SEO strategies.
- Gain insights from a renowned SEO expert.
- Discover how to optimize product and category pages.
- Leverage user-generated content for SEO benefits.
- Learn to build high-quality backlinks.
- Apply real-world examples and case studies.
- Adopt a data-driven approach to ecommerce SEO.
7. Product-Led SEO: The Why Behind Building Your Organic Growth Strategy
by Eli Schwartz
Eli Schwartz’s “Product-Led SEO” offers a fresh take on SEO strategy, emphasizing business goals and sustainable organic growth.
Drawing from his work with major brands, Schwartz presents a framework that integrates SEO with overall company strategy.
The book challenges traditional SEO tactics, advocating for a holistic approach that prioritizes user value.
Key topics include:
- User intent optimization.
- Content strategy for the full customer journey.
- Measuring SEO’s business impact.
Schwartz focuses on the strategic “why” behind SEO tactics, encouraging critical thinking and adaptable strategies for long-term success.
Reasons to read this book:
- Gain a strategic perspective on SEO that aligns with business objectives.
- Learn to create sustainable organic growth through user-centric approaches.
- Discover how to optimize for the entire customer journey.
- Understand methods for measuring and communicating SEO’s business impact.
- Access real-world case studies and examples from major brands.
- Benefit from the author’s extensive experience in driving impactful SEO results.
Books On Link Building
8. The Link Building Book
by Paddy Moogan
Paddy Moogan’s “The Link Building Book” is a comprehensive, free online guide.
It covers link building basics, tactics for acquiring high-authority backlinks, content creation, and practical steps for planning and executing campaigns.
The book emphasizes white-hat techniques and quality over quantity, making it valuable for both SEO novices and pros.
Reasons to read:
- Master link building fundamentals and best practices.
- Learn diverse tactics for acquiring high-quality, relevant links.
- Understand how to assess potential linking websites.
- Discover content strategies that naturally attract links.
- Learn to plan and execute effective link building campaigns.
- Benefit from practical advice and real-world examples.
- Access updated, valuable insights at no cost.
Books On Local SEO
9. Local SEO Secrets: 20 Local SEO Strategies You Should Be Using NOW
by Roger Bryan
“Local SEO Secrets” by Roger Bryan is a must-read for businesses targeting local customers. It offers 20 proven strategies to boost local search visibility and drive growth.
Key topics include:
- Local SEO fundamentals and how it differs from traditional SEO.
- Optimizing Google Business Profile listings.
- Building local citations and leveraging structured data.
- Creating local content and managing online reputation.
- Implementing and tracking local SEO strategies.
The book provides actionable advice, real-world examples, and step-by-step instructions. It’s valuable for small business owners, marketers, and SEO consultants working with local clients.
Reasons to read:
- Learn 20 proven strategies for improving local search visibility.
- Understand key local ranking factors like Google Business Profile, reviews, and citations.
- Master GBP optimization for local SEO success.
- Discover how to use structured data and local content effectively.
- Learn reputation management best practices.
- Get practical, easy-to-implement instructions and examples.
- Learn to measure local SEO performance with analytics tools.
Books On Search Engines
10. How Google Works
by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg
“How Google Works” by ex-Google execs Schmidt and Rosenberg offers an insider’s view of the search giant. While not focused on SEO, it provides valuable insights for digital marketers and business leaders.
The book offers practical advice and real-world examples applicable to businesses of all sizes.
Understanding Google’s philosophy can inform more effective, customer-focused digital marketing strategies.
Reasons to read:
- Get an insider’s view of Google’s success principles.
- Understand how to create a user-centric business strategy.
- Discover ways to foster innovation and experimentation in your organization.
- Gain insights into data-driven decision-making processes.
11. Entity-Oriented Search
“Entity-Oriented Search” by Krisztian Balog is a deep dive into modern search engine tech. It focuses on entities, knowledge graphs, and semantic search and is aimed at readers with a background in information retrieval (IR).
A key strength is its coverage of cutting-edge research, like neural entity representations and knowledge-based language models. While tech-heavy, it touches on applications in QA, recommender systems, and digital assistants and discusses future trends.
It’s essential reading for IR, natural language processing (NLP), and artificial intelligence (AI) pros seeking in-depth knowledge of modern search engines.
Reasons to read:
- Deep dive into entity-oriented and semantic search tech.
- Research on knowledge graphs and semantic understanding.
- A detailed look at entity extraction, linking, and ranking algorithms.
- Insights on neural entity representations and knowledge-based language models.
- Expert knowledge from a renowned IR and search engine specialist.
Conclusion: Choosing Your Next Book
These 11 SEO books have got you covered – whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro.
For beginners, “SEO for Beginners” and “The Art of SEO” are solid starter packs that’ll teach you the SEO fundamentals.
As you level up, books like “Entity SEO” and “Product-Led SEO” explore more advanced topics like optimizing for entities and aligning SEO with business goals.
Several books focus on specific areas:
- “Local SEO Secrets” is a must-read if you’re targeting local customers.
- “Ecommerce SEO Mastery” zeroes in on ecommerce SEO.
- “The Link Building Book” is your starting point to master link building.
On the technical side, “Entity-Oriented Search” dives deep into semantic search and cutting-edge search engine tech. “How Google Works” gives you the inside scoop on Google’s mindset.
The key is picking books that match your skill level and areas of interest. Whether you want to learn SEO from scratch, level up your game, or specialize, there’s a book for you.
The Amazon links in this post are not affiliate links, and SEJ does not receive compensation when you click or make a purchase through these links.
More SEO & Marketing Books Worth Your Time:
Featured Image: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock
SEO
The 100 Most Searched People on Google in 2024
These are the 100 most searched people, along with their monthly search volumes.
| # | Keyword | Search volume |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | donald trump | 7450000 |
| 2 | taylor swift | 7300000 |
| 3 | travis kelce | 4970000 |
| 4 | matthew perry | 3790000 |
| 5 | kamala harris | 2730000 |
| 6 | joe biden | 2480000 |
| 7 | caitlin clark | 2400000 |
| 8 | olivia rodrigo | 2100000 |
| 9 | jd vance | 2060000 |
| 10 | billie eilish | 1720000 |
| 11 | sabrina carpenter | 1680000 |
| 12 | kate middleton | 1660000 |
| 13 | patrick mahomes | 1570000 |
| 14 | gypsy rose | 1520000 |
| 15 | jason kelce | 1490000 |
| 16 | mihály csíkszentmihályi | 1460000 |
| 17 | timothee chalamet | 1450000 |
| 18 | tyreek hill | 1380000 |
| 19 | lola beltrán | 1350000 |
| 20 | lebron james | 1330000 |
| 21 | lauren boebert | 1310000 |
| 22 | barry keoghan | 1300000 |
| 23 | brock purdy | 1280000 |
| 24 | drake | 1250000 |
| 25 | griselda blanco | 1210000 |
| 26 | ryan reynolds | 1200000 |
| 27 | zendaya | 1180000 |
| 28 | scottie scheffler | 1170000 |
| 29 | aaron rodgers | 1170000 |
| 30 | casimir funk | 1170000 |
| 31 | zach bryan | 1150000 |
| 32 | tom brady | 1150000 |
| 33 | jacob elordi | 1140000 |
| 34 | blake lively | 1130000 |
| 35 | millie bobby brown | 1120000 |
| 36 | margot robbie | 1110000 |
| 37 | luisa moreno | 1110000 |
| 38 | bruce willis | 1090000 |
| 39 | v | 1090000 |
| 40 | eminem | 1050000 |
| 41 | cillian murphy | 1040000 |
| 42 | anthony edwards | 1020000 |
| 43 | peso pluma | 1000000 |
| 44 | fani willis | 1000000 |
| 45 | etel adnan | 1000000 |
| 46 | dua lipa | 991000 |
| 47 | jennifer aniston | 986000 |
| 48 | bianca censori | 983000 |
| 49 | megan fox | 982000 |
| 50 | shannen doherty | 977000 |
| 51 | mike tyson | 973000 |
| 52 | megan thee stallion | 971000 |
| 53 | ariana grande | 960000 |
| 54 | james baldwin | 958000 |
| 55 | britney spears | 954000 |
| 56 | oj simpson | 941000 |
| 57 | lainey wilson | 937000 |
| 58 | dan schneider | 933000 |
| 59 | emma stone | 932000 |
| 60 | raoul a. cortez | 930000 |
| 61 | dolly parton | 926000 |
| 62 | joe burrow | 925000 |
| 63 | anya taylor-joy | 925000 |
| 64 | amanda bynes | 924000 |
| 65 | danny masterson | 920000 |
| 66 | matt rife | 918000 |
| 67 | kendrick lamar | 912000 |
| 68 | messi | 901000 |
| 69 | bronny james | 901000 |
| 70 | adam sandler | 898000 |
| 71 | james earl jones | 897000 |
| 72 | coco gauff | 892000 |
| 73 | michael jackson | 884000 |
| 74 | victor wembanyama | 870000 |
| 75 | pink | 865000 |
| 76 | luka doncic | 861000 |
| 77 | selena gomez | 861000 |
| 78 | jelly roll | 861000 |
| 79 | jonathan majors | 840000 |
| 80 | justin fields | 824000 |
| 81 | meghan markle | 821000 |
| 82 | florence pugh | 819000 |
| 83 | post malone | 813000 |
| 84 | jayson tatum | 808000 |
| 85 | diddy | 804000 |
| 86 | justin jefferson | 799000 |
| 87 | sza | 794000 |
| 88 | ana de armas | 793000 |
| 89 | cj stroud | 790000 |
| 90 | ben affleck | 788000 |
| 91 | jake paul | 786000 |
| 92 | zac efron | 783000 |
| 93 | scarlett johansson | 779000 |
| 94 | deion sanders | 771000 |
| 95 | dr. victor chang | 760000 |
| 96 | andrew tate | 759000 |
| 97 | jason momoa | 756000 |
| 98 | pedro pascal | 755000 |
| 99 | bad bunny | 744000 |
| 100 | christian mccaffrey | 735000 |
| # | Keyword | Search volume |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | taylor swift | 17000000 |
| 2 | trump | 12400000 |
| 3 | matthew perry | 9100000 |
| 4 | sydney sweeney | 8500000 |
| 5 | travis kelce | 7500000 |
| 6 | oppenheimer | 7300000 |
| 7 | messi | 7000000 |
| 8 | elon musk | 6500000 |
| 9 | sinner | 6300000 |
| 10 | cristiano ronaldo | 6100000 |
| 11 | kate middleton | 5900000 |
| 12 | billie eilish | 5200000 |
| 13 | joe biden | 5000000 |
| 14 | xxxtentacion | 5000000 |
| 15 | 大谷翔平 | 4900000 |
| 16 | virat kohli | 4800000 |
| 17 | jenna ortega | 4700000 |
| 18 | v | 4600000 |
| 19 | ronaldo | 4600000 |
| 20 | kamala harris | 4300000 |
| 21 | olivia rodrigo | 4200000 |
| 22 | griselda blanco | 4000000 |
| 23 | margot robbie | 4000000 |
| 24 | cillian murphy | 3800000 |
| 25 | carlos alcaraz | 3600000 |
| 26 | dua lipa | 3600000 |
| 27 | zendaya | 3600000 |
| 28 | djokovic | 3500000 |
| 29 | bianca censori | 3500000 |
| 30 | jude bellingham | 3400000 |
| 31 | alcaraz | 3400000 |
| 32 | millie bobby brown | 3400000 |
| 33 | ana de armas | 3300000 |
| 34 | sabrina carpenter | 3300000 |
| 35 | henry cavill | 3300000 |
| 36 | ryan reynolds | 3200000 |
| 37 | ice spice | 3200000 |
| 38 | anne hathaway | 3100000 |
| 39 | timothée chalamet | 3100000 |
| 40 | putin | 3100000 |
| 41 | barry keoghan | 3000000 |
| 42 | lana rhoades | 3000000 |
| 43 | michael jackson | 3000000 |
| 44 | peso pluma | 3000000 |
| 45 | ariana grande | 3000000 |
| 46 | jacob elordi | 3000000 |
| 47 | lebron james | 3000000 |
| 48 | blake lively | 2900000 |
| 49 | bruce willis | 2900000 |
| 50 | lamine yamal | 2900000 |
| 51 | emma stone | 2900000 |
| 52 | shubman gill | 2900000 |
| 53 | simone biles | 2900000 |
| 54 | rohit sharma | 2900000 |
| 55 | brad pitt | 2900000 |
| 56 | eminem | 2900000 |
| 57 | jennifer aniston | 2800000 |
| 58 | timothee chalamet | 2800000 |
| 59 | mike tyson | 2700000 |
| 60 | megan fox | 2700000 |
| 61 | lola beltrán | 2700000 |
| 62 | caitlin clark | 2700000 |
| 63 | leonardo dicaprio | 2700000 |
| 64 | johnny depp | 2600000 |
| 65 | scarlett johansson | 2600000 |
| 66 | selena gomez | 2600000 |
| 67 | drake | 2600000 |
| 68 | mihály csíkszentmihályi | 2600000 |
| 69 | anya taylor-joy | 2500000 |
| 70 | madonna | 2500000 |
| 71 | britney spears | 2500000 |
| 72 | max verstappen | 2500000 |
| 73 | jeremy allen white | 2500000 |
| 74 | gypsy rose | 2500000 |
| 75 | andrew tate | 2500000 |
| 76 | kylie jenner | 2500000 |
| 77 | travis scott | 2400000 |
| 78 | fabrizio romano | 2400000 |
| 79 | jennifer lawrence | 2400000 |
| 80 | meghan markle | 2400000 |
| 81 | hardik pandya | 2400000 |
| 82 | keanu reeves | 2400000 |
| 83 | angelina jolie | 2400000 |
| 84 | glen powell | 2400000 |
| 85 | jd vance | 2400000 |
| 86 | shannen doherty | 2300000 |
| 87 | jungkook | 2300000 |
| 88 | jason momoa | 2300000 |
| 89 | jennifer lopez | 2300000 |
| 90 | bellingham | 2200000 |
| 91 | jeffrey epstein | 2200000 |
| 92 | justin bieber | 2200000 |
| 93 | florence pugh | 2200000 |
| 94 | kim kardashian | 2200000 |
| 95 | ben affleck | 2200000 |
| 96 | haaland | 2200000 |
| 97 | zac efron | 2200000 |
| 98 | tyson fury | 2200000 |
| 99 | imane khelif | 2100000 |
| 100 | adam sandler | 2100000 |
In almost every industry, there are celebrities, professionals, or influencers that other people want to emulate. For example, an amateur tennis player might want to know which tennis racket Novak Djokovic uses. Or a football player might want to know the shoes Trent Alexander-Arnold wears.
In fact, Equipboard has taken this idea seriously and created a site around the gear used by professional musicians.
You can do the same for your industry too.
Here’s how:
- Go to Keywords Explorer
- Enter the names of famous people in your niche
- Go to the Matching terms report
- Filter for keywords related to gears using the Include filter
For example, if I entered the names of professional tennis players (Roger Federer, Emma Radacanu, Rafael Nadal) and filtered for tennis gear keywords (e.g., shoes, racket, wristband, shorts), I see 960 potential keywords I could target. If I were a tennis site, I could create a category page for each celebrity and list out all their preferred equipment.
Another way is to enter a relevant keyword into Keywords Explorer, go to the Matching terms report, and observe keyword patterns. For example, if I were a fitness site, I could enter “weight loss” into Keywords Explorer.
The first thing I’ll notice is that many people are actually interested in how certain celebrities lost their weight. The second thing I notice is that the keywords all form a pattern: [first name][last name] weight loss.
As such, I can use the Word count filter to look for keywords that have 4 words, which gives me a list of celebrity-related weight loss keywords:
Want to do keyword research for your site? Sign up for Keywords Explorer.
SEO
WordPress Announces New Executive Director
Automattic CEO and WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg announced a new Executive Director for WordPress.org after the previous director’s resignation. Social media reactions, while generally positive, were notably subdued, with many comments focused on the recent WordPress controversy.
New Executive Director
Mullenweg announced that Mary Hubbard, was hired as the new Executive Director. Hubbard was formerly the Chief Product Officer for WordPress.com from 2020 and will begin her new position on October 21st. She recently resigned as the Head of TikTok Americas, Governance and Experience.
The Executive Director position at WordPress.org opened up after the resignation of 8.4% of Automattic employees, including the previous Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Mullenweg offered employees who wished to leave $30,000 or the equivalent of six months pay, whichever was higher. The severance package was offered after the recent issues between Automattic, Mullenweg and WP Engine (WPE) which resulted in WPE filing a federal lawsuit against Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging attempted extortion.
Muted Response To Announcement
A post in the popular Dynamic WordPress Facebook Group generated 21 responses within seven hours, with most of the comments a discussion about the recent drama and the Mullenweg’s ownership of WordPress.org and other similar topics (view the discussion here, must join the private group to view).
The response to the official WordPress.org announcement on X was muted, with about equal amounts of people posting welcomes as those who were taking the opportunity to post their displeasure and opinions about recent events.
Seven hours after posting the announcement there were only 15 responses, 21 retweets, and 117 likes.
Screenshot Of Tweet
Typical Expressions Of Welcome
Welcome!
— Robert Jacobi (@RobertJacobi) October 8, 2024
Welcome Mary!
— Michael Potter (@Michael_6of7) October 8, 2024
Typical Other Responses
What does the E.D. do for https://t.co/sbi8NmJkOL? Is https://t.co/sbi8NmJkOL part of the Foundation? Part of Automattic? Something else? Unlike WPEngine, the differences between these organizations, their ownership, and governance are incredibly confusing.
— Jeff Severson (@jeffseverson) October 8, 2024
“Our”? I thought Matt owns this establishment, with foundation having nothing to do with https://t.co/Duw3H6Qbg3. 🤨🤷
— Viktor Nagornyy (@V1ktor) October 8, 2024
Fire @photomatt
— Shay Grafdelver (@shaygrafdelver) October 8, 2024
Read the official announcement on WordPress.org
Featured Image by Shutterstock/michaelheim
WordPress biz Automattic details WP Engine deal demands • The Register
Programming Note: Rosh Hashanah 5785
Daily Search Forum Recap: October 3, 2024
How To Stop Filter Results From Eating Crawl Budget
How Open Source Collaboration Enhances Studio – WordPress.com News
Google Ranking Volatility Record, Forbes Advisor Slapped, Bing Generative Search Experience & More
YouTube Extends Shorts To 3 Minutes, Adds New Features
Automattic demanded web host pay $32M annually for using WordPress trademark
WP Engine sues WordPress co-creator Mullenweg and Automattic, alleging abuse of power
Google’s AI Overviews Avoid Political Content, New Data Shows
-
WORDPRESS7 days agoWordPress biz Automattic details WP Engine deal demands • The Register
-
SEARCHENGINES7 days agoProgramming Note: Rosh Hashanah 5785
-
SEARCHENGINES6 days ago
Daily Search Forum Recap: October 3, 2024
-
SEO7 days agoHow To Stop Filter Results From Eating Crawl Budget
-
WORDPRESS6 days agoHow Open Source Collaboration Enhances Studio – WordPress.com News
-
SEARCHENGINES5 days agoGoogle Ranking Volatility Record, Forbes Advisor Slapped, Bing Generative Search Experience & More
-
SEO6 days agoYouTube Extends Shorts To 3 Minutes, Adds New Features
-
WORDPRESS5 days agoAutomattic demanded web host pay $32M annually for using WordPress trademark
You must be logged in to post a comment Login