What is quality content?
Learn what it takes to create quality content that is helpful for users, ranks well in the SERPs, and surpasses the competition.
Patrick Stox is a Product Advisor, Technical SEO, & Brand Ambassador at Ahrefs. He was the lead author for the SEO chapter of the 2021 Web Almanac and is a reviewer for the 2022 SEO chapter. He’s an organizer for the Raleigh SEO Meetup, Raleigh SEO Conference, Beer & SEO Meetup. He also runs a Technical SEO Slack group and is a moderator for /r/TechSEO on Reddit.
Learn what it takes to create quality content that is helpful for users, ranks well in the SERPs, and surpasses the competition.
Patrick Stox | Sep 9, 2022 at 6:00 am ETContributor Patrick Stox recaps an advanced SEO session where speakers shared how to perform audits in a mobile-first world and tactics to maximize the effectiveness of your AMP content.
Patrick Stox | Jul 5, 2018 at 10:16 am ETIf you missed the changes Google made late last year on labeling country services, you're not alone. Contributor Patrick Stox goes through the update and explains why you're seeing a better experience for local users.
Patrick Stox | Jun 19, 2018 at 3:06 pm ETCan we fix it? Yes we can! Do we need to? Contributor Patrick Stox says it may not be worth your time to fix hreflang tags since Google is probably fixing them for you.
Patrick Stox | Apr 12, 2018 at 9:38 am ETUsing page-level nofollow attributes? Just stop, says Contributor Patrick Stox. Instead, use nofollow on specific links if you have to use them at all.
Patrick Stox | Mar 16, 2018 at 3:52 pm ETColumnist Patrick Stox suggests SEOs should reconsider how they think about keyword cannibalization and look at it as an opportunity, not an issue.
Patrick Stox | Feb 16, 2018 at 11:53 am ETAs web technologies continue to grow and evolve, interest in technical SEO is growing along with it. Columnist Patrick Stox looks ahead to see what advancements are on the horizon and how these may impact technical SEO.
Patrick Stox | Jan 18, 2018 at 2:25 pm ETYou generally wouldn't want your staging site appearing in search results, so how can you prevent Google from indexing this content? Columnist Patrick Stox offers some tips.
Patrick Stox | Nov 22, 2017 at 11:45 am ETStumped by a technical SEO issue? Columnist Patrick Stox has some tips and tricks to help you diagnose and solve some common problems.
Patrick Stox | Oct 26, 2017 at 1:54 pm ETWhat happens when canonical tags get out of control and how can you rein them in? Columnist Patrick Stox shares his findings and insights.
Patrick Stox | Sep 28, 2017 at 12:21 pm ETDon't get caught off guard by limitations you weren't aware of! Columnist Patrick Stox shares 20 Google limitations that may impact SEO efforts.
Patrick Stox | Sep 6, 2017 at 11:29 am ETYour mobile pages will soon become the default versions used in Google search rankings. How can you make sure they provide good content that's easy to read on a smaller screen? Columnist Patrick Stox has some ideas.
Patrick Stox | Aug 3, 2017 at 1:39 pm ETAccelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) are a hot topic right now, but are they really the answer to your mobile page speed issues? Columnist Patrick Stox weighs in.
Patrick Stox | Jul 13, 2017 at 10:25 am ETSeeing some confusing referrer data in your analytics program? It might be the result of an issue with 'noreferrer.' Columnist Patrick Stox explains Referrer Policy, which lets webmasters define the value of the referrer header in outbound links.
Patrick Stox | Jun 8, 2017 at 9:48 am ETColumnist Patrick Stox outlines when to use the canonical tag, as well as some common problems that occur during implementation.
Patrick Stox | May 11, 2017 at 9:21 am ETWhat's in a redirect? Columnist Patrick Stox provides a primer on redirects, showing why this critical technical SEO task can often trip up even the most experienced SEO experts.
Patrick Stox | Apr 13, 2017 at 12:36 pm ETContributor Patrick Stox walks us through how to use a cluster analysis tool to visualize websites and identify opportunities for improving their link structure.
Patrick Stox | Mar 16, 2017 at 10:22 am ETBroken link building is a great tactic, but prospecting for broken links in your niche can be time-consuming and inefficient. Luckily, columnist Patrick Stox has a handy method for identifying relevant broken linking opportunities.
Patrick Stox | Feb 16, 2017 at 10:41 am ETColumnist Patrick Stox provides some dos and don'ts for creating your robots.txt file -- along with examples of companies who have gotten creative with their files.
Patrick Stox | Nov 23, 2016 at 10:30 am ETIn search engine optimization, sometimes even small errors can have a large and costly impact. Columnist Patrick Stox shares his SEO horror stories so that you can be spared this fate.
Patrick Stox | Oct 27, 2016 at 10:50 am ETThere is a lot of confusion surrounding how Google handles duplicate content, but columnist Patrick Stox aims to clear it up once and for all.
Patrick Stox | Sep 29, 2016 at 9:50 am ETColumnist Patrick Stox believes that fixing historical redirects is often an easy way to achieve some quick wins, and this column shows you how to do just that using the Wayback Machine CDX Server API.
Patrick Stox | Sep 1, 2016 at 11:50 am ETSearch volume estimates from the Google Keyword Planner have been off recently due to close variants. Columnist Patrick Stox shows how to get this data back.
Patrick Stox | Aug 4, 2016 at 9:47 am ETSearch engine optimization has built credibility over the years, but spammers and black-hat practitioners still give it a bad name. Columnist Patrick Stox shares his SEO horror stories.
Patrick Stox | Jul 7, 2016 at 11:28 am ETWhile many view technical SEO as a simple matter of implementing best practices on a website, columnist Patrick Stox argues that the best practitioners are doing cutting-edge work that will shape the industry's future.
Patrick Stox | May 12, 2016 at 11:34 am ETDespite the numerous benefits of switching to HTTPS, many SEOs and website owners have not done so. For those feeling intimidated by the prospect of switching to HTTPS, columnist Patrick Stox breaks down the process.
Patrick Stox | Apr 14, 2016 at 11:25 am ETWith real-time algorithm updates becoming the norm in place of manual releases, what issues might arise? Columnist Patrick Stox examines some potential effects of faster algorithm updates.
Patrick Stox | Mar 17, 2016 at 10:07 am ETHaving trouble deciding how content should be organized on your website? Rather than put everything on your blog, columnist Patrick Stox recommends a silo structure.
Patrick Stox | Feb 18, 2016 at 9:31 am ETDon't get stuck in an SEO rut in 2016. Columnist Patrick Stox urges you to leap into the unknown and learn something new in order to understand the big picture.
Patrick Stox | Jan 21, 2016 at 11:14 am ET'Twas the day before Christmas, and here on the site, Patrick Stox reveals what SEOs want from Santa tonight!
Patrick Stox | Dec 24, 2015 at 9:15 am ETA Google spokesperson recently revealed that GoogleBot will soon support HTTP/2. Columnist Patrick Stox explains what this is and what it means for SEOs.
Patrick Stox | Nov 27, 2015 at 12:51 pm ETMost search engine optimization practitioners are familiar with the benefits of internal linking, but columnist Patrick Stox insists that we should be working a little harder to maximize their value.
Patrick Stox | Oct 29, 2015 at 10:57 am ETContributor Patrick Stox argues that the death of link building has been greatly exaggerated and shares a process to analyze a given industry's links in advance of performing outreach.
Patrick Stox | Sep 3, 2015 at 9:54 am ETDo you have a client that's switching to you from another SEO agency or consultant? If so, columnist Patrick Stox has put together a handy checklist to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Patrick Stox | Aug 6, 2015 at 10:30 am ETColumnist Patrick Stox explains how to create an evergreen content strategy based on keyword insights to capture searchers at various points in the conversion funnel.
Patrick Stox | Jul 9, 2015 at 11:30 am ETLost traffic after a website relaunch? Columnist Patrick Stox provides a handy guide on how to reclaim your lost links with redirects.
Patrick Stox | May 14, 2015 at 9:29 am ET