Ann Smarty - Practical Ecommerce

Articles by: Ann Smarty

Ann Smarty

Ann Smarty

Ann Smarty is the founder of Smarty Marketing, a boutique SEO agency based in New York, and Viral Content Bee, a social media promotion tool.

Ann's search engine optimization career began in 2005. She is the former editor-in-chief of Search Engine Journal and contributor to prominent search and social blogs, including Small Business Trends and Mashable.

Ann is also a frequent speaker at Pubcon and many other digital marketing events.

Contact Ann via email or LinkedIn.

SEO
Action Steps for Bing’s AI SEO Guidelines

November 25, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Bing's newly published optimization guidelines are short on implementation tactics.
SEO Tools
How to Audit HTML Headings on Any Page

November 18, 2024 • Ann Smarty

H1, H2, and H3 headings are among the most important SEO elements on a page. Here are tools to identify, audit, compare, and more.
Keyword Research
Keyword Volume: Google vs. Semrush vs. Ahrefs

November 12, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Keyword search volume metrics are imprecise and vary among the three principal sources.
Product Pages
Structured Data Markup for Ecommerce Product Pages

November 4, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Structured data helps search engines understand a page's purpose and elevate its visibility in organic listings.
On-page SEO
SEO for Product Category Pages in 7 Steps

October 30, 2024 • Ann Smarty

The purpose of category pages is not just to attract traffic but to engage visitors into buying products.
Link Building
Is Your Site Vulnerable to a Google Update?

October 21, 2024 • Ann Smarty

No site is safe from a Google update, but some experience more ranking declines than others.
SEO Tools
My Top SEO Tools to Analyze Backlinks

October 14, 2024 • Ann Smarty

External backlinks, especially from trustworthy sites, remain a key ranking factor and generate clicks and engagement.
Analytics & Data
Handy Chrome Extensions for Google Analytics

October 8, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Here are three third-party extensions to create GA4 reports, add annotations, and access data quickly.
SEO Tools
Free SEO Spreadsheet for Better Rankings

September 30, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Here's how to create a detailed spreadsheet identifying the best-performing pages, missed opportunities, and areas of improvement.
SEO Tools
How to Compare SEO of Competing URLs

September 23, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Only Google knows most ranking signals, although some are public. Examples include keyword usage, content structure, and backlinks.
SEO Tools
Google’s ‘About this result’ Explained

September 15, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Google provides additional info on every organic search result behind the three dots to its right.
SEO Tools
Underused SEO Reports in Search Console

September 9, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Search Console is the free powerhouse for organic rankings. Yet some helpful reports are little used.
Link Building
Tips for Internal and External Page Links

September 3, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Links remain critical to search engine optimization despite confusion and suggestions otherwise.
SEO Tools
Get Your Free Bing SEO Scan

August 26, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Site scans in Bing Webmaster Tools are helpful and free. Here's how to get started.
Design & Dev Tools
7 Image-to-Text Tools, AI-powered

August 20, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Generating text from images accelerates accessibility, SEO, social media captions, language translation, and more.
SEO Tools
SEO Tools to Analyze HTML Headings

August 12, 2024 • Ann Smarty

HTML headings such as H2 and H3 help Google understand a page and are thus powerful ranking signals.
Technical SEO
SEO Aspects of Content Syndication

August 5, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Publishers who syndicate their content can drive referral traffic and raise brand visibility. The tactic does little for search engine optimization, however.
Technical SEO
The Right Way to Pass PageRank

July 29, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Inbound links remain critical for organic rankings. Managing PageRank is critical, too.
On-page SEO
How to Audit Content for Better SEO

July 22, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Organic search performance starts with optimized content. Here's how to improve both.
SEO Tools
Why Use Google’s Disavow Tool?

July 15, 2024 • Ann Smarty

There's one possible reason to disavow inbound links in circa 2024.
SEO Tools
SEO Tools for Keyword Intent, Audience

July 8, 2024 • Ann Smarty

AI is transforming traditional keyword research. Here are innovative tools for search intent, audience targeting, and more.
SEO Tools
Tracking AI Overviews: Queries, Citations

July 1, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Organic search optimization now requires knowing which queries trigger AI Overviews and the URLs those summaries reference. Neither metric — queries or links — is easily identified.
SEO Tools
3 Ways to Depersonalize Google SERPs

June 24, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Google search results vary by user based on search history, clicks, and more. Removing the personalization helps understand what others may see.
SEO Tools
How to Monitor Google’s Updates

June 17, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Tracking the changes to Google's search algorithm takes work. These four tools can help.
Technical SEO
AI Overviews: Initial Tests and Studies

June 10, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Thus far AI Overviews appears in a relatively small percentage of queries. The impact on conventional listings changes near daily.
SEO
Yes, Clicks and Engagement Impact SEO

June 3, 2024 • Ann Smarty

For years Google denied using clicks on organic listings in its ranking algorithm. Recent revelations show otherwise.
SEO Tools
Chrome Extensions for Search Console

May 27, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Data from Search Console can seem overwhelming. These three tools can help.
Technical SEO
Early Look at Google’s AI Overviews

May 20, 2024 • Ann Smarty

The new feature in search results is an AI-generated response to queries. Here's our first assessment of the traffic impact.
Platforms & Apps
AI Tools to Convert Articles into Videos

May 14, 2024 • Ann Smarty

New AI tools can repurpose text into video — suitable for TikToks, Reels, YouTube Shorts, and more.
Platforms & Apps
Using ChatGPT’s Memory Feature

May 6, 2024 • Ann Smarty

Enabling memory in ChatGPT facilitates personalized responses. The related "temporary chats" option is handy for privacy.

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