
Search Engines
Understanding how search engines work, Google in particular, is important when working in SEO. The basics of crawling and indexing are amazingly useful to understand if you want to rank your own content.
Additionally, Google updates its algorithm several times a year. Understanding the more significant updates, and how they work, can help you to craft content and SEO strategies that are up-to-date.
We've written extensively about how search engines work, and included some of the top resources here. You can also browse the latest posts on search engines from the Moz blog below.
How Search Engines Work : New to SEO? Start with the basics of how search engines operate with our free beginner's guide.
Search Engine Ranking and Visibility : Learn the fundamentals of how search engines rank content on search engine result pages.
Google Algorithm Update History : A complete history of Google algorithm updates since 2000. This includes important links and references for understanding how Google works.
How Search Engines Value Links : Search engines work off a number of signals, but two of the most important are content and links. In this video, Rand Fishkin explains the basics of link evaluation.
MozCast : Is Google updating it's algorithm as we speak? MozCast is the Google algorithm weather report, so you can see how much Google results are changing each day.


5 Things You Should Know About "People Also Ask" & How to Take Advantage
People Also Ask boxes represent growing opportunity in the SERPs, but they're not the most straightforward SERP feature around. Learn all about PAAs and how you can start optimizing for them today.
Google Review Stars Drop by 14%
On September 16, Google announced that they would be restricting review stars in SERPs. According to our data, page-1 SERPs with review stars dropped 14% over a two-day period, with much larger drops in Real Estate and Finance.
Lead Volume vs. Lead Quality for SEO
When your client told you they wanted to focus on lead volume, they weren’t lying to you — it’s just that their needs have changed since having that conversation.
How to Get a Customer to Edit Their Negative Review
In so many cases, negative reviews are neither punishment nor the end of the road — they are an opportunity.
Empathetic Consulting: 3 Things to Remember When Working With Other Teams
Consulting with other teams always entails organizational and emotional nuance that you may not be privy to.
The Ultimate Guide to SEO Meta Tags
In 2019, meta tags are still important. But which meta tags are absolutely necessary, which are dependent on your situation, and which should you absolutely ignore or remove?
Spying On Google: 5 Ways to Use Log File Analysis To Reveal Invaluable SEO Insights
Most SEO Professionals have never used Log File Analysis, but without it, they are missing out on unique and invaluable insights that regular crawling tools just can’t produce.
How to Target Featured Snippet Opportunities — Best of Whiteboard Friday
Once you've identified where the opportunity to nab a featured snippet lies, how do you go about targeting it?
New Things I’ve Learned About Google Review Likes
Our local search expert looked closely at the review like button — its uses, abuses, and industry opinions about it. She even spoke to three different Google reps. Here's what she discovered.
How to Talk to Your Clients in a Language They Understand
The words and phrases that mean a lot to us as SEO professionals mean little or nothing to our customers.