LU 322: How SEO Expert Matthew Woodward Almost Tripled His Click-Through Rate (podcast)

Hey everyone! Today, I share the mic with Matthew Woodward, SEO expert and owner of a successful SEO blog.

Tune in to hear Matthew analyze Google’s algorithm, how his blog gets 60,000 visits a month and how he was able to more than double his click-through rate using his Google search ranking strategy.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

• [00:41] Before we jump into today’s interview, please rate review and subscribe to the Leveling Up Podcast!
• [01:35] Have a pen and paper handy for this episode!
• [01:51] Right now, Matthew is most well-known for his SEO blog.
• [02:05] He has been building websites since he was 12.
• [03:15] On one of his blogs, he published an income report every month.
• [03:40] For anyone looking to grow a business from the ground up, that blog is a great resource.
• [05:45] People digest income reports, but don’t always think of the work that went into creating the income.
• [07:40] Matthew’s net worth is such that he no longer has financial concerns.
• [08:09] He has an annual income of seven figures.
• [08:40] SEO is now about a convergence of skills.
• [10:35] If you are building out a site, you must take pride in your creation.
• [12:15] As of 2017, he was getting about 60,000 visits per month.
• [15:00] Matthew runs experiments to track results, as should everyone.
• [16:08] By removing the featured snippet, one person was able to increase his click-through rate. 
• [16:25] Read Google’s guidelines and make sure you are following the rules. As long as you use it safely, it will contribute to the user experience.
• [16:56] Matthew himself has seen his click-through rate go from 3% to 8%.
• [17:46] Matthew thinks people who identify as either black or white hat SEO, you are an idiot.
• [18:40] Link building is against Google’s guidelines, so anything in the realm is technically black hat.
• [20:15] Right now, the guidelines are easy to abuse.
• [21:34] Everyone cries about getting penalized, but everyone is also abusing the system.
• [22:00] Google is currently winning the voice-assistant game.
• [23:17] Matthew encourages people to do out-of-the-box experiments.
• [24:10] One new tool that Matthew likes is Surfer SEO.
• [25:35] Matthew recommends the book Think and Grow Rich.
• [26:28] Matthew likes to absorb information from as many sources as he can.
• [27:40] Not every niche and website is the same, so what may work for one, may not work for another. There is no “typical” in SEO.

Resources From The Interview:

• Matthew’s Blog
• Matthew’s YouTube Channel
• Surfer SEO
• Think and Grow Rich

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