The Wordtracker Academy > Andrew Tobert

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Andrew was Wordtracker's Content Manager in 2012. Now he works freelance, helping companies make the most of their websites and social media channels. He's at andrew.tobert@gmail.com if you want to get in touch.

Articles by Andrew Tobert

  • Illustration for Rich snippets for idiots. And, er, you.

    Rich snippets for idiots. And, er, you. Posted by Andrew Tobert on 24 March 2013

    Great content is the backbone of great SEO. But great content needs to be appreciated by search engines, not just humans. If your content is text-based, search engines can’t ‘read’ it, they can only match it to search queries. Luckily, there are things you can do to make your content just as readable and fun for users, but actually mean something for search engines. Those things are called 'rich snippets' and here’s how they work.

  • Illustration for How you can use Google Analytics to monitor your organic traffic

    How you can use Google Analytics to monitor your organic traffic Posted by Andrew Tobert on 29 November 2012

    Monitoring organic traffic is a key part of any SEO professional’s job. And with Google Analytics, doing this is easy, and free. Here’s a quick guide to help you explore some key metrics.

  • Illustration for The Google spider & you: What you need to know to get your site indexed

    The Google spider & you: What you need to know to get your site indexed Posted by Andrew Tobert on 15 November 2012

    A decent position in the search results is a sure fire way of making more money online. But to do that, you need to make sure your site gets crawled. Here, I'll take you through the basics of how Google crawls the web and what you can do to help it. You might be surprised how easy it is.

  • Illustration for There's no place like home (page)

    There's no place like home (page) Posted by Andrew Tobert on 07 November 2012

    Your home page is one of the most visited pages on your website. Few people will visit your site without seeing it. But a lot of home pages suck. Read this, and make sure yours doesn’t.

  • Illustration for How to create a sitemap and let Google know where you're at

    How to create a sitemap and let Google know where you're at Posted by Andrew Tobert on 28 October 2012

    A sitemap is like a road map, except, y’know, for sites not roads. It tells Google where it should go, so it can crawl your site more quickly and get more of your great content into the search results. Having a sitemap is great for SEO, and it’s often great for users. But how to go about creating one? Luckily, it’s quite easy.

  • Illustration for Get Google to fall in love with you - in 9 steps

    Get Google to fall in love with you - in 9 steps Posted by Andrew Tobert on 16 October 2012

    The more often your site gets crawled, the sooner your new content can start appearing in the search results, and bringing in traffic and sales. So here's how, in just nine steps, you can keep Google coming back for more.

  • Illustration for Why online marketing just got Pinteresting

    Why online marketing just got Pinteresting Posted by Andrew Tobert on 10 October 2012

    Pinterest is growing at a phenomenal rate. Why not harness it to expand your business's outreach? Andrew Tobert explains how ...

  • Illustration for SEO 911: How to spot a server side emergency

    SEO 911: How to spot a server side emergency Posted by Andrew Tobert on 09 October 2012

    When a search engine, or indeed a user, clicks a link or types a URL into the browser, a message is sent to the server, where your site lives. How the server responds is crucial to how well your site is received by search engines.

  • Illustration for Why you shouldn’t monitor your keyword rankings. And why you should.

    Why you shouldn’t monitor your keyword rankings. And why you should. Posted by Andrew Tobert on 30 August 2012

    People who work in search LOVE to talk about rankings. But that doesn’t mean they should. Or that you should listen. Looking at rankings gives you false insight and ruins your business. (I‘m exaggerating, but only slightly.) Here’s what you should look for instead ...

  • Illustration for How to get great quality links by guest blogging (and how Link Builder makes it easy)

    How to get great quality links by guest blogging (and how Link Builder makes it easy) Posted by Andrew Tobert on 22 August 2012

    At Wordtracker, we live or die by what our customers (you guys) think. That sounds a bit cliché and hack, but it’s also true. We’re a small company and we need to give you what you want and fast. You’ve been asking for better and quicker ways to find sites that might link to yours. So that’s what we’ve done. But why make changes if we don’t talk about them? This is a quick look at how you find the best sites you can blog for. We call this feature ‘Guest Post’ and here’s how it works in the recently updated Link Builder, our link building tool.

  • Illustration for Get low hanging, quality links with Link Builder’s Mentions

    Get low hanging, quality links with Link Builder’s Mentions Posted by Andrew Tobert on 22 August 2012

    Wordtracker’s Link Builder tool is everything you need to make your link building as quick and efficient as possible. And it’s just got even better. In this article in a series of three highlighting how link building just got easier, I’ll be taking a look at ‘mentions’, what they are and how they can help you get some easy links.

  • Illustration for Link Builder’s Tags: How they help you get links more quickly

    Link Builder’s Tags: How they help you get links more quickly Posted by Andrew Tobert on 22 August 2012

    Wordtracker’s Link Builder tool has had an upgrade of late – making it much much easier to find link prospects - the sites that might link back to you. In our third of three articles highlighting the new features of Link Builder, I’ll be looking at how you can easily collect more detailed information on your prospects and then sell your site more effectively. In short, our new feature called ‘tags’ makes getting links easier. Here’s how.

  • Illustration for The HTML every marketer (that’s you) should know

    The HTML every marketer (that’s you) should know Posted by Andrew Tobert on 20 July 2012

    Computing languages are just like real ones. As human needs change and evolve, so does the language we use to express them. It’s just the same online. There are now a range of languages to build your website with, depending on what you want to do and how fancy you want to be. But the lingua franca, the common language, is HTML and we give some starts in how to code it below ...

  • Illustration for How Wordtracker helps copywriters win business

    How Wordtracker helps copywriters win business Posted by Andrew Tobert on 19 July 2012

    The role of freelance copywriter has always been tough, and with the economy in the doldrums, it’s triply so. Budgets are being squeezed so businesses are looking to cut back on their costs - such as hiring freelance copywriters.

  • Illustration for Strategizer webinar

    Strategizer webinar Posted by Andrew Tobert on 21 June 2012

    Choosing which keywords you optimize your site for is a crucial business decision. You need to get the right data  and analyze it correctly and many businesses don't. We created Strategizer to do just that.

  • Illustration for The shortcut guide to launching your site

    The shortcut guide to launching your site Posted by Andrew Tobert on 20 June 2012

    Building a website, and a business, is a hard thing to do. Often, businesses and webmasters plan their site, and even start creating it, then flounder. They panic about how the website is going to be received, does it look good or bad.

  • Illustration for How to audit your website with Wordtracker

    How to audit your website with Wordtracker Posted by Andrew Tobert on 20 June 2012

    Running a site audit, the process of looking for, and correcting, SEO errors on your site, is something that every marketer should do. It keeps your site performing at its best, and it means that you can spot any issues (hopefully) before they start causing problems. But if you do site audits the old-fashioned way it’s a lot of work.

  • Illustration for How to do site audits the old fashioned way

    How to do site audits the old fashioned way Posted by Andrew Tobert on 15 June 2012

    The key to success in SEO, as in life, is to watch what you’re doing. If it’s working, keep doing it and if it’s not, stop. It’s that simple, but with SEO, getting the right data to be able to make that decision is less easy. That’s why we’re here.

  • Illustration for Top 5 SEO tips for media owners and journalists

    Top 5 SEO tips for media owners and journalists Posted by Andrew Tobert on 29 May 2012

    Most of the information we provide in the academy probably sounds like it’s geared towards merchants – businesses that sell products and services. But it’s not. 95% of what you read here will be as relevant to media owners as it is to online retailers, but here is something that's just for you: a few tips especially for media owners, journalists and anyone else who sells space instead of products.

  • Illustration for How to do local SEO

    How to do local SEO Posted by Andrew Tobert on 24 May 2012

    The web can be a daunting place. There are thousands, if not millions of sites selling what you’re selling. How do you stand out and compete with a limited budget?

  • Live link building webinars Posted by Andrew Tobert on 21 May 2012

    Attend one of Wordtracker's link building webinars. Also view a recording or access the presentation.

  • Illustration for SEO checklist - 10 things to check right now

    SEO checklist - 10 things to check right now Posted by Andrew Tobert on 17 May 2012

    If you’re new to search engine optimization, or SEO, and frankly, even if you aren't, there’s a lot to take in, a lot to remember. To make sure your bases are covered, here are ten things to check right now. (Start at the top of your web pages and work down.)

  • Illustration for SEO for beginners

    SEO for beginners Posted by Andrew Tobert on 11 May 2012

    SEO (search engine optimization), the industry you’re trying to learn about, is full of impenetrable jargon. And I mean, really full. Even the name is jargon - search engine optimization? When do you ever use that word in real life? Why not just say "improving your search results (ISE)"? I mean, isn’t that what you’re doing?

  • Illustration for Why SEO?

    Why SEO? Posted by Andrew Tobert on 11 May 2012

    If you’ve got to this article, you’ve probably heard of search engine optimization, SEO, and roughly what it is (and if you haven’t, don’t worry. This is a great place to learn).

  • Illustration for So what actually is SEO?

    So what actually is SEO? Posted by Andrew Tobert on 23 March 2012

    If you own a website, or your boss does, you’ve probably heard of search engine optimization or SEO. But unless you want to spend a few hours searching on Google, it’s not always obvious what SEO is, why you want it, and how you do it. But now you can relax. Sit back and enjoy the most useful thing you’ve read since Dr Zeuss.

  • Illustration for How does Google rank your page?

    How does Google rank your page? Posted by Andrew Tobert on 22 March 2012

    When Google ranks your site, it looks for two things - authority and relevancy (relevance for our UK readers). What does this mean? You’re about to find out.