John Heard's Articles

SEO with Tenure
Midwest Man

John Heard has been with Planet Ocean and SearchEngineNews.com since 1997 and he's got the resume to prove it.  He and Stephen Mahaney started sharing notes about what they were seeing online and from then on the collaboration never ended.  When John's not fielding SEO FastAnswer questions, researching the latest search engine update or helping our customers succeed with his hands on approach to his consultations -  he's standing on the sidelines of his local race track watching his latest car make history at breakneck speed.


Articles by John Heard

  1. The SEO Pro's *Complete* Website Audit Checklist: Part Two
  2. The SEO Pro's *Complete* Website Audit Checklist: Part One
  3. Actual Code Real World Website's Are Using to Draw Attention to their Search Listings!
  4. Guide to Advanced Image SEO
  5. Seven Steps to Quickly Optimize Images & Boost Your Traffic
  6. How to Use CSS Sprites to Slash Image Load Time
  7. How to Game Plan an Ecommerce Site
  8. How Lazy Load Might be Hurting Your Site Speed
  9. What is the correct format for citation schema?
  10. Back to the Future with Log File Analysis
  11. Creative Under-the-Hood Solutions for Embedded Videos, Page Speed, & Accessibility SEO
  12. Avoid Lawsuits & Improve Your Future SEO by Fixing Accessibility Problems Now
  13. How to Spell Check Your Entire Website
  14. The 5 Most Productive Core Web Vitals Improvements You Can Make for WordPress
  15. Complete Guide to Migrating a Site to HTTPS
  16. 14 SEO Features of High Ranking Product Pages
  17. Pro's Guide to Understanding & Using Structured Data for Rich Search Results
  18. 2020 WordPress Template Shootout: 10 Fast Loading Templates
  19. Video: THE Essential 'Starter Guide' to Structured Data Markup
  20. Your 2020 Advanced Guide to Page Speed Optimization - Part 2
  21. Experimental Speed Reporting added to Search Console
  22. 2021 Checklist to Protecting Traffic & Rankings During a Website Redesign!
  23. Open Graph Tags: The Secret to Doubling Your Traffic from Social Media
  24. How to Lazy Load YouTube Videos for *Dramatic* Speed Improvements
  25. A Pro's Guide to hreflang Tags: Make a Multilingual Website that Google Loves & Users Flock to!
  26. Beginners Guide to Optimizing Your WordPress Site for Top Rankings
  27. How to Quickly Migrate from Yoast SEO to the 'All in One SEO' WordPress Plugin Pack
  28. Your Ultimate Guide to XML Sitemaps: Why They Matter & How to Manage Them
  29. A Pros Guide to Nesting JSON/LD Markup For Your Product Pages
  30. 4 Quick Steps to a Faster WordPress Site
  31. An SEO's Guide to the New Gutenberg Editor: WordPress 5.0
  32. An SEO's Ultimate Keyword Primer - Part 3
  33. An Advanced SEO's Guide to Page Speed Optimization - Part 2
  34. An SEO's Ultimate Keyword Primer - Part 2
  35. Your 2020 Advanced Guide to Page Speed Optimization - Part 1
  36. An SEO’s Ultimate Keyword Primer - Part 1
  37. Optimizing Your Site URL Structure for Top Search Engine Rankings + Siloing Strategies
  38. How to Cure the Painful Load Time of WordPress Social Plugins
  39. How To Get Started With Accelerated Mobile Pages Now
  40. A Webmaster's Guide to the Advanced Techniques of 301 Redirects
  41. How to Use a 301 Redirect to Keep Your Pages from Dropping Off the Face of the Earth
  42. 2019 Robots.txt Primer: Get Your Site Properly Indexed by Controlling Google's Spider
  43. Boost Your Site's Rankings With This Hidden Stash of Unclaimed Links
  44. How to Optimize YouTube Videos to Get the Search Rankings You Deserve
  45. Leverage Your Video Content Like the Pros to Skyrocket Your Site's Traffic
  46. How to Setup and Optimize Your YouTube Channel Like a Pro
  47. Why Buying an Existing Website May be the Smartest Way to Jumpstart Your SEO Strategy
  48. Google says "Time to Go Secure!"
  49. How to Evaluate a Directory Before You Submit a Site
  50. Google's New Image Mismatch Penalty Explained
  51. The Practical Guide to Mobile SEO - Part 2
  52. Your Practical Guide to Mobile SEO - Part 1
  53. Work Google like a Pro with these Advanced Commands
  54. Getting Started with Google+ Communities
  55. Bing's Updated Webmaster Guidelines Focuses Heavily on Social Signals & Page Speed
  56. Yahoo & Facebook Together for Search? Not Happening...
  57. Yahoo Testing Different Layouts
  58. Bing Releases Webmaster Guidelines
  59. Bing Ads introduces new Quality Impact Feature
  60. Bing Allows Home Page Wallpaper Downloads
  61. New Homepage Redesign in the Works
  62. Mobile Ap Company Stamped.com Acquired
  63. Mayer Outlines Yahoo's Plan for the Future
  64. New Bing Ads Reporting Features Released
  65. Sitelink Extensions now available in Bing Ads
  66. MSN & Bing Release a New Design for Windows 8
  67. Bing Search now available on Xbox
  68. Bing Adds Klout Score to Social Sidebar
  69. Yahoo's New Focus
  70. Mayer Pleases Investors and Employees with new Changes
  71. New Record Search Share for Bing
  72. Microsoft Ads rebranded Bing Ads
  73. Kindle Fire HD chooses Bing for Default Search
  74. Bing Testing Number of Search Results
  75. "Bing it On" - Side By Side Search SmackDown
  76. Facebook Photos Now Searchable on Bing
  77. Mayer bans "What is Yahoo?" Question & Focuses on Morale
  78. Windows 8 Promises Better Bing Search
  79. Establish Yourself as an Expert on Quora to be Featured in Bing's Social Sidebar
  80. Bing Discloses Secret SEO Recipe
  81. Bing Webmaster Tools Report Metrics Change
  82. Annoy your Facebook Friends with Bing's New Tagging Feature
  83. Yahoo to Shut Down Koprol August 28th
  84. iHeartRadio now Official Yahoo Radio Service
  85. Yahoo Voices Email Accounts Hacked
  86. Marissa Mayer Named New Yahoo CEO
  87. 165 Terabytes of New HD Imagery added to Bing Maps
  88. Don't Focus on Links Says Bing
  89. Foursquare added to Socal Lineup
  90. Bing Adds Ability to Disavow Links in Webmaster Tools
  91. Yahoo Image & Video Search Updated with Freshness in Mind
  92. Bing's Search Quality Updates
  93. It's Christmas in July - Link Data now in Webmasters Toolbox!!!
  94. Bing Image Search Update Clamps Down on Duplicate Images Big Time
  95. Bing Loves Qwiki Video
  96. Launches Britannica Online Answers Snippets
  97. Bing's Local Results Now Powered By Yelp!
  98. How to Change Your Domain Name Without Losing Your Web site's Rankings
  99. Yahoo releases Marketing Dashboard
  100. Yahoo launches Axis, a new Plugin/App
  101. Further Chaos at Yahoo, CEO Thompson Resigns
  102. Microsoft Advertising rebranded under Bing
  103. Hit Wise - Bing now at 30%
  104. Nokia to give Bing Maps a Boost
  105. Bing Removes Streetside Maps in Germany
  106. Bing Going ALL In with New Level of Social Search Integration
  107. Search Alliance Wraps up in UK, France & Ireland
  108. 2000 Yahoo Employees get Sacked
  109. Bing Bar 7.1 Released
  110. Bing Now Recommending Pagination Tags
  111. More Venues Now in Bing Maps
  112. Bing to Charge for API Access
  113. Bing Updates Video Search
  114. Yahoo Sues Facebook over Multiple Patents
  115. Microsoft adCenter Releases New Features
  116. Bing Does Spring Cleaning of Its Search Results - Be Sure Your Sites Aren't Hit
  117. Small Tweaks Done to Bing Maps
  118. Bing Search Quality Insights Launched
  119. Bing Testing New Local Results
  120. New Bing Keyword Research Tool Launched
  121. Yahoo Nukes Mobile Apps
  122. A Civil War is Brewing at Yahoo
  123. Bing Releases "Linked Pages"
  124. How to be an Authority in Bing's Eyes
  125. Bing Adds Markup Validation Tool
  126. Bing Testing New Search Result Layouts
  127. Jerry Yang, Yahoo Co-Founder Resigns
  128. Scott Thompson New Yahoo CEO
  129. Don't Sweat Reciprocal Links says Bing
  130. Bing is for #Doing
  131. Yahoo rebrands Associated Content as Yahoo Voices
  132. Yahoo Image Search Updated
  133. Bing Voice Search now on Xbox 360
  134. Microsoft Moves into 2nd Place
  135. Bing Mobile App Updated to HTML5
  136. adCenter Releases New Tools
  137. Bing Daily Deals Renamed 'MSN Offers'
  138. Bing Webmaster Tools Updated
  139. Bing Adds Editors Picks
  140. Bing Maps Adds New Features Including Sharing Options
  141. Bing Market Share Still Rising
  142. Bing Closes Deal with Mozilla to Become Default Engine on Firefox
  143. Yahoo Adds Even More New Specialty Searches
  144. Yahoo Site Explorer Retired
  145. Google & Microsoft at Yahoo's Gates
  146. Bing Continues to Slowly Gain Against Google
  147. Bing Launches Airport Maps...to Desktop First
  148. Yahoo Screen Beta Launched
  149. Yahoo Completes Switch to Bing Power...Almost
  150. Unraveling the Benefits of the Ever-Versatile QR Code
  151. Bing Adds New Features for Mobile Users
  152. Bing Renews Partnership With Twitter
  153. Bing First To Use Video On Home Page
  154. Bing Deals ReLaunches and Adds Local Deals
  155. Bing Launches Action Buttons and Something Isn't Right...
  156. Bing Introduces Adaptive Search Technology
  157. Bing Power Extended to Asia
  158. Yahoo Getting Chummy with Facebook and Redesigns Search Results Page
  159. Yahoo CEO Bartz Fired
  160. Are Bing Users There By Default?
  161. Bing First to Release Mall Maps
  162. Yahoo Data & Security Features now in Bing Webmaster Tools
  163. Bing Shopping Adds Search Box with Auto Suggest and More!
  164. Visual Search Expanded
  165. Bing's View on What Makes for Quality Content
  166. Launches Attractions Instant Answers and Focuses More on Local Search
  167. Yahoo Sends Sites More Traffic Than the Other Engines
  168. BingHoo Expands into Europe and Arabic Countries.
  169. Bing Updates Mobile Search to Be Location Specific
  170. Redesigns Weather and Finance Sites and Snags Top Lists For Themselves
  171. Bing Market Share Up, Yahoo Down
  172. Bing Maps Gets New Updates
  173. Bing Updates iPad App with new Lasso Feature
  174. Bing Makes Deal With Baidu
  175. Webmaster Tools Receives More Updates
  176. BingHoo Expands to Six More Countries
  177. Site Explorer to Close Soon
  178. DoFollow — The nofollow Work-Around For Building Incoming Links by the Truckload!
  179. "Honey Badger" upgrade to Bing Webmaster Tools Announced
  180. Mobile Features Updated & Apps Integrated into Search
  181. Streetside View goes Panoramic
  182. Yahoo Adds Mobile App Search
  183. Facebook Integration Deepened at Bing
  184. Bing Maps Global Ortho Project Announced
  185. Microsoft Buys Skype for 8.5 BILLION
  186. Blackberry to switch to Bing
  187. Bing Shopping Gets New Upgrades
  188. Yahoo Buys 5to1 to Extend Advertising Opportunities
  189. Yahoo Search Marketing Blog Shutdown
  190. How to Build Links, Increase Traffic and Dominate Your Niche with Article Marketing
  191. Dramatically Increase Your Search Engine Exposure with Google Merchant
  192. Your Complete Guide to Bing's New Local Business Listing Portal
  193. Yahoo Launches 4Cast
  194. Buzz is the latest in Service Shutdowns.
  195. Bing Partners up with KAYAK Travel
  196. Natural Language Features added to Shopping Search
  197. Matchbox Technology offers new Personalization Capabilities
  198. Rolls out Local Deal Engine - Bing Deals
  199. Bing's Mobile Site gets New Features
  200. IE9 Released, Optimized for Bing Yet Easily Changed
  201. AdCenter to introduce Quality Score for Campaigns
  202. Tweets Added to Bing News
  203. Yahoo Shutting Down AlltheWeb
  204. Yahoo Researchers Explore the 3rd Dimension of Search
  205. Search Direct Launched to Keep Searches on Yahoo
  206. Bing to Power Nokia Smartphones
  207. Bing Webmaster Central Adds Detailed Stats
  208. Trademark Keywords now allowed at Bing & Yahoo
  209. New Bing Toolbar Released
  210. Personalization and Local Results now showing at Bing
  211. Facebook Likes now on all U.S. Search Results
  212. Bing Adds Tiles to Search Results
  213. Bing Admits Toolbar Click Stream Part of Ranking Algorithm
  214. Yahoo to Charge for Search BOSS Use
  215. Yahoo turns Real Estate Search over to Zillow
  216. New Yahoo Livestand to be released 1st half 2011
  217. Yahoo Shutting Down MyBlogLog May 24th
  218. The Top 10 'On-Page' SEO Spamming Tricks to Avoid Like the Plague
  219. How to Use Flash in Top Ranking Pages
  220. How to Build Your ‘Subscribers’ Network on Stumbleupon
  221. A Professional SEO's Cheat Sheet for Building a Search Engine Friendly Web Site for 2010
  222. Top Seven Tricks The Pros Use to Get Around The Rules!
  223. Three Easy Steps to Protect Your Site from Spambots that can Hijack your Site's Content!
  224. How to get a spider to index your WHOLE site