Hey there,

In this week’s edition:

• Sam continues with module #2 of our advanced link building course.

• Patrick shares what canonicalization is and how it works.

• Mateusz explains the difference between branded and non-branded search.

• Joshua shows how you can successfully execute broken link building.

• Rebecca explains what ethical marketing is.

• I share some topics, which were pulled from our database, that have been trending or trended in the past three months.

As always, click through to read each post. Or if you’re busy, read the tl;dr below each link.

New on the blog 🎉

Canonicalization: What It Is & How It Works

Canonicalization is the process that search engines use to determine the main version of a page. That is the page that will be indexed and shown to users. The chosen version is canonical, and ranking signals like links will consolidate to that page.

A lot of different signals go into the canonicalization process. These include:

• Duplicates

• Canonical link elements

• Sitemap URLs

• Internal links

• Redirects

Google looks at all the different signals and weighs them to determine what the canonical version should be.


A potential scenario when Google decides on the canonical based on internal links and the canonical URL.

Branded Search vs. Non-Branded Search: What’s the Difference?

Mateusz Makosiewicz

Ranking for branded keywords allows you to attract people who are specifically searching for information about your company. They already know your brand but want to learn more about what you do.

Here’s how to optimize for branded search:

1. Find keywords related to your brand, company, or product

2. Pick keywords worth targeting

3. Optimize existing content or create something new 

4. Add internal links

Broken Link Building: The Complete Guide

Broken link building is the fifth most widely used tactic—according to Aira’s annual state of link building report, which crowdsources opinions from over 250 digital marketing professionals. But this tactic is not entirely foolproof, and there’s some nuance to doing it well.

Here’s how to do broken link building:

1. Find broken pages with backlinks

2. Vet the backlinks

3. Create a replacement page

4. Do outreach

Top Trending Topics

Si Quan Ong

We pulled a list of keywords that are currently trending or trended in the past three months in the U.S. from our database of 19.8 billion keywords. 

We discovered these trending topics by looking at the keywords in our database that had the highest average search volume increase rate in the past three months.

Ethical Marketing: Definition, Principles, & Examples

Rebecca Liew

Ethical marketing is when you promote a product, service, or brand in a way that aligns with your values and morals. This can mean not making inflated claims, as well as practicing full transparency and openness. Your actions depend on what you define as ethical.

New on YouTube 📺

Advanced Link Building Course by Ahrefs

The advanced link building course continues this week:

• Learn how to find your seed prospects in lesson 2.1

• Learn how to grow that list of prospects even further with “lookalike prospects” in lesson 2.2

What we’re reading 🤓

The SaaS Website Best Practices You Need to Close Sales [Data]

Mike Sonders analyzed the online searches of thousands of B2B SaaS buyers to uncover exactly what information they want when considering a SaaS purchase. 

May 2022 core update releasing for Google Search

Google is releasing a core update for May 2022. 
 

Till next time ;)
Cheers,