Local SEO, Keyword Research & SEO Tools with Katie Stone

In this episode of The Simple and Smart SEO Show, host Crystal Waddell sits down with Katie Stone, SEO Lead at LeadHub, to discuss local SEO strategies, keyword research, and essential SEO tools. 

Katie shares her insights from Brighton SEO, her journey in the industry, and practical tips for leveraging Google Search Console, Screaming Frog, and keyword gap analysis to gain a competitive edge.

Key Takeaways:

• Google Search Console can be a free and powerful tool for uncovering content ideas and improving topical authority.
• Hyperlocal SEO is critical for small businesses, focusing on local pain points and industry-specific challenges.
• Keyword gap analysis helps identify content opportunities and outrank competitors.
• Competitor research is key—using tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and DragonMetrics to analyze backlinks and search visibility.
• SEO tools with AI integrations need improvement, but Screaming Frog’s AI and Lighthouse integrations offer actionable insights.
• Zero-click searches are reshaping SEO metrics—impressions and visibility will play a bigger role in future rankings.

Memorable Quotes:

• 🗣️ “Your website should answer the questions your users are asking. Google Search Console can show you exactly what those questions are.” – Katie Stone
• 🔍 “Hyperlocal content helps you dominate local search—understand your community’s unique challenges and address them in your content.” – Katie Stone
• 📊 “SEO isn’t just about reacting to Google updates. You can go on the offensive and overtake competitors with the right strategy.” – Katie Stone
• 🚀 “The future of SEO tools lies in tracking brand visibility, not just rankings, because zero-click searches are taking away our clicks.” – Katie Stone

Listener Action Items:

✅ Analyze your website’s top queries in Google Search Console to find content opportunities.
✅ Perform a keyword gap analysis using your preferred SEO Tool to identify topics your competitors rank for that you don’t.
✅ Experiment with SEO tools like Screaming Frog, SEMrush, and Google Trends to improve technical SEO and keyword research.

Resources Mentioned:

🔗 Google Search Console Enhanced Analytics Extension (for deeper query insights)
🔗 Dragon Metrics (SEO research tools)
🔗 Screaming Frog SEO Spider (for sit

Chapters

• 0:00 The same week that the pandemic hit, I got promoted to an account executive.
• 0:55 Podcast Kickoff
• 1:32 Conference Networking and Key Takeaways
• 2:23 Meeting Industry Leaders
• 3:08 Becoming a Brighton SEO Speaker
• 6:02 SEO Lead Journey
• 9:20 Beginner SEO Tools
• 17:29 Hyperlocal Content for SEO Success
• 18:05 Addressing Local Issues in SEO
• 19:11 Impact of Local SEO on Business
• 20:18 Trends in SEO Tools and Zero Click Searches
• 22:48 No Title
• 24:22 Keyword Gap Analysis and Competitor Tracking
• 31:44 Exciting Integrations in SEO Tools

Transcript

[00:00:00] Crystal Waddell: Welcome back to the simple and smart SEO show podcast. I'm your host, Crystal Waddell. And I am here with a new friend, Katie Stone, who is an SEO lead over at LeadHub. 

[00:00:11] And Katie and I met at Brighton SEO in San Diego.

[00:00:14] Katie gave an amazing talk all about local SEO. And so she's here today to share more of that knowledge with us. So Katie, thank you so much for being here. Welcome to the Simple and Smart SEO Show Podcast. 

[00:00:27] Katie Stone: Hi Crystal. Thank you so much for having me. 

[00:00:30] I'm super excited to be on a podcast and continue our conversation from Brighton.

[00:00:35] Had a great time. 

[00:00:36] Crystal Waddell: Yeah, it was fun. 

Conference Networking and Key Takeaways

[00:00:37] Crystal Waddell: What was your favorite part of the whole conference experience? Ooh 

[00:00:41] Katie Stone: definitely the networking, parties and events and stuff. 

[00:00:45] I think where we met was the karaoke party. So what a first impression of me singing Mamma Mia and dancing around. But it was really fun before all of that happened.

[00:00:57] We got to talk and I got to talk to you and like several other greats in the industry. 

[00:01:02] Just getting to share that SEO knowledge that I don't really get to share with a lot of people, on the day to day. It's really great. 

[00:01:10] Crystal Waddell: Yeah. It's fun to be in an atmosphere where everybody's really excited about talking about search. And it's like everywhere you turn, it's yes, you want to have a conversation about SEO.

[00:01:20] Me too. 

[00:01:21] So yeah, that was really cool and fun. 

[00:01:24] When you talk about some of the more famous faces that you saw there. 

Meeting Industry Leaders

[00:01:28] Crystal Waddell: Was there anybody that you were surprised to see and actually get to chat with? 

[00:01:33] Katie Stone: Dana, and I'm not sure how to pronounce her name because I've only ever read it like twice.

[00:01:37] DiTomaso. Yes, Dana DiTomaso, who I've just been following for ages. 

[00:01:42] And she was a moderator for one of the sessions and tracks that I went to. And I got to talk to her very briefly and I was like, Oh my God, you're amazing. Like all of your analytics work and stuff.

[00:01:54] So I felt really starstruck and then, briefly got to talk to Darren Shaw. 

[00:01:59] And, just so many faces there that I was like, wow, oh my gosh. I've only been following you on social media forever. It's fine. So yeah, definitely great to see her and so many others.

[00:02:12] Crystal Waddell: Yeah, that's really cool. 

Becoming a Brighton SEO Speaker

[00:02:13] Crystal Waddell: And then this was your first time as a speaker at Brighton SEO. Is that right? 

[00:02:17] Katie Stone: Sure was. Yeah.

[00:02:19] Oh my gosh. Yeah, it was wild because I was just such a sweet summer child before this. 

[00:02:25] Because I got an email from brightness, because I was like subscribed to the mail list or whatever, and it said, you could be a speaker. And I'm like, I don't know, but I, I think I was feeling extra confidence that day.

[00:02:35] I was just having a good time. Day and I was like, you know what I have something to say And I was reading about like qualifications and it was like we're looking for New voices and I was like i'm a new voice. 

[00:02:47] So I just submitted a pitch And I think it was like six to nine months later I got an email. 

[00:02:55] And I was like, Is this real? And I like showed it to my co workers and they were Looks pretty real.

[00:02:59] There was like this first, best day ever. I am so excited. And then it, then came the imposter syndrome.

[00:03:06] I'm talking at this conference with so many people who I've been following like their stuff for ages. 

[00:03:13] And I just, I was like, why did they pick me?

[00:03:15] But I quickly got over that. And I was like, okay, I do know what I'm talking about. I made my presentation. 

[00:03:22] And I was really proud of it. I was really talking about utilizing gsc for Your local seo and for content creation and strategy. 

[00:03:32] Which is something i'm super passionate about. i'm Super passionate about content marketing. And I work very closely with our content marketing team here at Lead Hub.

[00:03:39] They're fantastic. I was really excited to share some of that work and some of what has worked for me because a lot of time, when you're alone in your agency and you're like, you're in a bubble, but getting to share it with the other people. It was great. 

[00:03:53] Crystal Waddell: Since most of people who are listening, probably weren't at Brighton SEO, could you give us maybe like a top takeaway from what you were speaking about with Google search console and content ideas? 

[00:04:03] Katie Stone: Yeah, so I talked a lot about Google search console. Specifically how to use the enhanced analytics tool, which I know we're going to be talking about tools later.

[00:04:13] So I will definitely be bringing that one up. But specifically how to use that tool to get. The nitty gritty of your information from Google Search Console. 

[00:04:23] And identify what your users are asking. And how your users are getting to your site so you can identify what you have topical authority in already. 

[00:04:33] And then answer those questions, create the solutions to those problems for your users.

[00:04:39] That way your website is dialed in with your target audience. And you're just overall improving the user experience, which will, in turn, raise your rankings. 

[00:04:50] Crystal Waddell: Yeah. So many times, I feel like the first question is just What do I even put on my website?

[00:04:54] People just got to get stuck right there. So I thought that's really neat that, you can use Google search console. And not have to pay for it. 

[00:05:01] You could just take a look at the data that you already have and build on it. So I thought it was really cool topic. 

[00:05:06] Okay. 

SEO Lead Journey

[00:05:06] Crystal Waddell: So let's talk a little bit about your position and experience as an SEO lead.

[00:05:13] I'm an SEO as an entrepreneur. 

[00:05:15] I'm an SEO for myself and then I help other small business owners with their SEO. But what does it mean to be an SEO lead at a company? 

[00:05:23] Katie Stone: Yeah. It's, a lot of moving pieces.

[00:05:26] Tell you that, so basically just a little bit of background on me and like my journey through lead hub and through my career really is I did start in public relations. That was my background, what I majored in. 

[00:05:38] But that didn't really work out for me. I ended up I was freelance writing for lead hub.

[00:05:43] I was just writing SEO driven content. I happen to know what the basics of SEO were. And so I was. I actually got connected with my professor, Dale Blasingame, who was, I think, one of the original founders or employees at LeadHub. 

[00:05:57] And he was my professor. And he was the one that recruited me to do the writing.

[00:06:01] And so I was just writing SEO driven content like, I think 2018 or 20, no, 2017. 

[00:06:09] And, after I left the PR field, I talked to Dale and I was like, Hey, if you have any more content work for me. I really like content. Send it my way. 

[00:06:18] And he was like, I'll do you one better. 

[00:06:20] He encouraged me to apply for a full time position at LeadHub. And I started as an account coordinator.

[00:06:27] So I was just working with the account executive at the time. 

[00:06:30] I was in the meantime executing SEO strategies and learning all about SEO. And all of our clients are local clients. 

[00:06:38] They're in the home services, HVAC, plumbing, the works. And so I was learning all about that industry. And The essential services of it all. And then the pandemic hit and.

[00:06:49] The same week that the pandemic hit, I got promoted to an account executive. And my manager had left the company. And so I inherited all of her clients the same week as the pandemic. And so I had to very quickly figure out what was going on and also convince all of these strangers to trust me. With their strategy.

[00:07:12] So it was a trying time, but I think it's probably one of the better moments of my career because I really was able to establish myself as a trustworthy, like steward of their accounts and their businesses. 

[00:07:23] Even in a unprecedented time. 

[00:07:26] And then I think my employers realized like, I'm better suited in a more of a subject matter expert role. And so I became an SEO specialist. I was already doing a ton of SEO, so I just specialized further. 

[00:07:38] And then, a year after that, I became the team lead. And I had a team of SEO coordinators. 

[00:07:45] And so I was a people manager, still am a people manager, but I am still also overseeing the overall, strategy for everything in one of our SEO accounts. 

[00:07:54] Crystal Waddell: Interesting day to day schedule for sure. Yeah. Okay. 

[00:08:00] So most of the people who listen to the podcast, most of my audience, they are entrepreneurs. 

[00:08:06] Or in some capacity, either learning or growing their SEO skills. And this whole topic of SEO tools is so interesting, because it's what SEO tools are still relevant?

[00:08:18] What are the most important ones? And then it's okay, which ones are the most beginner friendly? 

Beginner SEO Tools

[00:08:24] Crystal Waddell: So instead of jumping to the one that's the most robust. And can do so many different things. 

[00:08:29] What do you think is like the best beginner tool? Or, a couple of the best beginner tools for people who are just starting out in SEO?

[00:08:37] Katie Stone: Yeah. I'm trying to think back to what I was first learning on. So definitely taking any sort of free course for a specific tool. 

[00:08:45] If there's a Google search or Google Analytics, they have their own courses and stuff. Google Analytics, I would say, is not beginner friendly. I don't think it's even intermediate friendly.

[00:08:57] These days. Now that it's on Google Analytics 4 that is, It was universal analytics when I was first learning. That's what I started out with.

[00:09:04] But nowadays for beginners I would really push them more towards a SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, look at their courses. 

[00:09:12] And then learn how to use those platforms.

[00:09:15] And I will say, like, all three of those platforms are somewhat interchangeable. Sorry if you're from those platforms. 

[00:09:22] And using the basic like keyword research features. You got to know how to do keyword research. Any sort of keyword magic tool, like what they have with Semrush.

[00:09:31] I'm not sure what they call them for Moz. 

[00:09:33] But I have used both before. 

[00:09:35] And they all provide great data through that information. I would say that those three tools are all more the intermediate to advanced depending on how you use them. But just having the basic account. With the basic features is a really great way to get started and to have an overarching strategy built out. Because there are a lot of tools within that.

[00:09:56] Crystal Waddell: Okay. So what about like simplifying keyword research? Because, that seems like it's still. Important in SEO, but it also, trips up beginners with, like how to even get started. 

[00:10:09] What do you think is the best way to simplify keyword research? 

[00:10:12] Katie Stone: Simplifying keyword research?

[00:10:14] It always comes back to intent. So I think this is where a lot of people get messed up. And this is something where I, when I'm training my team members on keyword research, I'm always like, Think about how you would use this keyword in a search. 

[00:10:28] So for example, my clients are the home services. So a lot of 'em, plumbing companies, they sell water heater installation services.

[00:10:38] But if you Google the word water heater, what comes up? It's gonna be Google Shopping. It's gonna be actual water heater product. 

[00:10:46] We have to coach our team and our clients to we don't want to rank for the word water heater because we can't. 

[00:10:53] We want to rank for water heater installation.

[00:10:55] We want to think about water heater repair, not specifically the product. Same like with specific AC units. We don't want to rank for the word ductless AC. Again, because we really can't. 

[00:11:06] We want to rank for ductless AC installation or maintenance. For so always going back and thinking about, like, how would you, as your own target audience member. 

[00:11:16] Utilize this keyword and, a really good simple way to look at a lot of these keywords is to compare them in Google trends.

[00:11:25] Google trends is free. And I would really recommend the Glimpse Chrome extension. So Glimpse is something that you can add to Google Trends. 

[00:11:35] And it allows you to see a, an even deeper view of the keyword or keywords you are comparing. 

[00:11:42] You get 10 free searches a month. I'm not in Google Trends as much, so that's fine with me, but I think their paid accounts are pretty, affordable. 

[00:11:49] So focusing on the keywords that are specific to your clients and your business and your target audience is going to be the biggest thing.

[00:12:00] Crystal Waddell: So like the insights from Glimpse. What are we looking for with that? 

[00:12:05] Katie Stone: Yeah. It helps me see more of the related keywords. More than just a normal, Google trend search. And the related keywords are really what is going to help us build out like those clusters of keywords that we're searching for, or researching. 

[00:12:21] I don't personally use it as much because I'm not, doing as much of that kind of search, but I've always found it helpful for related topics.

[00:12:29] Crystal Waddell: Awesome. And then I'm wondering if maybe those words that you're talking about, like installation versus just the thing, if that's something that pops up. 

[00:12:37] Katie Stone: Yeah. I don't know. I would have 

[00:12:39] to, I would have to look at it because I'm usually using SEMrush. 

[00:12:42] Crystal Waddell: Okay, so what about advanced features? 

[00:12:44] What kind of advanced features do you look for in tools like Ahrefs, SemRush, Moz. any of them? Even DragonMetrics, that's my favorite one. 

[00:12:54] But what are some of the advanced tools and features, that people can use within those tools? 

[00:12:58] Katie Stone: Yeah I'm looking for competitor research capability.

[00:13:03] Rand Fishkin often talks about his 10x theory. Of your content has to be 10 times better than what's in first place right now. 

[00:13:13] And so using our competitor research tools like keyword gap analysis and backlink competitor analysis, will really help me the most.

[00:13:24] Identifying how much visibility our competitors have in comparison to our clients. Really helped me a lot. Figure out like what areas we have to grow and I'm really able to focus on more like offensive strategies I think a lot of people go into SEO on the defensive like you're constantly reacting to algorithm updates and Changes and policies. But it doesn't always have to be that way Like there is always going to be that element of reactivity like that's just the nature of it. 

[00:13:53] But you can go after who's in number one, like you, you can't just be like, I'm going to do my best here.

[00:13:59] I have to see what my competitors are doing. 

[00:14:03] And see if I can do it better. Because if they're succeeding, then they figured something out that we haven't yet. And we can usually find it using those tools, like the competitor analysis, the keyword gap analysis. 

[00:14:14] Crystal Waddell: So can you explain like the keyword gap analysis?

[00:14:18] Katie Stone: Yeah, so typically, at least on Semrush, and I believe it's on other tools as well, you can pull multiple domains and it will share it will basically identify all of the keywords, but each Domain is ranking for. So for, it will share what our shared keywords are, what we are both ranking for, and like how well we're ranking for each, what keywords that our competitors are ranking for that we're not ranking for, keywords that we have a chance to beat them in if we just aim for them.

[00:14:48] Improve our content a little bit more. Or improve our backlink a little bit more. It also helps me identify pages. 

[00:14:55] For instance, I had a, a foundation repair company that. Was trying to build out their content. 

[00:15:02] Trying to beat their competitors and I did a keyword gap analysis and I found that their big competitor was doing sinkhole remediation pages. 

[00:15:11] I had never even heard of this, so I asked our client do y'all repair sinkholes and stuff? And they were like, oh, yeah, we do. So I added. Or I had our, I worked with our content team and we added some sinkhole remediation pages. And now we're outranking that competitor because they were really the only ones ranking for it.

[00:15:31] And so really all we had to do was outrank one person. And just make our content better than theirs. And that's what we did. And now we're number one for it. 

[00:15:40] Crystal Waddell: That's a really great example. I love examples because I'm like, okay, how could you apply this to your business? So it's like, how do you identify opportunities?

[00:15:49] I understand that. Okay. They had sinkhole, stuff on the competitor website. And then you realize you didn't have it on. This particular company's. 

[00:15:56] Is there anything else that you can look for besides just like a topic that they're not covering? 

[00:16:01] Cause I think sometimes for businesses they assume that people know what they do. 

[00:16:04] Oh yeah, of course we do sinkholes, everybody is actually the internet doesn't know because you didn't tell the internet. 

[00:16:10] So is there any other example like that, that you have in mind? 

[00:16:14] Katie Stone: Yeah. And it's not just going after what's missing. Going after what our competitors are doing better is really going to be, what's super important.

[00:16:23] So I'm focused on a lot of local SEO. And so we're focused on ranking in specific areas. And if we see that our competitors are outranking us in a specific town. 

Hyperlocal Content for SEO Success

[00:16:33] Katie Stone: We want to make sure that we have the hyperlocal content that can really put us over the edge. 

[00:16:39] And what I mean by hyperlocal is anything that kind of satisfies the EEAT guidelines. 

[00:16:45] Sets us apart as a local authority. 

[00:16:47] Connecting, the owner of the website to the community.

[00:16:51] This is the, philanthropic work they've done. 

[00:16:54] These are the licenses they have to perform work in this area. Here's their LinkedIn with all of their work history. And just sharing that authority. But then also tuning into what is local to the area. For example, for. 

Addressing Local Issues in SEO

[00:17:09] Katie Stone: San Antonio, we have really hard water.

[00:17:12] One of our clients was trying to rank their water heater keywords more, and that's the most important keyword for many plumbers. So every plumber in San Antonio is trying to rank their water heater keywords more. 

[00:17:25] But a lot of them are not going after the local issues that are affecting the community and our water is so hard that it does have a negative impact on plumbing. And pipes and appliance performance.

[00:17:40] And so we've included that information into our water heater page. 

[00:17:44] We included, water softeners will help maintain your water heater for longer. If you work with us, we'll help you make sure your water heater outlasts everyone else's in San Antonio because we know how to do the right setup. All this stuff.

[00:17:58] And we were able to cross promote water heaters and water softens, which are 2 of the highest value items. And key into the local pain point our community members are facing. Just making sure that we're going after what our competitors are not. And that is our audience's pain point. 

Impact of Local SEO on Business

[00:18:16] Crystal Waddell: So when local companies do SEO, like what kind of, I don't know, ROI is the best acronym for that, but like what kind of impact does it make on their business to do these local SEO strategies?

[00:18:29] Katie Stone: Yeah I find for most of my local clients that organics is their biggest conversion, section. 

[00:18:37] Like we do paid, we do social media, we do everything. 

[00:18:42] And 9 times out of 10, their biggest converter is going to be organic. 

[00:18:47] Different revenue numbers are going to depend from industry to industry. And it wouldn't be an SEO podcast if I didn't say it depends. 

[00:18:54] But, yeah, the, it's going to depend industry to industry location to location, but usually I do see more than 60 percent of conversions coming in directly from organics. 

[00:19:07] So everybody's always talking about like SEO dead this year? I'm finding that's not true. We're still seeing so much. Of our audiences coming in through organic channels. 

[00:19:17] And even like direct channels as well, which we know are influencing organics as well.

[00:19:23] Crystal Waddell: Okay. 

Trends in SEO Tools and Zero Click Searches

[00:19:23] Crystal Waddell: So speaking of what people think is going to happen, SEO dying out in the future, it's what kind of trends are you noticing in the development of SEO tools, like for 2025 and like the way that things are measured? Have you seen any shifts in that capacity. 

[00:19:40] Katie Stone: Yeah, I think I don't think enough have shifted to this yet, but I think they're going to need to. Shift more to visibility when it comes to zero click search.

[00:19:49] For those who don't know, zero search is basically when anyone comes to a SERP and they get their answer directly from the SERP. They do not have to click on a website. 

[00:19:59] We're finding a lot of that with AI overviews. We saw that increase with featured snippets. People also ask the answers, all that stuff. 

[00:20:06] Google wants to keep people on their platform.

[00:20:09] And they will do that by taking away our clicks. Whether it's malicious or not. 

[00:20:14] We're going to have to switch back more to vanity metric. When we're reporting. 

[00:20:18] So I like up until about this year has really been like impressions are not it.

[00:20:23] Impressions are not. What we want to go off of impressions are just a vanity metric that, nobody's converting off of an impression. 

[00:20:29] But with more people coming in, or not coming in, because they found our answer directly on the SERP. 

[00:20:37] Impressions are going to matter a lot more. So any software or tool that can report more on brand awareness or even just like those vanity metrics, our visibility from zero quick search, anything that can report on that, I think it's going to have a leading edge as we enter like this new ecosystem in Google SERPs. 

[00:20:59] Crystal Waddell: Wow, that is such a spicy take. I have never heard anybody say that, or at least not that I remember. 

[00:21:05] That thing that you said about brand visibility, that is really interesting to me because where can you find that metric? Who measures it? How do they measure it? 

[00:21:15] Where can you find that so that you can have a baseline and then start comparing?

[00:21:19] Katie Stone: Yeah I know that there are others, but again, I'm going to, I'm going to circle back to Semrush. 

[00:21:23] I use their position tracking tool and I use, the competitor research tool just to make sure like how we have visibility over everyone else. Like what piece of the pie do we have for the keywords that we're tracking?

[00:21:35] But right now, outside of the keywords we're tracking, it's hard to say. Who? 

[00:21:40] I'm sure there's someone out there, but if there is, I don't know anyone who's just tracking just straight up brand awareness. 

[00:21:47] I'm sure there's PR tools out there Probably Meltwater or something like that.

[00:21:51] Maybe I'm not sure. 

[00:21:52] Crystal Waddell: I'm so glad that you said that because I have 2 different things set up in Semrush.

[00:21:58] And I thought this, but until you said this, I didn't really fully understand it. 

[00:22:03] If you're tracking different keywords, and obviously your visibility is going to be different.

[00:22:07] When do you start adding more keywords to track? Because I would get 2 different visibility reports. And it's like, what in the world?

[00:22:14] Katie Stone: Yeah, that's something I always have to reconcile with my clients. 

[00:22:17] Because a lot of them also have Semrush or a version of it. And they're like my visibility says this. And your visibility says this.

[00:22:25] And I'm like, it's going to wildly depend on what keywords you're tracking. 

[00:22:29] So we tend not to track like branded keywords just to keep it more honest. Because if you're, ranking number one for your brand name. 

[00:22:38] You're obviously going to have a much better looking visibility and that's fine.

[00:22:43] A lot of clients do want to track like how they are visibility wise with their brands. That's okay. But if I'm like looking straight up. 

[00:22:50] It's easier for me to see how we're doing with our competitors if we're just doing our services and not our brands. Because our brands are gonna weigh how we do it.

[00:22:59] And a lot of our clients will, they try their best. They do. But a lot of them just don't have the experience with keyword research. So they put what they think people are searching and usually not backed by data. 

[00:23:11] And so I usually work with coaching our clients a little bit more on, Hey, these are the keywords that we have done enormous amounts of research on. And we find are the highest, value for you and for your business.

[00:23:24] And so we usually work together on that. 

Keyword Gap Analysis and Competitor Tracking

[00:23:26] Crystal Waddell: So when you do like a keyword gap analysis and say you and your competitors have, X number of keywords in common. Are those keywords that you track in a brand visibility report? 

[00:23:38] Katie Stone: Sometimes, yeah, depending. So it's, they're like a high value.

[00:23:42] So it's just like a branded keyword. I'm not going to track it. But if it's something Like what I was talking about earlier, like sinkhole remediation. 

[00:23:48] And now we're actually going after it, then yes, I will track it. But if it's keywords that we're not actively going after with our content, then I don't really want to track it.

[00:23:56] Not just because it would look bad on us, but because like, why? It's if we're not actively going after something, why would I track it? So yeah, that's how I determine it. 

[00:24:06] Crystal Waddell: Okay. Yeah. Cause I was trying to figure out, I was like, okay, what would be the best keywords to track, especially in.

[00:24:11] Like comparison with competitors. And so I was just like, not that there's an easy button for it. But like just trying to find the easiest way to get a group of keywords that made the most sense to track. 

[00:24:22] Not just for e commerce or not just for local or not just for whatever. But just like a general rule of thumb of how to track certain keywords.

[00:24:30] Katie Stone: Yeah, I have a combination of methods, but I typically in a. Keyword report for my home service clients. 

[00:24:38] And they're a bit small. I usually don't have more than 100 keywords, but I'm keeping track of. 

[00:24:44] I'm usually doing based off of the highest level volume, keywords that are going to matter to our clients. 

[00:24:51] I'm not really doing any long tail keywords. I'm keeping it to the short tail. And geospecific. Because they are local businesses. 

[00:24:59] So I'm going to do " plumbing repair. San Antonio." or I'm just going to do plumbing repair. But I'm not going to do who has plumbing repair in my area.

[00:25:08] So just keeping track of what is the most valuable? What are people actually searching? And are these the keywords that we think our audience is going to convert on? 

[00:25:18] Crystal Waddell: That is awesome. Those are really great questions to ask. So I thank you for that because I'm going to share that with my group.

[00:25:24] I have a small group of entrepreneurs that I help. 

[00:25:27] And we meet together every week for about an hour and a half to talk about our websites and different problems. 

[00:25:33] So shout out to the SCO squad and you can absolutely join.

[00:25:36] I was like, this is a great time to promote the SEO squad. But yeah, so we can definitely talk about those things and how they pertain to the types of businesses that are in the squad. 

[00:25:45] Going back to like trends and stuff: how do you think that AI and large language models specifically.

[00:25:54] How do you think they're influencing the capability of SEO tools? 

[00:25:57] Katie Stone: It's definitely disrupting. Or at least shaking things up. 

[00:26:01] Semrush just released their forecasting tool. I think it's a little, lacking, a little bit. 

[00:26:07] I think they just wanted to throw AI something.

[00:26:10] It was like, it predicts like where you could be. But it doesn't give you any actionable items to go after. It's this is where you could be if you improve your content. No kidding. That's what we're trying to do. Always. So I, it just doesn't feel very actionable yet.

[00:26:26] Everybody for some reason uses like the star emoji. 

[00:26:29] With their, aI tools, they're like, check out our AI. Here's a star. And they're like, everybody has to have AI now. 

[00:26:37] And I don't think a lot of companies are taking the time, really. To come up with a product or solution. That is helpful or impactful in a lot of ways.

[00:26:47] I think they're just throwing AI out there just to throw AI out there. And, I think we will get to a point, where it will be like survival of the fittest. 

[00:26:55] Like what AI tools do work and what ones don't. 

[00:26:58] And we'll see a lot of rollbacks on. AI tools. And then we'll see, improvements on the new ones.

[00:27:04] And that with any sort of major disruption in the market a little before my time, but like the invention of the Internet and like, when that exploded dot com bubble, like the survival of the fittest. Obviously, Google is where we stand today. It's will they stand in 20 years? Who knows?

[00:27:21] We'll see what AI platforms and tools are going to last. 

[00:27:24] Crystal Waddell: Yeah, I think that point about just understanding the how and why of what the tool is capable of? Is so important. You know what I mean? Because like you said, it's yeah, you can do this general thing, but why is it going to have the impact?

[00:27:40] Those are the unanswered questions. 

[00:27:42] And I feel like the tools and businesses could do a little bit better job of actually talking to the people who are using them. Because they might actually find out that people are using them in a different way, that is helpful. 

[00:27:57] I don't know if you've experienced that, but I've used a tool and I'm like, Oh, it works way better for me to do this specific task. Than the one it was actually intended to do.

[00:28:05] Katie Stone: Yeah. 100 percent definitely have had that experience. And I think that kind of just comes back to we as marketers and SEOs also just need to be asking Those questions. 

[00:28:16] And identifying where our searchers are. That was the whole point of my talk that I gave at Brighton. And the tool that I wanted to shout out was Google search console, enhanced Analytics.

[00:28:26] It's a Chrome extension. It's absolutely free. Not sponsored. 

[00:28:29] But they, really do help you give a more like nitty gritty view of like how. Pages and keywords and queries are like performing for your website. 

[00:28:39] And it really helps you get a better view of your own like topical authority, on certain topics. And helps you steer the direction of your content strategy. Or help you figure out where you need to spend a little more time.

[00:28:52] Back to your beginner question. I think that one would be a really good tool to get. If you're a beginner and you are looking to decipher this data a little more. 

[00:29:01] Like just a little more easily. 

[00:29:03] The enhanced analytics Chrome extension, for Google Search Console. I think I cannot recommend enough.

[00:29:08] Crystal Waddell: That is such a great way to kind of circle back to where we started. 

[00:29:12] And then,= one of the things I also see with the business owners that I work with. 

[00:29:16] Is that they just feel overwhelmed by the number of options out there.

[00:29:21] So it's like how do you manage that? Just getting overwhelmed with what you could be using versus what is actually necessary. 

[00:29:29] Katie Stone: Oh yeah. That's a big question because I feel like every day I see like a new LinkedIn post. Or a new blue sky or X poster or whatever, saying check out my new tool.

[00:29:39] It's free or it's not just do a free trial, like all of this stuff. And it's there's always all these promises. And I think it's always good to keep an open mind. 

[00:29:49] Test things. But try to consolidate as much as possible. I really do try to keep my tech stack, like very minimal. I'll tell you, my main are obviously.

[00:30:00] Semrush, Screaming Frog. We use Guido for reporting. 

[00:30:04] And really just the regular GSC, GA4 those are our main. 

[00:30:09] I try not to steer too far out of those, because I can get almost everything I need out of those five things. 

[00:30:16] And I have the reporting, I have, my competitor research, I have my technical audits from Streaming Frog.

[00:30:22] Sightbulb is a good alternative to that as well. If you don't want to use Screaming Frog.

[00:30:25] They're both very powerful tools. I'm partial to Screaming Frog. I've just been using it for so long. But both are great. And I know there's others out there too. But those are the main ones that I use. And I'm able to do 99 percent of my work through those five tools.

[00:30:40] Crystal Waddell: I love that. And I love Screaming Frog too. And one of the things I'm excited about is All of the integrations that Screaming Frog. Yeah. Okay. 

Exciting Integrations in SEO Tools

[00:30:49] Crystal Waddell: So before we end, tell me what's got you excited? 

[00:30:52] Katie Stone: Yeah. When they released their open AI integration, I was like, ecstatic. I was like, I can do so much more now.

[00:31:00] But I also like their connection with lighthouse or Google page speed. I can do a huge technical audit so fast with it. 

[00:31:10] And I'm able to see, because, with the page speed tester, you can do 1 page at a time. And you're not seeing overall data and that's not really telling me a story.

[00:31:19] I know. One page is going to perform very differently to the other. I would like to see an average. I want to see where we're really hurting. And where we're performing really well. Because that is going to tell me a lot more. 

[00:31:31] And Screaming Frog just Really changed the game when they added those integrations.

[00:31:35] Crystal Waddell: Oh, I love that. And I think that's so cool how you described it as like data that tells a story. Because you're right. I just feel like so many things are just siloed. And unless you have an overall perspective or, knowledge base of those different things, you don't understand how they work together and therefore you can't tell the full story of what's happening in your business. And so that is just brilliant. I love that you shared that. 

[00:32:00] If people would like to possibly, get access either to your slides. I don't know if they're still going to be available with Brighton or, just follow up with you, follow you, get in touch.

[00:32:10] How is the best way for them to do that? 

[00:32:13] Katie Stone: Yeah, I am on LinkedIn, X, blue sky. @ KatieStoneSEO for all of them. 

[00:32:18] I think I shared it in a post, but if you DM me, I'll share it with you there too. I put it on YouTube as well, like the recording of it. So if you wanna see the actual talk, I can share that as well.

[00:32:28] I just haven't shared that publicly, but I think I did share, publicly the deck on my LinkedIn. Definitely give me a follow there. I am always happy to chat SEO. 

[00:32:38] Crystal Waddell: Sweet. I didn't know that about your YouTube. So I'll definitely have to follow up with that as well. Because, like, when you're at a conference, it is that fire hose when you first hear it, you're like, oh, that was so great.

[00:32:48] And then you forget the details. So I'm grateful for this opportunity to follow up with you. And then I'm also grateful to hear about those other ways to follow up as well. 

[00:32:57] Katie Stone: Yeah, I'm around, I'm pretty active on all three platforms. Just give me a shout. 

[00:33:02] Crystal Waddell: Thank you so much, Katie, for coming on the Simple And Smart SEO show podcast.

[00:33:06] It's been awesome talking to you and I hope that we can chat about these Screaming Frog integrations in the future as well, so 

[00:33:13] Katie Stone: 100 percent. Always happy to geek out about screaming frog or technical SEO or anything, 

[00:33:19] it's been great. It's been a delight. 

[00:33:20] Crystal Waddell: We'll let you guys get back to your work on the other side of the headphones. But thank you for joining us today and I will see you next time.