Toth originally worked full time as the SEO Strategy Lead for Freshbooks, an invoice and accounting software that balances books for freelancers. These days, Freshbooks is one of the many clients that use his service, SEO That Ranks.
Toth describes SEO That Ranks as a ’boutique consulting firm’ that provides companies with the growth they need to succeed. He focuses on medium-level businesses that may have reached a plateau and need an extra push to make it over.
In addition to Freshbooks, some of Toth’s notable clients include international SaaS and eCommerce brands Ownr and Mejuri. Previous clients Toth has worked with include big name brands such as Toyota, Porter Airlines, and Intercom.
A combination of SEO expertise and seven years’ experience working within an agency provides Toth with a wide array of knowledge to share. He created the SEO Notebook, which you can also get your hands on via his website.
What is the SEO Notebook?
The SEO Notebook is a collection of everything Toth has learned so far. As its name suggests, it focuses on the best SEO practices and how to improve your site’s rankings. There’s a wealth of information available that Toth updates consistently.
The SEO Notebook is not a static PDF file or a one-off download; it is a continued subscription with frequent updates from Toth. There are various topics covered, all of which pertain to the key aspects of SEO that you need to be aware of.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Keyword research
- Guaranteed ways to boost site rankings
- Internal linking
- Backlinking
- Increasing traffic
- Affiliate marketing
These weekly emails will usually arrive in your inbox with an appropriate title and short description. Inside the email, you will find a private link to an Evernote page, filled with mixed media of both text and images to illustrate Toth’s teachings.
Using The SEO Notebook to Grow Your Business?
If SEO is the vehicle to grow your business, then the SEO Notebook provides you with the keys. You receive a new set of notes weekly from Toth, which detail everything he’s either learned in the past week or whatever he feels like sharing.
However, it isn’t a collection of meaningless diary entries; you get actionable insight into key SEO processes. The entries aren’t extensively long, either. They’re simple to digest even for beginners and offer full, easy to follow instructions.
What Makes Steve Toth Stand Out?
The personable nature of Toth’s Notebook strategy is what stands out compared to competitor sites. The weekly notes are written in an informal, casual way; Toth breaks down big concepts in a succinct way rather than sending out long paragraphs with lots of detailed information.
Many writers of SEO guides or training courses fall into the trap of using overly complex vocabulary. Toth strikes an effective balance between engaging content and efficient teaching; you won’t feel lost when engaging with his material. It’s short and to the point, which is not consistent with all SEO newsletters you’ll read.
What makes the SEO Notebook most unique compared to other courses is its reliability. It’s updated weekly with actionable SEO tactics that you can implement immediately. In an industry as ever-changing as SEO, there’s real value in Toth’s commitment to his platform; you’ll always have his entries to return to if you need help.
What Information Can I Find in The SEO Notebook?
June 24th, 2020 marked a year since the beginning of the SEO Notebook. To honor this date, Toth tweeted out a thread of every note he had accrued over the past year. All 52 notes amounted to a diverse portfolio of information on how best to optimize your business.
Keyword Stretching
The first entry is dedicated to the art of keyword stretching. Even if you’re new to SEO practices, you’ve likely heard about the integral nature of keywords. They are a staple of SEO and often dictate whether a search engine will include you in its results.
Keyword stretching, Toth explains, is the process of rooting out keywords with even greater relevancy simply by adding an asterisk between terms. It’s a simple practice that can make a significant difference in the efficiency of your site copy.
Blank Sheet of Paper Test
Another tip Toth shares is the blank sheet of paper test. Essentially, this test rules out any risk of overly complicated language. Toth encourages you to imagine the content spread out on a blank piece of paper when writing anything related to SEO. Is your message clear? Would the content make sense to the average person? If not, you have some simplifying to do.
Building Organic Traffic
From more keyword research to actionable alterations to your existing site, Toth goes into detail (alongside references from additional experts) to provide you with a full picture. A successful business relies upon a steady flow of clientele. Increasing your traffic is an integral part of this, and Toth shows you how to do just that.
These are just three examples of the topics Toth delves into. There are far more featured in that tweet thread, with more sent out every week. The easy-to-read information arrives in a concise, clean format that encourages genuine understanding. It’s easy to see why over 4000 subscribers currently exist.
