BLOGInsights from the build phase
White-label SEO, agency operations, and the unglamorous work that actually moves the needle. Written by the Stepwise team.
LatestGPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot: The AI Crawler Guide
A lot of sites are blocking AI crawlers without knowing it. Here is every crawler, what it does, and the decision your client actually has to make.
AI Overviews vs Featured Snippets: What Actually Changed
A featured snippet quoted one page and sent it traffic. An AI Overview synthesises several and sends almost none. That is the whole story.
What Is Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO)? An Honest Definition
AEO is about 80% ordinary SEO with a different output. Here is what actually changes, what does not, and why you should not sell it as a separate service.
Automotive SEO: Car Dealerships and Auto Repair
Dealership SEO is an inventory problem, not a content problem. Here is what actually works, and why most dealer websites cannot rank at all.
Canonical Tags: The Complete Guide (And the Mistakes Everyone Makes)
A canonical is a hint, not a command. Here is what it actually does, the five ways people break it, and how to know if yours are being ignored.
Crawl Budget: When It Actually Matters (Usually It Does Not)
If your site has fewer than a few thousand URLs, crawl budget is not your problem, and anyone selling you crawl budget optimisation is selling you nothing.
Can You Do SEO Yourself?
Most of the highest-value SEO work is free, takes an afternoon, and needs no specialist. Here is exactly what you can do yourself, and where it stops.
Domain Authority, DR, and the Metrics That Are Not Ranking Factors
Domain Authority is a score invented by a software company. Google has never used it. Here is what it is actually good for, and what it is not.
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