Kick Point Playbook gives you the digital marketing skills you need to grow—whether you want to land more clients, level up your career, or make smarter marketing decisions. Get bi-weekly insights on analytics, SEO, and reporting, curated by Dana DiTomaso and her team. Each issue is packed with expert tips, must-read articles, and free resources like templates and checklists—all designed to help you take action and see real results.
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💪 9 Skills to Help You Become Better at SEO
Published 23 days ago • 4 min read
9 Skills Every SEO Pro Needs For Success In 2025
Whether you’re new to SEO or a seasoned pro, it’s easy to get distracted by the latest shiny trends or tactics. SEO is always evolving, but one thing stays the same: the best SEOs don’t chase trends. They solve problems, create great user experiences, and drive real business results.
Liz Linder, our Director of SEO, breaks down 9 essential skills that will help you sharpen your expertise, improve your performance, and grow your career.
Not only is AI transforming search, it’s also changing how we test, analyze, and optimize our strategies. If you want to streamline your SEO workflow, join Celeste Gonzalez from RicketyRoo on March 18, 2025 as she explores how AI can improve your testing strategy.
In this webinar, you’ll learn how to:
Automate metadata creation for quicker implementation
Use AI integrations in Microsoft Clarity to uncover deeper insights
Generate Python code with AI for better data visualizations and reporting
Whether you are new to AI or already experimenting, this session will provide practical, actionable takeaways to improve your SEO testing process.
If you have a search function on your website, GA4 will automatically track what searches are made—on most websites. Not sure if it’s tracking yours? Try a search and take a look at the URL. For example, if you did a search on our website for GA4, this is what the URL looks like: https://kpplaybook.com/?s=ga4
The “s=” part of the URL tells GA4 that a search was done and the search term was “ga4”. If your URL doesn’t have an “s” but you see q, search, query, or keyword instead, you’re also covered. If it’s something else you will need to edit your site search settings in GA4 under Admin > Data Streams > click on your Data Stream > Enhanced Measurement (wheel icon) > Show Advanced Settings under Site Search.
Got that covered? Now, how can you find that data? There isn't a default report in GA4 that includes this information, but you can easily update an existing report or create an exploration. Here’s how:
Edit a report
Go to your preferred GA4 report
Click the pencil icon (at the top right)
Click on Dimensions, and add Search term
Create an exploration
Click Explore
Start a new exploration (we recommend the default Free Form template)
Under Dimensions add Search term
Under Values select Sessions as a metric
Now scroll down to Filters and add a filter to the Conditions* for your Search term
Select the matches type, matches regex from the dropdown
Enter the expression .+
Now click Apply
Now what? Use this data to:
Create new content that’s missing from your website (people are searching for it, but you don’t have it)
Update your navigation to make it easy to find popular searched-for pages
Consider reorganizing products into different categories (if one is missing that people are searching for)
If you’re struggling to get your brand noticed in search results, this webinar replay is exactly what you need. Aleyda Solis breaks down why prioritizing SEO efforts that impact branding is essential and shares what actions you can take to improve overall visibility and build authority.
While Aleyda shared a wealth of insights, one takeaway that really stood out to us was the importance of monitoring brand mentions.
Brand mentions influence how both users and search engines perceive your authority. Consistently tracking them helps strengthen your SEO strategy while building trust and visibility in search results. By keeping an eye on where and how your brand is mentioned, you can:
Identify new content opportunities and areas of your site that need further optimization.
Uncover concerns, product feedback, or common customer questions that may not be addressed on your website.
Gain insights into audience sentiment and community engagement, helping you refine your messaging and identify gaps in community management.
Turn mentions into backlinks by reaching out to websites that mention your brand but haven’t linked to your site.
⭐ Why Brand Authority Should Be Your New North Star
Brand authority is what ties your marketing efforts together. Too often, teams focus on siloed metrics, missing the bigger picture of trust and influence. Building authority means deeply understanding your audience, differentiating from your competitors, and aligning all marketing efforts for long-term success.
🚦 7 Hidden Direct Traffic Tactics Marketers Often Miss
With Google shrinking organic listings on nearly 1 in 5 SERPs, relying solely on SEO isn’t enough. Direct traffic—when visitors come straight to your site—gives you control of the customer journey, represents brand-aware users, and signals customer loyalty. From social strategies to technical tweaks, these seven tactics will help you grow a steady stream of visitors who actually convert.
💰Reddit for SMBs: A Hidden SEO and Engagement Goldmine
Most businesses overlook Reddit, but Celeste Gonzalez shows how small and medium-sized businesses can use it to boost visibility, engage with local communities, and build trust. By joining the right subreddits, offering value, and engaging authentically, you can attract real customers while improving SEO.
📘 Technical SEO for Non-Technical Thinkers [Free E-Book]
Technical SEO can feel intimidating, but Oncrawl’s new e-book breaks it down into simple, practical steps anyone can understand. You’ll learn how search engines work, easy ways to improve your site, and which SEO myths to ignore. Perfect for anyone who wants to understand the basics without getting lost in the details.
🎯 The Other GTM: How Digital Analysts Can Go Beyond Execution and Drive Real Business Impact
Digital analysts often get stuck in execution, but as Juliana Jackson explains, that’s not where the real impact happens. The key is making insights impossible to ignore by framing them to drive decisions, not just reports. Using Go-To-Market strategy thinking, analysts can embed data into marketing, sales, and product teams where it truly influences outcomes.
You’re already part of the team—now help us grow the fan club! Refer your digital marketing and analytics friends to the newsletter and earn exclusive rewards.
Refer 2 people: Get a shout out from Dana DiTomaso on LinkedIn
Refer 6 people: Get access to an exclusive presentation from Dana on Unpacking GA4 Explorations
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Kick Point Playbook
Insights that fuel action. Learn, apply, and grow your marketing skills.
Kick Point Playbook gives you the digital marketing skills you need to grow—whether you want to land more clients, level up your career, or make smarter marketing decisions. Get bi-weekly insights on analytics, SEO, and reporting, curated by Dana DiTomaso and her team. Each issue is packed with expert tips, must-read articles, and free resources like templates and checklists—all designed to help you take action and see real results.
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👋 9 SEO Tactics to Say Goodbye to in 2025 If you want to set yourself up for success in 2025, it's time to let go of these strategies and focus on what actually moves the needle. 📹 TL;DR - Watch the short #1. Stop Chasing SEO Trends Just for the Sake of ItSEO should tie into business goals—not just be about driving any traffic. If these trends aren’t helping conversions, sales, or brand visibility where it matters, it’s time to focus on what you know works. #2. Rankings & Traffic ≠...
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