Marketing By Kevin

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    • Marketing Roadmap
    • A-Z Glossary
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    • Core Updates Explained
    • E-E-A-T Guide
    • SEO Tools
    • What Is SEO?
    • Local SEO Guide
    • On-Page SEO
    • Keyword Research
    • Link Building
    • Content Marketing
    • Google Business Profile
    • Small Business SEO
    • 2026 Algorithm Changes
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Marketing By Kevin

The Marketing Playbook

What Actually Works in Digital Marketing — Tested on Real Businesses

Over a decade of SEO, content strategy, and paid advertising distilled into 170+ free guides. No fluff. No gatekeeping. Just what I’ve seen generate real leads for law firms, contractors, medical practices, and service businesses across the country.

Start the Roadmap
A-Z Glossary

170+Free Guides
10+Years in SEO
7Industries
0Paywalls

Start Here

Where Are You Right Now?

Not sure where to begin? Pick the situation that fits. I’ll point you to exactly the guides you need.

I’m New to SEO

The fundamentals, explained without jargon. Start here if you’re building from scratch.

  • What Is SEO?
  • Technical SEO Guide
  • E-E-A-T: How Google Judges Trust
  • Google Search Console Guide
  • How Long Does SEO Take?

Full step-by-step roadmap

I Need More Local Customers

Everything you need to rank in your market and get the phone ringing.

  • Complete Local SEO Guide
  • Google Maps Ranking Factors
  • Citation Building Guide
  • Review Generation Systems
  • Get Your First 50 Reviews

Google Business Profile guide

My Traffic Dropped

Algorithm update hit? Rankings disappeared? Start here.

  • How Core Updates Work
  • Recovering From a Penalty
  • Content Audit Guide
  • The Helpful Content System
  • Information Gain Scoring

2026 algorithm changes

Your Industry

Strategies Built From Real Campaigns

Generic marketing advice fails because every industry is different. These guides are built from actual client work, not theory.

Law Firms

  • SEO for Law Firms
  • Personal Injury SEO
  • Criminal Defense SEO
  • Family Law Marketing
  • Estate Planning SEO
  • Attorney Review Strategy
  • Law Firm Content Marketing

Contractors & Home Services

  • SEO for Contractors
  • SEO for Home Services
  • HVAC SEO Strategy
  • Plumber Marketing
  • Roofing SEO
  • Electrician Marketing
  • Landscaping SEO
  • Pest Control SEO

Medical & Dental

  • SEO for Medical & Dental
  • Healthcare Content Under YMYL
  • Dental Local SEO
  • Dental Website Design
  • Patient Review Strategy
  • Local SEO for Dentists

Go Deeper

Content, Technical, and Algorithm Intelligence

The substance behind the strategy. Deep guides on every pillar of modern digital marketing.

Content & Authority

  • Content Marketing Strategy
  • Internal Linking Strategy
  • Building Topical Authority
  • How to Write Content That Ranks
  • Content Repurposing
  • Content Calendar Planning
  • Blog Post Optimization

Technical & On-Page

  • On-Page SEO Checklist
  • Link Building in 2026
  • Local Link Building
  • Backlink Analysis
  • Competitor Analysis
  • WordPress SEO
  • Winning Featured Snippets
  • Fixing Duplicate Content

Algorithms & Updates

  • 2026 Algorithm Changes
  • How Google Ranks Websites
  • AI Overviews and SEO
  • Schema Markup Guide
  • Schema for Local Business
  • Voice Search and SEO
  • Mobile SEO

Tools & Decisions

The Right Tools and the Smart Investments

What to use, what to skip, and where to put your budget. These are the tools and decisions I walk clients through every week.

The Tools I Actually Use

  • Google Analytics 4 for SEO
  • Screaming Frog Tutorial
  • Free SEO Tools That Work
  • Ahrefs vs SEMrush vs Moz
  • Rank Tracking Compared
  • Facebook Ads vs Google Ads

Budgets & Smart Decisions

  • How Long Does SEO Take?
  • What SEO Costs in 2026
  • Calculating SEO ROI
  • PPC vs SEO: When to Use Each
  • How to Hire an SEO
  • In-House vs Agency SEO
  • Why SEO Agencies Fail
  • SEO for Startups

Paid Advertising

  • Google Ads for Local Business
  • Landing Page Optimization
  • Remarketing Strategy
  • SEO Reporting: What Matters
  • SEO Audit Checklist
  • B2B SEO Strategy

Do This Today

Quick Wins You Can Implement in 20 Minutes

Pick one of these, do it today, see results this week. Each guide is focused on a single, specific improvement you can make right now.

Title Tags That Get ClicksWrite for humans and search engines
Meta Descriptions That WorkIncrease your click-through rate
Image SEO Quick WinsFixes most websites miss
Core Web VitalsFix the right things first
GBP Weekly Posts5-minute local ranking tactic
NAP AuditFind citation errors fast
Fix Keyword CannibalizationStop competing with yourself
Robots.txt & Sitemap Check10-minute technical audit
Schema ValidationMake sure Google sees your data

About This Site

Built by Someone Who Does the Work

I’m Kevin Mahoney. I started in sales and marketing before getting into SEO over a decade ago. That background shapes how I think about all of this — does the work generate actual business, or does it just look good on a dashboard?

I built this site to be the resource I wish existed when I was learning. Every guide here is based on what I’ve seen work in real campaigns for real businesses — law firms, contractors, medical practices, home service companies. No theory. No recycled advice. If it’s here, I’ve tested it.

New guides publish regularly. Bookmark the roadmap or the glossary — they’re always growing.

More About Kevin

Kevin Mahoney

SEO Consultant · Chicago

info@marketingbykevin.com

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Marketing By Kevin

SEO and digital PR for businesses that need to grow their search visibility.

info@marketingbykevin.com

Chicago, Illinois

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