10 Brilliant SEO Newsletters:
Master Search From Your Inbox
Master Search From Your Inbox
Written by Leigh McKenzie
SEO newsletters make it easy to keep up to date with what’s going on in the world of search engine optimization. And they show you the strategies that are working right now.
To save you time (and declutter your inbox), I’ve curated a list of the top newsletters I think are worth subscribing to.
After consulting my team (including some healthy debate) here’s a summary of the best SEO newsletters for different needs:
- Best for leveling up your SEO skills: The Backlinko newsletter
- Best for SEO news: #SEOFOMO
- Best for actionable tips: Core Updates
- Best for hot takes: #SEOForLunch
- Best for in-depth analysis: The Detailed newsletter
1. Backlinko
Written by: Leigh McKenzie (that’s me)
What it covers: The best guide we’ve published here on Backlinko each week
Frequency: Weekly
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to the Backlinko newsletter
Why You Should Subscribe
If you’re looking for a completely unbiased list of the best SEO newsletters, we’ll admit we’re a bit partial to one in particular—our own Backlinko newsletter.
Sign up and I’ll email to let you know about my favorite piece of content we’ve published each week.
You’ll know by now that we only hit publish on a piece of content if we think it’s the best article on its topic on the internet. So you can trust that the newsletter is going to provide consistent value.
Be the first to hear about our guides on everything you need to know to level up as an SEO. From mastering keyword research to executing an effective content strategy.
I keep every email short and sweet. And you’ll be able to tell by the subject line if the guide I’m sharing is going to be useful to you.
2. Rich Snippets by TTT
Written by: Jamie Indigo
Frequency: Weekly
What it covers: Bitesize commentary on the most important developments and happenings within the world of SEO (with a focus on technical SEO)
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to Rich Snippets
Why You Should Subscribe
Jamie started her career in marketing as a content writer before shifting to technical SEO, which she has now specialized in for more than a decade. That’s given her a knack for breaking down the most complicated and technical topics in search so that anyone can understand them.
Which has earned Rich Snippets an impressive list of fans, including Nick Eubanks, Cyrus Shepard, and Google’s John Mueller.
Rich Snippets subscribers get Jamie’s take on the week’s three or four biggest developments in SEO—served with a healthy dose of skepticism and snark.
She also quickly summarizes a handful of social posts and articles that are worth your time in a section called “While You Were Offline.”
Each edition of Rich Snippets ends with a section called “Promptstacks.” Here, Traffic Think Tank’s resident AI expert, Johnny Wordsworth, highlights the AI developments and AI tools that SEOs need to know about in a few sentences.
What the Author Says
“Rich Snippet’s value prop is I read the documentation so you don’t have to. You get the links, names, and key nuggets of knowledge—all wrapped in a toasty pita of loving snark.”
What Readers Say
3. How the F*ck
Written by: Ben Goodey
Frequency: Weekly
What it covers: Breakdowns of the most successful SEO strategies, based on interviews with the SEO leaders who executed them
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to How The F*ck
Why You Should Subscribe
Ben interviews an SEO leader or agency owner every week for his podcast. He then turns the insights he gleans from that conversation into two weekly newsletters:
- A case study for premium subscribers
- A set of tactical insights for free subscribers
Both newsletters can be 1,500+ words long and filled with quotes, stories, and additional resources you won’t find anywhere else.
Sign up to How the F*ck to learn what growth strategies are working right now. With a focus on how to scale traffic with quality content.
Plus, Ben is an incredible writer, so you’ll get a masterclass in copywriting every time How the F*ck hits your inbox.
A How the F*ck premium subscription will set you back $22 per month. Giving you access to Ben’s back catalog of over 30 case studies. Plus a new case study sent to your inbox every week.
What the Author Says
“Each week, How the F*ck newsletter subscribers learn the inner workflows and strategies that took companies like Monday, Typeform, Maze, and Cazoo to +1M traffic/month. I interview SEO leaders and agency owners on the podcast and turn those insights into tips, tricks, case studies, and how-to guides that help people scale their search traffic.”
What Readers Say
4. #SEOFOMO
Written by: Aleyda Solís
What it covers: Everything that’s happened in SEO over the past week
Frequency: Weekly
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to #SEOFOMO
Why You Should Subscribe
If you’re looking for an overview of everything that’s happened in the world of SEO in the past week, look no further than the #SEOFOMO newsletter.
Every Sunday, Aleyda Solis sends out a roundup of:
- The biggest SEO news
- The best SEO-related content
- New freemium SEO tools worth your attention
- Upcoming in-person and virtual SEO conferences and events
- The latest jobs from the SEOFOMO jobs board
- Her pick of SEOs and digital marketers worth following on social media
You’ll also get Aleyda’s take on any major developments in SEO:
What the Author Says
“I send the newsletter I wish to receive as an SEO myself to keep up with the latest in our industry: search updates, news, releases, best resources, free tools, jobs, and upcoming events, with an analysis of a top SEO trending topic.”
What Readers Say
5. #SEOForLunch
Written by: Nick Leroy
What it covers: Nick’s take on the biggest SEO news of the week alongside his pick of the best new articles and SEO jobs
Frequency: Weekly
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to #SEOForLunch
Why You Should Subscribe
Nick called his newsletter #SEOForLunch because he aims to get you up to speed with all the week’s biggest SEO updates in your lunch hour. He shares the best industry think pieces and newly published SEO job listings he’s come across every Thursday.
In each edition, Nick includes the search updates that matter. With his own expert take on the story.
He also shares his pick of the one article he thinks you should read top to bottom this week:
A handful of other articles he thinks are worth reading if you have time:
And five new jobs that have been listed on his site, SEOjobs (which has its own weekly newsletter):
What the Author Says
“I’ve published over 390 issues of #SEOForLunch, which equates to nearly 8 years of consistent (weekly) publishing. I source a lot of my updates from X/Twitter, where search engine representatives regularly post.
I also scour X/Twitter—and Slack communities like Traffic Think Tank—to identify interesting industry articles. I make note of ones that I think are worth somebody’s time, knowing not everyone has hours every week to stay updated.”
What Readers Say
6. Search News You Can Use (and Marie’s Notes)
Written by: Marie Haynes
What it covers: Everything you need to know about the latest Google Core Updates as they happen
Frequency: Marie’s Notes is sent weekly, while Search News You Can Use is sent every time there’s a major algorithm update
Where you can subscribe: Search News You Can Use (Free) / Marie’s Notes (Paid)
Why You Should Subscribe
Want a rundown of everything you need to know about major Google algorithm updates when they happen?
Few people understand the ins and outs of Google’s ranking factors better than Marie Haynes. She published a weekly newsletter on the latest SEO news for a decade.
Today, she only sends out an edition of her free newsletter, Search News You Can Use, when there’s been a major Google update.
You’ll receive an overview of everything Marie knows about the update. Followed by her insights into how it impacts your SEO strategy.
You can pay $18 a month (or $200 a year) for access to Marie’s Notes. This is a private Google Doc where Marie collects her thoughts on the biggest developments in the world of SEO and AI each week:
Marie is all-in on AI in SEO. So if that’s a focus for you, Marie’s Notes will keep you at the forefront of what’s happening.
What the Author Says
“Marie’s Notes is a Google doc that I use to document everything I’d want to refer back to and my notes as I read, watch videos, learn and do client work. (Here are my notes from the week I went to Google I/O). I am beyond grateful that I have a community who pays to hear me ramble. It is a very cool job to be paid to learn and share about Google.”
What Readers Say
7. Growth Memo
Written by: Kevin Indig
What it covers: Insights into the growth opportunities that the most successful companies are leveraging to dominate the SERPs
Frequency: Weekly
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to Growth Memo / Sign up to Growth Memo Premium
Why You Should Subscribe
Growth Memo gives you a window into a veteran marketer’s insights about the SEO and growth strategies that work today.
Every week, Kevin sends out a deep dive into a single topic, such as:
- How AI is changing SEO
- The new Google Shopping features ecommerce sites need to be aware of
- How AI Overviews are impacting the SERPs
Kevin doesn’t just summarize the week’s biggest news. He uses his extensive experience to show you where the growth opportunities lie in the changes Google makes to the way search works.
There’s also a Premium version of Growth Memo. For $15 a month, subscribers receive a tear-down of a new SEO, conversion rate optimization (CRO), or product-led growth (PLG) strategy every two weeks.
Kevin spends over 30 hours on each of these deep dives. And he speaks to the marketing leaders at the company whose strategy he’s analyzing. To get their insights and verify his assumptions.
What the Author Says
“Growth Memo is a premium SEO research newsletter that arms readers with insights that gives them an edge against competitors—in their careers and even when investing in companies.”
What Readers Say
8. Core Updates
Written by: Mark Williams-Cook
What it covers: A short and sweet recap of the week’s biggest SEO news, plus five of Mark’s “unsolicited SEO tips”
Frequency: Weekly
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to Core Updates
Why You Should Subscribe
Mark’s goal with the Core Updates newsletter is to make “the fastest-to-read SEO newsletter out there.”
The meat of each edition is a round-up of only the week’s need-to-know SEO stories, summarized in a sentence or two. If it isn’t essential reading, Mark doesn’t include it in the newsletter. Giving Core Updates one of the highest signal-to-noise ratios of any newsletter on this list.
Each edition of Core Updates also includes the latest edition of the Search with Candour podcast with Jack Chambers-Ward.
You’ll also get the five “unsolicited SEO tips” Mark posted during the week on LinkedIn:
Making it a great follow for beginner and intermediate SEOs looking to level up their SEO game.
What the Author Says
“A lot of work goes on behind the scenes of Core Updates. All week, we are bookmarking the SEO news that we see so on Monday mornings we curate it and distill it down to something shot sized!”
What Readers Say
9. Detailed
Written by: Glen Allsopp
Frequency: Every few months
What it covers: In-depth analysis of what strategies are working for the goliath companies dominating the SERPs.
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to the Detailed newsletter
Why You Should Subscribe
Glen has spent the last 17 years ranking sites. And along the way he’s consulted for companies like FreshBooks, ConvertKit, and Buffer.
Today, he spends his time analyzing what the brands dominating the SERPs are doing. And then creating content playbooks for Detailed that reveal what we can learn from them.
Glen monitors hundreds of sites and keywords. And even goes through earnings calls of the companies winning at SEO. He then packs everything he learns into quarterly reports on the state of SEO:
Subscribe to the Detailed newsletter to keep on top of the SEO strategies that are working for the huge brands dominating the SERPs.
What the Author Says
“I actively track thousands of sites and their owners to see the keywords they’re targeting, the sites they acquire, the brands they merge and redirect, and much more. Most importantly, I try to combine that with actionable advice you can follow in every email, and only send emails when I have a lot of value to share. It’s rare that I ever send more than one or two emails in a month.”
What Readers Say
10. Search Engine Roundtable
Written by: Barry Schwartz
Frequency: Every weekday
What it covers: Everything that happens in the world of SEO and PPC
Where you can subscribe: Sign up to the Search Engine Roundtable newsletter
Why You Should Subscribe
Want to stay on the cutting edge of what’s going on in the world of search?
Search Engine Roundtable’s daily newsletter will give you an overview of everything that’s happened in SEO and PPC in the previous 24 hours.
Each edition starts with a quick recap of the day’s news from Barry to get you up to speed on what’s going on at a glance:
That’s followed by links to dozens of articles and social media threads that Barry thinks are worth checking out. Covering a range of topics, from analytics to local SEO:
Sign up to be one of the first to hear about the latest SEO news. And stay on top of absolutely everything that’s happening in our industry.
What the Author Says
“The Search Engine Roundtable newsletter is the most comprehensive daily search marketing newsletter. It includes links to stories written at Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land that day, plus some interesting posts across social media and other stories about search marketing across hundreds of different sources.”
What Readers Say
Which SEO Newsletters Should You Subscribe to?
There are countless SEO newsletters out there. And I obviously haven’t reviewed every edition of every single one.
But these are the newsletters we read at Backlinko to keep up to date with everything happening in the SEO industry.
If you want a more in-depth list, I recommend checking out Ryan Law’s spreadsheet of 72 of the top newsletters in the SEO space.
And don’t forget to subscribe to the Backlinko newsletter to catch all of our best guides that help you grow your SEO knowledge.