#also recently have been revamping older characters and using them and it's nice to see them back in a new light

[elwolfen]

God!!! This giant interconnected story in my brain is my obsession!!!! SO MANY OCS!!! So many different stories are going on!!! It's a whole town's worth and so much history to the point that my bestie and I made a timeline... A TIMELINE!!! This is our tv show. Is it good? Do the writers know what they're doing??? IT'S FUN!!!! (and painfully sad, we've made each other cry fr)

DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE LORE—

(and the memes)

[danganronpa96]

i will never forgive you for chapter 5 trial /j

also on the other hand in which is related to hypothetical third kg how do you think one specific character you think of in the cast would interact with everybody else

Don't worry I don't forgive myself either </3

The funny thing about that question is that I did make some notes a while ago on Kanade's general relationship with some of the cast. However these are kinda old notes that involve characters that have been scrapped, and additionally don't include characters that have been recently added. So I'll just have to revamp it a little.

Wallace -> older support/grandpa type, they click well as they help each other out, are slow and understanding with each other and share their eating habits with one another

Miles -> friends, they bond over music and wanting to help save people

Ame-Chan -> friends, Ame is very interested in Kanade's online persona as K and running her own online band, Ame likes to chat with her often

Alex -> Alex doesn't take Kanade's talent seriously, Kanade doesn't like Alex's attitude towards the group but she stays open minded and tries to understand his point of view

Eve -> at first Eve dismissed Kanade's talent but opened up to appreciate it, Kanade likes to learn how Eve uses music and art to express her feelings

Frye -> Frye finds Kanade small and cute and likes to talk to her about music, Kanade is a bit overwhelmed by her energy but enjoys her company

Shiver -> Kanade is appreciative of Shiver's unique singing voice which flatters Shiver, both are in sync with their calmer personas

Duck -> Duck, with most people, finds something odd he can say about them—for Kanade it's her abnormally long hair, Kanade finds Duck to be an interesting character

Charlie -> Charlie finds it a bit weird talking to a minor when alone, but can appreciate what Kanade does for the people she cares for

Pim -> initially Pim assumed Kanade was a shy girl, so tries to be nice to her so she can come out of her shell

Rodrick -> they would end up on semi-mutual terms as Rodrick is interested in her being a musician, but Kanade finds Rodrick's music a little odd

Filbo -> Kanade would appreciate Filbo's selfless and kindhearted nature in looking out for everyone, and they would also mutually agree on despising running

Just as a little extra, in terms of Ena, I think she'd have the closest relations to Ame and Rodrick. I'd see Ena and Ame getting along due to their similar desires for online validation and jirai kei fashion, and I just think it would be cute if Ena adopted a sibling-like rivalry with Rodrick, similar to herself and Akito.

[squarecarousel]

Interview with Elizabeth Beals

Here we are at the end, our final interview! Fittingly, we're capping it off with Elizabeth Beals, the other long standing member who has stuck around since Square Carousel's very beginning. While Elizabeth's signature style has remained instantly recognizable from Challenge 1 through Challenge 143 and counting, her skills have undoubtedly blossomed over the past decade. Today, we're catching up with our resident long haul Square Carousel member, admin, and comics professional, Elizabeth Beals!

Emma Frost

Q: Even though your art style is beautifully consistent, your work still stays fresh with each new challenge. What are the biggest aesthetic changes you notice in your work when you compare your most recent pieces to your graduation portfolio?

A: I haven’t looked at my graduation portfolio in a hot minute, it’s pretty wild seeing how far I have come. I’ve gotten better at compositions/ I’ve leaned into cooler, more saturated palettes/ have a better use of textures/ and I also don’t force myself to create a full bleed illustration if it’s not completely necessary to get the story across.

Elizabeth’s workspace

Q: Has your art making process changed at all during your post college years?

 A: Oh yeah, definitely!

In college I would thumbnail/ flesh out the comp at scale with normal mechanical pencil/ ink with a 005 micron/ erase the under drawing/ scan in the piece/ clean up in Photoshop/ then color until completion. 

Whereas I now thumbnail/ scan in the one I like/ format and print it out at a larger scale (in light blue)/ go back over the print with a blue pencil to refine details/ ‘ink’ it with a extra fine mechanical pencil/ scan it back in/ clean up in photoshop/ and then color until completion. 

And if we want to do an even deeper dive we can look at the ‘Color until Completion’ portion.

In college I would create a top layer, which was always the scan/line art set to multiply, and then I would place the coloring layers beneath it. I was just getting into textures and color holds so they were pretty crude but it was nice that I was still fussing with them.

I currently use the same process as a base but I’ve also started painting on top of the line art (like, A LOT), using overlays, adjustments, effects, and more.

Glitter Hearts

Q: What's been your favorite professional project to work on?

A: Mmmmm, I think this one’s a tie for me, the first one would be my cover run on Star Trek: TNG - Terra Incognita. It was my first cover run and the writers/ editors I got to work with were a complete and total dream. They whipped up some pretty fun concepts and I really got to stretch my art muscles for it. Plus the Ice cream I designed for issue one got worked into the story, so having a cannon ice cream design is pretty dang neat. The second would be my first OGN, Virtually Yours, with writer Jeremy Holt! It’s been a project that we’ve had waiting in the wings since 2015 and got to revamp for ComiXology Originals in 2020. It was the largest project I’ve ever worked on and it was such a tough/ joyous/ and complete learning experience for me. I was glad to have an amazing team of people to work with and you should deff check it out if you haven’t already ;D
  [Link to Virtually Yours on Comixology]

Virtually Yours cover

Q: Any non-art hobbies?

A: Baking / Cooking/ Trying out new recipes! *Chef’s Kiss* Just chilling outside in general/ soaking up some sun ( as a former So. Cal girl I miss the high/ dry heat.) Binge watching trash T.V.

Q: Tea, coffee, or hot chocolate?

A: I love all three dearly but coffee wins, hands down.

Q: What's a career goal you have for the next decade?

A: Pretty broad but I would love to get to a place where I become less dependent on private/ personal commissions and focus more on Comic Covers and Pin-up work. 

She Hulk

Q: Do you have a favorite superhero? A: Short answer, no.
 However, I can provide a short list of some of my faves: Jubilee, Storm, Rogue, Spider-Man, Anya Corazon (Spider-Girl), Spider-Gwen, Mystique, and I’m gunna end it there before I just keep rambling.

Q: What's one thing you wish more people knew about you or your work?

A: One fun thing about me/ my work is that my love of drawing hair came from wanting to create Cammy White (Street Fighter) fan art. With braids as long as her’s you gotta take your time and learn to draw them right! XD

Q: While working, do you prefer to watch tv, movies, listen to music, or sit in silence? Any recommendations for background media?

A: Definitely a TV series or movie, preferably something I’ve already seen (less potential to distract me). I always end up falling back on older shows like Murder She Wrote or Midsomer Murders, basically anything with a long syndication. When I was working on Virtually Yours though I would have HBO’s Gentleman Jack on. It’s a newer series with only one season but it served as a good timer/ work schedule for me.

Star Trek TNG: Terra Incognita (issue 6)

Q: If you could choose one character from the Star Trek universe to befriend, who would it be and why? A: To avoid getting too crazy, I think I’m gunna limit myself to TNG (plus I have the most knowledge of that series) and go with Guinan. She’s wise beyond her years (if you could believe that), funny, empathetic, resourceful, and makes a mean drink! And not to break the 4th wall or anything, but it’s freakin’ Whoopi Goldberg!!! ;D

Elizabeth herself

Q: Excellent choice! Anything else you would like the readers to know?

A: Just that y’all are fantastic and we appreciate all the love and support you’ve shown us over that last 10 years! Thanks for letting us go out on a high note!

P.S. Stay safe. Stay healthy. And get vaccinated <3

You heard her folks! Thanks so much to Elizabeth for sharing her answers, and to you, dear readers, for getting to know us all at the Square Carousel Collective these past years.  Check out Elizabeth’s website, and follow her on Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram for fresh art as soon as it drops!

[dawnaress]

  MVP of Horror: Rachel True reflects on her experience as the only Black star of 'The Craft'

Rachel True is the first to tell you that she wasn’t supposed to be in The Craft. When the script for the 1996 Goth horror favorite first made the rounds in Hollywood, there were several obstacles that stood in the way of her joining a cast that included rising stars Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Robin Tunney. “I had to fight to read for it,” True tells Yahoo Entertainment now. “My agents at the time were like, ‘You’re probably too old.’” (Watch our video interview above.)

Not only that, but the role that True auditioned for — Rochelle Zimmerman, one of four teen girls at a Catholic high school who form a Manon-worshipping witch’s coven — was written for a white actress. Undaunted, she relied on “smoke and mirrors” to get into the room and ultimately won the part, setting a new precedent for teen movies in the process. “It’s a big movie in terms of my career, but it’s also a big movie for Black people out there,” she says. “It’s one of the first teen movies that wasn’t a Black teen movie or a white teen movie.”

The obstacles didn’t end after True landed the role. If anything, they intensified during and after production as the actress felt herself being marginalized in favor of her co-stars. True makes it clear that she didn’t experience any overt hostility from the rest of the cast; instead, it was the studio and people behind the camera who seemed intent on holding her back. “When we were shooting the movie, I had literally been told by my team to stay away from Fairuza,” she remembers. “[They said] she can get away with stuff, and you will get fired for it. I was literally told, ‘You’re Black, so don’t say, ‘F*** you, mommy,’ like the white girls.’”

She also had to fight for equal attention during the film’s publicity tour. “They put up a poster of the four of us, mentioned the three girls and then skipped down the call sheet, I think, ‘This is how Black actors get underpaid, this is how they get forgotten, and it’s part of why I mouthed off about the publicity back in the day that I was excluded from. At the time, I don’t think my castmates understood; they were like, ‘You’re not as famous as us.’ What they didn’t get is that in the early to mid-1990s, [the studios] excluded the Black person, which meant they were never going to be as famous as you because they didn’t get the press.”

True experienced that exclusion as recently as last year, when she took to Twitter to reveal how a fan convention declined to invite her to a planned Craft reunion featuring Balk, Campbell and Tunney. (The actress credits Balk, now a close friend, with tipping her off about being left out.) “I had my guy call them up and say, ‘You could have the first reunion since 1996 with all the ladies, and they were like, ‘No thanks,’” she says. “My thing is that everything in life comes down to money, and if you don’t want the money [from a cast reunion] then as a Black person, what else am I supposed to think?”

After her tweets went viral, the convention reversed course and the full Craft coven reunited in March 2019. “I’m glad I spoke up,” True says. “Hopefully it opens the door for other people, so that when I go to the conventions it's not just me and maybe one other Black person.”

Racism is a subject within The Craft as well. As originally written, Rochelle struggled with bulimia, but the film’s co-writer/director, Andrew Fleming, revamped that storyline after True was cast. In the finished film, the character’s antagonist is Christine Taylor’s Laura Lizzie, a high school mean girl with a special hate-on for Rochelle. “First of all, Christine Taylor is so nice,” True says, laughing. “People come up to me and say, ‘Was she really racist?’ And I’m like, ‘She’s the sweetest woman in the world!’ I had gone to an all-white public school, so it was a great way to exorcise those demons if you will. It wasn't the first time someone called my hair pubic hair — that's the truth. So to have that in the movie was fitting, I think, as far as how people think.”

During filming, True remembers being uncomfortable with the way Fleming used her skin color as a plot point. “I remember thinking, ‘Do they see Blackness as a problem?’ All the characters have issues, and to me being Black wasn’t an issue; the way other people treat me for being Black is the issue. But once I really thought about when I got older, I realized it’s a good thing they have that in there. We’d come out of a time where we had things like The Cosby Show where nobody ever mentioned racism, and here was a movie that tackled it head on. I do think it’s interesting, though, that the other three characters never say anything about it! Not one of them is ever like, ‘That’s too bad that she’s racist towards you.’ I don’t think they would do that today.”

One other story choice that still rankles her a quarter century later is that Rochelle loses her supernatural powers at the end of the movie, while Tunney’s Sarah keeps hers. “Even in the mid-‘90s they knew they couldn’t kill off the Black chick,” she jokes. “But I was like, ‘Rochelle is more powerful than this! She’s an astral bridge, why is she cowering?’ That’s actually how I felt about that scene.”

Those memories are balanced out by the fun that True had making The Craft, whether it was flying around on harnesses or having a plaster mold made of her face for certain special effects sequences. “I loved all that stuff — I love movie magic. It's why I love being an actor because you put on this character and you get to experience life! I knew there was a lot for me to learn; Fairuza gave me a really good tip, because she was more experienced than I was. For the scene where we licked blood off our fingers, I kind of deep-throated my finger and she told me, ‘Rachel, it’s film and it’s a close-up. Just a small lick will do.’ So she might not have been the friendliest when we were shooting, but she was there to make a great movie. And she makes the movie, right? She’s so intense and fabulous in it.”

True shares other stories about the making of The Craft, as well as tales from her eventful life and career, in True Heart Intuitive Tarot, a boxed set that includes a tarot deck and a guidebook that’s part memoir and part tutorial. “It’s helped me with my career in Hollywood, a town full of smoke and mirrors,” True says of her lifelong interest in tarot. “I use tarot as a therapist — like a shrink in a box I like to say — so that I understand what I’m upset about or what’s going on.”

And with the True Heart book and deck, she’s hoping to instruct other people on mastering the art of reading tarot cards. “People hit me up on my DMs, saying, ‘Can I get a reading from you?’ And I’m like, ‘No, you can’t afford me!’” she laughs, adding that she’s mostly retired from doing public and private readings. “The idea with the book is that you can learn it for yourself... and you can heal yourself.”

The Craft is available to stream on Hulu or rent or our purchase on Amazon, iTunes and FandangoNOW. True Heart Intuitive Tarot is available on Amazon.

— Video produced by Jen Kucsak and edited by John Santo

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:

[sakuhai]

From the recent events of s3 of Castlevania and the extreme reactions of part of the current fandom I assume that most people are either unaware that this particular cartoon series version is rather a almost completely "interpretation as adaptation" case and not an accurate adaptation of the Castlevania series as it has been established in multiple video games,manga and novels since 1986.

Or they simply haven't looked so deep into the previous versions and what the story and the characters originally are about.

Alucard being a quite ambiguous character who has a completely different and very complicated long story and arc of his own in the particular arc Castlevania series is at this point his character was never a main character and his appearance was more like an "easter egg" and so the scriptwriters have taken many liberties on Alucards character making him almost completely different from what he was designed and composed by his original creator.

The original Alucard would probably not seem so appealing and wouldn't had become very sympathetic popular and relatable to the modern audience.Or would he?In my opinion he would but as mentioned before many liberties have been imposed to his character and storyline in the cartoon series which doesn't claim to be an accurate adaptation.

I think it would had been more interesting if they had kept his original traits and explored those more instead of writing his character almost from scratch.But I guess that's how it works with media in order to not have legal issues or sth like that?I'm not sure but the Castlevania adult cartoon series is free adaptation almost like a licensed fan fiction so having said that I will go to the real "purpose" of this post.

Cartoon Castlevania Alucard is not the "canon" one.Is just someone's interpretation and "take" on his character.And it doesn't go much beyond that at this point.

The original Alucard is a very strong assertive individual with extreme intelligence,very strong morals and beliefs,and a very sharp perception of himself,the environment and people.

He is not affected by others,he makes his own decisions,he's well balanced and grounded.He knows what he does and why.

Being so clever with a strong intuition but also he seems to have a square logic.He is aware of himself and that as a supernatural creature with the values of his time,and the fact that he is very mature and noble he feels the responsibility of defending humans as someone who isn't directly affected nor will he ever practically have the same problems as the mortals.

Alucard with his original character is someone who has established everything inside his mind and soul from a very young age and with his mothers love and words always in his heart and mind he goes forward.

He is not vulnerable at least not in the way he is in the cartoon.He doesn't need any guidance or advice by anyone.His judgment and actions are not affected by others.Because he is sharp and can see right through other individuals and situations.He seems to be more into spiritual and intellectual paths and he has complete control of his body and mind.He doesn't get distracted and his self control is adamant.

He doesn't seem to be ever affected by his natural urge of consuming human blood.He has expressed his thoughts and misgivings that if he ever tries it he would probably want more and he understands that with that the power inbalance between him and mortals would only be stronger.He is extremely powerful being a hybrid as it is,so he doesn't seem to want to explore what his abilities would be like if he consumed human blood.And Alucard is aware of everything.He knows what s*x is and he never seems interested in it.In the graphic novel I believe he has even been approached multiple times by a lot of people for that purpose but he was never interested.He knows when he received flirting from others,he knows when humans try to seduce him.Again he never reciprocated any of those.Even in the cartoon version he says "Gross" when he sees Trevor and Sypha kissing.He tells Trevor to f*ck off and he gives him a middle finger.

Alucard knows what's up.I get that,those were probably just for laughs but still it should mean that Alucard knows what it means when people kiss like that etc..So its not like he wasn't aware of what was happening when Taka and Sumi started kissing him...

So based on how Alucards original character was established through the years and people knowing that and accepting that,it should be understandable why some of us wouldn't take his character in the cartoon very seriously and make some rather sarcastic comments and humor about it,instead of being disturbed by it.

I hope that people will understand what I mean despite my probably awkward usage of the English language.

Its just that some fans know the original Alucard and this "alien" Alucard seems borderline a caricature or we would rather the producers had chosen other things from their unlimited choices for Alucard.

It did seem ooc for Alucard to be vulnerable and naive like that.His words towards Taka and Sumi that they shouldn't be like that because the world is not against them and that they still have other options and chances to better themselves and their lives,instead of seducing and killing people and supernatural creatures does sound like something the original Alucard would say but he would say it before the s*x and not afterwards.And the original Alucard would probably even kick them out for being "lewd" if they hadn't previously understood his lecture.Alucard even in his cartoon version had very clearly warned them that they should be careful because he is a vampire after all,so his reactions a few days later seem way too weird...

Alucard is sassy and he would had denied them and tell them off pretty intensely preaching them like an older sibling or even a father figure.

Also original Alucard is someone who knows who he is and what he is.He knows that great power comes with great responsibility.He knows his abilities and that his choices are unlimited compared to humans.Even if he would give in carnal pleasure he still wouldn't chose to slaughter humans for their weak bodies and minds.As a supernatural creature he has high standards for himself and like other cases he would avoid killing humans all the more so young desperate humans.He has many skills and abilities.Subduing them would had been a piece of cake for him.Alucard is someone who can even predict somebody's thoughts and moves before they make them.

Alucard's history of murders is in its majority reported in cases of direct battle and mostly he would kill other supernatural creatures and not humans.Alucard is very responsible and operates with logic but he also has empathy.

Like in the case with his father,he didn't only blame humans for losing their composure getting overwhelmed with terror and therefore taking rashed decisions which result to catastrophic events.Alucard also seems to think that his father also bares a huge responsibility for what happened to his mother.So ofcourse if Alucard ever committed such a mistake he would definitely take the entire blame and responsibility instead of turning evil and choosing to destroy everyone and everything as a copying mechanism.

So overall the character of Alucard originally doesn't have any obvious flaws or vulnerabilities.But still one way or another he would still be interesting and have his audience/fans.Its just that unfortunately or not the producers made that decision for Alucard's character in this version of the series.

As for his very personal life and romance or s*xuality,the original Alucard never engaged into any type of s*xual activity with anyone.And his relationship with Maria seems nice but I would say its up to interpretation.It's easier to say that Maria likes Alucard and sees him as a love interest.He doesn't seem to feel that way.He likes her and respects her and they work nicely together as partners in battle but other than that he never reciprocated her love signals.

But if the story of the cartoon Castlevania continues and catches that arc and since many fans of the revamped Alucard seem to consider him a baby who deserves everything good its quite possible that the creators will hook him up with a nice girl in the end.I predict that he will be considered "morally gray" and "worthy of redemption" in the end,though I'm not sure I would stan him if he turned evil in s4 even though Im pretty sure he will get "redemption" one way or another eventually.Unlike Taka and Sumi who seemed interesting and also could be considered "morally gray and worthy of redemption" but they weren't created for that purpose.That's very unfortunate in my opinion at least.

Despite that Castlevania has always been dark themed based on the most gruesome horror stories and creatures and things such as love and relationships are never truly touched upon.And that has never been the point or focus of the story.

In conclusion please don't get to flustered with people who are not so emotionally connected or invested to the 2020 cartoon version of Alucard.None of the things that happened to him in s3 have ever been in any of the games or visual novels.Some just may prefer his original character and original story line.And since this is only fiction and the situations during the introduction and conclusion of the TakaSumiAlucard fiasco are so ooc and uncalled for many people would approach it with skepticism or even sarcasm (because its way too ooc)and consider it just a move for shocking value and fanservice.It also should be understandable and tolerated that some people do not disregard the 2020 Alucard from his own fault and responsibility.All the skeptical comments and opinions on Alucard in s3 I don't think are more "toxic" or "nasty" and "disrespectful" than the comments and opinions saying that a good way to overcome a supposed trauma from a disastrous 3 way,would be engaging into another 3 way...

Thats my thoughts on the original character of Alucard based from what I gathered from the material I own and have experienced through the years with the series.Mostly video games and a few interviews of Ayami Kojima and Koji Igarashi who approved the "rewrite" of the story as he describes it.

[murasaki-murasame]

A whole buncha shit went down in Chapter 12 today and we got a new Chimera fight to begin shaking up the shadow meta in preparation for the new mana spiral batch and the new Agito fight, but like 90% of my brainpower is currently being spent thinking about how the new influx of wyrmite rewards let me do another tenfold on the Valentine’s banner, which finally got me Epimetheus.

But I still have some thoughts on the new chapter so I’m gonna put them under a cut because of spoilers

I’m feeling extremely vindicated in my choice to dream summon Laranoa, since chapter 12 ended up having flame enemies, and she even showed up in the story, which is like the last thing I saw coming.

Even though my water team is probably my weakest one overall, I didn’t actually have too much difficulty with anything up until the last couple of Very Hard battles, which I wasn’t able to do, and probably won’t be able to for a while.

I still think that the higher difficulty main campaign maps are really fun and well-balanced, though. It’s pretty rare to get challenging content based around dealing with waves of mob enemies. It really forces you to play differently, especially in Very Hard where every enemy hits super hard.

And on the note of the main bosses in the chapter, I’m still wondering if the whole deal with the cube bosses is actually gonna lead somewhere. Thus far they’re just this giant question-mark with no real in-universe explanation or acknowledgement, and their whole sci-fi vibe and the cryptic references to space probes just feels like the exact opposite of how the rest of the game is. It’s possible that they’re just there to be challenging boss fights with no real context behind them, but I kinda hope something happens with them. Maybe once we’ve gotten one for each element.

Story-wise this chapter was shorter and a bit less eventful than I expected, but it was still really fun. It really feels like things are heating up now. Especially with how it ended, it really feels like the first half of a two-chapter story arc, so that’s probably why it felt kinda brief. It definitely raised a lot of interesting questions that’ll probably get addressed in the next chapter.

First of all, the big elephant in the room is the reveal that apparently we’re going to see the fifth heir in the next chapter, which just kinda came out of nowhere, lol. I really thought they’d be a mystery for longer than this.

It’s not like there’s anything to go on one way or another, but I kinda hope that the fifth heir is that wyrmclan leader we saw that looks a whole lot like Euden. But who knows.

They’re still a huge mystery, but the stuff with Phares in this chapter makes me think that the fifth heir is somehow involved in the whole concept of black mana and how it corrupts dragons, if we’re meant to assume that Phares showing up with the void dragons at the end of the chapter was related to him getting help from the fifth heir. Which might explain why Chelle and Leonidas seemed genuinely freaked out at the idea of Phares working with their mystery sibling. I don’t think the idea of black mana has been introduced or explored at all outside of the descriptions of the void bosses, so it’ll be cool if it gets properly explored soon.

And on that note, I really wasn’t expecting this chapter to provide an actual in-universe explanation for stuff like the void dragons and the IO bosses. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s nice that the void dragons aren’t just in their own little weird pocket of ambiguous canon.

It’s kinda weird to see the main story basically introduce the concept of void battles when those have been in the game forever, but it’s nice to see them finally addressing it, lol.

The whole deal with Leonidas talking about ‘dracoshifting’ is also totally a hint at a future game mechanic, isn’t it? People have been wondering for a while now if there’s going to be some sort of revamp to dragons as a mechanic to basically rebalance them according to the current needs of the endgame meta, and I could totally see some variation of what Leonidas did to Mars being used to explain a new mechanic about buffing existing dragons. I imagine that if we get to do it, we’d do it in a more humane way than Leonidas, but still.

I’ve been thinking ever since they introduced mana spirals for adventurers that dragons should probably get something like that to make them better, and I could see this basically being how they do it. I dunno exactly how they’d do it, but maybe it’ll be like promoting dragons to make them stronger and giving them a new sci-fi design like Mars has. There’s definitely a lot of old dragons that need some sort of buff to make them more relevant. I’d want it to be slowly rolled out for specific dragons that need it, though, like with mana spirals.

Mainly I think that the 60% strength dragons probably need a buff since we’re starting to get conditional 80% strength dragons, but there’s also other relatively weak 5-star dragons like Prometheus, Takemikazuchi, Nidhogg, etc, that could use a buff.

This also might be a good way for them to make it worthwhile to actually be shapeshifted for a while, instead of just using the dragon to use a single skill or to tank a hit. At the moment they’re basically all weaker than if you weren’t shapeshifted, but maybe this sort of buff would also lead to their shapeshifted forms being way better. Which would at least be great for characters like Xainfried, Mym, Lathna, etc.

I’m also kinda wondering now if this chapter might be setting up for Leonidas joining us and being playable eventually. It kinda feels like that’s what they’re setting up, but honestly I kinda hate all of Euden’s siblings and I don’t really want to see any of them become our allies, lol. Also Leonidas would probably just be a flame sword, and we really don’t need more of them.

On a similar note I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’re probably getting Gala Alex next month. I dunno if I’ll go out of my way to save for her, but we’ll see. I’m curious to see what her gala alt would play like, though, especially if she’s still a shadow unit. There’s just a whole lot of competition in shadow at the moment. Either way, I think she’ll probably end up being a sword. Shadow doesn’t really have any noteworthy sword units at the moment, so that’d be nice.

Once we get into March I might start saving for her, but for now I’m probably gonna put some resources into the new dragon banner, since all of the featured ones really interest me [especially Apollo since I don’t have him yet], and I just got Epimetheus so now I’m done with the Valentine’s banner.

That also reminds me that at this point it’s basically confirmed that both Epimetheus and the three old Valentine’s adventurers are permanent now, which is really interesting. I guess this means that later this year they’ll make the old Halloween and Christmas units permanent, too. That’d be a nice way to keep introducing new holiday units without it getting bloated and hard to manage. And honestly most of the older holiday units aren’t particularly good anymore, so there’s no real harm in making them permanent. RIP in pieces to all the people who whaled for V-Hilde, though, lol. Maybe now that she’s permanent she has a chance of getting a mana spiral to make her better.

Anyway, I’ve felt a little let down by some of the recent story chapters, but I ended up really liking this one. Now I’m excited to see what reveals and developments the next chapter brings.

I’m also still extremely hyped about the upcoming shadow mana spiral batch, and the new Agito fight. I’m still clinging onto my pipe dream wish of them improving Norwin by making him more like V-Addis or Natalie. I’ve actually been thinking some more about the different ways that could go [even after I made a whole post about it lmao], and I think it’d be interesting if in addition to adding an enmity effect to his S1, they added an effect to his S2 where he takes non-lethal damage relative to the amount of damage he does to the enemy with the skill, as a way to manually get him down to low health. So I guess in that case he’d be more like a shadow version of Chelsea, which could be fun. I also think there’s a lot of interesting things they could do with him by, say, adding a team health regen effect to his Blind = Team Strength ability. But who knows. I just want him to get some special attention and become genuinely good because I really love him, lol. Though in general I like the idea of them using mana spiral upgrades to basically give certain characters a whole different play-style. Sorta like how Karl can now be used more or less as a buffer, but that has more to do with D-Rathalos than Karl’s mana spiral. It’s still an interesting way to give older units a niche in the meta.

[charlicpace]

hello pace! we’re a newly revamped skeleton rp about a group of gifted vigilantes trying to protect their decaying city. could we please trouble you for an opinion? thank you so much!

hi there ! of course you can ! because this is the first opinion posted on this blog, i’m just gonna start with a little disclaimer both so you know, and for anybody who also might want an opinion in the future, but the rest is under the cut !

DISCLAIMER: my opinions/reviews are kind of a two in one, and always going to be worded as kindly as possible. everything i say is only said with the intention of helping to improve an rp so it can reach its full potential and thrive, both as somebody with a personal opinion on most things, someone who’s been an admin before, and someone who knows what the rpc is like and what they’re usually drawn to. i’m always going to be nice and try to focus on the positives before critiquing the negatives, and i fully understand and appreciate the hard work that goes into creating an rp; nothing sucks more than having your hard work ripped apart and i will never do that. everything will be split into sections that i think are important, just so i can keep track of what i have or haven’t said yet, and so it’s easier to read and doesn’t look like an intimidating chunk of Opinion ! and finally and most importantly, my opinion is just that ! an opinion ! in the grand scheme of things, the opinion of one person ( yours truly, in this case ! ) really doesn’t matter if i say something you disagree with and don’t wish to change, as you’re free to run your rp as you wish ! however, if at any point you wish for me to take this post down for any reason, please just ask and i’ll happily oblige. i’ll make the most private, but shoot you an im with the link to the private post so you can still refer back to it if you so wish !

spoiler: y’all are going in my rec tag !

FIRST IMPRESSION. immediately, i’m happy ! your theme is clean & tidy, and everything looks really neat and easy to navigate. all important information is easily accessible, and would definitely make me want to navigate around the main further even if i weren’t about to do so for opinion purposes ! your graphics are bloody lovely, and the first post i see when i load the main is a skeleton specifically for a non-binary character, and with a nb fc as one of the suggestions, so already i’m happy, and would be more inclined to consider applying if that was why i’m looking ! genuinely, i wouldn’t change a thing about the main’s appearance, i love it. 

CHARACTERS & FCs.i actually really love skeleton rps ! i could be wrong, but i feel like that’s actually an unpopular opinion these days ? but i love a good skeleton rp myself ! and i think you’ve found a really great balance between giving enough information to spark muse but leaving enough room for creative freedom, which can be hard ! it’s not often that i’m drawn to more than a couple of skeletons at most, but every single one i looked at is intriguing as heck. they’re such well-written characters that it’d be hard for anybody to create a muse that doesn’t end up being multidimensional and interesting —– at least i hope so. i love that there’s nb rep, skeletons specially made for characters of colour, and encouragement for ‘older’ characters. really, it’s great stuff. and writing the skeletons in second person ? genius !

PLOT.genuinely, i love the plot and the way it’s written. there’s enough information there to get a full grip on the rp and the plotline, but the way you’ve written it makes it easy to read, and you can get all the information required without being faced with a big block of text that a lot of people find intimidating. usually, i’d be put-off by the genre of superheros ( nothing to do with it as a genre, i’m sure it’s great, but it’s just not my thing, y’know ? ) but with the way the main is run and the plot in itself would really make that not matter to me ! i’m just a little bit in love with it. the world you’ve built is so intriguing ! 

GENERAL ADMINNING.again, this seems to be a very well run rp ! asks are answered with kindness and openness, and i’d personally have no problem sending an ask your way if i had any questions or approaching you via the ims if i needed to as a member. your dedication also shows in the fact that you guys have recently revamped, and whether it’s to give the rp a boost or to fine tune some things, it shows that you’re dedicated to your group and the members who’ll be joining, and would make me more inclined to apply, too — i love nothing more than dedicated admins. the only thing i’d say on a tad more negative note is that the gif icons you’re using might be a little small for my taste, but they’re nice and bright so don’t cause too much trouble when it comes to seeing them ! your activity limit being six days is very reasonable and considerate, and very much appreciated, and i also love that your rules state not to write godmoddy starters, as i feel like that’s often neglected when it comes to what people think gomodding is. the banning of any text smaller than , the inclusion of a mandatory triggers to tag list, the lack of specific age-bending rules, the opportunity to add any fcs that make you uncomfortable to the app, the fact that you state that anonymous can be turned off or not enabled in the first place, and the fact that properly using people’s pronouns is in your rules… all brilliant, brilliant things. the rp is obviously a safe, inclusive space, and you make that clear by showing and not telling, and it makes me more inclined to want to join and recommend to friends. i also think your starter rule is very fair, as i feel like a lot of rps take it too far as of recently, and make interactions quite limiting by forcing people to reply to starters that don’t fit their muse, or forcing them to take on more threads than they can handle. i think you’ve got the perfect balance, though, and encourage inclusivity and the lack of bubble rping without taking it too far. however, i’d perhaps say that if you’re allowing minors into the rp, the writing of smut at all might not be the best idea, even though the rules you have in place are appreciated, and to maybe add the banning of autoplay on character blogs.

EXTRAS.including questions about the muse in the app is such a brilliant idea ! both for your sake and helping to decipher who is the best applicant to fill the skeleton, but also for the folks applying, as it’ll lead to them to think about their muse a little deeper and think about things in the long-run. i really think it’ll help weed out the people who aren’t looking to stick around, even more than a full-app rp usually does !

ENDING NOTES.my friend, you’ve created something really special here. i genuinely, truly wish you the best of luck, and hope you thrive as it’s really well-deserved ! i know i tend to end up giving the lovechild of a standard review and your average opinion, but my opinion is that this rp is fucking glorious. i’m gonna finish each of these on this blog by asking myself would i consider joining this rp if i were looking for one, and the answer this time is a very firm and enthusiastic yes ! congratulations on your revamp, and for sticking to your rp and the ideas for nearly two years, and good luck !

[thecostumeplot]

Episode 9: Emma (1996) & Emma (2020)

Both  

Welcome to The Costume Plot.

Jojo

I'm Jojo Siu.

Sarah  

And I’m Sarah Timm. We're professional designers with a passion for costume design and the performing arts. Our podcast does contain spoilers. Accompanying slideshows for each movie are linked in the episode description.

Jojo

We hope you'll join us every other week as we delve into the wonderful world of costume design in The Costume Plot. [music]

Jojo  

Okay.

Sarah  

All right. Hello!

Jojo  

Hello!

Both  

Welcome back...

Jojo  

...to The Costume Plot. I'm Jojo.

Sarah  

I'm Sarah. It's good to have you here.

Jojo  

We're so excited.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Today we're going to do something a little different. We're going to actually compare two movies. There's a lot of remakes, actually, recently. In the movie world, there's a lot of old movies that are getting revamped and redone. So we decided to take one of these movies and take two different takes on it and kind of break down how they do costumes and how we feel they were successful. Or maybe not so successful.

Sarah  

Yeah, and this is... so, we're both doing "Emma." I'm doing the 1996 Gwyneth Paltrow one. And Jojo is doing the recent one. And yeah... I love Jane Austen a lot. And I love watching any-- pretty much any version of Jane Austen adaptations, I'm on board. It's It's always a good time. And it's always gonna be pretty to look at.

Jojo  

Mmhmm. I do love the Regency era... period.

Sarah  

Me too.

Jojo  

I think it's a really lovely period. And it's a really nice silhouette on guys and girls.

Sarah  

Yeah, I agree. I agree. Okay, so I'll jump in. I'm going first. So yes, like I said, this movie is from 1996. It was directed by Douglas McGrath. And the costumes are by Ruth Meyers, who works a lot. She did "The Golden Compass" and "Ella Enchanted" and "The Addams Family." And she's been nominated for two Oscars, and one of them was for this. And then the other one was "Addams Family." She hasn't won any Oscars, but she's been nominated, which is always a big deal.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

I didn't realize that this movie had been nominated for Oscars, but like, it kind of makes sense. Like, a period drama is always gonna attract that attention, especially for the costume design Oscar.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

So our setting is, of course, England in the early 1800s. The novel was published in 1815. So that's about where people usually put it in time. And I couldn't find any interviews with Ruth Meyers about this movie, I think because it's old. So if there were any it'd probably be in a magazine and not online.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

But I did find one site that was like-- it was-- it's a blog, like a costuming blog. And they were comparing a bunch of different versions of "Emma." And I'm not going to say the name of the blog, 'cause it doesn't really matter. But they said that for this movie, the costume designer "abandoned historical accuracy..."

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

...which I thought was a hilarious thing to say. And also, I disagree. Because what she meant--what this person, the blogger, meant--was that like, a lot of the fashions are more like five years away from where they're supposed to be. And I'm like, "that's not exactly 'abandoning' accuracy." It's just kind of... fudging it a little.

Jojo  

Because realistically, they wouldn't have worn whatever is right at the-- the climax of that era anyways?

Sarah  

Right. She was picking out specific little things being like, "Well, this was from 1812, specifically, so it wouldn't..." and I'm like, "but that's still within 10 years!" Like, that's pretty darn good. It's not like they're all in mini dresses with their hair down. [both laugh] So that was... it was just like, that was kind of an extreme thing to say, I think. Because "abandoning historical accuracy" and picking something that's about five years away from where you set something; those are two different things.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

It's just very funny and nitpicky.

Jojo  

Very different.

Sarah  

So this is the Regency era of fashion, which is one of our favorites. We love it. It's very inspired by like, classical Greek styles. So the silhouette is very relaxed. It's like a column. We've really gone away from the big, crazy silhouettes of the late 1700s. So like, Marie Antoinette style: lots of surface decoration, and crazy colors, and huge wigs, and giant skirts; those things are of the past now, and we're in a more... I don't know, simpler, much simpler silhouette. And part of that is because of the French Revolution. And those big crazy fashions were associated with like, the French aristocracy and royalty. And no one wanted to be associated with that anymore. So it was like they had to swing in the completely opposite direction to get away from that period.

Jojo  

I love the little history lesson we're getting.

Sarah  

[laughs] Well, you know, it's for people who might, you know, hear "Regency" and be like, "What's that again?" You know.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

It's Austen times. That's a-- that's an easy way to remember.

Jojo  

It's typically around the years of, I would say, 1810-18, maybe latest 1820. But probably be even a little bit before that.

Sarah  

Yeah. Yeah. I think people say, like, 1805-ish.

Jojo  

It's like 1816 or something like that.

Sarah  

Yeah. Once again, we're not experts. [both laugh]

Jojo  

And really, I mean, if you think about history of costume, everything kind of did overlap. Nothing ever just stopped right at a certain year.

Sarah  

Right, exactly. So yeah, I don't think that this movie is inaccurate, in a glaring way. I think whatever liberties that Ruth has taken serve the story and help evoke the emotions. And the blogger called it an "impressionistic" view. And I think that that's kind of accurate. It's-- you know, you want to evoke the feeling instead of making it a carbon copy. And so this first picture I have is a good example of it. This is Miss Bates. And she's like, the spinster. That's what they call her. You know, she's an old maid.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

She's unmarried, ergo... she is dressed a lot older than our leads are. She's wearing a much darker color than all the other young ladies wear. And everything is a lot fussier-looking. And she has another look. Let's see... yes, this one is from much later in the movie, but she's wearing a mob camp, which I read is usually associated with married women. But I think probably if you're like-- if you've decided you're an "old maid..."

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

...you can probably wear a mob cap because you're like, signaling to everybody that you've given up? I don't know. [both laugh]

Jojo  

It does look kind of Amelia Bedelia in the image that you've given us.

Sarah  

Oh, poor Miss Bates. Yeah. And this color is like... it's just an oatmeal, kind of sad taupe and...

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

But I will say that this is this particular one, this beige one, is a good example of looking for historical accuracy in the character that the audience is supposed to see as mumsy or old.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Because she has a long sleeve on, and a lot of Regency dresses should have a long sleeve, and there are not a lot of long sleeves in this movie.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And she has a higher neck, and a lot of Regency styles have a low neck, but I think for everyday, most women would probably choose a higher neck than we're seeing in this movie.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

I mean, it's communicating what it's supposed to communicate. Also, I felt really bad for her. I feel so bad for Miss Bates.

Jojo  

[laughs] I do too. They definitely made her look like a super nerd in this movie.

Sarah  

This actress is really good, though. I don't know her name. But like, there's that scene where they're all at the picnic and Emma makes fun of her. And she was so good in that scene. I feel like I should look up her name and shout her out. Hold on one sec. Just 'cause like she...

Jojo  

Do a little IMDb on her. Yeah, it's funny because I did not look back at the old "Emma" when I watched the new one to prepare for this. But it is interesting seeing even just the comparison as you're going through. I'm like, "Oh yeah, that's what she looked like in the original movie."

Sarah  

Okay, so this actress's name is Sophie Thompson. Great job Sophie.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Yeah, actually I wanted to watch yours too. But then I like... procrastinated and put it off, and I didn't feel like watching two "Emmas" yesterday. So...

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

I was like, "I'll just watch it later."

Jojo  

I know, I was gonna say, I was like, "that would be a lot, to compare the two." But it's cool to be able to see the before and after, or the... the first and the latter? [both laugh] Whatever you wanna call it.

Sarah  

The nineties and the now.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Alright, so let's move on to Emma herself, played by Gwyneth Paltrow, of course. I picked this pink look, for when she's doing archery, because I liked... it looks really billowy and tent-y in this shot, but it's just because it was windy, I think. She has this little... thingy holding up her skirt for archery?

Jojo  

Oh, interesting.

Sarah  

Which... I thought that was interesting and kind of fun. And you can see her shoes which is... also fun. [both laugh] She's wearing a little buttoned-up boot. And the color I think is... I don't know, like, a little bright. Here's another picture of it. I mean, it looks pretty washed out in this picture. It's like a pastel pink. I like the stripe on it a lot.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

She wears pretty much all pastels and whites in this movie, and it really gives her that youthful air. She also doesn't have a lot of surface decoration, trims, like... not a lot of sparkly stuff, not a lot of jewelry. And that gives her sort of the... she kind of doesn't have a care in the world, you know? She just kind of throws something on and goes about her day, because she's kind of frivolous and spoiled. But in a youthful, naive kind of way.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

So I think that the clothes fit. Also shout out to the hair in this movie. I think the hair is excellent. I have a couple pictures where it goes kind of 90s.

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

But like, this one, it's pretty dang good. She's got her center part. She's got her little curls coming down.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Pretty good! Lots of times, the place where you see the era that the movie was made is in the hair.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Which is always so fascinating to me. This is a cloak she wears. I liked this a lot. It's like, the party where she goes, and then Elton--Mr. Elton--like, assaults her in the carriage. [both laugh] Side note, as I was watching this movie I remembered I have already covered "Clueless," which IS "Emma."

Jojo  

Yep. Yep.

Sarah  

[laughs] It's so funny how "Clueless," it hits the exact same story beats. It's amazing.

Jojo  

Mmhmm. Yep.

Sarah  

I love that movie. Anyway. [laughs]

Jojo  

Also isn't... I'm trying to... yeah, it is Alan Cumming for Mr. Elton in this movie! [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah, it's Alan Cumming. I love him. He's--

Jojo  

I do too.

Sarah  

Listen, anytime he's on screen, I'm like, "he's welcome."

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

I love to see him.

Jojo  

I forgot he was Mr. Elton. I do love him as as Mr. Elton in this movie.

Sarah  

Mmhmm. So this is one of the examples of the hair getting a little bit 90s. It looks kind of like a 90s prom updo.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

I think it's because there's no part and it's pulled a little tight.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

I think that Regency styles were a bit more relaxed than this.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

But I also pulled this because I like the cloak. But I'm also unsure of what this fabric is. Like, is it supposed to be fur or is it supposed to be high pile velvet?

Yeah, I was thinking about that-- or like, a velveteen or something?

Jojo  

Yeah.

I don't-- it is a little strange. It's hard to tell.

Sarah  

Yeah, it looks like a really plush blanket. Like, my mom is really into blankets like this right now.

Jojo  

[laughs] Love it.

Sarah  

So it looks exactly like those. [laughs]

Jojo  

She just needed to be warm!

Sarah  

Yeah, I mean, it's in the snow. So it makes sense. I like the big hood.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

That's fun. I liked it, you know, I didn't dislike it. It was just an interesting fabrication choice.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And then here-- so, she wears so many clothes in this movie that I had to just kind of grab a handful and then just let the rest go. And I don't have a lot of specific stuff to say about...

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

...any of the individual looks after this. It's just kind of like, "Look at this! Look at that! Look at that!"

Jojo  

[laughs] "It's pretty!"

Sarah  

So this is one of her first looks, it's a nice white. She wears a lot of white. And then we have Harriet over here, who's very youthful, and even more naive than Emma.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And then this is another one. Like a green-y brown-y plaid with a red wrap. Very pretty. This is a party look. I like this one a lot. It's like a sheer with... it's like a chiffon with a satiny stripe in it.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And we're seeing once again, she's wearing jewelry but it's very simple jewelry. She's got her sort of 90s updo again. Don't have much to say. [both laugh] Then, I like this one. This is them in the carriage, and she has this little, like...

Jojo  

Capelet?

Sarah  

Capelet! Yes, that's the word. [both laugh]

Jojo  

I was like, "is that what that is?"

Sarah  

I was making a little motion, like...

Jojo  

[laughs] I did love that.

Sarah  

I like the fringe on this a lot, it's very pretty. I don't know.

Jojo  

Oh, I thought that was just an eyelet lace. That's cool.

Sarah  

It's like a lace with fringe hanging down, like a little...

Jojo  

Oh yeah, that's super nice.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

For those of you looking at this on Instagram, please zoom in.

Sarah  

Yeah, zoom in, zoom in. Also these are screenshots, and like, this is as HD as this movie gets. Which is not very.

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

Do I have anything else to say about her? No. And then this is one that she wears to go to tea with Mr. and Mrs. Elton. I like the color of this. And the sort of, like, taffeta of it.

Jojo  

Ooh.

Sarah  

Also I like whatever...

Jojo  

That's a lovely green.

Sarah  

...whatever trim is happening on the neckline and on the sleeves. What is it? ...Unclear. It's pretty. It just looks like a little dashed line. But it's like...

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

...it's like a cord or something, maybe? Piping? Really skinny piping?

Jojo  

Maybe. I wonder if they did an actual basting stitch, or you know, a running stitch but with... with some kind of cord?

Sarah  

What's that called... couching? Couching is like when...

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

...when you sew around a piece of cord.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Yeah, it looks kind of like that.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Okay. My thing for this one is gonna be kind of short, because it's just kind of like, "Pretty! Great. Love."

Jojo  

[laughs] That's okay. That's kinda how I feel.

Sarah  

Yeah. [laughs] Here's some Harriet. She didn't wear a lot of things that I was super, like, "gotta talk about it." I do like this plaid number. It's got these really pretty frogs on the closures.

Jojo  

Oh yeah.

Sarah  

Which, if you don't know, frogs are closures that are made of cord and they're little knots that hook-- that loop into each other. I've made them before, it's very hard.

Jojo  

They're used on a lot of Asian garments as well, as closures.

Sarah  

Yes, yes. This is where she was in the rain.

Jojo  

Or, I should say, Chinese garments.

Sarah  

Yeah. Yeah, specifically. Yeah, I had to make them for... I had to make frogs for "M. Butterfly," I think. It was really difficult.

Jojo  

Oh, you MADE them?

Sarah  

Yeah! [laughs]

Jojo  

Interesting.

Sarah  

We made the-- we covered the cord, and then you have to wrap it and stitch it in place. It was... I don't... I didn't like it.

Jojo  

That's intense.

Sarah  

I don't want to do it again.

Jojo  

[laughs] "I didn't like it!" [both laugh] I will say, the plaid on this does remind me a lot of the kind of color palette that they used in "Clueless."

Sarah  

Oooh, yeah!

Jojo  

For that character.

Sarah  

I also like how it's on the bias. The lines are going at a diagonal. It always makes it more interesting.

Jojo  

Great job, construction team, for lining up those lines!

Sarah  

Yep, it's perfect.

Jojo  

It's beautiful.

Sarah  

We love a good pattern match. Here's a shot of it standing up. So it doesn't go all the way down. Like, it's just the... oh, is it a jacket?

Jojo  

It might be a Spencer jacket.

Sarah  

It might be a little Spencer. Yeah.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Little cropped jacket. Oh, and I was gonna talk about bonnets. So, most of this movie, Gwyneth Paltrow is not wearing a bonnet when she's outside. And as we said in our last episode, in most periods, if you went outside, you had a hat on.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And...

Jojo  

And gloves.

Sarah  

Yes. Oh, I think that blog I was reading said that bonnet-less women were-- that was a look that was reserved for prostitutes? And I was like, "Really?" [laughs]

Jojo  

Well, I think it was kind of like a point of shame. I mean, it's the same as like, military men wearing their hats out of respect, right? You know, when they're uncovered by a roof, they're supposed to have some sort of a military hat on. So I think it's the same thing with women at this time? There was this idea of needing to wear one to show your piety or your status, I guess.

Sarah  

Yeah, yeah. It's so funny. That's such a foreign idea now.

Jojo  

Right, right. 'Cause hats are just so not a thing. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah. But like, even as recently as the mid 1900s, you know, 1950s-1960s, people were still... if they were dressed up, if they were leaving the house, they were wearing a hat and gloves.

Jojo  

Mmhmm. Yeah.

Sarah  

And it's so funny how quickly that that kind of just like left our public...

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

...you know, rules. Or our consciousness.

Jojo  

It's interesting to think about how that transition must have happened, too. Because the first people to not wear hats probably looked like they were being disrespectful. Or, you know... or a prostitute. [laughs]

Sarah  

Well, yeah, and that would probably be like... yeah, counterculture of the 50s and 60s. I feel like those were some of the first people to really do that. And like, they were definitely seen as disrespectful. As like, hooligans, you know.

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

Hippies, or like, beatniks, or whatever.

Jojo  

Anyway.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Side note.

Sarah  

I also think that the bonnets are a little bit small in this movie. Most of the time when I've seen this period, they're a little bit larger. But I'm also not sure if that's wrong or not. It's just like, what I've seen.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Usually. What do I have next? Oh, this is Ewan McGregor. Forgot he was in this movie.

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

He plays Frank Churchill.

Jojo  

I forgot about that, too.

Sarah  

And I haven't talked about any men yet. But I will say he is a big contrast to the other men in the movie. He is a lot flashier, a lot more of a dandy. And it's like, his long, wavy hair, his fancy top hat. He just-- he looks like he's always really caring about what he looks like. Sort of like a fop. Is that what we call it? I don't know.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

This is a good example of this. It's what he wears to the party, one of the many parties in this movie. [laughs] I feel like they're always going to the party. It's like a burgundy velvet coat with a lovely patterned waistcoat underneath.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

I think it's beautiful. And then I want to talk about Mrs. Elton, who is very silly.

Jojo  

Oh, Mrs. Elton.

Sarah  

She is a great contrast to all the other women in the movie, because she is kind of... she's rude. And she's kind of like-- I saw her described on the Wikipedia article for "Emma" as "nouveau riche," which means that she's recently wealthy, so she's kind of like, tacky about it.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

So she wears much darker colors than everybody else, which is an automatic way to contrast her.

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

And then her hair is also like-- I don't know, it's exaggerated in a way that makes her look comical.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

And these, like-- this style with the curls on the side, it's totally period. But it looks-- compared to the other women, it looks much more exaggerated.

Jojo  

It's almost heading a little into crinoline era.

Sarah  

Yeah. I think that when the curls move over the ear is when that's... a thing. I don't know, though. Somebody tell me if I'm wrong.

Jojo  

Regency era still had some of the curls over the ear. But it was starting to move kind of around the back of the head and the side.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

I think, in the crinoline era. It was kind of more ringlets all the way down.

Sarah  

Yeah. Like, yeah, that's definitely a hairstyle I associate with "Christmas Carol."

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

Oh, and she has this really weird bonnet. Get ready for this bonnet. [both laugh]

Jojo  

Oh yeah! I did forget about that one.

Sarah  

Look at that!

Jojo  

It looks like she's surrounded by a clamshell. Like it's about to eat her head. [both laugh] And she's the pearl coming out of it.

Sarah  

Also, this actress is doing a great job doing crazy eyes in this movie. [both laugh]

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

She's really selling it. This is a picture of the whole outfit. So like, compared to everybody else, she looks very silly.

Jojo  

Yeah, it literally looks like an oyster shell on her head.

Sarah  

Yeah, I've never seen a bonnet like this, if I'm honest.

Jojo  

[laughs] That's a pretty unusual one.

Sarah  

Yeah. I like her dark green outfit, though. It's pretty. She wears a lot of jewelry too. So that's another way that she contrasts with Emma and with the other women. She's like, very tacky and exaggerated. But that's... that's fun. That's fun to look at.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

All right. And then I'm just gonna finish up by talking about Mr. Knightley. And I don't have a lot to say. He just looks really good. [laughs]

Jojo  

Yeah, this I do love this rendition of Mr. Knightley.

Sarah  

He's good. He's really-- he's handsome, but kind of like in an understated way.

Jojo  

Yeah, I think that's one of the things I loved about him. I randomly saw... I can't remember what I was watching. I was watching something else completely unrelated. And this was like, years after this movie came out. But I recognized him because he was playing a completely different character. And I was like, "why does this guy look so familiar?" And then I realized this was the last movie that I'd seen him in, and I was like, "oh, duh!" [both laugh] But yeah, it's so weird to see them out of the element that you're used to seeing them in.

Sarah  

I feel that way about the guy who plays Mr. Darcy in the Keira Knightley "Pride and Prejudice."

Jojo  

Yes!

Sarah  

He's in "Succession," which could not be...

Jojo  

I have not seen that.

Sarah  

...a more different character. He plays an American guy who's like a total... I don't wanna say "twat." [both laugh] But he's kind of... kind of a putz.

Jojo  

I saw him in-- I don't know if you've ever seen "Death at a Funeral."

Sarah  

Yeah! That's an older one. Yeah.

Jojo  

Yeah. He's in that one. And that's the other thing that I remembered him from. So I was like, "This is so weird."

Sarah  

He's so dashing and so handsome in "Pride and Prejudice," and then it's like, you take him out of the Regency outfit and you're like, "oh, okay." He's just a guy.

Jojo  

"Oh, you're not as cool."

Sarah  

I mean, no offense, he's still handsome. But he's extra handsome in "Pride and Prejudice."

Jojo  

That's kind of how I felt about this Mr. Bingley. Or... not Bingley. This Mr. Knightley, as well. I'm mixing all of my Austens now.

Sarah  

They all end in Y! Bingley, Darcy, Knightley.

Jojo  

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

Sarah  

Yeah, so he's in cool tones for most of the movie, which is, you know, nice. Like it. This picture is from when they're dancing. And I love how every Jane Austen movie has to have a dance scene where they're like, you know, touching hands and making eye contact as they kind of... step around each other.

Jojo  

[laughs] Yeah. It's all about what's unsaid.

Sarah  

Exactly.

Jojo  

And the almost-but-not-quite-touching.

Sarah  

Yep. Flirting in an 1815 kind of way.

Jojo  

[laughs] Yes.

Sarah  

And you can kind of see Mrs. Elton behind Emma over here. And she's wearing this very like... her dress kind of has a cape?

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

It kind of has a Grecian-like red drape that goes around the side, which I thought was fun.

Jojo  

Oh, yeah, yeah, I can see that.

Sarah  

I didn't pull any pictures of it. I think it's because I had too many pictures. And I counted all my pictures to make sure I could fit them in an Instagram post. And I deleted some.

Jojo  

That's good.

Sarah  

Yep, I learned my lesson.

Jojo  

I was trying to do that with mine too. I was like, "Alright, how many can I fit in one square?" [both laugh]

Sarah  

Exactly. And then-- yeah, so this is just from the final scene and he looks great, and I liked it. The end.

Jojo  

The end! [both laugh] Yay, Emma 1990s!

Sarah  

That's your 90s "Emma." I hope you enjoyed my really not-thorough analysis of it. [both laugh] Truly I was watching it and I was just like, "I don't know what to say except these are pretty."

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And I like 'em.

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely. I feel like, you know, this movie in particular is very much about like, "how do we make these characters look pretty?"

Sarah  

Yeah, and I mean, Emma's world is-- like, the book opens by describing her as selfish and sheltered. So it is kind of like you're making a fantasy world. And I can see that in the sort of pastels and the dreamy landscapes and stuff.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

That was definitely successful in this version.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

All right, so...

Jojo  

Yay!

Sarah  

Your turn.

Jojo  

Do you mind if we take a quick break?

Sarah  

Yeah! [short musical sting]

Jojo  

So of course, we are still covering "Emma," I'm going to be covering the 2020 version of this movie. And this actually, this movie was actually a directorial debut for Autumn de Wilde. So she is typically a photographer and video artist. She's done a lot of music videos. She's also taken a lot of really famous celebrity photos. So that's kind of what she was known for before. And she also does a lot of movie posters. So actually, all the movie posters for this new version of Emma were photographed by her as well.

Sarah  

Oh, cool.

Jojo  

And that's actually-- it's a pretty clear visual that you see throughout this movie, like you can definitely tell it's from like a photographer's eye. And the visuals are very much about like, "how can we make this the most picturesque scene ever?" It's very apparent throughout this movie. The costume designer for this was Alexandra Byrne, who we have met before, she again did "Murder on the Orient Express," which we covered before. But she's also done "Mary Queen of Scots," "Doctor Strange" a lot of the Avengers movies, "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Elizabeth: the Golden Age." And so in terms of her variety and her scale of stuff that she's done, she's pretty used to this large scale, grand scale of things.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So I would probably say this is probably a smaller project for her, if anything. So one of the things I wanted to talk about... we've already talked about the setting, this is still England, we're probably between 1815-1820 or so. One of the blogs that I was looking at was called Willow and Thatch. So these are a couple of the things they were talking about with her costumes. They said, "Alexandra Byrne's thoughtful choice of various Regency era garments and textiles give us a better grasp of each character's role in the story," which was very accurate. And then "throughout the period drama we are treated to visually pleasing dresses. Their production's overall palette is pastel, as if the mood board started with a box of macarons," which you absolutely see with this. It's definitely a delectable delight of treats. The iconic white muslins of the Regency are everywhere, as are small scale printed cottons. The first image that I have here is, of course, my favorite. It's the first Spencer jacket that we see her in. And not only is the cut and the silhouette of this Spencer jacket accurate, but you can kind of see here, I've placed it side by side with an actual museum piece. Which is... basically it was essentially copied from this museum piece that was an 1817 garment at the Chertsey Museum collection. So this is kind of like the perfect example of how a costume designer sort of simplifies an already existing garment, or kind of changes up small details. So that we're not directly copying an actual garment that exists, but that we're putting our own spin on it without completely just scratching a new idea or... you know, because none of this is like original ideas. It's talking about real garments that exist in a real time. And I love that the costume designer really tried to honor the accuracy of the time period by doing that. So that she kind of still took her own take on these details and then was still able to make it this beautiful garment. So not only is the piping pretty, you know, it's pretty similar to the original. Obviously she simplified the collar of this coat. And you can see it's a lot more busy up top.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

And that's one of the things I think that you'll realize with this newer version of "Emma," which I found really interesting, because she doesn't keep her in all pinks. She does have quite a variety of different colors that she kind of wears throughout this movie. But there is a sense of... she's always going to be done up very fancy. I think the costume designer talked a little bit about how basically she has, I think... sorry, I totally didn't write this down, which was me being unprepared. But Willow and Thatch also mentioned that there's, I believe, five or six total like Spencer jackets, and another six, what they called "pelisse." Which is another... it's spelled p-e-l-i-s-s-e. And it's also a formal type of outerwear that was worn during the Regency era. Which is basically kind of fitted on top, and it sort of still meets at the empire waist. So right under the bust, but then it actually flows all the way to the floor. So the Spencer jacket is sort of a shortened version of that without the tail-- the long, you know, floor length coat, part of it. And then the pelisse is sort of a longer version of that, with that same idea of the fitted top.

Sarah  

I didn't know that word. Today I learned.

Jojo  

Yes. So one of the interesting things about all of those outerwear things was that the blog actually talked a lot about how the costume designer really took the time to understand what this woman's real closet would have looked like. She's someone who is wealthier, she's someone who comes from an upper class, she would have had the money--you know, the spending money--for shopping, that would have been common at this time for ladies of her age to be going out and buying all of these things. And one of the other things that I do love about the way Autumn has directed this movie is that she shows a lot of that "behind the scenes" of how people get ready.

Sarah  

Mmm.

Jojo  

And how people actually dress. So like, there's a scene where we see Emma actually getting a pelisse tailored to fit her. So she has, you know, they show the unfinished pelisse coat. It sounds like I'm saying "police coat."

Sarah  

PO-lice, yeah. [laughs]

Jojo  

But... it's like a pel... pelisse.

Sarah  

Pelisse.

Jojo  

I don't know how to say it properly. I'm probably saying it wrong. But the pelisse coat basically is left there with all the tailoring...

Sarah  

The tacks.

Jojo  

...stitching.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

That's in there. And then it also shows the pleating and all the different details that are on there as if she's getting it finished. And in the next scene, they show the finished coat after she's gotten it completed. So like, it really shows you that process of not just Emma's clothes, but also the world around how these clothes are made. There's a scene where they even show Mr. Knightley, how he gets out of his clothes and then puts on his next outfit.

Sarah  

Ooh.

Jojo  

So yeah, there's just a lot of like fine details. I think Autumn, as a photographer, is always paying attention to these things, I'm sure. And so you can see that detail is applied in the rest of the movie as well. So I've wanted to start with this because I do love the Spencer jacket. I think it's just so attractive. And it's so beautiful. And the fact that this much detail went into this. And even then, she's "simplified" this from the original. It just goes to show how much detail went into those garments at that time, because those were things you were wearing on a more regular basis. And the Spencer jacket was not meant to keep you warm, it was a typically a lighter fabric, or it was a lighter garment. So the fact that this is something that would have been worn probably out in public much more often than, say, a winter coat, it means it's getting a lot of screen time, for lack of a better word.

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

So onto the next one. This is just another outfit because, again, we talked about bonnets with the old "Emma" as well. And bonnets were a very big feature in this movie, she's pretty much always seen with a bonnet anytime she goes outside.

Sarah  

Wow!

Jojo  

So again, really, really accurate to the time. Really paid attention to the world and how they lived and what they would have been wearing. This is also just another really quick zoom in of this beautiful sleeve.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Like, look at the way they've layered that, it's pretty incredible.

Sarah  

That's amazing.

Jojo  

And then the other thing I wanted to focus on, too, was just that attention to detail with the inside of the bonnet being covered in lace. Because most of the other ones... I mean, all the bonnets have a certain layer of lace on the interior of the brim. Which you'll see in a couple of the other photos I'm gonna pull up. But the fact that her entire interior is just lace on top of that pink is pretty incredible.

Sarah  

Pretty luxurious.

Jojo  

As are a lot of her other bonnets. It's just kind of... I think that's where she kind of over accessorizes, is on her hats.

Sarah  

And lace is expensive in this time.

Jojo  

Yes, very much so.

Sarah  

I feel like bonnets are usually like the first thing to go in these kind of movies.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Where people are like, "We want them to look beautiful to a young, modern audience."

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

"So the bonnets looks so stuffy and weird. So we're just gonna take away the bonnets." So, it's so interesting that this is a movie full of bonnets! [laughs]

Jojo  

Yeah, definitely. So this was the next image I wanted to focus on. And again, this is a better example of a pelisse. So you can kind of see, it still has that sort of fitted top that we saw with the Spencer, but it continues down onto the sides here. Some of the pelisses actually closed in the front, this one just happens to close over the sides a little bit. But I do love this color. So this one, actually, was really important. Because one of the things that the costume designer did was she contrasted Emma's character to show her wealth by putting her in that fitted pelisse. And then for the Harriet Smith character, they actually put her in a red cape. So the red cloak was actually considered and called a "riding hood."

Sarah  

Hmmm.

Jojo  

Basically, that's what it is. But that was actually a typical standard for country outerwear. And so they actually showed a picture of a watercolor that was... I can't remember who it was written to be by on the website. But basically, it depicted life in the Regency era. So it was a whole book of things that people would wear, you know, the habits of that day. So the accuracy of just taking those garments, that not only put Harriet Smith at a very different class level from our main character, but also took accurate clothing from that time period. I just... again, kudos to this costume designer, she really did her research for this. And I love that she did kind of marry the idea of being as historically accurate as possible, while still taking her vision as a costume designer to a different level.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

The other thing that you'll see here, and you don't really see it in this image, and I didn't choose to focus on it specifically, is that they're in pretty much the similar color palette. But you can see that underneath, Harriet is actually wearing kind of... it's like a Spencer jacket shape. But it's actually a knit maroon cardigan.

Sarah  

Really!

Jojo  

So I just found that really interesting. Again, kind of just making... and we've talked about this in the past, how kind of knitwear--or sweaters--tend to make you a little bit more casual. Or it kind of brings down the classiness of a garment? I don't want to say that, because that's not necessarily always true. But there's a softness about knitwear that is not going to give you the same effect as something that's a little more structured, like this pelisse.

Sarah  

It makes you a little more homespun, a little more country.

Jojo  

Yes. And that is very much what Harriet Smith is. I mean, even in the way that her bonnet is decorated. It's so simple next to this ginormous, you know, velvet thing that Emma has on.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

This is probably one of her more simplified hats, which I just thought was kind of funny. But you know, again, it's such a striking and very saturate image that we see her in here. And I think that's one of the things that really characterizes this movie, in comparison to the old "Emma," is that it kind of feels like they've like pumped up all the colors, and it's much more saturate than the Gwenyth Paltrow version.

Sarah  

And do we think that that's like a... 1990s versus a 2020s thing? Like, the ideal of...

Jojo  

It could be. I do feel like, I don't know, I can't remember. I'm trying to remember if it was like, we just didn't have a lot of saturated colors. Like it just wasn't a thing to be super vibrant in the 90s?

Sarah  

I just-- I think that that one, you can definitely see... the 90s--a lot of 90s fashion--is really streamlined, you know, like Cher's white dress in "Clueless" that's literally just a tank top.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

So, that kind of thing, I could see the 90s in the 90s "Emma."

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

So I wonder... I'm looking for the 2020s. I'm like, "What are the hallmarks of the 2020s in this movie?"

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

I feel like we won't know until 10 years from now, you know?

Jojo  

That's true.

Sarah  

But it's interesting to think about.

Jojo  

And I will say, you know, as we've been looking at a lot of the recent things that have been coming out, the other thing I was thinking about when you said that was "Bridgerton," right?

Sarah  

Yes!

Jojo  

It's a lot of that same... it is pastel, but it is that kind of "macaron color" world, where it's a lot of candy colored pastels, you know?

Sarah  

That one's making a big splash because of how bright the colors are.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

And then this... that made me think of that Hulu series about Catherine the Great. Is it just called "Catherine"?

Jojo  

Oh, yes, "Catherine." Uh-huh.

Sarah  

Where she wears that hot pink gown. So like...

Jojo  

Or, is it called "The Great"?

Sarah  

"The Great." That's what it is. Thank you. [laughs]

Jojo  

Yes. Yeah, I know what you're talking about. But yeah, I think that's definitely coming back in, especially with period stuff. Like, we're seeing a lot of that period, but we're amping up the color so much more.

Sarah  

That's how we're making it look modern now, is by like putting a colorful twist on it.

Jojo  

Yeah. Which is so fascinating!

Sarah  

Yeah!

Jojo  

You color forecast, I guess.

Sarah  

But I love it. I love it because I love color. So I'm all for it.

Jojo  

Me too. So again, I think... you know, same thing. We apply the same kind of color saturation to the menswear as well. And this is our Mr. Knightley, who... I think they made him a little bit more rugged than the previous Mr. Knightley, which I love. Johnny Flynn plays our Mr. Knightley in this version.

Sarah  

I love him.

Jojo  

And again, I didn't show these pictures because it's a whole scene that happens where he gets into this outfit. And it's like, he comes from walking because he walks everywhere.

Sarah  

Aww.

Jojo  

So there's this whole thing about how he doesn't take carraiges because he just likes to walk outside instead. And so he comes into his house. And then he gets... like, the first scene, we see him and he starts off naked, and then he's putting on all of his clothes. So you literally see him put on, you know, his shirt first. And then his servant actually helps him put on his ascot. And then you see him put on the vest, and then you see him tuck the shirt into the pants, and then button up the front fly pants. So it's like you see that whole process, and then you see his servant, help him get his final coat on. And I love that the director has honored that process, because that is a part of what they were doing every day to get dressed. And that was a part of who they were, and a part of their society. And all of that made that culture. And why, that whole idea of flirting and dancing, all of that was part of that world. Like, they didn't have TVs to just sit around and watch like we do. So...

Sarah  

They spent a lot of time getting dressed. Getting dressed was like a big part of your day.

Jojo  

Yes.

Sarah  

So I like that.

Jojo  

And it also goes to show his wealth, because he has a servant who helps him do all that. And he does live in this huge Abbey. And one of the biggest things that happens at the end of this movie is that he says he's willing to give all of that up so that he can stay with Emma. Because he knows she'll never leave her father's house, and her father will never leave his house. So it's this huge sacrifice, because you've seen all of the things that he's giving up, and you see the wealth and the prosperity that he lives in. And all of that goes to show, like when he puts on this final layer of his coat. It's this... I mean, I can't do it justice in this photo. But it's this beautiful, buttery, almost orange-yellow?

Sarah  

Caramel.

Jojo  

That is... yeah, it's a very beautiful caramel color. So when he first puts it on, he is wearing this dark navy blue underneath. And then he's got this complimentary yellow on top. Again, it just goes to show the level of wealth, the level of prosperity that he comes from, and he's a very educated man. So everything is very clean, and everything is very put together. Even when he walks to Emma's house in the first scene after he's gotten dressed, he talks about how basically he's walked through an entire field, and his boots have been left un-muddy, you know. So it's just this whole idea of his persona, like there's this very clean... he's very put together, he takes very good care of his appearance. And that's something I think a lot of this film focuses on, is the idea of each person and how they interact with everyone else. We talked about Emma being this, you know, kind of naive and sort of spoiled personality. And I feel like with Gwyneth Paltrow's version, it's a little bit more pithy? Whereas I feel like this version, Emma is very... I don't want to say "sociopathic," but it's almost like she just doesn't know how to empathize. Like...

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

...she just constantly gets annoyed at everything. And she's very like, "Well, you're not meeting my standard." And she just doesn't know how to interact. Like, she knows how to help people, because that's what she likes doing. But it's always for a specific reason, or there's always some kind of motive behind it. So I think-- I talked to a few friends who saw this movie after having seen the other "Emma," and a lot of the criticisms were that she just wasn't likeable. And I was like, "But that is kind of who her character is," to a certain extent, until we get to the end.

Well, she shows a lot of growth over the course of the story. So...

Yes.

Sarah  

...it's okay for her not to be likable in the beginning, because we need to see her learn her lessons, you know, and grow.

Jojo  

Yeah. And I think the other reason, maybe, that I like this movie a little bit more was because I also felt like I could relate a lot with this version of Emma. [laughs] Which sounds really bad. But like, I think I tend to have that mentality. Sometimes I'm kind of like, "Well, why can't you just do this?"

Sarah  

Oh, yeah, same. [laughs]

Jojo  

And I think that's very much how she's portrayed in this movie. It's that kind of like, "Well, you can't be right, because I'm right." [laughs]

Sarah  

Right, right. Yeah.

Jojo  

I think, you know, when she does finally get to that point where she's able to change, you see more of that redeeming factor, I think, at the very end. And even at the end, when they have their whole final talk, there's this cathartic moment between the two of them where they're both kind of like, "I know that you can never accept me because I'm this way. And I do all these things, I've lectured you, and I've been so blunt and blah, blah, blah," and then they still come together and say, "But I still love you, in spite of all that."

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So, again, I just felt like it was a really good portrayal of that relationship. Okay, so moving on. So this was the image that I meant to talk about earlier, where it's that watercolor scene of what they wore that time. And it was those white muslin dresses that were so iconic of the Regency era, and then those red capes that they talked about. So it was typically worn by students, which, in Harriet Smith's case--particularly in this movie--they basically have her because she hasn't... basically, they don't know who her parents are. And she doesn't find out until the very end who her father actually is, because she isn't of age yet. So she's very young, she's kind of student age. And so there's a couple scenes where they actually show Harriet Smith walking into a... it's like, it's not really an orphanage, but it's basically like a boarding house, I guess. Or a board house. And all of the students, anytime they walk outside with the teacher, are always in these red capes. So it's this line of basically like the Madeline girls, you know.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Where they line up in two lines, and they all wear the red capes and walk around.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So I wanted to put that in there, just because I think it does... [zooms in too far] Ooh, didn't mean to do that. [both laugh] Because it does show just the accuracy of the research that this costume designer took from. And there's a couple different looks, too, that are kind of like that. So then the other costume that I really wanted to focus on... one thing that I haven't mentioned with this movie is that there's... I think this has been kind of the case with a lot of recent movies. "The Favourite" is another movie that kind of does the same thing, where it takes a period and then makes it very comical-- kind of a parody, almost, of that period. While trying to be...

Sarah  

I would love to talk about "The Favourite" in the future.

Jojo  

Huh?

Sarah  

I would love to talk about "The Favourite".

Jojo  

Oh, yes. Yes. Absolutely.

Sarah  

The costume design in that movie is so interesting. And like, the story behind it is so... anyway. So cool.

Jojo  

Side note! [laughs] Next movie. But I do love that in this particular version of "Emma," Bill Nye... he is basically the comic relief. Like, there's nothing at all serious about him. And I kind of just feel like the director was just like, "Just be yourself and just do whatever you want!" Like, that's kind of how I felt with this movie. Because half the time he's, like, jumping down the stairs, and he sort of just makes this very comical idea of, like... doing his Bill Nighy thing. Where he sort of just says something, and then it kind of just disarms you a little bit. And then he kind of just moves on, as if he didn't say it. [laughs]

Sarah  

God, I love him.

Jojo  

One of my favorite looks for him is this. It's like loungewear. And you can't-- there's a couple other pictures, I'll show in a second, where it shows the full length. Because this only shows you the top. But I love that the costume designer just made him blend into his background to become his wallpaper, or his chair.

Sarah  

Yeah!

Jojo  

And it really goes to show that he really is attached to this house, like he has become a part of this house, he will never leave this house. He was born and will die in this house. And he will become part of the house eventually, you know? So it's this idea that he's already starting to kind of blend in. And there's a couple moments where he kind of... he asks his servants to place fire separators... or like, they're room separators. But he has two different levels of room separators. So he's got the regular ones. And then he's got a kind of knee-height one. So there's a couple scenes where he's just like, surrounded by room separators. [both laugh] But he's created his own little room, and he's sitting in this chair and everything is sort of this over-patterned brocade. So he's just kind of blending into his own house. [laughs]

Sarah  

That's wonderful.

Jojo  

But the other thing that I wanted to say about this magical garment is that it's not just the vest that matches, but it looks almost like a long smoking jacket.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Obviously it kind of is double-breasted, kind of buttons over itself, but it actually reaches the floor. So then the moments where he basically comes into a room--there's a couple scenes where he either runs into the room very quickly, or he jumps down the stairs--he's in this look. So you kind of just see him sort of create a little Superman cape with it. [both laugh] 'Cuz it's just this long garment. It's so Bill Nighy, and I feel like it works really well for his character.

Sarah  

It's interesting because it's almost like it's a robe or a dressing gown. But I've never seen a robe or dressing gown with this style of collar. This very Regency menswear collar. So interesting.

Jojo  

Definitely not. Yeah, if anything, I feel like this might have been one of the looks that might have been more of a design... created look? As opposed to some of the other ones. Because I'm not sure how much historical accuracy was taken from this particular look.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

So some of the other things that I wanted to focus on--and most of these I'm going to go through pretty quickly--but this was that kind of jacket I was telling you about, where they really show the tailoring. And you can see, a couple of her coats... there's a few of them that have this same kind of tuck-pleating that's in the back in a radial fashion. I dunno... how do you describe that? It's like small pinched tucks in the back of the clothing that you can top stitch over?

Sarah  

They're like a little... a little pinch, and then you sew it.

Jojo  

Yeah.

Sarah  

Like a tiny little seam. If you need to know more just Google it. [both laugh]

Jojo  

But again, you also have the Instagram photos.

Sarah  

Yeah, you can see it.

Jojo  

That kind of gives you an idea of what I'm talking about. But she actually has this on two of her coats, on the yellow one that's in the cover photo for this movie, as well as this blue one. But she features that a lot, because a lot of the fullness that was happening from the 17th century--rather than being pushed out and kept full, like it was at the end of the 1700s--because we're going more column-like, all of that fullness was actually nicely pleated into the back. And so that's where all of that fullness ended up. So it kind of gave you almost a little train in the back.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So you see that with a lot of her pelisse coats.

Sarah  

That's also a way to add visual interest without putting a bunch of trim on something. It's just using the fabric and manipulating it.

Jojo  

Mmhmm.

Sarah  

It's a way to make it look designed, but it's not fussy or complicated. I mean, it was probably was complicated to put together. But it doesn't look complicated. You know what I mean?

Jojo  

Right. It looks simple.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

So another zoom in for one of her other Spencer jackets, this gray one, which I love. It's just... I think the sheer amount of detail on this is just beautiful. And even just the small pleated... epaulets?

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

They're not really quite epaulets. But it's like a sleeve puff that she's added on her sleeves. And she also has that same ruffling around her collar as well. So you can see it on her neck. Very, very delicate.

Sarah  

Like a cupcake liner, almost.

Jojo  

Yeah, exactly. So this is when she first meets Trank... Wow, can't talk. [both laugh] This is when she first meets Frank Churchill, or at least sees him. She hasn't officially met him yet. But I wanted to focus on just the detail of this coat, and just it showing the wealth and the prosperity that she comes from. As well as the-- again, the lace interior of her bonnet. Just... everything is so put together in this look.

Sarah  

Beautiful.

Jojo  

Then for this look, I wanted to show the comparison between Harriet and Emma. So Harriet, at this point has started to dress a little bit nicer. One of the things I was reading about on the same blog--that was kind of going through and sort of analyzing all of these historical accuracies--they talked a lot about how during this time, women actually would have worn a colored slip underneath.

Sarah  

Oh!

Jojo  

Because the white was actually the iconic dress of that time.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So rather than wearing a colored, you know, white frock, they would actually have the color underneath for the slip. And then the frock would always be white on top. So it would allow for that color to show through. And it would be a much more subtle version of that colored version... frock, I guess.

Sarah  

That's so interesting.

Jojo  

So I love that they kind of showed this comparison between the two of them. We're still keeping Emma in her pinks. And likewise, they both have their outerwear, their gloves, as well as their bonnets that they're wearing everywhere. Harriet is obviously much more simplified in the... like, just the level of over-the-top that she's wearing. Specifically in their bonnets, I wanted to focus on how much more accoutrements Emma has on her bonnet in comparison to Harriet. And also just the fact that where Harriet has placed this bow makes her look even younger than she already is, in comparison to Emma. Whereas Emma's kind of more gathered look is much more classical, and it looks a little bit more mature, which... we kind of see that relationship between the two of them. What else did I write on here? Nope. That's all I had to say about that one. [both laugh]

Sarah  

Great!

Jojo  

Okay. Moving on to the next one. One thing they did mention in that, which I guess I should have mentioned... they were talking about how, you know, it's possible that Harriet didn't necessarily get all those for herself. Maybe they were things that either she got as a hand-me-down from Emma, and then she figured out trims and things that Emma maybe would have suggested when they go shopping.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Which is very common, I think, in this time, because clothing was so much more precious. It wasn't just fast, quick fashion, like we have today. Where, you know, once it's done being used, you just toss it.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

Most of these dresses, you would either hand repair it yourself in order to fix it, or you change something up, add some new fabric, to try and make it more updated. As opposed to completely throwing out the whole dress and just saying, "Alright, well, time to buy a new dress."

Sarah  

Yup.

Jojo  

Because no one really has the money to do that.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

So I do love that that could have been like a little backstory for Harriet, where she got some of these dresses. Because some of her dresses do look like they could be older versions of what Emma wore earlier in the movie as well.

Sarah  

That makes sense. I mean, clothing being disposable is a very new idea. Right?

Jojo  

Yes, very much so. Okay, so then for this one I really just wanted to pull this scene because... again, it goes back to that whole candy striper... you know, like pastel that we were talking about. Each of these girls is, you know... these are the girls--are the students in the boarding house that Harriet is staying with. But I love that amongst all these girls, she's the one wearing the most atrocious looking outfit.

Sarah  

[laughs]

Jojo  

I mean, it's just so mismatched. Like, she's got this very multicolored cardigan sweater.

Sarah  

Yeah, thats...

Jojo  

This isn't the best image of it, because it was literally... like, I took a photo of the screen. So it's a little more kind of warmly washed out.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

But I love that you can see just how different she looks in comparison to even the girls around her. Which, you know, she's not that much lower class than maybe some of these girls are, but because she has no parentage, and because she doesn't know where she came from... the idea is that Harriet Smith's status is just so far below everyone else in that town. Because she has no way of knowing where she came from.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So yes, I just love that this is such a huge contrast to everyone around her. So that's why I pulled that image.

Sarah  

That's fun. It's very different looking.

Jojo  

Let's see. Okay, so the other thing that I wanted to focus on, too, was not just how this... you know, because this is probably one of the more muted palettes throughout this entire movie, in comparison to everything else. And this is when they're actually visiting Miss Bates's house, and they're first seeing... I just forgot her name. But... Jane! Jane Fairfax. [laughs]

Sarah  

I got SO confused. I had to have the Wikipedia up the whole time, because there's so many characters.

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

And this happened to me when I read the book, too. I listened to it as an audiobook and I was like, "...WHO?! I forgot who all these people are!" [both laugh]

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

There's a lot of characters in this story.

Jojo  

So Jane Fairfax, in this movie, is the one that basically ends up marrying Frank Churchill. And so there's this whole hidden marriage that they have. But Miss Bates, I believe, is Jane Fairfax's cousin, or aunt, or somehow related to her. And so Jane Fairfax basically comes to the house, and Miss Bates as the town gossip... and interestingly enough, in this movie, she is not quite as plain as the one in the 90s version. But the way that they've made her kind of dull and not quite so interesting, I guess, is to put her in these like really tiny... I want to say "prairie flowers." I don't know if you know what I'm talking about. It's a very prairie-look pattern.

Sarah  

Like a.... what's it called? Is it called a "ditzy" floral print? It's like when it's teeny tiny?

Jojo  

Oh, I don't know if that's the official term.

Sarah  

I'm gonna look it up. Google it.

Jojo  

Maybe someone out there can tell us as well. [both laugh]

Sarah  

Is that her on the left?

Jojo  

Yes.

Sarah  

Oh, okay.

Jojo  

So Miss Bates is the one that's to the very left. So Harriet Smith is in the middle, and she looks quite miserable here. Emma, interestingly enough, you know, this is the first time we really see her in this kind of plaid gingham. But I love that even here, she's kind of the most... the most nicely decorated, I guess, out of the three. Like, this jacket actually gets recycled quite a few times on Harriet, because it's probably the one coat that she owns. And then Miss Bates, a couple of her other scenes, she's always in something pretty dull and pretty muted or understated. Until Emma's wedding, where she's in a slightly more turquoise color. But most of her other looks are very similar to this, they all have that kind of really tiny floral print.

Sarah  

So I googled it, and "ditzy" refers to a very small scale print. And it's most commonly used for florals. So I don't know if that was a term at this time, but it is now.

Jojo  

Right. Okay, cool.

Sarah  

So now we know.

Jojo  

I'm learning new things too! [both laugh] So I do love that one of the things they feature on Miss Bates quite often, they do put her in this. And it's not quite a mob cap, but it definitely looks a little bit more like the mob cap that they had in the 90s movie as well.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

Which, again, you can see a lot of the same translations, in terms of costumes, are copied over from the 90s version of "Emma," but they kind of updated it, they changed a few things. And I think she also tried to honor the historical accuracy a little bit more. But one of the other things that I find really great on Miss Bates is that they always have her in this kind of... it almost looks like an Elizabethan collar.

Sarah  

I was gonna say that.

Jojo  

But she always has this kind of like crazy frou-frou thing around her neck.

Sarah  

It's like a ruff.

Jojo  

Yes. But it's like... it's not a uniform ruff like you would see in the Elizabethan era. It's very organic and kind of just flies all over the place every time she talks, which is very much like her personality.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

In this movie, she talks so so much and the whole idea is that she's constantly annoying Emma, and she's, you know, she's kind of... I don't want to even say she's the town gossip, because it's not like anything she says is malicious. She just likes to share information about herself.

Sarah  

She talks in the book way too much. I would space out. Like, it would be five minutes. A whole monologue.

Jojo  

[laughs]

Sarah  

I was like, "is this really in the book? I can't believe it."

Jojo  

I imagine that that's how these conversations must have felt, with whoever this real person was that Jane Austen was maybe inspired by.

Sarah  

[laughs]

Jojo  

But yeah, anyways, I just wanted to show this comparison of the three characters, because it really does go to show how much costume can, you know, identify character. And very quickly give us that first five second impression.

Sarah  

I mean, yeah.

Jojo  

Just from looking at this image.

Sarah  

She looks so different from the other two women.

Jojo  

Yeah, yeah. And in terms of class, you can already see the distinction between the three ladies as well. So I did want to point that out in this particular image. So I'm not going to spend a ton of time on this one, because I actually wasn't super hugely a fan of this dress. I didn't think it was ugly or anything, but I did... this is the dress that she basically goes to the first ball with. And it's... I believe it's Frank... no, not Frank Churchill's ball. It's another ball. There's so many balls in this movie.

Sarah  

[laughs] Like I said, they're constantly at a party.

Jojo  

Again, she doesn't wear this for very long. But I wanted to show this. So this is actually the museum version, I believe. And then they kind of essentially recreated it in the version that was used for the movie. So you can see very clear, like, she's definitely copied this dress. Almost exactly. But the other thing I wanted to mention here... nope, didn't write notes about this one. [both laugh] Sometimes that happens! But I think one of the things I wanted to say was that during this time, they mentioned that knitting was also created. Because the bobbinet machine... oh, I did write it down! So in 1809...

Sarah  

Oh!

Jojo  

This is the fun fact I wrote down, the mass production of line netting was available, because John Heathcoat created, or invented, the bobbinet machine.

Sarah  

Oooh.

Jojo  

So it allowed for this kind of colored net that was used on the top layer of a lot of these dresses for this time. So not only was he able to get it in color, because it was be able to be mass manufactured much more quickly. But he was also able to create netting much more quickly. So again, just the idea of just having the accuracy of the time period, having history really imbue itself in this costume design and in the process of research. So I did love that.

Sarah  

I love the museum one, it looks almost like it's glowing.

Jojo  

Yeah. Yeah

Sarah  

I love that effect. It's so pretty.

Jojo  

Yeah, and you don't quite get the same effect on her dress...

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

...but I can see where she kind of tried to get that same idea. And obviously, having the layer underneath, it could have just been the fabric that she chose for this particular image. This is also just an Instagram image. It wasn't actually from the movie.

Sarah  

Right.

Jojo  

So lighting doesn't always do us any favors, unfortunately.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

All right. The next one I wanted to focus on was her ball gown dress, and this was for Frank Churchill's ball. So she's got this beautiful... again, going back to that cream-colored, the iconic white dress. In this case, it's actually not a muslin, it looks like it's almost a chiffon or maybe... not really sure, maybe an organza on top?

Sarah  

Mmm.

Jojo  

It doesn't look like it kind of drapes as well, but I love that on this one, there's such a three dimensional effect with the leaves that she's got on here. And the flowers, the three dimensional flowers also continue on the hem of this dress.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So it kind of encircles the hem. But I love, love this image, not just because it also showcases the traditional tuxedo on the men, but also just the kind of ethereal quality of the white on her. And even though this isn't the climactic dress that she wears, for any reason, the fact that this is the ball that she's trying to dress up for Frank Churchill--because she still thinks he's in love with her and doesn't know about Jane Fairfax yet. But yeah, so, I just love this image. And it's just so beautiful. And again, hair, I think we're pretty accurate in this time period as well. Or, the hair designer.

Sarah  

Looks lovely.

Jojo  

And again, just those small ringlets in the front, and even just the ringlets in the back.

Sarah  

There's... it's such a tight little curl. Really pretty.

Jojo  

Yeah, and she definitely uses that a lot in this movie for all the characters. So then, again, this is not in order. This is kind of just by whatever is on my Google Drive. [both laugh] So I love this idea for Frank Churchill because, again, it's almost like this watermelon idea. We talked a lot about green and that pink.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

When they're combined, it does give us that watermelon effect. And so this is when she first gets introduced to Frank Churchill and they're finally talking. So she's back in her kind of pink Spencer jacket, and then he's in kind of a complimentary, almost sage-colored green, as opposed to a brighter green. But I love that he's got this little pink popping out and then his vest is actually pretty elaborately embroidered.

Sarah  

Mmm.

Jojo  

And I love that the colors have been combined in this way. Because it definitely... it's their way of showing him as the dandy, without being crazy over-the-top, because most of his other coats are just... I would say just as colorful as even, say, Mr. Knightley is. Because Mr. Knightley has some pretty rich colors on him.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

But I think they tried to kind of give him that dandy effect by adding other things, like embroidery and topical surface treatments and textures. So one of the last dresses... this is actually the one that basically she gets proposed to in, by Mr. Knightley. And I love that we've returned to this kind of green, and the embroidered delicate, very detailed idea on her dress. We still have that white. But now instead of having the color underneath and showing through like we did in some of the other scenes, we have this new embroidered idea on both her puff sleeves, as well as on the actual skirt itself. We're also bringing in some, I think, more contemporary color palettes because we've got this kind of ombre dyed belt, which probably was not common during that time.

Sarah  

It's beautiful, though. I love that little touch.

Jojo  

I do. And it's interesting because, you know, we talked about her being more mature and having a more classical silhouette. But this is actually one of the times where she actually has a bow, but it's kind of off the side. It's not right in the dead center, like we saw with Harriet. So, a couple other photos of the dress. So this is the last scene of her talking with Harriet. So yeah, it's interesting because, again, this is also the period--or the point in the story--where Emma has finally kind of realized that she's made all these, you know, kerfuffles, with all of the matchmaking that she has been trying to do. She's messed everything up. And she's finally realized that, you know, she was standing in the way of her friend this whole time. And so now she's trying to be sacrificially out of the way.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

While also trying to come to terms with her own love for the same person.

Sarah  

Yep.

Jojo  

So again, that whole delicacy of the green and the flowers in particular, that motif--even though it does kind of hit a little bit more... the nail on the head--but this idea of growth, that she's trying to become this new person, that she's trying to understand from a different perspective and not just look at her own selfishness.

Sarah  

Also green versus pink. It's like green is more earthier, it's more natural, so going away from girly, frilly into more natural--of nature--colors. I mean, pink occurs in nature, obviously. But you know what I mean.

Jojo  

Right.

Sarah  

Like, it's almost like she's more grounded.

Jojo  

Yes, yes. Literally. [both laugh]

Sarah  

Literally. Like a tree.

Jojo  

Okay, and then, of course...

Sarah  

Oh my gosh.

Jojo  

...some of the final images, I just wanted to focus on her wedding dress. But yes, her governess at the beginning, Miss Taylor, we see her wedding in the beginning. And it's much more like... she's dressed much more down to earth. It's a very country wedding. Like, you can just see the level of sophistication that Emma has in this image, as opposed to Miss Taylor. And then I love that they've put Johnny Flynn in this beautiful rich blue.

Sarah  

Gorgeous.

Jojo  

It's like a blue velvet, for his tail coat, which actually he does wear quite a lot of that color--his vest underneath that caramel, buttery-yellow coat that he had on earlier is also in this kind of same color palette. So I love that the costume designer has put him in these really yummy colors that really contrast, and kind of compliment, his hair as well.

Sarah  

Mmhmm.

Jojo  

So I think she did a great job with that, so... good on you. [laughs]

Sarah  

He also has beautiful blue eyes. So I think that...

Jojo  

Yes.

Sarah  

...putting him in a blue that kind of echoes his eyes, that's very nice.

Jojo  

Yeah, absolutely. So just really briefly, I just wanted to touch base on who becomes Mrs. Elton. And so in this case, obviously they've still made fun of Mrs. Elton. She's this, you know... like we mentioned, very she's recently come into all this money... with this crazy hair. Like, they've literally created a bow and slicked it back in her hair.

Sarah  

It looks like... like a "hair show" hairstyle. You know?

Jojo  

Yeah, absolutely.

Sarah  

You've seen hair shows, right? Yeah, it looks like that.

Jojo  

Yeah, like I almost thought this was an actual fake bow that they put on top of her hair. And then I realized it was literally like they had slicked and like...

Sarah  

Shellacked.

Jojo  

...it almost looks like they glued hair? Around the shape? And then just left it there.

Sarah  

[laughs] Yeah. Wow.

Jojo  

So yes, they've obviously used a little bit of the curls on the side to indicate the time period, but like, the bow up there is just... it's just so out there.

Sarah  

It's so wacky-looking. [laughs] I love it.

Jojo  

And the fact that she, again, has these crazy eyes. And it kind of just looks like she's this weird goldfish with all these orange colors she's got underneath. [both laugh] So yes, I just wanted to focus on her because, you know... Mr. Elton, in this case, is already hilarious enough, but then he's got this even crazier, kookier wife now that has to rein him in. But yes, casting wise, I think this movie did phenomenal. Costume wise, it's so beautiful to look at. So if you haven't seen this movie, I highly recommend it. And it's also pretty historically accurate. So yes, that's my take on the 2020 "Emma"! Woohoo!

Sarah  

Yay! Great job. I'm excited to watch. I've been like meaning... like I said, I'm a procrastinator, and I never get around to watching movies. I've wanted to see it since it came out.

Jojo  

Oh, you and me both. [laughs]

Sarah  

Yeah, so I should watch it this week.

Jojo  

This is why we're friends, Sarah. [both laugh]

Sarah  

I just like... probably a lot of people can relate to this. But I'll be like, "I don't have te mental capacity for a movie right now." So I'll instead watch, like, six hours of TV. And it's like, how is that different? It's not. [both laugh]

Jojo  

I feel like I'm the same way. It's like I have to be in the right mood for a specific movie. [laughs] It's harder when it's a show, where it's like, "I have to find out what happens next!"

Sarah  

Yeah, that's true. Yeah, shows just... they keep you hooked.

Jojo  

Yep, yep.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

All right. So that's our episode for "Emma." Hopefully, you enjoyed the side by side comparison.

Sarah  

Yeah!

Jojo  

And if you have seen both movies, you can let us know whether you feel like we were accurate or not accurate, or just tell us more about some of the things we had questions about.

Sarah  

Yeah.

Jojo  

All right. Well, that's all we have for today's episode. I'm Jojo.

Sarah  

I'm Sarah. Thank you so much for listening.

Jojo  

Yep. Bye!

Sarah  

Catch you the next one. Bye!

[OUTRO]

Jojo

Thank you for listening to The Costume Plot! You can follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @thecostumeplot. If you have a question, comment, or movie suggestion you can email us at thecostumeplot@gmail.com.

Sarah

Our theme music is by Jesse Timm, and our artwork is by Jojo Siu. Please rate and review us wherever you listen to your podcasts.

[fastfoxbody]

11 Ways To Completely Revamp Your Concrete Countertop Acid Stained

Should you have grease or oil to the floor, you must use a degreaser or stain prep for concrete floors. For the reason that concrete is old and you might not know needless to say if any kind of oils, grease and slender petroleum merchandise have ever been spilled on the concrete, we advise degreasing the concrete Irrespective. We suggest using our Concrete Stain Prep as it's not merely a degreaser but additionally a pure solvent that helps to deep clean up and lift oily petroleum contaminants up and out from the concrete pores.

I have darkish brown countertops, a colour that was realized making use of an acid stain. The counters are regualarly sealed which has a topical sealant. Soon after renting the house to an Airbnb visitor, and despite the instructions we leave for right care from the area, There's now a considerable white stain within the countertop which happens to be grainy and corroded hunting.

five. Spray the stain around the concrete utilizing a pump sprayer for a wider, smoother broadcast of the fabric. Start inside of a corner and work in two-foot sections. Layering and drying times are available while in the maker’s instructions on your unique kind and manufacturer of stain.

Thanks Ariel! That’s me carrying the jorts. I suppose I have boyish fantastic seems. And I also connect with them jorts. As well as accusing mentioned spouse of stealing my function jorts recently. Haha. My kids blame him for everything, so I was just pursuing match, so they might see how dumb it can be in charge dad.

It can be best to stay clear of acrylics. Numerous outlets will recommend using an acrylic stain to operate with older concrete. But, all acrylics "stains" are, is disguised paint. With time, they will peel up and seem awful and finish up costing you additional effort and hard work and cash Ultimately.

We crammed the plastic sprayer with a mixture of fifty percent neutra-clean up and water. Then we sprayed the floor with it, and afterwards sprayed it with water. We made use of a force broom and scrubbed the floor clean up.

Allow or inspection charges (or portion thereof) essential by your local developing Section in your All round venture.

We propose making use of water based sealer instead of solvent based. Pour the concrete sealer right into a paint pan and utilize using a ¼'' to ⅜'' nap roller. You would like to use water base sealer in as slim and in some cases of  coats as you'll be able to. Utilize a single coat Functioning north to south, make it possible for it to dry completely distinct, and afterwards use a next coat east to west.

To stain concrete, it have to be unpainted and unstained. Concrete is porous and as soon as It truly is stained it's fundamentally been sealed.

At Concrete Camouflage, We have now a "cracks increase character" way of thinking. It is actually completely typical to obtain cracks in concrete because of shrinkage as concrete sets. Stained cracks in concrete also are lots fewer Unattractive then cracks in tile or laminate. Patching tiny cracks is just not important, but cracks large adequate to suit a coin need some awareness. Good sealing procedures will stop moisture from seeping through in hairline cracks, but employing a cementitious item to fill in further cracks is going to be vital. It is also crucial that you Notice that patched regions will never stain exactly the same colour as the rest of the concrete, nonetheless this can be simply camouflaged or simply insert to the general glimpse on the basement floor.

The tape acts as your grout line, you lay the tape after cleansing your floors. You stain the floors to your required shade, seal the floors and when those steps are comprehensive you clear away the tape from your floors leaving you a good gray grout line. You should purchase the quilters tape at Hancock fabrics and make sure you use the white, the neon colors didn’t stick incredibly nicely.

* I have not expert the floors staying really chilly like I predicted, they're not nearly as cold as my tile floors. Right now my living room is the only real room with stained concrete but we prepare to continue it through the whole downstairs.

Coloring the driveway with concrete stain is the way to go. These stains are both acid washes or water based. Both of those operate by reacting with the chemical compounds in the concrete.

It is possible to generate any layout conceivable with stains. You can also combine and match distinct colors of acid stains or use acid stains together with water-based stains for wider shade types.

[recentanimenews]

Sega Ages Brings the Arcade Glory Days to Your Switch

  Growing up in Puerto Rico, arcades were pretty scarce, with only a few real options available to me when I was a kid. Sadly, none of them ever really carried the great Sega arcade games like Out Run, Space Harrier, Super Hang-On, and the like. In fact, before I moved from Puerto Rico to the United States, the only Sega game I got to experience in arcades was Virtua Fighter! I’ve always loved arcades, and was even more heartbroken to realize that the heyday of arcades was long past by the time I was able to go out on my own as an adult.

While there are certainly many great places today to find arcades, from retro-revival places to big arcades like Round1 and Dave and Busters, it’s still hard to find a place to play those great games from years ago and experience them in their former glory. Well, for Sega fans at least, the SEGA AGES line is here to try and save the day; while these games don’t come with their own unique arcade cabinets or that sultry allure of arcade atmosphere, they are quite affordable and portable. We were graciously given copies of both Space Harrier and Puyo Puyo for the Switch to review by the fine folks at Sega, so let’s get down to whether or not these titles are worth your combined quarters or not!

One of the first things that needs to be addressed when it comes to reviewing revamped or re-released arcade game ports, however, is the fact that arcade games were generally made with one goal in mind: separating you from your quarters. To this end, arcade games were generally pretty difficult, and sometimes cheap and unfair as the difficulty would ramp up or spike in order to keep you inserting your (or your parents!) hard earned coins in the hopes of getting just a bit further, or just a bit closer to getting your three initials into the hi-score rankings!

In a lot of cases, this means that when revisiting arcade games without the limit of time and money in play, a lot of earlier games tend to fall noticeably flatter; when they aren’t entirely centered around score and money, some games reveal themselves to have little else to offer but nostalgia. It may even be fair to say that much of the attitude around gaming being a skill based hobby, in which one’s supposed level in a hobby based around amusement is how “good” you are at games, probably originates from simply justifying how much money many players threw into arcade machines over the years. So how do the SEGA AGES versions of Space Harrier and Puyo Puyo deal with this legacy? Well… it’s complicated. 

On the surface, both of these games are pretty barebones, with Puyo Puyo have the added benefit of online multiplayer to give it quite a bit of extra life and longevity to play. In a previous review of another Puyo Puyo game, I mentioned how the recent energy surrounding the online and competitive Puyo Puyo scenes have really helped breathe life into the series again between Puyo Puyo Champions and Puyo Puyo Tetris. In the SEGA AGES version of the original game, the online mode again gives you the ability to try your luck against online opponents, and you can also play the game locally against your friends and foes offline. The Switch is great for this, since the ease of multiplayer anywhere allows you to throw down in some Puyo battles pretty easily. As a single player experience, you’ll find yourself fighting increasingly difficult stages of the original arcade version of the game, and to be honest the CPU doesn’t mess around! I was actually caught off guard at first by how difficult the CPU was at times before reminding myself that getting you to use more continues was part of the arcade game lifecycle.

For the unfamiliar, the Puyo Puyo series is a VS. Puzzle game in which you make attacks against your opponent by clearing various colored puyos from your side of the screen; however, unlike a game such as Tetris where the goal is to simply clear the board, the Puyo Puyo series has always relied on building chain combos to do the most damage. This unique take on puzzle combat means that your decisions need to be long term, rather than simply worrying about clearing the board, and a single wrong move can cost you dearly. You have the ability to choose between a simplified or original version of the game that changes how many colors of puyos you’ll need to deal with, meaning if you’re totally new to the game (or, apparently, rusty like I was!) you can ease yourself into the game by switching between how many color combinations you’ll need to keep track of.   

That said, there really isn’t a whole lot to do in Puyo Puyo other than that. You can play online, you can play your friends, and you can play against the CPU in the absolutely bonkers single player mode (if anything, buying this game just to see the very weird dialogue is maybe worth the price of admission alone), but right now the market for Puyo Puyo series titles is actually quite crowded. If you’re looking to scratch that retro-puzzle itch, then this version will likely give you some good entertainment, but sadly a lot of the value of this game will rest on whether or not you will find online opponents (always a crapshoot to predict), or have local opponents to play against… and that you also don’t want to just play either of the other 2 more modern versions of Puyo Puyo.

For those who like to recreate that sense of nostalgia or emulate the games you only played a few times in arcades and movie theater lobbies, however, this is a fairly strict arcade to console port with little loss of sound quality, with the charming digitized voices and soundtrack intact, and the graphics, while not outstanding, look as bright and colorful as they likely ever have. The controls on the Switch are also spot-on, and there are a few gameplay tweaks made to the game for some slight quality of life improvements, such as the ability to spin Puyos counterclockwise, and the ability to quickly spin Puyos right before placing them for some Tetris T-spin-esque antics. For my money, I’d guess these changes were made to fall more in line with how modern Puyo players likely understand the game, and I did appreciate them while I played the game, as I would probably have found myself utterly confused by why I couldn’t do what I’m used to!

Of the two, Space Harrier may be the less familiar title to many players, and some of you probably played this game in other Sega game collections or games like Shenmue or Yakuza 0 than in the arcades themselves; that’s how I ended up encountering it first before finding an original cabinet during an arcade trip! Taking place in the “Fantasy Zone”, Space Harrier is a behind the back shooting game that takes place on an auto-scrolling plane, giving off a pseudo-3D vibe. Perhaps one of the main reasons Space Harrier has always been so fondly remembered is due to the unique visuals and fun, fast shooter action, and the SEGA AGES version really helps make that visual appeal shine.

While Puyo Puyo doesn’t really have a lot of moving parts, so to speak, Space Harrier really shows off some of the amazing emulation qualities that the SEGA AGES renditions have taken advantage of, with the game running in an amazingly smooth 60fps just like its original arcade incarnation. The game looks absolutely fantastic and feels like you’ve been transported right back in front of that gorgeous cab, although you’ll have to recreate the leaning chair sensation yourself (don’t do this, please play responsibly!). Compared to versions I’ve played emulated in other games like Yakuza 0, I’m actually shocked by how much smoother this version of Space Harrier looks and plays compared to those; by far this is one of the games that has really been served best by the framerate being able to match its original arcade incarnation. 

Like Puyo Puyo, however, there really isn’t much here other than just playing Space Harrier. The game never featured a multiplayer mode, and there’s no real online component other than score uploads. That said, you do get two ways to play in this version: regular, which gives you a limited 3-continue run to defeat the challenging 18 stages of the game, and the new KOMAINU Barrier Attack mode, which not only gives you unlimited continues, but also provides you with 2 komainu buddies (komainu are lion-dogs that appear in pairs near shrines and other Japanese locations as guardians) that protect you from one of the most common Space Harrier deaths: collisions with objects. One of the downsides of the auto-scrolling action madness in the game is the fact that sometimes you’re so busy dodging bullets and trying to plan your shots that you forgot all about that tree, and… Game Over. Here, your Komainu friends will protect you from collision deaths, only going offline if they are shot, and shortly recharging the barrier after a small amount of time has passed.

  There are also some small text blurbs that add a bit of flavor and character to the overall game, which I found to be kind of charming and cute (they are also really supportive of you, which is nice after you die three times in a row…) but not really a huge addition in any way. The biggest addition to Space Harrier is a rapid fire button, which helps make the need to predict and aim after troublesome enemies less of a hassle, and is available in both versions of the game available to play, making the regular mode just a bit smoother in terms of playing through it on 3 continues by alleviating some of the difficulty against particularly annoying enemies and patterns.

    Overall, I really enjoyed my time with both SEGA AGES titles, but I will admit that they are exactly what they say on the box and little else. If you’ve always been curious to try these games, or are simply a fan of older arcade games, then the $7.99 US price-tag per game is a pretty easy selling point, and you’ll certainly get your money’s worth even if you only play through the games a few times. Of the two titles, Space Harrier really impressed me with how gorgeous it looks in motion on the Switch, and the KOMAINU mode really does make the game more approachable and inviting. Puyo Puyo is no slouch, though, and while it doesn’t have the graphic pizzaz to take advantage of the framerate and smooth quality, the online and offline multiplayer give you and some friends the ability to duke it out in some retro puzzle glory. Either way, if you’re itching to get some arcade action in while on the go, in your bed, or anywhere you might play your Switch, then the SEGA AGES line seems like the perfect way to scratch that itch and get some solid play time in!  

REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Arcade perfect ports, especially in the case of Space Harrier.  

+ Controls on the Switch are great, and in some cases improved from their original arcade incarnations.

+ KOMAINU mode in Space Harrier makes the game less frustrating to beat.  

+ Puyo Puyo’s online mode gives some extra life to the game.

+/- Games have little to offer other than their stated modes; don’t expect more than that.  

- Puyo Puyo suffers from having 2 newer and more robust versions available, making this an odd choice. 

  Do you have any fond arcade memories? What’s your favorite Sega game? Let us know what you think of the game in the comments! 

  ----

Nicole is a features writer and editor for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[help-who-am-i]

Survey Steal

Do you have any friends who are on and off with bfs / gfs all the time? Yes! I can’t keep up. Nothing against it at all, I don’t think anyone should be shamed for it, but I just hope she doesn’t expect me to show much of an interest in her love life. She knows I’ve never been very interested in love since forever, anyways. It’s cool

When was the last time you almost cried out of exhaustion? I don’t tend to cry out of exhaustion, I cry when I feel angry or sad and have no other way of expressing it

What`s a TV show you hate missing? Heartland

Do you think it`s funny how people always say their pet is the best ever? Nah, we all say it and we should all mean it because every animal is the best ever tbh. Animals rock

When did you last brush your teeth? Yesterday morning

What was the last website [besides this one] that you visited? YouTube. I was watching a WIRED interview with Daniel Radcliffe

Do you have a friend who you think you`ll be best friends with forever? Sadly not. I did once, and I miss the ghost of who she used to be so much. Pretty sure we were soulmates

Does it annoy you when you accidentally delete things? It freaks me out more than anything, but I’m pretty crafty when desperate and know that computer engineers are super smart so they wouldn’t just let things get completely and utterly deleted, right? Is it even possible, really? I mean, I managed to retrieve photos and videos I accidentally deleted from a camera... that’s something which I didn’t think was possible

What`s a movie / book / TV show / band / whatever you highly recommend? Movie: The Intouchables (French movie). Book: Gideon the Cutpurse. TV show: The Blacklist. Band: Years & Years. Webtoon: Room of Swords.

When did you last use a dictionary / thesaurus? I used google to find the clinical term for ear wax just yesterday, if that counts?FYI: it’s cerumen.

Are you anticipating or dreading anything? Yes, I’m stuck in a rut at the moment. I’m living at home with my parents and have no proper full-time job. Your typical university graduate. I’m anticipating a response regarding a recent interview

If someone could randomly give you something right now, what would you like? Full coverage of tuition fees for vet school? 

What`s the most annoying thing in the world? Having to rely on unreliable people

When did you last use one of those water slides you put on hills? Never

What are you sitting on right now? Sofa

What skills would you like to learn / develop? Veterinary, web development, athletic, writing, art, scuba diving, aquatic, wildlife and bird husbandry, car mechanics, piano, guitar, video editing, music production

What is something other people say you`re good at but you think you`re not? Communicating with people

What does your bedside lamp look like? Brushed chrome touch lamp with light pink shade - T&W. Can you tell I work as an inventory typist? 

What did you last take a photograph of? A sketch I drew of what was supposed to be Olly from Years & Years but then somehow mostly became Sam Smith? I don’t even know how that happened, I guess my imagination took over

When was the last time you got really frustrated with technology? Yesterday when the report didn’t upload correctly yet again and I needed to correct misspellings the web base had created

What was the last funny thing someone said to you? Well, mum was laughing at some pictures on the internet (probably from Facebook) - the last one she laughed at was of “santa fucking a reindeer”. I didn’t even want to ask... but to put it into better context, I think they were doodles from children and what was probably meant to be an innocent picture drawn by a child was probably easily misinterpreted by our adult dirty minds

Who taught you to tie your shoelaces? Mum and nan

What was the last thing you bought? Flights to the Philippines!

Do you want to move to somewhere else? If so, where? Yes and no? Not for a long while, but I would really like to experience living somewhere else at least once in my life. Preferably Canada or Australia

What time is it where you are? 01:42 What`s your favourite picture of yourself as a child? The one where I’m unintentionally sticking my middle finger up

Do you like your neighbours? Sure, they’re nice

Does your room need cleaning? God yes, I lost an earring under the bed a few days ago and was horrified to see just how much dust has gathered under there. Literally a carpet’s worth. DIGUSTANG

Do you have a good relationship with your family? I’m very grateful and lucky to say that yes, I do have an incredibly good relationship with my (immediate) family. I’m a bit of a black sheep in our wider family though, was awkward and avoidant as an older child and teenager. Still trying to redeem myself to family members I want to have good relations with

What is something people are surprised to hear about you? I don’t know

Do you make judgments about people straight after meeting them? The harsh truth is yes, unfortunately. First impressions are important. Not see all end all, but definitely influence whether or not I particularly want to interact or engage with that person again

What time counts as a lie-in for you? Haha... ha... I don’t even have a stable sleeping pattern

Do you hate any particular groups of people? Abusers - people who treat other beings like dirt, they disgust me. I feel sorry for them because clearly something’s gone wrong in their upbringing or genetic constitution, but I also hate them for doing such horrific things to those who by no means deserve it 

Do you fall up or down stairs usually? Up - much prefer falling up stairs. Falling down gives a proper mini heart attack

Do you constantly break things? [By mistake or otherwise] No

What was the last bug you saw? Ahh, I love insects! Bugs are pretty cool, but I especially love beetles (Coleoptera). Probably a stink bug?

Are there any smells which make you feel nauseous? Bile, blood, dead flesh

What is the scariest thing you`ve ever gone through? Oh god, I daren’t answer this because I consider too many things scary

Do you have anything unusual in your bag? Surgical mask and cap

Can you never think of anything to put for survey tags? No, I can

Are there any people you know in real life that you only talk to online? Yes :( I miss her like crazy, but I also hold a grudge

Do you think people who don`t care about education are dumb? Not dumb, but perhaps don’t understand how valuable and influential it is for change. We would not be anywhere near where we are as a species (the good and the bad) if we had not invested so much in education. We owe a lot to the originals, the inventors, those who were brave enough to stand out as the first to discover and teach

What`s your favourite key on a keyboard? @

Do you always finish what you start? No, I’m so terrible at finishing stories. I’m also a sloppy artist, I tend to like the unfinished looks so I usually focus on the face and hair but leave anything from the neck down in an unfinished/ lineart and shaded state. I rarely bother to add colour

Who`s your favourite character from The Simpsons? Or do you hate that show? Marge

Have you ever had any friends who always tried to steal your things? No

When was the last time you had a complete live revamp? Say what? As opposed to... a dead revamp? What’s that? Sorry, I’m a bit behind with the times

What is something you will never understand? ^ That. Lmao

When did you last laugh hysterically? About 20 mins ago when my dog got up off the sofa to walk behind it but got his Elizabethan collar stuck between the blinds and just created chaos while trying to turn around at 1am... way to keep quiet for those trying to sleep upstairs, doggo. Gotta love him

[tainghekhongdaycomvn]

The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts

The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts

Posted by FeliciaCrawford

Now, I know we technically have a few days left in 2017, but I'm ready to dive head-first into a fond, full-blown retrospective. Each year we look back on what we've published, compiling and sharing the pieces you liked best. Normally we divvy it up via various metrics: traffic, 1Metric score, total thumbs up, total comments, the best of YouMoz, and so on and so forth. This year, however, we're doing things just a little differently.

A lot has changed in the past year...

The way we run the blog has changed in a few significant ways from the days of yesteryear. YouMoz, our user-generated content blog, was retired in the autumn of 2016 (though we hope to resurrect it in another form someday). We reduced our publishing frequency a bit, and refocused our content on core SEO topics after spending 2015 and 2016 branching out into other marketing subjects (like social media and content marketing). We also made some big changes with regards to commenting: we closed comments on posts older than 30 days (they became veritable spam factories), and implemented stricter moderation filters to better catch spammy comments fishing for either a link or easy MozPoints.

And if I'm being completely honest, I don't think the "Best of" posts from years past have offered you, our beloved readers, as much value as they should've. The most excited comments on those posts occur when someone discovers a gem they'd missed, when a post reaches out to you from the masses of online content clamoring for your attention and speaks to you. The way we formerly ranked "the best" resulted in a lot of overlap; the same few posts with lots of thumbs up, a busy comments section, and high traffic overwhelmed the leaderboard.

What criteria now determines "best"?

At the end of 2017, we're starting fresh. First, I've taken our ten most popular blog post categories by traffic — these represent the topics readers are actively seeking information on. Next, I thought about which metric matters most to me when I consider the success of a blog post. Traffic, thumbs, social shares... Nice to see, yes, but they don't paint a very clear picture of a post's impact. I found myself returning to my favorite blog post metric again and again: the comments.

A post with a lively comments section can be many things. Perhaps it sparked questions or debate; perhaps the findings were controversial; perhaps it was simply inspiring. Whatever the reason, a heavily commented-on post represents something that struck a chord, that convinced a person to peek out from behind their keyboard shield and contribute a thought, something that coaxed a little extra effort and commitment from our community. As a silent lurker myself, I am consistently blown away by the humility, genius, and generosity you all display in the blog comments section every day.

So there we have it: this year's Best of the Moz Blog 2017 is a list of the top five most-commented posts in the top ten blog categories. That's fifty unique blog posts throughout the year on a variety of topics, some of which you may have missed. Most blog posts fall into several of our categories, but every post will only be listed once; if it's hit the top five in a more popular category, I've taken it out of the running for the rest. It's my sincere hope that this list uncovers something useful for you, something that helps make your job and day just a little easier.

Without further ado, let's get this party started!

(If you're curious, check out the Best of 2016 and the Best of 2015, too.)

The top 5 Whiteboard Fridays

Whiteboard Friday is far and away our most popular blog category, earning three times as much traffic as the rest. Because it always overlaps with at least one other category, you're bound to get a tidy grab bag of SEO takeaways with this list!

10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings

Rand Fishkin, September 22nd

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 180

What do the age of your site, your headline H1/H2 preference, bounce rate, and shared hosting all have in common? You might've gotten a hint from the title: not a single one of them directly affects your Google rankings. In this rather comforting Whiteboard Friday, Rand lists out ten factors commonly thought to influence your rankings that Google simply doesn't care about.

What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO?

Rand Fishkin, December 8th

Thumbs: 100 Comments: 136

Featured snippets and meta descriptions have brand-new character limits, and it's a huge change for Google and SEOs alike. Learn about what's new, when it changed, and what it all means for SEO in this episode of Whiteboard Friday. (And this is cheating, but for good measure, you might follow up with Dr. Pete's official recommendation for meta description lengths in 2018.)

What Links Can You Get that Comply with Google's Guidelines?

Marie Haynes, January 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 112

If you've ever been the victim of a Google penalty, you know how painful it can be to identify the problem and recover from the hit. Even if you've been penalty-free thus far, the threat of getting penalized is a source of worry. But how can you avoid it, when it seems like unnatural links lurk around every corner?

In this Whiteboard Friday, we warmly welcome Google penalty and unnatural link expert Marie Haynes as she shares how to earn links that do comply with Google's guidelines, that will keep your site out of trouble, and that can make a real impact.

7 ‹Title Tag› Hacks for Increased Rankings + Traffic - Whiteboard Friday

Cyrus Shepard, May 5th

Thumbs: 185 Comments: 103

You may find yourself wondering whether the humble title tag still matters in modern SEO. When it comes to your click-through rate, the answer is a resounding yes! In this Whiteboard Friday, we welcome back our good friend Cyrus Shepard to talk about 7 ways you can revamp your title tags to increase your site traffic and rankings.

Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation

Rand Fishkin, January 13th

Thumbs: 53 Comments: 97

It's been a few years since we've covered the topic of comment marketing, but that doesn't mean it's out of date. There are clever, intentional ways to market yourself and your brand in the comments sections of sites, and there's less competition now than ever before. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand details what you can do to get noticed in the comments and the benefits you'll reap from high-quality contributions.

The top 5 posts in On-Page SEO

The results of our recent Moz Blog Reader Survey highlighted on-page SEO as the topic you'd most like to learn about, so it's not surprising to see that this category sits right under Whiteboard Friday for popularity. There's an interesting theme that emerges from these top posts: it seems we're still working on many of the same things, but how we treat them has necessarily changed over time.

How Links in Headers, Footers, Content, and Navigation Can Impact SEO - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, October 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 92

Which link is more valuable: the one in your nav, or the one in the content of your page? Now, how about if one of those in-content links is an image, and one is text? Not all links are created equal, and getting familiar with the details will help you build a stronger linking structure. This Whiteboard Friday covers links in headers and footers, in navigation versus content, and how that can affect internal and external links, link equity, and link value between your site and others.

It's Time to Stop Doing On-Page SEO Like It's 2012

Rand Fishkin, February 6th

Thumbs: 84 Comments: 91

On-page SEO has evolved in the past five years. Rand outlines the changes in five succinct tactics: move beyond keyword repetition rules; searcher intent matters more than raw keywords; related topics are essential; links don't always beat on-page; and topical authority is more important than ever.

The Wonderful World of SEO Meta Tags [Refreshed for 2017]

Kate Morris, April 13th

Thumbs: 46 Comments: 67

Which meta tags are absolutely necessary, which are dependent on your situation, and which should you absolutely ignore or remove? Kate Morris refreshes her original 2010 post on the subject of meta tags, sharing a few new tips and reiterating what's remained the same over the past 7 years.

Designing a Page's Content Flow to Maximize SEO Opportunity - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, December 1st

Thumbs: 54 Comments: 48

Controlling and improving the flow of your on-site content can actually help your SEO. What's the best way to capitalize on the opportunity present in your page design? Rand covers the questions you need to ask (and answer) and the goals you should strive for in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Do a Content Audit [Updated for 2017]

Everett Sizemore, March 22nd

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 31

Learn how to do content audits for SEO in this comprehensive, updated guide by Everett Sizemore, including tips for crawling large websites, rendering JavaScript content, and auditing dynamic mobile content.

The top 5 posts in Local SEO

Local SEO overlaps with what we think of as traditional SEO in many ways, so it's not surprising at all to see this category near the top. There's still a lot of doubt and apprehension, it seems, when it comes to local SEO best practices and what really works, and the top posts in this category reflect that.

Local SEO Spam Tactics Are Working: How You Can Fight Back

Casey Meraz, March 28th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 75

It's very clear that spam tactics in Google's local results are earning higher rankings. In this post, Casey Meraz identifies exactly what spammers are doing to get ahead, what they can get away with, and what you can do to fight back against the problem plaguing local results.

Not-Actually-the-Best Local SEO Practices

Miriam Ellis, December 11th

Thumbs: 47 Comments: 72

Not all common practices in local SEO are the best practices. In fact, some of them can be pretty darn harmful. Check out Miriam's list of what-not-to-dos (and what-you-should-actually-dos) in this comprehensive blog post.

The 2017 Local SEO Forecast: 10 Predictions According to Mozzers

Miriam Ellis, February 14th

Thumbs: 35 Comments: 67

From Google providing intimate details about businesses to Amazon expanding even further into the local scene, local SEO stood to see a lot of change this year. Check out what the SEOs at Moz had to say about what to prepare for in 2017.

Proximity to Searcher is the New #1 Local Search Ranking Factor

Darren Shaw, February 22nd

Thumbs: 58 Comments: 65

Forget everything you thought you knew about the most impactful local ranking factors — searcher proximity just may be the number-one thing influencing where a local business shows on the SERPs.

How to Perform a Basic Local Business Competitive Audit

Miriam Ellis, August 22nd

Thumbs: 32 Comments: 65

Are you outranked in Google's Local Pack? Then it's high time to perform a competitive business audit. Use this example analysis and downloadable spreadsheet to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of multiple businesses and devise a plan to win.

The top 5 posts in Basic SEO

Basic SEO is another category that enjoys a lot of overlap with other topics; perhaps that's one reason why it's so popular. This year's top posts in this category cover a range of subjects, and all are pretty useful for someone learning (or leveling up in) SEO.

Aren't 301s, 302s, and Canonicals All Basically the Same? - Whiteboard Friday

Dr. Pete, March 3rd

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 69

They say history repeats itself. In the case of the great 301 vs 302 vs rel=canonical debate, it repeats itself about every three months. In this Whiteboard Friday, Dr. Pete explains how bots and humans experience pages differently depending on which solution you use, why it matters, and how each choice may be treated by Google.

How to Prioritize SEO Tasks [+Worksheet]

Britney Muller, September 21st

Thumbs: 41 Comments: 64

An absolute essential if you want to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed, Moz's own SEO Britney Muller offers five tips for prioritizing your SEO work: setting specific goals, identifying important pages for conversions, uncovering technical opportunities via a site crawl, time management, and providing consistent benchmarks and reporting.

5 Tactics to Earn Links Without Having to Directly Ask - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, July 28th

Thumbs: 71 Comments: 63

Typical link outreach is a tired sport, and we've all but alienated most content creators with our constant link requests. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand outlines five smart ways to earn links to your site without having to beg.

"SEO Is Always Changing"... Or Is It?: Debunking the Myth and Getting Back to Basics

Bridget Randolph, July 19th

Thumbs: 56 Comments: 60

We're so fond of the idea that SEO is hard because it's always changing. But is that really true? Bridget Randolph challenges a common industry refrain and brings us back to the basics of what's really important in our work.

How to Target Multiple Keywords with One Page - Next Level

Brian Childs, June 15th

Thumbs: 45 Comments: 56

In this edition of our educational Next Level series, you'll learn an easy workflow for researching and targeting multiple keywords with a single page.

The top five posts in Link Building

A thousand years from now, when the Space Needle has toppled into Puget Sound and our great-great-great-great-etc. grandchildren are living on Mars, link building will still prove to be one of the most popular subjects on the Moz Blog. And you get a double-whammy of goodness this year, because they just so happen to all be Whiteboard Fridays!

Should SEOs Care About Internal Links? - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, May 26th

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 87

Internal links are one of those essential SEO items you have to get right to avoid getting them really wrong. Rand shares 18 tips to help inform your strategy, going into detail about their attributes, internal vs. external links, ideal link structures, and much, much more in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Prioritize Your Link Building Efforts & Opportunities - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, February 17th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 81

We all know how effective link building efforts can be, but it can be an intimidating, frustrating process — and sometimes even a chore. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand builds out a framework you can start using today to streamline and simplify the link building process for you, your teammates, and yes, even your interns.

The 3 Easiest Link Building Tactics Any Website Can Use to Acquire Their First 50 Links - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, September 8th

Thumbs: 81 Comments: 77

Without a solid base of links, your site won't be competitive in the SERPs — even if you do everything else right. But building your first few links can be difficult and discouraging, especially for new websites. Never fear — Rand is here to share three relatively quick, easy, and tool-free (read: actually free) methods to build that solid base and earn yourself links.

When and How to Use Domain Authority, Page Authority, and Link Count Metrics - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, June 16th

Thumbs: 50 Comments: 71

How can you effectively apply link metrics like Domain Authority and Page Authority alongside your other SEO metrics? Where and when does it make sense to take them into account, and what exactly do they mean? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand answers these questions and more, arming you with the knowledge you need to better understand and execute your SEO work.

Image Link Building - Whiteboard Friday

Britney Muller, December 15th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 63

Image link building is a delicate art. There are some distinct considerations from traditional link building, and doing it successfully requires a balance of creativity, curiosity, and having the right tools on hand. In this Whiteboard Friday, Moz's own SEO and link building aficionado Britney Muller offers up concrete advice for successfully building links via images.

The top 5 posts in Advanced SEO

2017's top posts in the advanced SEO category cover just about every post type we like to publish (and that you like to read): in-depth case studies, Whiteboard Fridays, best practice advice, and solid how-tos.

[Case Study] How We Ranked #1 for a High-Volume Keyword in Under 3 Months

Dmitry Dragilev, April 19th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 140

If you've been struggling to take the number-one spot in the SERPs for a competitive keyword, take a cue from this case study. Dmitry Dragilev shares his team's 8-step methodology for ranking first in a popular niche.

How Google AdWords (PPC) Does and Doesn't Affect Organic Results - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, November 17th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 89

It's common industry knowledge that PPC can have an effect on our organic results. But what effect is that, exactly, and how does it work? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand covers the ways paid ads influence organic results — and one very important way they don't.

SEO Best Practices for Canonical URLs + the Rel=Canonical Tag - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, July 14th

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 87

If you've ever had any questions about the canonical tag, well, have we got the Whiteboard Friday for you. In this episode, Rand defines what rel=canonical means and its intended purpose, when it's recommended you use it, how to use it, and sticky situations to avoid.

How to Uncover Hidden Keyword-Level Data Using Google Sheets

Sarah Lively, February 13th

Thumbs: 42 Comments: 83

Which keywords are driving your organic traffic? Keyword-level data doesn't have to be (not provided). Sarah Lively shares a smart solution using two free add-ons for Google Sheets.

How Long Should Your Meta Description Be? (2018 Edition)

Dr. Pete, December 19th

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 76

The end of November saw a spike in the average length of SERP snippets. Across 90K results, we found a definite increase but many oddities, such as video snippets. Our data suggests that many snippets are exceeding 300 characters, and we recommend a new meta description limit of 300 characters.

The top 5 posts in Technical SEO

Technical SEO posts are some of my favorite categories to publish (which is perhaps a strange sentiment coming from a poetry major). The debate that recently raged — about whether it's necessary or unnecessary for SEO — will always stick with many of us, as will Rand's excellent Whiteboard Friday rebuttal on the topic.

XML Sitemaps: The Most Misunderstood Tool in the SEO's Toolbox

Michael Cottam, April 11th

Thumbs: 43 Comments: 83

XML sitemaps are a powerful tool for SEOs, but are often misunderstood and misused. Michael Cottam explains how to leverage XML sitemaps to identify and resolve indexation problems.

JavaScript & SEO: Making Your Bot Experience As Good As Your User Experience

Alexis Sanders, June 20th

Thumbs: 56 Comments: 79

More and more, we're realizing it's incredibly important for us as SEOs to understand JavaScript's impact on search experience. Can search engines see your content and experience your site the way a user does? If not, what solutions can you use to fix it?

Pros and Cons of HTTPS Services: Traditional vs Let's Encrypt vs Cloudflare

JR Ridley, September 13th

Thumbs: 38 Comments: 78

Thinking about going secure? It's more important than ever, with Google issuing security warnings for many non-secure sites in Chrome. This comparison of three popular HTTPS services will help you determine the best option for implementing an SSL certification on your site.

Mastering Google Search Operators in 67 Easy Steps

Dr. Pete, March 1st

Thumbs: 82 Comments: 76

Google search operators are like chess – knowing how the pieces move doesn't make you a master. Dive into 67 examples, from content research to site audits, and level up your search operator game.

Unlocking Hidden Gems Within Schema.org

Alexis Sanders, October 18th

Thumbs: 45 Comments: 69

Schema.org can be a confusing resource if you're trying to learn how to use and implement structured data. This mini-guide arms you with the right kind of thinking to tackle your next structured data project.

The top 5 posts in Keyword Research

The posts generating the most buzz in our keyword research category seem to revolve around quick yet effective wins and tactical advice. And with time constraints being one of the biggest challenges reported in our Reader's Survey, it's really no surprise.

The Lazy Writer’s Guide to 30-Minute Keyword Research

Britney Muller, July 26th

Thumbs: 52 Comments: 54

Keyword research doesn’t have to be a marathon bender. A brisk 30-minute walk can provide incredible insights — insights that connect you with a wider audience on a deeper level. Britney Muller shares several ways to get your keyword research tasks done efficiently and well.

The Keyword + Year Content/Rankings Hack - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, February 10th

Thumbs: 63 Comments: 49

What's the secret to earning site traffic from competitive keywords with decent search volume? The answer could be as easy as 1, 2, 3 — or more precisely, 2, 0, 1, 7. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand lets you in on a relatively straightforward tactic that can help you compete in a tough space using very fresh content.

3 Tactics for Hyperlocal Keywords - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, February 24th

Thumbs: 63 Comments: 47

Trying to target a small, specific region with your keywords can prove frustrating. While reaching a high-intent local audience is incredibly valuable, without volume data to inform your keyword research, you'll find yourself hitting a wall. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand shares how to uncover powerful, laser-focused keywords that will reach exactly the right people.

Which of My Competitor's Keywords Should (& Shouldn't ) I Target? - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, November 24th

Thumbs: 45 Comments: 44

You don't want to try to rank for every one of your competitors' keywords. Like most things with SEO, it's important to be strategic and intentional with your decisions. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand shares his recommended process for understanding your funnel, identifying the right competitors to track, and prioritizing which of their keywords you ought to target.

NEW in Keyword Explorer: See Who Ranks & How Much with Keywords by Site

Rand Fishkin, October 23rd

Thumbs: 41 Comments: 43

It's not often that a product-focused post makes our blog's Best of the Year list, so this is both interesting and heartening to see. We worked really hard to bring better data and more usefulness to Keyword Explorer this year, and y'all left some really kind sentiments in the comments. Thanks for always being here for us, folks! :)

The top 5 posts in Content

I won't say it, I promise. ;) But content is just as important as ever, and the rather vague advice of "create great content and the rest will come" has certainly gotten a bit exhausting over the years. We've made an effort to publish more actionable ways to think about and use content, and it seems like that's been resonating with you so far!

Refurbishing Top Content - Whiteboard Friday

Britney Muller, February 3rd

Thumbs: 66 Comments: 82

You've got top-performing content on your site that does really well. Maybe it's highly converting, maybe it garners the most qualified traffic — but it's just sitting there gathering dust. Isn't there something else you can do with content that's clearly proven its worth?

As it turns out, there is! In this Whiteboard Friday, Britney Muller shares three easy steps for identifying, repurposing, and republishing your top content to juice every drop of goodness out of it.

What We Learned From Analyzing 1.4 Million Featured Snippets

A.J. Ghergich, January 17th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 78

From optimal snippet length, to practical application tips, to which queries prefer tables, lists, or paragraphs, learn everything you need to know to supercharge your snippet wins.

The Perfect Blog Post Length and Publishing Frequency is B?!!$#÷x - Whiteboard Friday

Rand Fishkin, August 18th

Thumbs: 76 Comments: 65

The perfect blog post length or publishing frequency doesn't actually exist. "Perfect" isn't universal — your content's success depends on tons of personalized factors. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand explains why the idea of "perfect" is baloney when it comes to your blog, and lists what you should actually be looking for in a successful publishing strategy.

Learning to Re-Share: 4 Strategies to Renew, Refresh, and Recycle Content for Bigger Reach

Jen Carney, August 2nd

Thumbs: 31 Comments: 51

You've spend too much time and effort on content creation to share it only once. Check out four smart strategies you can implement today to improve the reach of your existing content.

How to Build the Right Content Marketing Strategy for SEO Growth

Alli Berry, November 15th

Thumbs: 30 Comments: 51

Keywords are important for innumerable SEO tasks, but driving your content marketing strategy isn't one of them. Your strategy should be based on the audience you're trying to reach if you want your organic traffic to convert.

Paid Search Marketing

While it perhaps seems a little strange for an SEO blog to cover, paid search plays an important part in our digital marketing world, and as reported in our Reader's Survey, plenty of us wear more than one hat. Here are the top posts from 2017 that generated the most commentary about all things paid:

Do iPhone Users Spend More Online Than Android Users?

Martin Meany, October 11th

Thumbs: 27 Comments: 71

iPhone users tend to spend 3x as much as Android users, according to an analysis of 31 million mobile e-commerce sessions. Digital marketers can capitalize on this revelation via Facebook and AdWords.

Branding Success: How to Use PPC to Amplify Your Brand

Purna Virji, February 21st

Thumbs: 34 Comments: 44

You might be surprised to learn that branding and PPC go hand-in-hand. Find out how to leverage your PPC campaigns to strengthen your brand and win conversions and loyalty from your customers.

No, Paid Search Audiences Won’t Replace Keywords

Kirk Williams, May 30th

Thumbs: 33 Comments: 29

Keywords or audience targeting? Kirk Williams sets out to argue that far from being dead, keywords are still the most useful tool in the paid search marketer's toolbox.

Paid Social for Content Marketing Launches - Whiteboard Friday

Kane Jamison, September 29th

Thumbs: 31 Comments: 29

Stuck in a content marketing rut? Relying on your existing newsletter, social followers, or email outreach won't do your launches justice. Boosting your signal with paid social both introduces your brand to new audiences and improves your launch's traffic and results. In this Whiteboard Friday, we're welcoming back our good friend Kane Jamison to highlight four straightforward, actionable tactics you can start using ASAP.

The Step-By-Step Guide to Testing Voice Search Via PPC

Purna Virji, March 21st

Thumbs: 30 Comments: 24

Conversational interfaces are becoming more and more popular, but it's hard to know where to start when it comes to voice search. A $50 PPC budget is enough to jumpstart your voice search keyword list and strategy — learn how in this step-by-step guide.

Top comments by thumbs up

Comments are my favorite blog post success metric, and it simply wouldn't do if we didn't honor the folks who contributed the most popular comments in 2017. Thank you, all of you, for sharing your thoughts with the greater Moz and SEO community, and for taking precious time out of your day to make the blog a more interesting and better place. And for all the comment lurkers out there like me, I offer you solemn solidarity and zero judgment (but I'd be delighted to see y'all venture out from behind the screen now and again ;).

1. Praveen Sharma on "10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings - Whiteboard Friday" – 58 thumbs up

Short, sweet, accurate, relevant advice is the name of the game. :) We've had feedback before that some readers come to the blog for the comments as much as the post itself, and this example shows why. Thanks for sharing your insight, Praveen!

2. SEOMG on "7 ‹Title Tag› Hacks for Increased Rankings + Traffic - Whiteboard Friday" – 42 thumbs up

Much like the above, this comment exemplifies clear, useful examples related to the post topic. You rock, SEOMG!

3. Praveen Sharma on "The 3 Easiest Link Building Tactics Any Website Can Use to Acquire Their First 50 Links - Whiteboard Friday" – 39 thumbs up

Swooping in again with another helpful tidbit to add to the blog post at hand, Praveen's made it on the Top 10 list twice. We really appreciate your contributions, Praveen!

4. Trevor Klein on "Moz Transitions: Rand to Step Away from Operations and into Advisory Role in Early 2018" – 38 thumbs up

A bittersweet comment that clearly struck a chord with many in our community. Rand, I hope you know how much we all love and appreciate you! And Trevor, thank you so much for your candid and genuine thoughts; you truly spoke for all of us there.

5. Gianluca Fiorelli on "SEO Best Practices for Canonical URLs + the Rel=Canonical Tag - Whiteboard Friday" – 30 thumbs up

Gianluca's comments on the Moz Blog are legendary; each one is a treasure, a miniature blog post in and of itself. Thank you for sharing your smarts with us, Gianluca!

6. Rand Fishkin on "What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO? - Whiteboard Friday" – 28 thumbs up

By using the comments section to clarify a few points about his Whiteboard Friday video and highlight his advice, Rand adds extra value and oomph to the post as a whole... and the community responded. :) Thank you for always leaving 10X comments, Rand!

7. Eric Hahn on "10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings - Whiteboard Friday" – 26 thumbs up

The discussion in the thread spurred by this helpful, on-topic comment is the kind of lively, educational back-and-forth we love to witness. Thank you for inspiring folks to ask questions and learn, Eric!

8. Igor Gorbenko on "What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO? - Whiteboard Friday" – 25 thumbs up

It makes me really happy that our community has — and rewards — such awesome personality. Igor, thank you for your wit and your insights! ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬

9. Tim Soulo on "Moz Transitions: Rand to Step Away from Operations and into Advisory Role in Early 2018" – 22 thumbs up

The blog community definitely resonated with all the heartfelt, personal stories shared on this post. Tim, thank you for sharing!

10. Gianluca Fiorelli on "Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation - Whiteboard Friday" – 21 thumbs up

In an incredibly meta turn of events, Gianluca's comment on our Comment Marketing Whiteboard Friday rounds out the list of 2017's top comments on the Moz Blog. I don't think there's a person on this Internet that's done a better job of personal comment marketing than Gianluca! :)

Here's to you!

Thank you all, each and every one of you, for helping to keep our little community a thriving, nurturing place to learn SEO, share ideas, and hey, even make mistakes now and again. It's an honor to have a hand in providing content to such a TAGFEE and brilliant group of people, and I can't describe how excited I am for all that 2018 will bring.

Let me know in the comments how you liked the change-up this year, what other "Best of" formats or lists you might find helpful, and any other ponderings or thoughts you might have — and thank you again for reading!

Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!

xem them tai http://ift.tt/2o9GYfe The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá r�� The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J xem thêm tại: http://ift.tt/2mb4VST để biết thêm về địa chỉ bán tai nghe không dây giá rẻ The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Bạn có thể xem thêm địa chỉ mua tai nghe không dây tại đây http://ift.tt/2mb4VST

[mariasolemarionqi]

The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts

Posted by FeliciaCrawford

Now, I know we technically have a few days left in 2017, but I'm ready to dive head-first into a fond, full-blown retrospective. Each year we look back on what we've published, compiling and sharing the pieces you liked best. Normally we divvy it up via various metrics: traffic, 1Metric score, total thumbs up, total comments, the best of YouMoz, and so on and so forth. This year, however, we're doing things just a little differently.

A lot has changed in the past year...

The way we run the blog has changed in a few significant ways from the days of yesteryear. YouMoz, our user-generated content blog, was retired in the autumn of 2016 (though we hope to resurrect it in another form someday). We reduced our publishing frequency a bit, and refocused our content on core SEO topics after spending 2015 and 2016 branching out into other marketing subjects (like social media and content marketing). We also made some big changes with regards to commenting: we closed comments on posts older than 30 days (they became veritable spam factories), and implemented stricter moderation filters to better catch spammy comments fishing for either a link or easy MozPoints.

And if I'm being completely honest, I don't think the "Best of" posts from years past have offered you, our beloved readers, as much value as they should've. The most excited comments on those posts occur when someone discovers a gem they'd missed, when a post reaches out to you from the masses of online content clamoring for your attention and speaks to you. The way we formerly ranked "the best" resulted in a lot of overlap; the same few posts with lots of thumbs up, a busy comments section, and high traffic overwhelmed the leaderboard.

What criteria now determines "best"?

At the end of 2017, we're starting fresh. First, I've taken our ten most popular blog post categories by traffic — these represent the topics readers are actively seeking information on. Next, I thought about which metric matters most to me when I consider the success of a blog post. Traffic, thumbs, social shares... Nice to see, yes, but they don't paint a very clear picture of a post's impact. I found myself returning to my favorite blog post metric again and again: the comments.

A post with a lively comments section can be many things. Perhaps it sparked questions or debate; perhaps the findings were controversial; perhaps it was simply inspiring. Whatever the reason, a heavily commented-on post represents something that struck a chord, that convinced a person to peek out from behind their keyboard shield and contribute a thought, that coaxed a little extra effort and commitment from our community. As a silent lurker myself, I am consistently blown away by the humility, genius, and generosity you all display in the blog comments section every day.

So there we have it: this year's Best of the Moz Blog 2017 is a list of the top five most-commented posts in the top ten blog categories. That's fifty unique blog posts throughout the year on a variety of topics, some of which you may have missed. Most blog posts fall into several of our categories, but every post will only be listed once; if it's hit the top five in a more popular category, I've taken it out of the running for the rest. It's my sincere hope that this list uncovers something useful for you, something that helps make your job and day just a little easier.

Without further ado, let's get this party started!

(If you're curious, check out the Best of 2016 and the Best of 2015, too.)

The top 5 Whiteboard Fridays

Whiteboard Friday is far and away our most popular blog category, earning three times as much traffic as the rest. Because it always overlaps with at least one other category, you're bound to get a tidy grab bag of SEO takeaways with this list!

10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings Rand Fishkin, September 22nd

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 180

What do the age of your site, your headline H1/H2 preference, bounce rate, and shared hosting all have in common? You might've gotten a hint from the title: not a single one of them directly affects your Google rankings. In this rather comforting Whiteboard Friday, Rand lists out ten factors commonly thought to influence your rankings that Google simply doesn't care about.

What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO? Rand Fishkin, December 8th

Thumbs: 100 Comments: 136

Featured snippets and meta descriptions have brand-new character limits, and it's a huge change for Google and SEOs alike. Learn about what's new, when it changed, and what it all means for SEO in this episode of Whiteboard Friday. (And this is cheating, but for good measure, you might follow up with Dr. Pete's official recommendation for meta description lengths in 2018.)

What Links Can You Get that Comply with Google's Guidelines?Marie Haynes, January 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 112

If you've ever been the victim of a Google penalty, you know how painful it can be to identify the problem and recover from the hit. Even if you've been penalty-free thus far, the threat of getting penalized is a source of worry. But how can you avoid it, when it seems like unnatural links lurk around every corner?

In this Whiteboard Friday, we warmly welcome Google penalty and unnatural link expert Marie Haynes as she shares how to earn links that do comply with Google's guidelines, that will keep your site out of trouble, and that can make a real impact.

7 ‹Title Tag› Hacks for Increased Rankings + Traffic - Whiteboard Friday Cyrus Shepard, May 5th

Thumbs: 185 Comments: 103

You may find yourself wondering whether the humble title tag still matters in modern SEO. When it comes to your click-through rate, the answer is a resounding yes! In this Whiteboard Friday, we welcome back our good friend Cyrus Shepard to talk about 7 ways you can revamp your title tags to increase your site traffic and rankings.

Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation Rand Fishkin, January 13th

Thumbs: 53 Comments: 97

It's been a few years since we've covered the topic of comment marketing, but that doesn't mean it's out of date. There are clever, intentional ways to market yourself and your brand in the comments sections of sites, and there's less competition now than ever before. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand details what you can do to get noticed in the comments and the benefits you'll reap from high-quality contributions.

The top 5 posts in On-Page SEO

The results of our recent Moz Blog Reader Survey highlighted on-page SEO as the topic you'd most like to learn about, so it's not surprising to see that this category sits right under Whiteboard Friday for popularity. There's an interesting theme that emerges from these top posts: it seems we're still working on many of the same things, but how we treat them has necessarily changed over time.

How Links in Headers, Footers, Content, and Navigation Can Impact SEO - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, October 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 92

Which link is more valuable: the one in your nav, or the one in the content of your page? Now, how about if one of those in-content links is an image, and one is text? Not all links are created equal, and getting familiar with the details will help you build a stronger linking structure. This Whiteboard Friday covers links in headers and footers, in navigation versus content, and how that can affect internal and external links, link equity, and link value between your site and others.

It's Time to Stop Doing On-Page SEO Like It's 2012 Rand Fishkin, February 6th

Thumbs: 84 Comments: 91

On-page SEO has evolved in the past five years. Rand outlines the changes in five succinct tactics: move beyond keyword repetition rules; searcher intent matters more than raw keywords; related topics are essential; links don't always beat on-page; and topical authority is more important than ever.

The Wonderful World of SEO Meta Tags [Refreshed for 2017] Kate Morris, April 13th

Thumbs: 46 Comments: 67

Which meta tags are absolutely necessary, which are dependent on your situation, and which should you absolutely ignore or remove? Kate Morris refreshes her original 2010 post on the subject of meta tags, sharing a few new tips and reiterating what's remained the same over the past 7 years.

Designing a Page's Content Flow to Maximize SEO Opportunity - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, December 1st

Thumbs: 54 Comments: 48

Controlling and improving the flow of your on-site content can actually help your SEO. What's the best way to capitalize on the opportunity present in your page design? Rand covers the questions you need to ask (and answer) and the goals you should strive for in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Do a Content Audit [Updated for 2017] Everett Sizemore, March 22nd

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 31

Learn how to do content audits for SEO in this comprehensive, updated guide by Everett Sizemore, including tips for crawling large websites, rendering JavaScript content, and auditing dynamic mobile content.

The top 5 posts in Local SEO

Local SEO overlaps with what we think of as traditional SEO in many ways, so it's not surprising at all to see this category near the top. There's still a lot of doubt and apprehension, it seems, when it comes to local SEO best practices and what really works, and the top posts in this category reflect that.

Local SEO Spam Tactics Are Working: How You Can Fight Back Casey Meraz, March 28th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 75

It's very clear that spam tactics in Google's local results are earning higher rankings. In this post, Casey Meraz identifies exactly what spammers are doing to get ahead, what they can get away with, and what you can do to fight back against the problem plaguing local results.

Not-Actually-the-Best Local SEO Practices Miriam Ellis, December 11th

Thumbs: 47 Comments: 72

Not all common practices in local SEO are the best practices. In fact, some of them can be pretty darn harmful. Check out Miriam's list of what-not-to-dos (and what-you-should-actually-dos) in this comprehensive blog post.

The 2017 Local SEO Forecast: 10 Predictions According to MozzersMiriam Ellis, February 14th

Thumbs: 35 Comments: 67

From Google providing intimate details about businesses to Amazon expanding even further into the local scene, local SEO stood to see a lot of change this year. Check out what the SEOs at Moz had to say about what to prepare for in 2017.

Proximity to Searcher is the New #1 Local Search Ranking Factor Darren Shaw, February 22nd

Thumbs: 58 Comments: 65

Forget everything you thought you knew about the most impactful local ranking factors — searcher proximity just may be the number-one thing influencing where a local business shows on the SERPs.

How to Perform a Basic Local Business Competitive AuditMiriam Ellis, August 22nd

Thumbs: 32 Comments: 65

Are you outranked in Google's Local Pack? Then it's high time to perform a competitive business audit. Use this example analysis and downloadable spreadsheet to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of multiple businesses and devise a plan to win.

The top 5 posts in Basic SEO

Basic SEO is another category that enjoys a lot of overlap with other topics; perhaps that's one reason why it's so popular. This year's top posts in this category cover a range of subjects, and all are pretty useful for someone learning (or leveling up in) SEO.

Aren't 301s, 302s, and Canonicals All Basically the Same? - Whiteboard Friday Dr. Pete, March 3rd

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 69

They say history repeats itself. In the case of the great 301 vs 302 vs rel=canonical debate, it repeats itself about every three months. In this Whiteboard Friday, Dr. Pete explains how bots and humans experience pages differently depending on which solution you use, why it matters, and how each choice may be treated by Google.

How to Prioritize SEO Tasks [+Worksheet] Britney Muller, September 21st

Thumbs: 41 Comments: 64

An absolute essential if you want to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed, Moz's own SEO Britney Muller offers five tips for prioritizing your SEO work: setting specific goals, identifying important pages for conversions, uncovering technical opportunities via a site crawl, time management, and providing consistent benchmarks and reporting.

5 Tactics to Earn Links Without Having to Directly Ask - Whiteboard FridayRand Fishkin, July 28th

Thumbs: 71 Comments: 63

Typical link outreach is a tired sport, and we've all but alienated most content creators with our constant link requests. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand outlines five smart ways to earn links to your site without having to beg.

"SEO Is Always Changing"... Or Is It?: Debunking the Myth and Getting Back to Basics Bridget Randolph, July 19th

Thumbs: 56 Comments: 60

We're so fond of the idea that SEO is hard because it's always changing. But is that really true? Bridget Randolph challenges a common industry refrain and brings us back to the basics of what's really important in our work.

How to Target Multiple Keywords with One Page - Next Level Brian Childs, June 15th

Thumbs: 45 Comments: 56

In this edition of our educational Next Level series, you'll learn an easy workflow for researching and targeting multiple keywords with a single page.

The top five posts in Link Building

A thousand years from now, when the Space Needle has toppled into Puget Sound and our great-great-great-great-etc. grandchildren are living on Mars, link building will still prove to be one of the most popular subjects on the Moz Blog. And you get a double-whammy of goodness this year, because they just so happen to all be Whiteboard Fridays!

Should SEOs Care About Internal Links? - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, May 26th

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 87

Internal links are one of those essential SEO items you have to get right to avoid getting them really wrong. Rand shares 18 tips to help inform your strategy, going into detail about their attributes, internal vs. external links, ideal link structures, and much, much more in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Prioritize Your Link Building Efforts & Opportunities - Whiteboard FridayRand Fishkin, February 17th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 81

We all know how effective link building efforts can be, but it can be an intimidating, frustrating process — and sometimes even a chore. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand builds out a framework you can start using today to streamline and simplify the link building process for you, your teammates, and yes, even your interns.

The 3 Easiest Link Building Tactics Any Website Can Use to Acquire Their First 50 Links - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, September 8th

Thumbs: 81 Comments: 77

Without a solid base of links, your site won't be competitive in the SERPs — even if you do everything else right. But building your first few links can be difficult and discouraging, especially for new websites. Never fear — Rand is here to share three relatively quick, easy, and tool-free (read: actually free) methods to build that solid base and earn yourself links.

When and How to Use Domain Authority, Page Authority, and Link Count Metrics - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, June 16th

Thumbs: 50 Comments: 71

How can you effectively apply link metrics like Domain Authority and Page Authority alongside your other SEO metrics? Where and when does it make sense to take them into account, and what exactly do they mean? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand answers these questions and more, arming you with the knowledge you need to better understand and execute your SEO work.

Image Link Building - Whiteboard FridayBritney Muller, December 15th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 63

Image link building is a delicate art. There are some distinct considerations from traditional link building, and doing it successfully requires a balance of creativity, curiosity, and having the right tools on hand. In this Whiteboard Friday, Moz's own SEO and link building aficionado Britney Muller offers up concrete advice for successfully building links via images.

The top 5 posts in Advanced SEO

2017's top posts in the advanced SEO category cover just about every post type we like to publish (and that you like to read): in-depth case studies, Whiteboard Fridays, best practice advice, and solid how-tos.

[Case Study] How We Ranked #1 for a High-Volume Keyword in Under 3 Months Dmitry Dragilev, April 19th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 140

If you've been struggling to take the number-one spot in the SERPs for a competitive keyword, take a cue from this case study. Dmitry Dragilev shares his team's 8-step methodology for ranking first in a popular niche.

How Google AdWords (PPC) Does and Doesn't Affect Organic Results - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, November 17th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 89

It's common industry knowledge that PPC can have an effect on our organic results. But what effect is that, exactly, and how does it work? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand covers the ways paid ads influence organic results — and one very important way they don't.

SEO Best Practices for Canonical URLs + the Rel=Canonical Tag - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, July 14th

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 87

If you've ever had any questions about the canonical tag, well, have we got the Whiteboard Friday for you. In this episode, Rand defines what rel=canonical means and its intended purpose, when it's recommended you use it, how to use it, and sticky situations to avoid.

How to Uncover Hidden Keyword-Level Data Using Google SheetsSarah Lively, February 13th

Thumbs: 42 Comments: 83

Which keywords are driving your organic traffic? Keyword-level data doesn't have to be (not provided). Sarah Lively shares a smart solution using two free add-ons for Google Sheets.

How Long Should Your Meta Description Be? (2018 Edition)Dr. Pete, December 19th

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 76

The end of November saw a spike in the average length of SERP snippets. Across 90K results, we found a definite increase but many oddities, such as video snippets. Our data suggests that many snippets are exceeding 300 characters, and we recommend a new meta description limit of 300 characters.

The top 5 posts in Technical SEO

Technical SEO posts are some of my favorite categories to publish (which is perhaps a strange sentiment coming from a poetry major). The debate that recently raged — about whether it's necessary or unnecessary for SEO — will always stick with many of us, as will Rand's excellent Whiteboard Friday rebuttal on the topic.

XML Sitemaps: The Most Misunderstood Tool in the SEO's Toolbox Michael Cottam, April 11th

Thumbs: 43 Comments: 83

XML sitemaps are a powerful tool for SEOs,..

http://ift.tt/2pMlnv2

[kraussoutene]

The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts

Posted by FeliciaCrawford

Now, I know we technically have a few days left in 2017, but I'm ready to dive head-first into a fond, full-blown retrospective. Each year we look back on what we've published, compiling and sharing the pieces you liked best. Normally we divvy it up via various metrics: traffic, 1Metric score, total thumbs up, total comments, the best of YouMoz, and so on and so forth. This year, however, we're doing things just a little differently.

A lot has changed in the past year...

The way we run the blog has changed in a few significant ways from the days of yesteryear. YouMoz, our user-generated content blog, was retired in the autumn of 2016 (though we hope to resurrect it in another form someday). We reduced our publishing frequency a bit, and refocused our content on core SEO topics after spending 2015 and 2016 branching out into other marketing subjects (like social media and content marketing). We also made some big changes with regards to commenting: we closed comments on posts older than 30 days (they became veritable spam factories), and implemented stricter moderation filters to better catch spammy comments fishing for either a link or easy MozPoints.

And if I'm being completely honest, I don't think the "Best of" posts from years past have offered you, our beloved readers, as much value as they should've. The most excited comments on those posts occur when someone discovers a gem they'd missed, when a post reaches out to you from the masses of online content clamoring for your attention and speaks to you. The way we formerly ranked "the best" resulted in a lot of overlap; the same few posts with lots of thumbs up, a busy comments section, and high traffic overwhelmed the leaderboard.

What criteria now determines "best"?

At the end of 2017, we're starting fresh. First, I've taken our ten most popular blog post categories by traffic — these represent the topics readers are actively seeking information on. Next, I thought about which metric matters most to me when I consider the success of a blog post. Traffic, thumbs, social shares... Nice to see, yes, but they don't paint a very clear picture of a post's impact. I found myself returning to my favorite blog post metric again and again: the comments.

A post with a lively comments section can be many things. Perhaps it sparked questions or debate; perhaps the findings were controversial; perhaps it was simply inspiring. Whatever the reason, a heavily commented-on post represents something that struck a chord, that convinced a person to peek out from behind their keyboard shield and contribute a thought, that coaxed a little extra effort and commitment from our community. As a silent lurker myself, I am consistently blown away by the humility, genius, and generosity you all display in the blog comments section every day.

So there we have it: this year's Best of the Moz Blog 2017 is a list of the top five most-commented posts in the top ten blog categories. That's fifty unique blog posts throughout the year on a variety of topics, some of which you may have missed. Most blog posts fall into several of our categories, but every post will only be listed once; if it's hit the top five in a more popular category, I've taken it out of the running for the rest. It's my sincere hope that this list uncovers something useful for you, something that helps make your job and day just a little easier.

Without further ado, let's get this party started!

(If you're curious, check out the Best of 2016 and the Best of 2015, too.)

The top 5 Whiteboard Fridays

Whiteboard Friday is far and away our most popular blog category, earning three times as much traffic as the rest. Because it always overlaps with at least one other category, you're bound to get a tidy grab bag of SEO takeaways with this list!

10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings Rand Fishkin, September 22nd

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 180

What do the age of your site, your headline H1/H2 preference, bounce rate, and shared hosting all have in common? You might've gotten a hint from the title: not a single one of them directly affects your Google rankings. In this rather comforting Whiteboard Friday, Rand lists out ten factors commonly thought to influence your rankings that Google simply doesn't care about.

What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO? Rand Fishkin, December 8th

Thumbs: 100 Comments: 136

Featured snippets and meta descriptions have brand-new character limits, and it's a huge change for Google and SEOs alike. Learn about what's new, when it changed, and what it all means for SEO in this episode of Whiteboard Friday. (And this is cheating, but for good measure, you might follow up with Dr. Pete's official recommendation for meta description lengths in 2018.)

What Links Can You Get that Comply with Google's Guidelines?Marie Haynes, January 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 112

If you've ever been the victim of a Google penalty, you know how painful it can be to identify the problem and recover from the hit. Even if you've been penalty-free thus far, the threat of getting penalized is a source of worry. But how can you avoid it, when it seems like unnatural links lurk around every corner?

In this Whiteboard Friday, we warmly welcome Google penalty and unnatural link expert Marie Haynes as she shares how to earn links that do comply with Google's guidelines, that will keep your site out of trouble, and that can make a real impact.

7 ‹Title Tag› Hacks for Increased Rankings + Traffic - Whiteboard Friday Cyrus Shepard, May 5th

Thumbs: 185 Comments: 103

You may find yourself wondering whether the humble title tag still matters in modern SEO. When it comes to your click-through rate, the answer is a resounding yes! In this Whiteboard Friday, we welcome back our good friend Cyrus Shepard to talk about 7 ways you can revamp your title tags to increase your site traffic and rankings.

Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation Rand Fishkin, January 13th

Thumbs: 53 Comments: 97

It's been a few years since we've covered the topic of comment marketing, but that doesn't mean it's out of date. There are clever, intentional ways to market yourself and your brand in the comments sections of sites, and there's less competition now than ever before. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand details what you can do to get noticed in the comments and the benefits you'll reap from high-quality contributions.

The top 5 posts in On-Page SEO

The results of our recent Moz Blog Reader Survey highlighted on-page SEO as the topic you'd most like to learn about, so it's not surprising to see that this category sits right under Whiteboard Friday for popularity. There's an interesting theme that emerges from these top posts: it seems we're still working on many of the same things, but how we treat them has necessarily changed over time.

How Links in Headers, Footers, Content, and Navigation Can Impact SEO - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, October 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 92

Which link is more valuable: the one in your nav, or the one in the content of your page? Now, how about if one of those in-content links is an image, and one is text? Not all links are created equal, and getting familiar with the details will help you build a stronger linking structure. This Whiteboard Friday covers links in headers and footers, in navigation versus content, and how that can affect internal and external links, link equity, and link value between your site and others.

It's Time to Stop Doing On-Page SEO Like It's 2012 Rand Fishkin, February 6th

Thumbs: 84 Comments: 91

On-page SEO has evolved in the past five years. Rand outlines the changes in five succinct tactics: move beyond keyword repetition rules; searcher intent matters more than raw keywords; related topics are essential; links don't always beat on-page; and topical authority is more important than ever.

The Wonderful World of SEO Meta Tags [Refreshed for 2017] Kate Morris, April 13th

Thumbs: 46 Comments: 67

Which meta tags are absolutely necessary, which are dependent on your situation, and which should you absolutely ignore or remove? Kate Morris refreshes her original 2010 post on the subject of meta tags, sharing a few new tips and reiterating what's remained the same over the past 7 years.

Designing a Page's Content Flow to Maximize SEO Opportunity - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, December 1st

Thumbs: 54 Comments: 48

Controlling and improving the flow of your on-site content can actually help your SEO. What's the best way to capitalize on the opportunity present in your page design? Rand covers the questions you need to ask (and answer) and the goals you should strive for in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Do a Content Audit [Updated for 2017] Everett Sizemore, March 22nd

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 31

Learn how to do content audits for SEO in this comprehensive, updated guide by Everett Sizemore, including tips for crawling large websites, rendering JavaScript content, and auditing dynamic mobile content.

The top 5 posts in Local SEO

Local SEO overlaps with what we think of as traditional SEO in many ways, so it's not surprising at all to see this category near the top. There's still a lot of doubt and apprehension, it seems, when it comes to local SEO best practices and what really works, and the top posts in this category reflect that.

Local SEO Spam Tactics Are Working: How You Can Fight Back Casey Meraz, March 28th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 75

It's very clear that spam tactics in Google's local results are earning higher rankings. In this post, Casey Meraz identifies exactly what spammers are doing to get ahead, what they can get away with, and what you can do to fight back against the problem plaguing local results.

Not-Actually-the-Best Local SEO Practices Miriam Ellis, December 11th

Thumbs: 47 Comments: 72

Not all common practices in local SEO are the best practices. In fact, some of them can be pretty darn harmful. Check out Miriam's list of what-not-to-dos (and what-you-should-actually-dos) in this comprehensive blog post.

The 2017 Local SEO Forecast: 10 Predictions According to MozzersMiriam Ellis, February 14th

Thumbs: 35 Comments: 67

From Google providing intimate details about businesses to Amazon expanding even further into the local scene, local SEO stood to see a lot of change this year. Check out what the SEOs at Moz had to say about what to prepare for in 2017.

Proximity to Searcher is the New #1 Local Search Ranking Factor Darren Shaw, February 22nd

Thumbs: 58 Comments: 65

Forget everything you thought you knew about the most impactful local ranking factors — searcher proximity just may be the number-one thing influencing where a local business shows on the SERPs.

How to Perform a Basic Local Business Competitive AuditMiriam Ellis, August 22nd

Thumbs: 32 Comments: 65

Are you outranked in Google's Local Pack? Then it's high time to perform a competitive business audit. Use this example analysis and downloadable spreadsheet to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of multiple businesses and devise a plan to win.

The top 5 posts in Basic SEO

Basic SEO is another category that enjoys a lot of overlap with other topics; perhaps that's one reason why it's so popular. This year's top posts in this category cover a range of subjects, and all are pretty useful for someone learning (or leveling up in) SEO.

Aren't 301s, 302s, and Canonicals All Basically the Same? - Whiteboard Friday Dr. Pete, March 3rd

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 69

They say history repeats itself. In the case of the great 301 vs 302 vs rel=canonical debate, it repeats itself about every three months. In this Whiteboard Friday, Dr. Pete explains how bots and humans experience pages differently depending on which solution you use, why it matters, and how each choice may be treated by Google.

How to Prioritize SEO Tasks [+Worksheet] Britney Muller, September 21st

Thumbs: 41 Comments: 64

An absolute essential if you want to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed, Moz's own SEO Britney Muller offers five tips for prioritizing your SEO work: setting specific goals, identifying important pages for conversions, uncovering technical opportunities via a site crawl, time management, and providing consistent benchmarks and reporting.

5 Tactics to Earn Links Without Having to Directly Ask - Whiteboard FridayRand Fishkin, July 28th

Thumbs: 71 Comments: 63

Typical link outreach is a tired sport, and we've all but alienated most content creators with our constant link requests. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand outlines five smart ways to earn links to your site without having to beg.

"SEO Is Always Changing"... Or Is It?: Debunking the Myth and Getting Back to Basics Bridget Randolph, July 19th

Thumbs: 56 Comments: 60

We're so fond of the idea that SEO is hard because it's always changing. But is that really true? Bridget Randolph challenges a common industry refrain and brings us back to the basics of what's really important in our work.

How to Target Multiple Keywords with One Page - Next Level Brian Childs, June 15th

Thumbs: 45 Comments: 56

In this edition of our educational Next Level series, you'll learn an easy workflow for researching and targeting multiple keywords with a single page.

The top five posts in Link Building

A thousand years from now, when the Space Needle has toppled into Puget Sound and our great-great-great-great-etc. grandchildren are living on Mars, link building will still prove to be one of the most popular subjects on the Moz Blog. And you get a double-whammy of goodness this year, because they just so happen to all be Whiteboard Fridays!

Should SEOs Care About Internal Links? - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, May 26th

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 87

Internal links are one of those essential SEO items you have to get right to avoid getting them really wrong. Rand shares 18 tips to help inform your strategy, going into detail about their attributes, internal vs. external links, ideal link structures, and much, much more in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Prioritize Your Link Building Efforts & Opportunities - Whiteboard FridayRand Fishkin, February 17th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 81

We all know how effective link building efforts can be, but it can be an intimidating, frustrating process — and sometimes even a chore. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand builds out a framework you can start using today to streamline and simplify the link building process for you, your teammates, and yes, even your interns.

The 3 Easiest Link Building Tactics Any Website Can Use to Acquire Their First 50 Links - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, September 8th

Thumbs: 81 Comments: 77

Without a solid base of links, your site won't be competitive in the SERPs — even if you do everything else right. But building your first few links can be difficult and discouraging, especially for new websites. Never fear — Rand is here to share three relatively quick, easy, and tool-free (read: actually free) methods to build that solid base and earn yourself links.

When and How to Use Domain Authority, Page Authority, and Link Count Metrics - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, June 16th

Thumbs: 50 Comments: 71

How can you effectively apply link metrics like Domain Authority and Page Authority alongside your other SEO metrics? Where and when does it make sense to take them into account, and what exactly do they mean? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand answers these questions and more, arming you with the knowledge you need to better understand and execute your SEO work.

Image Link Building - Whiteboard FridayBritney Muller, December 15th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 63

Image link building is a delicate art. There are some distinct considerations from traditional link building, and doing it successfully requires a balance of creativity, curiosity, and having the right tools on hand. In this Whiteboard Friday, Moz's own SEO and link building aficionado Britney Muller offers up concrete advice for successfully building links via images.

The top 5 posts in Advanced SEO

2017's top posts in the advanced SEO category cover just about every post type we like to publish (and that you like to read): in-depth case studies, Whiteboard Fridays, best practice advice, and solid how-tos.

[Case Study] How We Ranked #1 for a High-Volume Keyword in Under 3 Months Dmitry Dragilev, April 19th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 140

If you've been struggling to take the number-one spot in the SERPs for a competitive keyword, take a cue from this case study. Dmitry Dragilev shares his team's 8-step methodology for ranking first in a popular niche.

How Google AdWords (PPC) Does and Doesn't Affect Organic Results - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, November 17th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 89

It's common industry knowledge that PPC can have an effect on our organic results. But what effect is that, exactly, and how does it work? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand covers the ways paid ads influence organic results — and one very important way they don't.

SEO Best Practices for Canonical URLs + the Rel=Canonical Tag - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, July 14th

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 87

If you've ever had any questions about the canonical tag, well, have we got the Whiteboard Friday for you. In this episode, Rand defines what rel=canonical means and its intended purpose, when it's recommended you use it, how to use it, and sticky situations to avoid.

How to Uncover Hidden Keyword-Level Data Using Google SheetsSarah Lively, February 13th

Thumbs: 42 Comments: 83

Which keywords are driving your organic traffic? Keyword-level data doesn't have to be (not provided). Sarah Lively shares a smart solution using two free add-ons for Google Sheets.

How Long Should Your Meta Description Be? (2018 Edition)Dr. Pete, December 19th

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 76

The end of November saw a spike in the average length of SERP snippets. Across 90K results, we found a definite increase but many oddities, such as video snippets. Our data suggests that many snippets are exceeding 300 characters, and we recommend a new meta description limit of 300 characters.

The top 5 posts in Technical SEO

Technical SEO posts are some of my favorite categories to publish (which is perhaps a strange sentiment coming from a poetry major). The debate that recently raged — about whether it's necessary or unnecessary for SEO — will always stick with many of us, as will Rand's excellent Whiteboard Friday rebuttal on the topic.

XML Sitemaps: The Most Misunderstood Tool in the SEO's Toolbox Michael Cottam, April 11th

Thumbs: 43 Comments: 83

XML sitemaps are a powerful tool for SEOs,..

http://ift.tt/2pMlnv2

[conniecogeie]

The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts

Posted by FeliciaCrawford

Now, I know we technically have a few days left in 2017, but I'm ready to dive head-first into a fond, full-blown retrospective. Each year we look back on what we've published, compiling and sharing the pieces you liked best. Normally we divvy it up via various metrics: traffic, 1Metric score, total thumbs up, total comments, the best of YouMoz, and so on and so forth. This year, however, we're doing things just a little differently.

A lot has changed in the past year...

The way we run the blog has changed in a few significant ways from the days of yesteryear. YouMoz, our user-generated content blog, was retired in the autumn of 2016 (though we hope to resurrect it in another form someday). We reduced our publishing frequency a bit, and refocused our content on core SEO topics after spending 2015 and 2016 branching out into other marketing subjects (like social media and content marketing). We also made some big changes with regards to commenting: we closed comments on posts older than 30 days (they became veritable spam factories), and implemented stricter moderation filters to better catch spammy comments fishing for either a link or easy MozPoints.

And if I'm being completely honest, I don't think the "Best of" posts from years past have offered you, our beloved readers, as much value as they should've. The most excited comments on those posts occur when someone discovers a gem they'd missed, when a post reaches out to you from the masses of online content clamoring for your attention and speaks to you. The way we formerly ranked "the best" resulted in a lot of overlap; the same few posts with lots of thumbs up, a busy comments section, and high traffic overwhelmed the leaderboard.

What criteria now determines "best"?

At the end of 2017, we're starting fresh. First, I've taken our ten most popular blog post categories by traffic — these represent the topics readers are actively seeking information on. Next, I thought about which metric matters most to me when I consider the success of a blog post. Traffic, thumbs, social shares... Nice to see, yes, but they don't paint a very clear picture of a post's impact. I found myself returning to my favorite blog post metric again and again: the comments.

A post with a lively comments section can be many things. Perhaps it sparked questions or debate; perhaps the findings were controversial; perhaps it was simply inspiring. Whatever the reason, a heavily commented-on post represents something that struck a chord, that convinced a person to peek out from behind their keyboard shield and contribute a thought, that coaxed a little extra effort and commitment from our community. As a silent lurker myself, I am consistently blown away by the humility, genius, and generosity you all display in the blog comments section every day.

So there we have it: this year's Best of the Moz Blog 2017 is a list of the top five most-commented posts in the top ten blog categories. That's fifty unique blog posts throughout the year on a variety of topics, some of which you may have missed. Most blog posts fall into several of our categories, but every post will only be listed once; if it's hit the top five in a more popular category, I've taken it out of the running for the rest. It's my sincere hope that this list uncovers something useful for you, something that helps make your job and day just a little easier.

Without further ado, let's get this party started!

(If you're curious, check out the Best of 2016 and the Best of 2015, too.)

The top 5 Whiteboard Fridays

Whiteboard Friday is far and away our most popular blog category, earning three times as much traffic as the rest. Because it always overlaps with at least one other category, you're bound to get a tidy grab bag of SEO takeaways with this list!

10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings Rand Fishkin, September 22nd

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 180

What do the age of your site, your headline H1/H2 preference, bounce rate, and shared hosting all have in common? You might've gotten a hint from the title: not a single one of them directly affects your Google rankings. In this rather comforting Whiteboard Friday, Rand lists out ten factors commonly thought to influence your rankings that Google simply doesn't care about.

What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO? Rand Fishkin, December 8th

Thumbs: 100 Comments: 136

Featured snippets and meta descriptions have brand-new character limits, and it's a huge change for Google and SEOs alike. Learn about what's new, when it changed, and what it all means for SEO in this episode of Whiteboard Friday. (And this is cheating, but for good measure, you might follow up with Dr. Pete's official recommendation for meta description lengths in 2018.)

What Links Can You Get that Comply with Google's Guidelines?Marie Haynes, January 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 112

If you've ever been the victim of a Google penalty, you know how painful it can be to identify the problem and recover from the hit. Even if you've been penalty-free thus far, the threat of getting penalized is a source of worry. But how can you avoid it, when it seems like unnatural links lurk around every corner?

In this Whiteboard Friday, we warmly welcome Google penalty and unnatural link expert Marie Haynes as she shares how to earn links that do comply with Google's guidelines, that will keep your site out of trouble, and that can make a real impact.

7 ‹Title Tag› Hacks for Increased Rankings + Traffic - Whiteboard Friday Cyrus Shepard, May 5th

Thumbs: 185 Comments: 103

You may find yourself wondering whether the humble title tag still matters in modern SEO. When it comes to your click-through rate, the answer is a resounding yes! In this Whiteboard Friday, we welcome back our good friend Cyrus Shepard to talk about 7 ways you can revamp your title tags to increase your site traffic and rankings.

Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation Rand Fishkin, January 13th

Thumbs: 53 Comments: 97

It's been a few years since we've covered the topic of comment marketing, but that doesn't mean it's out of date. There are clever, intentional ways to market yourself and your brand in the comments sections of sites, and there's less competition now than ever before. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand details what you can do to get noticed in the comments and the benefits you'll reap from high-quality contributions.

The top 5 posts in On-Page SEO

The results of our recent Moz Blog Reader Survey highlighted on-page SEO as the topic you'd most like to learn about, so it's not surprising to see that this category sits right under Whiteboard Friday for popularity. There's an interesting theme that emerges from these top posts: it seems we're still working on many of the same things, but how we treat them has necessarily changed over time.

How Links in Headers, Footers, Content, and Navigation Can Impact SEO - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, October 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 92

Which link is more valuable: the one in your nav, or the one in the content of your page? Now, how about if one of those in-content links is an image, and one is text? Not all links are created equal, and getting familiar with the details will help you build a stronger linking structure. This Whiteboard Friday covers links in headers and footers, in navigation versus content, and how that can affect internal and external links, link equity, and link value between your site and others.

It's Time to Stop Doing On-Page SEO Like It's 2012 Rand Fishkin, February 6th

Thumbs: 84 Comments: 91

On-page SEO has evolved in the past five years. Rand outlines the changes in five succinct tactics: move beyond keyword repetition rules; searcher intent matters more than raw keywords; related topics are essential; links don't always beat on-page; and topical authority is more important than ever.

The Wonderful World of SEO Meta Tags [Refreshed for 2017] Kate Morris, April 13th

Thumbs: 46 Comments: 67

Which meta tags are absolutely necessary, which are dependent on your situation, and which should you absolutely ignore or remove? Kate Morris refreshes her original 2010 post on the subject of meta tags, sharing a few new tips and reiterating what's remained the same over the past 7 years.

Designing a Page's Content Flow to Maximize SEO Opportunity - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, December 1st

Thumbs: 54 Comments: 48

Controlling and improving the flow of your on-site content can actually help your SEO. What's the best way to capitalize on the opportunity present in your page design? Rand covers the questions you need to ask (and answer) and the goals you should strive for in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Do a Content Audit [Updated for 2017] Everett Sizemore, March 22nd

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 31

Learn how to do content audits for SEO in this comprehensive, updated guide by Everett Sizemore, including tips for crawling large websites, rendering JavaScript content, and auditing dynamic mobile content.

The top 5 posts in Local SEO

Local SEO overlaps with what we think of as traditional SEO in many ways, so it's not surprising at all to see this category near the top. There's still a lot of doubt and apprehension, it seems, when it comes to local SEO best practices and what really works, and the top posts in this category reflect that.

Local SEO Spam Tactics Are Working: How You Can Fight Back Casey Meraz, March 28th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 75

It's very clear that spam tactics in Google's local results are earning higher rankings. In this post, Casey Meraz identifies exactly what spammers are doing to get ahead, what they can get away with, and what you can do to fight back against the problem plaguing local results.

Not-Actually-the-Best Local SEO Practices Miriam Ellis, December 11th

Thumbs: 47 Comments: 72

Not all common practices in local SEO are the best practices. In fact, some of them can be pretty darn harmful. Check out Miriam's list of what-not-to-dos (and what-you-should-actually-dos) in this comprehensive blog post.

The 2017 Local SEO Forecast: 10 Predictions According to MozzersMiriam Ellis, February 14th

Thumbs: 35 Comments: 67

From Google providing intimate details about businesses to Amazon expanding even further into the local scene, local SEO stood to see a lot of change this year. Check out what the SEOs at Moz had to say about what to prepare for in 2017.

Proximity to Searcher is the New #1 Local Search Ranking Factor Darren Shaw, February 22nd

Thumbs: 58 Comments: 65

Forget everything you thought you knew about the most impactful local ranking factors — searcher proximity just may be the number-one thing influencing where a local business shows on the SERPs.

How to Perform a Basic Local Business Competitive AuditMiriam Ellis, August 22nd

Thumbs: 32 Comments: 65

Are you outranked in Google's Local Pack? Then it's high time to perform a competitive business audit. Use this example analysis and downloadable spreadsheet to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of multiple businesses and devise a plan to win.

The top 5 posts in Basic SEO

Basic SEO is another category that enjoys a lot of overlap with other topics; perhaps that's one reason why it's so popular. This year's top posts in this category cover a range of subjects, and all are pretty useful for someone learning (or leveling up in) SEO.

Aren't 301s, 302s, and Canonicals All Basically the Same? - Whiteboard Friday Dr. Pete, March 3rd

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 69

They say history repeats itself. In the case of the great 301 vs 302 vs rel=canonical debate, it repeats itself about every three months. In this Whiteboard Friday, Dr. Pete explains how bots and humans experience pages differently depending on which solution you use, why it matters, and how each choice may be treated by Google.

How to Prioritize SEO Tasks [+Worksheet] Britney Muller, September 21st

Thumbs: 41 Comments: 64

An absolute essential if you want to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed, Moz's own SEO Britney Muller offers five tips for prioritizing your SEO work: setting specific goals, identifying important pages for conversions, uncovering technical opportunities via a site crawl, time management, and providing consistent benchmarks and reporting.

5 Tactics to Earn Links Without Having to Directly Ask - Whiteboard FridayRand Fishkin, July 28th

Thumbs: 71 Comments: 63

Typical link outreach is a tired sport, and we've all but alienated most content creators with our constant link requests. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand outlines five smart ways to earn links to your site without having to beg.

"SEO Is Always Changing"... Or Is It?: Debunking the Myth and Getting Back to Basics Bridget Randolph, July 19th

Thumbs: 56 Comments: 60

We're so fond of the idea that SEO is hard because it's always changing. But is that really true? Bridget Randolph challenges a common industry refrain and brings us back to the basics of what's really important in our work.

How to Target Multiple Keywords with One Page - Next Level Brian Childs, June 15th

Thumbs: 45 Comments: 56

In this edition of our educational Next Level series, you'll learn an easy workflow for researching and targeting multiple keywords with a single page.

The top five posts in Link Building

A thousand years from now, when the Space Needle has toppled into Puget Sound and our great-great-great-great-etc. grandchildren are living on Mars, link building will still prove to be one of the most popular subjects on the Moz Blog. And you get a double-whammy of goodness this year, because they just so happen to all be Whiteboard Fridays!

Should SEOs Care About Internal Links? - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, May 26th

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 87

Internal links are one of those essential SEO items you have to get right to avoid getting them really wrong. Rand shares 18 tips to help inform your strategy, going into detail about their attributes, internal vs. external links, ideal link structures, and much, much more in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Prioritize Your Link Building Efforts & Opportunities - Whiteboard FridayRand Fishkin, February 17th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 81

We all know how effective link building efforts can be, but it can be an intimidating, frustrating process — and sometimes even a chore. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand builds out a framework you can start using today to streamline and simplify the link building process for you, your teammates, and yes, even your interns.

The 3 Easiest Link Building Tactics Any Website Can Use to Acquire Their First 50 Links - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, September 8th

Thumbs: 81 Comments: 77

Without a solid base of links, your site won't be competitive in the SERPs — even if you do everything else right. But building your first few links can be difficult and discouraging, especially for new websites. Never fear — Rand is here to share three relatively quick, easy, and tool-free (read: actually free) methods to build that solid base and earn yourself links.

When and How to Use Domain Authority, Page Authority, and Link Count Metrics - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, June 16th

Thumbs: 50 Comments: 71

How can you effectively apply link metrics like Domain Authority and Page Authority alongside your other SEO metrics? Where and when does it make sense to take them into account, and what exactly do they mean? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand answers these questions and more, arming you with the knowledge you need to better understand and execute your SEO work.

Image Link Building - Whiteboard FridayBritney Muller, December 15th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 63

Image link building is a delicate art. There are some distinct considerations from traditional link building, and doing it successfully requires a balance of creativity, curiosity, and having the right tools on hand. In this Whiteboard Friday, Moz's own SEO and link building aficionado Britney Muller offers up concrete advice for successfully building links via images.

The top 5 posts in Advanced SEO

2017's top posts in the advanced SEO category cover just about every post type we like to publish (and that you like to read): in-depth case studies, Whiteboard Fridays, best practice advice, and solid how-tos.

[Case Study] How We Ranked #1 for a High-Volume Keyword in Under 3 Months Dmitry Dragilev, April 19th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 140

If you've been struggling to take the number-one spot in the SERPs for a competitive keyword, take a cue from this case study. Dmitry Dragilev shares his team's 8-step methodology for ranking first in a popular niche.

How Google AdWords (PPC) Does and Doesn't Affect Organic Results - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, November 17th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 89

It's common industry knowledge that PPC can have an effect on our organic results. But what effect is that, exactly, and how does it work? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand covers the ways paid ads influence organic results — and one very important way they don't.

SEO Best Practices for Canonical URLs + the Rel=Canonical Tag - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, July 14th

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 87

If you've ever had any questions about the canonical tag, well, have we got the Whiteboard Friday for you. In this episode, Rand defines what rel=canonical means and its intended purpose, when it's recommended you use it, how to use it, and sticky situations to avoid.

How to Uncover Hidden Keyword-Level Data Using Google SheetsSarah Lively, February 13th

Thumbs: 42 Comments: 83

Which keywords are driving your organic traffic? Keyword-level data doesn't have to be (not provided). Sarah Lively shares a smart solution using two free add-ons for Google Sheets.

How Long Should Your Meta Description Be? (2018 Edition)Dr. Pete, December 19th

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 76

The end of November saw a spike in the average length of SERP snippets. Across 90K results, we found a definite increase but many oddities, such as video snippets. Our data suggests that many snippets are exceeding 300 characters, and we recommend a new meta description limit of 300 characters.

The top 5 posts in Technical SEO

Technical SEO posts are some of my favorite categories to publish (which is perhaps a strange sentiment coming from a poetry major). The debate that recently raged — about whether it's necessary or unnecessary for SEO — will always stick with many of us, as will Rand's excellent Whiteboard Friday rebuttal on the topic.

XML Sitemaps: The Most Misunderstood Tool in the SEO's Toolbox Michael Cottam, April 11th

Thumbs: 43 Comments: 83

XML sitemaps are a powerful tool for SEOs,..

http://ift.tt/2pMlnv2

[byronheeutgm]

The Very Best of the Moz Blog 2017: Our Top 50 Posts

Posted by FeliciaCrawford

Now, I know we technically have a few days left in 2017, but I'm ready to dive head-first into a fond, full-blown retrospective. Each year we look back on what we've published, compiling and sharing the pieces you liked best. Normally we divvy it up via various metrics: traffic, 1Metric score, total thumbs up, total comments, the best of YouMoz, and so on and so forth. This year, however, we're doing things just a little differently.

A lot has changed in the past year...

The way we run the blog has changed in a few significant ways from the days of yesteryear. YouMoz, our user-generated content blog, was retired in the autumn of 2016 (though we hope to resurrect it in another form someday). We reduced our publishing frequency a bit, and refocused our content on core SEO topics after spending 2015 and 2016 branching out into other marketing subjects (like social media and content marketing). We also made some big changes with regards to commenting: we closed comments on posts older than 30 days (they became veritable spam factories), and implemented stricter moderation filters to better catch spammy comments fishing for either a link or easy MozPoints.

And if I'm being completely honest, I don't think the "Best of" posts from years past have offered you, our beloved readers, as much value as they should've. The most excited comments on those posts occur when someone discovers a gem they'd missed, when a post reaches out to you from the masses of online content clamoring for your attention and speaks to you. The way we formerly ranked "the best" resulted in a lot of overlap; the same few posts with lots of thumbs up, a busy comments section, and high traffic overwhelmed the leaderboard.

What criteria now determines "best"?

At the end of 2017, we're starting fresh. First, I've taken our ten most popular blog post categories by traffic — these represent the topics readers are actively seeking information on. Next, I thought about which metric matters most to me when I consider the success of a blog post. Traffic, thumbs, social shares... Nice to see, yes, but they don't paint a very clear picture of a post's impact. I found myself returning to my favorite blog post metric again and again: the comments.

A post with a lively comments section can be many things. Perhaps it sparked questions or debate; perhaps the findings were controversial; perhaps it was simply inspiring. Whatever the reason, a heavily commented-on post represents something that struck a chord, that convinced a person to peek out from behind their keyboard shield and contribute a thought, that coaxed a little extra effort and commitment from our community. As a silent lurker myself, I am consistently blown away by the humility, genius, and generosity you all display in the blog comments section every day.

So there we have it: this year's Best of the Moz Blog 2017 is a list of the top five most-commented posts in the top ten blog categories. That's fifty unique blog posts throughout the year on a variety of topics, some of which you may have missed. Most blog posts fall into several of our categories, but every post will only be listed once; if it's hit the top five in a more popular category, I've taken it out of the running for the rest. It's my sincere hope that this list uncovers something useful for you, something that helps make your job and day just a little easier.

Without further ado, let's get this party started!

(If you're curious, check out the Best of 2016 and the Best of 2015, too.)

The top 5 Whiteboard Fridays

Whiteboard Friday is far and away our most popular blog category, earning three times as much traffic as the rest. Because it always overlaps with at least one other category, you're bound to get a tidy grab bag of SEO takeaways with this list!

10 Things that DO NOT (Directly) Affect Your Google Rankings Rand Fishkin, September 22nd

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 180

What do the age of your site, your headline H1/H2 preference, bounce rate, and shared hosting all have in common? You might've gotten a hint from the title: not a single one of them directly affects your Google rankings. In this rather comforting Whiteboard Friday, Rand lists out ten factors commonly thought to influence your rankings that Google simply doesn't care about.

What Do Google's New, Longer Snippets Mean for SEO? Rand Fishkin, December 8th

Thumbs: 100 Comments: 136

Featured snippets and meta descriptions have brand-new character limits, and it's a huge change for Google and SEOs alike. Learn about what's new, when it changed, and what it all means for SEO in this episode of Whiteboard Friday. (And this is cheating, but for good measure, you might follow up with Dr. Pete's official recommendation for meta description lengths in 2018.)

What Links Can You Get that Comply with Google's Guidelines?Marie Haynes, January 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 112

If you've ever been the victim of a Google penalty, you know how painful it can be to identify the problem and recover from the hit. Even if you've been penalty-free thus far, the threat of getting penalized is a source of worry. But how can you avoid it, when it seems like unnatural links lurk around every corner?

In this Whiteboard Friday, we warmly welcome Google penalty and unnatural link expert Marie Haynes as she shares how to earn links that do comply with Google's guidelines, that will keep your site out of trouble, and that can make a real impact.

7 ‹Title Tag› Hacks for Increased Rankings + Traffic - Whiteboard Friday Cyrus Shepard, May 5th

Thumbs: 185 Comments: 103

You may find yourself wondering whether the humble title tag still matters in modern SEO. When it comes to your click-through rate, the answer is a resounding yes! In this Whiteboard Friday, we welcome back our good friend Cyrus Shepard to talk about 7 ways you can revamp your title tags to increase your site traffic and rankings.

Comment Marketing: How to Earn Benefits from Community Participation Rand Fishkin, January 13th

Thumbs: 53 Comments: 97

It's been a few years since we've covered the topic of comment marketing, but that doesn't mean it's out of date. There are clever, intentional ways to market yourself and your brand in the comments sections of sites, and there's less competition now than ever before. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand details what you can do to get noticed in the comments and the benefits you'll reap from high-quality contributions.

The top 5 posts in On-Page SEO

The results of our recent Moz Blog Reader Survey highlighted on-page SEO as the topic you'd most like to learn about, so it's not surprising to see that this category sits right under Whiteboard Friday for popularity. There's an interesting theme that emerges from these top posts: it seems we're still working on many of the same things, but how we treat them has necessarily changed over time.

How Links in Headers, Footers, Content, and Navigation Can Impact SEO - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, October 20th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 92

Which link is more valuable: the one in your nav, or the one in the content of your page? Now, how about if one of those in-content links is an image, and one is text? Not all links are created equal, and getting familiar with the details will help you build a stronger linking structure. This Whiteboard Friday covers links in headers and footers, in navigation versus content, and how that can affect internal and external links, link equity, and link value between your site and others.

It's Time to Stop Doing On-Page SEO Like It's 2012 Rand Fishkin, February 6th

Thumbs: 84 Comments: 91

On-page SEO has evolved in the past five years. Rand outlines the changes in five succinct tactics: move beyond keyword repetition rules; searcher intent matters more than raw keywords; related topics are essential; links don't always beat on-page; and topical authority is more important than ever.

The Wonderful World of SEO Meta Tags [Refreshed for 2017] Kate Morris, April 13th

Thumbs: 46 Comments: 67

Which meta tags are absolutely necessary, which are dependent on your situation, and which should you absolutely ignore or remove? Kate Morris refreshes her original 2010 post on the subject of meta tags, sharing a few new tips and reiterating what's remained the same over the past 7 years.

Designing a Page's Content Flow to Maximize SEO Opportunity - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, December 1st

Thumbs: 54 Comments: 48

Controlling and improving the flow of your on-site content can actually help your SEO. What's the best way to capitalize on the opportunity present in your page design? Rand covers the questions you need to ask (and answer) and the goals you should strive for in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Do a Content Audit [Updated for 2017] Everett Sizemore, March 22nd

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 31

Learn how to do content audits for SEO in this comprehensive, updated guide by Everett Sizemore, including tips for crawling large websites, rendering JavaScript content, and auditing dynamic mobile content.

The top 5 posts in Local SEO

Local SEO overlaps with what we think of as traditional SEO in many ways, so it's not surprising at all to see this category near the top. There's still a lot of doubt and apprehension, it seems, when it comes to local SEO best practices and what really works, and the top posts in this category reflect that.

Local SEO Spam Tactics Are Working: How You Can Fight Back Casey Meraz, March 28th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 75

It's very clear that spam tactics in Google's local results are earning higher rankings. In this post, Casey Meraz identifies exactly what spammers are doing to get ahead, what they can get away with, and what you can do to fight back against the problem plaguing local results.

Not-Actually-the-Best Local SEO Practices Miriam Ellis, December 11th

Thumbs: 47 Comments: 72

Not all common practices in local SEO are the best practices. In fact, some of them can be pretty darn harmful. Check out Miriam's list of what-not-to-dos (and what-you-should-actually-dos) in this comprehensive blog post.

The 2017 Local SEO Forecast: 10 Predictions According to MozzersMiriam Ellis, February 14th

Thumbs: 35 Comments: 67

From Google providing intimate details about businesses to Amazon expanding even further into the local scene, local SEO stood to see a lot of change this year. Check out what the SEOs at Moz had to say about what to prepare for in 2017.

Proximity to Searcher is the New #1 Local Search Ranking Factor Darren Shaw, February 22nd

Thumbs: 58 Comments: 65

Forget everything you thought you knew about the most impactful local ranking factors — searcher proximity just may be the number-one thing influencing where a local business shows on the SERPs.

How to Perform a Basic Local Business Competitive AuditMiriam Ellis, August 22nd

Thumbs: 32 Comments: 65

Are you outranked in Google's Local Pack? Then it's high time to perform a competitive business audit. Use this example analysis and downloadable spreadsheet to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of multiple businesses and devise a plan to win.

The top 5 posts in Basic SEO

Basic SEO is another category that enjoys a lot of overlap with other topics; perhaps that's one reason why it's so popular. This year's top posts in this category cover a range of subjects, and all are pretty useful for someone learning (or leveling up in) SEO.

Aren't 301s, 302s, and Canonicals All Basically the Same? - Whiteboard Friday Dr. Pete, March 3rd

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 69

They say history repeats itself. In the case of the great 301 vs 302 vs rel=canonical debate, it repeats itself about every three months. In this Whiteboard Friday, Dr. Pete explains how bots and humans experience pages differently depending on which solution you use, why it matters, and how each choice may be treated by Google.

How to Prioritize SEO Tasks [+Worksheet] Britney Muller, September 21st

Thumbs: 41 Comments: 64

An absolute essential if you want to keep yourself from getting overwhelmed, Moz's own SEO Britney Muller offers five tips for prioritizing your SEO work: setting specific goals, identifying important pages for conversions, uncovering technical opportunities via a site crawl, time management, and providing consistent benchmarks and reporting.

5 Tactics to Earn Links Without Having to Directly Ask - Whiteboard FridayRand Fishkin, July 28th

Thumbs: 71 Comments: 63

Typical link outreach is a tired sport, and we've all but alienated most content creators with our constant link requests. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand outlines five smart ways to earn links to your site without having to beg.

"SEO Is Always Changing"... Or Is It?: Debunking the Myth and Getting Back to Basics Bridget Randolph, July 19th

Thumbs: 56 Comments: 60

We're so fond of the idea that SEO is hard because it's always changing. But is that really true? Bridget Randolph challenges a common industry refrain and brings us back to the basics of what's really important in our work.

How to Target Multiple Keywords with One Page - Next Level Brian Childs, June 15th

Thumbs: 45 Comments: 56

In this edition of our educational Next Level series, you'll learn an easy workflow for researching and targeting multiple keywords with a single page.

The top five posts in Link Building

A thousand years from now, when the Space Needle has toppled into Puget Sound and our great-great-great-great-etc. grandchildren are living on Mars, link building will still prove to be one of the most popular subjects on the Moz Blog. And you get a double-whammy of goodness this year, because they just so happen to all be Whiteboard Fridays!

Should SEOs Care About Internal Links? - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, May 26th

Thumbs: 85 Comments: 87

Internal links are one of those essential SEO items you have to get right to avoid getting them really wrong. Rand shares 18 tips to help inform your strategy, going into detail about their attributes, internal vs. external links, ideal link structures, and much, much more in this edition of Whiteboard Friday.

How to Prioritize Your Link Building Efforts & Opportunities - Whiteboard FridayRand Fishkin, February 17th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 81

We all know how effective link building efforts can be, but it can be an intimidating, frustrating process — and sometimes even a chore. In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand builds out a framework you can start using today to streamline and simplify the link building process for you, your teammates, and yes, even your interns.

The 3 Easiest Link Building Tactics Any Website Can Use to Acquire Their First 50 Links - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, September 8th

Thumbs: 81 Comments: 77

Without a solid base of links, your site won't be competitive in the SERPs — even if you do everything else right. But building your first few links can be difficult and discouraging, especially for new websites. Never fear — Rand is here to share three relatively quick, easy, and tool-free (read: actually free) methods to build that solid base and earn yourself links.

When and How to Use Domain Authority, Page Authority, and Link Count Metrics - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, June 16th

Thumbs: 50 Comments: 71

How can you effectively apply link metrics like Domain Authority and Page Authority alongside your other SEO metrics? Where and when does it make sense to take them into account, and what exactly do they mean? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand answers these questions and more, arming you with the knowledge you need to better understand and execute your SEO work.

Image Link Building - Whiteboard FridayBritney Muller, December 15th

Thumbs: 48 Comments: 63

Image link building is a delicate art. There are some distinct considerations from traditional link building, and doing it successfully requires a balance of creativity, curiosity, and having the right tools on hand. In this Whiteboard Friday, Moz's own SEO and link building aficionado Britney Muller offers up concrete advice for successfully building links via images.

The top 5 posts in Advanced SEO

2017's top posts in the advanced SEO category cover just about every post type we like to publish (and that you like to read): in-depth case studies, Whiteboard Fridays, best practice advice, and solid how-tos.

[Case Study] How We Ranked #1 for a High-Volume Keyword in Under 3 Months Dmitry Dragilev, April 19th

Thumbs: 73 Comments: 140

If you've been struggling to take the number-one spot in the SERPs for a competitive keyword, take a cue from this case study. Dmitry Dragilev shares his team's 8-step methodology for ranking first in a popular niche.

How Google AdWords (PPC) Does and Doesn't Affect Organic Results - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, November 17th

Thumbs: 68 Comments: 89

It's common industry knowledge that PPC can have an effect on our organic results. But what effect is that, exactly, and how does it work? In this Whiteboard Friday, Rand covers the ways paid ads influence organic results — and one very important way they don't.

SEO Best Practices for Canonical URLs + the Rel=Canonical Tag - Whiteboard Friday Rand Fishkin, July 14th

Thumbs: 62 Comments: 87

If you've ever had any questions about the canonical tag, well, have we got the Whiteboard Friday for you. In this episode, Rand defines what rel=canonical means and its intended purpose, when it's recommended you use it, how to use it, and sticky situations to avoid.

How to Uncover Hidden Keyword-Level Data Using Google SheetsSarah Lively, February 13th

Thumbs: 42 Comments: 83

Which keywords are driving your organic traffic? Keyword-level data doesn't have to be (not provided). Sarah Lively shares a smart solution using two free add-ons for Google Sheets.

How Long Should Your Meta Description Be? (2018 Edition)Dr. Pete, December 19th

Thumbs: 49 Comments: 76

The end of November saw a spike in the average length of SERP snippets. Across 90K results, we found a definite increase but many oddities, such as video snippets. Our data suggests that many snippets are exceeding 300 characters, and we recommend a new meta description limit of 300 characters.

The top 5 posts in Technical SEO

Technical SEO posts are some of my favorite categories to publish (which is perhaps a strange sentiment coming from a poetry major). The debate that recently raged — about whether it's necessary or unnecessary for SEO — will always stick with many of us, as will Rand's excellent Whiteboard Friday rebuttal on the topic.

XML Sitemaps: The Most Misunderstood Tool in the SEO's Toolbox Michael Cottam, April 11th

Thumbs: 43 Comments: 83

XML sitemaps are a powerful tool for SEOs,..

http://ift.tt/2pMlnv2