SEO guides written by a senior SEO analyst.
Long form playbooks on the parts of SEO that actually move rankings. Written for business owners, marketing leads, and anyone who wants to know what's really going on under the hood. No fluff, no AI-generated content, no recycled best practices from 2017.
Currently available guides.
Each guide runs 3,500 to 5,000 words and covers the topic at the depth a senior SEO analyst would actually use to run client work.
Ultimate Guide to SEO
Everything that actually matters for ranking in 2026: technical foundations, on-page, content, links, local SEO, AI search, keyword research, and what separates DIY from senior-grade work.
Read the guide Local SEOThe Complete Guide to Local SEO
Everything that actually moves the local 3-pack: Google Business Profile, NAP citations, reviews, local links, on-page work, schema, tracking, and the common mistakes that hold businesses back.
Read the guide Google Business ProfileGoogle Business Profile Optimization: The Complete Guide
Every section, every setting, every tactic. How to set up your profile correctly, what gets profiles suspended, and the advanced moves senior SEO analysts use that most businesses never know about.
Read the guide Technical SEOTechnical SEO Audit Guide
What a real technical SEO audit checks, what gets found on most audits, and how to prioritize fixes so you're not staring at a 50-item list with no idea where to start.
Read the guide AI SearchHow to Optimize for AI Overviews
What gets cited in Google's AI Overviews, what doesn't, and the content patterns that show up in AI-generated answers in 2026. Direct answer structure, schema, brand and entity signals.
Read the guide Ecommerce SEOThe Ecommerce SEO Guide
Everything that moves rankings on an online store: site architecture, faceted navigation, category and product pages, product schema, Core Web Vitals, and the duplicate content traps unique to ecommerce.
Read the guide SEO StrategySEO Forecasting
SEO forecasting with real math. CTR curves, the basic formula, three worked examples using actual keyword data, position sensitivity analysis, and the confidence ranges most agencies skip.
Read the guideOn the roadmap, in active drafting.
Whitewater publishes guides as the topic gets the depth it deserves, not on a content calendar. These are the ones currently in progress or planned.
Keyword Research: A Practical Guide
How to find keywords that actually convert, not just rank. Search intent, keyword difficulty, gap analysis, and the workflow senior analysts use on real client accounts.
SEO Content Writing: From Brief to Ranking
The brief, the outline, the writing standards, and the publishing process for SEO articles that actually compete at the top of the SERP.
Hiring an SEO Agency: What to Look For
Red flags, green flags, the questions to ask before signing a contract, and how to know whether the work being done is real or just deliverables-on-paper.
Link Building for Local Businesses
Where local links actually come from, what tactics still work in 2026, and the outreach playbook for building real authority without buying garbage links.
Want help applying any of this to your business?
Book a free consultation. A senior SEO analyst pulls your site up live on the call, walks the gaps relevant to whichever guide topic matters most, and tells you straight what would actually move the needle. No pitch, no contract pressure.