Adam Bate, Founder & COO at SEO Brothers
Author

Adam Bate

Founder & COO

Adam Bate is the co-founder of SEO Brothers and the person who shaped how the company actually does SEO. Long before he and Devon started it in 2015, he was running his own hosting, web, and SEO businesses and working in-house at a high-end Calgary agency, so he came into SEO Brothers having already seen the field from nearly every angle. That's more than two decades of watching which tactics last and which ones quietly stop working.

At SEO Brothers he sets the SEO strategy, leads sales and marketing, and as COO runs how the team actually functions and delivers the work. His writing leans on that long history: link building, on-page, keyword work, and the strategy guides that anchor the original SEO Brothers content. He co-hosts the Brothers in Search podcast with Devon.

Co-host of the Brothers in Search podcast
Written by Adam Bate

Guides from Adam Bate

Local

Austin SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Central Texas

A read on local search behavior across the Austin market, the variations people actually type, and why a fast-growing metro keeps a dominant core term while a real suburban ring fills in around it. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Baton Rouge SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the Capital Region

A read on local search behavior across Baton Rouge and the Capital Region, the variations people actually type, and why the growth parishes east and south of the city behave as their own markets. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Birmingham SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Central Alabama

A read on local search behavior across the Birmingham, Alabama market, the variations people actually type, and why the Over the Mountain suburbs and the Shelby County corridor behave as a real suburban tier. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Atlanta SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Metro Atlanta

A read on local search behavior across metro Atlanta, the variations people actually type, and why one strong core term sits over a wide, unusually even ring of OTP suburbs. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Calgary SEO: Why the Quadrants Actually Show Up in Search

A read on local search behavior in Calgary, a single-core city where two things break the usual pattern: the quadrants carry real standalone search, and the satellite towns behave as genuine markets. Real volume data, with furnace repair as the sample service and the cold-climate demand it exposes.

Read guide Local

Charlotte SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in the Carolinas Piedmont

A read on local search behavior across the Charlotte market, the variations people actually type, and why this polycentric metro spreads demand across a broad suburban tier and over the South Carolina state line. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Colorado Springs SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in the Pikes Peak Region

A read on local search behavior across Colorado Springs, the variations people actually type, and why a large single core carries most of the demand while a modest suburban ring earns its own pages. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Dallas SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across North Texas

A read on local search behavior across Dallas and its northern suburbs: the variations people actually type, why Plano, Frisco, and McKinney behave as their own markets, and what that means for a service business. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Denver SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the Front Range

A read on local search behavior across metro Denver, the variations people actually type, and why a broad, even ring of Front Range suburbs carries real standalone demand. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Detroit SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Metro Detroit

A read on local search behavior across Metro Detroit, the variations people actually type, and why a genuinely polycentric metro spreads its demand across a tier of large suburban markets. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Edmonton SEO: Why the Small Towns Outsearch the Big Suburbs

A read on local search behavior across the Edmonton metro, where the capital region has a genuine multi-town tier but the volume doesn't track population the way you'd expect. Real Ahrefs data, with furnace repair as the sample service and the cold-climate demand it exposes.

Read guide Local

Fort Worth SEO: How Local Search Works on the West Side of DFW

A read on local search behavior across Fort Worth and Tarrant County, the variations people actually type, and why DFW behaves as two anchors rather than one metro. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Fort Lauderdale SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Broward County

A read on local search behavior across Fort Lauderdale and Broward County, the variations people actually type, and why a spread-out South Florida metro splits its demand across a tier of independent suburban cities. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Houston SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Greater Houston

A read on local search behavior across Greater Houston, the variations people actually type, and why a sprawling, polycentric metro spreads its demand across a tier of large suburban markets. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Jacksonville SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Northeast Florida

A read on local search behavior across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, the variations people actually type, and why a consolidated city-county absorbs so much demand while the surrounding counties carry real standalone search. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Kelowna SEO: How the Okanagan Corridor Splits Local Search

A read on local search behavior in Kelowna, the hub of a genuine Okanagan corridor where the neighboring towns carry their own search instead of folding into the city. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service and the four-season demand it exposes.

Read guide Local

Las Vegas SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the Valley

A read on local search behavior across the Las Vegas valley, the variations people actually type, and why two genuinely independent cities carry real search while a ring of unincorporated townships folds into the metro term. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Mississauga SEO: How Local Search Works in a City Next to Toronto

A read on local search behavior in Mississauga, the variations people actually type, and why the neighboring cities matter more than Mississauga's own neighborhoods. Real volume data, with furnace repair as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Montreal SEO: Why Local Search Splits Across Two Languages

A read on local search behavior in Montreal, a bilingual market where a real slice of demand happens in French even for English target terms. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service and the English-versus-French split it exposes.

Read guide Local

Nashville SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Middle Tennessee

A read on local search behavior across the Nashville market, the variations people actually type, and why Middle Tennessee is one of the more genuinely fragmented metros for suburb-level search. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

New Orleans SEO: How Local Search Works Across a Metro Split by Water

A read on local search behavior across Greater New Orleans, the variations people actually type, and why the lake and the river carve the metro into distinct markets. Real volume data, with roofing as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Oklahoma City SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the OKC Metro

A read on local search behavior across the Oklahoma City metro, the variations people actually type, and why a spread-out market pushes real demand into suburbs like Moore, Yukon, Norman, and Edmond. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Orlando SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Central Florida

A read on local search behavior across the Orlando market, the variations people actually type, and why Central Florida's fast-growing suburbs carry real standalone demand. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Ottawa SEO: How Local Search Splits Across an Amalgamated Capital

A read on local search in Ottawa, a capital whose 2001 amalgamation folded Kanata, Nepean, Gloucester, and Orleans into one city that, unlike Winnipeg, kept real standalone suburban search. Real volume data, with furnace repair as the sample service and a francophone second market across the river in Gatineau.

Read guide Local

Phoenix SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the Valley of the Sun

A read on local search behavior across metro Phoenix, the variations people actually type, and why the East Valley and Scottsdale behave as distinct markets. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service in a market where cooling is life-safety, not comfort.

Read guide Local

Raleigh SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the Triangle

A read on local search behavior across the Raleigh and Triangle market, the variations people actually type, and why Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, and Wake Forest behave as genuinely distinct markets rather than suburbs of one core. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Richmond SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Central Virginia

A read on local search behavior across the Richmond, Virginia market, the variations people actually type, and why a compact independent city ringed by big suburban counties spreads its demand the way it does. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Sacramento SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the Sacramento Region

A read on local search behavior across Greater Sacramento, the variations people actually type, and why a metro spread across four counties pushes real demand into a tier of standalone suburbs. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Salt Lake City SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Along the Wasatch Front

A read on local search behavior across Salt Lake City and the Wasatch Front, the variations people actually type, and why a metro strung along I-15 spreads demand from Ogden through Provo. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

San Antonio SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Bexar County

A read on local search behavior across San Antonio, the variations people actually type, and why a heavily core-concentrated metro pushes its outlying demand to a couple of genuinely separate small cities. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Seattle SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the Puget Sound

A read on local search behavior across Seattle and the Puget Sound, the variations people actually type, and why the Eastside, Tacoma, and Everett behave as distinct markets. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

St. Louis SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in a Bi-State Metro

A read on local search behavior across the St. Louis market, the variations people actually type, and why a metro split across a state line ends up with one of the most distributed suburban search patterns you will find. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Tampa SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across Tampa Bay

A read on local search behavior across Tampa Bay, the variations people actually type, and why the Pinellas cities and the fast-growing eastern suburbs behave as distinct markets. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Spokane SEO: How Local Search Works Across the Inland Northwest

A read on local search behavior across Spokane and the Inland Northwest, the variations people actually type, and why the Idaho state line splits this metro into two real markets. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Tucson SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Southern Arizona

A read on local search behavior across the Tucson market, the variations people actually type, and why a single dominant core sits above a modest ring of desert suburbs. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Toronto SEO: How Local Search Works Across the 416 and the 905

A read on local search behavior across Toronto proper and the surrounding GTA, the variations people actually type, and why the amalgamated former cities inside the 416 behave differently from Mississauga's neighborhoods. Real volume data, with furnace repair as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Victoria SEO: Why Heat Pumps, Not Furnaces, Tell the Real Story

A read on local search behavior across Greater Victoria, where the city term does most of the work, Langford is the one suburb that shows up, and a mild coastal climate flips the usual home-services demand. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service and the heat-pump tilt it exposes.

Read guide Local

Winnipeg SEO: Why the Core Swallows the Suburbs in Local Search

A read on local search behavior in Winnipeg, a metro whose 1972 amalgamation folded a dozen municipalities into one city that its search behavior never split back apart. Real volume data, with furnace repair as the sample service and the cold-climate demand it exposes.

Read guide Local

Buffalo SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Western New York

A read on local search behavior across the Buffalo market, the variations people actually type, and why the Northtowns and Niagara Falls behave as distinct markets. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Cincinnati SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the Tri-State

A read on local search behavior across the Cincinnati market, the variations people actually type, and why Northern Kentucky is a genuine cross-river market rather than a Cincinnati suburb. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Cleveland SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Northeast Ohio

A read on local search behavior across Northeast Ohio, the variations people actually type, and why Akron and Canton are separate markets rather than Cleveland suburbs. Real volume data, with roofing as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Columbus SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Central Ohio

A read on local search behavior across the Columbus market, the variations people actually type, and why this is one of the few metros where the fast-growing suburbs carry real standalone search. Real volume data, with roofing as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Des Moines SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Central Iowa

A read on local search behavior across the Des Moines market, the variations people actually type, and why demand concentrates tightly on the metro with the suburbs rolling up. Real volume data, with roofing as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Grand Rapids SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in West Michigan

A read on local search behavior across the Grand Rapids market, the variations people actually type, and why demand concentrates on the metro name and "near me" rather than the suburbs. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Indianapolis SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Central Indiana

A read on local search behavior across the Indianapolis market, the variations people actually type, and why the affluent north suburbs carry real standalone search where most metros' suburbs don't. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Kansas City SEO: How Local Search Actually Works Across the State Line

A read on local search behavior across the Kansas City metro, the variations people actually type, and why the Johnson County, Kansas side is a major distinct market rather than a suburb. Real volume data, with roofing as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Madison SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in South-Central Wisconsin

A read on local search behavior across the Madison market, the variations people actually type, and why Janesville functions as its own market while the close suburbs roll up into Madison. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Milwaukee SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Southeast Wisconsin

A read on local search behavior across the Milwaukee market, the variations people actually type, and why Racine and Kenosha behave as their own markets rather than Milwaukee suburbs. Real volume data, with roofing as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Omaha SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in the Metro and Across the River

A read on local search behavior across the Omaha market, the variations people actually type, and why Council Bluffs across the river in Iowa is its own market. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Pittsburgh SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in Western Pennsylvania

A read on local search behavior across the Pittsburgh market, the variations people actually type, and why a city famous for its neighborhoods is still searched almost entirely as one metro term. Real volume data, with HVAC as the sample service.

Read guide Local

Rochester SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in the Finger Lakes Region

A read on local search behavior across the Rochester market, the variations people actually type, and why the suburbs roll up into the metro term. Real volume data, with roofing as the sample service.

Read guide SEO

Keyword Mapping: Assigning the Right Keywords to the Right Pages

Keyword research tells you what to target. Keyword mapping decides which page targets what. The framework, the spreadsheet structure, the intent groups, and the competitive analysis process I use on every campaign.

Read guide SEO

Link Building: How to Build Links That Actually Move Rankings

An honest guide to link building. The strategies that work, the ones that get sites penalized, the metrics worth watching, and the budget reality most SEO content avoids talking about.

Read guide SEO

Local SEO: A Complete Framework for Dominating Your Market

Local SEO has fewer variables than enterprise SEO and is more predictable when done systematically. The website structure, the 10-step framework, Google Business Profile optimization, and the metrics that actually matter.

Read guide SEO

On-Page SEO: The Elements That Actually Move Rankings

A complete framework for on-page optimization. The four elements that actually move rankings, the architecture decisions that make the rest compound, and the documentation process we use on every campaign.

Read guide SEO

Searcher Intent: How to Read What People Actually Want From a Query

A strategic framework for understanding searcher intent. The classic taxonomy, the modern intent signals, how AI search has shifted what intent means, and how to reverse-engineer Google's intent interpretation from the SERP itself.

Read guide SEO

The SEO Audit: How to Run One, What's In It, and How to Deliver Findings That Actually Get Implemented

A practical SEO audit framework. The performance review, technical audit, and content audit components, the tools, the deliverable formats that produce action versus the ones that produce nothing, and the strategic call about whether to run audits free or paid.

Read guide SEO

SEO for WordPress Sites: Plugins, Architecture, and the Pieces That Still Matter

WordPress SEO advice that's still relevant in 2026, plus the pieces from the older playbook that have gone stale. Plugin recommendations, content siloing, child theming for safe customization, and the page-speed reality post Core Web Vitals.

Read guide SEO

Sitebulb: The Desktop SEO Crawler We Actually Use

A full review of Sitebulb, the desktop SEO crawler our team has used for years. What it does well, where Screaming Frog still wins, and why the visualization layer is what makes Sitebulb worth keeping in the stack.

Read guide SEO

Website Redesign SEO: A Nine-Step Process to Preserve Rankings Through a Migration

Most websites lose organic traffic after a redesign because the SEO work was an afterthought. The nine-step process for shipping a redesign that holds rankings, plus the specific traps (staging robots.txt, redirect mapping, template regressions) that cause the worst losses.

Read guide SEO

What to Blog About: Choosing Topics That Actually Drive Traffic

The hardest part of content marketing is deciding what to write. The themes-then-validation framework I use, the Ahrefs walkthrough for finding traction-ready topics, the internal-linking strategy that makes blog content lift the rest of the site, and the pruning process for content that never earned its keep.

Read guide SEO

White Hat SEO: What It Actually Means and Where the Limits Are

A practical look at white hat SEO. The legitimate version of the strategy, the honest limits of "white hat only" promises, and the relationship between white hat, gray hat, and the realities of competing in modern search.

Read guide SEO

Private Blog Networks: What They Are, How They Work, and Whether They Still Make Sense

PBNs have been declared dead in roughly every year since 2014, and they keep working anyway. A practical look at where the tactic still produces results in 2026, what AI changed, and why building one yourself usually doesn't make sense.

Read guide Local

Halifax SEO: How Local Search Actually Works in the HRM

We're a Nova Scotia company with most of our Canadian team based around the HRM. A guide to local search behavior in our home market, the variations people actually use, and why "Halifax" can mean three different things to three different searchers.

Read guide Local

Hamilton SEO: Search Behavior in Hamilton, the Mountain, and the Former Communities

Hamilton's 2001 amalgamation merged Stoney Creek, Dundas, Ancaster, Flamborough, and Glanbrook into one city. Local search hasn't fully caught up. The variations that still matter, and what they mean for ranking in this market.

Read guide Agency

How to Sell SEO Services Without Being a Subject Matter Expert

You don't need to be an SEO expert to sell SEO. You need to understand your client's business and bring in the right delivery team. The framework, the sales process, and the pricing reality most agencies avoid.

Read guide SEO

Interaction to Next Paint (INP): What Replaced FID and How to Optimize for It

INP replaced First Input Delay as a Core Web Vital in March 2024. A complete guide to what it measures, why it's stricter than FID, the thresholds that matter, and the optimization tactics that move sites from failing to passing.

Read guide SEO

Keyword Research: How to Identify the Right Keywords for SEO

A step-by-step framework for identifying keywords that drive qualified organic traffic. The keyword types that matter, the tools we use, the validation process, and the spreadsheet structure that makes the output actionable.

Read guide Local

Kitchener-Waterloo SEO: Search Behavior in KW and the Region of Waterloo

KW, K-W, Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Tri-Cities, Region of Waterloo. Local search in this market splits across more variations than almost any Canadian market. What that means for keyword strategy and ranking.

Read guide Local

Vancouver SEO: Search Behavior Across Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland

Vancouver, Greater Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, Lower Mainland. Plus North Van, West Van, East Van, and a dozen separate municipalities people often think of as "Vancouver." A guide to local search behavior in one of Canada's most fragmented urban search landscapes.

Read guide