As a Principal SEO for Yoast, Carolyn Shelby architects the search strategies that power the world’s most popular SEO platform. A 30-year veteran of digital strategy, she previously served as the Director of SEO for Tribune Publishing, where she oversaw technical governance for a massive portfolio of major daily newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
Her career includes a specialized tenure as the SEO Lead for ESPN (on loan from Disney), where she managed the brand’s domestic and global search operations. This background in high-velocity media and complex enterprise migrations established her reputation for protecting search equity at a global scale.
In addition to her partnership with Yoast, Carolyn is the VP of Strategy at Northside Metrics, providing high-stakes advisory to executive leadership. She maintains her research and technical perspectives at CSHEL.com.
Each month, we host an SEO update covering the latest in search and AI. During this month’s edition, our SEO experts Carolyn Shelby and Alex Moss, cover everything from the latest advances in Agentic AI to Google’s spam and core updates and why simply publishing more content is no longer enough and in many cases […]
Read: "The April 2026 SEO Update by Yoast recap"
As AI-driven search engines rewrite the rules of content visibility, one thing is clear: optimization isn’t dead — it’s evolving. Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Perplexity AI don’t just retrieve web pages; they synthesize answers. And your content? It only gets included if it’s clear, relevant, and easy to extract. The […]
Read: "How to optimize content for AI LLM comprehension using Yoast’s tools"
AI-powered search tools like SearchGPT have sparked both excitement and concern among SEOs. Recently, industry prognosticators have expressed fears about AI-driven tools undermining traditional traffic sources. They worry that widespread adoption of these tools will divert so much traffic away from previously profitable websites that the decline in visibility will “unalive” those sites completely. It’s […]
Read: "No, AI-powered search is not built on theft: debunking misconceptions"
In a landmark ruling, a federal judge has declared Google a monopoly, citing the tech giant’s anticompetitive practices in maintaining its dominant position in the search engine market. This decision could have significant impacts on the search industry and digital marketing writ large, potentially reshaping the landscape for SEO strategies and paid search. As Google […]
Read: "Google ruled a monopoly; search industry braces for change"
In a happy yet surprising move, Google has announced it will not be phasing out third-party cookies as previously planned. This decision has significant implications for website owners, digital marketers, and SEO practitioners, particularly those using tools like Yoast SEO to optimize their WordPress sites. Here’s a closer look at what this means for Yoast […]
Read: "Google’s reversal on third-party cookies: what it means for you"
In the SEO universe, paradigm shifting insights can suddenly appear out of nowhere, like a decloaking warbird a little too close to the neutral zone, catching even the most seasoned captains by surprise. The recent Google API leak has sent such a shockwave through the SEO quadrant, igniting intense discussions and debates within the community. […]
Read: "The Google Leak: insights and implications for SEO best practices"
As Google rolls out its new AI Overviews, SEO professionals and website owners must adapt to these changes to maintain and improve their search rankings. Google’s AI Overview, powered by the advanced Gemini model, integrates generative AI into the SERP. It provides users with summarized answers to complex queries at the top — well above […]
Read: "AI Overviews by Google and how Yoast SEO helps you prepare"
