{"id":33324,"date":"2021-10-11T09:23:43","date_gmt":"2021-10-11T14:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/?p=33324"},"modified":"2021-10-12T09:01:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T14:01:13","slug":"seo-is-a-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/seo-is-a-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"SEO is a Garden a.k.a. The Parboil Strikes Back"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\r\n<article class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\r\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-beige has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-772205c6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained is-style-beige--1\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50)\">\r\n<header class=\"wp-block-group c-breadcrumbs aligngrid has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-61973aa6 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">\r\n<header class=\"wp-block-group aligngrid is-content-justification-left is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d68226ec wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30)\">\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\" style=\"margin-bottom:5px\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mediavine-dev.d1.moderntribe.qa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/chevron-left2.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-542\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9\/16;object-fit:contain;width:auto;height:20px\"\/><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"is-style-small is-style-small--2\"><a href=\"\/blog\/\">Back to Blog<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/header>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity aligngrid\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\"\/>\r\n<\/header>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-style-default has-neutral-20-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--70);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\"><div class=\"aligncenter aligncenter wp-block-tribe-terms\"><ul class=\"wp-block-tribe-terms__list\"><li class=\"wp-block-tribe-terms__term\"><span class=\"wp-block-tribe-terms__link t-category\">Mediavine<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n<h1 style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10);\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-title\">SEO is a Garden a.k.a. The Parboil Strikes Back<\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-center is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-9b38c6d9 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\"><div style=\"margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-author-name\">Eric Hochberger<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>\u2022<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0;padding-right:0;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0;margin-right:0;\" class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-post-date has-10-font-size\"><time datetime=\"2021-10-11T09:23:43-05:00\">October 11, 2021<\/time><\/div><\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\n<p>Today on the Mediavine blog, we&#8217;re throwing it back to 2017, famously known to SEO experts across the web as the Year of the Parboil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was never actually known as such, of course, but an experiment from back then remains instructive and shapes our SEO strategies today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A blog post I wrote titled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/improving-rankings-google-search-console-search-analytics\/\">Improving Your Rankings with Google Search Console<\/a> ensured that the Food Fanatic team would never see the word &#8220;parboil&#8221; the same way again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don&#8217;t have that 2017 post bookmarked, I forgive you, but check it out via the link above to see why we chose parboiling and ended up partially boiling a ton of different starches and vegetables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The summary for those just skimming this: We used Google Search Console (GSC) to find posts we were getting search traction on, yet were still ranked outside the top three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We architected a related content strategy around that term, and developed supporting content that linked back to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/cornerstone-content\/\">cornerstone content<\/a> &#8211; how to parboil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"638\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5.jpg\" alt=\"Food Fanatic parboil post progression throughout the years\" class=\"wp-image-33355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-320x255.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-768x612.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-375x299.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-464x370.jpg 464w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-287x229.jpg 287w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-234x187.jpg 234w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-335x267.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-347x277.jpg 347w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-520x415.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/parboil-bubble-map-5-640x510.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Our parboiling ranking slowly but surely improved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-seo-is-a-garden-registered-trademark\">SEO is a Garden, Registered Trademark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve heard me give a SEO talk before, you\u2019ve likely heard a line that I&#8217;ve been using ever since I stole it from Joshua Daniel Rodrigues Unseth around 2014:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SEO is like a garden. Keep maintaining it and it will grow beautifully. Let the weeds take over and your parboil rankings will drop before you know it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you haven&#8217;t guessed, we can speak from experience because Food Fanatic indeed let the weeds take over. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that&#8217;s not the end of the story. By returning to that garden and refreshing our content with a little love, our parboiling ranking has returned and then some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out this GSC snapshot to see:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-1024x450.jpg\" alt=\"Google search console screenshot with total clicks and impressions\" class=\"wp-image-33326\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-1024x450.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-320x140.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-768x337.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-1536x674.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-2048x899.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-1170x514.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-375x165.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-800x351.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-569x250.jpg 569w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-353x155.jpg 353w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-288x126.jpg 288w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-335x147.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-347x152.jpg 347w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-520x228.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-640x281.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-960x421.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-02-1080x474.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that I have your attention, let\u2019s get into the weeds &#8230; sort of literally! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019re about to draw upon so many lessons you\u2019ve learned from my SEO Like a CEO series through the years. Beginning with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 1: Link to Cornerstone Content From Your Homepage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve read my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/site-structure\/\">site structure<\/a> post, you likely remember this tip. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Make sure your cornerstone content is linked from your homepage, via a link in your navigation (top is best, sidebar is second best, footer is last best).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you run a static homepage, you can accomplish this via a Popular Posts section, a Best Of section, or whatever else you can come up with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the key, though: You&#8217;ll want to make sure that the cornerstone content, e.g. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foodfanatic.com\/2013\/10\/how-to-parboil\/\">How to Parboil<\/a>,\u201d is one \u201chop\u201d from the homepage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, that there&#8217;s always a link from the homepage to this content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/beginner\/seo-starter-guide?visit_id=637696392163861832-3225055351&amp;rd=1#plannavigation\">explicitly stated advice from Google<\/a>, if you don&#8217;t want to take my word for it. Whether you trust me, Google, or both, I can&#8217;t stress how crucial this is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sadly, we didn\u2019t have this when the crabgrass and fescue invaded our parboil garden (first time that sentence has ever been written) and our content from 2017 got buried. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>File that under lessons learned, but also problems solved: We&#8217;ve since added a quick, top-level navigation of Popular and added a link to \u201cHow to Parboil,\u201d as well as other top posts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 2: Update Cornerstone Content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve said it before, but Google and users love fresh content. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It doesn\u2019t matter who you are or what you\u2019re searching for. Are you more likely to open a post that was last updated eight years ago or eight days ago? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our original parboiling post is in fact from 2013, but that doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s outdated. We\u2019re still updating it so that readers (and Google) see a current version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We added fresh photos (it helps that our new Food Fanatic editor is a great photographer) and freshened up the content enough that Google would consider it updated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We then changed the updated \/ modified date &#8211; NOT the publishing date. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(If you think I\u2019m anti-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/should-you-delete-content-or-just-stop-linking\/\">deleting content<\/a>, you should see how I feel about re-publishing. Don\u2019t do it! Update the old. Update it some more. Resist the urge to re-publish!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Armed with this updated content and a shiny new modified stamp, it wasn&#8217;t long before we saw the fruits of our labor with fresh search results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"screenshot of the search results for &quot;how to parboil&quot; Food Fanatic shows up on the first page\" class=\"wp-image-33328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-320x213.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-1170x779.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-375x250.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-555x370.jpg 555w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-344x229.jpg 344w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-281x187.jpg 281w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-335x223.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-347x231.jpg 347w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-520x346.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-640x426.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-960x640.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-01-1080x719.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 3: Add More Related Content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Just like we dug in and updated our original blog post with some new material to freshen it up, we went looking for some more related content as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you pay for a keyword search tool, that\u2019s a great place to head to find related parboiling content, but if you know our original post, you know where we went: Google itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Google&#8217;s prominent and free &#8220;People Also Ask&#8221; and &#8220;Related Content&#8221; sections are often the best and easiest source of ideas, and this was no exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We found some great additional parboiling terms right there:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"433\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-1024x433.jpg\" alt=\"Related Searches screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-33329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-1024x433.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-320x135.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-768x325.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-1536x650.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-2048x867.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-1170x495.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-375x159.jpg 375w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-800x339.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-569x241.jpg 569w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-353x149.jpg 353w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-288x122.jpg 288w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-335x142.jpg 335w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-347x147.jpg 347w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-520x220.jpg 520w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-640x271.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-960x406.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-03-1080x457.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We were able to add five new parboiling posts, and just like our original strategy, each of these posts linked back to our cornerstone content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 4: Find Related Keywords<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a great bonus tip. In our SEO Like a CEO series, you&#8217;ll often hear me say you should think of each post as targeting a single-focus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/what-is-a-keyword\/\">keyphrase<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While that\u2019s 100% true, we also encourage long-form content (think 500+ words, or even this 1,227-word thesis you\u2019re reading) whenever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With long-form content, you expand the playing field, giving yourself opportunities to rank for additional long tail keywords, not only your targeted key phrase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For this exercise, we hit up Google Search Console&#8217;s performance tab to see what other terms our cornerstone and supporting content are ranking on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can do this by running a query filter containing parboil, or a page filter with any URLs containing parboil (or even just your cornerstone content).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through this method, we learned about all kinds of queries we were ranking on &#8211; and which we could easily add additional content for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How to parboil. How long to parboil, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"457\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-1024x457.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-1024x457.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-320x143.png 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-768x342.png 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-1536x685.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-2048x913.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-1170x522.png 1170w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-375x167.png 375w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-800x357.png 800w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-569x254.png 569w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-353x157.png 353w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-288x128.png 288w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-335x149.png 335w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-347x155.png 347w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-520x232.png 520w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-640x285.png 640w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-960x428.png 960w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/how-to-parboil-1080x482.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>We then went back and updated our content to include those as sections \u2014 each with a big H2 heading and the phrase and content below it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tip 5: Update Old Supporting Content<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re still with us, you understand where we&#8217;re going with this. Just as we updated our cornerstone content, we refreshed our supporting content accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any content that was close to ranking in the top three spots (how to parboil rice, in this case) got a link from the other supporting content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also repeated Tip 4 for the supporting content; &#8220;How long to parboil rice&#8221; is just as relevant here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Guess What? It Works!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure enough, all of our new supporting content began to rank as well. Overall, we\u2019re up 250% in parboil traffic after what amounted to 10 hours of content creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ten hours of parboiling sounds like a lot, but consider this: Semrush shows that there are over 100K searches for parboiling and related queries every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ranking in the top three for these queries would likely be enough for a site to meet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/mediavine-requirements-why-our-application-process-yields-the-best-results\/\">Mediavine requirements<\/a> by running parboil-related content alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, you don&#8217;t need a single cornerstone &#8211; no matter how much you love parboiling every conceivable food. You can follow this strategy with several niches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Follow these tips and watch your traffic simmer to a (par)boil. Sorry.<\/p>\n<\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0\">\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-09aec4f2 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);padding-right:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60)\">\r\n<p class=\"is-style-small is-style-small--3\">About the author<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);\" class=\"wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__avatar\"><img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/152dc08941c75895b80ffc4d0f79236a870658434ec66e25f227ffe962e70114?s=96&#038;d=blank&#038;r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/152dc08941c75895b80ffc4d0f79236a870658434ec66e25f227ffe962e70114?s=192&#038;d=blank&#038;r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' \/><\/div><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/author\/eric\/\" target=\"_self\">Eric Hochberger<\/a><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__bio\"><\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7c04bf6b wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0\">\r\n<p class=\"is-style-small is-style-small--4\">Share this page<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-outermost-social-sharing has-normal-icon-size has-icon-color is-style-logos-only is-content-justification-left is-layout-flex wp-container-outermost-social-sharing-is-layout-9d3a6402 wp-block-social-sharing-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--10)\"><li style=\"color: #000000; \" class=\"outermost-social-sharing-link outermost-social-sharing-link-linkedin 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is-animated-on-scroll-25 tribe-animation-type-fade-in tribe-animation-direction-bottom is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--60);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--50);--tribe-animation-speed:0.6s;--tribe-animation-offset:50px;--tribe-animation-delay:0s;--tribe-animation-easing:var(--easing--ease-out-sine)\">\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading is-style-small is-style-small--5\" id=\"h-related-posts\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">Related Posts<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:0;\" class=\"b-related-posts b-related-posts--layout-grid  wp-block-tribe-related-posts\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"c-post-card c-post-card__layout-vertical\">\n\t<div class=\"c-post-card__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__image aspect-ratio-cover aspect-ratio-3-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" 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https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-vertical-video-graphics-04.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__primary-category t-category\">Mediavine<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"c-post-card__title t-display-xx-small t-transparent-underline\">Monetize the Vertical Video Content You Already Have<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata-readtime\">4 minutes<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-author t-body-small\">The Mediavine Team<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-separator t-body-small\">\u2022<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-date t-body-small\">Feb 16, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__excerpt\">Back to Blog 4 min read \u2022 \u2022 From Social to Site: Mediavine&#8217;s Vertical Video Ads Are Live Publisher-produced video content is where the market is moving, and with this release, the videos you\u2019ve produced for social media can have additional value on your website.&nbsp;&nbsp; While others are still testing the waters, Mediavine already supports&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/monetize-the-vertical-video-content-you-already-have\/\" class=\"c-post-card__link-overlay\" aria-label=\"Read more about Monetize the Vertical Video Content You Already Have\"><\/a>\n<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"c-post-card c-post-card__layout-vertical\">\n\t<div class=\"c-post-card__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__image aspect-ratio-cover aspect-ratio-3-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-future-of-publishing-graphics-01-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"Photograph of Mediavine&#039;s Eric Hochberger and Amanda Martin on stage at MVCon 2025.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-future-of-publishing-graphics-01-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-future-of-publishing-graphics-01-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-future-of-publishing-graphics-01-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-future-of-publishing-graphics-01-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-future-of-publishing-graphics-01-680x383.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-future-of-publishing-graphics-01-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-future-of-publishing-graphics-01.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__primary-category t-category\">Mediavine<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"c-post-card__title t-display-xx-small t-transparent-underline\">How Publishers Win in the Next Era of the Internet<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata-readtime\">5 minutes<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-author t-body-small\">The Mediavine Team<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-separator t-body-small\">\u2022<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-date t-body-small\">Feb 6, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__excerpt\">Back to Blog 4 min read \u2022 \u2022 Search is changing. Traffic is less predictable. Advertisers are getting more selective. Platforms are pulling value inward. None of this is new. What\u2019s new is the speed at which it\u2019s happening. The publishers who win next are not chasing loopholes or waiting for the next algorithm update&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/how-publishers-win-in-the-next-era-of-the-internet\/\" class=\"c-post-card__link-overlay\" aria-label=\"Read more about How Publishers Win in the Next Era of the Internet\"><\/a>\n<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"c-post-card c-post-card__layout-vertical\">\n\t<div class=\"c-post-card__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__image aspect-ratio-cover aspect-ratio-3-2\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-what-advertisers-want-graphics-08-1024x576.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large\" alt=\"Photograph of Mediavine&#039;s Amanda Martin and Butler\/Till&#039;s Scott Ensign on stage at MVCon 2025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-what-advertisers-want-graphics-08-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-what-advertisers-want-graphics-08-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-what-advertisers-want-graphics-08-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-what-advertisers-want-graphics-08-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-what-advertisers-want-graphics-08-680x383.jpg 680w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-what-advertisers-want-graphics-08-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/mediavine-blog-mvcon-what-advertisers-want-graphics-08.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-post-card__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__primary-category t-category\">Mediavine<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"c-post-card__title t-display-xx-small t-transparent-underline\">How to Create Content Advertisers Will Pay More For<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata-readtime\">6 minutes<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__metadata\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-author t-body-small\">The Mediavine Team<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-separator t-body-small\">\u2022<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-post-card__metadata-date t-body-small\">Feb 6, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-post-card__excerpt\">Back to Blog 4 min read \u2022 \u2022 If your goal is higher CPMs, steadier demand, and stronger long-term revenue, here\u2019s the uncomfortable truth: Advertisers are not paying more for more content; they\u2019re paying more for better environments, better audiences, and better experiences. That shift is already happening. Quietly. Algorithmically. And at scale. At MVCon,&#8230;<\/p>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/how-to-create-content-advertisers-will-pay-more-for\/\" class=\"c-post-card__link-overlay\" aria-label=\"Read more about How to Create Content Advertisers Will Pay More For\"><\/a>\n<\/article>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/aside>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Back to Blog \u2022 Today on the Mediavine blog, we&#8217;re throwing it back to 2017, famously known to SEO experts across the web as the Year of the Parboil. It was never actually known as such, of course, but an experiment from back then remains instructive and shapes our SEO strategies today. A blog post&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":33330,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,93],"tags":[],"audience_post":[],"class_list":["post-33324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mediavine","category-seo-like-a-ceo"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SEO is a Garden a.k.a. The Parboil Strikes Back - Mediavine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Use keyword data from Google Search Console to keep your cornerstone content ranking well and to discover new long-tail keyword opportunities.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/seo-is-a-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SEO is a Garden a.k.a. The Parboil Strikes Back\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Use keyword data from Google Search Console to keep your cornerstone content ranking well and to discover new long-tail keyword opportunities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/seo-is-a-garden\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mediavine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mediavinepublishernetwork\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-11T14:23:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-12T14:01:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SEO-Like-a-Slab-of-Beef-04-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1705\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Eric Hochberger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@mediavine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mediavine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Eric Hochberger\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/seo-is-a-garden\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/blog\/seo-is-a-garden\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Eric Hochberger\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ebd6f771035eb5c34fc588d95c5322bb\"},\"headline\":\"SEO is a Garden a.k.a. 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