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Daily SEO advice, hacks, and interviews with some of the top voices in search engine optimization, as well as sit-downs with many undiscovered talents.
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ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini for SEO: We Tested All 3 on Nike's Site (One Was Terrible)
E1227: Can ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini replace an SEO agency? Harpreet Singh shares his screen to test all three AI tools on the same Nike website page - and show why following their SEO advice blindly can waste …
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E1227: Can ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini replace an SEO agency? Harpreet Singh shares his screen to test all three AI tools on the same Nike website page - and show why following their SEO advice blindly can waste hours.
We gave ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini Nike Canada's men's running shoes category page and the same prompt: "Give me SEO, AEO, and GEO recommendations for this page. Prioritize them based on impact."
All three produced detailed audits. But they disagreed on what mattered most, overlooked important issues, and repeatedly treated low-impact changes as urgent.
We cover: - What ChatGPT got right about product comparisons, category navigation, and internal linking. - Why ChatGPT prioritized adding FAQs ahead of improving the page title - and why we disagreed. - How vague recommendations to "validate" crawlability and indexation can send beginners down hours-long rabbit holes. - What Claude spotted that ChatGPT missed: UK language signals on Nike's Canadian page, including "trainers" in the title and an en-GB language setting. - Why Claude flagged a major product discovery concern: 45 products listed on the page, but only 24 found in the HTML, with others loaded through JavaScript. - How footer links to the UK site created another potential problem for Canadian shoppers. - Where Claude still went wrong with FAQ markup and unsupported claims about AI citations. - Why structured data may improve search appearance and click-through rates without fixing weak rankings. - How Gemini ranked meta description keyword changes and removing meta keywords among its top SEO recommendations. - Why adding FAQ schema isn't a proven shortcut to ranking in Google AI Overviews or being cited by AI tools. - How years of repeated SEO advice can become misleading recommendations from AI systems. - Which changes deserve attention first: titles, headings, search intent, localization, crawlable product links, and relevant internal links. - Why looking at one URL without understanding the rest of the website limits any AI audit. - Why tracking positions for the keywords you're actively targeting can be more useful than a crowded SEO reporting dashboard. - How to apply the 80/20 rule so AI gives you a few high-impact recommendations instead of an overwhelming checklist.
We also share a practical way to use AI for SEO audits: 1. Crawl your site with Screaming Frog SEO Spider. The free version covers up to 500 URLs. 2. Open the Issues tab and export the findings. 3. Upload the export to Claude, along with this episode's transcript.
AI can speed up SEO work, but you still need to judge whether its advice is accurate, relevant, and worth implementing.
⭐️ Episode Transcript - https://edwardsturm.com/wp-content/uploads/Ep-1227_Harpreet-Singh_ChatGPT-vs-Claude-vs-Gemini-for-SEO-We-Tested-All-3-on-Nikes-Site-One-Was-Terrible.txt
⭐️ Harpreet Singh's Personal Site - https://harpsdigital.com ⭐️ Harpreet on X - https://x.com/harpreetchatha_ ⭐️ Harpreet's Newsletter - https://seoespresso.com ⭐️ Harpreet on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/harpreetsingh8/ ⭐️ Harpreet on TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@seoharp ⭐️ Harpreet on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@seoharp
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 AI SEO Hype Check 01:01 Testing Three LLMs 02:41 ChatGPT Priorities Review 03:55 UX vs SEO Impact 05:00 Internal Links Done Right 06:59 Crawl Checks Rabbit Holes 09:50 FAQ Advice Is Outdated 12:45 Metadata Should Come First 14:05 Localization and Hreflang 18:00 Too Many Low Value Tips 19:41 Measuring SEO Success Now 20:27 SEO Success Metrics 21:02 ChatGPT Audit Gaps 22:17 Claude High Impact Fixes 24:20 Schema Versus Rankings 25:35 Bad FAQ Schema Advice 28:43 Gemini Recommendations Review 30:05 Pareto Prompting Framework 32:19 Screaming Frog Plus LLMs 34:17 AI Hype And SEO Noise 35:43 Wrap Up And Where To Follow
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #ecommerce #aiseo
Google Just Unleashed the November 2026 Core Update. Here's Who It's Coming For
E1226: Google released its November 2026 Core Update on November 10, with a rollout expected to take up to two weeks. SEOs reported ranking volatility before Google even announced it. Could this be another …
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E1226: Google released its November 2026 Core Update on November 10, with a rollout expected to take up to two weeks. SEOs reported ranking volatility before Google even announced it.
Could this be another Panda-style update, targeting mass-produced content, low-quality pages, and websites using fake authors?
I cover Google's announcement, predictions about which sites could be hit, new content quality guidance, and what to do if your rankings drop.
What I cover: - November 2026 Core Update: Google's announcement, the two-week rollout, and early ranking fluctuations. - A possible Panda-style update: An October 15 Search Engine Journal article reported a 96.8% modeled probability of a Panda-style update within 30 days. The timing matched, but Google's targets remain unconfirmed. - The original Panda update: Google's 2011 update targeted content farms, thin pages, duplicate content, and shallow articles. It affected approximately 11.8% of US search queries at launch, with some publishers losing over half their organic traffic. - Mass-produced AI content: Why pages that stitch together search results without adding original information may be vulnerable. - Fake authors and AI headshots: Google's October 6 guidance warns against invented author names, false credentials, and AI-generated portraits used to deceive readers. - Content effort: Five questions to assess whether pages show original research, firsthand experience, evidence, and useful information. - Early ranking volatility: Reports from October and November, including Reddit and Search Engine Roundtable discussions. - Black Friday and Cyber Monday: How an update before the holiday shopping season concerns e-commerce businesses. - Rollout timelines: Most core updates finish within 10-15 days, compared with the 45-day March 2024 update. - What to do if rankings drop: Why major changes during a rollout can obscure the causes of ranking movements.
Five types of low-quality content potentially at risk: 1. Mass-produced AI content without meaningful human oversight or fact-checking. 2. Unoriginal content that adds nothing new to existing search results. 3. Content created primarily to rank instead of serving readers. 4. Deceptive authorship, including fake names, AI headshots, and false credentials. 5. Low-effort content without originality, accuracy, skill, or demonstrated expertise.
My recommendation: Keep publishing useful pages and improving existing content, but wait until the rollout finishes before making major SEO changes. Otherwise, you could mistake Google's volatility for the effects of your own edits.
⭐️ Google November 2026 Core Update (Search Engine Roundtable) - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-november-2026-core-update-42504.html ⭐️ 96.8% Chance Of A Panda-Style Update - https://www.searchenginejournal.com/a-panda-style-update-within-a-month-according-to-prediction-model-signals/591955/ ⭐️ Ep 1195 - Google's Secret "Content Effort" Score: Here's What It Looks For - https://youtu.be/T2ZMC4utIBQ ⭐️ Google's "Creating helpful, reliable, people-first content" Author Update - https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content#ask-who-how-why ⭐️ r/SEO - November 2026 Core Update - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1xswpdu/november_2026_core_update/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Core Update Drops 00:41 Early Volatility Reports 01:28 Panda Style Fears 03:15 Content Effort Checklist 04:09 Deceptive Authorship Warning 04:55 Rollout Timeline Patterns 05:39 SEO Subreddit Reactions 06:35 What Not To Do Mid Update 07:23 Black Friday Season Stakes 08:56 Episode Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #googlecoreupdate #digitalmarketing
Google Is Poisoning Your Rank Tracker Data (OpenSEO Founder Explains)
E1225: Google is feeding bad search results to scrapers, and SEO rank trackers are showing rankings that don't match what people see on Google. A sudden drop in Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or another rank tracker …
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E1225: Google is feeding bad search results to scrapers, and SEO rank trackers are showing rankings that don't match what people see on Google. A sudden drop in Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, or another rank tracker might be a data problem, not a loss of Google rankings.
I interview Ben Senescu, founder of OpenSEO, about Google's crackdown on scraping, why third-party rank tracking has become less reliable, and how AI and open-source tools are changing SEO software.
We discuss: - SERP poisoning: How misleading search results collected by scrapers can cause false ranking drops, strange SERPs, and inaccurate competitor tracking. - The removal of num=100: Why Google's decision to stop supporting the 100-results parameter disrupted tools that tracked positions well beyond page one. - Google's anti-scraping measures: Changing redirects, CAPTCHAs, and IP blocking, and why collecting rankings costs more than before. - Why Google is doing this: Whether Google primarily wants to stop SEO rank trackers or AI companies trying to build competing search indexes. - DataForSEO and OpenSEO: How DataForSEO was initially able to handle some of Google's changes, why SERP poisoning remains a problem, and how OpenSEO checks results multiple times to find likely accurate rankings. - How to verify ranking drops: Why I compare third-party tracking with Google Search Console and check the actual SERP when a result makes no sense. - Will rank tracking recover? Signs that some results are improving, plus Google's existing search syndication agreements and the possibility of licensed data for SEO tools. - OpenSEO vs. Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz: Why Ben built an alternative, its $10/month starting price, usage-based billing, and the value of historical data from established platforms. - How open-source SEO software works: Self-hosting OpenSEO, connecting a DataForSEO API key, changing its code, and building custom features without waiting for a software vendor. - Claude, ChatGPT, and MCP: How OpenSEO gives AI agents access to SEO data, Google Search Console, research logs, reporting, and workflows across client projects. - SEO automation for agencies: How users are combining SEO tools with CRMs, email systems, and reporting to manage more work through AI agents. - Why rankings still matter: Why leads and conversions alone don't tell you whether an SEO campaign is working, and why position data remains important for diagnosis. - AI content mistakes: Why beginners publishing large volumes of low-quality AI pages risk damaging their sites instead of building lasting search traffic. - The next three years of SEO tools: Whether open-source, customizable software will challenge expensive subscriptions and how existing SEO companies are responding to AI agents.
We also debate whether ChatGPT and other AI search tools can match Google's results, why AI-generated writing still misses important details, and whether black-hat SEO will be harder for AI search engines to detect.
⭐️ OpenSEO - https://openseo.so/ ⭐️ OpenSEO on 𝕏 - https://x.com/openseo ⭐️ OpenSEO on GitHub - https://github.com/every-app/open-seo ⭐️ SEO Party (Community Skill Library) - https://seo.party/ ⭐️ Ben Senescu on 𝕏 - https://x.com/bensenescu ⭐️ OpenSEO on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/openseo-so ⭐️ Every App on GitHub - https://github.com/every-app/every-app
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Meet Ben and OpenSEO 00:37 Origin Story and Reddit Breakout 03:14 Viral X Post and Grok Automation 04:19 How OpenSEO Differs 07:13 Rank Tracking Crisis Explained 11:01 DataForSEO Workarounds 14:22 Will Google Ease Up 16:20 AI Search Adoption Reality 20:24 Black Hat vs AI Indexes 24:37 Why Open Source Wins 27:21 What Agencies Are Saying 31:09 AI Agent Integration 32:06 Onboarding With MCP 32:41 Agency Scale Automation 32:54 Tool Stack Pricing Limits 33:47 Custom CRM Email Workflows 34:26 Project Context Memory 35:38 AI SEO Shortcut Risks 36:46 Google Losing Trust 40:09 SEO Demand Surge 44:03 Agentic SEO Software Future 46:25 Data Portability Rank Tracking 48:52 Vibe Coding Reality Check 50:13 Optimism Industry Momentum 51:25 AI Retrieval Hallucinations 56:54 Automating Work Not Life 58:06 Customer Wins And Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #technicalseo #opensource
How to Build Viral Linkable Assets with Claude Code (Zero Coding Experience)
E1224: How do you build a beautiful site people want to share, earn backlinks to, and send traffic from, without writing a single line of code? Mike Hawley walks through how he uses Claude Code to build …
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E1224: How do you build a beautiful site people want to share, earn backlinks to, and send traffic from, without writing a single line of code?
Mike Hawley walks through how he uses Claude Code to build interactive websites for linkable assets, newsjacking, trending events, and SEO. He shows the entire process, from researching keywords and planning pages to building the design, checking technical SEO, and publishing the finished site.
Mike has zero programming experience. His example is SEO-TV.com, a searchable video store for SEO YouTube channels and podcasts that he built in about five hours.
We cover: - How to make a standalone site worth sharing, then direct attention and links to your business - How Mike built SEO-TV in five hours using Claude Code - How he started with a single prompt to plan the site's topical map - How Claude identified 21,180 related searches, narrowed them to 213 target keywords, and planned the initial 73 pages - How to choose page types based on what Google ranks and avoid keyword cannibalization - How Mike adds more pages as earlier pages get indexed, growing SEO-TV.com to 139 pages - How server-side rendering makes page content and metadata accessible to search engines - How the site's keyword search works and how it checks YouTube hourly for new videos - How to install Claude Code and set up project folders, notes.md files, and standing instructions - When to use Ask and Auto permissions when Claude needs to use your computer - How to request four different homepage designs instead of accepting the first result - How to stop Claude from producing the same fonts, rounded cards, stock layouts, and other familiar AI design patterns - The design skills Mike uses, including Hallmark, Impeccable, and UI UX Pro Max - How to save mistakes, preferences, and requirements as reusable Claude skills - How Mike connects Chrome, hosting services, Cloudflare, and keyword data sources - Why logos, favicons, page titles, and Open Graph images matter for sites designed to be shared - Why you need to inspect the finished website before publishing, even when Claude runs automated checks - When Claude spent nearly nine hours working on a GTA VI map site that wasn't what Mike requested
We also examine cheese.help, an AI-built cheese encyclopedia that Mike launched without manually building backlinks. It began getting Google clicks and earned links from food blogs and MSN. Mike shows 11 MSN backlinks pointing to seven pages and more than 4,200 AI citations reported by Ahrefs.
Since September, Mike has worked on 114 websites and launched 56. He explains how the rules and skills he's built over those projects make each new site easier to create.
If you want to build linkable assets for SEO or create a custom website with Claude Code without learning to program, this episode shows the process from start to finish.
⭐️ Mike's prompts that get Claude to build great websites - https://aka.bike/prompts/
⭐️ Mike Hawley on 𝕏 - https://x.com/funwithgoogle ⭐️ Mike's website - https://aka.bike ⭐️ Mike Hawley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bikehawley/ ⭐️ Mike's AI SEO Discord - https://aiseo.gg ⭐️ Mike's AI SEO Blog - https://aiseo.ooo
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Build Non Vanilla AI Sites 00:28 Mike's Background And Vision 01:38 SEO TV Site Tour 03:34 Easter Egg And Counter 05:31 Automation And Server Side Rendering 06:35 Why Linkable Assets Work 08:29 Planning Topical Map 12:51 Design Choices And Pages 13:39 Search Feature And Indexing 15:33 Build Pipeline And QA Rules 18:25 Claude Code Setup Basics 21:44 Prompting For Better Design 23:05 Avoiding The AI Website Look 24:41 Reverse Engineer Great Sites 26:23 Finding Claude Skills 26:47 Design Skills Setup 27:38 Notes Into Skills 29:36 Plugins And Connections 31:10 Rules For Non AI Look 31:53 Logos And OG Images 34:38 Workflow And Cheat Sheet 36:38 Surprise 3D Vape Site 38:18 Costs And Token Use 41:44 Cheese Help Case Study 43:50 Links And Citations Growth 45:36 Testing Content Limits 48:00 Wrap Up And Where To Find
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization
How to Rank for "Reddit" Keywords on Your Own Website (Topical Bridges)
E1223: People add "Reddit" to Google searches because they want recommendations from other people. But Google doesn't restrict those results to Reddit. Your website can rank for these searches, too. I explain a …
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E1223: People add "Reddit" to Google searches because they want recommendations from other people. But Google doesn't restrict those results to Reddit. Your website can rank for these searches, too.
I explain a three-stage SEO strategy that uses topical bridges to move from easy, long-tail "Reddit" keywords to more competitive keywords that bring in customers. I break down how to find those keywords in Google Search Console, create pages around them, and use internal links to support the pages you want to rank.
Here's what I cover: - Why people search for terms like "best payroll software Reddit" and "sneakers for arched feet Reddit" - Why adding "Reddit" to a Google search doesn't guarantee results from Reddit - How AI search tools sometimes add "Reddit" to their own searches, creating another reason to target these keywords - Why keyword research tools often miss the long-tail searches you can discover through Google Search Console - How to identify promising keywords by comparing clicks with average ranking position - Where to put your target keyword: page title, URL slug, H1, and opening sentence - Why a page doesn't need thousands of words to rank for a specific search - How to connect resource pages, bridge pages, and money pages with internal links - How to expand your pages using additional queries from Google Search Console
The three-stage process:
1. Create a resource page. Target a broad, easy search such as "Why small businesses get payroll wrong: lessons from Reddit." Let the page collect impressions and clicks, then examine the queries it appears for in Google Search Console.
2. Create about five bridge pages. Choose long-tail "Reddit" queries that your resource page already ranks for, especially queries showing clicks despite poor rankings. Optimize each bridge page for a target keyword and link to it from the resource page.
3. Create your money page. Target a more competitive phrase such as "best payroll software Reddit." Link to this page from the bridge pages. Once those pages have stable rankings, add a direct link from the resource page.
⭐️ Written directions (guide) for this episode: https://edwardsturm.com/articles/reddit-seo-strategy-your-website/ ⭐️ Ep 1101 - The Reddit SEO Hack That Ranks Your Website Instead of Reddit - https://youtu.be/We9OJVcrlag
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Topical Bridges Overview 00:19 Why Reddit Keywords Work 00:58 Humans and AI Search Reddit 01:20 Three Page Funnel System 01:30 Build the Resource Page 01:49 Mine Search Console Winners 03:35 Short Content Still Ranks 04:11 Create Bridge Pages 04:43 Target the Money Keywords 05:28 Expand Pages With GSC 05:53 Apply the Framework Anywhere 07:48 Wrap Up and Thanks
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization
Press Release Backlinks Work: How an SEO Ranked Google's Head of Webspam for a Made-Up Keyword
E1222: Press release backlinks work, even when they're nofollow. I break down an SEO experiment where a press release backlink made Google's own head of webspam rank for a made-up keyword that didn't appear …
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E1222: Press release backlinks work, even when they're nofollow. I break down an SEO experiment where a press release backlink made Google's own head of webspam rank for a made-up keyword that didn't appear anywhere on his website.
I also explain Kyle Roof's findings about when nofollow backlinks pass ranking value, share a black hat SEO tactic involving press releases and job listings, and cover legitimate ways to apply these ideas to improve Google rankings.
In this episode: - The Matt Cutts press release experiment: Google's former Head of Webspam, Matt Cutts, publicly stated that he wouldn't expect press release links to benefit rankings. An SEO company tested this by publishing a press release linking to his personal blog. - Ranking for a made-up keyword: The press release used the invented anchor text "Sreppleasers," a term that didn't appear anywhere on Matt Cutts' website. His blog subsequently ranked at the top of Google for the term. - Why press release backlinks usually don't work: Most press release distribution services use nofollow links, which generally don't pass ranking authority the same way followed links do. - Kyle Roof's nofollow backlink findings: Kyle's testing suggests that nofollow backlinks can influence rankings when the linking page itself ranks in Google and receives clicks. - Joy Hawkins' independent tests: Joy tested nofollow backlinks from her local SEO forum and found that they improved rankings for a linked page. Even a YouTube video embedded on that page started ranking. - A black hat press release strategy: An SEO I met in Bucharest described a tactic involving job listings without website links. Applicants searched Google for the company and job, found an optimized press release, and clicked through to an application form. - How the strategy passed authority: The press release linked to the application form, which linked to two or three SEO pages. Applicants had to visit those pages to answer questions, generating clicks through the internal links. - Why branded searches matter: Publishing job listings without direct links can generate searches for a company's name. I discuss how SEOs use these searches and clicks to influence Google rankings. - A legitimate alternative using promotions: Run a promotion where participants search Google for your brand, find a press release, and visit relevant pages on your site to find information needed to enter. - Using press releases for actual company news: Publish announcements that people want to read, link to relevant SEO landing pages, and create opportunities for readers to discover your SEO content. - Anchor text and internal linking: How to use descriptive anchor text in press releases and connect announcement pages to important SEO landing pages. - Press release distribution services: I compare AB Newswire, which offers one-off press releases for $80 and bulk pricing as low as $6 per release, with EIN Presswire, which costs more but can keep releases indexed longer.
The central lesson is that where a backlink appears, whether its page ranks, and whether people click through can matter more than simply counting backlinks.
⭐️ 21 SEO Experiments That Will Change The Way You Think About SEO (Forever) - https://seosherpa.com/seo-experiments/ ⭐️ Ep 1213 - Kyle Roof Ranked Gibberish #1 on Google. Then Google Deindexed 20 of His Sites. - https://youtu.be/LCrW28jb9UM ⭐️ Ira Bodnar's post on 𝕏 - https://x.com/irabukht/status/2114390277737890085
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Do Press Release Links Matter 00:34 Matt Cutts Experiment 01:54 Why Nofollow Can Count 02:18 Kyle Roof Podcast Clip 03:30 Dark Job Listing Tactic 05:47 White Hat Alternatives 07:13 Press Release Services 07:42 SEO That Makes Money 08:28 Wrap Up and Goodbye
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #backlinks #linkbuilding #seo
ChatGPT Is Building Its Own Search Console (And It Shows Clicks Google Won't)
E1221: OpenAI is reportedly building its own Search Console for ChatGPT. The new tool could show businesses how often they're mentioned in ChatGPT answers, how many people click through to their websites, and …
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E1221: OpenAI is reportedly building its own Search Console for ChatGPT. The new tool could show businesses how often they're mentioned in ChatGPT answers, how many people click through to their websites, and how their visibility changes over time.
Google Search Console doesn't separately report clicks from AI Overviews. OpenAI's new tool could give businesses data that Google currently doesn't provide.
I break down a new Search Engine Roundtable report about OpenAI's upcoming business analytics tools, what the leaked screenshots reveal, and what this could mean for SEO.
What ChatGPT's new Search Console could do: - Let businesses claim and verify their presence in ChatGPT - Track how often a business appears in ChatGPT responses - Show impressions and clicks on links to business websites - Display daily charts showing changes in visibility - Let businesses add products, services, pricing, and other information - Keep business information accurate and up to date - Give ChatGPT a source of information directly from the business - Allow businesses to verify ownership
What the tool reportedly won't show at launch: - The prompts that caused ChatGPT to mention your business - Information about individual ChatGPT users - Rankings or comparisons against competitors - Why your brand mentions or clicks are increasing or decreasing
I also discuss how the tool could evolve, including whether OpenAI might eventually add more detailed reporting.
Will claiming your business improve your ChatGPT rankings?
Being able to describe your business directly to ChatGPT could make its answers about your products and services more accurate.
But I don't expect claiming your business to dramatically increase how often ChatGPT recommends you.
ChatGPT still searches the web to find information for many of its answers. Your visibility across websites, search results, reviews, and user-generated content will continue to matter.
My SEO recommendations: - Target bottom-of-funnel keywords that indicate buying intent - Create landing pages for your products and services - Target pricing and cost keywords - Create pages targeting competitor alternatives - Target comparison and review keywords - Build pages around specific situations your customers want to solve - Organize these landing pages into a hub page - Link to that hub page from your website's footer - Build relevant backlinks to strengthen your website's authority - Make sure your business appears in the sources ChatGPT uses when researching customer questions
I also explain how you could use your existing keyword research to describe your business inside ChatGPT's new tools, and why OpenAI might eventually use the information businesses submit to identify spam.
The feature is reportedly still in development. There's no confirmed public launch date.
⭐️ OpenAI Working On ChatGPT Tools For Business For Analytics & Citations - https://www.seroundtable.com/chatgpt-tools-for-business-42476.html ⭐️ Gary Illyes Implies Click Data Not Coming To Google Search Console AI Reporting - https://www.seroundtable.com/click-data-search-console-ai-reporting-42437.html
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Breaking News Drop 00:14 Claim Your Business 01:34 Analytics And Clicks 02:28 Screenshots And Verification 03:06 Limits And Future Features 03:39 Spam Honeypot Theory 04:56 How It Might Work 05:32 Will Visibility Increase 06:20 SEO Advice For Brands 07:07 Wrap Up And Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #ecommerce
Can You Rank Without Backlinks? Kyle Roof's 3-to-1 Internal Link Rule
E1220: Can you rank on Google without backlinks? I break down what five SEOs say about ranking a new website without building links, share my own take, and play a clip from SEO expert Kyle Roof explaining his …
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E1220: Can you rank on Google without backlinks? I break down what five SEOs say about ranking a new website without building links, share my own take, and play a clip from SEO expert Kyle Roof explaining his 3-to-1 internal linking rule on this podcast.
A new website can rank without backlinks, but the keywords you choose matter. If established websites have strong backlink profiles and dedicated pages targeting the same keywords, competing without links can be difficult.
The better opportunity is finding high-intent keywords that other websites aren't targeting with a relevant page.
I cover: - What five Reddit commenters say about ranking on Google without backlinks - Why low-competition keywords are easier to rank for, even on brand-new websites - How to find keywords that established websites rank for without specifically targeting them - Why search intent matters more than vague claims about "high-quality content" - How to use long-tail keywords and overlooked search queries to get initial rankings - How to structure supporting pages and internal links to strengthen your most important pages - Kyle Roof's 3-to-1 rule: Three internal links of similar value can equal one external backlink of that value - Why internal linking can reduce the number of backlinks you need to rank - Easy ways to build backlinks through directories, podcast appearances, and journalist requests - Why ranking for a keyword with 137,000 monthly searches doesn't necessarily bring in customers - How to turn informational traffic into something more valuable through internal links - Why targeting bottom-of-funnel keywords can generate more revenue than chasing high search volume
I also discuss a business whose article ranked at the top of Google for "apples," a keyword with an estimated 137,000 monthly searches, but generated zero additional business.
That example demonstrates the difference between vanity traffic and traffic that brings revenue. However, a popular informational page can still be valuable when you use internal links to direct traffic and ranking strength toward commercial pages.
I also examine PDFfiller, a website generating $106 million annually with 860,000 paying customers. Its homepage ranks for keywords it isn't directly optimized for, illustrating what prolonged time building authority and backlinks can accomplish.
Whether you're doing SEO for a local business, ecommerce website, SaaS company, or new website, this episode explains when you can rank without backlinks, how to use internal links to strengthen your pages, and why consistently building backlinks can make it easier to rank for more lucrative keywords.
⭐️ The Reddit thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/seogrowth/comments/1xibhdy/can_a_new_website_rank_on_google_without_building/ ⭐️ The Apples X post - https://x.com/roblabonne/status/2118072363057369325 ⭐️ Ep 1218 - How to Build Local Backlinks for Under $500 vs. $5,000 a Month - https://youtu.be/GjbkLBWmDxQ ⭐️ Ep 1213 - Kyle Roof Ranked Gibberish #1 on Google. Then Google Deindexed 20 of His Sites. - https://youtu.be/LCrW28jb9UM
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Can You Rank Without Links 00:30 Reddit Says Long Tail Wins 01:23 Internal Linking Content Clusters 02:30 What High Quality Means 03:46 Pattern is Low Competition Queries 05:47 My Take is Build Some Links 06:17 Easy Link Building Tactics 07:24 Apples Case Study 08:33 Internal Links Boost Money Pages 10:37 Kyle Roof Internal Links Math 11:56 Wrap Up And Goodbye
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #linkbuilding #digitalmarketing
Microsoft Clarity Tutorial: Why Your SEO Traffic Isn't Converting
E1219: In this Microsoft Clarity tutorial, you'll learn how to find out why your SEO traffic isn't converting into leads, bookings, or sales. Josh Silverbauer, Head of Analytics at Intrepid Digital and an early …
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E1219: In this Microsoft Clarity tutorial, you'll learn how to find out why your SEO traffic isn't converting into leads, bookings, or sales.
Josh Silverbauer, Head of Analytics at Intrepid Digital and an early contributor to Microsoft Clarity, shares his screen to show how he investigates conversion problems using Microsoft's free website analytics tool.
We walk through heatmaps, session recordings, conversion funnels, and filters you can use to understand what visitors do on your website, including visitors from organic search.
You'll learn: - How to use Clarity's dashboard, heatmaps, and session recordings. - How to filter for organic traffic and examine visitors who reached a specific SEO landing page but didn't convert. - How to build funnels that track steps such as landing page → booking page → form submission. - How to watch recordings of visitors who reached a particular step but didn't finish the process. - How to identify rage clicks and distinguish them from dead clicks. - How click heatmaps reveal which links, buttons, and page sections get the most attention. - How first-click and last-click data change your understanding of visitor behavior. - How to use scroll and attention heatmaps to decide which page elements to move higher. - How to compare new and returning visitors, or desktop and mobile visitors, side by side. - How to find where people abandon lead-generation forms and e-commerce checkouts. - How to investigate whether visitors are reading an article, skimming it, or leaving early. - Creating Smart Events, funnels, and saved segments for repeat analysis. - Sending custom data through Google Tag Manager to filter users by role or sign-in status. - Using Clarity alongside Google Analytics 4 to investigate conversion problems. - Prioritizing page changes by potential impact, audience size, and ease of implementation.
Josh also shares an example of a shopping-cart recommendation that was displayed more prominently than the product the customer had actually selected, creating confusion at checkout.
I share how Clarity showed me that visitors were spending time reading testimonials on my Compact Keywords sales page. I moved those testimonials higher on the page, and that change made a meaningful difference.
The central lesson: Don't make website changes based solely on assumptions. Find where visitors struggle, form a hypothesis, and test the change.
Want Josh to review your website on a future episode?
We're looking at doing a live Clarity analysis of a listener's site, particularly an SEO page that gets traffic but doesn't convert. Leave a comment with the problem you want diagnosed.
⭐️ Josh on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsilverbauer/ ⭐️ Josh's website - https://joshsilverbauer.com/ ⭐️ Josh's agency (Intrepid Digital) - https://www.gointrepid.com/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Meet Josh and Clarity 01:36 What Is Microsoft Clarity 03:37 Core Tabs Tour 06:22 Filtering and Funnels 10:39 Finding Friction Fast 17:47 Heatmaps Compare Mode 21:19 Scroll and Attention 25:26 Heatmap Refresh and AI 30:11 Intent and Reading Signals 34:36 Recordings Done Right 41:58 Funnels for Form Dropoff 47:51 Mobile vs Desktop Insights 53:55 Advanced Custom Filters 56:27 Wrap Up and Next Steps
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#microsoftclarity #conversionrateoptimization #searchengineoptimization #seo
How to Build Local Backlinks for Under $500 vs. $5,000 a Month
E1218: How do you build local backlinks with a $500 monthly budget? What changes when you can spend $5,000? I cover practical local link-building tactics for both budgets, with examples for local companies …
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E1218: How do you build local backlinks with a $500 monthly budget? What changes when you can spend $5,000?
I cover practical local link-building tactics for both budgets, with examples for local companies.
Learn how to get backlinks from partners, nonprofits, journalists, directories, and trade associations.
LOCAL LINK BUILDING: UNDER $500/MONTH - Business partnerships: Partner with complementary companies. A plumber and electrician who refer customers to each other can link through partner pages, articles, or case studies. - Donate services: Offer free work to local nonprofits, schools, or charities and request a backlink acknowledging your contribution. - Community projects: A landscaping company can clean up a park, document before-and-after results, and invite residents and local press. - Sponsorships: Sponsor a youth sports team, nonprofit, or local event. Ask for a linked logo or listing on the organization's website. - Pitch journalists: Offer useful advice tied to current events. A roofer can explain storm preparation; a locksmith can share home security tips following local burglaries. - Unlinked mentions: Contact organizations you've previously helped and ask them to link existing mentions of your business. - Directories: Find relevant local directories and trade associations. Use Claude deep research to organize opportunities by price. - Social profiles: Set up accounts and publish a few posts to establish an active online presence.
LOCAL LINK BUILDING: UNDER $5,000/MONTH - More sponsorships: Sponsor five to eight local nonprofits, youth sports teams, charities, or community events. - Higher-value donations: A South Florida roofer donated a free roof through Habitat for Humanity. The charity linked to his business, local news covered the story, and his Facebook post was shared over 200 times. - Chambers of commerce: Join organizations with member directories and opportunities to contribute articles or participate in events. - Trade associations: Consider more expensive memberships with relevant business listings and backlink opportunities. - Video production: Hire an editor through YTJobs.co to turn footage from jobs into daily videos targeting keywords your website already targets. - Journalist relationships: Share local journalists' work, credit them, and build familiarity before pitching your own stories.
MORE SEO LESSONS IN THIS EPISODE - Why links from pages that rank in Google and receive clicks are especially valuable. - Why even nofollow backlinks can pass authority. - How sponsorships can build trust, referrals, and brand recognition. - Why you can build links gradually instead of pursuing every tactic at once. - Why bottom-of-funnel local keywords may be less competitive than you think. - How to use your target keyword in the page title, URL, H1, and opening sentence.
⭐️ Ep 1109 - How Local Businesses Build Powerful Backlinks Through Community Sponsorships - https://youtu.be/RBuVt8mqD7U ⭐️ Ep 1155 - He Donated a Free Roof and Got Links You Can't Buy - https://youtu.be/0aZi6sdOD-M ⭐️ Ep 936 - How to Build Local Backlinks That Actually Increase Local Rankings - https://youtu.be/Z0Iq0yG2sIk
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Budget Link Building Plan 00:07 Partner With Businesses 00:44 Nonprofit Service Donations 01:15 Foundational Social Profiles 01:27 Small Local Sponsorships 02:21 Pitch Local Journalists 02:45 Turn Mentions Into Links 03:22 Directories And Associations 03:53 Stay Consistent Weekly 04:11 Scaling Under Five Thousand 04:20 Bigger Sponsorship Portfolio 04:44 Viral Donation Case Study 05:32 Chamber And Trade Groups 05:54 Content To Win Journalists 07:15 What Makes Links Valuable 07:45 Ranking With Few Links 08:25 More Resources And Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#localseo #searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #seo
Craig Campbell: The SEO Tricks Google Still Can't Stop
E1217: Craig Campbell has spent 25 years testing what works in SEO, including tactics Google says shouldn't work. In this interview, he explains how SEOs manipulate Google rankings and ChatGPT answers, which …
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E1217: Craig Campbell has spent 25 years testing what works in SEO, including tactics Google says shouldn't work.
In this interview, he explains how SEOs manipulate Google rankings and ChatGPT answers, which older link-building methods still have uses, and why he now avoids many of those tactics on businesses he wants to keep for years.
We discuss real tests, specific tools, and the difference between a tactic that gets results for a few months and a strategy that can support a business long-term.
In this episode: - How a Chinese restaurant website can rank for online casino searches through canonical abuse, and why Craig won't reveal the full process. - How an expired French aquapony domain was used to convince ChatGPT and other AI tools that Craig coached an Olympic aquapony team. - Why press releases and mentions on trusted publications can influence what ChatGPT says about a business. - Craig's preferred press release services, including The News Guy, Magic PR, and Press Advantage, and how Yahoo Finance placements matter to him. - Why he uses Scrapebox, blog comments, and automated links to try to keep press releases and other pages in Google's index. - What separates a useful private blog network (PBN) from one with obvious footprints, including hosting, IP addresses, content quality, and outbound links. - How Backrefs automates lower-tier link building, and what Craig says those links can and cannot accomplish. - How Craig bought an affiliate website for £10,000, spent another £4,000 improving it, and sold it for £48,000 four months later. - The experiment where Craig published 1,200 unedited AI articles, watched traffic rise, then saw the site lose its rankings after about six months. He says replacing the content did not restore the site. - How he used an expired domain from a bankrupt hotel chain to create a new affiliate site. - Why he wouldn't use many of those tactics on a long-term business today, even when he thinks they might work. - How Craig uses interviews with football players to develop news stories, pitch journalists, and earn links to his own website. - Why a podcast can become a way to build relationships with bloggers, journalists, and future link partners. - How he's building a sports trading card business using live streams, marketplaces, and SEO rather than relying on Google alone. - Why Craig believes brand searches matter and says he wouldn't trust AI to run SEO tasks without human review. - What 25 years in SEO changed about how much Craig trusts Google's public guidance.
Craig also shares why his priorities have moved from finding every possible ranking loophole to building businesses that generate revenue without depending on one search algorithm.
⭐️ Craig Campbell's website - https://craigcampbellseo.com/ ⭐️ Craig Campbell on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@CraigcampbellseoUk ⭐️ Craig Campbell on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/craigcampbellseo ⭐️ Craig Campbell on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@craigcampbellseo ⭐️ Craig Campbell on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigcampbell0302 ⭐️ Craig Campbell on 𝕏 - https://x.com/craigcampbell03 ⭐️ Craig Campbell on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/craigcampbellseo03
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Craig Campbell Joins 00:24 Google Lies And Tactics 02:40 Canonical Abuse 06:10 LLM Manipulation Tactics 10:27 SEO Testing Competitions 17:11 Aquapony LLM Prank 22:40 Press Releases For ChatGPT 25:55 Indexing With Spam Links 30:49 Nofollow Links Still Work 33:36 Kyle Roof Lorem Ipsum 35:25 Building Undetectable PBNs 38:09 PBN Upkeep Reality 40:22 Modern PBN Tools 41:51 White Hat Wins 44:32 Clean Niches Strategy 46:00 Programmatic Cards SEO 53:12 Marketplaces vs Search 58:36 PR Link Building Playbook 01:07:54 Automated Tiered Links 01:12:43 Affiliate Site Flip Lessons 01:17:22 Seasonal Site Flip 01:19:24 AI Slop Penalty 01:22:35 Churn and Burn Debate 01:23:04 Expired Domain Leverage 01:27:47 Diversify Traffic Sources 01:30:56 Agency Advice Reality 01:35:40 Journalist Connections 01:38:27 AI Needs Supervision 01:40:51 Google Trust Shift 01:45:45 Quiet Life Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#blackhatseo #searchengineoptimization #privateblognetwork #seo
AI Watermarking Is Coming to Everything: The AI Content That Will Still Rank
E1216: Anthropic is expanding AI text watermarking to more Claude models on November 3. Other AI companies have also committed to watermarking their outputs. What does this mean for SEO? Will Google start …
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E1216: Anthropic is expanding AI text watermarking to more Claude models on November 3. Other AI companies have also committed to watermarking their outputs. What does this mean for SEO? Will Google start penalizing AI-generated pages, and can it tell the difference between content written entirely by AI and content edited with AI?
I break down the risks of publishing unedited AI content, what Google's recent guidance suggests, and why I still expect carefully reviewed, AI-assisted pages to rank and even be trained upon.
In this episode: - Claude's expanding text watermarking: Which models Anthropic says will next receive watermarks why this matters for publishers. - The Ahrefs AI content study: 5.3% of top-ranking pages were classified as fully AI-generated, another 9% as at least 80% AI-generated, and 80% of high-AI pages were indexed compared with 49% of low-AI pages. - Google's position on AI content: Quality rater guidance for unoriginal, low-effort pages, warnings about hallucinations, and the risks of publishing AI pages at scale without proofreading. - The possibility of tougher Google updates: How some SEOs expect more action against scaled AI content, and why that remains a prediction rather than a confirmed update. - My GPTZero test: A roughly 400-word SEO landing page was identified as human-written and AI-polished, while an AI-generated article about me was classified as 100% AI. - Real examples of AI hallucinations: False claims I found in an AI-generated article about my own work, videos, and audience. - AI detection as a spectrum: Why assisted writing, AI polishing, and fully generated text shouldn't be treated as identical. - How Google might evaluate AI-heavy sites: My theories about user behavior, sitewide patterns, branded searches, and future AI detection. These are possibilities, not confirmed ranking factors. - AI content in model training: The concern that training on unverified AI-generated material could increase errors and hallucinations. - How we're writing pages for a SaaS I'm funding: Using AI line by line as a writing assistant while manually reviewing the language ourselves. - Building branded searches through short-form video: How SEO entrepreneur Ilias ISM hired creators for $500 per creator per month to post daily videos, generate millions of views, and increase searches for his brand.
My main point: AI watermarking doesn't mean every page touched by AI is destined to lose rankings. There's an important difference between publishing hundreds of unchecked AI pages and using AI as a writing assistant.
⭐️ Claude Watermark Announcement - https://pasqualepillitteri.it/en/news/27785/claude-watermark-november-3-opus-4-7-sonnet-4-6 ⭐️ Ep 1210 - The Backlinks Worth Paying $2,000 For (w/ Ilias ISM) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NRS4ibsMKg ⭐️ My Exact Social Media Posting Strategy - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/social-media-posting-strategy/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Anthropic Watermark Email 00:35 AI Content Panic 00:50 Ahrefs AI SEO Stats 01:31 Google Cracks Down 02:45 Hallucination Example 03:41 Detection Is a Scale 05:42 How Google Penalizes 07:27 Training Data Concerns 08:34 Branded Search Signals 08:59 Buy Branded Searches 11:13 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #digitalmarketing #seopodcast
Discord Is Coming to Google Search: How to Own the Next Reddit
E1215: Discord is coming to Google Search, and this could be one of the biggest new SEO opportunities heading into 2027. Starting November 16, 2026, Discord will give every eligible Discoverable Server a public …
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E1215: Discord is coming to Google Search, and this could be one of the biggest new SEO opportunities heading into 2027.
Starting November 16, 2026, Discord will give every eligible Discoverable Server a public webpage. Beginning in mid-December, messages from public channels may also appear on those pages and in Google Search.
Imagine owning a leading Discord server in your niche, with the influence that moderators of major subreddits have over the discussions people find when researching products and services.
I break down Discord's announcement, the eligibility requirements, what to optimize for SEO, and why I think this could be a major opportunity for people who start building communities now.
What I cover: - Why Discord is making public server discussions available on the web after years of keeping them inside the platform. - The November 16 launch of Server Web Pages and the mid-December rollout of publicly accessible messages. - What qualifies as an SEO-available Discoverable Server: at least 1,000 members, at least eight weeks old, and compliance with Discord's activity and safety requirements. - How there's more than 63,000 existing Discoverable Servers. - How Discord's domain authority of 94 and the search performance of other user-generated content platforms, particularly Reddit, could affect rankings. - How Discord discussions could eventually be cited in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Claude, and other AI search results. - What to optimize for SEO: your Discord server name, short description, longer About section, categories, and public messages. - How your server name affects its URL, page title, and H1, and why those elements matter for Google rankings. - Why putting relevant keywords at the beginning of public messages and threads could be valuable. - How to build a community targeting top-of-funnel searches that can attract new members directly from Google. - What happened when SEOs flooded Digg with spam, causing bans and eventually another reset of the platform. - Why Discord could face similar problems with bot-inflated membership, spammed messages, and servers created purely for rankings. - Why I recommend building a legitimate community that can attract members, influence buying decisions, and maintain rankings for years.
I also explain Discord's privacy and control settings.
Server admins can manage which public channels participate under Server Settings > Web Presence. Public channels are included by default unless admins change the settings.
Individual users can opt out of having their messages shown under User Settings > Data & Privacy. Private servers and DMs are not included in these changes.
The opportunity is to build an influential community before Discord's public discussions become widely available through Google. Just like owning an influential subreddit, owning a leading Discord server in your niche could become a valuable SEO asset.
⭐️ Discord announcement - https://discord.com/blog/making-content-from-discoverable-servers-easier-to-discover ⭐️ Mashable article - https://mashable.com/tech/discord-public-server-web-pages-messages-discoverable-in-google-search
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Discord SEO Bombshell 00:47 How Indexing Works 01:46 Admin Privacy Controls 02:16 Eligibility Requirements 03:46 Why Discord Will Rank 04:31 Server Optimization Tips 05:15 Digg Spam Cautionary Tale 06:58 Spam Risks and Long Game 08:54 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#parasiteseo #searchengineoptimization #seo #blackhatseo
Google Maps Just Shrunk Everyone's Ranking Radius (Biggest Proximity Shift in 20 Years)
E1214: Google Maps rankings are changing dramatically, and proximity to the searcher appears to have become far more important than reviews, backlinks, and business authority. Matt Hammerton returns to the …
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E1214: Google Maps rankings are changing dramatically, and proximity to the searcher appears to have become far more important than reviews, backlinks, and business authority.
Matt Hammerton returns to the podcast with data from 40-50 local ranking scans showing what he calls the biggest proximity shift he's seen in 20 years of doing SEO.
Matt manages more than 100 Google Business Profiles and works with personal injury law firms and home service businesses. He noticed the changes on October 27, 2026, and has been investigating what happened.
In one Phoenix personal injury lawyer market, a business went from an average Google Maps ranking of 2.5 to 16.9 across the same geographic grid. It was still the highest-ranking business overall because its competitors experienced similar declines.
In another example, businesses that previously ranked from more than a mile away disappeared from the local results, replaced by businesses located just a fraction of a mile from the searcher.
We go through Matt's ranking reports, what he's seeing across different industries, and what businesses should do if these changes stick.
Topics covered: - The Google Maps proximity changes Matt discovered between October 22 and October 27, 2026. - How he identified the same pattern in roughly 85% of the 40-50 local ranking scans he examined. - Why businesses that previously ranked across three to five miles are suddenly seeing their ranking areas shrink. - A Phoenix personal injury law firm whose average map ranking fell from 2.5 to 16.9 despite remaining the strongest competitor in its market. - Another example in Mesa, Arizona, where average rankings changed from 1.9 to 6.6. - Why Google appears to be giving proximity significantly more weight than reviews, backlinks, and other authority signals. - How businesses with only a handful of reviews can now outrank competitors with hundreds of reviews simply by being closer to the searcher. - Why service area businesses, including plumbers, HVAC companies, and locksmiths, appear particularly vulnerable. - How these changes are affecting actual phone calls and leads, not just ranking reports. - Why businesses with thousands of reviews and established Google Business Profiles may be losing ground while smaller competitors gain visibility. - Whether this is a permanent Google Maps algorithm change, a temporary experiment, or a mistake. - Why opening additional legitimate business locations could become more important for local SEO. - How Matt identifies neighborhoods with little competition before choosing locations for new offices. - How to use Google Maps to examine competitors, review counts, and geographic opportunities. - Why optimizing Google Business Profiles for more services and keywords may become more important when ranking areas shrink. - The relationship between Google Business Profile rankings and the keywords on the linked website's landing page. - Whether branded searches and stronger organic SEO can offset reduced Google Maps visibility. - Why businesses shouldn't immediately make major changes in response to sudden ranking fluctuations.
We also discuss black hat versus white hat SEO, why building a real brand is more sustainable than chasing temporary ranking tricks, Google's history of algorithm penalties, and what Matt learned from 20 years of SEO.
These proximity findings are based on Matt's own ranking data. Google hasn't confirmed the cause, and we don't yet know whether the changes will remain in place.
⭐️ Matt Hammerton's Agency - https://www.brainspikemarketing.com/ ⭐️ Matt Hammerton on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthammertonaktaktion ⭐️ Matt Hammerton on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MattHammerton/ ⭐️ Matt Hammerton on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/aktaktion/ ⭐️ Matt Hammerton on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/OnlyDreamers ⭐️ Matt Hammerton's Label - https://www.onlydreamersmusic.com/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Matt Returns and Big Finding 00:43 Proximity Pinch Explained 01:56 Rank Reports Reveal the Shift 03:34 Before and After Grid Proof 04:46 Phoenix Case Study Breakdown 08:26 Pizza Shop Effect and SAB Hit 10:08 Verified Across Tools and Dates 13:13 Mesa Example and Dot-Level Evidence 17:54 Bug or New Normal 18:36 Winners Losers and Lead Impact 21:49 Why Few People Noticed 25:11 What to Do Next Locations Strategy 28:30 Shrink Radius Keyword Strategy 30:02 Branded Searches vs Reviews 31:51 Three Month Action Plan 33:39 More Locations Survival 34:52 Finding Low Competition Areas 35:43 Ask Maps 38:16 Who Wins and Loses 40:21 False Wrap Up and Where to Find 47:07 White Hat vs Black Hat 53:41 Google Retaliation Story 01:00:25 Penguin and Big Updates 01:03:24 Final Thoughts and Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#localseo #seo #searchengineoptimization #localmarketing
Kyle Roof Ranked Gibberish #1 on Google. Then Google Deindexed 20 of His Sites.
E1213: Kyle Roof ranked a page written mostly in Lorem Ipsum gibberish #1 on Google for a rhinoplasty keyword. After the experiment made headlines, Google deindexed it. That same night, Google also deindexed 20 …
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E1213: Kyle Roof ranked a page written mostly in Lorem Ipsum gibberish #1 on Google for a rhinoplasty keyword. After the experiment made headlines, Google deindexed it. That same night, Google also deindexed 20 of his other SEO test sites, despite their separate hosting and lack of links between them.
Kyle, SEO legend and founder of PageOptimizer Pro, tells me exactly how he pulled it off, why he believes Google changed its spam rules afterward, and why he says his gibberish pages still rank today. We also get into what he's learned from more than 400 SEO experiments and which popular SEO recommendations his tests contradict.
In this two-hour epic pod, we cover: - How Kyle used Lorem Ipsum mixed with target keywords, variations, and contextual terms to rank #1 in Google organic search and Maps. - What happened when Google deindexed his original site and 20 seemingly unrelated test sites, and what Kyle suspects Google did to identify them. - Why Kyle says his 2019 Lorem Ipsum pages are still on page one, and how he continues testing Google's algorithm with gibberish content. - The four on-page keyword placements Kyle prioritizes: title tags, H1s, paragraph text, and URLs, plus his findings on H2s, H3s, and anchor text. - Why misspellings, grammar, reading level, and even a 25-second page load failed to hurt rankings in his tests. - What his tests show about click-through rate, and why bounce rate, dwell time, and pogo-sticking are harder to pin down. - Why he thinks agencies waste money obsessing over Core Web Vitals, and why he checks time to first byte and total blocking time. - Why he recommends buying expired domains, what he checks before buying, and how they speed up SEO testing and new businesses. - What his GoDaddy domain tests found about exact-match domains, descriptive extensions like .florist, indexing speed, and shorter URLs. - How hidden text and page-builder templates affect Google's word counts, and what to check before migrating a website. - Why the Yandex algorithm leak reinforced his views about TF-IDF, BM25, and Google's ranking systems. - Why AI-written articles often miss important contextual terms, and how to give AI word-count and keyword benchmarks that match the SERP. - How Kyle builds content silos, links supporting pages to competitive target pages, and uses People Also Ask questions for both Google and AI search. - Why he believes SEO and GEO rely on the same foundations, and why he questions whether ChatGPT visibility is worth chasing for every business. - Why pages that stray too far from a website's main topic can hurt SEO, using HubSpot's organic traffic collapse as an example. - His $1,000, 90-day SEO plan: restore pages on an expired domain, target attainable keywords, and decide whether to spend the remaining budget on Google Ads. - How Kyle and Joy Hawkins found that nofollow backlinks can influence rankings, and his favorite way to earn links by organizing community events. - His prediction that today's large language models will be replaced by a different technology within three years.
⭐️ PageOptimizer Pro - https://pageoptimizer.pro ⭐️ Kyle Roof on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-roof-seo/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Meet Kyle Roof 00:58 SEO Barely Changes 02:59 Four Pillars of Search 05:05 Algorithms Are Math 08:29 Testing Myths Busted 12:04 Do User Signals Matter 17:10 AI Content and Context 20:11 Lorem Ipsum Rhinoplasty 27:45 Expired Domains Shortcut 35:17 On Page Signals That Win 38:16 PageOptimizer Pro and AI 41:34 What SEOs Underestimate 43:01 SERP Intent Edge Cases 45:15 Authority vs Pogo Sticking 48:42 User Signals and Metrics 49:44 Core Web Vitals Myth 51:11 Descriptive TLD Experiments 56:37 Short URLs and Subfolders 59:38 SEO Tricks vs Humans 01:00:37 Niches and YMYL Attacks 01:03:54 API Leaks and BM25 01:06:17 CMS Hidden Word Counts 01:11:31 Schema Hype Reality 01:14:31 AI Content Benchmarks 01:17:32 Content Silos for AI 01:22:03 LLMs vs Google Surfaces 01:23:38 AI Indexes and SERP Poisoning 01:26:51 Rank Tracker SERP Glitches 01:28:38 Using GSC for History 01:30:10 Query Fanout Opportunities 01:32:08 GEO vs SEO Debate 01:36:28 PAA Content Mining 01:37:45 AI Search Vanity Metrics 01:41:45 Grind Over Worrying 01:42:56 Topical Focus and HubSpot 01:48:05 90 Day SEO Gameplan 01:55:03 Link Building for Good 01:58:34 LLMs Will Be Replaced 02:02:45 Where to Find Kyle
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization
The New SEO Business Model: Buy News Sites Instead of Backlinks (w/ David Quaid)
E1212: What if SEO agencies stopped buying backlinks and started buying the news sites that publish them? David Quaid joins me to break down a business model he calls "news as a service": acquiring established …
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E1212: What if SEO agencies stopped buying backlinks and started buying the news sites that publish them?
David Quaid joins me to break down a business model he calls "news as a service": acquiring established news sites, local publications, and niche blogs, improving their SEO, and using them to build businesses that earn money beyond advertising.
David argues that SEO agencies spend huge amounts on link building and PR without controlling the publications they depend on. He recalls one company spending $20,000 per month on PR and getting just one press mention in six months. But would buying a publication actually make more financial sense?
I push David on the acquisition costs, operating expenses, revenue, link value, and whether this is just a more expensive private blog network. We work through examples involving an ecommerce store, a Denver local newspaper, and an SEO agency with multiple clients.
In this episode: - Why David believes SEO agencies should consider owning news sites instead of continually paying third parties for backlinks and PR. - How an agency could acquire a local newspaper or niche publication, grow its organic traffic, and build a business around an existing audience. - Why a publication's value goes beyond backlinks to include referral traffic, brand exposure, and relationships with local businesses. - How to evaluate the economics: buying the site, paying journalists, growing readership, and finding revenue that supports the operation. - How a local publisher could expand into separate websites for community news, restaurants, business, and other topics. - Where sponsored articles, advertorials, editorial independence, and rel="sponsored" links fit into the model. - Why David sees a major difference between acquiring a legitimate publication and operating a traditional PBN. - Why the strategy could also work in reverse, with publishers acquiring SEO or PR agencies and selling services to existing advertisers. - How publishers facing fewer clicks from Google AI Overviews could use newsletters, affiliate offers, and other revenue sources. - Why I disagree with the idea that AI Overviews have made it impossible to grow organic traffic, and what I found when investigating Windows Forum's traffic decline. - Whether targeting a keyword with every new article counts as excessive SEO, and how quickly David recommends expanding a smaller site. - How to review a publication's existing content, prune pages that no longer serve a purpose, and improve its technical SEO and internal linking. - Why David questions the assumption that a backlink from a topically relevant website must be more valuable than one from a different industry. - Whether HubSpot could have avoided some of its SEO losses by moving unrelated content onto separate, focused domains.
We also discuss the future of publishers as AI changes search, the limitations of buying individual backlinks, and the opportunity to combine SEO, PR, and publishing under one company.
This is a live exploration of the idea. David explains why he believes in it, and I challenge the details to see where the numbers and the strategy hold up.
⭐️ David Quaid on 𝕏 - https://x.com/DavidGQuaid ⭐️ David Quaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidquaid/ ⭐️ David Quaid on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@DavidQuaid ⭐️ David Quaid's agency - https://primaryposition.com/
⭐️ Nik Hulewsky's episode - https://youtu.be/IyUv47A5m40
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 News as a Service Intro 00:50 Why News Lost Value 01:27 Vertical Integration Lessons 03:55 TikTok Shop and PR SEO 05:06 GEO vs Owning Property 07:59 PR Spend Reality Check 09:51 Agency Moat via News 12:39 Monitors Niche Outlet Example 18:02 PBN vs Traffic Brands 20:45 Acquisition Economics Debate 28:21 Local Newspaper Multi Sites 31:54 Who Buys and Funding 38:42 Disclosure and Sponsored Links 45:38 Forbes Style Linking Tactics 46:41 Sponsored Link Debate 47:39 Costco Chicken Lesson 49:43 Local Newsletter Goldmine 52:18 Publishers Buy Agencies 55:08 AI Overviews And Clicks 01:01:15 Windows Forum AI Fail 01:06:32 News As A Service 01:09:03 Keyword Scaling Limits 01:12:48 Pruning And UX Fixes 01:17:00 Topical Bridges And Links 01:28:38 SEO Myths And Testing 01:31:16 Wrap Up And Goodbye
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization
10 SEO Tips That Made Clients $35M (And Where I Disagree)
E1211: Can SEO generate revenue in 3-6 months? Deno Hawari shared 10 SEO tips drawn from work that generated $35 million for clients. I go through every tip, explain what I agree with, and push back where the …
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E1211: Can SEO generate revenue in 3-6 months? Deno Hawari shared 10 SEO tips drawn from work that generated $35 million for clients.
I go through every tip, explain what I agree with, and push back where the advice needs more context.
A lot of this comes down to targeting keywords that indicate someone is ready to buy, improving pages you already have, and giving Google and AI clear information about your business.
In this episode: - Replace vague claims with specific numbers. "Cut customer acquisition costs by 40%" is more useful than "grow faster," but broad positioning still has a place on your website. - Prioritize comparison and alternative pages over generic informational articles. I discuss a Freshdesk vs. Zendesk comparison page valued at $17,000 per month in organic traffic versus $1,900 for a broad guide, and explain why purchase-intent pages can be easier to write. - Update pages that already rank before publishing more content. Refresh information, improve introductions, and use Google Search Console to identify the queries that deserve additional sections. - Adding large numbers of internal links without negative effects, and explain why link placement matters for passing authority. - Target specific, underserved searches instead of competing only for broad keywords. Look for relevant queries that ranking competitors haven't included in their page titles, URLs, or headings. - Track non-branded search traffic separately from branded traffic. I explain why I trust Google Search Console data and how to save keyword rankings beyond its 16-month history window. - Answer the searcher's question in the first 100 words. For bottom-of-funnel pages, make it immediately clear what your company offers and give visitors a way to take action. - Be careful with self-promotional "best X" listicles. A mention on an independent website can be more useful for AI recommendations than ranking your own product first on your own list. - Create pages for distinct buyer situations: industries, budgets, problems, and use cases. These specific searches may have lower volume, but the people searching often know what they need. - Publish consistently across your website and other channels. I explain how to make multiple short videos around an important keyword that's also targeted with your website, distribute the videos across platforms, and build recognition without publishing endless blog posts.
I also share the People Also Ask method for finding easy questions, building FAQ pages, improving them with Search Console data, and linking those pages to content that generates sales.
⭐️ Deno Hawari on 𝕏 ($35M SEO lessons thread) - https://x.com/denohawari/status/2098491264849293442 ⭐️ Ep 902 - The 5-Minute SEO Hack: Turn 'People Also Ask' Into Instant Topical Authority - https://youtu.be/cHFrWBzg9c4 ⭐️ Ep 1163 - The $50,000 Internal Linking Experiment: Links That Get Clicked Carry More Weight - https://youtu.be/biy8lLxTzqc
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 SEO Results 00:15 Tip 1 Use Exact Details 01:05 Tip 2 Comparison Pages 02:53 Tip 3 Refresh Old Pages 03:10 People Also Ask Hack 05:42 Tip 4 Internal Linking 06:38 Tip 5 Long Tail Questions 08:41 Tip 6 Track Non Branded 09:48 Tip 7 Answer Up Front 10:23 Tip 8 Tools Listicles 11:15 Tip 9 Buyer Situations 12:11 Tip 10 Post Consistently 13:43 Wrap 14:51 Closing Thanks
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #seo
Google Explains How It Understands Keywords (And How to Rank for More)
E1209: Google's John Mueller explained how Google interprets searches, expands keywords with synonyms, and connects related topics. At Search Central Live in Barcelona, Google also showed how AI search breaks …
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E1209: Google's John Mueller explained how Google interprets searches, expands keywords with synonyms, and connects related topics. At Search Central Live in Barcelona, Google also showed how AI search breaks one question into multiple searches before generating an answer.
I break down a widely circulated recap of the event and explain what these findings mean for your SEO strategy.
Here's what I cover: - How Google identifies a query's language, removes unnecessary words, and recognizes names and entities. - Why Google keeps words like "the" and "of" when they're part of a name, such as "The Lord of the Rings." - How synonym expansion connects different searches to the same pages. Google might interpret "fried chicken place" alongside "fried chicken restaurant." - Why context matters: "GM" means General Motors in a car search and genetically modified in a search about barley. - How Google treats competing brands such as Canon and Nikon as related entities, but not synonyms. - How AI search creates query fan-outs, using multiple related searches to gather information for one answer. - Why Google's AI-generated fan-out queries don't appear in Google Search Console. - How to study search fan-outs in Perplexity and other AI tools to identify the questions and terms they repeatedly research. - Why you don't need to repeat every variation of a keyword on a landing page. - How to work secondary terms naturally into a page, using "room planner app," "room planner online," and "kitchen planner app" as examples. - Why brand mentions, backlinks, and descriptions on third-party websites matter for the searches Google associates with a company. - How a PDF-editing website built over many years reached $106 million in annual revenue and 2.7 million monthly Google clicks. - Which pages to build around your brand, competitors, pricing, reviews, comparisons, and alternatives.
A particularly useful takeaway: look at the follow-up searches an AI tool performs. If it repeatedly searches for "[brand] price" and "[brand] reviews," those are searches you want your own website to answer. The same applies to comparisons between your product and competing products.
I also explain why Google's understanding of synonyms doesn't eliminate the need for keyword research. You still want to choose a primary search term, identify secondary terms that matter, and cover the topic with natural language.
⭐️ The article: Google Search Central Live Deep Dive, Barcelona - Day 3 Recap - https://weareroast.com/news/google-search-central-live-deep-dive-barcelona-day-3-recap/ ⭐️ Ep 1171 - Query Augmentation: How One Page Ranks for Thousands of Keywords | James Dooley - https://youtu.be/rHRlAMH99Y8
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Barcelona Event Overview 00:30 How Google Understands Queries 01:20 Synonyms Context Siblings 02:44 AI Search Fanout Queries 03:58 Key Takeaways Summary 04:30 Backlinks Query Augmentation 06:17 On Page Keyword Variations 07:10 Using Fanouts For Content 08:42 Find Fanouts In Search Console 08:59 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#generativeengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #seo #answerengineoptimization
The Backlinks Worth Paying $2,000 For (w/ Ilias ISM)
E1210: What makes a backlink worth $2,000? Ilias ISM joins me to explain which links he pays for, how he finds them, and why pages that rank and get real visitors often matter more than domain rating alone …
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E1210: What makes a backlink worth $2,000? Ilias ISM joins me to explain which links he pays for, how he finds them, and why pages that rank and get real visitors often matter more than domain rating alone.
Ilias is a software engineer turned SEO who builds SaaS products and runs an SEO agency. We break down his link-building process, the Claude Code agents he uses to find backlink opportunities and write outreach emails, and the strategies he sees working as Google and AI search change.
In this episode: - Why Ilias would pay $1,000-$2,000 for a backlink from the right page, especially one ranking in the top 10-20 for a valuable keyword. - How to evaluate backlinks based on page-level search traffic, relevance, referral clicks, and placement, not just domain rating. - His starting filters for backlink prospects: 500-1,000+ monthly organic visits to the domain, relevant top pages, and no obvious signs of a link farm. - How he finds thousands of link-building opportunities by combining competitor backlink overlaps with sites ranking for target keywords. - An overlooked research tactic: analyze the pages linking to your competitors, then study which topics bring those linking pages traffic. - What gets replies to backlink outreach: short, direct emails with a specific request, offer, or reason to include your product. - How he replaced much of a complex link-building software codebase with Claude Code, a database, and tools the AI agent builds as needed. - Why a $50 GitHub sponsorship that sent referral traffic and branded searches became an early SEO breakthrough for him. - What nofollow links, unlinked mentions, brand searches, and social media coverage mean for search visibility. - Why building a recognizable brand and publishing original testing, like NapLab's mattress reviews, creates an advantage over generic AI content. - How Ilias tripled the monthly recurring revenue of an acquired AI presentation SaaS by improving its SEO, backlinks, and product. - What he learned paying short-form video creators $500 per month each, including how to test creators before hiring them. - How to target buyer-intent Google searches with YouTube videos, Shorts, Instagram Reels, and other third-party content. - How to use Ahrefs to find the keywords your existing YouTube videos already rank for. - His prediction for SEO in 2027: more discovery through social media and AI recommendations, with bottom-of-funnel pages converting visitors into customers.
We also discuss protecting paid content from AI agents, why Ilias uses public SEO audits to demonstrate his skills, and what separates long-term SEO strategies from short-term tricks.
If you build SaaS products, run SEO for clients, or want backlinks that bring rankings and customers, this conversation covers specific tactics you can put to work.
⭐️ Ilias ISM on 𝕏 - https://x.com/illyism ⭐️ Ilias Ismanalijev on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/illyism ⭐️ Ilias's agency, Magic Space - https://magicspace.agency ⭐️ Ilias's link building tool, LinkDIY - https://linkdr.com/ ⭐️ SEO Roast - https://seoroast.com ⭐️ AI SEO Tracker - https://aiseotracker.com ⭐️ Ilias's SEO Skills repo - https://github.com/Illyism/seo-skills
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Meet Ilias 00:28 From Startup Exit 01:57 Backlinks Breakthrough 04:10 Emailing For Links 07:21 Listicles Today 09:10 AI Overviews Shift 12:16 Brand As SEO Moat 14:52 Blocking AI Scrapers 18:28 LinkDIY Automation 23:09 Paying For Links 28:52 Authority Signals Everywhere 33:02 Scaling Competitor Data 35:45 NapLab Case Study 41:06 Avoiding Spam Links 42:57 Cornerstone Mattress SEO 44:16 Real Testing Authority 44:48 Black Hat Press Tricks 46:45 Growing on X 47:34 SEO Roasts That Convert 50:12 Funding a Vibe SaaS 51:59 Why AI Misses SEO 54:30 Build in Public Risks 56:24 Indie SEO That Works 57:16 UGC Creator Engine 01:03:36 Acquiring and Scaling SaaS 01:07:18 Social Video SEO Tactics 01:08:51 Batch Analyze YouTube Rankings 01:10:11 SEO in 2027 01:18:30 Wrap Up and Resources
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #indiehackers #generativeengineoptimization
Is GEO a Distraction? Marie Haynes vs. Mike King (and the Tactics That Work)
E1208: Is GEO a distraction, or are SEOs measuring the wrong thing? Marie Haynes analyzed 145 million sessions across 100 websites and found that ChatGPT sent just 0.62% as much traffic as Google organic. All …
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E1208: Is GEO a distraction, or are SEOs measuring the wrong thing?
Marie Haynes analyzed 145 million sessions across 100 websites and found that ChatGPT sent just 0.62% as much traffic as Google organic. All LLMs combined sent 0.73%. Mike King argues that those numbers miss the point: AI search influences buying decisions even when people never click through.
In episode 1,208 of The Edward Show, I break down their disagreement, share my take, and explain the SEO tactics that get customers from Google and AI search.
In this episode: - Marie Haynes's research across 100 sites and 12 months of GA4 data. - ChatGPT generated just 0.62% of Google's organic traffic volume, and all LLMs combined generated 0.73%. - The conversion-rate surprise: 13.8% for ChatGPT visitors versus 3.02% for Google organic visitors. - Google's 27x conversion advantage over all LLMs combined, despite ChatGPT's higher conversion rate. - Marie's finding that ChatGPT referral traffic has declined since August 2025. - Mike King's response: AI search is a brand channel, not primarily a referral-traffic channel. - Why judging AI visibility solely by clicks overlooks recommendations, trust, and purchase decisions. - Where Mike agrees with GEO critics: schema hacks, LLMs.txt, and writing content for robots are distractions.
Then I get into the tactics: - Build bottom-of-funnel SEO landing pages for searches people make when they're ready to buy, use something, or book a call. - Create product pages that explain what you offer and why someone should choose it. - Examine Promptwatch's citation data: listicles at 18.7%, landing pages at 15.2%, and product pages at 14%. - Understand new research showing that Google cites self-promotional listicles less often, and why third-party recommendations matter. - Get your brand included in relevant listicles on websites you don't own. - Build backlinks, earn brand mentions, and get independent coverage from publishers and creators. - Deliver strong customer support so people leave positive reviews and discuss your business on platforms AI search uses for research. - Publish videos, posts, and other social content around the same buyer-intent keywords as your landing pages.
My conclusion: I don't know whether GEO is a distraction, but I know the tactics that get results.
Target buying intent. Make pages that convert. Earn links and mentions. Build a reputation people trust. Expand your reach across channels.
These efforts build on each other over time and create visibility in traditional search and AI search.
⭐️ Marie Haynes: GEO Is a Distraction - https://www.mariehaynes.com/geo-is-a-distraction/ ⭐️ Mike King on 𝕏 - https://x.com/VeryWellVersed/status/2113335299807801456 ⭐️ Mike King: AI Search Is a Branding Channel - https://ipullrank.com/ai-search-is-a-branding-channel ⭐️ Promptwatch research - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/gijs-de-groot2021_seeing-a-lot-of-talk-about-listicles-losing-share-7426618882129362944-FsN7/ ⭐️ Dmytro Sokhach self-promo listicle research - https://x.com/Dmytro_Sokhach/status/2112241629281087513
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 SEO Community Controversy 00:41 Marie Haynes Data Breakdown 02:22 Why LLM Traffic Plateaued 02:59 Marie's Practical SEO Advice 03:49 Mike King Pushes Back 04:56 AI Search as Brand Channel 07:06 Host Take Bottom Funnel Focus 07:53 What Gets Cited in AI 09:25 Mentions Links and UGC 11:31 Long Cut Wins Closing 12:06 Wrapping
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#generativeengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #seo #answerengineoptimization
He Dug Through 9,249 SEO Case Studies. Here's What Actually Works
E1207: An SEO spent his summer collecting more than 30,000 documents to find which SEO tactics work. That SEO, Krešimir Ćorluka, narrowed them to 9,249 studies, tests, and papers, then ranked the strongest …
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E1207: An SEO spent his summer collecting more than 30,000 documents to find which SEO tactics work. That SEO, Krešimir Ćorluka, narrowed them to 9,249 studies, tests, and papers, then ranked the strongest evidence.
I covered some of his most surprising findings in an earlier episode. This time, Krešimir joins me to explain how he built the research, which results he trusts, which ones he questions, and which tactics he prioritizes in his own SEO work.
We dig into: - How he used Ahrefs, Screaming Frog, two AI models, and manual checks to sort thousands of SEO studies. - Why so many SEO case studies fail to prove causation: no control group, multiple changes at once, seasonality, and agencies rarely publishing failed experiments. - Why adding "Just Updated" to a title tag beats putting the current year in it. - What the tests found about exact-match internal link anchor text versus using lots of variations. - Why dynamic and static prices in title tags produced different traffic outcomes. - The Google Lens test that reported a 90% increase after adding EXIF location data and ImageObject schema, and how other EXIF tests found no benefit. - How removing review-related schema coincided with rankings recovering for two of Krešimir's clients. - Why he questions many AI search optimization studies, especially those measuring ChatGPT mentions from a handful of prompts. - What the evidence says about LLMs.txt, expert quotes, statistics, and tables for AI citations. - Why disavowing backlinks without a manual action generally doesn't improve rankings. - His theory that Open Graph images influence which thumbnail Google shows in search results. - Why digital PR, original company data, and useful calculators earn backlinks and brand mentions. - How clearer product descriptions and more prominent calls to action affect ecommerce traffic and conversions. - Why big technical SEO questions, including pagination and content pruning, still need better research. - How to keep an SEO change log so you can revisit each change and judge its effect months later.
We also discuss a critical distinction: a study can report a large traffic increase without proving which change caused it. Krešimir explains why controlled tests deserve more weight and why you need to think through the implications before trying an unusual tactic on a client site.
Near the end, I ask what he would tell an SEO to do tomorrow. His answers include investing in digital PR and making sure your website clearly answers the questions customers ask about your products and services.
⭐️ My earlier episode breaking down the research: https://youtu.be/q3zknvoFuNc
⭐️ The SEO Meta Study - https://ovisy.hr/blog/seo-meta-study ⭐️ Krešimir Ćorluka on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kresimir-corluka/ ⭐️ SEO Evidence Checklist - https://ovisy.hr/seo-checklist ⭐️ Krešimir Ćorluka's agency, Ovisy - https://ovisy.hr/ ⭐️ Croatia SEO Summit - https://croatiaseosummit.com/ ⭐️ Zagreb SEO Day - https://croatiaseosummit.com/zagreb-seo-day/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 SEO Meta Study Setup 00:59 Building the Research Pipeline 03:57 Free PDF and Why 07:39 What Makes a Tactic Best 10:03 AEO and GEO Reality Check 15:24 Anchor Text and Disavow Surprises 20:32 Title Tag Experiments 25:11 EXIF and Schema Debate 28:08 Footer Links and SEO Risks 31:29 Product Pages That Convert 37:40 Using Proprietary Data for PR 42:36 Linkable Assets 43:25 Calculator SEO Case Study 44:10 Programmatic SEO Pitfalls 45:03 Linkable Assets Still Win 48:34 Meta Study Takeaways 50:34 Unanswered SEO Questions 52:53 Keep an SEO Changelog 56:40 What Makes Tests Shareable 01:00:55 Tell Tests as Stories 01:03:42 OG Images for CTR 01:08:27 Schema Risks and Penalties 01:13:38 Running SEO Conferences 01:19:10 Final Advice and Wrap-Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization
Black Friday SEO: How to Rank on Google & ChatGPT (Even If You're Starting Late)
E1206: Black Friday SEO usually starts months before the sale. But if you're starting late, there are still ways to get your offers in front of buyers on Google and ChatGPT. I'm joined by Gagan Ghotra, Harpreet …
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E1206: Black Friday SEO usually starts months before the sale. But if you're starting late, there are still ways to get your offers in front of buyers on Google and ChatGPT.
I'm joined by Gagan Ghotra, Harpreet Singh, and David Quaid to break down Black Friday SEO for ecommerce brands, SaaS companies, and anyone selling products online.
We go through the pages to create, the keywords to target, and the changes you can still make as Black Friday approaches.
What we cover: - When to publish Black Friday pages, why February is a better starting point than October, and what to do if you're late. - The keyword format "Black Friday + product category + deals" and how to use it for specific buyer searches. - How many Black Friday landing pages to create without making them compete against each other in Google. - Why brands need to own searches for their discount codes, coupons, and Black Friday offers, even when they don't run a seasonal sale. - How different discount amounts give Google and ChatGPT more relevant offers to surface for specific searches. - How to structure Black Friday URLs, keep useful pages year after year, and build internal links from your best-performing product and collection pages. - How to use Google's People Also Ask questions to update existing pages and pursue rankings even at the last minute. - What product descriptions need for AI search: materials, dimensions, compatibility, weather resistance, and the details shoppers compare before buying. - Why product comparisons and buying guides matter when customers research in ChatGPT before they search for a deal. - How product schema and Google Merchant Center feeds affect shopping features, plus what they won't do for organic rankings. - How to use press releases, digital PR, affiliate partnerships, and relevant backlinks to reach searches your own site may not rank for. - Why social posts, short videos, creator reviews, and Reddit discussions matter for Google results and AI-generated product recommendations. - What brands can learn from Black Friday pages and search results involving Amazon, Adidas, Nike, Sony, and Mattress Firm. - How to decide between SEO and paid ads, and how to keep converting shoppers after Cyber Monday.
We also discuss competitor keyword gaps, the risk of creating too many near-identical sale pages, and why an offer with the lowest price doesn't always get the sale.
Whether you've spent months preparing or you're putting your Black Friday campaign together now, this episode gives you concrete tactics to test before the shopping rush.
⭐️ Harpreet Singh's Personal Site - https://harpsdigital.com ⭐️ Harpreet on X - https://x.com/harpreetchatha_ ⭐️ Harpreet's Newsletter - https://seoespresso.com ⭐️ Harpreet on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/harpreetsingh8/ ⭐️ Harpreet on TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@seoharp ⭐️ Harpreet on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@seoharp
⭐️ Gagan Ghotra on 𝕏 - https://x.com/gaganghotra_ ⭐️ Gagan Ghotra on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gagan-ghotra/ ⭐️ Gagan Ghotra's website - https://gaganghotra.com/
⭐️ David Quaid on 𝕏 - https://x.com/DavidGQuaid ⭐️ David Quaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidquaid/ ⭐️ David Quaid on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@DavidQuaid ⭐️ David Quaid's agency - https://primaryposition.com/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Black Friday SEO Kickoff 00:30 When to Publish Pages 01:49 SERP Displacement Tactics 06:36 Discount Codes Strategy 09:10 Own Your Coupon SERPs 11:20 Above the Fold Offers 13:56 Avoid Cannibalization 21:59 AI Product Attributes 28:25 Payments and Deal Terms 31:58 Social Media SEO Plays 36:09 Creator Reviews Ecosystem 38:04 Review Domains and Mentions 40:29 Reddit Landing Pages 42:06 Should Brands Build Subreddits 42:47 Reddit Spam Crackdown 51:18 Working With Moderators 53:02 Reddit In AI Results 54:35 Digital PR Playbook 58:58 Press Release Example 01:00:47 Backlinks And Partnerships 01:03:58 LLM Guides And Long Tails 01:07:55 Agentic Buying Reality Check 01:10:20 Attribution And Analytics Fixes 01:16:17 Schema And Merchant Center 01:19:25 Claude For Schema 01:21:02 Claude vs Gemini Schemas 01:21:27 AI Video Editing Workflow 01:23:37 Merchant Center Feed Sync 01:26:54 LLMs and Product Feeds 01:29:03 Gift Guides Without ROI 01:30:07 Amazon Black Friday URLs 01:37:27 Cannibalization Explained 01:38:59 Black Friday Site Architecture 01:42:18 PAA Hack for Rankings 01:43:50 Internal Links and CRO Widgets 01:45:27 Beat Brands With Relevance 01:49:58 Budget Split and ROI Math 01:52:12 Discounts Shipping and Trust 01:53:45 Cyber Monday and Post Sale 01:56:12 Wrap Up and Key Takeaways
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #ecommerce #digitalmarketing
Google's AI Content-Killing Algorithm Is Coming (15-Year Recovery Expert Explains)
E1204: Google is heading toward an algorithm designed to target AI-generated content, according to Kristine Schachinger, an SEO and Google penalty recovery specialist with 15 years of recovery experience …
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E1204: Google is heading toward an algorithm designed to target AI-generated content, according to Kristine Schachinger, an SEO and Google penalty recovery specialist with 15 years of recovery experience. Google's John Mueller liked her public prediction that recent spam updates are testing the approach.
Kristine joins me to explain what she thinks Google is preparing, what she's seeing on sites hit by spam updates, and how businesses should protect their rankings before the next major update.
In this episode: - Why Kristine predicts an AI content-focused algorithm in the next 6-8 months. - How repeated AI-generated content could contaminate the training data behind Google's AI systems. - Why Kristine refuses to publish AI-written content for clients, even when the content initially ranks. - A client whose writers used AI without the owner's knowledge: Google lifted the manual spam action in seven days, but the site still hadn't recovered a year later. - Why ranking AI content often survives for months before Google's quality systems fully evaluate it. - What to do if your site already has hundreds of AI-written pages: don't delete everything; rewrite weak sections in stages and measure the results. - What Kristine noticed during Google's September 2026 spam update, and why she thinks Google is escalating its response to AI content. - How to spot indexing problems in Google Search Console, including "Crawled - currently not indexed" and "Discovered - currently not indexed." - Why a site that stops ranking for its own brand name needs an immediate technical and penalty investigation. - Kristine's theory that Google's Helpful Content Update mistakenly hit legitimate sites that resembled affiliate spam. - How rebuilding links, improving content, and strengthening brand signals affect recovery after a major traffic collapse. - Why H1s, descriptive headings, image alt text, entity relationships, and accessibility matter for search engines and AI agents. - How a JavaScript error made hundreds of pages appear blank to Googlebot even though visitors could load them. - How spammers exploited indexable internal search pages on a major e-commerce site, forcing a review of 300,000 URLs and triggering a manual action just before Black Friday. - Why Kristine starts recovery audits with crawling, rendering, indexing, and Core Web Vitals before working on content. - Her take on AI Overviews, neural matching, and why "GEO" is still SEO.
Kristine also explains how she recovered sites from Penguin penalties, what Google means when its systems "lose faith" in a website, and why a lifted penalty doesn't guarantee that traffic will return.
⭐️ Kristine Schachinger on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kschachinger-seo/ ⭐️ Webcology podcast on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/4igLPEdtHFuMaaaT8eJFuf ⭐️ Webcology podcast on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/webcology/id280183059 ⭐️ Webcology podcast website - https://redcircle.com/shows/webcology
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 AI Content Crackdown 02:07 Model Collapse Explained 04:01 SEO Origins Story 06:19 Why Ban AI Content 08:05 Penguin Fallout Lessons 10:44 Training Data Ethics 14:27 Watermarking And SynthID 15:46 When AI Content Gets Hit 18:39 Entities And Cosine Relevance 22:36 Headers And Accessibility 26:20 Manual Actions Recovery 30:09 Crawled Not Indexed Signals 35:07 Behavior Signals And Navboost 39:13 Google Watches SEOs 42:53 Google Tracks Everything 43:52 Google Plus Identity Era 45:03 Author Myth Explained 47:10 Fake Bios and Personas 47:54 Penguin Recovery Case Study 48:57 Alt Text Done Right 52:40 HouseFresh HCU Comeback 53:45 Why HCU Broke Sites 56:27 Brand Queries and Suppression 01:02:02 Hidden Gems and UGC Shift 01:04:20 AI Overviews and Neural Matching 01:06:27 2026 Spam Update AI Focus 01:11:30 Big Brands vs Small Sites 01:17:27 How Google Measures Quality 01:22:11 Why GEO Is Made Up 01:26:58 AI Search Is Still Search 01:28:14 Why GEO Is Misleading 01:30:07 Brand Signals That Help LLMs 01:31:40 Write Clear Structured Content 01:33:49 AI Traffic And Breadcrumbing 01:35:02 Technical SEO First Always 01:36:50 Core Web Vitals Drops Hurt 01:38:54 Hidden Rendering Failures 01:40:45 Indexable Search Spam Attack 01:46:19 Lock Down Search Pages 01:47:46 300 Percent Growth From Tech Fixes 01:51:15 Why Push Button Audits Fail 01:53:08 Diagnosing Traffic Losses 01:57:50 Tools For Content Versus Tech 01:59:31 Where To Find Christine 02:00:40 Podcast Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #webdevelopment #seopodcast
The Local SEO Tricks Google Hasn't Caught Yet (Bodhi Gallo)
E1203: Bodhi Gallo reveals the local SEO tactics he's using to rank businesses on Google Maps, including strategies he believes Google hasn't caught up with yet. Bodhi grew a dumpster rental business to roughly …
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E1203: Bodhi Gallo reveals the local SEO tactics he's using to rank businesses on Google Maps, including strategies he believes Google hasn't caught up with yet.
Bodhi grew a dumpster rental business to roughly $750,000 in annual revenue through local SEO before selling it. Today, he runs a 60-person SEO agency serving home service businesses.
We break down his most aggressive strategies, including how he got a brand-new business into Google Maps' top 3 in just 24 hours.
We cover: - How Bodhi reached Google Maps' top 3 in 24 hours with an exact-match domain, matching Business Profile, and almost no competition. He expects the site to generate roughly $200,000 in extra profit for his dad this year. - Why keyword-rich business names outrank competitors with far more reviews, and whether Google will crack down. - How he creates multiple Google Business Profiles for different services and locations without triggering suspensions. - Why exact-match domains still rank, including domains targeting individual neighborhoods. - How he structures location pages, Google Maps embeds, and internal links across multiple service areas. - How he gets backlinks through vendors, reciprocal links, local publications, and private blog networks. - Why youth sports sponsorships, chambers of commerce, and business partners make strong local link sources. - The private link-exchange network his team is building across roughly 8,000 websites. - Why review velocity matters, plus tactics involving paid reviews and customer incentives - Why Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook, and business directories affect local SEO and AI recommendations. - How to inspect ChatGPT and Gemini's sources, then earn mentions from websites they cite. - How LinkedIn articles rank for local service keywords and occupy additional Google results, even when the posts contain AI-generated content. - How he optimizes Google Local Services Ads with fast phone answers, at least 10 new photos a week, and a steady flow of reviews. - Why branded searches matter and how Facebook ads and short-form videos generate more of them. - How to uncover valuable keywords like "EV charger installation near me" and "metal roofing." - Why mass-producing AI location pages creates indexing problems, and how he expands sites gradually. - How he handles "Crawled - currently not indexed" pages and decides when to rewrite content. - How he'd spend a local business's first $1,000 monthly SEO budget on links, citations, pages, and review tools. - Why programmatic SEO is overrated while posting real business videos across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube is underrated.
We also discuss Google Maps driving-direction manipulation, Google Business Profile posts, AI content, the future of on-page SEO, and which tactics Google might target next.
Bodhi's takeaway: Target services that generate revenue, build focused pages, establish a legitimate local presence, earn reviews and backlinks, and build a brand.
⭐️ Bodhi Gallo on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bodhigallo/ ⭐️ Bodhi Gallo on 𝕏 - https://x.com/irentdumpsters ⭐️ Bodhi Gallo on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bodhigallo/ ⭐️ Bodhi Gallo on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@Bodhigallo ⭐️ Bodhi Gallo's agency, Stryker Digital - https://stryker-digital.com/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Meet Bodhi Gallo 00:20 Scaling and Exit Story 00:41 Multiple GBP Playbook 02:23 Backlinks and PBN Tactics 04:17 Service Pages After HCU 04:42 Keyword Stuffed Names 07:22 Exact Match Domains Setup 09:06 Neighborhood EMD Strategy 12:13 Trade Operator Advantage 14:00 Hiring Stallions 16:46 SEO Origin Story 18:45 Roofer Ranking Blueprint 21:32 Apple Maps and Citations 24:17 LSA Optimization Tips 25:54 Creative Link Building 32:47 Social Alpha and Events 38:35 AI Sites and Indexing 41:38 Vanity Traffic vs Revenue 43:31 High Intent SEO Wins 44:22 Finding Keyword Gaps 46:19 Local SEO Keyword Process 46:57 Review Generation Tactics 49:17 Review Velocity Strategy 50:50 Authority Links And Indexing 51:49 Multi Location Page Structure 54:52 Branded Search Growth 58:17 GBP Non Negotiables 01:00:05 Driving Directions Debate 01:03:11 GBP Posts And AI Visibility 01:04:36 Citations And Parasite SEO 01:09:39 Programmatic SEO Reality 01:12:11 Mentors And Paid Access 01:14:42 Future Proof Local SEO 01:16:56 AI Content And Social Posting 01:19:35 Spending 1000 On SEO 01:22:49 Overrated Vs Underrated 01:27:10 Closing And Where To Find
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#localseo #googlebusinessprofileoptimization #searchengineoptimization #seo
How to Get AI to Name You the Top Expert in Your Niche
E1202: AI is turning self-promotion into recommendations. People are calling themselves the top expert in their niche on LinkedIn, in press releases, and on their own websites. Google's AI Overviews then repeat …
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E1202: AI is turning self-promotion into recommendations. People are calling themselves the top expert in their niche on LinkedIn, in press releases, and on their own websites. Google's AI Overviews then repeat those claims and cite the original posts as evidence.
I break down real examples from the competitive SEO industry and show how to use these tactics to get AI to associate your name or business with the searches that matter.
Here's what I cover: - How Pedro Dias called himself the world's most renowned AI visibility expert in a LinkedIn post, and Google's AI Overview repeated the claim hours later. - Why starting a LinkedIn post with your target search phrase puts that language in the page title, URL, and meta description. - How a relevant LinkedIn profile, established posting history, followers, and backlinks strengthen a post's chances of ranking. - How Zeeshan Yaseen got Google's AI to call him a leading LLM SEO expert by distributing a press release through GlobeNewswire that appeared on Yahoo Finance. - How that Yahoo Finance release continued appearing in AI answers months later, with backlinks to the release contributing. - The three press release approaches: a strong placement with backlinks, a strong placement without backlinks, and recurring lower-cost releases. - What an $80 AB Newswire release gets you versus a more expensive Yahoo Finance placement, plus the $500-per-year package for 83 releases mentioned in the episode. - How David Quaid published a "Who Is the King of SEO?" article on his own website, then appeared in Google's AI Overview as the person associated with that title. - How matching your target phrase in the page title, H1, URL slug, and beginning of the first sentence makes the page relevant to the query. - How self-promotional "best of" listicles work to put your own business at number one. - How you should publish only a handful of these listicles, disclose your connection, give competitors fair coverage, and avoid exaggeration. - How to combine an on-site listicle, a press release, social posts, and backlinks so several sources reinforce the same claim.
The larger point: You don't need to wait for someone else to call you the leading expert. You need relevant pages, strong platforms, and a consistent claim that search engines can find.
⭐️ Source article - How to Get AI to Recommend You as the Expert - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/how-to-get-ai-to-recommend-you/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 AI Makes You Famous 01:14 LinkedIn Claim Hack 02:44 Press Releases That Stick 05:10 Your Website Crowns You 06:24 Self Promotional Listicles 07:45 Stack Tactics Together 08:46 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #onlinereputationmanagement
Google Is Feeding Ahrefs and Semrush Fake Rankings. Here's What to Trust Instead
E1201: Google is feeding Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and other SEO rank trackers incorrect search results. Websites appear to lose rankings overnight, even when Google Search Console shows stable rankings and …
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E1201: Google is feeding Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and other SEO rank trackers incorrect search results. Websites appear to lose rankings overnight, even when Google Search Console shows stable rankings and traffic.
Google's crackdown on AI companies scraping its search results is disrupting SEO tools. I explain what's happening, why rank tracking data has become unreliable, and what SEOs need to trust instead.
Here's what I cover:
Why SEO rank trackers are showing incorrect data: - Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz are showing major inconsistencies in Google ranking data. - Some tools show websites disappearing from page one for their own brand names. - Google Search Console often shows no corresponding drop in rankings, impressions, or clicks. - Agencies must explain these discrepancies to concerned clients.
How Google's anti-scraping measures are disrupting SEO tools: - Google's legal fight against SERP API and efforts to stop AI companies from scraping Search. - IP blocking targeting the proxy networks rank trackers use. - New /goto/ redirects that create additional opportunities for session checks and bot detection. - Increased CAPTCHAs and other anti-bot measures. - Poisoned SERPs that give scrapers incorrect results rather than blocking them outright.
What the SEO community is reporting: - Charles Floate's observations about rank trackers showing different results from Google SERPs. - Reports of phantom search results, HTTP 429 errors, and pages full of irrelevant content. - Why misleading data is worse than tools failing to retrieve rankings.
Why rank tracking might recover: - Google's existing search syndication agreements, including Ecosia. - Barry Schwartz's comment of Google's private search APIs for select partners. - Google's original Search API, launched in 2002 and shut down in 2009. - The 2025 antitrust ruling and licensing search results to qualified competitors. - Rank Tracker's unverified claim that it restored top-100 keyword tracking. - Improvements I've personally observed in Moz's search results.
What SEOs need to do right now: - Use Google Search Console for your own site's rankings, clicks, and impressions. - Cross-check suspicious third-party reports against actual Google Search results. - Use the Search Console API to build reports and preserve data beyond its 16-month limit. - Find keywords where your existing pages rank but don't fully satisfy search intent. - Build dedicated landing pages for high-intent keywords already getting clicks. - Keep building relevant content, authority, and pages that satisfy search intent. - Don't assume a sudden drop in a rank tracker means your website actually lost visibility.
I also explain why keyword search volume estimates remain largely unaffected. Ahrefs and Semrush use Google Keyword Planner and third-party clickstream data, not just scraped SERPs.
The takeaway: Google's anti-scraping measures have disrupted rank tracking, not the fundamentals of SEO. Check Search Console before changing your strategy.
⭐️ Charles Floate on 𝕏 - https://x.com/Charles_SEO/status/2104504430683197518 ⭐️ Ep 1169 - How SEOs Actually Find Keywords in 2026 (What Reddit Gets Right and Wrong) - https://youtu.be/yIsli0iMQQs ⭐️ Ep 1190 - Barry Schwartz: Google's War on AI Scrapers Is Breaking SEO Tools - https://youtu.be/wu_hOPmuDHE
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Rank Trackers Going Haywire 02:02 Why Google Changed SERPs 02:36 Anti-Scraping Measures Explained 03:24 Poisoned SERPs Fake Data 03:55 What The SEO Community Sees 05:24 Will Tools Work Again 07:06 What To Do Right Now 08:08 Use Search Console As Truth 09:15 Keep Fundamentals And Keyword Research 11:32 Learn Proper SEO And Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #performancemarketing #digitalmarketing
9 SEO Strategies That Actually Work (Real Answers From Reddit)
E1200: What SEO strategies actually work? I found a Reddit thread asking SEO practitioners which strategies delivered real results. For episode 1,200 of The Edward Show, I break down nine strategies and explain …
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E1200: What SEO strategies actually work?
I found a Reddit thread asking SEO practitioners which strategies delivered real results. For episode 1,200 of The Edward Show, I break down nine strategies and explain how to use them for Google rankings, backlinks, leads, and AI search visibility.
Here's what we cover: - Map the entire buyer journey, not just individual keywords. Someone researching an expensive purchase will check YouTube reviews, Reddit discussions, third-party websites, and AI answers before buying. Get your brand into that research process. - Find buyer-intent keywords your competitors aren't targeting. Look for queries they rank for without dedicated content. Put the target keyword in your page title, URL slug, H1, and opening sentence. Don't stuff long-tail keywords throughout the page. - Build topical clusters that support your money pages. Create pages around related searches, connect them with internal links, and link from pages already ranking to relevant bottom-of-funnel pages. - Find opportunities in Google Search Console before creating new content. Look for pages with impressions but few clicks. Enable Average Position and identify queries close to the top three. Check whether the page targets those queries or needs improvements. - Refresh existing content instead of constantly publishing. Update outdated information, match search intent, strengthen internal links, and cover missing long-tail topics. Three Reddit commenters recommended this. If your existing pages aren't ranking, diagnose the problem before publishing more. - Answer the searcher's question above the fold. Cut introductions and clutter. Use concise explanations and white space. Revisit pages after a few months to spot weak sections that seemed fine when you wrote them. - Earn backlinks through personalized outreach and partnerships. Approach businesses in adjacent industries instead of competitors. A plumber could earn a link from a roofer's website and promote the roofer through social media posts that also rank on Google. - Prioritize search intent over search volume. A low-volume query with clear purchase intent often brings more business than a large informational query. Identify what the searcher wants, answer it immediately, and link to supporting content. - Get mentioned on pages that rank on Google and appear in AI citations. Find recommendation lists repeatedly cited in your industry. Pitch your business to their publishers. These placements put your brand in front of buyers and give AI systems another source mentioning your company, even without a backlink.
⭐️ The Reddit Thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEOTips101/comments/1wn8k7n/whats_one_seo_strategy_that_actually_worked_for/ ⭐️ Ep 1100 - The SEO Colony Hack That Ranks Money Pages Without Backlinks - https://youtu.be/FFGNSAjdz6Y ⭐️ Ep 787 - The #1 SEO Hack: Why Content Refreshes Beat New Content - https://youtu.be/UKvGmqzIxg4 ⭐️ Ep 1194 - 6,337 Cold Emails Reveal What Actually Gets Replies (And Backlinks) - https://youtu.be/TRMM8wsCDes
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 SEO Fundamentals Reality Check 00:32 User Journey Over Keywords 01:09 Reviews and Third-Party Proof 03:18 Competitor Gaps and Targeting 04:22 Topical Clusters That Compound 05:32 Refresh Pages Already Ranking 07:07 What Good Content Means 08:40 Personalized Outreach Partnerships 10:38 Intent First Internal Linking 11:09 Page One Mentions for GEO 12:29 1200 Day Podcast Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #seotips #digitalmarketing
Nofollow Backlinks Do Boost Rankings (The Tests Google Doesn't Talk About)
E1198: Do nofollow backlinks boost Google rankings? I walk through findings from Rand Fishkin, Kyle Roof, and Joy Hawkins, plus an AI search study that challenges the idea that nofollow links have no SEO value …
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E1198: Do nofollow backlinks boost Google rankings? I walk through findings from Rand Fishkin, Kyle Roof, and Joy Hawkins, plus an AI search study that challenges the idea that nofollow links have no SEO value.
The practical takeaway: look beyond the link attribute. Pay attention to whether the linking page ranks on Google and attracts organic traffic.
In this episode: - Google's 2019 change: Google shifted from ignoring nofollow links as ranking signals to treating nofollow, sponsored, and UGC attributes as hints about which links to consider or exclude. - Rand Fishkin's experiments: Two tests pointed nofollow links from 55 and 42 websites at target pages. I cover the ranking gains and the unexpected result after participants removed the links: rankings kept improving. - Kyle Roof's two criteria: The linking page ranks well on Google AND gets organic clicks. I explain how these criteria shaped Joy Hawkins' follow-up tests. - Joy Hawkins' results: Joy added a nofollow link from a Local Search Forum page that already ranked and attracted traffic. The next day, her target page ranked AND a YouTube video that she had embedded on the target page ALSO ranked. She then reported positive ranking effects in additional tests. - Nofollow links from major websites: I discuss Link Rush's reports of ranking improvements, faster indexing, and greater brand visibility after receiving nofollow links from the BBC and GOV.UK, plus the additional links and client trust those mentions attracted. - Backlinks and AI search: A Semrush study with Kevin Indig examined 1,000 domains across five AI platforms. Nofollow backlinks showed a slightly stronger correlation with AI mentions than follow backlinks. - A possible explanation for the AI findings: Platforms such as Reddit, Wikipedia, and Quora use nofollow links and frequently appear in AI answers. - What this means for link building: Evaluate the source page, its rankings, its traffic, and its audience before dismissing a backlink because it carries a nofollow attribute.
These experiments and reports challenge the blanket claim that nofollow backlinks are worthless. They also give you specific criteria for evaluating the next link you earn.
⭐️ Google's 2019 announcement on nofollow links - https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify ⭐️ Rand Fishkin's nofollow experiments (#10) - https://seosherpa.com/seo-experiments/ ⭐️ Joy Hawkins nofollow backlink tests - https://www.sterlingsky.ca/nofollow-links-impact-seo/ ⭐️ Link Rush nofollow study - https://www.linkrush.co.uk/blog/do-nofollow-backlinks-help-seo-in-2026 ⭐️ Semrush nofollow AI search study - https://www.semrush.com/blog/backlinks-ai-search-study/ ⭐️ Ep 1163 - The $50,000 Internal Linking Experiment: Links That Get Clicked Carry More Weight - https://youtu.be/biy8ILxTzqc ⭐️ Ep 948 - Why Low-Authority Backlinks Can Outperform High-Authority Ones - https://youtu.be/1gCsGVu3Izg
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Do Nofollow Links Rank 00:16 Google Nofollow Update 01:35 Early Nofollow Experiments 02:31 Joy Hawkins 2024 Test 05:14 API Leak Engagement Signals 06:01 Big Brand Nofollow Wins 06:58 Nofollow Links For AI 07:32 Natural Link Profile Tips 08:16 Final Verdict And Advice 09:26 Podcast Milestone Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #seo #backlinks
Why Rihanna's Fenty Beats Dior in AI Search (And What You Can Copy)
E1199: Rihanna's Fenty Beauty is beating Dior in the AI Search. Harpreet Singh joins me to break down the customer reviews, third-party coverage, and product pages behind Fenty's outstanding visibility. His …
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E1199: Rihanna's Fenty Beauty is beating Dior in the AI Search. Harpreet Singh joins me to break down the customer reviews, third-party coverage, and product pages behind Fenty's outstanding visibility.
His explanation starts with one idea: "AI is a parrot." When publications, customers, and retailers consistently recommend a product, AI repeats those recommendations.
We examine what Fenty gets right and how to apply those lessons to ecommerce, B2B, and local businesses.
In this episode: - Nearly 53,000 customer reviews. We look at Fenty's Google Shopping presence and discuss why a good product and strong customer feedback belong at the center of your AI search strategy. - Recommendations from trusted publications. The New York Times, InStyle, beauty bloggers, and creators all reinforce Fenty's reputation. We discuss how to find the equivalent publications and reviewers in your industry. - Product descriptions that answer buying questions. Fenty clearly lists ingredients, benefits, awards, and attributes like "vegan" and "cruelty-free." Those details match the preferences shoppers share with ChatGPT and other AI tools. - A specific statistic that AI repeats. Fenty says it sells one lip gloss every 10 seconds. We examine how the brand reinforces that claim through its product page and media coverage. - Third-party retailer pages. Sephora adds its own product descriptions and thousands of reviews, creating another source of information about Fenty beyond the brand's website. - Sales copy on bottom-of-funnel pages. Explain your product, establish trust, and show buyers what makes your offer worth choosing. We discuss why generic informational content misses the purpose of these pages. - Local mentions for smaller businesses. Relevant directories, industry websites, and chambers of commerce offer practical places to establish your business's credentials.
We also investigate Sephora's holiday SEO pages: - Searches like "affordable gifts for teachers," "gifts for men who have everything," and "gifts for your boyfriend's mother." - The trade-off between publishing more keyword-targeted pages and maintaining content quality. - Why a major retailer's results don't automatically translate to a smaller website. - How existing authority, traffic, and site history affect decisions about scaling content. - Ways to improve or repurpose seasonal pages after the holiday shopping period.
Finally, we examine Toyota's consistent use of "reliable" across its brand messaging and press releases. Harpreet explains how repeated language spreads through third-party coverage and strengthens the association between a brand and the qualities buyers want.
We also discuss: - Why Harpreet expects AI discovery to drive more branded searches. - How shoppers move from AI recommendations to Google and YouTube research before buying. - How strong customer support encourages positive reviews and protects your reputation. - How to incorporate valuable search terms into your company descriptions across relevant websites.
Build a product people recommend. Give them excellent support. Earn relevant coverage. Make your product pages clear, specific, and persuasive.
⭐️ Harpreet Singh's Personal Site - https://harpsdigital.com ⭐️ Harpreet on X - https://x.com/harpreetchatha_ ⭐️ Harpreet's Newsletter - https://seoespresso.com ⭐️ Harpreet on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/harpreetsingh8/ ⭐️ Harpreet on TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@seoharp ⭐️ Harpreet on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@seoharp
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Challenger Wins AI Search 00:18 Why Fenty Shows Up 01:13 Reviews Drive Visibility 02:23 Press Mentions Matter 04:26 AI Is a Parrot 06:09 On Page Product Signals 07:53 Sales Copy Over Blogs 09:43 Stats and PR Amplify 12:03 Resellers and Unique Copy 13:31 Playbook for Any Industry 15:45 Sephora Gift Pages Test 17:31 Fenty Traffic Collapse Clue 18:30 Sephora Gift Pages 19:00 Fenty Long Tail TikTok 20:15 Core Update Traffic Drop 20:53 SEO Nuance Warnings 21:59 Sephora Rank And Tank 24:45 Safer Scaling Tactics 27:06 Win In AI Search 29:14 Branded Click Future 33:17 Toyota Reliable Narrative 36:45 Final Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #seo
Elon Musk's Grokipedia Just Lost 97% of Its Google Traffic. Here's Why
E1197: Elon Musk's Grokipedia went from 6.5 million monthly Google clicks in July to just 200,000. That's a 97% collapse in organic search traffic for xAI's entirely AI-written alternative to Wikipedia. And …
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E1197: Elon Musk's Grokipedia went from 6.5 million monthly Google clicks in July to just 200,000. That's a 97% collapse in organic search traffic for xAI's entirely AI-written alternative to Wikipedia.
And despite Grokipedia earning backlinks from The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, NBC News, The Verge, and other major publications, its rankings have fallen off a cliff.
I break down what happened to Grokipedia, the Google policies its AI content runs into, and the lessons every SEO needs to understand before scaling AI-generated content.
Here's what I cover: 1. Grokipedia's 97% SEO traffic collapse - How Grokipedia reached 5.8 million monthly Google clicks by January 2026. - Why traffic fell to 1.5 million in May, recovered to 6.5 million in July, and then collapsed to 200,000. - Why major media coverage, powerful backlinks, and Elon Musk's influence haven't protected its Google rankings. - Why early traffic growth doesn't guarantee long-term SEO success.
2. The Google policies Grokipedia runs into - Google's scaled content abuse policy and its rules against mass-producing unoriginal content. - Google's scraping policy and its restrictions on republishing existing information without substantial added value. - Why Grokipedia's fully automated approach raises concerns under both policies. - Google's October 1 AI content guideline changes and its explicit instructions to manually fact-check and review AI-generated content before publishing. - Why using AI to fact-check AI doesn't satisfy the human-review standard Google describes.
3. Other explanations for Grokipedia's collapse - Why users might trust human-edited Wikipedia more than an entirely AI-generated encyclopedia. - How poor user signals and declining trust might contribute to falling rankings. - How Google's AI Overviews compete directly with informational websites. - Why Wikipedia itself has suffered a major decline in organic search traffic. - Why we can't conclude that Google issued Grokipedia a penalty.
4. What Grokipedia's backlinks reveal - Why most of Grokipedia's major press backlinks point to its homepage. - How Wikipedia benefits from links pointing directly to its individual articles. - Why building links to subpages, category pages, and content hubs matters. - How site structure and internal linking distribute authority throughout a website.
5. Lessons for SEOs using AI content - Why you need to manually review AI-generated articles, landing pages, and metadata before publishing. - Why one-shot AI content often misses important aspects of search intent. - How to use noindex until your AI content passes human review. - Why you shouldn't mistake the initial traffic surge from scaled AI content for lasting success. - Why I recommend keeping aggressive AI experiments separate from valuable, established websites. - What Google says about recovery times after fixing serious SEO problems.
I also discuss three possible futures for Grokipedia: continued decline, Elon Musk publicly challenging Google, or xAI finding another purpose for its AI-generated encyclopedia.
The bigger lesson: If you're building a website for long-term organic traffic, don't sacrifice content quality and human oversight just to publish more pages.
⭐️ Grokipedia - https://grokipedia.com/ ⭐️ Ep 1187 - Google Just Changed Its AI Content Guidelines (Unreviewed AI Is Now a Liability) - https://youtu.be/wxqf9J2Huu0 ⭐️ Ep 1192 - How Long Does SEO Take? Google Finally Shares the Real Numbers - https://youtu.be/sRZizu5mi_c
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Grokipedia Crashes 00:48 Why It Looked Promising 01:54 Traffic Spike Then Collapse 02:34 Scaled Content Abuse 04:20 Scraping Policy Violations 05:11 AI Content Review Warning 06:15 Other Causes and Rebound 08:07 SEO Lessons for Marketers 08:39 Link Authority and AI Surges 09:33 Risk Management and Recovery 10:42 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #aiseo
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