Is GEO a Distraction? Marie Haynes vs. Mike King (and the Tactics That Work)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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