The Edward Show

E964: How I approach keyword research and why I believe it is one of the most valuable skills in SEO.
A lot of people try to automate keyword research or skip the manual work of looking through search results. That is a mistake. When you manually explore keywords and study the SERPs, you learn how people actually search, what language they use, and where real opportunities exist.
This focuses on finding low-competition keywords that are closer to the bottom of the funnel - the kinds of searches where people already know what they want and are actively looking for a solution.
I explain how I identify under-targeted keywords, how I evaluate search results, and how keyword research helps shape not just content, but also product positioning and messaging.
What you'll learn:
- How to use competitor rankings to discover relevant keyword opportunities
- Why bottom-of-funnel keywords are often easier to rank for and more valuable
- What to look for in SERPs to identify weak competition
- How missing keywords in page titles and URL slugs signal opportunity
- How to use Google Search Console to uncover keywords you are not properly targeting
- A simple way to generate starting keyword ideas when you feel stuck
- How to evaluate domain authority and relevance when judging ranking difficulty
- Why thin content and weak search intent coverage create ranking openings
- How keyword research helps you understand customer language and market demand
- Why manually reviewing SERPs gives insights that automation misses
I also talk about how keyword research can make a niche feel much more attainable than it initially appears, and how consistently targeting smaller, relevant keywords builds the foundation needed to compete for larger terms over time.
💎 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 Benefits of Keyword Research
01:29 Start With What's Working
02:47 Prioritize Bottom-of-Funnel
03:14 Seed Keywords
04:49 Mine Google Search Console
05:11 The "Diabolical" Move
06:17 SERP Checklist
07:37 Beat Thin & Irrelevant Pages
09:45 Don't Fully Automate
10:33 Wrap-Up
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
Edward Sturm on Grokipedia - https://grokipedia.com/page/Edward_Sturm
#searchengineoptimization #seo #digitalmarketing #searchmarketing

E963: I sit down with TJ Robertson to discuss how AI search experiences are influencing SEO strategy, content creation, and brand visibility.
This conversation looks at how large language models, AI Overviews, and conversational search interfaces are becoming an additional layer of discovery that SEOs and founders need to understand.
We break down practical tactics, areas of disagreement, real experiments, and the difference between being cited by AI systems and actually being recommended within responses.
The discussion covers both opportunities and limitations, where AI introduces new dynamics, and how teams are adapting workflows.
Topics covered:
- The difference between ranking in search results and appearing inside AI-generated responses
- Whether AI search experiences will complement or change traditional search behavior
- Hyper-specific content and how AI systems interpret granular queries
- The relationship between classic SEO fundamentals and generative engine optimization
- Citation vs recommendation and why that distinction matters for conversions
- Bottom-of-funnel content strategies that perform across both search and AI contexts
- Parasite properties, secondary sites, and long-term visibility assets
- Tracking prompts vs tracking keywords and the current limitations of measurement
- Using branded content, FAQs, and reviews to shape how AI systems understand a company
- Content templates that tend to get surfaced inside AI responses
- Claude workflows and building a structured brand knowledge base for content creation
- The role of directories, foundational links, and early authority when starting from zero
- Where social platforms influence AI visibility and where they appear to have little impact
- Publisher monetization challenges and potential adaptations as AI summaries become more common
- Common misconceptions and speculative GEO advice circulating in the industry
We also discuss failures, experiments that did not work, and areas where the industry still lacks clarity - including how much training data matters compared to real-time search retrieval.
If you work in SEO, content, SaaS, or growth, this episode offers a practical look at what the generative engine optimization landscape looks like as it continues to evolve.
If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe and follow the show. New episodes are published daily.
⭐️ TJ Robertson on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tj-robertson-seo/
⭐️ TJ Robertson on 𝕏 - https://x.com/SeoRobertson/
⭐️ TJ Robertson on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TJRobertsonDigital
⭐️ TJ Robertson on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tjrobertsondigital/
⭐️ TJ Robertson on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@tjrobertson52
⭐️ TJ Robertson's Agency - https://tjrobertson.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 17 Years in SEO
00:29 Starting an AI-First SEO Agency
01:35 SEO vs GEO
03:20 Ranking in AI
04:54 How Fast to Publish
07:03 180-Day Playbook
09:15 Tracking LLM Visibility
10:09 Biggest LLM Citation Mistake
13:16 Parasite Properties & Second Sites
16:42 Content Templates That Win in LLMs
19:13 Fact Density, Brand Voice, & Brand Ambassadors
32:22 Reviews, Press Releases, and Branded Content
40:19 Branded FAQs
42:08 FAQ Hub Pages to Control the Narrative
44:02 AI SEO Opportunity
44:50 Setting Up Claude as a Brand Ambassador
46:50 Claude AI SEO Content Workflow
49:27 Images That Convert
54:20 Opus 4.6, Claude Cowork, and AI Agents
56:29 Vibe-Coded SaaS Strategy
59:36 The Skill SEOs Need
01:02:05 GEO Hot Takes: Schema Hype, "Post Everywhere," and Citation Obsession
01:05:31 Zero-Click Search
01:08:59 Rebuilding Visibility from Zero
01:13:22 Biggest SEO Failures & GEO Wins
01:19:41 Training Data vs Query Fan-Out
01:21:26 Wrap-Up
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #digitalmarketing

E962: Keyword stuffing in Google Business Profile names is one of the most common - and frustrating - competitive tactics in local search.
Claudia Tomina, founder of ReputationArm and a Google Product Expert, joins the show to answer a listener question about what business owners can realistically do when a competitor continues using a spammy business name despite edits, reports, and forum escalation.
A listener named Arthur shares his experience dealing with a competitor that repeatedly reverts suggested edits, sees little movement through forum discussions, and appears to gain an advantage from a keyword-stuffed listing.
Claudia explains what is actually allowed within Google's guidelines, why these situations are often more difficult to resolve than expected, and when it makes sense to stop fighting the listing and focus on strengthening your own positioning.
The discussion also expands into broader Google Business Profile spam tactics, review strategy mistakes, suspension risks, and practical ways to build stronger long-term ranking signals without relying on short-term tactics.
Topics covered:
- When keyword stuffing is technically allowed due to DBAs and legal business names
- Why suggested edits often get reverted and what signals Google looks at
- The real effectiveness of the redress form and why escalation in the forum matters
- Data from thousands of spam reports and what outcomes are most common
- How repeated spam reporting can reduce trust in your own profile
- The reality of fighting a single competitor versus a larger brand or franchise network
- Common Google Business Profile spam issues business owners misunderstand
- Suspension risks tied to false "business does not exist" reports
- What documentation helps recover suspended listings faster
- The driving directions ranking tactic and why it can hurt long term performance
- How review velocity changes can negatively impact rankings
- The importance of aligning services, menu items, categories, and reviews
- A real example showing how a menu keyword change impacted rankings immediately
- Frequent optimization mistakes including incorrect categories and inactive profile management
- Why business name and category are still the strongest starting points
- Review generation mistakes that trigger filtering or temporary blocks
- Risks associated with QR code review campaigns and on-premise review spikes
- How Google evaluates engagement before allowing reviews to stick
- Practical ways to earn meaningful reviews without creating unnatural patterns
Claudia also explains how local rankings are increasingly query-based, why top-layer profile signals matter more than review keywords alone, and how business owners should think about reputation management as part of their overall local search strategy.
If you have a question you want answered on a future episode, reach out and it may be featured in an upcoming discussion.
⭐️ Claudia Tomina on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/claudia-tomina/
⭐️ Claudia Tomina on 𝕏 - https://x.com/ClaudiaTomina
⭐️ ReputationArm - https://reputationarm.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 Countering Spammy Google Business Profile Tactics
00:10 Claudia Tomina's Background
00:51 Keyword-Stuffed Business Names That Keep Reverting
01:54 DBAs & Why Google Could Allow Spam
03:07 Redress Form vs Forum Escalation + Success Stats
04:58 When to Stop Fighting
07:24 Common GBP Spam Trends
11:51 Reputation Signals That Rank
15:43 Frequent GBP Mistakes + Quick Wins
17:12 Review Strategy
20:40 Getting More Meaningful Reviews
21:56 Wrap-Up
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#localseo #googlebusinessprofile #searchengineoptimization #localmarketing

E961: I sit down with Mark Williams-Cook to break down what actually drives rankings today and what most of the industry gets wrong.
We talk about real SEO experiments, insights from Google leaks and exploit data, how large language models affect search, and why brand signals, links, and user behavior matter more than most tactical checklists.
Mark shares lessons from more than two decades in SEO, including agency work, affiliate sites, SaaS tools, and running ongoing experiments to test assumptions that are often repeated without evidence.
This conversation covers both practical strategy and deeper search engine behavior, including how Google evaluates site quality, how ranking layers work, and why many commonly recommended tasks deliver little impact.
Topics covered:
- The difference between fast SEO tactics and long-term brand-driven SEO
- Why link acquisition still moves rankings and how digital PR creates compounding authority
- The concept of site quality score and how branded searches influence eligibility for SERP features
- What Google exploit data revealed about ranking stages, query classification, and post-ranking adjustments
- Why many SEO activities waste time, including excessive focus on meta descriptions and low-impact technical tasks
- The role of user signals and how engagement data influences long-term visibility
- AI content realities, including when generative AI helps and when it damages trust and performance
- Programmatic SEO - what works, what fails, and how originality affects sustainability
- Practical digital PR examples that generated large authority gains and traffic growth
- How to approach SEO experiments without falling into confirmation bias
- The relationship between backlinks, brand awareness, and search performance in the AI search era
- Niche selection, competitive SERPs, and where opportunities still exist today
- How Mark uses AI operationally for migrations, content workflows, and reactive PR monitoring
- People Also Ask data and how it can be used to map search intent and improve topical coverage
We also discuss SEO misconceptions around schema, LLM optimization, click-through rate manipulation, indexing behavior, and how Google's language differs from how SEOs interpret ranking factors.
If you care about building durable search visibility rather than chasing short-lived tactics, this episode provides a grounded look at how search actually behaves in practice.
And if you enjoyed this, consider subscribing and sharing it with someone working in SEO or growth.
⭐️ Mark Williams-Cook on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/markseo/
⭐️ Mark Williams-Cook's agency - https://withcandour.co.uk/
⭐️ AlsoAsked - https://alsoasked.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 Mark Williams-Cook's SEO Origin Story
04:16 Why Mark Runs SEO Experiments
08:21 LLMs, Common Crawl & LLMs.txt
12:32 Meta Descriptions, Enterprise SEO & What Moves the Needle
15:55 Links, PageRank & the Google Exploit
21:03 Site Quality Score Explained
24:22 Link Building That Scales
28:24 First 90/180 Days SEO Plan
37:29 Underrated SEO Signals
46:40 Programmatic SEO Done Right
51:39 How Mark Uses AI in SEO
57:04 AI Content, Accuracy & the 'AI Ick'
01:03:16 Picking Easy vs Hard Niches
01:11:29 Inside the Google Exploit
01:21:34 UX Signals & Core Web Vitals
01:24:57 More Crazy SEO Experiments
01:32:43 AlsoAsked Demo
01:39:00 Wrap-Up
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
Edward Sturm on Grokipedia - https://grokipedia.com/page/Edward_Sturm
#searchengineoptimization #seo #digitalmarketing #searchmarketing

E960: Brett Farmiloe returns to share his screen, breaking down a new AI feature from Featured and Help A Reporter Out (HARO) that helps you find and pitch the exact journalists who are most likely to cover your story.
Instead of blasting press releases to massive media lists or relying on expensive distribution platforms, this tool analyzes journalist data, past articles, and active queries to help you identify the right reporter for your specific angle.
We go deep into how it works, when it works best, and how to actually use it without damaging your credibility.
What we cover:
- How the AI matches your story or press release with relevant journalists
- How Featured leverages the Help A Reporter Out (HARO) network of 33,000+ journalists
- How to search for reporters based on specific perspectives or coverage angles
- How to paste in a press release URL (or raw text) and get targeted pitch recommendations
- Why most PR efforts fail because they prioritize volume over quality
- The 2-3 hour HARO response window and whether being first actually matters
- When being the last response can work in your favor
- How journalists use AI detection and filtering tools to evaluate submissions
- Why you should never copy-paste AI-generated pitches without editing
- How to build long-term media relationships instead of spraying mass emails
We also discuss:
- Whether this is more effective than traditional press release distribution services like PR Newswire
- How journalists filter AI-written responses
- What the algorithm looks for when surfacing expert sources
- How to think about credentials vs. relevance when responding to media requests
- Why better targeting leads to better backlinks
If you care about backlinks, earned media, and getting covered without wasting time, this episode breaks down a practical workflow you can implement immediately.
Brett is the founder of Featured and owner of Help A Reporter Out. We discuss how the journalist directory works, how open queries are surfaced, and how AI is being used on both the PR and journalist side of the equation.
This is a tactical episode focused on execution, not theory.
⭐️ Try it - https://featured.com/
⭐️ Brett Farmiloe on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettfarmiloe/
💎 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 Brett Featured Founder & HARO Owner
00:39 What "Find Journalists" Does
02:10 Live Demo: Pulling Journalists & Recent Articles
03:36 Finding Reporters by a Specific Point of View
05:45 Auto-Generated Pitch Emails
09:44 Super Effective Press Release Distribution
12:10 Stop Spraying Pitches
13:57 Finding Open & Past HARO Queries
16:25 Timing & Tactics
18:52 AI Sorting, AI-Detection Filters, One-Click Replies
20:44 What Gets Picked by Journalists
23:03 What's Next + Closing
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
Edward Sturm on Grokipedia - https://grokipedia.com/page/Edward_Sturm
#searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #publicrelations #backlinks