The Edward Show

E1074: Blogging is not dead. Bad blogging is.
I break down how people are still making money from blogs in 2026, why so many "SEO is dead" takes are coming from people who never won with SEO in the first place, and what works now if you want to build a niche site that gets traffic and makes money.
I start with a Reddit post from someone who ignored the usual advice that blogging is dead, kept going, and eventually started earning from an affiliate site. From there, I go into the bigger picture of what separates blogs that fail from blogs that keep growing.
A lot of sites were hit hard by Google's helpful content update. Some deserved it. Some had thin content, obvious keyword patterns, weak branding, poor user signals, and unnatural backlink profiles. But some sites came back stronger by building more like real brands. I talk about HouseFresh as an example of a site that was crushed by the update, then rebuilt its Google traffic far beyond where it was before.
I also cover why AdSense is usually a weak way to monetize a blog, why affiliate SEO can be much better, and why creating your own product for your niche can be even stronger than affiliate income.
Topics covered:
- Why blogging still works when you treat it seriously
- Why many "SEO is dead" takes are not worth listening to
- How long it can take to make money from a new affiliate blog
- Affiliate income vs. Google AdSense
- Why niche selection matters for SEO
- Examples of niches that can work for affiliate SEO
- What happened to many blogs after Google's helpful content update
- Why HouseFresh recovered after losing almost all of its Google traffic
- How brand mentions, branded searches, and natural backlinks help
- Why templated content and repeated keyword patterns are risky
- How to build topical authority in a tight niche
- Why search intent matters more than word count
- How internal links from ranking pages can help other pages rank
- Why you should avoid relying only on "best X for Y" listicles
- What non-commodity content is and why Google wants more of it
- How to use People Also Ask questions for top-of-funnel SEO
- Why affiliate blogs should eventually think about their own products
- How high-intent SEO landing pages can turn searchers into customers
- Why long-term consistency matters more than chasing shortcuts
The main idea is simple: a blog can still work, but it has to be useful, focused, and built with patience.
You need to pick a tight niche, answer real search intent, create pages people trust, build authority naturally, and eventually move beyond just publishing informational posts.
⭐️ The Reddit Post - https://www.reddit.com/r/Blogging/comments/1txebhp/i_started_making_money_blogging_when_i_stopped/
⭐️ Pieter Levels' take on AdSense - https://x.com/levelsio/status/2035912856445624668
⭐️ People Also Asked trick breakdown - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/people-also-ask-seo-traffic-authority-sales/
⭐️ Ep 832 - From 1,000 to 200,000 Clicks: The INSANE SEO Comeback of HouseFresh.com - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QewNJ2AgQxM
⭐️ Ep 989 - Google's Helpful Content Update DESTROYED the Internet (What Actually Happened) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YLUFjYrIEA
⭐️ Ep 1028 - Google's New SEO Reality: Why 'Non-Commodity' Content Is Taking Over - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L6aNSpm59U
⭐️ Ep 1050 - The Death of Clicks? Rand Fishkin on Brand, AI & the Future of Marketing - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7fZyN1nn-U
💎 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 Blogging Isn't Dead
00:39 Calling Out SEO Doom
01:53 Helpful Content Update Fallout
02:47 HouseFresh SEO Comeback
03:52 Affiliate Blogging Basics
05:55 Niches That Still Win
06:19 Top of Funnel SEO Playbook
08:04 Non-Commodity Content
08:34 Links, Mentions, Brands
09:24 People Also Ask Pages
10:34 Build Your Own Product
11:50 Diversify and Dominate
13:38 Over and Out
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#blogging #searchengineoptimization #blogseo #nicheblogs

E1073: Most small business owners know they should care about SEO, but they often misunderstand what moves the needle.
I'm joined by Mariah Magazine to break down what small business owners get wrong about SEO, why keyword research is more than just picking phrases with search volume, and how business owners can use search data to make better decisions about their websites, offers, and content.
Mariah shares how she got started in SEO after leaving school, what she learned working in a small agency in Buffalo, and why she now focuses on making SEO understandable for small business owners who are not technical marketers.
We also talk about one of her favorite SEO stories: a candle company that used keyword research to discover demand for mini candles and made sales before the product was even added to the website.
Topics covered:
- Why many small business owners think SEO is more complicated than it is
- How keyword research can validate demand before you invest in a product or page
- The difference between SEO keywords and brand messaging
- Why "nobody is searching for what I do" usually means the keyword research is too narrow
- How Mariah thinks about commercial and transactional keywords
- Why business owners should look at the actual Google results before choosing a keyword
- How to think about keyword difficulty, domain authority, and topic authority
- Why search competitors are not always the same as business competitors
- Mariah's basic keyword research process using competitor analysis, Semrush, and SERP research
- Why many service businesses need separate pages for separate services
- What makes a website more useful for cold traffic from Google and AI search
- Why About pages, Contact pages, service pages, FAQs, testimonials, and trust signals matter
- Why filling out image alt text is not a complete SEO strategy
- How PR and journalist relationships can support SEO through links and referral traffic
- Why Mariah prefers using AI to repurpose existing content rather than write from scratch
- How consultants and agency owners can get clients through referrals, communities, and helpful content
This conversation is especially useful for small business owners, consultants, freelancers, service providers, and agency owners who want SEO to feel less confusing and more connected to real business outcomes.
⭐️ Mariah Magazine's website - https://www.mariahmagazine.com/
⭐️ Mariah Magazine on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/MariahMagazine
⭐️ Mariah Magazine on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahmagazine/
⭐️ Mariah Magazine on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mariahmagazineco/
⭐️ Mariah Magazine on Threads - https://www.threads.com/@mariahmagazineco
💎 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 Mariah
00:10 Quitting College for SEO
01:52 Validating Demand With Search Volume
05:20 Foundations Over Rankings
09:58 Teaching SEO Basics
11:38 Nobody Searches Myth
13:37 Purchase Intent Focus
17:25 Competitor Rabbit Holes
19:19 Keyword Difficulty Nuance
24:10 PR Link Building
30:31 SEO Meets AI
32:04 Website Essentials Checklist
36:29 CMS Choices and Pitfalls
37:20 Best Website Builders
38:00 Platforms To Avoid
38:19 SEO Package Basics
38:38 Keyword Mapping Wins
39:03 On Page Keyword Placement
41:34 Getting Client Buy In
43:54 First Clients Referrals
44:57 Networking Event Strategy
47:28 Online Communities Referrals
52:48 Pay To Be In Rooms
54:45 YouTube As Funnel
56:17 AI Content Caution
01:05:11 Alt Text Myth
01:07:23 Creative Client SEO
01:07:49 Wrap Up And Where To Find
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#smallbusinessseo #beginnerseo #searchengineoptimization #seo

E1072: Breaking down the most common CRO and SEO advice shared by entrepreneurs and marketers, and explaining why nearly all of it comes back to one principle: matching search intent.
The discussion comes from a popular entrepreneur community thread where dozens of business owners share the tactics that consistently improve both rankings and conversions.
Despite different backgrounds and industries, the overwhelming consensus is that pages perform best when they perfectly match what the searcher is trying to accomplish.
Topics covered:
- Why matching search intent is the foundation of both SEO and conversion rate optimization
- How a clear headline can dramatically improve engagement and conversions
- Examples of stronger H1 headlines for local businesses, SaaS companies, and ecommerce stores
- The difference between informational intent and commercial intent
- Why combining multiple intents on a single page often hurts performance
- How to structure separate pages for research-focused and purchase-focused searches
- Internal linking strategies that move users naturally toward conversion
- Why visitors should get the answer immediately instead of scrolling through long introductions
- The role of above-the-fold content in keeping visitors engaged
- How to reduce friction and make conversion paths easier to follow
- Where to place calls to action for maximum effectiveness
- Why too many buttons, links, and options can reduce conversions
- The importance of social proof placement
- How Microsoft Clarity can reveal user behavior that analytics tools often miss
- Common mistakes businesses make when building SEO landing pages
- A practical framework for creating pages that satisfy both users and search engines
I also share a simple formula for matching intent on any SEO page, including:
- Where to place your target keyword
- How quickly to answer the searcher's question
- What content should appear above the fold
- When to use images versus videos
- How to structure calls to action based on intent
- How to decide whether a query deserves an article or a conversion-focused landing page
⭐️ The Reddit Thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/Entrepreneur/comments/1t03mxq/comment/opcm1qx/
⭐️ How I Took a Landing Page From $1,000/Month to $25,000/Month Without More Traffic - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/landing-page-conversion-checklist/
⭐️ Ep 1051 - Most SEO Copywriting Is Killing Your Rankings (And Costing You Sales) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owYbNfATBhM
💎 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 Match Search Intent
00:39 Clear Headlines Win
01:09 Landing Page Case Study
01:43 H1 Examples That Convert
02:42 Segment Traffic By Intent
03:01 Split Info vs Commercial Pages
04:11 Give Answers Fast
05:22 Use Microsoft Clarity And Recordings
06:00 Remove Friction Above Fold
07:15 Internal Links Next Step
08:02 Social Proof Placement
09:03 Intent Repetition Matters
11:14 Quick Intent Matching Formula
14:48 Outro And Episode Wrap
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #onpageseo #conversionrateoptimization

E1071: How does ChatGPT choose which brands to cite, and how much of that comes from Google's existing search ecosystem?
Zachary Long (Modern Humans AI) and SEO veteran David Quaid join the show for a clear, side-by-side conversation about "GEO vs SEO" and what influences visibility inside AI-generated answers and recommendations.
Along the way, they discuss how AI tools gather sources, what "real-time search" really means, and why many businesses are uncertain about whether AI is "indexing the internet" or borrowing from the systems that already do.
You'll hear two competing models:
- One view: AI is becoming the front-line "recommender," so brands need more helpful, topic-focused content that AI can pull into answers.
- The other view: AI systems still rely heavily on traditional search engines and their indexes, so if you're not discoverable in Google, you're not reliably discoverable in AI either.
Key topics covered
- GEO vs SEO: are these actually different "games," or mostly the same fundamentals under a new label?
- How AI assistants assemble recommendations (and why the list can change from person to person)
- What "real-time search" means inside ChatGPT-style tools (and what it doesn't mean)
- Why Google's index matters when AI tools fetch sources for answers
- Local search realities: proximity, reviews, and why "best near me" behaves differently than long conversational prompts
- Content strategy for expert businesses: answering specific questions, building topical coverage, and being cited in AI summaries
- The disagreement around "AI crawls and stores the whole web" vs "AI retrieves from search engines"
- Scaled content: what it is, why it's risky, and how it intersects with AI-generated publishing
Practical takeaways for business owners
- If you want to show up in AI answers, you need clear, specific content that matches the questions people actually ask.
- If AI tools are pulling sources from search engines, then basic SEO and discoverability still matter.
- For local businesses, proximity and your business listing presence often decide who gets surfaced first.
- Publishing more content is not automatically better; the goal is coverage that is genuinely useful and distinct.
⭐️ Modern Humans AI - https://www.modernhumans.ai/
⭐️ Zachary Long on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacklongofficial/
⭐️ David Quaid on 𝕏 - https://x.com/DavidGQuaid
⭐️ David Quaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/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 Geo vs SEO Explained
01:46 AI Search Is Dynamic
04:02 Where Recommendations Come From
05:08 Business Listings and Content Tiers
07:14 Useful Content for AI Answers
08:42 How LLMs Actually Work
12:28 Freshness and Google Data Moats
15:51 Social Signals and Reviews Debate
24:52 Real Time Search Clarified
28:25 SEO Still Powers AI Results
30:31 Critical Thinking and Terminology
32:11 AI Findability Basics
33:21 Google AI Overview Example
34:59 SEO Versus AI Discovery
38:36 Expert Content Signals
41:29 Structure Humans and Bots
43:16 How LLMs Process Text
45:39 Future of AI Search
48:54 Modern Humans AI Platform
53:07 Scaled Content Penalties
57:37 Wrap Up and Links
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #digitalmarketing

E1070: Breaking down the most extensive LocalBusiness schema test ever run - what it proves, what it doesn't, and why the results matter for local SEO and how businesses show up in ChatGPT.
Jake Hundley joins Edward Sturm and David Quaid to walk through a controlled schema experiment designed to answer a simple question: does LocalBusiness schema move the needle? The study tested performance across Google Maps, Google mobile, major search engines, and multiple LLMs. The headline result: LocalBusiness schema did not improve rankings in Google Maps or traditional search - but it showed a measurable impact in ChatGPT.
Key findings from the study
- LocalBusiness schema did not improve rankings in Google Maps or Google mobile results
- LocalBusiness schema did not improve performance in traditional search engines tested (Google/Bing/Yahoo discussed)
- No measurable impact in Gemini and Grok in this test setup
- Measurable improvement in ChatGPT visibility and position in results, reported with 90%+ confidence
- Reported lift included improved position in ChatGPT's recommended list and higher "share of voice" across the grid-based testing
What the study did differently than most "we analyzed millions of pages" posts
- Used a test group and a control group to reduce the chance that algorithm updates explain the outcome
- Ran a defined control period and test period, with steps to confirm crawling/indexing before measuring outcomes
- Documented methodology in detail and pre-reviewed it with multiple industry experts
- Focused specifically on LocalBusiness schema (non–rich snippet generating), not every schema type
What this does not prove
- It does not claim schema is a ranking factor for Google Maps or organic search
- It does not explain why ChatGPT appears to respond to schema in this case
- It does not prove results will generalize to all schema types, industries, or rich-result markup
- It does not suggest schema alone will make a business show up in ChatGPT if other signals are weak
Discussion topics in the episode
- Why LocalBusiness schema has long been assumed to help, and what the data shows instead
- The difference between correlation studies and controlled tests
- The "positions in LLMs" debate and how the study defines and measures placement
- Why relying on any single tactic (schema included) is risky without validation
- Practical guidance: when schema is easy to add, when it's oversold, and how to treat it like a minor technical baseline rather than a strategy
⭐️ Does Schema Markup Affect Rank and AI Recommendations? - https://evergrowmarketing.com/how-schema-affects-google-and-ai/
⭐️ Jake's Agency Discord - https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD
⭐️ Jake's Podcast - The Agency Growth Podcast: https://everbrospodcast.com/
⭐️ r/agency Subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/agency/
⭐️ Jake Hundley on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jake.hundley.1
⭐️ Jake Hundley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/
⭐️ Jake Hundley's agency - https://evergrowmarketing.com/
⭐️ David Quaid on 𝕏 - https://x.com/DavidGQuaid
⭐️ David Quaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/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 Introductions and Setup
00:45 Why Test Schema
01:31 Methodology and Review
02:33 Key Findings Overview
03:48 ChatGPT Impact Explained
06:35 Why Schema Might Help LLMs
08:06 Skepticism and Control
10:53 SEO Myths and GEO Hype
17:02 Criticisms and Rebuttals
21:34 Entity Resolution Debate
24:49 Is Schema Worth It
29:22 Why Meta Descriptions Fade
30:11 No Schema SERP Proof
32:40 SEO Tribal Mindsets
34:01 Why Schema Boosted Citations
36:30 ChatGPT Map Testing
40:32 Stats Confidence Thresholds
41:26 Will Users Bounce Back
43:39 Selling Schema Ethically
46:16 Local SEO Without Links
49:09 Backlinks Versus Relevance
52:34 Correlation Not Causation
55:38 Study Takeaways
56:30 Final Thanks And Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#localseo #localsearchengineoptimization #schemaseo #seo