The Edward Show

E1008: break down what we're seeing so far from Google's March Core Update - and how to interpret the data correctly.
This update is still rolling out, but several patterns are already becoming clear.
There was a reporting issue in Semrush between April 2nd and April 4th that showed large traffic spikes across many sites. 
These spikes are not reflected in Google Search Console. I walk through what this means, how to verify performance using first-party data, and why it's important to be cautious when reacting to third-party tools during active updates.
Beyond that, there are two clear developments from this update so far:
- YouTube is gaining more visibility across both search and AI-driven results
- A new form of SEO manipulation is emerging, and it is already working
I cover a growing trend where creators are being paid to produce "review" content that ranks for brand queries without actually using the product. These videos are being cited in search results and AI systems, shaping how brands are perceived.
In this episode, I cover:
- What we're seeing so far from the March Core Update
- The discrepancy between Semrush data and Google Search Console
- How to evaluate performance accurately during an active update
- Why YouTube continues to gain ground in search and AI citations
- How "review-style" YouTube videos are being used to influence rankings
- Why this tactic is currently effective
- Ways to defend your brand against this type of content
- How LLMs interpret and reinforce brand narratives
If you rely on organic search, this is something to pay attention to. This isn't just about rankings - it's about how your brand appears across search, video, and AI systems.
⭐️ Charles Floate's post: https://x.com/Charles_SEO/status/2041097041179279796
🚀 Edward's SEO Articles - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/search-engine-optimization/
💎 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 March Update Reality Check
01:07 Semrush Spikes Explained
01:41 YouTube Surge Is Real
02:25 Fake Review Video Scam
04:27 Defending Your Brand
05:29 Core Update Winners Losers
07:40 Scaled AI Content Risks
10:37 Wrap Up And Rerecord
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #googlecoreupdate #googlemarchupdate #seo

E1007: The exact local SEO strategy that helped a garage door company turn $18,000 into $1.7 million in just 11 months.
This is based on a real case study from Sarvesh Shrivastava, who will be joining the podcast once again soon.
I go through Sarvesh's full written breakdown and add my own insights on what worked, why it worked, and how you can apply the same approach.
These are practical SEO actions that drove real revenue for a local business.
What we cover:
- When your Google Business Profile matters more than your website
- Properly optimizing your profile with real photos, accurate categories, and fast review generation
- The concept of "money pages" and how to build pages that target high-intent searches
- Why generic service pages don't convert and what to replace them with
- How local blog content builds trust, rankings, and even backlinks
- Examples of content that can attract attention from local publishers and news sites
- Internal linking and information architecture: how to structure your site so Google understands it
- How to connect service pages, blog content, and your homepage effectively
- The right way to build backlinks for local SEO (and what to avoid)
- Why guest posts only work if the site has real authority and relevance
- How to build local partnerships that lead to valuable links and referrals
- Why focusing on local keywords drives actual revenue, not vanity traffic
- The shift from trying to rank nationally to dominating your local market
This episode is a full breakdown of what local SEO looks like when it's done correctly, with a focus on conversions, not just rankings.
⭐️ Sarvesh's full thread - https://x.com/bloggersarvesh/status/2036829952885272593
🚀 Edward's SEO Articles - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/search-engine-optimization/
💎 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 Local SEO Case Study
00:40 Google Business Profile
01:43 High Intent Service Pages
02:44 Local Blog Content
03:38 Fixing Internal Links
05:13 Quality Backlinks Only
07:20 Go Local Not National
07:44 Results And Wrap Up
09:27 Final Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#localseo #searchengineoptimization #googlebusinessprofileoptimization #seo

E1006: Mr. David Quaid joins the podcast for a deep, practical discussion about what is really working in SaaS SEO right now.
Edward and David start with audience questions on link building and break down the real risk-to-reward tradeoffs behind different approaches. David explains why relying too heavily on domain authority misses the bigger picture, why page-level context matters more than most people think, and why some of the best link opportunities still come from real business relationships, partner networks, local communities, clients, and integration ecosystems.
The conversation then moves into topical authority, People Also Ask pages, internal linking, and what happens when pages rise, fall, and get rotated out of search. Edward and David talk through how they test SEO ideas in the real world, how they think about authority decay, and why some pages rank with very little content while others stall even when they seem fully optimized.
They also spend time on guest posting, programmatic SEO, thin content, exact match anchors, keyword cannibalization, SaaS competitor pages, attribution, and the tension between SEO teams and brand teams. Later in the episode, they get into the current GEO discussion, why so much of the advice around it is misleading, and why most of the fundamentals still come back to search intent, rankings, page relevance, and user behavior.
Topics covered include:
- Different link building methods and how to think about risk versus reward
- Why domain authority can be misleading when evaluating link opportunities
- The difference between site-wide relevance, page relevance, and topical authority
- Using real-world relationships, integrations, and local business networks for links
- Press releases, broken link building, Wikipedia links, and government site outreach
- When guest posting still works and when it does not
- How PAA pages can help grow authority and support more valuable pages
- Why low-competition pages can outperform long-form content
- The difference between thin content and weak content
- Programmatic SEO for SaaS and why scale without authority often fails
- Internal linking, PageRank decay, and common over-optimization mistakes
- Keyword cannibalization and how similar pages can block each other
- Slugs, titles, headings, and how much on-page SEO is actually necessary
- Measuring SEO impact in SaaS when attribution is messy
- The role of product-led growth versus content-driven lead generation
- Why many GEO claims are recycled SEO myths under a new label
- What SaaS teams should focus on instead of chasing the latest narrative
If you work in SaaS SEO, B2B SEO, or content strategy, this episode is a useful deep dive into how experienced practitioners think through rankings, testing, authority, and growth.
⭐️ 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/
🚀 Edward's SEO Articles - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/search-engine-optimization/
💎 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 Welcome and Agenda
00:43 Link Building Beyond Domain Authority
02:27 Network Based Link Building
03:22 Backlink Lists as Keyword Intel
05:16 Satellite Sites and PAA Hack
10:25 Traffic Links vs High DA
13:52 Relevance and Topical Authority
16:19 YMYL Links and Broken Links
18:18 Wikipedia and Gov Link Tactics
21:05 Guest Posts and Author Bios
26:25 Networking for SEO Referrals
31:25 SEO Subreddit and GEO Hype
43:30 Programmatic SEO vs Authority
47:35 Internal Links Need Authority
48:21 AI FAQs and Page Strategy
50:22 Testing Rankings and Pulling Pages
51:13 Rotation Out and Rehoming URLs
53:45 SEO Takes Time Myth
55:48 Sitewide Quality and Hockey Sticks
01:00:36 Low Volume High Intent SaaS Keywords
01:04:00 Too Much SEO and Internal Linking
01:09:28 Over Optimization and Minimal SEO
01:15:19 Measuring Content vs Product Led Growth
01:25:17 Brand Rules and Keyword Placement
01:28:58 Episode Wrap and Thanks
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #startups #growthhacking #growthmarketing

E1005: How to get high-quality backlinks for health websites.
I came across a discussion from someone struggling to compete with sites that have thousands of backlinks, many of them low quality. This episode walks through what matters in YMYL niches like health, and why chasing volume is often the wrong approach.
If you understand the principles in this episode, you can apply them to any niche where trust, authority, and quality matter.
What we cover:
- Why the health niche (and YMYL overall) is held to a higher standard by Google
- Why low-quality backlinks can hurt your rankings instead of helping
- How a small number of authoritative links can outperform thousands of weak ones
- When guest posting still works, and when it doesn't
- Why long tail keywords are one of the fastest ways to build authority early
- How satisfying search intent (and avoiding pogo-sticking) can build rankings without links
- A step-by-step approach to using AI + journalist outreach to earn high-authority backlinks
- How to use HARO, Featured, and similar platforms to land real media coverage
- Why most people fail at outreach (and how simple follow-ups can compound results)
- Additional backlink sources like directories, podcasts, and product launches
- Why relying on a single link building strategy can look unnatural
Key ideas:
- In health SEO, quality and relevance matter far more than raw backlink count
- Authority can be built through rankings, not just links
- The best backlinks come from real publications, real traffic, and real trust
- Consistency beats trying to do everything at once
This episode is based on real strategies, real examples, and what is currently working in competitive, high-trust niches.
If you are working on a health site, or any YMYL business, this will give you a clearer direction on what to focus on and what to ignore.
⭐️ The AI System to Find Relevant Journalists, Land Coverage, and Earn Ongoing High-Authority Backlinks - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/articles_ai-system-find-journalists-earn-high-authority-backlinks/

⭐️ The Reddit Thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/linkbuilding/comments/1ryw2ji/how_to_build_backlinks_for_health_niche_website/
🚀 Learn SEO for free - https://freeseoknowledge.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 Healthcare Backlinks Thread Breakdown
00:39 Health SEO Trust Rules
01:04 Guest Blogging Nuance
01:44 Long Tail Authority Hack
02:42 Outreach Budget Debate
03:14 AI Journalist Outreach
05:06 Pillar Content Reality Check
05:43 Quality Links Win
06:07 HARO Success Story
06:29 Mix Strategies Naturally
07:03 Targeted Pitching Tips
07:43 Daily Link Building Plan
08:17 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #linkbuilding #digitalmarketing

E1004: Answering listener questions about some of the biggest topics in SEO right now: AI writing, outbound links, ranking without backlinks, and whether SEO is still worth doing.
I talk through when it makes sense to link out from your content, including blog posts and bottom-of-funnel pages, and why linking to useful sources can make your content more credible. I also explain how I think about citing statistics, supporting claims, and using outbound links in a way that helps both readers and search performance.
I also respond to a question about AI writing and what people usually get wrong. The issue is not that your writing has to become worse or less polished to avoid sounding AI-generated. The real problem is leaving in the most obvious patterns that make writing feel generic or untrustworthy. I explain which signals tend to stand out and how to reduce them without flattening your voice.
I get into a comment about ranking without backlinks. This is one of my favorite parts of the discussion. I explain why relevance, topical authority, site structure, pruning weak pages, and reducing pogo sticking can often matter more than people think. For many sites, improving those fundamentals is more realistic and more useful than obsessing over getting stronger backlinks.
I also answer an honest question about whether it is time to move on from SEO altogether, especially with Google pushing harder into AI. I share why I still think SEO is one of the best marketing channels available, especially if you sell something and can target people who are actively looking for it. I also explain why SEO is getting harder for top-of-funnel publishers who rely on ads or affiliate revenue, and why having a product or service to sell changes the equation.
I cover:
- When to link out from blog posts, landing pages, and sales pages
- Why citing sources can improve trust and clarity
- How to think about outbound links without hoarding authority
- What makes AI writing feel obvious to readers
- Why you do not need to make your writing worse to make it sound human
- Which AI writing patterns are most likely to hurt trust
- How some sites rank without strong backlink profiles
- Why relevance and topical authority still matter so much
- The role of site architecture and pruning in SEO performance
- Whether SEO is still worth doing in a changing search landscape
- Why SEO is strongest when tied to something you actually sell
- Why videos should support the same keywords you target on your site
If you are trying to figure out what still works in SEO, and what matters less than people say, this episode should help.
And if you have a question you want me to answer in a future episode, leave it in the comments.
⭐️ E1003: Stop Hoarding SEO Authority: Nofollow Links Don't Work the Way You Think - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjlDk8yO5RY
⭐️ E999: How to Humanize AI Content (Before It Destroys Your SEO) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8CoElpldtk
⭐️ E974: Google's New AI Patent Could Replace Your Website - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kTEYwiRBbg
🚀 Learn SEO for free - https://freeseoknowledge.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 Listener Qs Kickoff
00:27 When To Link Out
01:07 Citing Sources Builds Trust
02:39 Humanizing AI Writing
03:40 Avoid AI Giveaways
06:04 Ranking Without Backlinks
08:24 Google AI Patent Fears
10:47 Should SEOs Move On
12:28 Sell Something With SEO
13:16 Wrap Up And Thanks
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #marketingstrategy #digitalmarketing