The Edward Show

E1224: How do you build a beautiful site people want to share, earn backlinks to, and send traffic from, without writing a single line of code?
Mike Hawley walks through how he uses Claude Code to build interactive websites for linkable assets, newsjacking, trending events, and SEO. He shows the entire process, from researching keywords and planning pages to building the design, checking technical SEO, and publishing the finished site.
Mike has zero programming experience. His example is SEO-TV.com, a searchable video store for SEO YouTube channels and podcasts that he built in about five hours.
We cover:
- How to make a standalone site worth sharing, then direct attention and links to your business
- How Mike built SEO-TV in five hours using Claude Code
- How he started with a single prompt to plan the site's topical map
- How Claude identified 21,180 related searches, narrowed them to 213 target keywords, and planned the initial 73 pages
- How to choose page types based on what Google ranks and avoid keyword cannibalization
- How Mike adds more pages as earlier pages get indexed, growing SEO-TV.com to 139 pages
- How server-side rendering makes page content and metadata accessible to search engines
- How the site's keyword search works and how it checks YouTube hourly for new videos
- How to install Claude Code and set up project folders, notes.md files, and standing instructions
- When to use Ask and Auto permissions when Claude needs to use your computer
- How to request four different homepage designs instead of accepting the first result
- How to stop Claude from producing the same fonts, rounded cards, stock layouts, and other familiar AI design patterns
- The design skills Mike uses, including Hallmark, Impeccable, and UI UX Pro Max
- How to save mistakes, preferences, and requirements as reusable Claude skills
- How Mike connects Chrome, hosting services, Cloudflare, and keyword data sources
- Why logos, favicons, page titles, and Open Graph images matter for sites designed to be shared
- Why you need to inspect the finished website before publishing, even when Claude runs automated checks
- When Claude spent nearly nine hours working on a GTA VI map site that wasn't what Mike requested
We also examine cheese.help, an AI-built cheese encyclopedia that Mike launched without manually building backlinks. It began getting Google clicks and earned links from food blogs and MSN. Mike shows 11 MSN backlinks pointing to seven pages and more than 4,200 AI citations reported by Ahrefs.
Since September, Mike has worked on 114 websites and launched 56. He explains how the rules and skills he's built over those projects make each new site easier to create.
If you want to build linkable assets for SEO or create a custom website with Claude Code without learning to program, this episode shows the process from start to finish.
⭐️ Mike's prompts that get Claude to build
great websites - https://aka.bike/prompts/ 
⭐️ Mike Hawley on 𝕏 - https://x.com/funwithgoogle 
⭐️ Mike's website - https://aka.bike 
⭐️ Mike Hawley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bikehawley/ 
⭐️ Mike's AI SEO Discord - https://aiseo.gg 
⭐️ Mike's AI SEO Blog - https://aiseo.ooo 
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 
00:00 Build Non Vanilla AI Sites
00:28 Mike's Background And Vision
01:38 SEO TV Site Tour
03:34 Easter Egg And Counter
05:31 Automation And Server Side Rendering
06:35 Why Linkable Assets Work
08:29 Planning Topical Map
12:51 Design Choices And Pages
13:39 Search Feature And Indexing
15:33 Build Pipeline And QA Rules
18:25 Claude Code Setup Basics
21:44 Prompting For Better Design
23:05 Avoiding The AI Website Look
24:41 Reverse Engineer Great Sites
26:23 Finding Claude Skills
26:47 Design Skills Setup
27:38 Notes Into Skills
29:36 Plugins And Connections
31:10 Rules For Non AI Look
31:53 Logos And OG Images
34:38 Workflow And Cheat Sheet
36:38 Surprise 3D Vape Site
38:18 Costs And Token Use
41:44 Cheese Help Case Study
43:50 Links And Citations Growth
45:36 Testing Content Limits
48:00 Wrap Up And Where To Find
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization

E1223: People add "Reddit" to Google searches because they want recommendations from other people. But Google doesn't restrict those results to Reddit. Your website can rank for these searches, too.
I explain a three-stage SEO strategy that uses topical bridges to move from easy, long-tail "Reddit" keywords to more competitive keywords that bring in customers. I break down how to find those keywords in Google Search Console, create pages around them, and use internal links to support the pages you want to rank.
Here's what I cover:
- Why people search for terms like "best payroll software Reddit" and "sneakers for arched feet Reddit"
- Why adding "Reddit" to a Google search doesn't guarantee results from Reddit
- How AI search tools sometimes add "Reddit" to their own searches, creating another reason to target these keywords
- Why keyword research tools often miss the long-tail searches you can discover through Google Search Console
- How to identify promising keywords by comparing clicks with average ranking position
- Where to put your target keyword: page title, URL slug, H1, and opening sentence
- Why a page doesn't need thousands of words to rank for a specific search
- How to connect resource pages, bridge pages, and money pages with internal links
- How to expand your pages using additional queries from Google Search Console
The three-stage process:
1. Create a resource page. Target a broad, easy search such as "Why small businesses get payroll wrong: lessons from Reddit." Let the page collect impressions and clicks, then examine the queries it appears for in Google Search Console.
2. Create about five bridge pages. Choose long-tail "Reddit" queries that your resource page already ranks for, especially queries showing clicks despite poor rankings. Optimize each bridge page for a target keyword and link to it from the resource page.
3. Create your money page. Target a more competitive phrase such as "best payroll software Reddit." Link to this page from the bridge pages. Once those pages have stable rankings, add a direct link from the resource page.
⭐️ Written directions (guide) for this episode: https://edwardsturm.com/articles/reddit-seo-strategy-your-website/ 
⭐️ Ep 1101 - The Reddit SEO Hack That Ranks Your Website Instead of Reddit - https://youtu.be/We9OJVcrlag 
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 
00:00 Topical Bridges Overview
00:19 Why Reddit Keywords Work
00:58 Humans and AI Search Reddit
01:20 Three Page Funnel System
01:30 Build the Resource Page
01:49 Mine Search Console Winners
03:35 Short Content Still Ranks
04:11 Create Bridge Pages
04:43 Target the Money Keywords
05:28 Expand Pages With GSC
05:53 Apply the Framework Anywhere
07:48 Wrap Up and Thanks
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization

E1222: Press release backlinks work, even when they're nofollow. I break down an SEO experiment where a press release backlink made Google's own head of webspam rank for a made-up keyword that didn't appear anywhere on his website.
I also explain Kyle Roof's findings about when nofollow backlinks pass ranking value, share a black hat SEO tactic involving press releases and job listings, and cover legitimate ways to apply these ideas to improve Google rankings.
In this episode:
- The Matt Cutts press release experiment: Google's former Head of Webspam, Matt Cutts, publicly stated that he wouldn't expect press release links to benefit rankings. An SEO company tested this by publishing a press release linking to his personal blog.
- Ranking for a made-up keyword: The press release used the invented anchor text "Sreppleasers," a term that didn't appear anywhere on Matt Cutts' website. His blog subsequently ranked at the top of Google for the term.
- Why press release backlinks usually don't work: Most press release distribution services use nofollow links, which generally don't pass ranking authority the same way followed links do.
- Kyle Roof's nofollow backlink findings: Kyle's testing suggests that nofollow backlinks can influence rankings when the linking page itself ranks in Google and receives clicks.
- Joy Hawkins' independent tests: Joy tested nofollow backlinks from her local SEO forum and found that they improved rankings for a linked page. Even a YouTube video embedded on that page started ranking.
- A black hat press release strategy: An SEO I met in Bucharest described a tactic involving job listings without website links. Applicants searched Google for the company and job, found an optimized press release, and clicked through to an application form.
- How the strategy passed authority: The press release linked to the application form, which linked to two or three SEO pages. Applicants had to visit those pages to answer questions, generating clicks through the internal links.
- Why branded searches matter: Publishing job listings without direct links can generate searches for a company's name. I discuss how SEOs use these searches and clicks to influence Google rankings.
- A legitimate alternative using promotions: Run a promotion where participants search Google for your brand, find a press release, and visit relevant pages on your site to find information needed to enter.
- Using press releases for actual company news: Publish announcements that people want to read, link to relevant SEO landing pages, and create opportunities for readers to discover your SEO content.
- Anchor text and internal linking: How to use descriptive anchor text in press releases and connect announcement pages to important SEO landing pages.
- Press release distribution services: I compare AB Newswire, which offers one-off press releases for $80 and bulk pricing as low as $6 per release, with EIN Presswire, which costs more but can keep releases indexed longer.
The central lesson is that where a backlink appears, whether its page ranks, and whether people click through can matter more than simply counting backlinks.
⭐️ 21 SEO Experiments That Will Change The Way You Think About SEO (Forever) - https://seosherpa.com/seo-experiments/ 
⭐️ Ep 1213 - Kyle Roof Ranked Gibberish #1 on Google. Then Google Deindexed 20 of His Sites. - https://youtu.be/LCrW28jb9UM 
⭐️ Ira Bodnar's post on 𝕏 - https://x.com/irabukht/status/2114390277737890085 
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 
00:00 Do Press Release Links Matter
00:34 Matt Cutts Experiment
01:54 Why Nofollow Can Count
02:18 Kyle Roof Podcast Clip
03:30 Dark Job Listing Tactic
05:47 White Hat Alternatives
07:13 Press Release Services
07:42 SEO That Makes Money
08:28 Wrap Up and Goodbye
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#searchengineoptimization #backlinks #linkbuilding #seo

E1221: OpenAI is reportedly building its own Search Console for ChatGPT. The new tool could show businesses how often they're mentioned in ChatGPT answers, how many people click through to their websites, and how their visibility changes over time.
Google Search Console doesn't separately report clicks from AI Overviews. OpenAI's new tool could give businesses data that Google currently doesn't provide.
I break down a new Search Engine Roundtable report about OpenAI's upcoming business analytics tools, what the leaked screenshots reveal, and what this could mean for SEO.
What ChatGPT's new Search Console could do:
- Let businesses claim and verify their presence in ChatGPT
- Track how often a business appears in ChatGPT responses
- Show impressions and clicks on links to business websites
- Display daily charts showing changes in visibility
- Let businesses add products, services, pricing, and other information
- Keep business information accurate and up to date
- Give ChatGPT a source of information directly from the business
- Allow businesses to verify ownership
What the tool reportedly won't show at launch:
- The prompts that caused ChatGPT to mention your business
- Information about individual ChatGPT users
- Rankings or comparisons against competitors
- Why your brand mentions or clicks are increasing or decreasing
I also discuss how the tool could evolve, including whether OpenAI might eventually add more detailed reporting.
Will claiming your business improve your ChatGPT rankings?
Being able to describe your business directly to ChatGPT could make its answers about your products and services more accurate.
But I don't expect claiming your business to dramatically increase how often ChatGPT recommends you.
ChatGPT still searches the web to find information for many of its answers. Your visibility across websites, search results, reviews, and user-generated content will continue to matter.
My SEO recommendations:
- Target bottom-of-funnel keywords that indicate buying intent
- Create landing pages for your products and services
- Target pricing and cost keywords
- Create pages targeting competitor alternatives
- Target comparison and review keywords
- Build pages around specific situations your customers want to solve
- Organize these landing pages into a hub page
- Link to that hub page from your website's footer
- Build relevant backlinks to strengthen your website's authority
- Make sure your business appears in the sources ChatGPT uses when researching customer questions
I also explain how you could use your existing keyword research to describe your business inside ChatGPT's new tools, and why OpenAI might eventually use the information businesses submit to identify spam.
The feature is reportedly still in development. There's no confirmed public launch date.
⭐️ OpenAI Working On ChatGPT Tools For Business For Analytics & Citations - https://www.seroundtable.com/chatgpt-tools-for-business-42476.html 
⭐️ Gary Illyes Implies Click Data Not Coming To Google Search Console AI Reporting - https://www.seroundtable.com/click-data-search-console-ai-reporting-42437.html 
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 
00:00 Breaking News Drop
00:14 Claim Your Business
01:34 Analytics And Clicks
02:28 Screenshots And Verification
03:06 Limits And Future Features
03:39 Spam Honeypot Theory
04:56 How It Might Work
05:32 Will Visibility Increase
06:20 SEO Advice For Brands
07:07 Wrap Up And Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#searchengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #ecommerce

E1220: Can you rank on Google without backlinks? I break down what five SEOs say about ranking a new website without building links, share my own take, and play a clip from SEO expert Kyle Roof explaining his 3-to-1 internal linking rule on this podcast.
A new website can rank without backlinks, but the keywords you choose matter. If established websites have strong backlink profiles and dedicated pages targeting the same keywords, competing without links can be difficult.
The better opportunity is finding high-intent keywords that other websites aren't targeting with a relevant page.
I cover:
- What five Reddit commenters say about ranking on Google without backlinks
- Why low-competition keywords are easier to rank for, even on brand-new websites
- How to find keywords that established websites rank for without specifically targeting them
- Why search intent matters more than vague claims about "high-quality content"
- How to use long-tail keywords and overlooked search queries to get initial rankings
- How to structure supporting pages and internal links to strengthen your most important pages
- Kyle Roof's 3-to-1 rule: Three internal links of similar value can equal one external backlink of that value
- Why internal linking can reduce the number of backlinks you need to rank
- Easy ways to build backlinks through directories, podcast appearances, and journalist requests
- Why ranking for a keyword with 137,000 monthly searches doesn't necessarily bring in customers
- How to turn informational traffic into something more valuable through internal links
- Why targeting bottom-of-funnel keywords can generate more revenue than chasing high search volume
I also discuss a business whose article ranked at the top of Google for "apples," a keyword with an estimated 137,000 monthly searches, but generated zero additional business.
That example demonstrates the difference between vanity traffic and traffic that brings revenue. However, a popular informational page can still be valuable when you use internal links to direct traffic and ranking strength toward commercial pages.
I also examine PDFfiller, a website generating $106 million annually with 860,000 paying customers. Its homepage ranks for keywords it isn't directly optimized for, illustrating what prolonged time building authority and backlinks can accomplish.
Whether you're doing SEO for a local business, ecommerce website, SaaS company, or new website, this episode explains when you can rank without backlinks, how to use internal links to strengthen your pages, and why consistently building backlinks can make it easier to rank for more lucrative keywords.
⭐️ The Reddit thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/seogrowth/comments/1xibhdy/can_a_new_website_rank_on_google_without_building/ 
⭐️ The Apples X post - https://x.com/roblabonne/status/2118072363057369325 
⭐️ Ep 1218 - How to Build Local Backlinks for Under $500 vs. $5,000 a Month - https://youtu.be/GjbkLBWmDxQ 
⭐️ Ep 1213 - Kyle Roof Ranked Gibberish #1 on Google. Then Google Deindexed 20 of His Sites. - https://youtu.be/LCrW28jb9UM 
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/ 
00:00 Can You Rank Without Links
00:30 Reddit Says Long Tail Wins
01:23 Internal Linking Content Clusters
02:30 What High Quality Means
03:46 Pattern is Low Competition Queries
05:47 My Take is Build Some Links
06:17 Easy Link Building Tactics
07:24 Apples Case Study
08:33 Internal Links Boost Money Pages
10:37 Kyle Roof Internal Links Math
11:56 Wrap Up And Goodbye
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#searchengineoptimization #seo #linkbuilding #digitalmarketing