The Edward Show

E1089: Google's June 2026 spam update is done rolling out, and the SEO world is seeing major volatility.
I break down what happened, who appears to be losing, who is better positioned, and what this update says about where Google Search is going next.
The update started on June 24, 2026 and completed on June 26, 2026. Google called it a normal spam update, but many SEOs reported movement that felt bigger, earlier, and more widespread than a typical spam update.
This matters because it comes right after the May 2026 core update, more unconfirmed volatility in mid-June, and growing pressure from AI search. Google is not only policing traditional search rankings. Its spam policies now also mention attempts to manipulate generative AI responses in Google Search.
We cover:
- Why the June 2026 spam update matters
- What Google officially said about the update
- Why this update may have felt bigger than expected
- The types of sites most exposed right now
- Why scaled AI content is risky
- How fake authority and fake expertise can hurt SEO
- What e-commerce sites should watch
- Why thin product pages and fake review pages are vulnerable
- What finance sites need to be careful about
- Why SaaS comparison pages and AI-written alternatives posts may be exposed
- What local SEO sites should avoid
- Why fake location pages and doorway city pages are still dangerous
- What publishing and affiliate sites need to understand
- Why original reporting, data, expert commentary, and real experience matter more
- How to tell whether your traffic drop is from rankings, impressions, clicks, AI Overviews, ads, or SERP changes
- Why some sites are seeing huge volatility across multiple Google updates
- What "Mount AI" means
- Why fast AI content growth can turn into a major traffic crash
- What Glenn Gabe is seeing across spam-impacted sites
- Why gambling, coupons, health, medical, HR, B2B, and publishing sites are worth watching
- The SEO tactics that can get sites into trouble
- Why cloaking, link spam, keyword stuffing, and expired domain abuse are still risky
- Why reading your SEO content out loud can help catch unnatural writing
- How Google may be separating pages made for people from pages made only to rank
- Why recovery from a spam update may take time
- The top parasite SEO platforms being used in June 2026
- Why Reddit, YouTube, Trustpilot, Medium, GitHub, Notion, Substack, Quora, Yelp, Google Sites, and PDF sites are being used for parasite SEO
- How social media posts can rank in Google and get cited in AI Overviews
- Why user-generated content platforms are still so powerful in search
I also talk about a viral example where a LinkedIn post was used to influence a Google AI Overview, and why that shows how strange AI search visibility has become.
The big takeaway:
Google is getting more aggressive about pages that exist mainly to manipulate rankings or AI answers.
The sites in the strongest position are the ones with real usefulness, original information, clear proof, current data, customer evidence, expert input, and pages that actually help searchers make decisions.
The sites in the weakest position are the ones relying on thin AI content, scraped articles, fake expertise, doorway pages, expired domains, low-quality affiliate content, fake reviews, and pages built around loopholes.
If your SEO strategy depends on tricking the system, this update is a warning.
If your SEO strategy is built around serving real searchers with pages that match what they are already looking for, this is the kind of update you want to be ready for.
Watch this episode to understand what changed, what to avoid, and what to build next.
⭐️ Search Engine Roundtable - https://www.seroundtable.com/google-june-2026-spam-update-done-41580.html 
⭐️ Glenn Gabe - https://x.com/glenngabe/status/2070123327478222969 - https://x.com/glenngabe/status/2070483549132615946  
⭐️ Reddit Discussion - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1ueq3o4/google_june_2026_spam_update_has_been_released/ 
⭐️ Alex Groberman - https://x.com/alexgroberman/status/2070164948911829069 
⭐️ Luckforest - https://x.com/lubinho_k/status/2070098713339445334 
⭐️ Charles Floate's Parasite Picks - https://x.com/Charles_SEO/status/2070474785113673733
💎 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 June Spam Update Hits
00:25 Timeline and Scope
01:55 AI Search Manipulation
02:16 Winners and Losers
02:47 Industry Breakdown
05:59 Community Reactions
07:50 Case Studies and Volatility
10:26 Spam Tactics to Avoid
13:32 Parasite SEO Platforms
15:01 AI Overview Exploit Example
16:22 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#googlealgorithmupdate #searchengineoptimization #seo #digitalmarketing

E1088: Most SEO conversations focus on rankings, backlinks, and AI search.
But one of Google's largest traffic sources is still overlooked.
I sit down with Google Discover specialist Guilhem Chauvin, who has spent years working with more than 120 publishers across 30 countries and has helped generate over 1 billion Google Discover clicks.
We break down how Google Discover works, why it's fundamentally different from traditional SEO, and what publishers are doing to generate millions of daily visits from Discover.
We also discuss why Google Discover behaves more like TikTok than Google Search, how audience signals influence visibility, and the mistakes that prevent most sites from gaining traction.
We cover:
- What Google Discover is and how it differs from Google Search
- The minimum requirements for getting into Google Discover
- Why publishing frequency matters more than most people think
- How to choose topics that Discover is more likely to promote
- The role of audience signals, branded searches, newsletters, and social traffic
- Why Google Discover rewards a different writing style than traditional SEO
- How headlines should be written for Discover
- Why images often matter as much as the headline
- The relationship between Google Discover and core updates
- Why content pruning can hurt Discover performance
- Whether affiliate sites, SaaS companies, ecommerce brands, and niche blogs can benefit from Discover
- How Google Analytics audience data can help shape your content strategy
- Why traffic from Discover can strengthen other parts of your SEO strategy
- Common mistakes publishers make when trying to grow Discover traffic
- How to think about Discover as an editorial channel instead of a search channel
If you're a publisher, affiliate marketer, content marketer, SEO, or anyone building an audience through written content, this episode offers a practical look at one of Google's most important traffic sources.
⭐️ Guilhem Chauvin on 𝕏 - https://x.com/GuilhemChauvin 
⭐️ Guilhem Chauvin on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/guilhem-chauvin-5779675b/ 
⭐️ Guilhem Chauvin's agency - https://wetrend.media/ 
💎 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 Guilhem Chauvin
01:02 Cracking Discover Origins
03:59 What Is Google Discover
07:33 Eligibility Basics
08:56 Audience Persona Research
12:58 Trust Signals And UX
14:49 Brand New Sites Reality
17:02 Discover In Search Console
18:47 SEO Versus Discover
20:21 Publishing Frequency
22:25 Discover History And News
24:16 Brands SaaS Ecommerce Fit
25:29 Write Like TikTok
27:23 Avoid Content Pruning
29:33 Formats Evergreen Newsjacking
32:27 Titles And Story Structure
35:08 X Posts In Discover
37:28 Headline Promise Formula
39:44 Noncommodity Content Debate
41:49 Clickbait Media Anecdote
44:02 Clickbait Versus Promise
45:07 Why Clickbait Fails
46:14 Discover Got Nerfed
48:26 Images That Trigger Clicks
50:10 Authenticity Over Polish
52:45 Getting Initial Traction
54:54 Traffic Mix Signals
56:49 Publishing Volume Tradeoffs
59:32 Core Updates Turnover
01:02:45 Sniper Strategy Explained
01:03:58 Metrics That Matter
01:06:40 Staying Stable Long Term
01:10:35 Markets And Languages
01:14:21 Timing And Testing Window
01:15:58 Diagnosing Traffic Drops
01:17:30 Action Steps This Week
01:19:25 Case Studies And Revenue
01:25:01 Wrap Up And Where To Follow
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#googlediscoveroptimization #searchengineoptimization #blogging #seo

E1087: For the past year, one question has dominated conversations around AI search:
Is GEO actually different from SEO?
Some marketers argue that Generative Engine Optimization is an entirely new discipline. Others believe it's simply good SEO applied to a new interface.
In this episode, I sit down with David Quaid and Vlad Pivnev for a detailed debate on what has changed, what hasn't, and whether businesses should rethink how they approach search in the age of ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity.
Rather than repeating popular opinions, we challenge assumptions, compare evidence, and explore where traditional SEO ends and AI visibility begins.
Topics we cover include:
- Is GEO a genuinely new marketing discipline?
- Why AI search engines produce different answers from Google
- How ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini retrieve information
- Whether ranking #1 in Google guarantees visibility in AI search
- The role of brand authority, reviews, PR, Reddit, and citations
- Query fan-out, retrieval, and how LLMs build answers
- Whether AI search relies primarily on Google, Bing, or its own crawling
- Can brands become visible in AI search without traditional rankings?
- Measuring AI visibility versus traditional SEO performance
- Practical approaches businesses can use today
Whether you're an SEO professional, agency owner, marketer, founder, or simply trying to understand how AI is changing search, this conversation offers a detailed look at one of the biggest debates happening in the industry today.
If you enjoy long-form discussions about SEO, AI search, Google updates, and digital marketing, consider subscribing for future episodes.
🔥 The previous SEO vs GEO debate - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FFMFdFAVLs 
⭐️ Vlad Pivnev on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pivnevvladislav/ 
⭐️ Vlad Pivnev on 𝕏 - https://x.com/p_vlad 
⭐️ Vlad Pivnev's Agency, Stive - https://stive.ai/ 
⭐️ 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 GEO vs SEO Intro
01:08 Why Search Behavior Is Shifting
03:33 Shopping Mall vs Sales Rep Analogy
06:45 What GEO Requires Beyond SEO
10:08 Debating Definitions of SEO
17:20 Query Fan Out and RAG Explained
34:48 Testing Perplexity Results Live
38:40 Do AI Bots Crawl Your Site
43:29 Memory Math and Web Scale
45:10 Web Scale Reality Check
47:51 Why LLMs Need Search
48:40 Query Fanout Explained
54:33 GEO Versus SEO Debate
01:01:48 AI Visibility Audit Workflow
01:04:09 Measuring Citations and Clicks
01:10:49 Is GEO Just Modern SEO
01:14:27 Web Search Toggle Confusion
01:16:51 Funfluencer Case Study
01:17:35 Search vs Web Memory
01:19:12 LLM Crawlers Explained
01:22:00 Bing Citations Mystery
01:27:23 Crypto Agency Case Study
01:31:23 Brand Rankings Debate
01:44:14 Reddit Lists Gaming
01:48:33 Press Release Manipulation
01:52:22 Top Two Recommendations
01:54:25 Closing and Where to Find
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #seo

E1086: Tiffani Daniel is back on the show to talk about how SEO copywriting can turn into real business value.
Last time, we talked about how one blog a week helped take a local dentist to 130,000 monthly visits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsI3XJ-_FUs 
This time, Tiffani shares another local SEO story: a landscaping and pest control client that reached about 5,000 monthly visits, got calls from all over Florida, and ended up being bought by private equity.
What makes the story interesting is that the traffic did not come from a huge ad budget or a massive social media presence. The blogs were doing most of the work.
In this episode, we talk about how to write SEO content that people want to read, how to use keyword research to find new business opportunities, and why local businesses should pay more attention to service pages, blog topics, and the way real customers describe their problems.
We also get into AI Overviews, social media SEO, About pages, copywriting voice, and why "just answer the question" is still one of the most important rules in SEO.
Topics covered:
- How 5,000 monthly SEO visits helped make a local business more attractive to buyers
- Why local SEO traffic can matter even when the numbers look small
- How Tiffani thinks about top-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel content
- Why "what does mouse poop look like" can be a valuable SEO topic for a pest control company
- How blog traffic led to calls from across Florida
- Why keyword research can reveal new services, products, and revenue opportunities
- How SEO copywriting can help businesses decide what to sell next
- Why service pages and homepages may matter more now because of AI Overviews
- How to write blog titles that feel more personal and less generic
- Why "How I did this" can be more clickable than a standard how-to headline
- How to make SEO content sound like it came from a real person
- Why Tiffani uses Reddit to find the actual problems people are talking about
- How to answer a search query quickly without making the content boring
- Why formatting, short sections, and clear answers matter more than ever
- How to use open loops in blog introductions
- Why old blog posts should be updated after you see them with fresh eyes
- Why publishing an imperfect article can be better than never publishing
- How Tiffani changed as a writer after writing 20,000 words a week for Screen Rant
- Why brand voice is becoming more important for SEO
- Where to add personality on a website
- How microcopy can make a site more memorable
- Why About pages should target keywords too
- How to make copywriting less painful if you hate writing
- Why voice notes can help business owners explain what they actually do
- How to use the same keyword across blogs, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, Threads, and 𝕏
- Why social media SEO is still underused
- How to pick content buckets and build topical authority over time
- Why blogging still matters even when people are also using YouTube, TikTok, Substack, ChatGPT, and Google AI Overviews
Watch this if you are trying to understand how local SEO, better copy, and smarter keyword research can lead to more than just traffic.
It can change what a business sells, who finds it, and how valuable the business becomes.
⭐️ Tiffani Daniel's last time on the pod - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsI3XJ-_FUs 
⭐️ Tiffani Daniel at Your Creative Content blog - https://www.yourcreativecontent.com/blog 
⭐️ Tiffani Daniel on Threads - https://www.threads.net/@yourcreativecontent 
⭐️ Tiffani Daniel on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@yourcreativecontent 
⭐️ Tiffani Daniel on Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/yourcreativecontent/ 
⭐️ Tiffani's SEO Copywriting Services - https://www.yourcreativecontent.com/copywriting-services 
⭐️ Tiffani's SEO content membership, SEO Storytellers- https://www.yourcreativecontent.com/seo-storytellers 
💎 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 Background
00:49 SEO Storytelling and Titles
03:12 AI Overviews and Clicks
05:26 Personal Titles for Boring Niches
07:56 Landscaping Case Study Funnel
11:25 Writing for Humans Google AI
15:57 Modern Blog SEO Basics
18:02 Cheap SEO Tools Post Breakdown
20:44 Publish Then Update
21:51 Evolving Writing Style
23:25 Witty Words and Brand Voice
26:17 Authenticity on Key Pages
28:02 About Page Keywords
30:06 Make Copywriting Fun
32:33 Niche SEO Opportunities
34:35 Cheapest SEO Tools
36:44 Google Discover Traffic
39:54 Self Promo Pitfalls
41:26 Social Media SEO
45:30 Why SEO Feels Hard
48:12 Client Wins and Offers
55:04 Topical Authority Plan
56:38 Wrap Up and Where to Find
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#searchengineoptimization #seocopywriting #copywriting #blogging

E1085: Caleb Ulku joins to talk about one of the most practical local SEO systems I've heard in a while: the "Core 30."
The idea is simple: stop treating your website and Google Business Profile like two separate things.
Caleb's approach is to build the website so it directly supports the Google Business Profile.
Your GBP categories, services, landing page, location pages, service pages, and internal links should all send Google the same clear signal about what your business does and where it does it.
Caleb says that for many local businesses, this ends up being around 30 pages. That is why he calls it the Core 30.
We also get into how AI is changing local SEO. Not in a vague way. Caleb explains how Google, Gemini, ChatGPT, and other AI systems are likely to read local business websites, what they need to see, and why messy websites may become a bigger problem as AI agents become more involved in search.
In this episode, we cover:
- Why Caleb moved away from non-local informational SEO after ChatGPT came out
- Why he now treats the Google Business Profile as the "money page" for local SEO
- How the Core 30 works for plumbers, lawyers, home services, and other local businesses
- How to structure service pages around your GBP categories and services
- Why many local businesses are underusing secondary GBP categories
- Why keyword stuffing GBP services does not make sense anymore
- How to think about location pages for multi-location businesses
- Why Caleb cares more about internal linking than URL structure
- Where the keyword still matters on a local service page
- Why the first paragraph of a local page should not be a company history lesson
- How AI changes the way local business content should be written
- What "attribute matching" means for ChatGPT, Gemini, and local recommendations
- Why local pages need real local detail, not copied city-swap content
- How Caleb uses rank maps to decide what content to build next
- The difference between topical relevance and geographical relevance
- Why some blog posts bring traffic but do not help local rankings
- How to build content around service intent instead of empty informational searches
- Why Caleb likes local sponsorship links, chambers of commerce, charities, and events
- How he found a $250 sponsorship link from a UT Austin TEDx page
- Why video may matter more for local SEO as Gemini becomes more important in Maps
- When AI images are better than no images, and why real client images are still better
- Why phone answer rate can affect local SEO performance
- What happens when someone calls your business, hangs up, and calls a competitor
- How Caleb thinks about AI answering services for local businesses
- How to ask for reviews in a way that actually gets people to respond
- Why trust content may become more important as AI reads more of your site
This is a very tactical local SEO conversation.
If you work with local businesses, run a local SEO agency, or own a business that depends on Google Maps rankings, this episode will give you a clearer way to think about site structure, GBP optimization, content, reviews, links, and AI search.
⭐️ Caleb Ulku on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@calebulku 
💎 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 Caleb Ulku
01:16 From Exxon to Freedom
03:06 First SEO Lessons
06:06 Upwork to Big Brands
09:28 Pivot to Local SEO
11:12 Core 30 Blueprint
15:03 Multi Location Strategy
16:47 GBP Mistakes to Fix
18:43 URLs and Internal Links
22:31 Writing for AI Agents
27:05 Hyperlocal Content Research
30:44 AI Images and EXIF
32:34 Video for Gemini Maps
35:40 Local Links via Sponsorships
38:22 Backlinks for SaaS
39:52 Blog SEO Pitfalls
40:42 Traffic vs Local Calls
42:44 Rank Map Metrics
44:58 Topical Relevance Threshold
46:54 Geographic Content Strategy
48:30 AI Lowers Content Costs
49:48 Trust Content for LLMs
52:53 Press Releases for AI
54:37 Phone Answering Impacts Rankings
59:59 AI Phone Agents
01:03:26 Review Strategy for Ask Maps
01:05:44 Avoiding Review Scams
01:09:13 Rebuilding an Agency
01:13:25 Scaling to Seven Figures
01:16:15 Future of SEO Trust
01:21:22 Digital PR and Linkable Stunts
01:24:56 Final Thanks and Where to Find
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#localseo #localmarketing #searchengineoptimization #googlebusinessprofile