The Edward Show

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

E1084: Should you avoid 301 redirects because they reduce link equity?
A lot of SEOs still believe that 301 redirects cause a loss in PageRank. That belief made sense years ago. In 2013, Matt Cutts said 301 redirects could result in a PageRank loss. But in 2016, Gary Illyes from Google said redirects no longer lose PageRank.
And Google's own documentation still says that 301 and other permanent redirects do not cause a loss in PageRank.
In this episode, I break down why the old 301 redirect fear is outdated, when redirects are safe to use, and what you still need to watch out for when redirecting URLs.
Covered in this episode:
- Why SEOs still worry about 301 redirects losing link equity
- The old 2013 Google statement that created the misconception
- What Gary Illyes said in 2016 about redirects and PageRank
- What Google's current documentation says about 301 redirects
- Why 301 redirects are still useful for site migrations, URL cleanup, and domain moves
- Why redirect chains are still worth avoiding
- Why server-side redirects are better for Googlebot than client-side redirects
- Why redirect relevance still matters
- How anchor text and link signals can pass through redirects
- Why redirecting irrelevant backlinks to unrelated pages is not a magic fix
- The Cyrus Shepard case study where a redirected site migration saw traffic increase instead of drop
- Why the best redirect is usually one where the URL changes, but the content stays mostly the same
The main point:
If you have a real reason to use a 301 redirect, do not avoid it because of outdated PageRank fears.
Use redirects when they make sense.
Use them for:
- Proper site migrations
- Better URL structure
- Consolidating pages
- Moving from HTTP to HTTPS
- Moving content to a new domain
- Sending users to the right destination
- Cleaning up old or unnecessary URLs
But do not use them carelessly.
Avoid:
- Long redirect chains
- Redirects to irrelevant pages
- Client-side redirects
- Redirects that confuse users
- Redirects where the destination does not match the original intent of the page
301 redirects are not something to fear. They are a normal part of technical SEO when used properly.
⭐️ 301 Redirects for SEO: Google Removes the Penalty (And Cyrus Shepard Case Study) - https://moz.com/blog/301-redirection-rules-for-seo 
⭐️ Gary Illyes statement - https://x.com/methode/status/757923179641839616 
⭐️ Google documentation saying 301s don't lose PageRank - https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes 
💎 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/ 
00:00 301 Redirect Myth
00:27 Google PageRank Updates
00:55 What 301 Redirects Do
01:32 Official Google Guidance
01:55 Redirect Best Practices
02:28 Relevance Still Matters
03:04 Cyrus Shepard Case Study
04:16 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#301redirect #pagerank #searchengineoptimization #linkequity

E1083: Google researchers published a paper showing how coordinated AI spam can be detected at scale.
The research focuses on video spam, but the methods are highly relevant to SEO because they show how Google may think about mass AI content, repeated templates, automated publishing patterns, and networks of accounts or sites using similar generative systems.
The key idea is simple: instead of judging one piece of content at a time, Google can look for patterns across a whole cluster.
That matters for anyone using AI to publish SEO content at scale.
In this episode, I break down the Search Engine Journal article from Roger Montti, Glenn Gabe's comments on the research, and why this could become a major risk for mass AI SEO strategies.
Topics covered:
- Why Google's research is focused on coordinated AI spam, not all AI content
- What the Scalable Cluster Termination System, or S-CTS, is designed to do
- Why Google may look beyond individual pages or videos and evaluate whole clusters
- How repeated semantic templates can leave detectable patterns
- Why AI-generated content can be "unique" while still being functionally identical
- How text embeddings and Sentence-BERT can help identify similar AI-generated narratives
- Why traditional content-level quality filters may not be enough anymore
- How coordinated accounts, botnets, scripts, and publishing behavior can expose spam networks
- Why LoRA and Automatic Prompt Optimization may help Google adapt faster to new spam patterns
- What this means for AI SEO tools and sites publishing large amounts of AI content
- Why using AI is not automatically the same as spam
- Where the real risk begins: thin content, low-quality output, repeated templates, and scaled content abuse
The important distinction is that Google is not saying all AI content is spam.
The problem is mass-produced AI content that is low quality, repetitive, automated, or built mainly to exploit search systems.
If you are using AI to help create genuinely useful content, that is a different situation.
But if you are relying on AI tools to publish large volumes of similar SEO pages across one site or many sites, this research is worth paying attention to.
Google appears to be moving toward systems that can detect the structure behind the spam, not just the content itself.
That means the risk is no longer only whether one page looks low quality.
The bigger risk may be whether your publishing patterns, templates, infrastructure, and content similarities make you look like part of a coordinated spam operation.
I also talk about why I am not taking this approach with my own SEO strategy.
My preference is still to build a strong brand, publish content that serves real search intent, and play the long game on a single domain.
⭐️ Search Engine Journal: Google Research Shows How AI Spam Can Be Detected - https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-generated-ai-detected/579987/ 
⭐️ Glenn Gabe commentary on 𝕏 - https://x.com/glenngabe/status/2067951984187949532 
⭐️ Lily Ray's post - https://x.com/lilyraynyc/status/2067975986893709496 
💎 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 AI SEO Spam Warning
01:09 Google Paper Overview
02:10 Cluster Detection System
02:44 LoRA and Prompt Adaptation
03:36 Embeddings and S-BERT Signals
04:16 Why Spam Is Exploding
05:33 Networks and Botnets
06:36 AI Content vs Spam Debate
07:55 Scaling Risks and Fine Line
08:39 Mass Site Operators Tease
10:45 Episode Wrap Up
The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #googlealgorithmupdate #generativeengineoptimization

E1082: WPBeginner used to be one of the biggest WordPress educational blogs on the internet.
According to Semrush, WPBeginner was getting around 2.6 million monthly clicks from Google at its peak in May 2021. Now it appears to be down to roughly 27,000 monthly clicks.
That is not a small decline. That is a near-total collapse in Google traffic for a site that many WordPress users have relied on for years.
In this episode, I break down what may have happened, what probably did not cause it, and what WPBeginner could do if they want to recover.
I cover:
- Why WPBeginner's traffic decline is so unusual
- How Google algorithm updates appear to line up with the drop
- Why AI stealing clicks probably does not explain the whole collapse
- Why "Google hates independent publishers" is too simple of an explanation
- Whether content decay or keyword cannibalization could have played a role
- The problem with overly promotional top-of-funnel content
- Why self-promotional listicles can work until they stop working
- How bad user signals may have hurt the brand over time
- Why long, fluffy blog posts with delayed answers may no longer work
- Why Google may be rewarding shorter, faster, less promotional answers
- What Lars Lofgren said about pruning and cutting down the site
- Why WPBeginner may need to consolidate, rewrite, and remove a large amount of content
- How WPBeginner could shift from bloated blog content to shorter conversion-focused SEO pages
- What other SEOs and publishers should learn from this case
My take:
WPBeginner probably did not lose nearly all of its Google traffic because of one single issue.
The more likely explanation is a combination of:
- Too much cannibalization
- Too much promotion in informational articles
- Too much fluff before the answer
- Incomplete answers
- Searchers losing trust in the brand
- Google updates rewarding more-trusted pages that answers the query faster
If your SEO strategy depends on long informational posts that exist mainly to push products, plugins, affiliates, or internal offers, this case is worth paying attention to.
It will still work in small amounts.
But when an entire site starts to feel like that, Google and users will eventually stop rewarding it.
⭐️ Lars Lofgren's post on 𝕏 - https://x.com/larslofgren/status/2066581447373394325?s=46
⭐️ Lars Lofgren's post on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7472346782119866369/
⭐️ WPBeginner - https://www.wpbeginner.com/
⭐️ Episode 898 - How NapLab Built an SEO Moat (103,000 Keywords, No Shortcuts) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9vzdovTfmw
⭐️ Episode 989 - Google's Helpful Content Update DESTROYED the Internet (What Actually Happened) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YLUFjYrIEA
💎 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 WPBeginner Traffic Collapse
01:27 Lars Lofgren Flags
03:07 Possible Causes Rundown
05:48 Promotion Backlash
09:23 Fluff Content Problem
11:15 Can They Rebound
13:13 Prune Rewrite Refocus
15:08 Wrap Up And Farewell
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #wordpress #blogging

E1081: Google Merchant Center can make or break ecommerce revenue.
Gagan Ghotra and Harpreet Singh join the show to break down how Google Merchant Center works, why it matters for ecommerce SEO, and the common mistakes that cause products to lose visibility, get disapproved, or underperform in Google Shopping and free product listings.
We cover how product feeds influence visibility across Google, what separates strong feeds from weak ones, and why Merchant Center is not just an SEO task. It touches inventory, pricing, product pages, reviews, shipping, return policies, merchandising, email marketing, and the wider ecommerce operation.
Topics covered:
- What Google Merchant Center is and why ecommerce brands need it
- How Merchant Center differs from Google Search Console
- Why product feeds matter for Google Shopping, free listings, AI Mode, Gemini, and future agentic commerce
- How Google decides which products show up in product grids
- Why brand authority still plays a major role in ecommerce visibility
- How smaller ecommerce stores can compete with larger brands
- The importance of accurate pricing, inventory, shipping, and product availability
- Why mismatches between your website, schema, and Merchant Center feed can lead to product disapprovals or account suspension
- How checkout experience and deceptive cart behavior can hurt Merchant Center performance
- Why local inventory, in-store pickup, and nearby availability can help smaller retailers stand out
- What "investing in Merchant Center" actually means
- Why Merchant Center should involve SEO, inventory, merchandising, operations, email marketing, and customer service
- How delayed inventory syncing can create major problems
- Why reviews matter for Merchant Center, ecommerce SEO, and AI visibility
- How to improve product titles, descriptions, and images
- Why copying manufacturer descriptions or Amazon descriptions is a mistake
- How to differentiate products when competitors sell the same items
- Why GTINs, MPNs, and brand data matter
- What to audit first when inheriting a new Merchant Center account
- How to approach large catalogs with thousands of SKUs
- When AI can and cannot be used for product images
- Why heavily AI-generated product images can create trust and legal risks
- The biggest Merchant Center mistakes new ecommerce marketers make
- Why rejected products can affect the performance of accepted products
- How Merchant Center supports Performance Max campaigns
- The key Merchant Center metrics ecommerce teams should monitor
- What causes Merchant Center suspensions most often
- Why there is less misinformation around Merchant Center than other areas of SEO
- The fastest Merchant Center quick wins ecommerce teams can implement this week
A major theme in this conversation is that Merchant Center performance depends on consistency.
Your product page, product schema, product feed, pricing, availability, shipping promises, return policies, and customer experience all need to line up. If they do not, Google can reject products, reduce visibility, or suspend the account.
We also talk about why Merchant Center is becoming more important as Google adds more product-led search experiences and AI-driven shopping features. Even if Google Shopping is not a major traffic source in your country today, having clean, accurate, complete product data is likely to become more important over time.
⭐️ Gagan Ghotra on 𝕏 - https://x.com/gaganghotra_
⭐️ Gagan Ghotra on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gagan-ghotra/
⭐️ Gagan Ghotra's website - https://gaganghotra.com/
⭐️ Harpreet Singh's Personal Site - https://harpsdigital.com
⭐️ Harpreet on X - https://x.com/harpreetchatha_
⭐️ Harpreet's Newsletter - https://seoespresso.com
⭐️ Harpreet on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/harpreetsingh8/
⭐️ Harpreet on TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@seoharp
⭐️ Harpreet on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@harpsdigital
00:00 Merchant Center Basics
02:38 Why It Matters
05:42 Ranking Factors
11:12 Feed Accuracy Risks
13:41 Team Investment
21:02 Building Brand Authority
25:34 Feed Optimization
32:19 Identifiers And Audits
38:03 Scaling With AI
43:55 Mistakes And Suspensions
48:30 Metrics And Quick Wins
58:40 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#searchengineoptimization #ecommerceseo #ecommerce #seo