The Edward Show

E1019: One of the most uncomfortable truths in SEO: yes, duplicate content can still rank - and in some cases, it can even OUTRANK the original.
I walk through real experiments, what Google actually does when it finds duplicate pages, and why higher authority sites can take your content and win in the search results.
We also cover the common misconception around a "duplicate content penalty," what actually happens instead, and where the real risks come from (including DMCA and quality signals).
Most importantly, I explain what you should do about it - both to protect your own content and to build an SEO strategy that isn't vulnerable to this problem in the first place.
Topics covered:
- How Google handles duplicate content in search results
- Why higher authority pages can outrank the original source
- The difference between duplicate content and a penalty
- What the SERPs hijacking experiments revealed
- Real examples of content being copied and beating the original
- Why Google sometimes takes action after SEO experiments go viral
- The risks of copying content (including DMCA and quality issues)
- How to defend your site from content theft
- The role of canonical tags and internal linking
- Why authorship signals have changed over time
- What "bottom of funnel SEO" is and why it protects you
- How to build authority so your content is harder to outrank
If you've ever worried about someone copying your content, or wondered if duplicate content actually matters, this episode will give you a clear, practical understanding of what's going on and how to approach it.
⭐️ The experiment - https://seosherpa.com/seo-experiments/
⭐️ Does SEO Authorship Matter? - https://victorious.com/blog/google-authorship/
⭐️ How to not get penalized by legitimate duplicate content (not plagiarized)?
 - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1f1y1fd/how_to_not_get_penalised_by_legitimate_duplicate/
⭐️ Google Does Take Action Against Content Scrapers - https://dejanmarketing.com/google-against-content-scrapers/
🚀 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 Duplicate Content Risk
00:40 How Google Chooses Originals
01:37 SERPs Hijack Experiment
03:02 Defending Against Scrapers
03:24 Authorship Signals Today
05:10 Why Copying Backfires
06:02 Duplicate Penalty Myth
08:44 Dejan Update And Reality
09:59 Ethics And DMCA Risks
10:17 Protect Yourself With BOFU SEO
12:02 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #blackhatseo #digitalmarketing

E1018: An SEO test removed FAQ schema from product listing pages - here's what happened next.
For years, FAQ schema has been treated as a best practice in SEO. It helped pages stand out in search results, increased click-through rates, and was widely adopted across marketing pages.
But after Google reduced the visibility of FAQ rich results in 2023, the question became:
Does FAQ schema still matter at all?
This episode covers a real-world test where FAQ schema was removed from e-commerce pages to measure the impact on organic traffic.
The result: no statistically significant change.
I walk through what this means, how it aligns with Google's own statements, and why this may be one of those SEO tactics that no longer moves the needle.
I also cover how this connects to AI and LLMs, including a well-known test showing that structured data may not work the way many SEOs think it does.
Topics covered:
- What FAQ schema used to do in search results
- Google's 2023 update and the removal of FAQ rich snippets
- The SEO test: removing FAQ schema from product pages
- Why the results showed no impact on organic traffic
- Google's official stance on unused structured data
- Whether FAQ schema helps rankings indirectly
- The "Duck Test" and what it reveals about LLMs and schema
- Why schema may just be treated as normal text by AI systems
- What SEOs should focus on instead (relevance and authority)
Key takeaway:
FAQ schema is no longer a reliable lever for improving SEO performance. It doesn't appear to increase traffic, and in most cases, it isn't even surfaced in search results.
Unless you're a highly authoritative site, consider removing it to simplify your workflows and QA.
If you're trying to grow organic traffic, your time is better spent on things that directly impact rankings and conversions.
⭐️ The test - How does removing FAQ markup on pages with valid schema impact SEO? - https://www.searchpilot.com/resources/case-studies/removing-valid-faq-schema
⭐️ The rise and fall of FAQ schema - and what it means for SEO today - https://searchengineland.com/faq-schema-rise-fall-seo-today-463993
⭐️ What Google says: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/08/howto-faq-changes
⭐️ Do LLMs Actually Use Schema? The Duck Test That Broke SEO - Ep 956 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nTqaG3GKLk
🚀 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 FAQ Schema Hype
00:18 The FAQ Schema Removal Test
01:26 Test Results Explained
02:09 Search Engine Land Take
03:07 LLMs and the Duck Test
04:12 So Does It Matter?
04:43 Google's Official Guidance
05:23 Final SEO Takeaways
06:09 Wrapping
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #technicalseo #searchmarketing

1017: Breaking down the latest changes in Google Search and what they mean for publishers, SEO teams, and content-driven businesses.
We cover the first-ever Google Discover-specific update, the March 2026 core and spam updates, and what's really happening with AI-generated content in search. This is a practical discussion based on real observations.
Edward is joined by Gagan Ghotra, Harpreet Singh, and David Quaid to analyze what's changing, what still works, and where most teams are getting it wrong.
Topics covered:
- What Google changed in the Discover update and why it matters
- The shift toward more local content in Discover feeds
- Google's attempt to reduce clickbait titles and images
- Why many publishers haven't seen major changes from the update yet
- How Google Discover works and why it can drive massive traffic
- The feedback loop that determines whether content scales or gets suppressed
- How to approach Google Discover without risking long-term penalties
- Why staying within your topical authority is critical
- How to expand into new topics without losing visibility
- Using trending conversations without relying on low-effort content
- Finding content gaps that large publishers ignore
- The technical setup for Discover, including images, RSS feeds, and sitemaps
- Why technical SEO alone does not guarantee Discover visibility
- What happened in the March 2026 spam update
- What happened in the March 2026 core update
- Why sites using scaled AI content were hit the hardest
- The difference between acceptable AI use and scaled content abuse
- Patterns of deindexing seen across affected sites
- Why publishing more content is not a reliable growth strategy
- The gap between enterprise SEO advice and what works for smaller sites
- Why authority matters more than content volume
- How large, well-funded companies get away with aggressive strategies
- The role of brand, PR, and overall marketing in SEO performance
- How Google Discover traffic is monetized in practice
- Why ads and affiliate revenue dominate Discover monetization
- Why Discover traffic rarely converts well for e-commerce
- The case for publishers building products or SaaS
- Why relying only on ads and affiliates is risky long term
- How companies are using multiple domains to expand search visibility
- Early results from running secondary domain strategies
- How AI search is changing content distribution
- The risks of applying performance marketing thinking to SEO
- Why executive pressure is leading to overuse of AI content
- How misaligned KPIs create poor SEO decisions
- Why SEO should be treated as a long-term investment
- The risk of damaging a domain with short-term tactics
- How to balance growth with protecting existing rankings
If you're running SEO for a startup, SaaS company, or publisher, this episode is a clear look at what's working right now and what's likely to fail over the next 6 - 12 months.
⭐️ 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/
⭐️ 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
🚀 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 Top SEO Minds Reunite
00:25 Google Discover Update Breakdown
02:46 Why Google Discover Matters
03:59 Avoiding Google Discover Penalties
05:34 What Google Discover Is
09:45 Google Discover and Publisher Politics
11:17 Content Strategy That Wins
13:26 Technical Setup and Randomness
15:00 The Viral Feedback Loop
18:26 Monetization Reality Check
20:25 News Cycle Gap Hunting
22:53 Small Publisher Throttling
25:45 Publishers Should Build Products
31:19 Vertical Integration and Media Buys
33:13 Publishers Missed Window
34:25 GEO Hype Versus SEO
35:27 March Spam Core Updates
37:20 Scaled AI Content Abuse
38:27 Big Brands Get Away
42:25 Enterprise Advice Trap
44:47 Performance Marketer Mindset
49:13 Board Level SEO Metrics
55:06 Protect Revenue Rankings
57:20 Satellite Domains Strategy
01:01:36 Multi Handle Brand Growth
01:02:38 Wrap Up And Thanks
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization #googlediscoverseo #seo

E1016: A real-world SEO case study where a website was completely removed from Google's index overnight.
No rankings. No pages. Gone.
At first glance, it looked like a classic case of AI content abuse or a penalty tied to scaled content. The site operated in a YMYL niche, had tens of thousands of URLs, and included some AI-assisted content - so the initial assumption seemed obvious.
But that wasn't the cause.
This episode walks through the full investigation, what actually triggered the deindexing, how it was diagnosed using Google Search Console, and how the site recovered faster than expected.
If you manage websites, work in SEO, or rely on organic traffic, this is a case you should understand.
Topics covered:
- What it looks like when a site is fully deindexed from Google
- Why initial assumptions (AI content, programmatic SEO) can be misleading
- How to investigate sudden traffic drops and indexing issues
- Using different Google Search Console properties to find hidden problems
- The role of domain properties vs URL prefix properties
- How a hacked subdomain led to a sitewide manual action
- How Google labeled the issue as "pure spam" across the entire site
- The delay between impact and manual action notifications
- Doing a reconsideration request
- How quickly recovery can happen after fixing the root issue
- The DNS and infrastructure mistake that created the vulnerability
- Why you must monitor both www and non-www versions of your site
- Practical steps to prevent similar issues from happening
This case highlights how a single overlooked configuration can escalate into a full site removal from search results, even when the main site appears unaffected.
It also reinforces the importance of technical SEO, site monitoring, and not jumping to conclusions when diagnosing ranking losses.
If you're working on SEO or running a site that depends on Google traffic, this is the kind of scenario you need to be prepared for.
⭐️ Source Material - Deindexed, Delayed, and Down: Investigating A Site's Removal From Google Before A Delayed Manual Action Arrived [Case Study] - https://www.gsqi.com/marketing-blog/deindexed-and-delayed-manual-action-case-study/
🚀 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 Site Vanishes Overnight
00:51 YMYL And AI Concerns
04:02 Confirming Deindexing
05:12 Search Console Clues
06:43 WWW Hack Revealed
08:48 Manual Action Hits
10:05 Reconsideration And Recovery
11:04 The DNS Security Hole
13:09 Prevention Checklist
15:37 Wrap Up And Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #technicalseo #googlesearchconsole

E1015: Why niching down is one of the most effective ways to make SEO easier and more profitable.
Most people approach SEO by trying to target everything at once. They go after broad categories, spread their content too thin, and end up competing with bigger players without any real advantage.
Instead, the better strategy is to focus on a narrow niche, dominate it completely, and then expand outward.
I recorded this with the Lower Manhattan skyline behind me, and the idea came from how different NYC neighborhoods operate like their own ecosystems. Even a small area can support a full business if you own it. SEO works the same way.
Once you understand this, everything gets simpler: keyword research, content strategy, link building, and conversions.
In this episode, I cover:
- Why targeting a small niche is more profitable than going broad
- How niching down makes ranking for competitive keywords easier
- What happened to large sites like HubSpot when they spread too far outside their core topics
- How topical authority compounds over time
- Why branded searches and recognition matter more than most people think
- How niching down improves click-through rates and trust
- Why you naturally attract backlinks when you dominate a niche
- How staying focused improves your copy and conversions
- The role of testimonials and reviews in building authority
- When and how to expand into adjacent niches after you've established dominance
If you're starting out, your niche already has more than enough opportunity. The goal is not to reach everyone. The goal is to become the obvious choice for a specific group of people.
Once you've done that, growth becomes a lot easier.
🚀 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 Why Niches Win
00:22 Manhattan Neighborhood Analogy
00:51 HubSpot Topical Authority Lesson
02:04 Own One Category First
02:48 Top of Mind SEO Flywheel
03:36 Natural Links From Being Known
04:26 More Niche Down Benefits
05:46 Expand Into Adjacent Niches
07:33 Final Thanks and Sign Off
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #marketingstrategy #searchmarketing