The Edward Show

E1040: Discussing Unichannel SEO - the idea that you can build and scale an entire company primarily through Google.
David Quaid and I record this in person on an NYC balcony, with the Manhattan skyline behind us, breaking down why SEO remains the largest and most dependable acquisition channel for B2B, SaaS, and tech companies.
David shares real numbers from companies he's worked with, including one that grew digital-driven revenue from 6% to 70% before being acquired for $325 million.
We cover:
- Why SEO can function as a primary growth channel
- Why many B2B companies get 75% or more of their leads from Google
- Why waiting for rankings is a mistake
- When and how to start link building
- Cornerstoning and building authority properly
- How to identify high-value search terms competitors are paying for
- Using paid search data to shape organic strategy
- Building links before you rank
- How remarketing improved close rates on six-figure deals
- The difference between brand marketing and search intent
- How to get your first SEO clients
- Why networking groups and local meetups can generate long-term backlinks
- Why domain authority alone is not a useful metric
- The role of YouTube as the second largest search engine
- Whether AI and ChatGPT are meaningfully impacting search traffic
We also break down:
- The strategy behind ranking for high-CPC cybersecurity keywords
- How competitor analysis shaped page structure
- Why SEO is not passive marketing
- What early Matt Cutts videos still teach about how Google works
- How to approach agencies for referrals when starting out
- Why solving problems builds long-term authority and trust
If you're building a SaaS company, running an agency, or trying to grow through search, this episode focuses on execution and measurable outcomes.
Recorded in New York City.
⭐️ 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/
🚀 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 David Returns in NYC
00:19 Why Google Still Wins
02:00 Brand vs Search Intent
02:56 Startup Channel Mix
04:10 Link Building Early
06:17 Stop Waiting for Rankings
07:30 SEO to $325M Exit
09:36 Insights SEO Playbook
11:14 Paid Keywords to Cornerstones
11:59 Remarketing Gap Fill
12:37 SEO Learning Roadmap
13:26 Partner Link Building
14:28 Landing Your First Clients
15:36 Trust Through Overdelivery
17:30 Networking Group Flywheel
19:00 Meetup Links That Pay
21:31 SEO as a Unichannel
22:54 Google Isn't the Enemy
23:23 Closing Thanks and Wrap
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #performancemarketing #digitalmarketing

E1039: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is becoming one of the biggest topics in search, SEO, and AI marketing.
But is it actually safe?
Edward Sturm and Harpreet Singh break down what is really happening with GEO, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), AI citations, and AI search visibility across tools like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Claude, Perplexity, and Bing.
They discuss why many GEO strategies are creating short-term traffic spikes that later collapse after Google algorithm updates, why "scaled content" tactics are risky, and how some companies are damaging their long-term organic visibility chasing AI traffic.
The conversation also covers practical strategies that actually improve visibility in AI search without destroying your website.
Topics covered:
- What GEO and AEO actually are
- How AI search engines retrieve information
- Why the "query fan out" matters
- The connection between Google rankings and AI citations
- Why scaled AI content can lead to "rank and tank" patterns
- How GEO agencies inflate AI visibility metrics
- Why many AI citation reports are misleading
- The risks of automated content generation
- Why Reddit strategies often fail
- How LLM training data differs from live web retrieval
- What influences ChatGPT without web search
- Why review sites like G2, Trustpilot, and Glassdoor matter
- How AI systems form opinions about brands
- Ethical vs risky GEO tactics
- Press release strategies that influence AI search
- How affiliate sites and listicles affect AI recommendations
- Why landing pages and product pages still work
- The role of video in AI search visibility
- Why branding and reputation matter more than most people realize
- How to evaluate GEO agencies before hiring them
- Questions every business owner should ask a GEO vendor
- What "scaled content abuse" means in Google's guidelines
- Why GEO is becoming a company-wide problem, not just an SEO problem
This episode is for:
- Founders
- Local businesses
- C-level executive
- SEO professionals
- Marketers
- SaaS companies
- Agencies
- Anyone trying to understand how AI search actually works
If you're interested in GEO, AEO, LLM optimization, SEO, AI search, ChatGPT optimization, or Google AI Overviews, this episode gives a grounded look at what is working right now and what is likely to fail over time.
⭐️ 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 GEO 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 GEO Safety Stakes
00:38 Query Fanout Content Trap
01:53 Rank And Tank Reality
06:11 Why AI Needs Search
07:01 Training Data Mythbusting
08:56 Free Vs Paid ChatGPT
12:09 Optimize Offsite Sources
13:40 Comparison Pages Done Right
16:21 Case Studies Smoke Screens
19:31 Choosing A GEO Vendor
21:18 Reddit Mentions Red Flags
25:57 Video Social Strategy
28:32 Traffic Versus Revenue
32:02 Google Scaled Content Abuse
34:18 Five Questions To Ask
37:36 Influencing Training Data
38:37 Implementation Case Study
40:45 Multi Channel GEO Costs
41:27 Reviews Shape AI Sentiment
42:54 GEO Needs Whole Company
44:46 Query Fanout Tactics
46:16 Affiliate Listicle Plays
49:40 Ethics and Guest Posts
52:05 Landing Pages That Get Cited
55:19 Cheap Press Release Hack
01:01:27 Reverse Engineer LLM Queries
01:05:44 Review Platforms and G2
01:08:41 Web Reshuffle and AI Overviews
01:14:59 Bottom of Funnel Wins
01:18:51 GEO Research and Wrap Up
01:19:50 Final Summary and Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #digitalmarketing

E1038: Breaking down one of the most dramatic SEO collapses in recent SaaS history.
ClickUp's blog went from 1.19 million organic visitors per month to just 28,000 in 15 months - a 97.6% decline.
This wasn't a single Google update. It wasn't just AI overviews. And it wasn't just "topical overreach."
It was a compounding series of strategic, editorial, and technical decisions that made each algorithm hit worse than the last.
We walk through the full timeline, what actually caused the collapse, and what serious SEO operators can learn from it.
This episode covers:
- The exact traffic timeline from peak to collapse
- Which Google updates hit - and why the damage compounded
- Why the blog fell 97.6% while the rest of the domain only dropped 27%
- Why backlinks were not the problem
- How ClickUp added 2,815 new posts during the decline
- The templated content structure repeated across 7,000+ URLs
- The promotional patterns that likely triggered quality classifiers
- Why core commercial keywords like "task management software" disappeared
- The technical SEO mistakes that were quietly hurting performance
- How Zapier ran a similar model but stabilized instead of collapsing
- Why AI Overviews do not fully explain what happened
- What this case reveals about intent, editorial integrity, and search alignment
We also compare ClickUp's ChatGPT alternatives page against Zapier's ranking page to show how editorial treatment, content structure, and intent matching can change outcomes - even when both companies promote their own products.
This is not a story about Google randomly punishing a brand.
It is a case study in what happens when:
- Conversion-first content overrides search intent
- Promotional density outweighs usefulness
- Scaling multiplies weaknesses
- Recovery efforts double down on the same structural problems
If you work in SEO, content strategy, or run a SaaS blog, this breakdown will help you understand:
- What not to industrialize
- How algorithm updates compound
- Why pruning sometimes matters more than publishing
- And how to align content with what searchers are actually trying to accomplish
⭐️ Full article - https://zkami.substack.com/p/how-clickups-blog-lost-976-of-its
🚀 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 ClickUp SEO Crash Intro
00:23 The 97 Percent Drop
01:57 Google Updates Timeline
04:36 Blog vs Domain Split
06:54 Topical Overreach Myth
08:21 ChatGPT Alternatives Autopsy
11:20 Promo Template Footprint
13:49 Doubling Down During Crash
16:38 Where the Traffic Went
17:57 Zapier Did It Right
22:14 Five Cent Root Cause
24:35 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #digitalmarketing #performancemarketing

E1037: Breaking down one of the most effective SEO strategies on the internet: linkable assets.
These are simple tools, calculators, generators, databases, reports, studies, visualizers, and micro-apps that naturally earn backlinks because people ACTUALLY want to share them.
I walk through real examples of tiny websites and simple web apps that generated thousands - and in one case hundreds of thousands - of backlinks from major publications, blogs, newsletters, and social media shares.
Topics covered:
- How a simple "do nothing for two minutes" website earned 384,000 backlinks
- Why small utility apps outperform expensive link building campaigns
- How Canva's Color Palette Generator became a massive SEO asset
- How Sleepyti . me turned a sleep calculator into 35,000 backlinks
- Why linkable assets strengthen your entire website's SEO authority
- How to funnel SEO authority from viral pages into revenue-driving pages
- How to brainstorm linkable asset ideas with ChatGPT
- Linkable asset examples for pressure washing, banking law, and local businesses
- How to launch apps on Product Hunt and BetaList
- How to get journalists and bloggers to cover your tools
- How to use AI and vibe coding to build these projects quickly
⭐️ Prompt from the episode:
"Act as a world-class viral growth marketer and SEO strategist. Generate 15 simple, highly shareable 'linkable asset' ideas for the [NICHE] industry. Prioritize tools, calculators, generators, visualizers, quizzes, databases, maps, trackers, or micro-apps that journalists, bloggers, Reddit users, and social media creators would naturally link to. Focus on ideas that are cheap to build, instantly understandable, emotionally compelling, and capable of earning backlinks organically."
⭐️ 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/
⭐️ Ep 908 - Vibe Coding for SEO: Building Rankable Apps, Tools, and Revenue in Minutes - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cn03azU0GY
⭐️ Ep 1025 - He Ranked #1 on Google With 35 Words (No SEO) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsaZfnL7h50
⭐️ Ep 989 - How NapLab Built an SEO Moat (103,000 Keywords, No Shortcuts) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9vzdovTfmw
⭐️ No link building budget could buy these results - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/no-link-building-budget-could-buy-these-results/
🚀 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 Backlinks With Linkable Assets
01:49 Sleep Calculator Case Study
04:41 Canva Color Palette Generator
05:29 Do Nothing Viral Example
07:07 AI Prompt For Ideas
08:42 Launch And PR Distribution
09:43 Vibe Coding - Get Started
13:55 Wrap Up And Thanks
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#linkbuilding #backlinks #searchengineoptimization #seo

E1036: Breaking down practical SEO tactics that are working great and explaining why most people overcomplicate search engine optimization.
We go through a massive Reddit thread on "SEO hacks" and separate the good advice from the outdated spam tactics.
Topics covered:
- Why customer reviews are becoming one of the most powerful SEO assets
- How YouTube videos and video testimonials are getting cited by AI search tools
- The simple on-page SEO fundamentals that still matter
- Why intent-driven category pages are outperforming traditional SEO pages
- How to think about search intent before writing content
- The reason most AI-generated SEO content fails
- How to find keywords your competitors are ignoring
- Why comparison pages and "alternative" pages work so well
- Local SEO examples using semantic keywords and natural language
- Technical SEO basics that are still worth doing
- What "quality content" means in practice
- Why understanding how different people search changes your SEO strategy
We also cover:
- SEO myths that still circulate online
- Why buying backlinks is usually a waste of time
- How to structure pages for humans instead of algorithms
- The relationship between pogo-sticking and rankings
- How semantic relevance improves content performance
- What makes content more useful for both humans and AI systems
If you want to learn SEO that drives customers, leads, and conversions instead of vanity traffic, this episode will help.
🚀 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 SEO Hacks Thread Intro
00:09 Reviews Everywhere Strategy
01:01 Video Reviews for AI Search
01:39 Ecommerce Taxonomy Pages
02:21 Intent Driven Categories Win
03:05 Hidden Text Joke Warning
03:51 On Page Keyword Basics
04:23 Quality Content and Pogo Sticking
04:37 Search Intent Writing Exercise
05:48 How Different People Search
06:46 Technical SEO and Easy Keywords
07:40 Authority and Trust Signals
08:26 Backlink Joke and Don't Buy These
08:34 NLP and Local Intent Example
10:21 UGC Reviews and Communities
10:39 Competitor Alternatives Pages
11:44 Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #digitalmarketing #entrepreneurship