The Edward Show

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 collapse as an SEO case study
00:20 The 97.6% traffic loss headline
01:14 Author's methodology and 2024 update timeline
03:11 AI cannibalization vs. lost commercial rankings
04:29 Blog punished, not the full domain
06:39 Why "topical overreach" doesn't fully explain it
08:21 Case study: the ChatGPT Alternatives page
09:38 Six versions of one URL
11:18 What the listicle pages look like
12:53 The 7,000-page identical skeleton and broken schema
13:46 ClickUp's response: 2,815 new posts during the crash
15:24 Paid traffic tapering and what ClickUp ranks for now
16:25 Where the traffic went - competitors, not to zero
18:08 Zapier comparison: same model, different outcome
19:14 Side-by-side: the two ChatGPT Alternatives articles
21:19 Narrowing the cause - what it isn't
22:18 Author's hypothesis: compounding failures
23:59 Edward's add: industrialized pogo-sticking
25:05 Outro
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

E1035: Breaking down the risks of using AI to fully automate SEO.
The man… the myth… the legend… Gagan Ghotra returns to the podcast!!!
We get into why so many founders, startups, and small businesses are being tempted by viral posts promising that Claude, ChatGPT, or other AI tools can replace an SEO team, an agency, or a group of writers.
The problem is that a lot of these workflows turn into scaled content abuse. They create hundreds or thousands of pages quickly, often without enough original information, human review, or real value per page. The traffic can go up fast, but the drop can be just as fast.
We talk about:
- What scaled content abuse means
- Why Google introduced the policy
- How AI SEO pages can grow for a few months before falling hard
- Why "fire your SEO team and use AI" advice is dangerous
- The difference between programmatic SEO and scaled AI content
- When scaling content can be useful
- Why unique data, original opinions, and internal knowledge matter
- How Google might detect bad scaled content
- Why engagement signals, brand signals, and social presence may matter more over time
- What happened with Shopify's scaled content issues
- Why VC-backed startups are especially vulnerable to AI SEO hype
- How short-term growth can hurt fundraising if the site gets hit later
- Why boring local businesses may be able to use AI differently than competitive startups
- Why social profiles, PR, and brand recognition can help support SEO
- What companies should be doing now if they want to win search over the next three years
- Why brand building and SEO are becoming harder to separate
- How to use AI as part of the writing process without letting it take over the whole page
Gagan's main point is simple: AI can help with SEO, but it should not replace judgment, original information, or human editing.
If you are building a real company, your domain is an asset. Burning it for a few months of traffic is not the same as building a search channel that lasts.
⭐️ 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/
🚀 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 AI SEO Automation Hype
01:51 Scaled Content Abuse Explained
03:43 Using AI With Human Writers
08:09 Programmatic SEO Vs Abuse
10:00 How Google Detects Scaling
13:43 Brand Signals And PR Buffer
15:05 Shopify Case Study Fallout
17:22 SMBs Vs VC Startups Risks
22:07 Boom Bust And Fundraising
28:32 Churn And Burn Ethics
31:02 Social Profiles As Trust
34:34 AI Tools For Omnichannel
41:35 Winners Build Brands
48:08 Wrap Up And Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #seo

E1034: David McSweeney breaks down what actually drives visibility in AI search - and what is a complete waste of time.
The conversation starts with a viral experiment claiming that a blank website ranked in AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. From there, Edward and David dig into how AI systems really parse content, why that experiment was misunderstood, and what it reveals about how search is evolving.
They challenge a lot of current narratives around "GEO" (Generative Engine Optimization), structured data, and AI visibility - and explain where the industry is getting it wrong.
Topics covered:
- Why the "blank page ranking #1" experiment doesn't prove what people think
- How AI tools actually read and retrieve content from web pages
- The real impact (and limits) of schema, structured data, and LLMs.txt
- Why most "AI SEO" services are repackaging old ideas or selling noise
- The difference between correlation studies and real evidence in SEO
- How ChatGPT and similar systems pull, parse, and use information
- Why prompt tracking is unreliable and often meaningless
- What actually influences whether your content appears in AI answers
- The risks of chasing short-term tactics like cloaking, spammy listicles, and Reddit manipulation
- Why traditional SEO fundamentals still matter more than ever
- A practical approach to improving visibility in AI-generated answers
- How to think about measuring success when AI traffic is still small
They also discuss broader shifts in search:
- Whether Google search quality is improving or declining
- The rise of user-generated content and platforms like Reddit
- How AI is changing content creation - and why most AI content underperforms
- Why authenticity, clarity, and trust will matter more over time
This episode is a direct response to the hype around AI search. It focuses on what can actually move the needle for businesses, rather than what sounds impressive on LinkedIn.
⭐️ Busting The GEO Jargon: Why You're (Probably) Overcomplicating AI Search - https://queryburst.com/blog/ai-search/
⭐️ David McSweeney on 𝕏 - https://x.com/top5seo
⭐️ David McSweeney on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mcsweeney-79840154/
⭐️ David McSweeney's company - QueryBurst - https://queryburst.com/
🚀 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 SEO Myth Viral Post
01:14 Blank Page Claim Debunked
05:39 Konami Code Easter Egg
10:17 Schema LLMs.txt Reality
13:50 Does Schema Help AI
21:47 The Great GEO Grift
32:23 Markdown Cloaking Risks
39:35 Reddit Listicle Spam
46:06 Demand Proof From GEO
50:21 Avoiding GEO Snake Oil
58:50 PR Links And Affiliates
01:03:06 Why Grifters Rank
01:05:12 Prompting for AI search experts
01:06:38 Product quality vs marketing
01:07:37 Self promotional listicles debate
01:11:49 Google priorities and AI overviews
01:19:33 Measuring AI search success
01:24:15 Reverse engineering AI citations
01:33:58 LLMs limits and extractable writing
01:37:46 SEO origin story and experiments
01:48:48 Queryburst platform explained
01:54:47 Future SEO skills and wrap up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #seo