The Edward Show

E903: Is SEO actually dying, or is the industry just rebranding the same fundamentals under new names like GEO, AEO, and AI SEO? In this long-form holiday roundtable, we break down what really changed in search over the past year, what didn't, and why so much confusion is spreading across marketing teams, LinkedIn, Reddit, and conference stages. This episode covers real-world observations from 2025, not theory or tool demos. We talk candidly about AI search, Google's direction, backlinks, topical authority, video, PR, exact match domains, and the growing disconnect between what's being sold and what actually works. Top 10 SEO Predictions for 2026: 1. CMOs will continue to be duped by GEO misinformation campaigns. Results in GEO will come from SEO, more than ever. 2. Google will remain the primary source of truth for AI search, directly or indirectly influencing most large language model results. 3. Video content, especially YouTube and Instagram, will play a larger role in rankings, AI Overviews, and AI-generated answers. 4. Traditional text-based listicles will decline in effectiveness, particularly those without firsthand experience or original insight. 5. Backlinks will function more as a defensive ranking signal, helping sites withstand core updates rather than just drive growth. 6. Topical authority will become more granular, with trust evaluated at topic and subtopic levels instead of entire domains. 7. AI Overviews will continue to reduce informational clicks while increasing brand visibility, mentions, and indirect conversions. 8. Exact match and keyword-aligned domains will quietly regain value as relevance and attribution signals. 9. SEO and digital PR will fully converge, making citations, mentions, and reputation critical ranking inputs. 10. Claims that SEO is dead will persist, but organic search will remain central to discovery, competition, and revenue. Topics covered: - Why SEO and "GEO" are not separate disciplines - How AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity actually rely on search engines - The rise of AI SEO tools and why many are just content scaling platforms - How misinformation around AI search is targeting CMOs and executives - Why backlinks still matter more than most people admit - What the Helpful Content Update really changed (and what it didn't) - Why some sites recovered from HCU and most did not - The problem with listicles, reviews, and fake product testing - Why authority is still largely domain-based and where it may change - How Google's AI Overviews are affecting clicks, impressions, and attribution - Why video and YouTube citations are increasing in AI search results - The role of PR, brand mentions, and reputation in AI visibility - Exact match domains, multi-domain strategies, and when they make sense - Why most "SEO is dead" claims ignore ad revenue and user behavior - What a realistic SEO strategy looks like going into 2026 Platforms and ecosystems discussed: - Google search, AI Overviews, and AI Mode - Reddit and the current spam problem - Quora and declining result quality - HubSpot as a case study in topical drift - YouTube, short-form video, and user-generated content in search Who this episode is for: - SEOs working in-house or agency-side - CMOs and marketing leaders evaluating AI search strategies - Founders and operators relying on organic search for growth - Anyone trying to separate real search changes from marketing noise This is not an episode about shortcuts or trends. It's a grounded discussion about how search actually works today, why Google still matters, and how to avoid strategies that damage long-term visibility. Thanks for listening and watching, and happy holidays. ⭐️ 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 💎 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 Introduction and Excitement 00:13 SEO and Digital Marketing Surprises of 2025 00:30 Disinformation Campaigns in SEO 01:53 Generative Engine Optimization vs. Traditional SEO 02:27 Spam and AI Content Detection 03:12 Partnership Requests and AI SEO Tools 04:00 Confusion and Disinformation in SEO 08:43 Impact of AI on SEO Strategies 24:28 Authority and Topical Relevance in SEO 39:50 Video Content and SEO 42:51 SEO Predictions for 2026 43:16 Contextually Relevant Content for Small Businesses 44:22 The Debate on Dwell Time and Content Length 45:30 The Skyscraper Technique and Content Efficiency 46:25 Google's Preference for Long-Form Content 46:51 The Role of Short-Form Content in SEO 47:44 Google's Content Agnosticism and Ranking Factors 53:00 The Impact of AI and LLMs on SEO 01:09:41 The Future of Web Design and User Interaction 01:18:48 The Role of Agents and Memory in AI 01:23:49 AI and SEO: The Changing Landscape 01:24:22 SEO Strategies for 2025 and Beyond 01:25:26 The Role of Marketing Teams in SEO 01:26:55 Exact Match Domains: Pros and Cons 01:36:35 The Importance of Backlinks in Modern SEO 01:43:10 The Impact of Google's Helpful Content Update 01:54:49 Future Predictions for SEO 01:59:24 Concluding Thoughts and Holiday Wishes The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #digitalmarketing #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization

E902: A simple 5-minute SEO hack that can completely change how you build topical authority. David Quaid returns to the show to reveal how to use Google's "People Also Ask" feature to create high-relevance FAQ content - without paid tools, complex keyword research, or unnecessary schema. We also dig into: - How Google actually decides topical authority - Why search demand matters more than schema - When FAQ pages should be standalone vs accordions - How knowledge panels are triggered (and why most people misunderstand them) - A fast, repeatable process for turning PAA questions into ranking pages If you're struggling with keyword research, building authority in a niche, or figuring out what content Google actually wants - this episode gives you a practical shortcut you can use today. ⭐️ 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/ 💎 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 Back, David Quaid! 00:22 SEO Hack: Building Topical Authority 01:18 David's Knowledge Panel Journey 06:51 People Also Ask Hack: A Step-by-Step Guide 11:06 Schema and SEO: Myths and Realities 13:52 Structuring Your FAQ Content for SEO 15:22 Wrapping Up and What's Next The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #seohacks #topicalauthorityseo #linkbuilding

E901: A blog post that ranked for zero keywords was lightly updated to make it look like it had been updated in the future.   No new sections. No URL changes. No internal linking push. No major rewrites. A short time later, the page began ranking for: - 14 keywords   - 5 page-one positions   - Multiple SERP features   Even more interesting: the Google search result itself displayed a future update date. Shaun Chojnacki joins the show to share one of the strangest real-world SEO experiments I've seen! We walk through exactly what was changed, what was not changed, and what this may reveal about how Google interprets freshness, relevance, and on-page signals.  What we cover in this episode - The original state of the blog post and how it wasn't ranking   - The exact changes made before rankings improved   - What "freshness" actually means in practice   - Why this was not a traditional content refresh   - How Google surfaced the future update date in the SERP   - Why topical authority mattered in this case   - The role of a single outbound link update   - What SEOs should not copy from this experiment   - Why most SEO best practices are rarely tested properly  Additional topics we discuss - AI Overviews and why social content is appearing in search results   - Why current AI SEO reporting tools are unreliable   - How YouTube videos, LinkedIn posts, and Reddit threads now rank   - Why generic, AI-written FAQs often hurt pages   - How Search Console data produces better FAQs than AI prompts   - Branded FAQs vs informational FAQs   - Niche-focused SEO agencies vs generalist agencies   - Long-term SEO strategy vs short-term tactics   - Why consistency still beats clever tricks over time   This episode is not a recommendation to manipulate publish dates or mislead users. It's a breakdown of a real test, real data, and real outcomes - and a reminder that Google often responds to signals in ways that are undocumented and unexpected. This is episode 901 of The Edward Show, a daily digital marketing podcast covering SEO, content, AI, and growth - published every day without missing an episode. Subscribe for daily discussions focused on real experiments, real data, and practical SEO insights. ⭐️ Shaun Savvy Wedding Venue Marketing - https://shaunsavvy.com/wedding-venue-marketing-company ⭐️ Shaun Chojnacki on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/shaunsavvy ⭐️ Shaun's SEO Company in Buffalo, New York - https://shaunsavvy.com/services/buffalo-seo-company ⭐️ Shaun Chojnacki on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/shaunsavvy/  ⭐️ Get a Free Website Audit for Your Staffing Company From Shaun - [email protected] 💎 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 Introduction and Welcome 00:10 The Freshness Debate in SEO 00:25 Client Case Study: The Blog Experiment 01:24 Surprising Results 02:27 Technical Details and SEO Strategies 14:40 AI Overviews and Social Media Integration 37:19 Maximizing LinkedIn Impressions 38:25 Cross-Posting Strategies 39:00 Understanding LinkedIn's Algorithm 39:28 Achieving Impressive Growth 39:55 Content Repurposing Techniques 42:07 Building a Strong Team 43:38 Future Business Goals 44:51 SEO and Social Media Insights 51:58 Effective PR and SEO Tactics 01:02:22 Reddit and Alternative SEO Strategies 01:05:41 Long-Term SEO Success 01:09:15 Niche SEO for Wedding Venues 01:10:39 Final Thoughts and Farewell The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #backlinks #seostrategy #generativeengineoptimization

E900: Most SEO agencies aren't just outdated - many knowingly sell tactics that no longer move rankings, traffic, or revenue. I'm joined by Jake Hundley, who has spent years testing SEO tactics in real-world environments and publishing findings that directly contradict common agency practices - including a large-scale study showing that geo-tagging photos does not meaningfully impact rankings. We break down why these myths persist, how agencies justify billing for low-impact work, and what actually drives results in modern SEO. This conversation focuses on applied SEO for local and service-based businesses, backed by observation, testing, and long-term performance - not theory or trend-chasing. What we cover - Why geo-tagging images and EXIF data don't meaningfully affect rankings - How and why agencies continue selling ineffective SEO tasks - The 80/20 rule of SEO and how most effort is misallocated - How doorway pages still "work" - and why they create long-term risk - How project-based pages outperform fake location pages - What Google actually responds to in local search - Why SEO fundamentals beat technical busywork - How brand demand and offline marketing influence organic visibility - Why most SEO case studies mislead more than they inform - How to build SEO assets that hold up over time Key takeaways - Many SEO services exist to justify retainers, not results - Clear structure and intent alignment outperform volume and automation - Long-term rankings come from serving demand, not manufacturing it Who this episode is for - SEO professionals tired of selling or defending low-value work - Agency owners who want sustainable client results - Local service businesses investing in organic growth - Anyone questioning widely accepted SEO "best practices" If you care about results that compound over time - not checklists, gimmicks, or shortcuts - this episode will resonate. ⭐️ Jake's Agency Discord - https://discord.gg/uvHRRRFVRD ⭐️ Jake's Podcast - The Agency Growth Podcast: https://everbrospodcast.com/ ⭐️ r/agency Subreddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/agency/ ⭐️ Jake Hundley on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jake.hundley.1 ⭐️ Jake Hundley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jake-hundley/ ⭐️ Jake Hundley's agency - https://evergrowmarketing.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 Welcome and Introduction 00:05 Debunking SEO Myths 01:47 The Impact of Basic SEO Practices 05:57 Avoiding Doorway Pages 10:30 Effective Use of Project Pages 13:47 Challenges in the Lawn Care Industry 14:54 The Role of AI in SEO 15:56 SEO Business Models and Client Acquisition 18:58 Long-Term SEO Strategies 33:50 Case Studies and Real-World Examples 41:53 The 80/20 Rule in SEO 43:20 Understanding H1 and H2 Structure 45:37 SEO Best Practices for Local Services 46:40 The Importance of Geo-Targeting in SEO 47:56 Personal Journey into SEO 51:53 SEO Strategies for Franchise Businesses 53:55 The Power of Branding in Marketing 01:07:42 Debunking SEO Myths and Misconceptions 01:24:58 Contemplating a Break and Team Expansion 01:25:10 Challenges of Hiring and Editing 01:25:46 Evolution of Podcast Production 01:26:54 Engagement and Content Strategy 01:27:50 Podcast Format and Audience Interaction 01:31:04 Team Dynamics and Remote Engagement 01:35:52 Podcast Purpose and Growth 01:39:59 Content Creation and Community Feedback 01:57:18 The Role of Teasers and Clips 02:00:21 AI in Marketing and Agency Operations 02:04:41 Spam and AI: A Personal Stance 02:05:51 The Value of Brand Equity 02:06:30 Short-Term Gains vs. Long-Term Success 02:07:43 The Influence of Social Media and Peer Pressure 02:10:34 Creating and Selling Courses: Challenges and Strategies 02:18:46 The Importance of Personal Branding 02:20:43 Podcasting: Building Connections and Authority 02:25:38 Balancing Time and Value in Consulting 02:31:09 Guest Vetting and Podcast Integrity 02:37:17 Conclusion and Final Thoughts The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #localseo #agencygrowth #linkbuilding

E899: Breaking down how earned media actually works - and how brands, founders, and creators can get press, podcast interviews, and brand mentions without paying influencers or agencies thousands of dollars. I'm joined by Bridget Sicsko and Lydia Bagarozza from Visibility on Purpose. We go deep into what journalists, podcast hosts, and writers are really looking for, why most pitches fail, and how to position yourself so third parties want to talk about your brand. This is a practical conversation focused on execution, not theory. What we cover in this episode: - What earned media is and why it compounds across SEO, branding, and conversions - How to pitch journalists and podcast hosts the right way - The biggest mistakes people make when trying to get press coverage - Why press releases are often misunderstood - and when they actually make sense - Cold outreach vs inbound media opportunities - How to follow up without annoying writers or hosts - How to write better email subject lines for media pitches - Why relevance matters more than credentials - How to research writers before pitching them - When to use press releases vs direct outreach - How journalists really use platforms like HARO-style requests - The role of niche publications in building authority - How to use brand mentions to get more brand mentions - Turning one media win into long-term credibility - How podcasts fit into an earned media strategy - How AI tools can help with editing and clarity (without replacing human judgment) About Visibility on Purpose, Bridget & Lydia's PR firm: Visibility on Purpose is a PR consulting studio helping small business owners get seen, featured, and remembered. Founded in 2023 by Publicist Lydia Bagarozza and Speaker Bridget Aileen Sicsko, the studio bridges the gap between DIY PR and expensive agencies - giving founders the strategy they need to confidently manage their own visibility. Together, they're improving modern PR by giving brands industry tools and publicist-level insights to tell their own stories and attract meaningful press. ⭐️ Bridget & Lydia's free Get Featured Class - https://www.visibilityonpurpose.com/getfeatured ⭐️ Visibility on Purpose - https://www.visibilityonpurpose.com/ ⭐️ Visibility on Purpose on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/visibilityonpurpose/ ⭐️ Visibility on Purpose on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/visibilityonpurpose ⭐️ Visibility on Purpose on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@visibilityonpurpose ⭐️ Visibility on Purpose on Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/visibilityonpurpose 💎 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 Introduction to Earned Media 00:53 Meet the Experts: Bridget and Lydia 04:59 Common Mistakes in PR Outreach 10:53 Effective PR Tools and AI Integration 14:35 Press Release Best Practices 22:01 Exploring PR Distribution Services 24:19 Success Stories with PR Newswire 27:14 Strategies for Effective Media Outreach 29:06 Leveraging Brand Mentions for Growth 31:41 Building Relationships with Journalists 35:12 Creative PR Tactics and Social Proof 42:38 Final Thoughts The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #publicrelations #earnedmedia101 #linkbuilding #backlinks