The Edward Show

E1121: There is no permanent #1 ranking in AI search.
Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR and Charles Floate join the show to explain why Google's results are becoming less fixed, more variable, and harder to measure with traditional rank tracking. They break down what is changing across Google Search, AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini, and other answer engines - and what they are changing in their own SEO strategies.
The conversation goes beyond predictions. Koray and Charles share case studies, technical explanations, black-hat observations, and practical frameworks drawn from years of testing Google.
In this episode:
- Why AI search results are probabilistic - and why "position #1" no longer tells the full story
- How rankings can change throughout the day, even when tracking tools report a stable average position
- Why Google appears less tolerant of outdated content and large-scale AI publishing
- The authority site that published more than 2,000 AI articles in one day and reportedly lost around 70% of its traffic
- Why freshness depends on the query, and how Google may compare previous versions of a page
- How Google's need for fresh sources in AI Overviews and AI Mode may be changing traditional search
- Why Charles no longer wants to build the same "niche expert" content sites he built six or eight years ago
- How one parasite page reached page one for a competitive finance query within three hours
- Koray's $200, single-page site that grew from five clicks to 8,000 Google clicks per day without changing its content
- What "visual semantics" means and why page layout, buttons, product grids, upload fields, and other functional elements may affect how Google classifies a page
- Why Koray believes the Helpful Content Update would be more accurately described as a "functional content" update
- Why a useful article may still struggle if the site does not clearly provide a product, service, tool, or other function
- How to decide whether a query deserves its own page, a heading, or only a sentence
- Why topical maps must be reviewed as Google changes query intent and semantic relationships
- How topical focus, exact-match domains, expired domains, links, and click data work together
- Why there is no single SEO silver bullet - and why content, links, technical SEO, entities, user behavior, and page function must support each other
- How click satisfaction differs by query, and why a longer visit is not always a better signal
- Why links and brand mentions serve different purposes when ranking pages, companies, products, and people
- How Koray and Charles are using satellite sites, content distribution, and mentions to influence AI recommendations
- What each guest would do with a fresh domain, $10,000, and six months to generate revenue
- Which parasite platforms may work for B2B, local, B2C, and other markets
- One SEO action listeners can implement this week that could affect rankings within 90 days
This episode examines how Google evaluates pages, how AI systems retrieve and describe brands, and why tactics from traditional search cannot simply be copied into AI search.
Subscribe for more conversations about SEO, Google, AI search, content, and backlinks.
⭐️ Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR's website - https://www.holisticseo.digital/ 
⭐️ Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/koray-tugberk-gubur/ 
⭐️ Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR on 𝕏 - https://x.com/KorayGubur 
⭐️ Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@TopicalAuthority 
⭐️ Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/koraytugberk.gubur.948/ 
⭐️ Koray Tuğberk GÜBÜR on Medium - https://medium.com/@ktgubur 
⭐️ Charles Floate on 𝕏 - https://x.com/Charles_SEO 
⭐️ Charles Floate on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesfloate/ 
⭐️ Charles Floate on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@CharlesFloate 
⭐️ Charles Floate on Facebook - https://facebook.com/thecharlesfloate 
💎 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 Koray and Charles
00:22 Koray's SEO Origin Story
01:36 Topical Authority Breakthrough
02:30 Semantics vs Systems
04:56 What's Working in SEO
06:15 Google Gets Less Tolerant
09:07 Freshness and Historical Data
12:39 Charles' $250K SEO Lesson
15:35 Koray's Cost of Retrieval
16:24 Visual Semantics Case Study
20:19 SEO Myths and Schema
24:09 Entity Stacking Frameworks
28:09 Core Updates and Embeddings
31:05 Topical Maps Explained
36:11 Function Over Content
37:29 Visual Product Mimicry
40:02 Fake Collections That Rank
42:11 Helpful Content Misnomer
44:53 Agents For Visual Actions
46:05 Clicks And RankLab
48:02 Engagement And Satisfaction
50:38 AI Results Are Probabilistic
54:20 Liquid SERPs And Duration
55:48 AI SEO Tactics
01:00:04 Parasite SEO Playbook
01:08:12 Mentions Versus Backlinks
01:13:28 One Tactic This Week
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#seo #searchengineoptimization #blackhatseo #technicalseo

E1120: Your competitors may have 500 to 1,000 backlinks while your site has only a handful. That does not automatically mean you need hundreds of links to compete.
I break down a popular SEO subreddit discussion about how to build backlinks today. I review the strongest comments, explain which advice is useful, and show why relevance, real traffic, relationships, and search intent often matter more than the total number of links pointing to a site.
You'll learn:
- Not doing any link building to get backlinks
- The debate on PBNs
- When buying backlinks can create risk
- Why cold outreach and guest posting work, but require time and consistency
- How businesses earn links through podcasts, niche publications, partnerships, sponsorships, and digital PR
- Why a relevant link that sends real visitors can be more valuable than a high-metric link that gets no traffic
- How to evaluate a website before asking for a backlink from it
- Why you should check traffic history, ranking keywords, indexing, and sharp traffic declines
- How original stock photos can attract natural backlinks with little or no outreach
- How reverse image search can uncover websites using your images without attribution
- Why brand mentions may still help Google understand your business, even when there is no link
- How answering one journalist request per day can lead to strong editorial mentions and backlinks
- Why industry events and business relationships can produce users, press, partnerships, and links at the same time
- How hosting or appearing on podcasts can help you build relationships with people in your market
- Why three highly relevant links may sometimes be more useful than hundreds of weak or unrelated links
- How under-targeted, high-intent keywords can help a lower-authority site compete with larger websites
The main point is simple: do not measure your backlink strategy only by quantity.
A good backlink should make sense for the business. Ideally, it should appear on an indexed page, come from a relevant source, support your reputation, and send interested people to your site. Links created only to manipulate rankings are easier to identify as spam and less useful to a real business.
I also explain why link building should not be separated from marketing. Useful content, expert commentary, podcast appearances, earned media, partnerships, events, and sponsorships can all generate links while also building awareness and bringing potential customers to your website.
⭐️ The Reddit thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1v2qkjz/how_do_you_get_backlinks/ 
⭐️ Ep 1092 - The Digital PR Playbook That Earns High-Authority Links (Most SEOs Never Learn) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prWLsQNMHqo 
⭐️ Ep 1116 - James Dooley Episode - https://youtu.be/EOkrLkKNDrY 
⭐️ Ep 1111 - Why Red Bull Ranks for Everything: The SEO Power of Viral Marketing and Sponsorships - https://youtu.be/lmPBNIDwIks 
⭐️ How to Get On Podcasts as a Guest in 2026: The Easy Way - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/get-on-podcasts-as-guest-2026/ 
⭐️ How I Produce Guest Podcasts in 90 Minutes (That Help Me Rank in Google) - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/how-i-produce-guest-podcasts-in-90-minutes/ 
⭐️ https://aipodcastmatcher.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 Reddit Backlink Question
01:12 Four Link Methods
01:53 Guest Posts Deep Dive
02:28 PBNs And Buying Links
02:57 PR And Podcast Links
05:17 Evaluating Link Quality
07:23 Stock Photo Link Hack
09:07 Digital PR And Mentions
10:57 Earned Media Examples
12:20 Journalist Quotes Daily
13:07 Partnerships And Hosting
14:42 Relevance Beats Backlinks
16:27 Wrapping
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#seo #linkbuilding #searchengineoptimization #backlinks

E1119: Most ecommerce brands assume they need more traffic. But sometimes the real problem is the product page.
I sit down with James Backenstone from Build Grow Scale as we screenshare and tear apart real ecommerce product pages while explaining why some pages convert while others lose the sale.
James has spent 10 years studying customer behavior, working with more than 100 brands, and reviewing stores ranging from startups to eight- and nine-figure businesses. Across Build Grow Scale's work, the team has managed roughly $1 billion in ecommerce revenue.
We look at the good, the bad, and the confusing across subscription and one-time-purchase product pages. James explains what he would change, what he would test, and which details can quietly cause a customer to leave.
You'll learn:
- The three questions a product page should answer before a visitor scrolls
- What belongs above the fold on desktop and mobile
- Why a vague product title can hurt both conversions and SEO
- How clutter, unclear selections, broken-looking buttons, and unnecessary popups create friction
- Why benefits and key product details should appear before secondary offers
- Where to place reviews, star ratings, testimonials, and customer photos
- Why real reviews often look more trustworthy than a page filled with perfect five-star ratings
- How to build a clear subscription and one-time-purchase section
- When a sticky add-to-cart button is worth testing
- How to order product images, ingredient details, dosage information, videos, and customer content
- Why captions should be added to product videos
- How large video files can slow down a Shopify store
- When comparison charts help customers understand why your product is different
- Why brand-focused numbers can matter less than customer-focused proof
- How to use customer objections to decide what information belongs on the page
- Why "clarity trumps persuasion" when someone is deciding whether to buy
James also explains how his team combines Shopify server-side data, Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Microsoft Clarity to study behavior across a store. They use Claude to compare the data, find repeated patterns, and create a testing plan instead of relying on a single analytics platform.
We also discuss:
- Microsoft Clarity heatmaps and scroll tracking
- Intelligems and VWO for A/B testing
- Matching landing-page language to the ad or search that brought the visitor in
- Exit-intent offers and timing popups based on average time on page
- AI customer support that clearly identifies itself and transfers difficult questions to a human
- Why every page change should be tested on real users rather than judged only by appearance
The main lesson is simple: traffic cannot fix a product page that fails to explain what the product is, what problem it solves, and why the customer should buy it from you.
Subscribe for daily episodes on SEO, AI, ecommerce, marketing, and building businesses online.
⭐️ Build Grow Scale - https://buildgrowscale.com/ 
⭐️ AI Powered Store Audit - https://buildgrowscale.com/bgs-intelligence-snapshot 
⭐️ James Backenstone on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-backenstose-839048206/ 
💎 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 Product Page Teardowns Intro
00:35 Meet James and BGS
03:38 Why CRO Principles Matter
06:03 Mystery Tackle Box Audit
12:21 Clarity Over Cleverness
19:33 Reviews and Credibility
29:15 Heatmaps and AI Analysis
33:08 Pet Supplement Page Done Right
37:52 Mobile Sticky Add to Cart
41:00 Images and Made in USA Trust
44:35 Captions For Product Videos
46:26 Buy Box Breakdown
50:47 Sticky Layout Idea
52:01 UGC Testimonials And Hosting
01:02:04 AI Chat And Exit Intent
01:08:11 Cut Redundant Sections
01:12:45 Comparison Charts And Reviews
01:19:26 Conversion Summary And Wrap
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#conversionrateoptimization #ecommerce #seo #searchengineoptimization

E1118: Google hit WindowsForum.com with a manual action covering roughly 168,000 forum threads and more than half a million posts. The site's owners argued that Google unfairly punished a decades-old community for "thin content" without providing example URLs.
But once you look deeper, the case becomes much more complicated.
We investigate what WindowsForum says happened, what changed on the site before the penalty, and whether Google's action was deserved.
The site presented the penalty as an attack on old forum content that had survived years of Google updates. However, its own response also revealed a large automated AI publishing system that created news articles, forum replies, and content based on material from other sources.
Some of that content included unrelated topics such as:
- Cryptocurrency promotions
- Stock price predictions
- Analyst ratings
- General financial news
- Articles that had little connection to Windows
- Automated forum replies that summarized and praised user comments
- AI-generated news pages built from third-party sources
WindowsForum later said it was removing thousands of low-quality articles produced by its automated system. It also claimed that every bot-authored article had been reviewed after the manual action.
That raises several questions:
- How much AI-generated content was published?
- How much human review took place before publication?
- Why did the site's organic traffic increase so rapidly before the penalty?
- Was Google targeting the old forum archive or the newer automated content?
- Should a manual action against part of a site suppress an entire URL pattern?
- Should independent forums be treated differently from large platforms?
- Are users actually helped by AI-generated replies inside community discussions?
The traffic pattern is also worth examining.
WindowsForum's estimated organic traffic remained relatively stable for years, then increased sharply from around 4,900 monthly clicks to more than 150,000 monthly clicks. That increase appears to line up with the expansion of its automated publishing activity.
We break down:
- WindowsForum's public explanation of the penalty
- The details missing from the original Reddit discussion
- The site's automated AI content pipeline
- The admission that thousands of low-quality articles were published
- The use of AI accounts inside forum discussions
- The site's scraped and summarized news content
- The unusual organic traffic growth before the manual action
- Why old content may not have been the real reason for the penalty
- Why domain authority cannot protect a site from low-quality publishing
- What this case means for site owners using scaled AI content
The evidence suggests that WindowsForum used its established domain authority to publish large amounts of automated content, much of which added little original value and sometimes had little connection to the site's main topic.
Google's response may have been broad, and the lack of example URLs makes the reconsideration process harder. But the site's own admissions make it difficult to argue that the penalty came without warning or justification.
This case is a useful warning for anyone planning to publish large amounts of AI-generated content.
AI can help with research, organization, editing, and drafting. It should not replace subject-matter expertise, fact-checking, original analysis, or human editorial review.
Publishing more pages is not the same as creating more value.
⭐️ WindowsForum full response - https://windowsforum.com/threads/ 
⭐️ Join the Reddit discussion - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1v6jn8x/google_hit_windowsforumcom_with_a_thincontent/ 
⭐️ Join the discussion on X - https://x.com/gaganghotra_/status/2081287139271250274 
💎 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 Detective SEO
00:14 Manual Action Breakdown
01:51 What Actually Changed
02:28 Why Google Hits Broadly
04:00 WindowsForum Response
04:38 AI Workflow Red Flags
06:26 Suspicious Traffic Spike
08:35 AI Slop Examples
09:43 Bigger AI Crackdown Context
11:30 Wrap
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#seo #searchengineoptimization #webdevelopment #digitalmarketing

E1117: Breaking down Rank-and-Rent, one of the most profitable local SEO business models.
We are joined by a pro in the subject: Ippei Kanehara
Ippei has been building Rank-and-Rent websites for more than 11 years. During that time he's built hundreds of local lead generation sites, generated recurring income from websites that are over a decade old, and recently built 130 new sites to test what's working in SEO today.
One of his earliest websites took around 15 hours to build and has generated more than $240,000 over its lifetime while continuing to produce recurring monthly revenue.
We cover the complete strategy behind modern Rank-and-Rent SEO, including niche selection, keyword research, website architecture, topical authority, Google Business Profiles, AI content workflows, and why bottom-of-the-funnel SEO continues to outperform many traditional content strategies.
Whether you're an SEO professional, agency owner, affiliate marketer, local business owner, or someone looking to build recurring income online, this episode is packed with practical insights and real-world examples.
Topics covered include:
- What Rank-and-Rent SEO is
- Whether Google Business Profiles are still required
- How the business model differs from running an SEO agency
- How to generate leads before signing clients
- Using free leads to acquire long-term customers
- Commission deals vs. flat monthly rental agreements
- Why recurring rental income often produces lower client churn
- The biggest misconceptions about rank and rent
- How successful operators continue building without relying entirely on GBP
- Choosing profitable local niches
- Why home service businesses continue to offer strong opportunities
- High-ticket vs. low-ticket service industries
- Avoiding overly competitive local markets
- What to look for when analyzing competing websites
- Why many local businesses still have weak SEO
- Exact match domains and partial match domains
- Building brands around local search intent
- Website structures that consistently rank
- Homepage optimization
- Heading hierarchy
- Service page strategy
- Sub-city landing pages
- Internal linking strategy
- Using the homepage as the authority hub
- Building topical authority across an entire site
- How many pages to launch with
- Creating dozens of bottom-of-the-funnel pages
- Expanding into neighboring cities
- Finding overlooked service keywords
- Using Google's autocomplete for keyword research
- Google Search Console to discover new opportunities
- When to create new pages versus expanding existing content
- Information architecture for local SEO
- AI-assisted content creation
- Entity optimization
- Editing AI content for higher quality
- Making local landing pages more unique
- Case studies and location-specific content
- Image strategies for local websites
- Link building vs. topical authority
- Why Ippei has largely stopped relying on guest posts
- Using internal authority across owned websites
- Building multiple websites for the same client
- Scaling local SEO without unnecessary complexity
- The first 30 days of launching a new Rank-and-Rent website
- Why beginners should build multiple sites
- Common mistakes new local SEO operators make
We also discuss how Google's algorithm updates have affected different business models. Ippei shares how large content websites can be heavily impacted by updates while many local lead generation sites continue producing consistent results by focusing on commercial search intent and bottom-of-the-funnel keywords.
⭐️ Ippei's Blog - https://ippei.com/ 
⭐️ Ippei's Web Builder & Call Tracking - https://ippei.com/dashboard/ 
⭐️ Ippei Kanehara on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@IppeiSEO 
💎 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 Rank and Rent Intro
00:27 Model Breakdown
03:31 Monetization and Billing
05:03 Why It Beats Agencies
08:48 Ippei Origin Story
14:24 Best Site Example
14:58 Misconceptions and GBP
17:17 Picking Profitable Niches
18:46 Reading Competition Right
23:07 Site Structure Basics
25:44 Branding and Scaling Cities
28:22 EMDs and Must Have Pages
31:36 Internal Linking Strategy
36:31 Avoiding Doorway Pages
39:44 AI Content Workflow
43:34 Keyword Research Methods
46:22 GSC Insights and New Pages
47:27 Keyword Page Splits
48:31 Backlinks Versus Authority
51:09 First 30 Days Blueprint
54:38 Site Structure Strategy
56:35 Image Sourcing Tactics
57:59 GBP Lead Boost
01:00:45 Video Verification Hacks
01:05:52 Reviews And Conversions
01:08:23 Monetization Models
01:10:08 Lead Handoff Scripts
01:16:16 Contracts And Leverage
01:18:14 Scaling And Mistakes
01:21:51 Mega Brand Rollup
01:27:18 Why Projects Fail
01:29:30 Final Wrap Up
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ 
#rankandrent #seo #searchengineoptimization