The Edward Show

E927: Why a press kit is one of the most overlooked parts of long-term SEO and brand marketing - and how it directly impacts rankings, links, conversions, and how journalists and AI systems describe your business. Most brands work hard to earn press, but lose control of the opportunity once a journalist starts researching them. Tight deadlines, shallow research, and AI-generated summaries often lead to inaccurate or weak brand descriptions. A well-built press kit fixes that. This episode breaks down exactly how press kits influence search engines, journalists, and LLMs, and how to use them to turn earned media into lasting SEO value. What you'll learn: - Why journalists frequently misrepresent brands (even when they link to you) - How Google associates brands with topics even without links - Why unlinked brand mentions still matter for rankings - How press kits influence entity associations and topical authority - How journalists and LLMs use press kits verbatim - Why controlling surrounding language is just as important as backlinks - How press kits help drive link equity to your most valuable pages - The difference between Google Drive press kits and on-site press kit pages - How to structure a press kit so it actually gets used What a high-performing press kit should include: - A clear, accurate brand description written for journalists - High-converting language aligned with your SEO targets - Links to priority pages you want authority flowing to - High-quality brand images with proper alt text - Open Graph images for link sharing - SEO metadata so journalists can identify it instantly in search - Contact information that makes follow-ups easy Why this matters: - Earned media is inevitable if your marketing works - Most brands waste that coverage by reacting too late - Press kits let you control the language, links, and positioning - This is a long-term SEO asset, not a one-time tactic Press kits are public relations fundamentals, but they are deeply connected to search engine optimization and how brands are represented across Google and AI systems. ⭐️ Rand Fishking discussing how co-occurrence (the words surrounding mentions of your brand) influences Google rankings - https://moz.com/blog/prediction-anchor-text-is-dying-and-will-be-replaced-by-cocitation-whiteboard-friday 💎 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: The Overlooked SEO Strategy 00:18 The Journalist's Dilemma: Inaccurate Brand Descriptions 02:08 The Power of Brand Mentions: Insights from Rand Fishkin 03:33 Scenario Two: The Importance of a Press Kit 04:38 Creating an Effective Press Kit 08:09 Real-World Application: My Press Kit Experience 10:14 Conclusion: Maximizing SEO with Press Kits The Edward Show. Your daily generative engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #publicrelations #linkbuilding #seo

E926: Jake Hundley and David Quaid join the show to break down one of the most misunderstood topics in SEO: schema markup. For years, marketers, agencies, and "AI SEO" tools have claimed that schema is required to rank in Google and now in large language models like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. We take those claims apart and explains, in practical terms, why most websites don't benefit from schema at all - and in some cases, can actually create risk by using it. This is a grounded, technical discussion about how search engines and LLMs actually work, what data they really use, and why most schema advice is built on correlation, not causation. What this covers - Whether schema markup is required to rank in Google - Whether schema helps you appear in ChatGPT, Perplexity, or other LLMs - How large language models actually retrieve web content - Why schema does not improve relevance, trust, or understanding for most sites - Why correlation studies from tools like Semrush are misleading - The difference between correlation and causation in SEO data - Why rich snippets do not prove schema improves rankings - What Google's schema guidelines actually say about reviews and FAQs - How misuse of review and FAQ schema can create risk - Why Google removed most FAQ and review rich results - When schema might make sense (flights, hotels, structured feeds) - Why SaaS sites, blogs, and local businesses don't need schema to rank - How search engines already extract structured data from normal HTML - Why tables, headings, and clean page structure matter more than schema - How LLM prompts differ from search queries - What "query fan-out" means for AI visibility - How to test whether schema affects rankings or AI mentions - Why SEO fundamentals still decide what ranks Key ideas from the episode - Search engines rank pages first, then use schema only if they need to display a feature - You cannot use schema to make an irrelevant page rank - LLMs do not crawl and index the web the way Google does - LLMs usually receive raw HTML, not processed schema - Schema is easy to fake and therefore cannot be a trust signal - Most pages that rank with schema would rank without it - Most schema usage exists because developers or plugins add it automatically - Google already ignores most schema for rich results - Real ranking signals still come from relevance, authority, and structure Who this episode is for - SEO practitioners who want data-driven clarity - Business owners tired of technical SEO upsells - Agencies selling or buying "AI optimization" - Anyone being told they need schema to rank ⭐️ 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/ ⭐️ 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 Introduction to Schema and SEO Experts 00:30 Debunking the Myth: Schema and LLMs 01:31 Correlation vs. Causation in Schema Usage 04:08 Practical Insights and Case Studies 11:00 The Role of Schema in Local SEO 16:29 Review and FAQ Schema Guidelines 21:35 Schema's Impact on Rankings and Methodology 23:47 Challenges and Realities in SEO 25:58 Discussing the Semrush Article on Technical SEO and AI Search 26:53 Debating the Validity of Schema in SEO 28:21 Analyzing the Impact of Schema on Search Rankings 30:00 Viewer Comments and Schema Debate 31:27 SEO Fundamentals and Long-Term Strategies 35:14 The Role of Schema in Modern SEO 39:03 Effective SEO Practices and Misconceptions 42:41 Concluding Thoughts and Future Tests The Edward Show. Your daily generative engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #topicalauthority #seo #digitalmarketing

E925: Most people think topical authority comes from publishing endless blog posts. That idea is wrong - and it's why so many SEO strategies fail. I break down what topical authority really is, how Google actually decides who is an expert, and why links, brand mentions, and bottom-of-funnel pages matter far more than informational content. This episode is built around a real Reddit thread from an SEO agency trying to move beyond "do SEO and hope it works" into a real, strategic model for winning in search. We go deep into how topical authority is created, how it works for SaaS, ecommerce, and service businesses, and why most people misunderstand it. What you'll learn: - Why publishing lots of blog posts is not required to build topical authority - How off-site signals like links, brand mentions, and PR shape how Google sees your expertise - How bottom-of-funnel landing pages quietly build more authority than blogs ever do - Why Google cares about the language people use when they mention your brand - How unlinked brand mentions influence topical relevance - What Forbes did to become able to rank for almost anything - How HouseFresh recovered from Google's Helpful Content Update and 4x'd their traffic - Why good marketing builds SEO, even when you stop thinking about SEO - How to use linkable assets, tools, and research to earn authority naturally - How agencies should think about topical authority when working with multi-category clients - Why generalist brands can still build topical authority - just across multiple topics - How to systematize topical authority inside a real SEO playbook What topical authority actually is: Topical authority is not something you "do" by writing articles. It's the result of: - Ranking for searches in a topic - Getting clicks for those searches - Being mentioned by other websites in the language of that topic - Earning links where surrounding text reinforces what you're known for Google doesn't need a blog to understand what you do. It needs signals from the rest of the web confirming what you're associated with. How real businesses build it… I explain why the strongest topical authority comes from: - Bottom-of-funnel SEO pages that target buyers, not readers - Link building that uses the same language your customers search with - PR, podcasts, and brand mentions that describe you in your niche - Tools, research, and resources people actually want to share When people talk about you using the words that match your business, Google connects your brand to those topics. That's authority. If you run an SEO agency… This episode also covers: - Why "publish more blog posts" is not a strategy - How to build topical authority for clients without content factories - How to decide which topics are worth building authority in - How to align SEO work with actual revenue Topical authority should always point toward the searches that make money. ⭐️ The Reddit thread: Understanding topical authority - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1qac2us/understanding_topical_authority/ ⭐️ E832 - From 1,000 to 200,000 Clicks: The INSANE SEO Comeback of HouseFresh.com - https://youtu.be/QewNJ2AgQxM ⭐️ E921 - How Teal Gets 1 Million Google Clicks a Month with AI-Powered SEO - https://youtu.be/8wImHWoQ7C4 ⭐️ E924 - Lars Lofgren & Jacky Chou on the pod - Google Is Easier to Game Than Ever And Black-Hat SEOs Are Winning - https://youtu.be/s8DpBug5w88 ⭐️ E895 - How to Do Blog SEO the Right Way (Using ChatGPT Without Ruining Your Brand) - https://youtu.be/tXgfUcBr8fU 💎 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 Topical Authority 00:38 Reddit Question on SEO Strategies 01:33 Building Topical Authority Without Blogs 03:51 Top Comments and Insights 05:09 Effective Link Building Techniques 09:58 Case Studies and Real-World Examples 15:47 Last Thoughts + Ideas and Conclusion The Edward Show. Your daily generative engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #topicalauthority #seo #linkbuilding

E924: I sit down with Lars Lofgren and Jacky Chou to talk about what's really happening inside search right now - not the PR version, not the Google blog version, but what people running sites, ranking pages, and making money are actually seeing. We dig into why white-hat, content-driven SEO feels like it's collapsing for a lot of people, while black-hat operators, parasite SEO, and forum spam are quietly having one of their best years ever. This isn't a theoretical conversation. Lars and Jacky work directly inside these systems. They see what ranks, what breaks, and what keeps working after updates. If you run a website, a SaaS, a content business, or an affiliate site, this episode explains why things could feel harder than they used to - and why some people are still doing extremely well. What we cover - Why MozCon felt depressing while black-hat conferences felt optimistic - How Google's Helpful Content updates changed who wins and who loses - Why technical SEOs and parasite SEOs are outperforming content-first sites - How forums, Reddit, and Facebook groups are being used to manipulate rankings - Why casino, VPN, and adult niches still dominate traditional search results - How listicles, review sites, and media publishers control AI recommendations - Why Forbes keeps ranking for everything, even after being hit - How AI Overviews and LLMs pull from Google's front page - How easy it is to make a fake brand show up inside ChatGPT and other LLMs - Why Trustpilot, Reddit, and listicles matter more than backlinks right now - How some publishers recover while others stay permanently buried - The HouseFresh case study and why public pressure actually works - How parasite SEO works on newspapers and Google News sites - Why many white-hat SEOs feel stuck while black-hat operators scale - How founders should build brands in an LLM-driven world - Why social, video, and personal brands now beat pure SEO This episode is for anyone who: - Runs a content site - Does affiliate SEO - Builds SaaS or online tools - Depends on Google traffic - Wants to understand how AI is changing search - Feels like rankings and traffic don't make sense anymore ⭐️ Lars Lofgren's website and newsletter: https://larslofgren.com/ ⭐️ Lars Lofgren on LinkedIn (tell him you came from this podcast and he'll accept your connection): https://www.linkedin.com/in/larslofgren/ ⭐️ Lars Lofgren on 𝕏: https://x.com/larslofgren ⭐️ Jacky Chou on 𝕏 - https://x.com/indexsy ⭐️ Jack Chou's website - https://jackychou.com/ ⭐️ Jacky Chou on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@indexsy 💎 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 White Hat vs. Black Hat SEO: A Tale of Two Conferences 01:15 The Impact of AI and Google's Algorithm on SEO 02:10 Black Hat SEO: Thriving in the Current Landscape 04:43 Forbes and the Content Quality Debate 07:57 The Rise of Technical SEOs in the LLM Era 09:23 Gaming LLMs: New Tactics and Strategies 22:21 The Golden Age of Forum Spam 23:04 The Power of Masterminds and Private Communities 35:29 Reddit Manipulation and the Coding Bootcamp Scandal 41:47 Starting Local: Leveraging Facebook and Reddit 42:55 AI Influencers and Monetization Strategies 44:09 AI Content and Detection Challenges 44:45 AI in SEO: Misconceptions and Strategies 47:36 Google Algorithm Shifts and SEO Tactics 49:12 Niche Sites and Content Strategies 01:00:46 Trustpilot Reviews and Black Hat Tactics 01:07:12 Social Media Strategies for SEO and Branding 01:19:53 Concluding Thoughts and Final Tips The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #blackhatseo #searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #growthhacking

E923: Metehan Yeşilyurt, one of the most respected AI visibility and SEO researchers in the world, joins the show! Metehan has spent the past year reverse-engineering how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google's AI systems decide which brands get cited, recommended, and shown to users. This conversation goes far beyond surface-level AI SEO. We break down how large language models select sources, how consensus is formed across the web, and why some brands dominate AI answers while others disappear - even when they rank well on Google. If you care about visibility, traffic, and sales from AI systems, this shows what really matters. What you'll learn: - How ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI choose which brands to cite - Why ranking on Google is no longer enough to appear in AI answers - How "consensus" across the web determines AI trust - Why press releases and off-site mentions now matter more than ever - How comparison tables influence LLM parsing and citation behavior - Where to place tables and structured content for maximum AI impact - How LLMs treat the beginning, middle, and end of a page differently - Why JavaScript-heavy websites hurt AI visibility - How server-side rendering improves crawlability for AI systems - What content chunking actually does (and doesn't) do for LLMs - How YouTube, Reddit, Medium, and social platforms influence AI search - Why TikTok and YouTube are becoming AI training and discovery engines - How query fan-out works inside LLMs - How citations change every time you ask the same AI question - How AI re-ranking differs from Google's ranking system - What "rank fusion" means in AI search - How embedding models affect which pages get surfaced - Why some brands with top Google rankings get ignored by ChatGPT - How PR campaigns influence AI recommendation systems - How to use entity SEO to build brand trust inside LLMs - How to collect real user questions to drive AI-generated sales - Why content freshness inside the last 180 days is critical - Why updating publish dates changes AI ranking - How FAQ sections increase AI visibility when done correctly - How to audit a site for AI visibility - How Metehan uses Screaming Frog, embeddings, and crawlers to find gaps - How Google's Discovery Engine reveals how chunking really works - How the Universal Commerce Protocol and AI agents may change ecommerce Why this episode matters: Search is no longer just Google. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and AI Overviews are now deciding which brands people see, trust, and buy from. These systems do not rank websites the same exact way Google does. They use embeddings, citations, re-ranking systems, and consensus across the web. This episode explains what you need to know for visibility in 2026. Who is Metehan Yeşilyurt? Metehan is an AI visibility and SEO researcher with over 10 years of experience. He is followed by some of the most respected names in search and has worked directly on AI visibility experiments for ecommerce, SaaS, and global brands. His work focuses on: - AI citation systems - LLM ranking behavior - Entity SEO - Off-site consensus building - Reverse-engineering ChatGPT and Perplexity ⭐️ Metehan Yeşilyurt on 𝕏 - https://x.com/metehan777 ⭐️ Metehan Yeşilyurt on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/metehanyesilyurt/ ⭐️ Metehan Yeşilyurt blog - https://metehan.ai/ 💎 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 Overview 00:21 Influencing LLMs: Key Strategies 01:02 Building Consensus and Content Strategies 04:51 Context Issues and Solutions 07:22 Comparison Tables and Formatting 12:37 Experiments and Case Studies 16:23 SEO and AI Visibility 21:38 Press Releases and Offsite SEO 26:49 Content Chunking Debate 30:53 Google's Discovery Engine and Chunking 34:48 Reverse Engineering and Surprising Findings 40:22 Impact of SEO Fundamentals on Rankings 41:05 Offsite SEO and AI Citation Building 41:43 Platform Investment Strategies for AI SEO 43:17 Leveraging Social Media for SEO 46:09 Effective Use of User Questions for Conversions 51:32 Conducting AI Visibility Audits 54:38 Rapid Changes in AI Visibility Strategies 57:35 The Future of E-commerce and AI Agents 01:03:01 SEO Research Tools and Techniques 01:05:31 Content Freshness and FAQs for AI Visibility 01:11:00 Global Opportunities and Language Considerations 01:11:59 Conclusion and Upcoming Episodes The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #digitalmarketing