Erica D'Arcangelo on Hybrid Teams, Human Content, and the Icarus Effect: Navigating Marketing in the Age of AI Overviews
In this episode of Unscripted SEO, host Jeremy Rivera sits down with Erica D'Arcangelo, CEO of Love Content Development, to discuss the evolution of digital marketing agencies, the hybrid work model, and navigating the AI revolution in content creation.
About Our Guest
Erica D'Arcangelo is the CEO of Love Content Development, a full-service marketing agency with 14 years in business. She also owns Create One (video production company) and V12 Strategies (marketing technology company). Over her career, Erica has worked with approximately 800 companies and generated nearly $300 million across all marketing contracts. She's also an Amazon bestselling author of "A Story About Pizza," chronicling her grandfather's journey as an Italian immigrant opening a pizzeria in 1960.
Key Topics Discussed
From Employee to Entrepreneur
Started in healthcare marketing in 2001, learning everything from HTML coding to early social media
Launched her own agency in 2013 as a single mom seeking flexibility
Evolved from freelancer to "real agency" in 2017-2018 with organizational structure, office space, and full team
Scaling an Agency
Creating organizational charts and hiring strategies
Client retention and process development
The transition from "doing marketing" to "running a business"
The Hybrid Work Model
Evolution from office-only to remote during COVID to current hybrid approach
Managing employees across locations (UK and Tampa, Florida)
Balancing flexibility with the needs of different roles and positions
The Death and Rebirth of SEO
Why "SEO is dead" has been declared repeatedly since 2001 (and why it's not)
Bringing back the "Webmaster" mentality for interconnected digital marketing
The shift from keyword-focused SEO to multi-channel audience acquisition
Foundational SEO in a Multi...
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Lorraine Ball - From Agency Builder to Marketing Strategist
Guest: Lorraine Ball, Host of More Than a Few Words Podcast Experience: 19 years running a digital marketing agency, sold in 2021 Current Focus: Marketing consulting, teaching, and podcasting
Key Topics Covered
Building and Scaling an Agency
Started in 2002 as traditional marketing company
Evolved into digital agency with social media emergence
Strategic decision to cap at 10 employees and raise prices instead of scaling
Maintained 30% client maximum rule to avoid dependency risk
Focused on home services (HVAC, plumbing, roofing) and restaurants
Business Philosophy
"Hire for attitude, train for skill" - Southwest Airlines model
Phones answered on first ring by anyone, including CEO
Personal touch as competitive advantage
Long-term client relationships (10+ years typical)
Strategic Insights
Capacity management: Stay below capacity line, raise prices when at capacity
Risk management: No single client over 30% of business
Market positioning: Answer the questions your ideal clients have
Content strategy: Focus on answers, not just keywords
Episode 2: Lorrie Thomas Ross - Marketing in the AI Era
Guest: Lorrie Thomas Ross, CEO of Web Marketing Therapy Title: "The Marketing Therapist" Experience: 19 years as Chief Enthusiasm Officer, former UC Santa Barbara & UC Berkeley instructor
Key Frameworks Discussed
The Five Factor Framework
Credibility - Know, like, and trust through design, copy, and photography
Usability - Seamless user experience across all touchpoints
Visibility - Strategic presence across search and social media, ads, email, and PR
Sellability - Clear differentiation and value proposition
Scalability - Treating marketing as investment, not expense
"MarkEDing" Philosophy...
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SEO & Brand Journalism: A Conversation with Katie Wagner
In this episode of the Unscripted SEO podcast, host Jeremy Rivera interviews Katie Wagner, President & CEO of KWSM Digital Marketing Agency. They dive deep into the evolution of SEO, the importance of brand journalism, and how businesses can adapt to the changing digital landscape including AI overviews and LLM-based search.
Guest Information
Katie Wagner
President & CEO, KWSM Digital Marketing
Former CNN Television Anchor (15 years in journalism)
Founded KWSM in 2010
Expert in lead generation and brand journalism
Connect with Katie:
Website: kwsmdigital.com
LinkedIn: Katie Wagner (red dress profile picture)
Host Information
Jeremy Rivera
Founder, SEO Arcade
Host, Unscripted SEO Podcast
SEO Expert & Consultant
Connect with Jeremy:
About: Jeremy Rivera Bio
Podcast: Unscripted SEO
Key Topics Discussed
1. The Evolution of SEO
From Google reverse engineering to brand journalism
Impact of AI overviews and rich snippets
The rise of LLM-based search (ChatGPT, Claude)
How E-E-A-T and helpful content updates changed the game
2. Brand Journalism Strategy
Creating deeper stories around the humans in a business
Two-tier content approach: top-funnel educational vs. bottom-funnel conversion
Quality over quantity in traffic and conversions
Building credibility through authentic storytelling
3. Revenue-Focused Marketing
Moving beyond vanity metrics to actual...
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Virginia Elder's Podcast SEO: Cross-Channel Marketing and Content Strategy
Host: Jeremy Rivera Guest: Virginia Elder, Owner of Podcast Abundance Topic: The evolution of SEO, podcast marketing strategy, and cross-channel content creation
Episode Description
In this in-depth conversation, Jeremy Rivera sits down with Virginia Elder, owner of Podcast Abundance, to explore how podcasting fits into modern SEO and content marketing strategies. They discuss the evolution from traditional website-focused SEO to a holistic, cross-channel approach that leverages podcasting, social media, and authentic human connections to build brand authority and drive business growth.
Virginia shares her journey from financial audit work to becoming a podcast production specialist for financial professionals, while Jeremy explains why genuine human conversations can't be replicated by AI and how podcasting creates valuable content ecosystems for businesses.
Key Topics Discussed
The Evolution of SEO Strategy
The end of the "golden age" of basic SEO tactics
Impact of Google's Helpful Content Update (HCU) on traditional SEO approaches
Why websites are no longer the center of the digital marketing universe
The rise of platform-based businesses (Instagram + Linktree models)
Cross-Channel Marketing Approach
Moving beyond website-only SEO to multi-platform strategies
Creating "spider webs" of interconnected content across channels
The importance of consistent branding across all digital touchpoints
How different generations evaluate business legitimacy through different platforms
Entity Recognition and Personal Branding
How Google and LLM tools distinguish between people with similar names
The role of consistent content creation in building entity authority
Why more content leads to better AI understanding of your expertise
The importance of video content in establishing credibility
Podcast Production for Business Growth
Why podcasting creates genuine content that AI cannot replicate
The power of interviewing business owners to generate authentic content
How podcasts can replace cold outreach with warm relationship building
Cross-pollination opportunities within industry ecosystems
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Chris Turnbull: Navigating The Changing Landscape of Local SEO
Episode: Unscripted SEO Podcast Host: Jeremy Rivera - Unscripted Podcast Guest: Chris Turnbull, Founder of Catalyst Marketing Duration: ~45 minutes
Episode Description
Join Jeremy Rivera as he sits down with Chris Turnbull, founder of Catalyst Marketing, for an unfiltered discussion about how SEO has evolved over the past 13 years. From Google's monopolistic behavior to the rise of AI overviews, this conversation explores why local SEO has remained surprisingly stable while broader search continues to fragment across multiple platforms.
Chris shares insights from his journey from apprentice SEO to agency founder, specializing in performance marketing for local service businesses. The duo dives deep into the breakdown of traditional content marketing, the rise of user-generated content, and why Reddit posts now carry the same weight as backlinks from 2015.
Key Topics Covered
The Google Monopoly & Search Evolution
How Google evolved from "organizing the world's data" to "being the world's data"
The enshitification of search results and AI overview accuracy issues
Why we've become "beta testers" for tech corporations
The removal of search liaison positions and lack of feedback loops
Local SEO: What's Changed vs. What Hasn't
Why local SEO fundamentals from 2008 still work today
The continued importance of Google Business Profile, citations, and reviews
How LLMs heavily weight reviews and local mentions
Digital PR as the evolution of community involvement
The Content Creation Paradox
Google's contradictory demand to "create content for humans" while using bots to consume it
The problem of trillion duplicate articles from marketing agencies
How algorithm updates have created unsustainable content cycles
The information contamination problem with...
Hosted by Jeremy Rivera: A 17 year career expert in the SEO industry and his cohost Keith Bresee. Get insights, action items and anecdotes from experts like Lilyray, Kevin Indig, Rand Fishkin, Matt Mellinger and more in the SEO industry, who are not only well-respected, but have really interesting stories to share. 100% unscripted, 100% unrehearsed, 100% unedited, and 100% real. Guaranteed to provide those golden nugget lightbulb moments.