E1202: AI is turning self-promotion into recommendations. People are calling themselves the top expert in their niche on LinkedIn, in press releases, and on their own websites. Google's AI Overviews then repeat those claims and cite the original posts as evidence. I break down real examples from the competitive SEO industry and show how to use these tactics to get AI to associate your name or business with the searches that matter. Here's what I cover: - How Pedro Dias called himself the world's most renowned AI visibility expert in a LinkedIn post, and Google's AI Overview repeated the claim hours later. - Why starting a LinkedIn post with your target search phrase puts that language in the page title, URL, and meta description. - How a relevant LinkedIn profile, established posting history, followers, and backlinks strengthen a post's chances of ranking. - How Zeeshan Yaseen got Google's AI to call him a leading LLM SEO expert by distributing a press release through GlobeNewswire that appeared on Yahoo Finance. - How that Yahoo Finance release continued appearing in AI answers months later, with backlinks to the release contributing. - The three press release approaches: a strong placement with backlinks, a strong placement without backlinks, and recurring lower-cost releases. - What an $80 AB Newswire release gets you versus a more expensive Yahoo Finance placement, plus the $500-per-year package for 83 releases mentioned in the episode. - How David Quaid published a "Who Is the King of SEO?" article on his own website, then appeared in Google's AI Overview as the person associated with that title. - How matching your target phrase in the page title, H1, URL slug, and beginning of the first sentence makes the page relevant to the query. - How self-promotional "best of" listicles work to put your own business at number one. - How you should publish only a handful of these listicles, disclose your connection, give competitors fair coverage, and avoid exaggeration. - How to combine an on-site listicle, a press release, social posts, and backlinks so several sources reinforce the same claim. The larger point: You don't need to wait for someone else to call you the leading expert. You need relevant pages, strong platforms, and a consistent claim that search engines can find. ⭐️ Source article - How to Get AI to Recommend You as the Expert - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/how-to-get-ai-to-recommend-you/  💎 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 Makes You Famous 01:14 LinkedIn Claim Hack 02:44 Press Releases That Stick 05:10 Your Website Crowns You 06:24 Self Promotional Listicles 07:45 Stack Tactics Together 08:46 Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #onlinereputationmanagement

E1201: Google is feeding Ahrefs, Semrush, Moz, and other SEO rank trackers incorrect search results. Websites appear to lose rankings overnight, even when Google Search Console shows stable rankings and traffic. Google's crackdown on AI companies scraping its search results is disrupting SEO tools. I explain what's happening, why rank tracking data has become unreliable, and what SEOs need to trust instead. Here's what I cover: Why SEO rank trackers are showing incorrect data: - Ahrefs, Semrush, and Moz are showing major inconsistencies in Google ranking data. - Some tools show websites disappearing from page one for their own brand names. - Google Search Console often shows no corresponding drop in rankings, impressions, or clicks. - Agencies must explain these discrepancies to concerned clients. How Google's anti-scraping measures are disrupting SEO tools: - Google's legal fight against SERP API and efforts to stop AI companies from scraping Search. - IP blocking targeting the proxy networks rank trackers use. - New /goto/ redirects that create additional opportunities for session checks and bot detection. - Increased CAPTCHAs and other anti-bot measures. - Poisoned SERPs that give scrapers incorrect results rather than blocking them outright. What the SEO community is reporting: - Charles Floate's observations about rank trackers showing different results from Google SERPs. - Reports of phantom search results, HTTP 429 errors, and pages full of irrelevant content. - Why misleading data is worse than tools failing to retrieve rankings. Why rank tracking might recover: - Google's existing search syndication agreements, including Ecosia. - Barry Schwartz's comment of Google's private search APIs for select partners. - Google's original Search API, launched in 2002 and shut down in 2009. - The 2025 antitrust ruling and licensing search results to qualified competitors. - Rank Tracker's unverified claim that it restored top-100 keyword tracking. - Improvements I've personally observed in Moz's search results. What SEOs need to do right now: - Use Google Search Console for your own site's rankings, clicks, and impressions. - Cross-check suspicious third-party reports against actual Google Search results. - Use the Search Console API to build reports and preserve data beyond its 16-month limit. - Find keywords where your existing pages rank but don't fully satisfy search intent. - Build dedicated landing pages for high-intent keywords already getting clicks. - Keep building relevant content, authority, and pages that satisfy search intent. - Don't assume a sudden drop in a rank tracker means your website actually lost visibility. I also explain why keyword search volume estimates remain largely unaffected. Ahrefs and Semrush use Google Keyword Planner and third-party clickstream data, not just scraped SERPs. The takeaway: Google's anti-scraping measures have disrupted rank tracking, not the fundamentals of SEO. Check Search Console before changing your strategy. ⭐️ Charles Floate on 𝕏 - https://x.com/Charles_SEO/status/2104504430683197518  ⭐️ Ep 1169 - How SEOs Actually Find Keywords in 2026 (What Reddit Gets Right and Wrong) - https://youtu.be/yIsli0iMQQs  ⭐️ Ep 1190 - Barry Schwartz: Google's War on AI Scrapers Is Breaking SEO Tools - https://youtu.be/wu_hOPmuDHE  💎 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 Trackers Going Haywire 02:02 Why Google Changed SERPs 02:36 Anti-Scraping Measures Explained 03:24 Poisoned SERPs Fake Data 03:55 What The SEO Community Sees 05:24 Will Tools Work Again 07:06 What To Do Right Now 08:08 Use Search Console As Truth 09:15 Keep Fundamentals And Keyword Research 11:32 Learn Proper SEO And Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seo #performancemarketing #digitalmarketing

E1200: What SEO strategies actually work? I found a Reddit thread asking SEO practitioners which strategies delivered real results. For episode 1,200 of The Edward Show, I break down nine strategies and explain how to use them for Google rankings, backlinks, leads, and AI search visibility. Here's what we cover: - Map the entire buyer journey, not just individual keywords. Someone researching an expensive purchase will check YouTube reviews, Reddit discussions, third-party websites, and AI answers before buying. Get your brand into that research process. - Find buyer-intent keywords your competitors aren't targeting. Look for queries they rank for without dedicated content. Put the target keyword in your page title, URL slug, H1, and opening sentence. Don't stuff long-tail keywords throughout the page. - Build topical clusters that support your money pages. Create pages around related searches, connect them with internal links, and link from pages already ranking to relevant bottom-of-funnel pages. - Find opportunities in Google Search Console before creating new content. Look for pages with impressions but few clicks. Enable Average Position and identify queries close to the top three. Check whether the page targets those queries or needs improvements. - Refresh existing content instead of constantly publishing. Update outdated information, match search intent, strengthen internal links, and cover missing long-tail topics. Three Reddit commenters recommended this. If your existing pages aren't ranking, diagnose the problem before publishing more. - Answer the searcher's question above the fold. Cut introductions and clutter. Use concise explanations and white space. Revisit pages after a few months to spot weak sections that seemed fine when you wrote them. - Earn backlinks through personalized outreach and partnerships. Approach businesses in adjacent industries instead of competitors. A plumber could earn a link from a roofer's website and promote the roofer through social media posts that also rank on Google. - Prioritize search intent over search volume. A low-volume query with clear purchase intent often brings more business than a large informational query. Identify what the searcher wants, answer it immediately, and link to supporting content. - Get mentioned on pages that rank on Google and appear in AI citations. Find recommendation lists repeatedly cited in your industry. Pitch your business to their publishers. These placements put your brand in front of buyers and give AI systems another source mentioning your company, even without a backlink. ⭐️ The Reddit Thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEOTips101/comments/1wn8k7n/whats_one_seo_strategy_that_actually_worked_for/  ⭐️ Ep 1100 - The SEO Colony Hack That Ranks Money Pages Without Backlinks - https://youtu.be/FFGNSAjdz6Y  ⭐️ Ep 787 - The #1 SEO Hack: Why Content Refreshes Beat New Content - https://youtu.be/UKvGmqzIxg4  ⭐️ Ep 1194 - 6,337 Cold Emails Reveal What Actually Gets Replies (And Backlinks) - https://youtu.be/TRMM8wsCDes  💎 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 Fundamentals Reality Check 00:32 User Journey Over Keywords 01:09 Reviews and Third-Party Proof 03:18 Competitor Gaps and Targeting 04:22 Topical Clusters That Compound 05:32 Refresh Pages Already Ranking 07:07 What Good Content Means 08:40 Personalized Outreach Partnerships 10:38 Intent First Internal Linking 11:09 Page One Mentions for GEO 12:29 1200 Day Podcast Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seo #seotips #digitalmarketing

E1198: Do nofollow backlinks boost Google rankings? I walk through findings from Rand Fishkin, Kyle Roof, and Joy Hawkins, plus an AI search study that challenges the idea that nofollow links have no SEO value. The practical takeaway: look beyond the link attribute. Pay attention to whether the linking page ranks on Google and attracts organic traffic. In this episode: - Google's 2019 change: Google shifted from ignoring nofollow links as ranking signals to treating nofollow, sponsored, and UGC attributes as hints about which links to consider or exclude. - Rand Fishkin's experiments: Two tests pointed nofollow links from 55 and 42 websites at target pages. I cover the ranking gains and the unexpected result after participants removed the links: rankings kept improving. - Kyle Roof's two criteria: The linking page ranks well on Google AND gets organic clicks. I explain how these criteria shaped Joy Hawkins' follow-up tests. - Joy Hawkins' results: Joy added a nofollow link from a Local Search Forum page that already ranked and attracted traffic. The next day, her target page ranked AND a YouTube video that she had embedded on the target page ALSO ranked. She then reported positive ranking effects in additional tests. - Nofollow links from major websites: I discuss Link Rush's reports of ranking improvements, faster indexing, and greater brand visibility after receiving nofollow links from the BBC and GOV.UK, plus the additional links and client trust those mentions attracted. - Backlinks and AI search: A Semrush study with Kevin Indig examined 1,000 domains across five AI platforms. Nofollow backlinks showed a slightly stronger correlation with AI mentions than follow backlinks. - A possible explanation for the AI findings: Platforms such as Reddit, Wikipedia, and Quora use nofollow links and frequently appear in AI answers. - What this means for link building: Evaluate the source page, its rankings, its traffic, and its audience before dismissing a backlink because it carries a nofollow attribute. These experiments and reports challenge the blanket claim that nofollow backlinks are worthless. They also give you specific criteria for evaluating the next link you earn. ⭐️ Google's 2019 announcement on nofollow links - https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/09/evolving-nofollow-new-ways-to-identify  ⭐️ Rand Fishkin's nofollow experiments (#10) - https://seosherpa.com/seo-experiments/  ⭐️ Joy Hawkins nofollow backlink tests - https://www.sterlingsky.ca/nofollow-links-impact-seo/  ⭐️ Link Rush nofollow study - https://www.linkrush.co.uk/blog/do-nofollow-backlinks-help-seo-in-2026  ⭐️ Semrush nofollow AI search study - https://www.semrush.com/blog/backlinks-ai-search-study/  ⭐️ Ep 1163 - The $50,000 Internal Linking Experiment: Links That Get Clicked Carry More Weight - https://youtu.be/biy8ILxTzqc  ⭐️ Ep 948 - Why Low-Authority Backlinks Can Outperform High-Authority Ones - https://youtu.be/1gCsGVu3Izg  💎 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 Do Nofollow Links Rank 00:16 Google Nofollow Update 01:35 Early Nofollow Experiments 02:31 Joy Hawkins 2024 Test 05:14 API Leak Engagement Signals 06:01 Big Brand Nofollow Wins 06:58 Nofollow Links For AI 07:32 Natural Link Profile Tips 08:16 Final Verdict And Advice 09:26 Podcast Milestone Outro The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #seo #backlinks

E1199: Rihanna's Fenty Beauty is beating Dior in the AI Search. Harpreet Singh joins me to break down the customer reviews, third-party coverage, and product pages behind Fenty's outstanding visibility. His explanation starts with one idea: "AI is a parrot." When publications, customers, and retailers consistently recommend a product, AI repeats those recommendations. We examine what Fenty gets right and how to apply those lessons to ecommerce, B2B, and local businesses. In this episode: - Nearly 53,000 customer reviews. We look at Fenty's Google Shopping presence and discuss why a good product and strong customer feedback belong at the center of your AI search strategy. - Recommendations from trusted publications. The New York Times, InStyle, beauty bloggers, and creators all reinforce Fenty's reputation. We discuss how to find the equivalent publications and reviewers in your industry. - Product descriptions that answer buying questions. Fenty clearly lists ingredients, benefits, awards, and attributes like "vegan" and "cruelty-free." Those details match the preferences shoppers share with ChatGPT and other AI tools. - A specific statistic that AI repeats. Fenty says it sells one lip gloss every 10 seconds. We examine how the brand reinforces that claim through its product page and media coverage. - Third-party retailer pages. Sephora adds its own product descriptions and thousands of reviews, creating another source of information about Fenty beyond the brand's website. - Sales copy on bottom-of-funnel pages. Explain your product, establish trust, and show buyers what makes your offer worth choosing. We discuss why generic informational content misses the purpose of these pages. - Local mentions for smaller businesses. Relevant directories, industry websites, and chambers of commerce offer practical places to establish your business's credentials. We also investigate Sephora's holiday SEO pages: - Searches like "affordable gifts for teachers," "gifts for men who have everything," and "gifts for your boyfriend's mother." - The trade-off between publishing more keyword-targeted pages and maintaining content quality. - Why a major retailer's results don't automatically translate to a smaller website. - How existing authority, traffic, and site history affect decisions about scaling content. - Ways to improve or repurpose seasonal pages after the holiday shopping period. Finally, we examine Toyota's consistent use of "reliable" across its brand messaging and press releases. Harpreet explains how repeated language spreads through third-party coverage and strengthens the association between a brand and the qualities buyers want. We also discuss: - Why Harpreet expects AI discovery to drive more branded searches. - How shoppers move from AI recommendations to Google and YouTube research before buying. - How strong customer support encourages positive reviews and protects your reputation. - How to incorporate valuable search terms into your company descriptions across relevant websites. Build a product people recommend. Give them excellent support. Earn relevant coverage. Make your product pages clear, specific, and persuasive. ⭐️ 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/@seoharp   💎 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 Challenger Wins AI Search 00:18 Why Fenty Shows Up 01:13 Reviews Drive Visibility 02:23 Press Mentions Matter 04:26 AI Is a Parrot 06:09 On Page Product Signals 07:53 Sales Copy Over Blogs 09:43 Stats and PR Amplify 12:03 Resellers and Unique Copy 13:31 Playbook for Any Industry 15:45 Sephora Gift Pages Test 17:31 Fenty Traffic Collapse Clue 18:30 Sephora Gift Pages 19:00 Fenty Long Tail TikTok 20:15 Core Update Traffic Drop 20:53 SEO Nuance Warnings 21:59 Sephora Rank And Tank 24:45 Safer Scaling Tactics 27:06 Win In AI Search 29:14 Branded Click Future 33:17 Toyota Reliable Narrative 36:45 Final Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/  #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #seo

E1197: Elon Musk's Grokipedia went from 6.5 million monthly Google clicks in July to just 200,000. That's a 97% collapse in organic search traffic for xAI's entirely AI-written alternative to Wikipedia. And despite Grokipedia earning backlinks from The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, NBC News, The Verge, and other major publications, its rankings have fallen off a cliff. I break down what happened to Grokipedia, the Google policies its AI content runs into, and the lessons every SEO needs to understand before scaling AI-generated content. Here's what I cover: 1. Grokipedia's 97% SEO traffic collapse - How Grokipedia reached 5.8 million monthly Google clicks by January 2026. - Why traffic fell to 1.5 million in May, recovered to 6.5 million in July, and then collapsed to 200,000. - Why major media coverage, powerful backlinks, and Elon Musk's influence haven't protected its Google rankings. - Why early traffic growth doesn't guarantee long-term SEO success. 2. The Google policies Grokipedia runs into - Google's scaled content abuse policy and its rules against mass-producing unoriginal content. - Google's scraping policy and its restrictions on republishing existing information without substantial added value. - Why Grokipedia's fully automated approach raises concerns under both policies. - Google's October 1 AI content guideline changes and its explicit instructions to manually fact-check and review AI-generated content before publishing. - Why using AI to fact-check AI doesn't satisfy the human-review standard Google describes. 3. Other explanations for Grokipedia's collapse - Why users might trust human-edited Wikipedia more than an entirely AI-generated encyclopedia. - How poor user signals and declining trust might contribute to falling rankings. - How Google's AI Overviews compete directly with informational websites. - Why Wikipedia itself has suffered a major decline in organic search traffic. - Why we can't conclude that Google issued Grokipedia a penalty. 4. What Grokipedia's backlinks reveal - Why most of Grokipedia's major press backlinks point to its homepage. - How Wikipedia benefits from links pointing directly to its individual articles. - Why building links to subpages, category pages, and content hubs matters. - How site structure and internal linking distribute authority throughout a website. 5. Lessons for SEOs using AI content - Why you need to manually review AI-generated articles, landing pages, and metadata before publishing. - Why one-shot AI content often misses important aspects of search intent. - How to use noindex until your AI content passes human review. - Why you shouldn't mistake the initial traffic surge from scaled AI content for lasting success. - Why I recommend keeping aggressive AI experiments separate from valuable, established websites. - What Google says about recovery times after fixing serious SEO problems. I also discuss three possible futures for Grokipedia: continued decline, Elon Musk publicly challenging Google, or xAI finding another purpose for its AI-generated encyclopedia. The bigger lesson: If you're building a website for long-term organic traffic, don't sacrifice content quality and human oversight just to publish more pages. ⭐️ Grokipedia - https://grokipedia.com/  ⭐️ Ep 1187 - Google Just Changed Its AI Content Guidelines (Unreviewed AI Is Now a Liability) - https://youtu.be/wxqf9J2Huu0  ⭐️ Ep 1192 - How Long Does SEO Take? Google Finally Shares the Real Numbers - https://youtu.be/sRZizu5mi_c  💎 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 Grokipedia Crashes 00:48 Why It Looked Promising 01:54 Traffic Spike Then Collapse 02:34 Scaled Content Abuse 04:20 Scraping Policy Violations 05:11 AI Content Review Warning 06:15 Other Causes and Rebound 08:07 SEO Lessons for Marketers 08:39 Link Authority and AI Surges 09:33 Risk Management and Recovery 10:42 Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #aiseo

E1196: Is GEO actually different from SEO, or is generative engine optimization simply SEO under a new name? Paris Childress, host of The GEO Show, joins David Quaid for a heated debate about what gets brands recommended by ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and other AI search engines. Paris argues that GEO is brand marketing, not performance marketing. Its goal is brand visibility, mentions, citations, and recommendations, rather than rankings and organic clicks. David disagrees. He argues that AI search uses traditional search indexes, query fan-outs, and the SEO fundamentals marketers have relied on for decades. Neither backs down as they challenge each other's definitions, tactics, and evidence. What we cover: 1. Is GEO different from SEO? - Why Paris calls GEO a separate marketing discipline. - Why David defines SEO as search visibility, not just traffic. - Whether different goals and KPIs make two disciplines different. - What each guest actually does to get brands into AI answers. 2. How ChatGPT and AI search find brands - How query fan-out turns prompts into multiple search queries. - Why Google rankings and AI citations don't always match. - How traditional search indexes influence AI recommendations. - The disagreement over ranking positions versus AI visibility. 3. Backlinks, brand mentions, and reviews - Why Paris prioritizes third-party brand mentions over links. - David's argument that SEO already includes online reputation management. - How G2 and Capterra reviews influence AI recommendations. - Why listicles appear in AI answers and how search engines find them. - Where PR distribution and press releases fit into SEO and GEO. 4. Does AI actually understand brand authority? - Why David challenges the idea that AI independently evaluates brand trust. - How search retrieval influences which sources AI cites. - Why a highly visible review site isn't automatically trustworthy. - What happens when AI repeats inaccurate information. 5. Measuring SEO and GEO results - Why Paris tracks share of voice, mentions, and citations for GEO. - Why David challenges the reliability of SEO attribution. - Their disagreement over GA4, organic conversions, and revenue. - Whether AI visibility and search traffic require different dashboards. - Whether SEO still exists if Google makes AI Mode the default. 6. What marketers should actually do - Identify the searches behind AI-generated answers. - Make pages accessible to search crawlers. - Earn coverage on the third-party sites AI retrieves. - Understand when your own rankings matter and when other sites shape recommendations. The central disagreement: Paris says SEO and GEO share many tactics but have different goals. David says those tactics, the search infrastructure, and the goal of visibility make GEO an extension of SEO. ⭐️ The GEO Show on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@getgeoforge  ⭐️ Paris Childress's platform, GEOforge - https://getgeoforge.com/  ⭐️ The GEO Show on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/bg/podcast/the-geo-show/id6805128323  ⭐️ The GEO Show on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/313Ae4gFG1GqXv4YNWEARI  ⭐️ Paris Childress on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/parischildress/  ⭐️ Paris Childress on 𝕏 - https://x.com/parischildress  ⭐️ David Quaid on 𝕏 - https://x.com/DavidGQuaid  ⭐️ David Quaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidquaid/  ⭐️ David Quaid on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@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 Debate Setup GEO vs SEO 01:11 Paris Defines GEO Goals 03:08 David Says Same Discipline 06:06 Mechanics Training vs Retrieval 09:57 KPIs Powerlifting Analogy 11:36 Dashboards Visibility Metrics 14:20 Brand Mentions vs Links 18:28 ORM Argument SUV Analogy 22:33 G2 Reviews SEO Proof 28:38 Listicles and Query Fan Out 35:53 Press Releases and Citations 37:33 LLM Authority Misinformation 40:02 Budgets Brand vs SEO 40:55 Goals Versus Tactics 42:17 Same Work Different Labels 43:40 Defining SEO Outcomes 45:51 ROI And Attribution Fight 48:44 GA4 Limits And Opt Outs 54:01 Measuring GEO Without Clicks 55:38 Why SEO Still Gets Budget 57:21 Bing Tools For AI Visibility 01:03:57 Exact Match Domain Strategy 01:05:43 Wrap Up And Guest Plugs The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization #searchengineoptimization #seo

E1195: Does Google measure how much effort you put into your content? Google's Quality Rater Guidelines mention effort more than 100 times, and the 2024 Google API leak revealed an LLM-based metric called "content effort." We're breaking down Cyrus Shepard's article, "Content Effort: The Google Ranking Feature Nobody Talks About," and what it reveals about the content Google might consider high quality. Cyrus previously worked as a Google quality rater. He explains how Google evaluates effort, why writing longer articles doesn't count as more effort, and what separates valuable original content from thousands of nearly identical AI-generated pages. We also examine an internal Google presentation from its antitrust trial that explains why user behavior matters so much for search rankings. What you'll learn: - Google's definition of content effort (effort doesn't mean word count, hours spent writing, or whether a human wrote the content instead of AI). - The Google API leak: Two documented metrics, "contentEffort" and "ugcDiscussionEffortScore," that reference effort estimation. We don't know whether Google uses either metric in live rankings. - How quality raters evaluate content: Google asks raters to assess effort alongside originality, talent, skill, and accuracy. - Low-effort vs. high-effort AI content: Why generating 5,000 location pages with swapped city names differs from creating automated pages using proprietary data and authentic user reviews. - Original research and firsthand experience: Why testing 10 protein powders and publishing your results creates more value than rewriting existing product descriptions. - Why original photography, product demonstrations, screenshots, and custom visuals demonstrate effort and improve the usefulness of commercial pages. - The problem with filler content: Why answering the searcher's question immediately matters more than burying the answer beneath hundreds of words of unnecessary background. - User-generated content: Why detailed Reddit discussions with firsthand experiences provide more value than shallow threads with one-word replies. - How Google told employees, "We do not understand documents. We fake it," and described learning from how users react to search results. - User behavior and rankings: Why immediately satisfying search intent matters, especially when users otherwise return to Google's results. Cyrus Shepard's two-minute content audit:  1. Did you thoughtfully edit and organize the content so visitors immediately find what they need? 2. Did you add unique information, original research, observations, or perspectives that don't exist elsewhere? 3. Does the page show evidence of real work through photos, screenshots, testing methods, interviews, or firsthand experience? 4. Does the content go beyond information anyone could reproduce with a basic Google search? 5. Where appropriate, does the content include detailed discussion, evidence, and meaningful perspectives? Examples covered: - A collection of scraped recipes versus recipes personally tested and organized by taste. - Thousands of nearly identical location pages versus automated movie recommendations backed by original user data. - Generic "best X" listicles versus listicles supported by real testing, results, and original photography. - A recipe that buries instructions under unnecessary history versus one that immediately explains how to cook the dish. - A shallow Reddit thread versus a detailed discussion of hiking boots with real-world testing and experiences. - A SaaS landing page for a room planner app that uses a custom image to demonstrate the product immediately. Google isn't simply looking for content that took a long time to create, but instead evidence of useful work that makes the finished page more valuable to searchers. And regardless of how much effort goes into your content, give visitors the answer they're searching for upfront. ⭐️ Cyrus Shepard's Content Effort Article - https://signal.zyppy.com/p/content-effort  ⭐️ Google 2016 Q4 Search All Hands - https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-11/417516.pdf  ⭐️ Ep 807 - Link Building in 2025: First 10 Links, Linkable Assets & HCU Wins (w/ Cyrus Shepard) - https://youtu.be/TPEkoQnwErc  ⭐️ Ep 1056 - Backlinks Aren't Enough: How to Win Competitive SEO - https://youtu.be/1Pkfj_X7nHM  💎 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 Does Google Measure Effort 00:43 Quality Raters Explained 02:09 Google Definition of Effort 03:39 What Effort Is Not 04:00 Five High Effort Examples 05:43 Original Media and Testing 07:36 Cut the Fluff Upfront 08:09 Reddit and Discussion Depth 09:09 Google Watches Reactions 11:27 Two Minute Effort Audit 13:12 Wrap Up and Resources The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #contentmarketing #seo #webdevelopment

E1194: Cold outreach is one of the most effective ways to build backlinks, earn media coverage, and get your content in front of the right people. But most outreach emails get ignored. A Reddit user analyzed 6,337 cold emails and uncovered striking differences in reply rates based on email length, subject lines, follow-ups, and who receives the message. I break down these findings, share advice from experienced link builders, and explain the cold outreach strategies I've personally used to get viral videos onto national television, earn coverage from major publications, and promote businesses. What the data from 6,337 cold emails reveals: - Emails under 100 words earned an 11.9% reply rate. - Emails between 100 and 200 words earned just 1.9%. - Emails over 200 words earned a 0.3% reply rate. - The ideal email length fell between 60 and 90 words. - One email earned a 4.1% reply rate. One follow-up increased that to 6.6%. - Two follow-ups increased replies to 6.9%, with diminishing returns beyond that. - Subject lines under 30 characters achieved an 83.7% open rate, compared to 69.5% for longer ones. - Subject lines containing numbers performed particularly well. - Tuesday and Wednesday outperformed Thursday and Friday. How to get more replies to your link-building outreach: - Personalize every message. Generic templates immediately signal mass outreach. - Lead with something valuable to the recipient rather than asking for a favor. - Keep subject lines short and make the first sentence immediately relevant. - Find the right person. At larger companies, department heads and managers often make more sense than CEOs. - Offer original research, useful statistics, corrections, or genuinely interesting content. - Use broken links as an opportunity to suggest relevant replacement resources. - Track positive replies rather than total replies to understand which offers work. - Follow up once or twice rather than repeatedly chasing people. - Use email tracking tools to understand whether recipients open your messages. My own cold outreach experiences: I've spent years pitching journalists, YouTubers, bloggers, and other content creators. I explain how I used concise, targeted outreach to get extraordinary results. - 2012: My friends and I created a video where fake bodyguards and paparazzi convinced strangers in Times Square that an ordinary guy was a celebrity. I pitched the video on Reddit, reached the site's front page, and ended up on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and NBC's The Jeff Probst Show. - 2009–2010: A crazy driving stunt video sat unnoticed on YouTube for a year. I pitched it to automotive publications, and Jalopnik featured it on its homepage for two days. - 2018: We created an early blockchain video game and helped establish the play-to-earn genre. I reached out to major cryptocurrency YouTubers, and one of the largest channels covered our project. The same principles apply to SEO link building. Create something genuinely interesting, find people whose audiences care about it, and send concise, personalized messages explaining its relevance. You don't need another generic guest posting template. You need a compelling reason for somebody to open your email, read your content, and share it. ⭐️ Reddit: What Makes Link Outreach Get Replies? - https://www.reddit.com/r/seogrowth/comments/1vqym2j/what_makes_link_outreach_actually_get_replies/  ⭐️ Reddit: Breaking Into PR (6,337 Cold Emails Analyzed) - https://www.reddit.com/r/PublicRelations/comments/1u2f71l/breaking_into_pr_is_mostly_a_coldoutreach_problem/  ⭐️ Short subject lines matter for newsletter open rates - https://read.first1000.co/p/things-matter-for-growing-a-newsletter  ⭐️ Times Square fake celebrity video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYU1a0lTTTw  💎 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 Why Outreach Gets Ignored 01:10 Value First Link Building 02:01 Templates Kill Replies 03:39 PR Data on Email Length 05:13 Target the Right Person 05:55 Follow Ups and Subject Lines 07:23 Tracking Opens and Deliverability 07:59 Going Viral With Smart Pitches 11:00 Make It Easy to Share 11:43 Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #linkbuilding #backlinks #searchengineoptimization #seo

E1192: How long does SEO actually take? Google's Gary Illyes shared specific timeframes for crawling, indexing, title changes, canonicalization, site migrations, manual action removals, and recovery from core updates. Some changes take hours. Others take months. And in certain cases, Google never processes them. Google's reported typical SEO timeframes: - New URL discovery: 20 hours. At the slowest, weeks or never. - Recrawling an existing URL: 1 month. At the slowest, weeks or never. - Sitemap processing: 1 day. At the slowest, 14 days or never, depending on quality. - Indexing: 1.5 hours. At the slowest, months or never. - Canonical changes: 1-3 weeks. At the slowest, months. - Site migrations: 1-3 months. At the slowest, 6 months to over a year. - Page title changes: 1-2 days. At the slowest, several weeks to months. - Search snippet changes: 1-2 days. At the slowest, several weeks to months. - Google Search Console removals: 2 hours. At the slowest, 24 hours. - Manual action removals: 1-2 weeks. At the slowest, 4-6 weeks or much longer for dormant sites. - Core update recovery: 3-6 months. At the slowest, 6 months to a year, often requiring another core update. These numbers represent typical ranges. Also covered: - Why crawling delays also delay indexing and other Google processes. - Why some URLs never get indexed, despite appearing in XML sitemaps. - Why Google sometimes takes months to recognize canonical changes. - Why recovering from a Google core update often requires waiting for another update. - Why a site migration might take more than a year to finish. - How website authority, backlinks, and traffic influence crawling and indexing speed. - My experience publishing a brand-new page that ranked #1 above The New York Times within five minutes. - Why established websites with real users, backlinks, and topical relevance often get their pages crawled and indexed faster. - Why low-authority websites with little traffic and few backlinks experience longer delays. - Why these reported timeframes matter when diagnosing SEO problems and setting client expectations. One of the biggest takeaways from this episode is that these timelines vary enormously between websites. I've personally published a new page, submitted it through Google Search Console, and watched it rank #1 above The New York Times within five minutes. The website had authority, real search traffic, backlinks, and strong topical relevance to the target keyword. Those things matter. If you want Google to discover, crawl, and refresh your pages faster, focus on building a website that attracts real visitors, earns backlinks, and gets shared. ⭐️ Google Shows How Long Crawling, Indexing & Recovery Can Take https://searchenginejournal.com/google-crawling-indexing-recovery-timing-ranges/591829/  ⭐️ Ep 939 How to Build Backlinks for a Brand New Website (From Zero Authority) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcNmYaMrM3o  ⭐️ Ep 1160 How To Get Free Backlinks in 2026 (Methods That Actually Work) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-5VL9o9RGQ  💎 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 Google Timing Overview 00:59 Indexing Recap Context 01:29 Key Timeframes Explained 02:13 Core Update Recovery Windows 03:00 Limits of the Data 03:32 Timing Table Breakdown 04:45 What It Means for Clients 05:34 Real World Fast Indexing Story 06:14 How to Speed Things Up 06:49 Link Building Resources 08:24 Final Thanks and Sign Off The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seo #technicalseo #digitalmarketing