The Edward Show

Edward Sturm
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Daily SEO advice, hacks, and interviews with some of the top voices in search engine optimization, as well as sit-downs with many undiscovered talents.

  1. 1 day ago

    Query Augmentation: How One Page Ranks for Thousands of Keywords | James Dooley

    E1171: Query augmentation: how Google connects searches with related queries and why one page can end up ranking for hundreds or thousands of keywords that never even appear on the page. James Dooley returns to the show, bringing the goods. We get into the difference between lexical matching and query semantics, how Google interprets search intent, and why trusted sites with strong user and brand signals start ranking across much broader keyword buckets. James explains why a page targeting one keyword can eventually rank for entirely different phrases when Google decides those searches share the same intent. We cover: - What query augmentation is and how it relates to query fan-out - How synthetic queries expand a search into related terms - Why a page can rank for keywords that are nowhere in the content - The difference between dictionary semantics and query semantics - Why "cheap" and "best" can mean the same thing in one industry and completely different things in another - How branded search, social traffic, backlinks, user behavior, and site trust expand the queries a page ranks for - Why smaller sites need tighter relevance while trusted sites get more freedom - How to use Google Search Console to find queries Google already associates with a page - A simple Claude workflow for turning existing GSC rankings into new H2s and sections - How People Also Ask questions reveal additional topics worth targeting - James' Google Images trick for finding entities connected to a question through modifier chips - How query augmentation produces more impressions, clicks, leads, and sales - How James uses self-optimizing pages to identify low-CTR queries and rewrite sections - Why the text Google pulls into a search result matters for CTR - How to decide whether a query deserves its own page or belongs as an H2 - Why SERP overlap is one of the clearest ways to make that decision - Why 200 words is not automatically thin content - Why satisfying search intent matters more than hitting an arbitrary word count - Why James wants pages as short as possible and as long as necessary - How changing only the H2 hierarchy moved pages into different query buckets - How Claude-built websites often become too wordy - How James uses AI agents focused on semantics, sales copy, compliance, information gain, and concision - Why he uses multiple LLMs instead of relying on a single model - How LinkGap ranked for related backlink terms despite having almost no written content - How James says Koray's Audio To Text expanded into huge numbers of related searches as traffic, links, and usage grew - What the ongoing "King of AEO" competition is revealing about Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, YouTube, and Google Images - How James is seeing press release effects fade after roughly four to six weeks - How LinkedIn posts are still competing with exact-match domains, guest posts, press releases, and other SEO tactics The central idea is simple: rank for the initial query, satisfy the searcher, build trust, study the additional queries Google starts showing your page for, and then expand the page around the terms Google already associates with it. ⭐️ James Dooley's website - https://jamesdooley.com/  ⭐️ James Dooley on 𝕏 - https://x.com/james_dooley  ⭐️ James Dooley on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameszdooley/  ⭐️ James Dooley on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jameszdooley/  ⭐️ James Dooley on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/james.dooley1/  ⭐️ James Dooley on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@JamesDooley  💎 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 Query Augmentation 00:30 Synthetic Queries Explained 03:02 Intent and Behavioral Signals 03:47 Cheap vs Best Semantics 08:03 PPC Match Types Analogy 11:09 When Smaller Sites Win 14:24 Expanding Buckets with GSC 18:15 Entity Chips in Images 20:18 Turning Rankings into Revenue 22:04 CTR Optimization with AI 27:23 People Also Ask Link Strategy 29:08 Case Studies LinkGap and AudioToText 34:00 SEO Compounding Wins 34:40 Link Gap Lead Magnet 35:04 H2 vs New Page 37:43 Testing the 50 50 Call 39:04 Thin Content Myth 40:44 Claude Sites Done Right 45:11 Concise SOP Mindset 47:06 Query Augmentation Mistakes 49:28 Self Healing SEO Tweaks 50:40 AI Harness Model Debates 53:21 King of AEO Showdown 56:39 Press Releases and Social 01:01:23 Wrap Up and Thanks The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seotips #seo #digitalmarketing

  2. 2 days ago

    How SEOs Actually Find Keywords in 2026 (What Reddit Gets Right and Wrong)

    E1169: How are SEOs doing keyword research in 2026? I break down a viral thread from the SEO subreddit where SEOs shared their real processes, tools, shortcuts, and ways of deciding which keywords deserve attention. Some of the advice is strong. Some of it misses the point. The biggest mistake is treating keyword research like a spreadsheet exercise instead of looking at search intent, business value, and what is really ranking in Google. In this episode: - Why I ignore keyword difficulty scores from SEO tools - Why looking at the actual Google SERP gives you better information than staring at a difficulty metric - How to spot keywords competitors rank for but have not targeted properly - Why a supposedly "high-difficulty" keyword sometimes ranks with very little work - How to tell whether competitors have optimized a page for a keyword - Why page titles, URL slugs, H1s, and the beginning of the first sentence matter when evaluating competition - How to use competitor keyword research to build your initial keyword list - Why search intent matters more than raw search volume - How to identify high-intent searches that lead to customers, users, calls, and warm leads - The type of keyword I value most: the searcher knows what they want but has not decided which brand will provide it - How to use AI to group large keyword lists by topic and intent - Why you should not ask an LLM to estimate keyword difficulty without giving it live search data - How Google Search Console reveals keywords your site already has a chance of ranking higher for - Why keywords sitting around positions 5-20 often deserve attention before completely new topics - How to map keyword groups to individual pages - When an existing page deserves optimization versus when you need to create a new page - Why different searches require different page types, including product pages, service pages, landing pages, and blog posts - How Google Keyword Planner, Google Trends, ChatGPT, Semrush, and AlsoAsked fit into keyword research - Why informational "how to" and "what is" keywords often have far less business value than bottom-of-funnel searches - The four questions I start with when researching keywords: 1- Who are my competitors? 2- What are they ranking for but not targeting properly? 3- Which of those keywords will make me money? 4- Which SERPs are under-targeted? I also explain why I prioritize keywords that directly connect SEO traffic to revenue instead of publishing huge amounts of top-of-funnel content just because a keyword tool shows search volume. ⭐️ Reddit: How Do You Choose Keywords for SEO? - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1wbmgx0/how_do_you_choose_keywords_for_seo/  ⭐️ Ep 1104 - The 1-Hour SEO Update That Makes Your Best Pages Rank for More Keywords - https://youtu.be/GmsAuotHGso  💎 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 Viral Keyword Question 02:04 Keyword Filtering 04:07 Intent and SERP Checks 05:19 Competitors and Priorities 08:27 Search Console Quick Wins 09:21 Free Tools and AlsoAsked 10:42 Keyword Grouping and Mapping 11:42 Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #keywordresearch #searchengineoptimization #seo #digitalmarketing

  3. 2 days ago

    Nike Has Infinite SEO Authority. Its Blog Gets 1,400 Clicks a Month.

    E1170: Nike has one of the strongest brands and domains on the internet, yet its blog gets an estimated 1,400 organic clicks per month. That is an absurd amount of wasted SEO authority. I sit down with David Quaid to break down why enormous companies like Nike, GoPro, and Chewy leave so much organic traffic on the table, despite having domains that smaller companies would kill to own. Nike has decades of authority, massive amounts of branded search, famous athletes, globally recognized product lines, and enormous links and mentions across the web. Yet Nike Stories (its blog) barely takes advantage of it. We break down what Nike would do differently if an aggressive SEO team took over its content strategy. Topics covered: - Why Nike's blog getting roughly 1,400 estimated organic clicks per month is so shocking - Why a site with Nike's authority belongs at the top of enormous sports-related searches - How Nike could build content around basketball, running, yoga, pickleball, athletes, shoes, training, and its individual product lines - Why Nike should publish pages around the athletes and creators already associated with the brand - How Red Bull uses athlete pages to capture search demand around the people it sponsors - Why Nike's existing authority creates an enormous head start over almost any new sports website - How major brands restrict themselves because they worry too much about staying "on brand" - Why brands sometimes treat SEO as beneath them even when search demand is sitting directly in front of them - The difference between building a brand and actually getting that brand discovered - Why GoPro fails to properly target "action camera" even though GoPro created the category - How companies miss high-intent commercial keywords because basic SEO elements never make it onto the page - Why Chewy repeating "dry dog food" dozens of times still does not make up for weak page targeting - How weak URLs, poor keyword selection, thin content, and limited internal linking waste existing authority - Why search volume gives companies direct evidence of what customers already want - How massive brands could turn informational traffic into remarketing audiences and product sales - Why smaller companies still have room to outrank businesses with vastly more authority - How SEO lets a company start from nothing, build rankings one page at a time, and eventually dominate an entire niche We also get into press releases and AI search. David explains how he approaches press release titles when the objective is ranking for a specific query, why he puts the primary keyword first, and why he sometimes leaves the brand name out of the headline entirely. We use the ongoing "King of AEO" competition as an example of how SEOs are testing Google AI Overviews, press releases, exact-match domains, entity associations, and supporting websites in real time. The bigger lesson is simple: Authority only matters if you use it. Nike already did the hardest part. It built one of the strongest brands in the world. The SEO opportunity sitting on top of that authority is enormous. Meanwhile, smaller companies are taking the searches that major brands leave open. ⭐️ 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 Nike Blog SEO Fail 00:40 Why Nike Underperforms 02:10 Thin Content Missing Links 04:06 Robots.txt Easter Egg 05:03 GoPro Action Camera Miss 07:44 Branding Versus SEO 08:59 Press Release SEO Tactics 13:13 King of AEO Title Strategy 18:42 How To Fix Nike Blog 23:20 Breaking Down Nike Posts 25:26 Why SEO Still Wins 27:41 Podcast Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/  #searchengineoptimization #enterpriseseo #seo #digitalmarketing

  4. 4 days ago

    Claude Sites Have a Serious SEO Problem: Too Many Words

    E1167: Claude-generated websites have a serious SEO problem: they use a lot of unnecessary words. Search intent is not only about covering the right topic. It is also about presenting the answer in a way that is fast and easy to consume. I break down three real AI-heavy websites and show how unnecessary copy, repeated headings, pointless "eyebrows," bloated introductions, and buried answers create a worse experience for searchers. I cover: - Why satisfying search intent includes how information is presented, not just whether the information exists - Why Claude-generated sites often add unnecessary words throughout the page - Three real examples of wordy AI pages - A Toronto SEO agency page that buries its H1 under repeated copy and targets the wrong search intent - Why the first few sentences of a landing page need to immediately explain why the business is the right choice - How multiple competing calls to action weaken the page - A Sprout Social alternatives page that makes readers dig through long explanations before reaching the comparison table - Why someone searching for an alternative already knows why they want an alternative - Why "how we evaluated these tools" sections are often unnecessary - Why a strong single-product alternative page beats another generic list of 10 tools - A "King of AEO" page that repeats its title, author, company name, and other information before getting to the actual point - Why AI pages frequently repeat information without adding anything useful - How excessive copy leads searchers to return to Google and choose another result - Why bad user behavior becomes far more dangerous when hundreds or thousands of AI pages are published quickly - How scaled AI content creates bad behavioral signals faster than a normal site - Why real photos and useful video make pages easier to consume - Why service businesses should use real images instead of generic AI-generated visuals - Why bottom-of-funnel keywords deserve most of your content effort - Why buyers do not need a 2,000-word essay explaining why they need the thing they are already searching to buy - Why 400 to 500 words is often enough for a strong SEO landing page - How some pages need fewer than 200 words - The questions I answer before writing: Who is searching this keyword? What do they want? What are they trying to achieve? - Why I write the outline first and use AI as a writing assistant instead of letting AI decide what the page needs - Why spending more time on one strong bottom-of-funnel page produces better long-term results than mass-producing disposable AI content - How a well-built page keeps ranking and generating revenue for years without constant rewrites The goal is not to hit a word count. The goal is to give the searcher exactly what they came for with as little friction as possible. ⭐️ Ep 1164 - How $72 in Press Releases Made Google Call This Man the King of AEO - https://youtu.be/DhmQ7cZhHFw  ⭐️ Ep 1166 - Google Can Lose Faith In Your Website (Here's How To Get It Back) - https://youtu.be/Q4cB34UticI  💎 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 Wordy Pages Fail 01:08 Claude Site Example One 02:14 Above the Fold Fluff 05:31 Claude Site Example Two 07:48 Cut the Ultimate Guide 08:36 Claude Site Example Three 12:36 Pogo Sticking Consequences 13:36 What to Do Instead 14:18 Short Pages That Convert 17:22 Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seo #claudeseo

  5. 4 days ago

    SaaS Link Building: Why One Listicle Placement Is Worth $1,000

    E1168: SaaS link building gets expensive fast. In this episode, Kristiyan Yankov breaks down why a single placement in the right listicle can be worth $1,000+, how he decides which backlinks are worth paying for, and the link-building methods his team uses across more than 60 SaaS companies. We go deep into the actual process behind SaaS link building, from finding competitor backlink gaps to pitching publishers, negotiating paid placements, building relationships on LinkedIn, getting links from major publications, and using third-party mentions to increase visibility in both Google and AI search. We also get into what separates a valuable backlink from one that Google may effectively ignore. What we cover: - Why some SaaS companies will pay $1,000+ for a single listicle placement - What separates a $300 backlink opportunity from a $1,000+ opportunity - How to identify the listicles and roundups dominating your industry - How Kristiyan reverse-engineers competitors' backlink profiles in Ahrefs - Why multiple competitors appearing on the same site signals a strong outreach opportunity - Why existing articles are often better targets than creating brand-new guest posts - How to check whether a listicle actually ranks, gets traffic, or feeds AI search results - Why LinkedIn often beats cold email for link-building outreach - What an actual paid-placement outreach message looks like - When to mention payment in the first message and when not to - Why you should not name your price first when negotiating a backlink - Why smaller, highly targeted outreach lists outperform mass outreach - How incentives such as free product access, payment, content creation, and link swaps improve response rates - How to maintain consistent brand positioning across dozens of third-party listicles - Why inconsistent descriptions of your company across the web create problems for AI search - How to split backlinks between your homepage, commercial pages, comparison pages, and informational content - How expert quote outreach gets links and mentions from sites such as BBC, HubSpot, Zapier, and Wix - Why expert quote platforms remain one of the strongest low-budget link-building methods - Foundational backlinks every new SaaS company should build - Why directories such as Crunchbase, BetaList, and Product Hunt still matter - How a Product Hunt launch caused a major organic traffic spike for one of my projects - How to use link swaps without making the links look artificial - Why adjacent industries are strong targets for link exchanges - How link-building outreach itself can generate customers and partnerships - How podcasts, industry meetups, and personal relationships create backlinks competitors struggle to copy - Why thanking tools you use publicly can turn into case studies and backlinks - How to build your own Rolodex of marketers and site owners for recurring link opportunities - The biggest mistake people make when judging backlinks by DR and traffic alone - Why a smaller, highly relevant site can be more valuable than a much larger generic site - When guest posting is worth the effort and when it is a waste of time - How third-party brand mentions influence ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI search systems - Why getting included in the sources AI systems already retrieve is one of the fastest off-page opportunities - Which link-building strategies compound over time instead of producing one-off results Kristiyan and I also share some of the stranger link-building tactics we've used ourselves, including podcasts built partly around relationship building, industry networking, creative link exchanges, expert contributions, and other methods that go far beyond sending thousands of generic outreach emails. ⭐️ Kristiyan Yankov's agency, Above Apex - https://aboveapex.com/  ⭐️ Kristiyan Yankov on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristyan-yankov/  💎 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 SaaS Link Building Intro 00:12 Kristiyan SEO Journey 01:50 Top Link Building Plays 03:43 Link Gap Analysis Steps 07:01 Proving Competitor Links Work 09:12 Outreach and LinkedIn First 10:12 Incentives for Listicles 13:13 Outreach Message Templates 14:43 When to Lead With Money 17:01 Finding Dominant Listicles 17:58 Existing Posts and Indexing 22:23 Small Batch Outreach Strategy 28:18 Follow Ups and Timing 30:13 Listicle Pricing and Value 34:11 Positioning and Keywords 37:24 Deep Links Beyond Homepage 39:09 Expert Quote Outreach Setup 40:02 Best Quote Platforms 41:31 Low Budget Link Tactics 43:10 Directory Links That Work 45:37 Clicks From Backlinks 46:40 Adjacent Industry Link Swaps 51:42 Relationship Driven Links 56:50 Common Link Building Mistakes 01:00:28 Guest Posts Done Right 01:05:37 Brand Mentions For AI Search 01:10:52 Linkable Assets And Virality 01:15:05 Natural Backlink Profiles 01:17:41 Where To Find Christian 01:17:56 Bulgaria Rose Valley Chat 01:21:34 Podcast Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #saasmarketing #seo

  6. 5 days ago

    Google Can Lose Faith In Your Website (Here's How To Get It Back)

    E1166: Google can lose faith in your website. That is the language Google's John Mueller used when discussing sites filled with large amounts of programmatic SEO content, low-quality pages, and generated content that fails to give users enough value. I break down what that means, why bad old pages continue to hurt a site, and what actual SEO recoveries look like. I cover: - John Mueller's warning that Google's systems can lose faith in a site based on its old pages - Why publishing hundreds or thousands of weak pages creates a sitewide problem - The danger of scaled AI content and programmatic SEO - Why producing more content does not fix a site that already has a quality problem - The "Boy Who Cried Wolf" effect in SEO - How repeatedly disappointing searchers damages the reputation of a site - Why click-through rate and pogo-sticking matter when thinking about user satisfaction - How weak pages create bad behavioral signals at scale - Why programmatic SEO makes the problem worse by publishing bad pages far faster than a human could - What happens when Google becomes more cautious about showing content from a site - How fixing the problem takes significant work and time I also break down a real recovery example where a company deleted around 200 thin AI-written pages and later saw Google traffic grow from roughly 1,000 to nearly 4,000 monthly visitors. Their new approach included: - Deleting thin AI pages first - Keeping only pages worth maintaining - Using real search data instead of having AI invent the content - Researching SERPs, search volumes, Reddit, Hacker News, and X - Using the actual language customers use - Writing bottom-of-funnel pages buyers actively search for - Publishing competitor lists with current pricing - Creating alternative pages for products people are leaving - Publishing original customer stories - Reviewing and editing every piece of content before publishing I also cover another recovery shared by Lily Ray. The site was hit by the December 2025 spam update, started making fixes, and finally began recovering roughly five months later. The takeaway is simple: If you flood your site with content that repeatedly disappoints searchers, cleaning it up is not instant. Delete the weak pages, improve the pages worth keeping, publish content people actually want, and give Google's systems enough time to see the change. Google does not forget a large history of bad content overnight. ⭐️ John Mueller's statements - https://bsky.app/profile/johnmu.com/post/3muwiaq3mws22  ⭐️ Charlotte Schmitt on 𝕏 - https://x.com/LottiSchmitt/status/2096967274343047324  ⭐️ Lily Ray on 𝕏 (recovery post) - https://x.com/lilyraynyc/status/2069739309075161234  ⭐️ Ep 989 - Google's Helpful Content Update DESTROYED the Internet (What Actually Happened) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YLUFjYrIEA  💎 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 Can Google Lose Trust 00:25 John Mueller on Programmatic SEO 01:53 Behavior Signals Explained 02:42 Boy Who Cried Wolf SEO 04:24 How Sites Recover 05:13 Pruning Playbook Steps 06:06 Bottom of Funnel Content Wins 06:37 Customer Stories Strategy 07:45 Recovery Timelines and Updates 08:51 Learn SEO the Right Way 10:40 Final Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seo #seorecovery #programmaticseo

  7. 11 Sept

    Position #1 On Google Is Dead (8.1 Million Searches Prove It)

    E1165: Position #1 on Google is dead, at least as a single, static ranking you can check once and trust. Joy Hawkins returns to break down a study of 8.1 million Google search results that found organic rankings became 48.7% more volatile after the May 2026 Core Update. 97% of the tracking reports analyzed started shuffling, and two people searching the same phrase at the same time now regularly see different rankings. The volatility didn't disappear after the update ended. It stayed elevated. We get into what this means for SEO, rank tracking, local search, AI Overviews, Google's new AI local results, content pruning, scaled AI content, reviews, and measuring whether SEO is actually making money. Topics we cover: - The 8.1 million-search study that found Google rankings became 48.7% more volatile - Why 97% of the tracking reports studied started shuffling - Why saying "we rank #1" or "we rank #3" is becoming increasingly inaccurate - How two people searching the exact same keyword can see completely different results - Why city + service keywords such as "Denver plumber" were among the searches hit hardest - Why checking a keyword once is no longer enough to measure rankings - How many searches Joy wants before she trusts rank-tracking data - Why top-three visibility across many searches matters more than one recorded position - Why SEOs need to connect rankings to traffic, calls, leads, and revenue - Why Joy trusts Search Console and call tracking more than a single rank-tracker snapshot - How Google's go-to redirects are making life harder for rank trackers and scrapers - Why rank trackers could start contaminating Search Console click data - The theory that increased ranking variation could make CTR manipulation easier for Google to detect - Why Google's traditional local pack, organic results, and AI local results need to be treated as different algorithms - SEO tactics that work in the traditional local pack but lose strength in AI local results - Why keyword-stuffed business names and extended business hours matter less in AI local packs - The three review signals Joy sees affecting traditional local rankings: rating, review count, and review frequency - Why the actual language inside customer reviews matters more for AI searches - How Google uses reviews to answer subjective local searches such as finding a cafe with fast Wi-Fi - Why your Google Business Profile description does not move rankings - How changing copy on your website changes what Google says about your business inside AI results - The risks of self-promotional "best X" listicles - Why a strong differentiator on your landing page matters more now - Joy's experiment deleting roughly 1,000 pages receiving zero clicks - Her experiment comparing Claude-generated content from expert interviews against content written by a human from the same source material - What happened after pruning more than half the content from sites hit with domain-wide ranking losses - Why scaled AI content on a real business website has become far riskier - How businesses can see enormous traffic growth from scaled content before the entire site crashes - Why AI content itself isn't the problem and where Joy sees legitimate uses for AI-generated content The biggest change is not that SEO stopped working. Sites still dominate search results. The problem is that a single ranking position no longer tells you enough. You need enough searches to measure how often you appear near the top, then connect that visibility to traffic, leads, calls, and ultimately revenue. Joy Hawkins is one of the most experienced local SEO testers in the industry, and this episode gets deep into what she is seeing across millions of searches and active client campaigns. ⭐️ Joy's write-up on this - https://www.sterlingsky.ca/the-dynamic-serp-update-may-2026-core-update-changed-seo/  ⭐️ Joy Hawkin's Agency - Sterling Sky: https://www.sterlingsky.ca/  ⭐️ Joy Hawkin's YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/SterlingSkyInc  ⭐️ Joy Hawkin's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/joyhawkins/  ⭐️ Local Search Forum - https://localsearchforum.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 Joy Returns and Setup 00:18 May Update Weirdness 02:42 Eight Million Study Results 05:55 Static Rankings Are Dead 08:38 Measure Leads Not Spots 10:21 How to Trust Rank Data 11:19 Client Reporting and Revenue 14:57 Why Google Changed SERPs 16:17 Go To Redirect Fallout 20:49 AI Packs and Shortcut Tactics 25:01 Not Personalization and Next Steps 33:00 Business First SEO 33:17 Lead Source Tracking 34:58 Local Rankings Reviews 36:22 AI Local Packs 37:42 Review Keywords AI 41:17 Listicles And Risks 46:27 USP For AI Overviews 47:31 Experiments And Tools 51:13 Pruning And Penalties 54:35 Scaled Content Scams 58:58 Accident Page Case Study 01:02:51 Safer Testing Domains 01:03:20 Traffic Spike And Crash 01:03:49 Screen Share SEO Graphs 01:05:06 Scaled Content Publishing 01:05:55 Is Number One Dead 01:06:20 What Still Works Now 01:09:50 Keywords And Local Links 01:12:54 Risky Tactics And Scale 01:22:09 AI Content Nuance 01:23:40 AI Slop Backlash 01:25:53 Hype Versus Proven SEO 01:28:57 Closing Thoughts And Farewell The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seo #localseo #digitalmarketing

  8. 11 Sept

    How $72 in Press Releases Made Google Call This Man the King of AEO

    E1164: It cost just $72 in press releases to get Google's AI Overview to call James Dooley the "King of AEO." I break down how two cheap press releases created enough relevance and third-party confirmation for Google to repeat the claim directly inside an AI Overview. The first press release cost $66 through an EIN Newswire package. The second cost $6 through AB Newswire. Both placed "King of AEO" in the locations that matter most for relevance: the headline, page title, URL slug, and opening sentence. Google then cited those releases when answering the query "Who is the king of AEO?" I break down: - How $72 in press releases influenced a Google AI Overview - The exact press releases Google cited - How the phrase "King of AEO" appeared in the title, H1, URL slug, and first sentence - How direct, unambiguous language matters when building entity associations - How one $66 EIN Newswire press release became the first citation in the AI Overview - How a $6 AB Newswire press release syndicated to USA Today became another supporting source - Why repeating the same entity association across multiple sources creates consensus - Why Google's AI Overview confidently repeated a claim about a crowning ceremony that never actually happened - How the press release image also started appearing in Google Images for "King of AEO" - What happened after I posted videos about the experiment across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube Shorts - How other SEOs then started publishing their own "King of AEO" press releases - Why the SERP turned into an SEO battleground - Why James Dooley still remained the dominant entity associated with "King of AEO" - How relevance and consensus work together when multiple people compete for the same entity association - Why press releases still matter for both traditional Google Search and AI-generated answers - What this experiment shows about influencing the information Google uses to construct AI Overview responses Before the competition started, James had a major advantage: most of the highly relevant pages around "King of AEO" pointed to him. Once more people entered the SERP with their own press releases, social posts, videos, images, and websites, Google started acknowledging the competing claims while still naming James as the person most widely associated with the title. This is a clear look at how the sausage gets made inside modern search. If you understand how relevance, entity associations, third-party mentions, syndication, and consensus work together, a bizarre AI Overview like this becomes much easier to explain. 💎 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 Press Releases Still Work 00:59 EIN Newswire Case Study 01:30 Keyword Placement Breakdown 02:55 AB Newswire For Six Bucks 04:13 The Fake Crowning Event 04:44 Google Images Impact 05:05 Blowing Up The SERP 05:38 New Challengers Appear 07:51 Why This Works 10:48 Wrap Up And Goodbye The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/   #searchengineoptimization #seo #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization

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About

Daily SEO advice, hacks, and interviews with some of the top voices in search engine optimization, as well as sit-downs with many undiscovered talents.

Information

  • Creator
    Edward Sturm
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.2k
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    The Edward Show

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