The Unscripted SEO Interview Podcast

Jeremy Rivera
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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.

  1. vor 1 Tag

    Robert Spinrad on why good SEO is good AI visibility

    Most agencies are still figuring out what to say about AI. Robert Spinrad from SEOM Interactive already has an answer — and it’s not what you’d expect. Robert is the Associate Director of SEO at SEOM Interactive, a Philadelphia-area digital marketing agency operating since 2008. He joined the team straight out of Temple University in 2015 and has grown into a leadership role running the SEO function across a 40-person team. In this episode, Jeremy Rivera and Robert get into the reframe that’s been driving strategy at SEOM: it’s no longer about learning AI tools — it’s about proving to LLMs that your clients are trustworthy enough to surface. They also cover why reviews have become multi-platform infrastructure, how digital PR with real owner quotes is pulling ahead, and the phrase Robert coined that’s going into Jeremy’s client deck: “humble experts.”

    35 Min.

  2. vor 2 Tagen

    How AI Turns SEOs Into the Orchestrators of Digital Marketing | Adrian Nikolov, Haide Digital

    Jeremy Rivera sits down with Adrian Nikolov, founder of Haide Digital, for an unscripted conversation about what SEO becomes when AI stops being a threat and starts being the engine. "Haide" means "let's go" in Bulgarian — and Adrian's whole philosophy is built on it: publish, break stuff, read the data, feed it back, improve. With 18 years in SEO and digital marketing, Adrian breaks down "Organic Growth Engineering" — his blend of SEO, GEO, and AI automation — and how his team builds self-healing topical authority systems that get smarter than the humans running them. Jeremy and Adrian go deep on why "just blogging" is dead, how to actually funnel cold traffic instead of throwing spaghetti at the wall, and why authority is the new PageRank. They also get into the messy realities: prompt tracking as sticking your finger in the wind, why LLM referral traffic can look great and convert terribly, and how to reverse-engineer AI citations by just asking the model why it surfaced a source. Whether you run an agency, a SaaS brand, or your own site, this one is about flipping the script — from fighting Google's black box to feeding the LLMs the answers they're begging for. ⏱️ In this episode: • Why AI won't take SEO jobs — it makes SEOs the orchestrators • Building your own tools and becoming the developer • Self-healing topical authority systems explained • Search Everywhere Optimization vs. blog-only strategy • Top / mid / bottom of funnel — and building sticky content • Signal interception (news-jacking) automation across social • The truth about prompt tracking and LLM citation data • Microsoft Clarity, sentiment analysis, and authority as the new PageRank • How to get cited in AI (you may not even need links) • Agentic shopping and training your "least trustworthy rep" (Claude, GPT, Gemini) Connect with Adrian Nikolov: Website: https://haide.digital/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-nikolov/ Newsletter: "Search Engineered" (on LinkedIn) ️ More from Unscripted SEO: Explore the full archive of interviews at https://unscriptedseo.com Like & subscribe if you caught this on YouTube — spread the signal. #SEO #AISEO #GEO #SearchEverywhereOptimization #DigitalMarketing

    51 Min.

  3. vor 2 Tagen

    Lloyd Thompson: Get Out of the Day-to-Day Without Blowing Up Your Team

    Most founders become the bottleneck in their own business. Lloyd Thompson of Virtual DOO on the fractional "operator" who sits between you and your team — and gets you out of the day-to-day. Jeremy Rivera talks with Lloyd Thompson, founder of Virtual DOO, about fractional operations for busy online business owners: what a Director of Operations actually does, when you need one, how to make operations measurable, a nuanced take on remote vs. return-to-office, and his fix for the AI era — the problem isn't the tools, it's the noise, so simplify. ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 – Intro: from corporate to Virtual DOO 8:06 – What a fractional operator actually does 12:47 – The return-to-office counter-take 16:41 – Operations ROI: what agencies miss 23:51 – The AI-tool trap: simplify the noise 29:20 – E-commerce operations at scale 33:01 – Where to find Lloyd In this episode • The "operator" who sits betw • When to hire a DOO — and the first thing to take off the founder's plate • Why operations must be made ads • Remote vs. office: when face-to-face is actually worth the cost • The tool trap: stop chasing channels Connect with Lloyd Thompson Website: https://virtualdoo.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin Book: Nine Ways to Leave the Day-to-Day Operations (Amazon) ️ Unscripted Small Business More episodes: https://unscriptedsmallbusiness.com Host Jeremy Rivera: https://jeremyriveraseo.com/about/ Human Certified Content & The SEO Advisory

    29 Min.

  4. vor 3 Tagen

    Mike Montague: Use AI Like Iron Man, Not the Terminator

    AI gets a "C+" in everything — but the last 20% is still the human job. Mike Montague (Avenue9) on marketing the Iron Man way: augment yourself, don't automate slop. Jeremy Rivera sits down with Mike Montague — founder of Avenue9 and host of the Human First AI Marketing Podcast (100k+ subscribers) — for a candid talk on using AI to distill your real story instead of manufacturing more noise. They get into why organic traffic is cratering, how to make your online reputation mirror your real-life work, and why "old-school" moves like direct mail are quietly winning again. ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 – Iron Man, not Terminator: human-first AI 2:10 – Why AI only gets a "C+" (and the human 20%) 4:20 – "Claude Hopping" & the slop problem 7:15 – Making boring niches interesting again 11:00 – One winner, or old-school branding 16:40 – Reputation that mirrors real life 23:00 – "Degenerative engineering": distill, don't generate 26:40 – Direct mail as a superpower 31:40 – Entity optimization & the LLM middle 35:45 – Superintelligence & sci-fi futures 44:30 – What Mike actually does (Avenue9) In this episode • Why "just make more AI conte • The one-winner vs. earn-your-reputation split in AI search • Turning 100+ interviews intoake • Jeremy's Raven Tools direct-mail test: 10 letters → 10 links • Entity optimization as core Mentioned in this episode: PureAire Monitoring — the oxygen-monitor manufacturer behind Jeremy’s B2B cross-pollination example. Connect with Mike Montague Avenue9: https://avenue9.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin Human First AI Marketing Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@Avenue9ai ️ Unscripted SEO Podcast Website & more episodes: https Host Jeremy Rivera: https://jeremyriveraseo.com/about/ Human-certified content for agedcontent.com/ #SEO #AImarketing #HumanFirstA

    49 Min.

  5. vor 4 Tagen

    Rob Bonham on SEO in the Agentic Age

    About the guest Rob Bonham is an SEO with about two decades of experience spanning local, e-commerce, SaaS, and home-services clients. Today he advises several startups on SEO and works as a fractional SEO manager and director for a handful of agencies. You can reach him on LinkedIn. What we cover Why the “agentic age” feels like the pre-Panda/Penguin wild west — and what that means for strategy Why publishing AI content at volume backfires on user signals, rankings, and client trust Measuring SEO in a post-attribution world where GSC and LLM data are unreliable Link building reborn: unlinked mentions, third-party visibility, and partner links Going independent: contracts, pricing, and filtering out tire-kickers Episode highlights Rob's throughline is that SEOs are now “stewards of the AI.” On the Unscripted SEO Podcast, he and Jeremy Rivera trace how AI has automated the low-level work — title tags, meta descriptions, on-page fixes — so the real job shifts to strategy and judgment. The freedom is real; so is the responsibility. Which is why volume is not a strategy. Just because you can publish 100 city-specific pages for a concrete contractor doesn't mean you should. When the user signals aren't there, Google devalues the content — a reality Jeremy underscores with his own post on why Google Search Console data isn't reliable. Look like a hero for a few months, then watch the site dive. In a post-attribution world, Rob argues you win by telling the right story with the data you do have — branded-search lift, conversion correlation, the “game of sums.” And he makes the case that link building is an easier sell than ever when reframed as footprint: unlinked mentions, third-party visibility, and legitimate partner and supplier links. The back half gets practical. Rob and Jeremy Rivera dig into going independent — setting expectations to avoid scope creep, pricing with conviction (a higher price can itself signal quality), filtering tire-kickers with a small paid audit, and surviving enterprise red tape and net-60 terms. Connect with Rob Bonham LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robbonham (Rob points people to LinkedIn — he's “tied at the hip” with it — rather than a website.) About the show The Unscripted SEO Podcast is hosted by Jeremy Rivera and features candid, unscripted conversations with SEO practitioners, agency owners, and marketing leaders. New episodes drop weekly at unscriptedseo.com.

    56 Min.

  6. 26. Juni

    Unscripted SEO with Patrick Stox

    Patrick Stox's extensive background from developer to product manager at Ahrefs and now as a solo consultant. The evolution and influence of product development within SEO tools, including infrastructure changes and visualization tools. The competitive landscape of SEO tools, including the impact of industry giants like Ahrefs and emerging niche tools. The role and growth of AI in SEO, including its current limitations and future potential. Strategies for content creation leveraging AI, expert engagement, and unique data sources. Perspectives on Google's infrastructure and the importance of understanding search system architecture. The impact of industry conferences and community involvement for SEO professionals. Career guidance on pathway choices: agency, in-house, freelancing. The importance of transparency, contracts, and client communication in SEO consulting. The evolving role of backlinks in SEO and AI's influence on ranking factors. The shifting landscape of SEO communities and best practices for staying ahead. Resources & Links: Ahrefs Ref's official site (linked via the brand name) Claudia (for AI models) Gemini (Google's AI project) Tech SEO Connect Conference SEO Community Slack (by Noah Learner) Reddit SEO communities LinkedIn Patrick Stox PatrickStox.com (work in progress) Connect with Patrick Stox: LinkedIn Website Timestamps: (Approximate as per transcript; exact timing may vary slightly) 00:00 - Introduction and guest background 00:49 - Patrick's career journey from developer to SEO professional 1:17 - Influence on Ahrefs product development 2:04 - Tools and features Patrick was involved in building 2:27 - Dream tool concepts and infrastructure projects 3:24 - AI capabilities and challenges in SEO tools 3:45 - Industry impact of Ahrefs' reputation 4:34 - Space for niche SEO tools and innovation 5:04 - Sharing space with AI-enabled tools and market dynamics 5:50 - Quality of AI data and challenges of DIY tools 6:42 - Building niche tools with AI and data integration 7:18 - Acceptance of beta and MVP culture in tech startup growth 8:15 - Lessons from Ahrefs' product rollout and iteration process 8:44 - Infrastructure challenges and data limitations in SEO tools 9:30 - Overview of Tech SEO Connect Conference 10:24 - Conference themes and activities, stress relief 11:21 - Future of content at scale and AI's role in content quality 12:17 - Unique workflows for creating valuable SEO content 14:01 - How to leverage unique data and market analysis in SEO projects 14:43 - Controversial ideas on SEO's future and influence of branding 15:00 - SEO and geograp...

    44 Min.

  7. 22. Juni

    Unlocking the Power of Relevance in SEO and Link Building with Bradley Benner

    Semantic Links with Bradley Benner Watch: https://youtu.be/AUf1U_klNCM Previous interview: https://unscriptedseo.com/building-relevent-links-agencies-with-bradley-benner/ Unlocking the Power of Relevance in SEO and Link Building with Bradley Benner Discover how relevance outranks traditional metrics in modern SEO strategies, especially in the era of AI and large language models (LLMs). Bradley Benner shares deep insights into relevance-driven link building, AI-driven process automation, and the evolving landscape of search engine optimization.In this episode: The importance of relevance over metrics like Domain Authority (DA) and Trust Flow in link building How AI models interpret links and mentions for search visibility Strategies for creating strong entity associations through contextual links The role of structured and unstructured citations in AI search algorithms The impact of AI tools on SEO workflows and systems development Best practices for optimizing on-page elements for both algorithms and human visitors The shift from spammy SEO tactics to more sustainable, human-focused copywriting Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction to Bradley Benner and his background in local SEO and AI applications 00:30 - Bradley’s evolution from contractor to SEO entrepreneur 01:01 - The growth of Semantic Mastery and Semantic Links 01:31 - The significance of relevance in link building and SEO 02:51 - How AI models interpret links and mentions 03:37 - Automating processes with AI and the importance of well-defined workflows 04:58 - The role of relevance in today's link-building strategies 06:28 - Using transcripts and AI for process mapping and SOP development 07:55 - Flexing AI to optimize workflows instead of rigid processes 09:28 - The shift in local SEO and the importance of relevance over traditional metrics 10:23 - The changing landscape of AI dominance in search and its implications 11:14 - Relevance as the cornerstone of off-page SEO in AI-driven search engines 12:07 - Moving beyond thousands of backlink metrics to focus on relevance 13:40 - Ethical considerations and outdated SEO practices 14:42 - The importance of creating and reinforcing entity associations 15:54 - Optimizing page elements using semantic triples for better relevance 17:33 - The significance of contextual relevance in link placement 18:32 - The three layers of relevance in backlink profiles 19:24 - How large language models leverage mentions and relevance over traditional link equity 20:48 - Using citations and mentions as signals for search algorithms 22:02 - The influence of high authority and localized mentions for AI visibility 23:16 - The future of link building and relevance in the AI era 24:21 - The positive impact of LLMs on justify investments in link building 25:08 - Traditional marketing techniques meet AI-driven SEO 26:03 - Practical tips for human-centered optimization and content structureResources & Links: Semantic Mastery Semantic Links Cursor AI Platform Claude AI Google Search Traffic & AI Insights

    26 Min.

  8. 15. Juni

    Why Human Judgment Still Scales: Joel Miller on AI, SEO, and Owned Audiences

    Joel Miller is the co-founder of The SkyFloor, a digital agency he has run alongside his identical twin brother since 2008. The SkyFloor works across industries — churches, retail, education, and service organizations — with a philosophy centered on long-term partnerships and outcome-driven strategy rather than one-off deliverables. Joel writes regularly on digital strategy and business growth at theskyfloor.com/ideas. What We Cover Why the highest-value work any agency or consultant does is enabling clients to become who they want to be — and why AI can't replicate that A real-world custom GPT case study: how 30–40 hours of human listening made AI call analysis actually work What AI Overviews are doing to organic click-through rates, ad keyword availability, and SERP composition Why owned audience channels — especially email — are now the most durable marketing asset in a Google-disrupted world The AI slop problem and why authentic human presence is becoming the scarcest commodity online Episode Highlights Joel opens by reframing what The SkyFloor actually sells: not services, but outcomes. He describes their team as problem solvers who work backward from what a client wants to become — whether that's a more efficient church, a retail brand competing online, or an education company ready to grow beyond referrals. That outcome-first philosophy maps onto what Jeremy calls the pyramid of value: executing a tactic at the base, saving time in the middle, and enabling the client to become who they want to be at the top. As Joel puts it, the human ingenuity required to genuinely partner with a client is still a distinctly human task — one AI cannot replicate at the top of that pyramid. The conversation gets practical fast with Joel's sales call analysis case study. A client had lead conversion problems, and rather than feeding transcripts into a model, Joel listened to 30–40 hours of incoming calls himself — catching tone, the weight of a specific pause, the difference between enthusiasm and polite deflection. Once he'd mapped those human-observed patterns, he built a custom GPT framework and connected it to CallRail for automatic call scoring. The human defines the problem; AI scales the execution. Joel was equally candid about LLM limitations: ask an LLM for an answer and you've already biased the output. It is an answer engine, not an objective analyst — and the good prompt engineers know how to work around that tendency. "An audience can't just be taken away if it's your audience, no matter what Google does next." Joel is watching AI Overview impact in real time across his client accounts: impressions holding or growing, clicks down ~40%, and SERP layouts restructured so that for many queries, organic results appear nowhere above the fold. The composition is now AI Overview, then local pack, then sponsored results — organic is buried or absent. On the paid side, keyword categories that used to reliably trigger ad placements have been absorbed by overview content. His adaptation: heavier investment in high-intent near-me queries that still trigger standard ad slots, and a shift away from treating search volume as the primary planning input toward full SERP composition audits. The most durable advice from the episode is Joel's audience ownership argument. He's actively steering clients toward email lists and direct subscriber relationships — assets that t...

    31 Min.
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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.

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  • Erstellt von
    Jeremy Rivera
  • Jahre aktiv
    2023 - 2026
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