Stop Guessing SEO: How to Let Google Tell You What to Rank For
The Edward Show
E913: Practical, repeatable ways to use Google Search Console to make better SEO decisions without guessing. Instead of relying on assumptions, third-party tools, or long content cycles, this conversation focuses on using Google’s own data to identify what your site is already eligible to rank for - and how to expand from there. We cover real workflows you can apply immediately, whether you’re working on a small site or managing SEO at scale. David Quaid joins the show! We cover: - How to use Regex in Google Search Console to analyze branded vs non-branded searches - Why Search Console...
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How Perplexity Ranks Content (And What LLMs Really Care About)
The Edward Show
E912: New research explains how Perplexity evaluates, ranks, and even discards content. If you want your content to be shown, cited, or recommended by large language models, understanding how one major AI answer engine works gives you insight into how the rest likely operate. We walk through research that analyzes Perplexity’s ranking systems, including entity re-ranking, manual domain boosts, early engagement signals, and freshness requirements. While the research is currently unverified, the findings closely align with what we already know about how AI search and answer engines prioritize...
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Google Says This Is the #1 SEO Rule Most People Ignore
The Edward Show
E911: I break down what Google’s John Mueller has repeatedly said is the most important rule in SEO: consistency. Not shortcuts. Not trends. Just consistent execution over time. John Mueller has shared this advice for years without fully explaining why it matters. Barry Schwartz helped add context, and in this I explain how consistency impacts rankings, trust, and conversions across both technical SEO and content. This conversation focuses on why inconsistent implementation quietly holds back many websites, even when they are doing other things right. What you’ll learn: - Why Google...
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How ChatGPT Actually Works (and How to Get Your Content Shown in AI Answers)
The Edward Show
E910: How ChatGPT and other large language models actually generate answers, based on widely shared research on how AI systems use search, training data, and real-time web results. If you’re doing SEO in 2026 and beyond, understanding how AI decides when to search, what it pulls from the web, and why certain content gets shown in AI answers is no longer optional. This episode explains the mechanics behind ChatGPT, AI Overviews, and LLM recommendations - and how to adapt your SEO strategy so your content gets surfaced. What You’ll Learn in This Episode - How ChatGPT really works behind the...
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Why AI Garbage Content Ranks in Google
The Edward Show
E909: When you search Google today, you’ll often see obviously AI-generated, low-quality content ranking in the top results - sometimes even from big global brands. In this episode, I break down why that happens, what’s actually going on inside Google’s algorithms, and why copying what you see in the SERPs is often the wrong takeaway for long-term SEO. This isn’t an episode about shortcuts or spam tactics. It’s about understanding how search really works, where the leniency comes from, and how to think about SEO beyond “what ranks right now.” We cover: - Why low-quality AI...
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Vibe Coding for SEO: Building Rankable Apps, Tools, and Revenue in Minutes
The Edward Show
E908: We break down how SEOs are using vibe coding and AI development tools to build rankable web apps, calculators, and tools that generate organic traffic and revenue faster than traditional content. Today’s guest is Ram Berrouet, a longtime co-founder, friend, product builder, and founder of Relief, a Series A startup with hundreds of thousands of users. Ram explains how recent breakthroughs in AI models have fundamentally changed what’s possible for SEO-driven businesses - from building full web apps in minutes to replacing large engineering teams with AI-assisted workflows. This...
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How One Blog a Week Took a Local Dentist to 130,000 Monthly Visits
The Edward Show
E907: An SEO copywriter quietly helped a single local dental office grow from almost zero traffic to 130,000 monthly organic visits - using nothing more than one blog post per week. No backlink campaigns. No complicated SEO frameworks. No content farm. Just consistent blogging, strong keyword choices, and writing that people actually want to read. That SEO copywriter is Tiffani Daniel. She joins us today and we break down exactly how this happened, why it worked, and what most people misunderstand about blogging, SEO, and conversion-focused content. What we cover: - How a local dentist grew...
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Google Wasn’t Lying: What the Google API Leak Really Revealed About SEO
The Edward Show
E906: I sit down with Shaun Anderson (Hobo Web), one of the most respected SEOs in the industry - someone who has been working in search since the early 2000s and has firsthand experience with every major Google shift, from early link-based ranking to AI-driven systems. We look at what the Google API Leak actually showed, what Google has been consistent about for years, and where SEO narratives have gone wrong. This is a technical, honest conversation focused on how Google really evaluates websites today. Topics covered: - Why Google wasn’t lying about how rankings work - What the Google API...
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$24K In → $2.8M Out: The Local SEO Strategy That Actually Works
The Edward Show
E905: An auto repair shop paid $24,000 for SEO. In 11 months, they generated $2.8 million in revenue. This is exactly how that happened and why most local SEO campaigns never come close to results like this. The strategy comes from a real-world case study shared by Sarvesh Shrivastava, and it lines up perfectly with what actually works for local service businesses today. This is not theory. This is not generic “best practices.” This is practical local SEO execution that leads to phone calls and booked jobs. We cover: - Why generic “services” pages don’t convert - and what to build...
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Google Just Cut News Traffic in Half (51% → 27%) - Now What?
The Edward Show
E904: New data shows a massive decline in Google Search traffic to news publishers. Here’s what this means for anyone relying on organic traffic to survive. According to recent analysis, Google Search traffic to news sites has dropped from 51% to 27% over the past two years. At the same time, publishers have become increasingly dependent on Google Discover, a traffic source that is volatile, unpredictable, and difficult to control. I walk through the data, reactions from the SEO and publishing community, and then share my honest take on whether traditional news publishing is still a viable...
info_outlineE678: The disavow tool in Google Search Console lets you tell Google to ignore “toxic” backlinks. But is this actually useful in 2025?
I break down whether you should be using the disavow tool, who it is really for, and why most websites and businesses are wasting their time (and money) on it.
A listener emailed me about their SEO expert disavowing links with zero results. That inspired this deep dive into:
- What the disavow tool is and how it works
- Real opinions from SEOs on Reddit and the broader community
- My honest take after well over a decade in SEO
- What actually moves the needle in rankings
- Why focusing on keywords, search intent, and smart link building is way more effective
💡 TLDR: Unless you’ve received a manual penalty, disavowing links might be doing more harm than good.
⭐️ Google Disavow Tool Mega Thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/1cnfee5/has_anyone_seen_positive_impact_from_using/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Introduction
00:10 Real-Life Query: Asaf’s Experience
00:58 Overview of the Disavow Tool
02:12 Community Opinions: Mixed Reviews
04:38 The Heated Debate: Is Disavowing Worth It?
09:40 Alternative SEO Strategies
12:16 Conclusion and Upcoming Episodes
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
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