Inside the Search Engine Black Box: Query Fan-Outs, CTR, and Indexing Myths Debunked
Release Date: 12/14/2025
From SEO TikTok to $18M Agencies: How Creators Actually Scale
The Edward Show
E945: I’m joined by Matt Diamante and Jake Tlapek for a long-form, unfiltered conversation about what actually happens after you win on social media. All three of us came up through SEO content on TikTok and Instagram. This episode isn’t about going viral - it’s about turning attention into durable businesses, building teams, and deciding what you want to scale next. We cover the real mechanics of growing agencies, removing yourself from delivery, using content as leverage, and how AI and social search are changing SEO in practice - not theory. What we talk about in this episode: - How...
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Is E-commerce SEO Dead? Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol & the Future of Search
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E944: Google has introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a system that allows merchants to send product data directly to Google so users can discover and buy products inside search, AI Mode, and Gemini - without ever visiting a website. In this episode, we break down what UCP actually is, how agentic commerce works, and what this shift means for e-commerce SEO, CRO, brand authority, and margins. Joining the discussion are Harpreet Singh, Gagan Ghotra, and David Quaid, three experienced SEOs with deep backgrounds in e-commerce, SaaS, B2B, and technical SEO. Together, we unpack...
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How to Get High-Quality Backlinks From Podcast Appearances
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E943: How to get high-quality backlinks from podcast appearances and why podcast guesting is one of the most effective and overlooked SEO strategies available right now. This is based on real experience. In 2022, I went on 30 podcasts in three months before I had an audience, social media presence, or this podcast. Those appearances helped me build backlinks, branded searches, topical authority, and ultimately led to everything I’m doing now. This episode covers why podcast backlinks work, how they affect SEO directly and indirectly, and exactly how to get booked on podcasts consistently....
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An $80 Press Release Ranked #1 on Google (And Tricked AI)
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E942: A real case study showing how an $80 press release from Matt Diamante (Hey Tony Agency) ranked #1 on Google for a non-branded keyword and influenced Google’s AI Overview. This isn’t theory. This actually happened. I walk through exactly how a single press release, distributed through AB Newswire, showed up at the top of Google search results, was cited by a publication, and continued to influence AI search results weeks later - even after the original press release was no longer publicly accessible. This episode explains why press releases still matter, how they influence search...
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Google Is Breaking SEO: Permanent Manual Actions, AI Search & the Rise of Black Hat
The Edward Show
E941: Edward is joined by Charles Floate and David Quaid for a deep, technical conversation about what is actually happening in search right now - and why many long-held SEO assumptions no longer hold. We discuss a growing pattern of manual actions that appear to be permanent, rejected reconsideration requests even after large-scale cleanups, and why some businesses may never fully recover organic traffic from Google. From enterprise sites to small publishers, the rules are shifting fast. The conversation moves into AI search, ChatGPT visibility, Reddit’s dominance in the SERPs, and how...
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Google Penalties Are Becoming Permanent (And That Changes Everything)
The Edward Show
E940: Google penalties are no longer feeling like temporary setbacks. More and more site owners are fixing everything they’re told to fix, submitting reconsideration requests, and still getting rejected. In this episode, I break down why Google manual actions appear to be becoming semi-permanent, what multiple SEO practitioners are seeing in real data, and why Google may no longer be asking “did you fix it?” - but instead “should we ever trust you again?” We cover what’s changing, what’s being reported by people deep in the weeds, and what this means if you’re using aggressive...
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How to Build Backlinks for a Brand New Website (From Zero Authority)
The Edward Show
E939: If you’ve just launched a website and have no backlinks, this episode walks through how to build links the right way - without shortcuts, spam, or jumping into strategies that don’t work for new sites. This episode is based on a real thread from Charles Floate’s r/linkbuilding subreddit, where someone asked how to build high-quality backlinks for a brand-new beauty blog with no existing authority. I break down the best answers, add real-world context, and explain what actually matters when you’re starting from scratch. We cover why most people make link building harder than it...
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YouTube Just Overtook Reddit in AI Search (Here’s How to Win Citations)
The Edward Show
E938: I break down new data showing that YouTube has officially overtaken Reddit as the most cited social platform in AI search, including large language models like ChatGPT. We’ll cover what this shift means for SEO, brand visibility, and how to actually get your content cited by AI using YouTube. What changed in AI search - YouTube is now cited more frequently than Reddit in AI-generated answers - Transcripts and descriptions make YouTube content easy for LLMs to read - AI systems increasingly rely on YouTube for explanations, reviews, and comparisons Why YouTube now beats Reddit for AI...
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Claude Cowork Is a Literal Cheat Code for SEO (Here’s How Agencies See It)
The Edward Show
E937: Watch on YouTube: A deep, practical look at how Claude Cowork is changing the way SEO work is actually executed. This is not a theoretical discussion about AI. The focus is on real workflows: how Claude Cowork performs hands-on SEO tasks that normally require hours of manual effort, and how agencies can realistically use it today. The conversation walks through live examples of Claude Cowork performing local SEO audits, Google Business Profile analysis, competitor research, and on-page SEO evaluations by directly interacting with the browser and SEO tools. Sarvesh Shrivastava joins the...
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How to Build Local Backlinks That Actually Increase Local Rankings
The Edward Show
E936: Local SEO lives or dies by local authority - and one of the biggest drivers of that authority is local backlinks. I break down exactly how to build high-quality local backlinks that help search engines see your business as an authority in a specific city or region. This applies whether you’re starting a local business, competing in a crowded market, or expanding into new locations. I cover practical strategies that send real referral traffic, strengthen local topical authority, and support long-term ranking improvements - not theory. What you’ll learn: - Why local backlinks matter...
info_outlineE893: How do search engines actually work - and what role do LLMs really play?
David Quaid joins the show to break open the search engine black box, explaining how Google, Bing, and AI-powered tools retrieve and rank content, why pages fail to get indexed, and which SEO “rules” are myths versus reality.
We explore the Query Fan-Out, PageRank, CTR testing, indexing behavior, and why most advice about freshness, dwell time, and AI search is misleading.
If you’ve been confused by LLM search results, indexing issues, or sudden ranking changes, this conversation will recalibrate how you think about SEO.
Topics Covered
- What Query Fan-Out is and how LLMs retrieve web results
- Why pages aren’t getting indexed (Google & Bing)
- PageRank: why it still matters and can’t be replaced
- CTR vs dwell time: what Google actually tests
- Freshness myths (2025 / 2026 queries explained)
- Ranking in AI search tools like ChatGPT, Grok, and Perplexity
- When to create a new page vs update existing content
- Indexing APIs, backlinks, and why manual indexing is a red flag
- SEO strategies for SaaS founders and solopreneurs
⭐️ David Quaid on 𝕏 - https://x.com/DavidGQuaid
⭐️ David Quaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/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 Welcome and Introduction
00:24 Understanding Query Fan-Out
03:39 SEO Strategies for Bing
09:31 OpenAI and the Future of Search Indexes
17:01 The Evolution and Impact of PageRank
32:57 How to Index a Link Instantly
41:36 Ranking in Grok
44:11 The Role of Freshness in LLMs and SEO Rankings
46:17 Insights from Glen Allsopp’s Study on Best Lists
48:39 Debating the Importance of Freshness in SEO
52:03 Challenges of SEO for AI-Generated Content
59:30 Strategies for Creating and Updating SEO Pages
01:05:47 AI-Generated Content and SEO
01:07:09 Challenges with AI-Generated Sites
01:14:23 SEO Tips for SaaS and Tool Founders
01:20:24 Concluding Thoughts and Future Discussions
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #backlinks #digitalmarketing