The Edward Show

E727: Nik shares his screen (watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wsllqj9wCE8 ) and walks us through the exact AI workflows he uses to run his podcast, streamline his business, and save dozens of hours every week - using tools like Claude, ChatGPT, Zapier, Google Sheets, and the Limitless Pendant. We talk about: - What happened when AI was given full control of a real company store - Nik's personal...

E726: How to consistently earn backlinks and attract new clients by building visible credibility - even if you're just getting started and have no existing reputation. The episode breaks down a real example from James Reynolds, the founder of SEO Sherpa, an SEO agency that grew from zero to eight figures in revenue. He used a structured, repeatable process to build perceived authority from the gro...

E725: I break down the 2025 State of Link Building report - a huge new study featuring insights from 518 SEO pros (myself included). You'll learn: - Why NoFollow links still matter - The most popular shady black hat backlink methods - How unlinked brand mentions influence rankings - Whether a $508 backlink is actually worth it - What's working in link building right now - and what's risky - Why yo...

E724: I walk you through a ridiculously powerful AI + Google Sheets hack that helped us sort through thousands of keywords to find a high-value keyword opportunity - potentially worth $15K/month - in just minutes. Whether you're doing SEO to sell services, SaaS, or any niche, this method will save you hours of manual sorting. Learn: - How to use Google Sheets + AI to filter thousands of keywords i...

E723: I break down why SEO is still one of the most powerful marketing channels in 2025 - especially when paired with AI and social media. With fresh Datos data, timeless SEO experiments, and examples, we explore what's actually happening with search, and how SEO knowledge now gives you an edge across platforms and algorithms. What you'll learn: - How SEO knowledge translates to AI optimization -...

E722: Dominick DeJoy joins the show to break down the 2025 playbook for LinkedIn Ads - what's actually working right now, how to amplify organic content for cheaper CPMs, and the surprising glitches and arbitrage opportunities that marketers are quietly using to scale. From B2B funnels that convert, to why thought leadership ads outperform traditional campaigns, to the truth about Google Ads, attr...

E721: Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently appeared on the Lex Fridman podcast and addressed growing concerns about AI search, SEO, and the future of the human-created web. I break down the key takeaways and what they mean for content creators, marketers, and site owners. What's Covered: - How Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode are impacting search behavior - Whether Google is still committed to sendi...

E720: What can we learn from how Ancient Rome mastered public perception? Historian Gregory S. Aldrete joins the show to break down the surprising sophistication of Roman branding, influence, and propaganda - and what modern marketers can learn from it. From Caesar's third-person dispatches to Augustus' image management masterclass, this episode explores the tools Rome used to dominate the narrati...

E719: Google just dropped support for 7 niche schema types - including Book Actions, Course Info, Estimated Salary, and more. In this episode, I break down exactly what that means for your SEO strategy, why most structured data is a waste of time, and the truth about LLMs.txt. You'll learn: - Why niche schema doesn't move the needle - What Google actually says about structured data - Whether schem...

E718: Image SEO is one of the most ignored parts of search optimization - even by people who've been in the game for years. And yet, it affects everything from how your pages rank to how your brand shows up in Google Images, AI tools like ChatGPT, and social media platforms. In this episode, I break down the basic image SEO tactics most people skip - and how fixing them can lead to more traffic, b...

E717: Everyone's saying SEO is dead. Pages are getting de-indexed en masse, AI Overviews are stealing clicks, and AI content is getting penalized. So… is the SEO world collapsing? You'll learn: - Why so many pages are getting removed from Google's index - How AI Overviews are changing click patterns - What kind of content Google is still rewarding - Why transactional keywords are your best friend...

E716: I break down exactly how I approach keyword research - using competitor data, Google Search Console, and SERP analysis to find high-impact keywords you can actually rank for. Then, I share some of the best community advice from the SEO subreddit, covering both keyword research and a hot topic: are there any real SEO shortcuts that still work today? You'll walk away with proven strategies, in...

E715: A fascinating new discovery about Google's indexing behavior: if your page hasn't been crawled in 130 days, it will be removed from Google's index. This insight comes from a deep-dive study by Alexis Rylko at iProspect, who used Screaming Frog and the Google Search Console API to uncover the pattern. I break down: - What the 130-day crawl rule is and why it matters - How Google decides which...

E714: Alex Moss, Principal SEO at Yoast, joins the show! We cover everything from AI agents, LLMs, and Google's monopoly risk, to whether link building is dying, and what LLMs.txt really means for content visibility. We also discuss: - How ChatGPT and AI assistants are reshaping user behavior - How SEO reporting, keyword strategy & top-of-funnel content are evolving - Why bottom-of-funnel and bran...

E713: Think your homepage should rank for all your top keywords? Think again. In this episode, I break down one of the biggest mistakes I still see SEOs making in 2025 - using the homepage as a catch-all SEO landing page. You'll learn: - Why targeting keywords with your homepage doesn't work anymore - The real purpose of a homepage in modern SEO - How exact match domains (EMDs) actually hurt your...

E712: The wildest, weirdest, and most persistent SEO myths floating around the internet - from adding emojis to your meta descriptions to bolding rhyming keywords for "semantic musicality." We're breaking down what actually matters in SEO in 2025 - backlinks, content quality, site speed, AI-generated content, and more. Whether you're an SEO veteran or just trying to figure out if Google really car...

E711: Thousands of SEOs are reporting a massive drop in indexed pages - starting around May 20th. Is it a glitch? An algorithm update? Or something bigger? I share my bold theory on why Google is de-indexing so many pages - and why platforms like TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn are now dominating search results. Here's what I cover: - The data behind Google's index purge - Why use...

E710: How do you grow an SEO agency from $0 to 8 figures? James Reynolds, founder of SEO Sherpa, shares just this - exactly how he built his agency from the ground up. We cover: - How James scaled SEO Sherpa from a solo consulting business to an 8-figure agency with a 65-person team - The strategy behind his 21 SEO Experiments article - How to build a scalable agency without getting stuck in clien...

E709: Google is de-indexing millions of pages - and SEOs around the world are scrambling to figure out why. I explain what's happening with the recent changes to Google's indexing, which appear to have started in late May 2025. Topics covered: - Why pages are being removed from Google's index - How Google's approach to topical authority may be changing - Whether this is connected to an upcoming Co...

E708: LLMs.txt files are going viral in the SEO world. This is a new file type aimed at helping AI tools understand your site better. But is it worth adding? I explain exactly what LLMs.txt is, how it works, and how it fits into the evolving SEO + AI landscape. I also checked some of the biggest SEO and tech sites to see how they're approaching it - and the results will surprise you. Topics covere...

E707: The top 3 reasons brands are not ranking on Google - explaining the most common SEO mistakes. Lots of people attribute mistake #3 to mistake #1, it's not. There's a top mistake and it's not what SEOs and marketers think. And remember - don't trust an SEO who blanket diagnoses your issue without going deep into your site, its pages, its marketing, and its links. You wouldn't trust a doctor wh...

E706: The State of Search 2025 report from Datos and SparkToro just came out. I walk through four of the most eye-opening graphs, sharing what they reveal about how search and content are evolving. Topics covered: - The top 10 most-clicked sites in Google Search and what this means for your strategy - How user-generated content - especially video - is shaping search results - Why most marketers ig...

E705: I explain how to choose the right domain name for SEO and what mistakes to avoid. Topics covered: - Which domains can harm your SEO - How to select a name that allows your brand to grow - Whether exact match domains (EMDs) are helpful - TLDs to use and avoid - Why starting with the wrong domain can create long-term problems If you're launching a new site or considering a domain change, this...

E704: Clicks are going down while impressions rise. Google's AI Overviews are changing how users interact with search results. I explain what's happening with "The Great SEO Decoupling," why many websites are seeing less traffic even when they rank well, and how you can adjust your strategy. Topics covered: - Why clicks no longer follow impressions - How AI Overviews impact search behavior - Why t...

E703: How Hawaiian South Shore, a 30-year-old local surf shop in Honolulu, has built an SEO strategy that helps them rank at the top of Google for hundreds of valuable purchase-intent keywords. David Kelly, the founder of Hawaiian South Shore, joins the show and shares how his team uses AI and content marketing to drive consistent search traffic and sales without relying on paid advertising. Topic...