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 co…

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 - …

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…

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…

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 buil…

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 chan…

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 …

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 market…

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 -…

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 launchin…

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…

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 an…

E702: In this episode, I share how SEO can be used to make negative news harder to find. Using parasite SEO and strategic social media publishing, individuals and companies can control what appears at the top of Google. I explain how this works, why it matters, and what it reveals about the current state of search and online reputation. Topics cove…

E701: Google is penalizing sites for mass AI-generated content. In this follow-up to episode 699, I answer listener questions about Google's scaled content policy, manual penalties, and how to stay safe if you're using AI to create tons of pages. We cover: - Why “noindex” is your friend - The difference between AI spam and programmatic SEO - Why ta…

E700: I share a simple SEO strategy that helps service businesses drive more qualified traffic and improve rankings with minimal effort. It centers around using Google Business Profile’s “Products” feature to link directly to individual service pages on your site - boosting engagement and sending valuable signals to Google. What we cover: - Why bui…

E699: There are fresh reports that Google has started issuing more manual penalties for websites using large amounts of AI-generated content. To help you navigate this, I explain what’s happening, how it works, and how you can avoid getting penalized. I cover: - What “scaled content abuse” means - What we know so far about the recent manual actions…

E698: What actually works when doing SEO for healthcare businesses. Whether you're helping a small clinic or a local service provider, this episode covers real steps you can take to improve search rankings and build trust with patients. You'll hear tips on how to update outdated websites, set up service pages the right way, and use your Google Busi…

E697: I break down a simple SEO tactic to give your top blog posts and articles more visibility and priority within Google’s search algorithm. If you have blog posts you know deserve to rank higher on Google, this is for you. You'll learn: - Why your best content might be buried (and losing traffic) - The real impact of click depth on SEO - How to …

E696: One year after the biggest leak in Google’s history, we’re going deep on the 3 most important discoveries - ranking factors Google claimed didn’t influence search... but absolutely do. In this episode: - How Google really uses click data from Chrome to boost rankings (Navboost explained) - What long vs short clicks tells Google about your con…

E695: There’s one simple SEO fix that most people skip - and it’s more important than anything else. In this episode, I explain why this overlooked change matters so much, how I’m applying it to my own site, and what it means for your blog posts, landing pages, and conversions. ⭐️ How Adding TL;DR Boosted My Conversions by 33% - https://www.reddit.…

E694: The full playbook for how to do SEO for a clothing website. Everything is covered here: - Backlink strategies for clothing brands - beginner to advanced, including directories, targeting fashion reporters, getting on lifestyle podcasts, and sophisticated linkable assets - How to format a clothing website for SEO - URL structure, category page…

E693: Does shared hosting - being on a shared IP address / shared server - hurt SEO? I go over a crazy SEO experiment that tested 20 nearly identical websites - half hosted on shared servers, half on dedicated IP addresses. The goal: to see whether shared hosting environments affect Google rankings. Topics covered: - What the "bad neighborhood" eff…

E692: Unconventional advice for how to become nasty at SEO. This isn’t just about being able to rank with SEO - it’s about how to sell and make money. I start with explaining the why - why would you even want to become pro at SEO in 2025 when there are so many other great marketing channels? Then I explain the overall philosophy on what you should …

E691: Schema markup - the lie SEO agencies and consultants have been using for the past decade to fearmonger and basically steal money from clients. I, first, demystify what Schema markup actually is. Then, I explain the lie SEO agencies and consultants use, giving examples. Next I share when you need to worry about Schema markup. Finally - I expla…

E690: A lot of people say SEO doesn’t work anymore. This episode shows otherwise. Chatbase grew their monthly recurring revenue by $103,000 - and SEO was a huge part of it. They didn’t rank for thousands of keywords. They just focused on a few that mattered, backed by a focused content effort. I walk you through what they did, what actually drove r…

E689: People are searching Google now more than ever. A study last year showed, “Survey: 54% of people look through more search results vs. 5 years ago.” But are they searching more because they like it or out of frustration? Signs point to frustration… and this leads to a great opportunity for marketers. It’s now easier than ever to stand out in S…

E688: If you frequently publish a blog that isn’t optimized AT ALL, will that hurt your SEO? I break down the full answer. Here’s what I cover: - Why publishing a high volume of content, without keyword targeting, isn’t necessarily harmful - The situations where it can cause problems, and how to prevent them - How I use a similar approach on my own…

E687: Is AI-generated traffic replacing classic SEO (optimizing for the “10 blue links”) or is this just hype? I share the Internet’s most insightful thoughts on this and practical advice on how to optimize for AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and more. Plus, we break down: - What Google’s new AI Mode means for search traffic and …

E686: What does it really take to close and manage million-dollar SEO deals? In this powerhouse episode, we sit down with Yas Haque, the former Head of SEO at Omnicom. While Yas was at Omnicom, it was the largest publicly traded marketing agency in the world. Its current market cap is nearly $15 billion. Head of SEO at the biggest marketing agency …

E685: Interest in search engine optimization is shockingly at a literal all-time high. Since December 2024, interest has spiked up. I share why I believe this is, what to look out for, and what to do now. Topics covered: - Why SEO interest spiked in December 2024 - The role of AI in enabling SEO and product launches - What Google’s AI Overviews and…

E684: Jonathan Berthold, a senior executive at SEO data company, Moz, joins the pod! We go deep into one of the biggest questions in digital marketing: Is SEO dead in the era of AI? Topics for the show: - How Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT are impacting SEO strategies - The future of affiliate SEO and how it must adapt - Link building tactics th…

E683: Google’s AI overviews took my entire page, rewrote it, and gave it right there in the Google results - the whole thing - so that searchers would not have to click into my page… and I would lose the traffic. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing! And in this video, I share why. Plus two more examples of AI Overviews rewriting content and givi…

E682: How to measure pogo sticking in SEO and how to fix it! Plus more SEO questions from the audience… Question 1: Should you change the name of your company and URL if your company name is too common? If so, what’s the best way to do this while still maintaining SEO? Question 2: How do we measure pogo sticking in SEO - when a searcher comes to ou…

E681: Is blog SEO - doing search engine optimization with a blog and top-of-funnel SEO’d articles - necessary for building topical authority? Topical authority being how much authority your website and company have in your specific niche. Is blog SEO necessary for this? No - it’s not. And in fact, it’s a distraction. I share how you should be build…

E680: The dust has settled on the March 2025 Google Core Algorithm Update. Here’s what actually changed. In this episode, I break down the biggest winners, losers, and key shifts from the latest update - and more importantly, how you should adjust your SEO strategy in response. Topics covered: - Content quality signals refined - UGC platforms: Redd…

E679: There’s a growing theory that Google is intentionally degrading its search results to drive more ad clicks and revenue. Is this actually true? I break down a recent rant from a two-decade Google engineer who directly pushes back on this claim. We’ll look at what the data actually says, why the court case may have misunderstood it, and what th…

E678: 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…

E677: This is for if you want to stick with something long enough to see results… if you’re seeking the 1% daily improvements that compound A TON over time. I share what I’ve learned from doing this show for 677 days in a row, making short-form videos for 925 consecutive days, and sending out a weekly newsletter without missing a week for nearly tw…

E676: Reddit parasite SEO - using Reddit to rank your brand for your keywords - is attempted by many SEOs and marketers. But there are two mistakes everybody makes. The thing is… they’re pretty simple mistakes, too. Sometimes knowing what to do isn’t enough; you need to know what NOT to do - pitfalls to avoid. This is how to do Reddit Parasite SEO.…

E675: How to make ChatGPT output sound human. First, I give a high-level prompt to use in your ChatGPT settings. Then I give words to avoid, the best ChatGPT model for copywriting, what to do about emdashes, and AI writing detectors to double-check with. Then I share how to get away with AI-written video scripts. Finally, I share advice from Steven…

E674: Rand Fishkin joins the pod! Founder of Moz. Creator of SparkToro. Hugely influential in how millions of people - myself included - approach marketing. He goes deep on: - The future of SEO in an AI world - Why engagement beats backlinks (confirmed in Google’s own court testimony) - The unexpected top-of-funnel gap being left to exploit - The m…

E673: Alphabet stock bombs after Apple says it is reconsidering its $19 billion partnership with Google - using Google as their default engine. Instead, Apple is considering going with a more AI-dominant search solution. So, should we as SEOs, marketers, and business owners be worried? I’m not, and here’s why. ⭐️ CNBC - Alphabet shares sink 7%: htt…

E672: There’s a growing concern among publishers that the party is coming to an end. That: - Zero-click searches are on the rise because of AI Overviews and Chatbots - Google updates like the Helpful Content Update are making it hard to operate So, is there a world where web publishers can thrive? I believe there is, and I share it in this episode.…

E671: Semrush just released a MASSIVE study analyzing 10 million+ keywords to uncover how Google’s AI Overviews are reshaping search in 2025 - and I’m going through the whole thing with you. In this, we cover: - How often AI Overviews are appearing (spoiler: it’s growing FAST) - Which search terms and industries are most affected - Zero-click searc…

E670: Feeling overwhelmed by SEO? This is how and what to prioritize when you have limited time! If you’re struggling with what to do next in SEO - whether it’s backlinks, content, audits - this episode is for you. I break down what to prioritize, how to find easy wins (low-hanging fruit striking-distance keywords), and how to manage your efforts e…

E669: My step-by-step method for getting a page that was not ranking on Google to suddenly rank #1. Works best with pages that are not ranking at all for keywords you are sure they should rank for - at least on page 1-3 of Google. Do this for pages not ranking at all. One wouldn’t expect this to work, so there’s also a detailed explanation of why i…

E668: The #1 thing to do with a new site isn’t building backlinks… And if you don’t do this thing, it’s going to create huge headaches for you later on. The top sites put a ton of thought into this, and even if you’re not a new site, it’s not too late. Do this to win in SEO: INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE. 💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying …

E667: Nathan Latka shares a startling 16-month Google Search Console screenshot: his impressions are skyrocketing… but his clicks are decreasing. This is a real-life example of what happens when Google’s AI Overviews take hold. Then - how to avoid this. But not JUST how to avoid this… how to actually make AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI…

E666: If you have a page that isn’t ranking at all, which you think should be ranking #1, try this. I just tried it, and my page went from not ranking at all directly to #1. March 25, when the change was made. Week of April 9, I begin ranking #1 The change - take your page that SHOULD be ranking - copy the contents over to a new page and 301 redire…

E665: How to build backlinks to a new website - the method for 2025. This is an overview of why backlinks for new websites are so important then: - Three primary ways to build links for a new site - A bonus way that, if done properly, can be more effective than any other link-building method If you have a website and you want to build domain author…