E424: The Google Algorithm Leak back in May revealed so much about the actual way Google works. Not how the representatives said it should work - but how it actually works. Revisiting the Leak months later, these are 7 of the most notable takeaways. Seven things that Google measures that will affect your search engine optimization efforts. A few of these might surprise you. Read the original post here: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/google-algorithm-documents-leak 00:00 Intro to the Google Leak...
Sep 01, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 424
E423: Taylor Swift in 2024 had her biggest year by far. According to Google Trends, her interest doubled from its previous peak, and that same previous peak is now her new normal. But what caused this? Turns out it was a combination of preparation, partnerships, branding, and public relations. A healthy marketing mix. This podcast goes into each of these in detail. This is Taylor Swift’s marketing strategy that caused her to become one of the biggest trends of 2024. From the Reddit thread: https...
Aug 31, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 423
E422: The founding story of Reddit - The Front Page of the Internet. And how Reddit created hordes of fake users at its beginning to make new users think they were part of a preexisting vibrant community. The story of how Reddit started is a legendary one with tons of lessons for founders and marketers. This is how Reddit got its first users and eventually got off the ground. Read it on the First 1,000 Newsletter: https://read.first1000.co/p/-reddit 00:00 Reddit's Influence 00:42 The Request I R...
Aug 30, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 422
E420: Overlooked and underrated, High-Leverage Keywords are keywords that represent more than one acquisition. Keywords that could mean many users or customers. Keywords that can get you and your brand clout. Keywords that, just by ranking for them, can get you backlinks, allowing you to rank for even more High-Leverage Keywords. Bottom-of-funnel keywords that can and should be leveraged. High-Leverage Keywords are some of my favorite things in SEO. And after hearing this, hopefully, they will b...
Aug 28, 2024•9 min•Season 1Ep. 420
E419: I share the three best digital marketing newsletters and read an example from the newsletter I picked as #1. If you want actionable digital marketing hacks, stories, case studies, and advice delivered to your inbox each week, this is for you. The insights shared in these newsletters, especially #1, are creative, fun, and will get you proven results without tremendous effort. The newsletters are: 1. https://edwardsturm.com/newsletter/ 2. https://www.shaanpuri.com/ 3. https://read.first1000....
Aug 27, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 413
E418: YouTube Shorts and YouTube Videos have the craziest velocity of Google rankings in both speed and percentage of content being ranked. 6/6 of my most recent YouTube Shorts are showing on the first page of Google for their keywords. As are SEO-targeted YouTube Videos from other companies. With YouTube Shorts and main videos, the coverage a brand can get in a short amount of time with little effort is insane. This is how to do SEO with YouTube Shorts. 00:00 Introduction: YouTube Shorts for SE...
Aug 26, 2024•17 min•Season 1Ep. 418
E417: Immediately, when looking at the keywords LinkedIn Pulse is ranking #1 for, a handful of Parasite SEO pages can be easily identified. Marketers are doing some serious Parasite SEO with LinkedIn Pulse and it is ranking #1 for so many lucrative keywords. Here's what some of these wild keywords are and the super spammy way this is being done. 00:00 Introduction 00:28 Hilarious Keyword Rankings 01:14 Parasite SEO Techniques 02:32 Best Recliner Chair 02:54 Fake Engagement and Followers 04:59 AI...
Aug 25, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 417
E416: Lots of SEOs and digital marketers believe nofollow backlinks have no value. Multiple experiments prove otherwise. This episode shows two experiments where nofollow links result in an SEO ranking bump. Nofollow links contain value! Read it here: https://seosherpa.com/seo-experiments/ 00:00 Introduction to Today's Topic 00:20 Fascinating SEO Experiments 02:51 Deep Dive into Nofollow Links 05:14 Experiment Results 07:57 The Value of Nofollow Links 08:57 Final Thoughts #seo #searchengineoptim...
Aug 24, 2024•9 min•Season 1Ep. 416
E415: An epiphany I have had time and time again. What’s become ordinary to me is still interesting as heck to lots of other people. Half of the battle with content marketing is good subject matter. That comes naturally to those genuinely interested in their topic. The other half of the battle is energy and enthusiasm. 00:00 Epiphany on Instagram Followers 02:01 Enthusiasm in Content Marketing 03:47 Properly Leveraging Viral Content 04:49 Big Companies Making AI Advertisements 06:43 SEO Insights...
Aug 23, 2024•9 min•Season 1Ep. 415
E414: 5 successful boring businesses and how they got their customers, clients, visibility, and awareness. Practical strategies anybody can copy. The many ways these boring businesses appear where their customers are. No need to complicate it with this one! 00:00 Introduction 00:18 Story 1: Mailbox Replacement Business 02:07 Story 2: Wealth Management Firm with SEO 04:27 Story 3: Mobile Car Detailing 07:30 Story 4: Industry Expo 09:12 Story 5: SaaS for Instagram Marketing Automation 09:40 Final ...
Aug 22, 2024•10 min•Season 1Ep. 414
E413: Lots of people are saying Instagram is giving less visibility than it used to. I challenge that then share some fresh new hacks I have for TikTok, Instagram Reels, and LinkedIn. And why Snapchat is incredibly underrated, and how to use Pinterest if you’re a talker. 00:00 Introduction 00:37 The Instagram Algorithm Changes 01:13 TikTok's New Generous Algorithm 02:48 Reusing Content in a New Way 03:39 The TwitterX Ads Glitch 05:22 YouTube Shorts for SEO 06:06 LinkedIn Video Strategies 09:18 S...
Aug 21, 2024•14 min•Season 1Ep. 413
E412: Lots of top people are getting rejected from the SearchGPT beta. This guy, however, not only got accepted but also gave somewhat of a harsh review. He shares what it’s like (I share his screenshots), explains its limitations and problems, and compares it to his favorite AI tool. Then I share the pushback he received with his review. The source material: https://x.com/ananayarora/status/1825341266936438905 00:00 Is SearchGPT the Future of Search? 00:09 SEO Experts Get Denied 00:56 Ananay's ...
Aug 20, 2024•7 min•Season 1Ep. 412
E411: I just gave this advice to my friend Vova, who’s today starting a new brand. He’s posting daily videos growing a new audience. I originally told him #9 from this new Shaan Puri post, “#9 - MrBeast’s 100 video rule.” Then realized the whole thing - all 9 rules - is worth sharing. In the past 5 years, Shaan Puri’s built audiences of: - 500k+ newsletter subscribers. - 400k X followers. - 500k+ YouTube subscribers. - 100,000,000+ total downloads of his podcast. Here are his 9 principles for ho...
Aug 19, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 411
E410: A lot of SEOs and web developers rely on Google PageSpeed Insights. But there’s a dark truth behind this tool and others like it. The truth is that these tools are often wrong. Not only are they wrong, but they commonly are the cause of wasted resources and complacent underperformance. This is the reality. 00:00 Introduction: Controversial Opinions 00:39 The Truth About PageSpeed Insights 02:18 Real-World Examples and Experiences 04:14 The Impact of Page Speed on Rankings 04:57 Comparing P...
Aug 18, 2024•11 min•Season 1Ep. 410
E409: I’m seeing a lot of upward trajectories on Google Trends. One I expected but many I didn’t expect. And a friend is using this to start a new brand. I’m seeing a lot of success. Here’s how to take advantage of these opportunities. As mentioned in the episode - "How a Digital Marketing Noobie Can Beat a Pro" - https://youtu.be/avWYynYI53I 00:00 Interest in SEO Over the Last Two Decades 01:34 The Formula One Idea 03:02 Consistency in Social Media 05:48 The Curious Learner Bias 07:10 Formula O...
Aug 17, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 409
E408: The Google August Core Update began its month-long rollout on August 15th. It’s supposed to remedy the pain content-based sites felt from the September 2023 Helpful Content Update and the March 2024 update. Here’s the top information about it, what the SEO community is saying, and how I recommend moving forward based off this update. Read it here: https://searchengineland.com/google-august-2024-core-update-rolling-out-now-445221 Directly from Google Search Central Blog: https://developers....
Aug 16, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 408
E407: TwitterX’s newest version of its native AI, Grok, Grok 2.0 lets you generate images of anybody doing anything. And don’t get this mistaken for negligence. This was a deliberate stunt by the team at X to go viral and get people talking. It worked, and people are going crazy. Right now, you can generate images of anybody in your niche doing anything. And this creates a wild opportunity for marketers. AND… I won’t be surprised if this functionality disappears by next week and takes everybody’...
Aug 15, 2024•11 min•Season 1Ep. 407
E406: I spent 3 months hardcore going on podcasts and in those 3 months went on 30 podcasts. 10 appearances per month. But what’s crazy is those podcasts led to: - Exact match anchor text to pages that are now ranking - Increase image SEO - Brand mentions used by AI - And opportunities I’m only now realizing I didn’t properly capitalize off of I’m so hyped about the non-obvious ways I’m going to use podcast guest appearances to do marketing for my product - that’s what I’m sharing on this episod...
Aug 14, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 406
E405: Ryann_Wealth started a new self-branded (not faceless) Instagram and in two weeks got to 125,000 followers. He walks around his parent’s house talking about entrepreneurship. He is literally 14 years old. His new brand is already making money. Ryan is making use of the Curious Learner Bias. He is not an expert entrepreneur, nor does he claim to be. He’s learning every day and sharing what he’s learning. But he’s also doing it in polarizing ways. The tactics he uses are extremely repeatable...
Aug 13, 2024•15 min•Season 1Ep. 405
E404: Here’s how long it takes to go viral on TikTok and Instagram. I’ve posted videos over 650 days in a row on TikTok and Instagram Reels. Over 1,200 videos. I’ve had viral hits more times than I can count. This is what you can expect. ------ Recorded from a lovely river boat café in Europe. Yesterday’s episode about How Long It Takes to Rank on Google: https://youtu.be/1sCpUJdNsl4 00:00 Where I Am 00:23 Today's Topic: TikTok and Instagram Hits 00:32 SEO Insights: Ranking 1 on Google 01:57 Vir...
Aug 12, 2024•10 min•Season 1Ep. 404
E403: How long it takes to rank #1 on Google for seven keywords. Trending keywords and standard keywords. I share my results from four websites. Rankings from over the years. If you’re doing SEO and wondering how long before you see results, this episode answers that. #82 of The Edward Show (mentioned in the episode): https://youtu.be/YfWT_8xSRG8 For those curious, I track my keywords with Moz though there are MANY SEO tools people can use for historical keyword tracking. 00:00 Introduction 00:5...
Aug 11, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 403
E402: What happens if you don’t link out to other websites? This SEO experiment tests this. The results are 100% clear - they, in fact, could not be any more clear. The clarity of the results is crazy. SEO Experiments from: https://seosherpa.com/seo-experiments/ 00:00 Today's SEO Experiment 00:36 Outbound Links 01:36 The Experiment 02:15 Setup and Results 03:51 Actionable Insights 04:38 Practical Applications 06:23 Wrap-Up #seo #searchengineoptimization #digitalmarketing #buildinpublic The Edwar...
Aug 10, 2024•7 min•Season 1Ep. 402
E401: Lukas Hermann of https://stagetimer.io/ is using a straightforward bottom-of-funnel SEO strategy. This strategy, along with his excellent craftsmanship, is enough to get him to $10,000+ MRR - increasing monthly. He has easy-to-understand information architecture, a nice site, and a solid product. But! - His product is a timer. He’s competing literally with Google and YouTube as they both offer free timers. This is how he is circumventing the competition. Original case study from https://de...
Aug 09, 2024•11 min
E400: Val Katayev was a 19-year-old immigrant kid who quickly lost a month’s worth of pay in a single day trying to figure out Google Ads during its early days. “I woke up to a $5,000 loss. Did I just lose a month's worth of income in my sleep? Yes, I did. I spent $6k on ads to generate $1k of revenue.” He was the only employee… and he was living in a basement. But he kept trying to figure it out. He believed there was something there. And at 19 years old, he ended up building a Google Ads busin...
Aug 08, 2024•13 min•Season 1Ep. 400
E399: If you Google yourself, what do you see? For me, I see social links, my site, and some photos. But the photos are really lacking, especially when I click into Google Images further… Really lacking. I’ve lived this big life that I’m proud of, with all these top people, and you can’t see any of that. I’m missing out on all this social proof, credibility, and lore for people who are looking for it. Especially now that I’m making daily videos and a daily podcast. I’m leaving so much credibilit...
Aug 07, 2024•7 min•Season 1Ep. 399
E398: The founder of Meetup.com, Scott Heiferman, sold Meetup.com a few years ago for $200 million. Then he went to work as an associate at an Amazon fulfillment center. Two decades before that, he sold a different company for $15 million. Then he went to work the counter of a McDonald’s. + How Avi Schiffmann got 5,100 backlinks for a $2,000,000 gamble and will now be fundraising $100,000,000. + The new way social media platforms work during crises. Insights synced from TikTok and Instagram afte...
Aug 06, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 398
E397: I made this episode right before news of today’s financial crash went viral. The timing could not have been more perfect. This directly answers the question of whether or not it is worth investing in marketing during a financial crash or recession. The thread I’m sharing: https://x.com/ValKatayev/status/1589287819117109248 00:00 The Billion-Dollar Strategy 00:15 Where I Am 00:34 The Recession Strategy 02:24 The 2000 Recession 03:46 The 2008 Recession 04:33 The 2020 Recession 05:48 Why Doub...
Aug 05, 2024•11 min•Season 1Ep. 397
E396: Not all heroes wear capes. This is how to do marketing on 4chan. I used 4chan to make an unlistened-to video game music radio show, being recorded live in the middle of the night, go viral around the world. If you want some ideas for how to start a grassroots movement on 4chan, this is a good episode. Or if you just want a fun marketing story that will make you feel nice - this is a good episode too. This was my first time going even a little viral and it was an altruistic act, to boot. Yo...
Aug 04, 2024•12 min•Season 1Ep. 396
E395: SearchGPT is OpenAI’s GPT-enhanced search engine. OpenAI is coming directly after Google’s main business. Searchers no longer need to go into the results to get their answers. So digital marketers are wondering - “Is SEO still a viable channel?” The answer is yes and no. Not for SEO as we know it - not for top-of-funnel. For bottom-of-funnel, however - it is a blue ocean. The old SEO is dead. This is the future of SEO. 00:00 OpenAI's New SearchGPT 01:10 SEO in the Age of SearchGPT 02:29 Th...
Aug 03, 2024•11 min•Season 1Ep. 395
E394: Sharing popular SEO myths that many people believe not to be true! If you want to know what matters in SEO - what to focus on - and what to ignore, this podcast is perfect for you. If you’re active doing SEO and need something to get you going - also great for you. Lots of value in this one. 00:00 Introduction: SEO Myths and Personal Experience 00:58 From Ukraine to Top Rankings 02:24 Content Below the Fold 03:28 Keyword Density 05:14 Meta Descriptions 06:07 Content Quality vs. Domain Auth...
Aug 02, 2024•16 min•Season 1Ep. 394
