Edge Of The Web - An Seo Podcast For Today's Digital Marketer

Not a week goes by when we’re not talking about AI these days. Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak say the tech world should put a six-month pause on the development of systems smarter than GPT-4 until an independent or government body can oversee it. . . AKA regulations. Are ads coming to generative AI? Did you know Google is moving employees around to beef up its Bard division? All this digital marketing news on more. . . on this episode of the EDGE! News from the EDGE: [00:05:12] You Know What’s Missing from All these AI Chats? Ad Recommendations  [00:09:06] Elon Musk Finds Out He Is Behind on Tech, Requests the Whole World Takes a Time Out [00:14:52] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:15:53] Google Moving Employees Around in an Attempt to Save Face with Bard [00:17:48] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: InLinks Barry Blast from Search Engine Roundtable: [00:19:45] Google Maps Can Detect Fake Phone Numbers in Photos and Remove Them [00:22:12] How the March 2023 Google Core Update Compared to Previous Core

Why does Google’s support for paid advertising stink so bad and what’s causing cost per lead to skyrocket up? Erin Sparks and Greg Finn sit down to discuss these topics and more on this episode of EDGEtalk. Greg Finn is a partner at Cypress North, a performance digital marketing and development company in Buffalo, NY. He’s also a certified Google AdWords partner and a frequent contributor to Search Engine Land. Learn all things AdWords with Greg Finn on EDGE! [00:00:36] Introducing Greg Finn [00:05:33] Reflecting Back On Search Advertising in 2009 [00:07:18] Privacy Changes: What’s to Come? [00:11:47] Advertising Habits Post 2020 [00:13:35] Cost Per Lead is Rising [00:15:12] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:16:25] Google Local Service Ads [00:18:24] Disingenuous Trickster [00:21:24] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: Wix [00:22:45] Partner Badges [00:24:30] Lack of Support from Google Ads [00:29:35] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: SE Ranking [00:30:43] What Can Be Done? Thanks to our sponsors! Site Strateg

Mordy Oberstein and Jacob Mann partner up this week to tackle the digital marketing news. It seems the SEO industry isn’t that impressed with Google Bard. Apparently, for a pretty understandable reason, the US Congress isn’t much of a fan of TikTok, either.  They also dig into Darren Shaw’s extensive 2023 local search factors report. Mordy invents a new segment name this week. Instead of the Barry Blast he calls it the Barry Bombardment. Come join us this week for the Barry Bombardment. . . on the EDGE! News from the EDGE: [00:03:11] Is Google Bard the Least AI of all the Recent AIs? [00:08:53] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: SE Ranking [00:09:49] Is TicTok about to crash and burn because US Congress doesn’t understand Wifi? [00:18:01] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: InLinks [00:18:41] We look at Darren Shaw’s SUPER extensive report on understanding how to rank for Google local search results Barry Blast from Search Engine Roundtable: [00:21:36] Google Clarifies Its 15MB Googlebot Limit Is For Each Individual Subr

What’s the difference between an offensive and defensive approach to SEO? Erin Sparks sits down with Chris Long to discuss the minutia between these two different perspectives. Chris, in his role as the Vice President of Marketing at Go Fish Digital, uses his understanding of Google's algorithm and web technology to help clients improve their organic traffic. He takes on challenging situations and complex search scenarios to achieve this goal. Learn how to be more offensive in your SEO and less defensive on this episode of the EDGE! [00:02:54] Reintroducing Chris Long  [00:04:14] Offensive SEO vs. Defensive SEO [00:07:57] Trust & SEO Priorities [00:11:37] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:13:07] What is Offensive SEO? [00:15:27] Getting Buy-in from Devs [00:18:18] SEO Experimentation [00:20:19] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: Wix [00:23:09] The New Normal: Google Algorithm Changes [00:27:41] Helpful Content Update [00:31:49] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: SE Ranking [00:34:48] What Bugs/Excites You A

Chris Long and Erin Sparks sit down to discuss expertise, and what that may look like in the eyes of Google. The dive into the Information Gain Score, content freshness, E-E-A-T and several other SEO categories. As the Vice President of Marketing at Go Fish Digital, Chris tackles challenges and complex search scenarios to assist clients in enhancing their organic traffic by leveraging his comprehension of Google's algorithm and web technology. Learn everything you need to know about expertise online on this episode of the EDGE! [00:02:55] Reintroducing Chris Long  [00:03:08] Entity Mindset [00:08:00] Google is a Kid Thirsty for More Knowledge [00:09:59] E-E-A-T [00:12:13] Authors Should be Subject Matter Experts [00:14:29] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:15:26] What is an Information Gain Score? [00:19:03] Freshness [00:23:18] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: Wix [00:24:17] Keyword Segmentation [00:29:22] Experience [00:32:28] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: SE Ranking [00:35:41] Your Digital Resume for

Every week there seems to be an unlimited amount of headlines to cover on News from the EDGE about generative AI. TikTok is taking on search giants Google and Microsoft in the paid advertising space, Grammarly gets into the generative AI game, but with a twist, and Mordy Oberstein discusses the future of search and AI. And we also had the Twins versus the Yankees baseball play by play as we literally were recording the show! The AI wars have cometh. . . on this week's episode of EDGE! News from the EDGE: [00:03:51] Step Aside Google and Microsoft Ads, Here Comes TikTok! [00:7:43] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: SE Ranking [00:08:53] Will AI Start Making Videos for Us? [00:12:21] Grammarly to Introduce Generative AI Content Creation in Your Voice [00:15:37] Mordy Oberstein Weighs In On the Future of Search Regarding AI [00:23:55] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: InLinks Barry Blast from Search Engine Roundtable: [00:25:17] Google February 2023 Product Reviews Update More Volatile than Previous Updates, Say Data Prov

Erin Sparks sits down with Chris Long to discuss featured snippets, their value, and how to earn them on the SERP. The higher you rank in the 10 blue links the likelihood of earning a featured snippet increases. Chris is the VP of Marketing for the Go Fish Digital team and works with unique problems and advanced search situations to help clients improve organic traffic through a deep understanding of Google's algorithm and web technology. Learn everything you need to know about featured snippets on this episode of the EDGE! [00:02:53] Introducing Chris Long  [00:05:25] The Gandalf of SEO [00:07:44] Featured Snippets [00:13:18] SERP Features & Tools [00:14:48] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:15:47] SERP Real Estate [00:17:36] Steps to Securing Featured Snippets [00:18:55] “What Is” Queries [00:21:13] Entity SEO & SERP Features [00:22:53] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: Wix [00:23:49] Tables In Featured Snippets [00:27:51] CMS Impacts Scale [00:30:24] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: SE Ranking [00

There’s a lot to cover in SEO and digital marketing this week on EDGEnews.  From a new WordPress plugin vulnerability and local service ads to Google Bard and the projected growth in the use of AI by SEOs this year, there's plenty of news to dig through. In addition, the winners of SE Rankings SEO Checklist Challenge are announced. Come join us on EDGE for this week’s news and remember. . . Bard is NOT search. News from the EDGE: [00:03:17] Big Plugin Vulnerability Exposes 200,000 WordPress Sites. Are You One of Them? [00:07:34] SE Ranking SEO Checklist Challenge Award Winners: SE Ranking [00:09:06] Local Service Ads are Being Expanded to More than 70 New Business Types. [00:12:38] Say it with me: Bard is Not Search [00:17:53] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: InLinks [00:18:45] The Industry is Expecting to See a 5x Growth in the Use of AI for SEO this Year Barry Blast from Search Engine Roundtable: [00:23:26] Google February 2023 Product Reviews Update Done Rolling Out [00:25:24] Bing Chat Showing Unique Referrer

In this episode of EDGEtalk, Kevin Indig, a renowned SEO expert and executive consultant, shares his insights on developing effective strategies for businesses. Throughout the episode, he emphasizes the importance of staying focused on objectives, and shares tips on how to measure and communicate KPIs both upwards and downwards in an organization.  Kevin also stresses the need for getting buy-in from top-level executives, setting SMART goals, and taking pride in SEO efforts. He shares his own framework for achieving success in the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing. Erin Sparks and Kevin Indig dive deep into goal setting and more on the EDGE!  [00:02:43] Reintroducing Kevin Indig [00:06:11] Ignored Country: Strategy [00:08:16] Sun Tzu – The Art of War [00:12:11] Stay in the Lane [00:13:26] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: edgeofthewebradio.com/site [00:14:15] The GOST Framework  [00:15:20] How to Orient to Objective Measurements [00:17:22] The Importance of Communicating KPIs Up & Down  [00:19:04

Welcome to this week’s episode of EDGEnews, the podcast that brings you the latest updates and insights from the world of SEO and digital marketing.  Today's episode, we have a special guest hostess, Gemma Houghton, who will be joining us to discuss some of the most pressing issues in the industry while sharing her experience with international search.  Gemma and Erin Sparks talk about the skyrocketing costs of AI search, the potential downfall of LastPass, and the latest developments with Google. Oh, and why we are all AI guinea pigs! Listen now on the EDGE! News from the EDGE: [00:02:01] Introducing Guest Hostess: Gemma Houghton [00:06:10] Costs for an AI Search are as Much as 10 Times Higher! [00:10:32] Our Title Sponsor: SE Ranking [00:12:14] This Might be the Last Time You Use LastPass… [00:16:44] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: Inlinks [00:17:42] When It Comes to Chatting with AI, We are Just the Guinea Pigs. Barry Blast from Search Engine Roundtable: [00:25:21] Google: Favicons No Longer Need To Be Hosted

Kevin Indig stops by the EDGE studios virtually to have a conversation about generative AI content with Erin Sparks on this episode of EDGEtalk. Can AI satisfy Google’s EEAT? Are AI content tools disrupting the SEO industry? If AI intentionally makes a mistake is it really a mistake? He is a growth advisor and consultant at Kevin-Indig.com where he advises startups, PEs and VCs in strategic SEO. Together, they tackle the above questions and more on the EDGE!  [00:02:43] Introducing Kevin Indig [00:07:44] AI Generated Content [00:13:28] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: edgeofthewebradio.com/site [00:14:26] What is the Expertise, Authority, and Trust of AI?  [00:17:32] Machines Don’t Have Judgment [00:18:50] Suspect AI Content is on Loose Ground  [00:19:48] Generative AI Disruption in the Ecosystem [00:21:27] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: edgeofthewebradio.com/wix [00:23:31] Detecting Generative AI Content [00:25:12] If AI Intentionally Makes a Mistake is it a Mistake? [00:27:00] The Turing Test  [00:28:29] Three Act

Would you pay $12 a month to be verified on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp? Looks like Meta is adopting the Twitter model. Did you know Bing just put a cap on how many questions you can ask in a chat session. After 30 years of the existence of HTML Google finally gives actual guidance on link best practices. Erin Sparks and Mordy Oberstein examine these topics and much more on this episode of EDGEtalk. A big thanks to our new title sponsor of the show, SE Ranking. Check out their exclusive giveaway to the EDGE audience! News from the EDGE: [00:04:58] You get a blue check and you get a blue check- Meta to add paid verification option, just like Twitter [00:10:01] Our Title Sponsor: SE Ranking Take the SE Ranking Checklist Challenge!Receive a one-month Pro 1000 subscription for completing this challenge when you go to https://edgeofthewebradio.com/seranking and send a screenshot of these completed steps: Create a project, add at least 5 keywords; Find 5 competitors via the Competitive Research tool and add t

Cyrus Shepard and Erin Sparks explore why internal linking is so important to SEO, all while backing it up with studies and giving many pro tips for all of you SEOs out there. They also go in deep on AI content tools to share how-to and how not to use them, and why. They also go on a sidebar discussing the “happening in real time” implosion of Twitter and its eventual demise. In addition, the two give important must-knows about structured data and how it can impact your internal linking. Now it’s time to take your inbound link building hat off and put your internal linking hat on for this episode of the EDGE! [00:01:25] Cyrus Shepard & Erin Sparks Discuss Twitter [00:03:23] Internal Link Building  [00:05:36] The Importance of Anchor Text [00:07:18] Helpful Contextual Linking vs Menu Navigation [00:09:22] How Helpful is this Page? [00:11:20] Awareness, Consideration, Decision [00:12:04] Just Getting Started in SEO? Do this. [00:12:43] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:15:12] Named Entity Linkin

Should AI be used for YMYL content? Does CLS have more weight in Google Core Web Vitals? Will Bing’s chatbot steal your clicks? These questions and more are explored by Erin Sparks and guest co-host Mike King on the EDGE! This week’s Barry Blast examines a traveling SEO grifter, ads arriving to Bing’s new ChatGPT SERP interface, and the concerns publishers have with search engine chat interfaces. A big thanks to our new title sponsor of the show, SE Ranking. Check out their exclusive giveaway to the EDGE audience! News from the EDGE: [00:01:30] Today’s Guest Host: Mike King [00:05:46] Should AI be Used for YMYL Content? [00:12:48] Our Title Sponsor: SE Ranking Take the SE Ranking Checklist Challenge!Receive a one-month Pro 1000 subscription for completing this challenge when you go to https://edgeofthewebradio.com/seranking and send a screenshot of these completed steps: Create a project, add at least 5 keywords; Find 5 competitors via the Competitive Research tool and add them to “My Competitors” section;

Cyrus Shepard is this week’s guest on episode 568 of EDGE of the Web show. He sits down with Erin Sparks to discuss the changing SERP features, visual search, and the future outlook of SEO. He is an SEO, online marketer, content publisher, speaker, and writer. Cyrus first discovered SEO in 2009, and took a wine business from 500k in sales to 2.5 million in one year. Now let’s discuss why SEOs are Google’s farmers on this episode of the EDGE! [00:00:35] Introducing Cyrus Shepard [00:02:35] Pathway to SEO  [00:06:03] Visual Search [00:08:39] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:09:25] Zero Click Perspective [00:09:57] Google’s Writing Its Own Content [00:11:28] We’re Google’s Farmers and It Wants Our Crop [00:13:50] The Omnichannel Approach [00:17:31] You Gotta Know the SERP [00:18:01] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: edgeofthewebradio.com/wix  [00:18:33] Zero Click Study from Semrush [00:21:28] Google MUM Taking Hold [00:24:07] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: edgeofthewebradio.com/seranking [00:25:47] Any Tools

GA 4 is coming, and Google says it will implement it for you. Do you want to be verified on Twitter? That’ll be $1000 per month. . . maybe? Is Google going after ChatGPT? Lastly, a judge just used ChatGPT to help him write his ruling. OMG! Great articles from Search Engine Land, The Information & Vice. And, of course, Search Engine Roundtable. Erin Sparks and Mordy Oberstein tackle these trending topics and many more on the 567th edition of EDGE of the Web! News from the EDGE: [00:05:25] Make the switch to GA4, or Google will do it for you [00:11:19] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: edgeofthewebradio.com/inlinks [00:12:35] Twitter Considers Charging Brands $1000 Per Month to Stay Verified [00:20:47] Sundar Pichai confirms Google is working on AI search feature users can “engage directly with” [00:023:33] A Judge Just Used ChatGPT to Make a Court Decision [00:30:04] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor:  https://edgeofthewebradio.com/seranking  Take the SE Ranking Checklist Challenge!Receive a one-month Pro 1000 subscrip

Mordy grabs the captain’s seat as Erin’s stuck in a trailer in the garage with COVID. Wow - listen to these guys. They just wander around the news while Erin’s away and offer up Ring Dings to everyone (by the way - call Mordy on that). Then we catch Mordy at the end imitating Ron Burgundy and James Lipton. What’s going on here? Seriously? Okay - articles from Search Engine Land, Search Engine Roundtable and Kevin Indig. Digging their own holes deeper - Jacob and Mordy give their take on the news this week! News from the EDGE: [00:04:04] Nearly Two Thousand Ranking Factors Revealed In Recent Yandex Leak [00:13:13] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: edgeofthewebradio.com/inlinks Take the SE Ranking Checklist Challenge!Receive a one-month Pro 1000 subscription for completing this challenge when you go to https://edgeofthewebradio.com/seranking and send a screenshot of these completed steps: Create a project, add at least 5 keywords; Find 5 competitors via the Competitive Research tool and add them to “My Competitors” sec

Erin Sparks and Mark Williams-Cook explore featured snippets and People Also Ask (PAA) features from Google. They dig into the benefits and how SEOs can take advantage of them. They somehow found a way to bake bread with Google, too. Mark helped spearhead the development of one of Erin’s favorite SEO/content tools, AlsoAsked.com. His software collects PAAs from Google and allows users to use the data in a variety of ways, from creating long-form content to writing higher-converting PPC ads. Come join the party and help bake bread with Google… on the EDGE! Key Segments [00:02:24] Reintroducing Mark Williams-Cook  [00:04:06] What is People Also Ask (PAA)? [00:06:54] Intent: Information or Transaction? [00:09:10] Baking Bread with Google [00:13:33] It's Okay to Answer the Same Question Twice on Two Different Pages [00:15:09] Answer the Public [00:16:40] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:17:58] Google’s Content Extrapolation  [00:19:22] Hiking a Mountain with MUM [00:21:55] Salesy Laundry PAA Gap

Mark Williams-Cook and Erin Sparks have a deep conversation about the current transition happening for SEOs – moving from keyword search volume to intent volume. They opine on zero-volume keywords, PAAs, and Knowledge Graph optimization. He shares his experiences doing SEO for nearly 20 years and delves into some of his recent experiments around PAAs, content scraping, and AI-written content. Mark says that in the future, today’s Google will be like crawling around the floor of a library looking for that one book. Intent of Search is the new paradigm… on the EDGE! Key Segments [00:02:48] Introducing Mark Williams-Cook  [00:09:21] What are Zero-Volume Keywords? [00:11:32] Intent Volume vs. Search Volume [00:12:58] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics [00:15:12] People Also Ask and Intent Proximity [00:18:00] EDGE of the Web Sponsor: SE Ranking [00:19:41] Knowledge Graph Optimization [00:23:06] Strategies Toward Optimization of Knowledge Not Volume [00:24:01] Google says Links Won’t be as Important in

Brands are admitting publicly to using AI to write their content – How do you think Google responded? Erin and Mordy take a deep dive down the rabbit hole of Search Engine Land and explore ChatGPT, AI content creation and how the indentation of a link in the SERP may impact your organic traffic. The duo asks the tough questions like, “Is ChatGPT coming for your job?” This week’s Barry Blast confirms the completed rollout of Google’s Helpful Content and Link Spam updates, that linking to multiple products in a review may give the page a SERP boost, and Google admits it is challenging to write an SEO case study. A big thanks to our new title sponsor of the show, SE Ranking. Check out their exclusive giveaway to the EDGE audience! News from the EDGE: [00:05:18] Are indented search results helping or hurting your business? [00:11:52] New Title Sponsor: SE Ranking Take the SE Ranking Checklist Challenge!Receive a one-month Pro 1000 subscription for completing this challenge when you go to https://edgeofthewebr