Shannon Minkel, Senior Director of Product SEO at Siege Media, joins Ross Hudgens to unpack one of the biggest questions in search right now: did Google just kill rank tracking beyond page two? They explore what this shift means for SEOs—whether it’s a sign to finally focus on input metrics, how declining referral traffic from ChatGPT impacts strategy, and what Similarweb and Siege Media’s own research reveal about changing engagement rates. From GA4 benchmarks to the future of AI search, this episode breaks down the data, the rumors, and the real-world implications for anyone navigating SEO in 2025. Plus: input metrics, lagging indicators, Similarweb’s ChatGPT data, and why Google’s rumored “AI mode” rollout could redefine how we measure success. 0:08 – Why Google’s rank tracking changes matter now 1:14 – Is rank tracking beyond page two dead? 2:36 – The rise of input metrics and controllable KPIs 4:09 – ChatGPT referral traffic declines across Siege, Ahrefs & Profound 6:12 – Similarweb’s data on ChatGPT usage growth vs. declining engagement 8:04 – What lagging indicators like ChatGPT quality mean for SEOs 9:28 – Interpreting GA4 engagement rates and site health signals 11:05 – Google’s rumored AI mode rollout (and roll-back) 13:17 – The future of attribution in a generative search world 15:21 – How SEOs should adapt reporting for execs in 2025 17:43 – Why input metrics may replace old rank-tracking habits 20:05 – What Shannon is watching most closely in AI search Shannon Minkel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonminkel GA4 engagement rates → https://www.siegemedia.com/research/ga4-engagement-rates ChatGPT referral traffic study → https://www.siegemedia.com/strategy/chatgpt-referral-traffic-data SEJ: https://searchengineland.com/google-search-rank-and-position-tracking-is-a-mess-right-now-461984 Similarweb on ChatGPT growth: https://x.com/Similarweb/status/1965726707832528974 SEMrush: https://www.semrush.com/blog/google-usage-after-chatgpt-adoption/ ChatGPT vs. Google study: https://chatgpt-vs-google.com/ Input Metrics for SEO newsletter: https://newsletter.seomba.com/p/input-metrics-for-seo Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Zach Chahalis, VP of SEO at Apartments.com, joins Ross Hudgens for a deep dive into the high-stakes world of real estate SEO—where listings change daily, pages balloon into the hundreds of thousands, and competition is cutthroat across every SERP. They explore how Zach’s team manages SEO at scale, including 75+ site migrations, advanced internal linking via entity modeling, and custom AI agents built to streamline content operations. From avoiding redirect chains to handling rental “orphan pages,” this episode is packed with hard-earned lessons for SEOs working at enterprise scale. Plus: duplicate content, the future of AI search in real estate, and why your site should never go through a migration before Black Friday. Show Notes 0:08 – Zach’s role at Apartments.com and SEO in high-competition markets 1:00 – Biggest pitfalls in site migrations: communication and redirect logic 2:00 – Why bad redirect chains are like sending mail to your old address 3:39 – What to expect from traffic drops post-migration 5:06 – The difference between redesigns, CMS moves, and full migrations 7:42 – How entity linking models boost internal linking and relevance 9:55 – The user and SEO value of cross-linking neighborhood/location pages 11:51 – How Zach’s team measures and improves internal page authority 13:17 – Their in-house SEO testing program and what they’ve learned 15:01 – When they ignore positive SEO test results to preserve UX 16:41 – Managing orphaned rental pages and lifecycle SEO logic 19:05 – What they show users when listings go offline 21:24 – When to 404 vs. redirect in real estate or e-commerce 23:37 – Competing in a duplicate content world: data + experience wins 25:56 – Using proprietary data (e.g., 3D tours) to differentiate listings 27:28 – Real estate’s slower exposure to AI Overviews 28:19 – AI as productivity booster: writing, research, and landlord tools 30:46 – How internal teams use AI to speed up editorial content creation 33:50 – Why real estate is less impacted by AI than other verticals 35:59 – Indexing the long tail: 250K+ neighborhoods, 40K city pages 37:55 – Agentic workflows: surfacing internal data to speed up content 40:58 – How AI flags Fair Housing violations before content goes live 42:48 – Building secure, proprietary pipelines for real estate data 44:03 – Where to find Zach online Show Links Zach Chahalis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharychahalis Zach’s website: https://www.zacharychahalis.com Hyperlocal Content from a National Lens deck: https://speakerdeck.com/zjchahalis/hyperlocal-content-from-a-national-lens Apartments.com: https://www.apartments.com/ Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Tom Critchlow, EVP of Audience Growth at Raptive, joins Ross for a deep dive into how input metrics can transform SEO strategy—especially in an era of declining visibility and messy attribution from AI search engines. They explore how input metrics improve executive reporting, unlock budget, and build cross-functional alignment by shifting focus from vanity outcomes to controllable, operational activities. Tom shares insights from his time at Raptive, lessons from Amazon’s internal frameworks, and practical tips for teams to track quality, not just quantity. If you're navigating SEO in 2025, this episode is your playbook. Plus: scorecards, dashboards, quality benchmarks, and how input metrics can shape strategic storytelling at every level of an org. Show Notes 0:08 – Why “getting SEO done” starts with business communication 1:14 – Executive buy-in and the underrated power of input metrics 2:06 – What are controllable input metrics? Lessons from Amazon 3:24 – Why output-only reporting drives blind decision-making 5:06 – Building reports that pair input + output for alignment 7:01 – Input metrics: weekly/monthly rhythm vs quarterly output 9:15 – Goal-setting tension: input vs output metrics for teams 11:24 – Why SEOs need to “make their work legible” to leadership 12:30 – Input metrics as a path to getting more SEO budget 14:20 – The missing business case for many SEO initiatives 15:33 – Raptive case study: measuring behavior change over clicks 18:02 – Building input metrics from scratch: the 9-month reality 19:51 – Amazon’s evolving metrics: controllability over time 21:26 – Mapping input metrics to what actually drives success 22:33 – The danger of metric sprawl—and how to refocus 23:59 – Why some SEO work becomes “invisible” without input metrics 25:13 – Three metrics per person: a practical ceiling 26:51 – How input metrics support pipeline generation in B2B 28:35 – Communicating SEO value to non-executives via unit economics 30:06 – Stop yelling “fix it”—report what’s not getting done 31:22 – Translating editorial quality into spreadsheet metrics 33:06 – Red, yellow, green ≠ strategic clarity—track actual numbers 34:08 – Attribution is broken: input metrics matter more than ever 36:43 – Benchmarking input metrics against competitors 38:03 – Don’t just track AI visibility—track the work you can control 39:02 – Why input metrics aren’t neutral—and why that’s OK 41:01 – Planning cycles: why it takes 6 months to see input adoption 42:15 – Measuring “quality”: content scores, CSATs, and rubrics 44:25 – Why you must operationalize “quality” to get promoted 46:08 – Manual scoring systems and quality baselines 47:13 – Where to find Tom and what he’s working on next Show Links Tom Critchlow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomcritchlow Tom’s blog: http://tomcritchlow.com Input Metrics for SEO article: https://newsletter.seomba.com/p/input-metrics-for-seo Raptive: https://raptive.com Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross joins Will Critchlow of SearchPilot for a wide-ranging conversation on the evolving landscape of e-commerce SEO and content strategy in the AI era. They cover how e-commerce brands are adapting content for multimodal search, why digital PR is surging, what still works in a zero-click world, and how Siege’s homepage study reveals surprising traffic shifts from AI engines like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews. Ross also shares lessons from working with Instacart, thoughts on EEAT, brand building in 2025, and how SEOs can think more like product teams to win long-term. Plus: goal-setting, basketball, and how to build your perfect calendar. Show Notes 0:08 – Introductions 1:00 – Ross on what e-commerce clients are asking for in 2025 2:12 – High-fidelity content and why it still drives SEO value 3:24 – The digital PR spike—and why it might not be right for every brand 4:17 – Rethinking link building: content that earns links without outreach 5:11 – The shift from link bait to real brand-building campaigns 6:34 – Why measuring content value is still messy 7:28 – Investing in analytics and attribution models that actually work 8:52 – Instacart case study: how it’s still winning in 2025 9:59 – Calculators as a defensible content type against AI overviews 11:15 – Homepage traffic is up 10%—what Siege’s study found 12:56 – Differences in B2B vs B2C AI traffic attribution 14:15 – How AI referrals may go dark: no referrer, just branded visits 15:40 – SearchPilot’s view: aggregating dark and disaggregated traffic sources 17:20 – How LM-driven browsing creates long tail referral lift 18:57 – AI is doing the searching: optimizing for “robot” queries 21:00 – Why retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) matters for e-commerce 22:44 – Digital PR’s role in influencing AI citation engines 23:51 – Siege’s brand mention study: impressions up, but who’s watching? 25:20 – Review volume = the next big SEO edge in e-commerce 26:04 – Instacart’s product reviews may be helping SEO more than you think 27:15 – Human authorship: should you expose expert bylines? 28:52 – Where author signals matter most 30:04 – Real-world reviews are the new long tail content strategy 31:09 – Who’s doing it well? 32:14 – Brand authority, SEO signals, and Siege’s convo with Dr. Pete 33:48 – Building a brand health dashboard (and what to track in 2025) 36:18 – Who owns content? SEO increasingly embedded in product teams 37:40 – Product SEO as a mindset, not just a technical checklist 39:24 – Optimizer mentality, health goals, and personal systems 40:11 – Ross’s “perfect calendar” and how it supports business goals 42:06 – Will on process goals vs outcome goals in business and life 43:44 – Can you be too optimized? Balancing mental health and iteration 45:07 – Long-term vision in a 3-week world 46:00 – Where to find Ross online and what Siege is working on next Show Links Will Critchlow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willcritchlow Homepage Study: https://www.siegemedia.com/strategy/ai-homepage-traffic-increase SearchPilot: https://www.searchpilot.com/ Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Josh Blyskal, AEO Engineer at Profound, joins Ross Hudgens to dive deep into the emerging world of AI-native search optimization—and how brands can win visibility across platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews. They unpack Profound’s Conversation Explorer, fresh data on generative search intent, and the real-world tactics that drive clicks in the new AI-dominated SERP. From schema tips to 2025 URL hacks and LMS.txt files, this is the tactical roadmap for modern marketers navigating the future of search. Show Notes 0:08 – Why AI-native visibility is heating up 1:00 – Profound's Series A and platform momentum 2:15 – The moment for AI search is here 4:40 – How Profound built the largest dataset of answer engine queries 7:12 – New ad tech categories marketers aren’t tracking 9:40 – What “generative” search intent actually looks like 11:25 – Tools vs. blogs: what answer engines really cite 13:00 – Why traffic quality from AI sources is insanely high 15:05 – The rise of sponsored AI queries (and what to do about it) 16:50 – How to future-proof your site for ChatGPT + Perplexity 20:00 – Listicles dominate AI search—here’s why 22:30 – What Bing has to do with ChatGPT visibility 24:00 – URL strategies for boosting citations 28:40 – Semantic chunking and structured answers for pickup 31:00 – 2025 SEO hacks: title tags, slugs, and metadata tips 33:45 – Schema markup that actually works (hint: authorship) 36:00 – How freshness impacts AI citation cycles 39:20 – LMS.txt and LMS-fulltext: the new crawl frontier 41:10 – Why answer engines could free up web creativity 43:30 – Commercial landing pages are the future of evergreen visibility 46:00 – Profound’s upcoming launch: actions and content briefs 48:30 – Pricing, access, and how to get started with Profound Show Links Josh Blyskal on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-blyskal/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-blyskal/ What content do AI engines like: https://www.xfunnel.ai/blog/what-content-type-ai-engines-like Profound: https://www.tryprofound.com/ Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Chris Kelly, ex-Asana growth lead, joins Ross Hudgens to break down how Asana scaled to 20M+ international SEO visits—and how to do it again in 2025. They dive into localization strategy, market prioritization, TMS tools, team structures, and how to tie international SEO directly to business outcomes. Chris also unpacks real-world mistakes, market-specific tactics, and where AI fits into future-proofing global content. Show Notes 0:08 – How Chris led Asana’s international SEO from 0 to 20M+ visits 2:12 – Aligning SEO with real business outcomes 4:27 – How to prioritize markets and go deep, not wide 6:06 – Why "strategy before scale" matters more than ever 9:09 – Centralized vs. distributed SEO models 10:13 – The localization decision waterfall: MT, native copy, or hybrid? 13:11 – Tiered frameworks for scaling efficiently across regions 16:43 – Localization teams and SEO: why they must integrate 18:05 – Market nuances: Japan vs. Germany 20:18 – The role of user research in international SEO success 22:02 – When to implement a Translation Management System (TMS) 25:33 – Real talk: the true cost of international SEO 28:18 – Mistakes to avoid: budget, ops, and lack of data 33:10 – Building the right international SEO team 35:06 – Communication tips for global collaboration 38:34 – How AI will transform international strategy and QA 42:26 – Will AI erase top-funnel SEO internationally? Show Links Chris Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherakelly/ Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Rand Fishkin joins Ross Hudgens to unpack the latest acronym craze—GEO, AEO, LEO—and why none may be necessary. They explore the origins of SEO, the rise (and fall) of inbound marketing, and how marketers can avoid falling into the trap of trend-chasing. From naming conventions to the real value of brand clarity, this is a conversation for anyone navigating search in the age of AI. Rand also shares a bold bet on AI’s impact on jobs, reflects on his early days in the “promised land of SEO”—and discusses why “SEO for AI” might be the clearest path forward. Plus: Cooking games, Snack Bar Studios, and whether creating a new marketing category is ever worth the effort. Show Notes 0:08 – Why SEO has too many new acronyms 0:44 – The wild origin of SEO in Bend, Oregon 1:29 – Danny Sullivan, Circuit City, and the OG SEO crowd 2:54 – Who coined “zero-click search”? 3:29 – Why naming trends like GEO can hurt clarity 5:00 – Is GEO catching on because A16z backed it? 5:59 – Should we name this shift at all? 6:37 – Why "SEO for AI" is clearer than new acronyms 8:09 – Organic digital vs SEO vs paid—don’t confuse your client 9:33 – Naming things doesn’t always benefit the person who coined it 10:13 – Why SEO isn’t in decline (despite the narrative) 11:07 – Google is still orders of magnitude bigger than any AI tool 12:34 – Rand bets \$100K AI won’t take half of all jobs 13:39 – “SEO for AI” has 100% clarity, unlike GEO or AEO 14:58 – GEO and AEO should be considered tags under SEO 16:07 – Simplifying your services for buyers: SEO still works 17:11 – SEO can carry baggage—but it’s still foundational 18:20 – Organic growth as the category; SEO as the tactic 19:03 – The Snickers bar analogy for misaligned category tags 20:01 – Why HubSpot had the power to rebrand with inbound marketing 20:54 – Applying lessons from game tagging at Snack Bar Studios 22:16 – Final thoughts: ride the wave if you’re Mars; otherwise, keep it clear 23:07 – Rand’s AI/job displacement bet explained 24:53 – Revisiting his blockchain bet with Dharmesh from 2016 25:21 – What worries Rand more than AI? Government decisions 26:14 – Elon, politics, and the future of tech influence 26:22 – Snack Bar Studios: magical boars and carbonara 26:56 – Sparktoro and “Search Everywhere Optimization” 27:03 – Tagging the cooking game: chill action, story rich, 2D action 27:51 – Geraldine’s writing brings it to life Show Link It’s Still SEO (SparkToro Blog): (https://sparktoro.com/blog/its-still-seo-search-everywhere-optimization/](https://sparktoro.com/blog/its-still-seo-search-everywhere-optimization/) a16z: GEO Rewrites the Rules of Search: (https://a16z.com/geo-over-seo/) Rand’s Game Studio: (https://snackbarstudio.com/](https://snackbarstudio.com/) Subscribe today for weekly tips: (https://bit.ly/3dBM61f](https://bit.ly/3dBM61f) Listen on iTunes: (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174) Listen on Spotify: (https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM](https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM) Listen on Google: (https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA) Follow Siege on Twitter: (http://twitter.com/siegemedia](http://twitter.com/siegemedia) Follow Ross on Twitter: (http://twitter.com/rosshudgens](http://twitter.com/rosshudgens) Directed by Cara Brown: (https://twitter.com/cararbrown](https://twitter.com/cararbrown) Email Ross: (ross@siegemedia.com](mailto:ross@siegemedia.com) #seo | #contentmarketing Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross Hudgens and Drew Page sit down to unpack Siege Media’s latest study on the surprising shift in search behavior caused by AI-powered experiences and large language models (LLMs). The headline? Homepage traffic is up 10.7%—despite a decline in overall site wide clicks. They dive into the impact of branded search, the difference between B2B and B2C performance, and why your homepage might now be your most important conversion asset. From SEO’s evolving KPIs to strategies for retargeting and improving click-through rates, this conversation is a reality check—and a game plan—for marketers navigating the AI-dominated SERP. **Plus:** Siege Media’s own numbers, conversion math that makes sense of the doom-and-gloom, and actionable advice to build a brand that stands out in zero-click search results. Show Notes 0:08 – The optimism vs. pessimism spectrum in AI-driven search 0:42 – Why Ross launched this study in the first place 1:04 – From impressions up, clicks down—what triggered the deeper investigation 1:24 – Should SEO start valuing impressions like PR does? 1:51 – Why homepage clicks matter more than ever 2:29 – Branded search as the silent traffic driver 2:49 – What Siege saw across consumer & fintech sites 3:19 – Homepage impressions up 54%, site wide clicks down 4.8% 4:03 – Why that might be good news: homepage conversion rates 5:05 – B2C trends: more impressions, mixed click behavior 6:07 – B2B trends: homepage clicks up 15%, better revenue alignment 8:19 – Average position declines but branded queries still driving visits 9:36 – Seeing real value in brand mentions from ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc. 10:16 – Siege’s internal data: 30% homepage traffic lift, no pipeline drop 12:20 – Conversion math: homepage 3%, sitewide 1% 13:25 – The net positive: more conversions despite fewer visits 14:06 – Why you should optimize your homepage now 14:58 – Brand building, storytelling, and digital PR 15:46 – Homepage CTR and pricing page visibility wins 16:37 – Retargeting strategies for branded homepage traffic 17:00 – If you didn’t build a brand, this won’t help 17:44 – Aligning SEO with PPC to defend the SERP 18:25 – Communicating the impact to leadership 19:12 – Content quality still wins, even in LLMs 19:35 – Creating a brand health dashboard 20:22 – Final thoughts: conversion is the key metric, not traffic Show Links Full Study: https://www.siegemedia.com/strategy/ai-homepage-traffic-increase Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross sits down with Kevin Indig, growth advisor and SEO strategist, to break down his groundbreaking UX study on Google’s AI Overviews—and what it reveals about the fast-changing landscape of search. From disappearing clicks to trust-first decision-making, Kevin shares how the rise of AI is reshaping everything from user behavior to what actually drives conversions. They dig into why CTR is no longer the north star metric, how age and device impact search habits, and why today’s SEO teams need to think far beyond blue links. Whether it’s surfacing trust signals, building brand awareness across platforms, or adapting to zero-click journeys, this conversation is packed with practical takeaways for future-proofing your organic strategy. Plus: the rise of interactive content, the power of review mining, and why mediocre AI content won’t cut it in 2025. Show Notes: 0:07 – Welcoming Kevin back and discussing the shift to AI Overview dominance 1:18 – Top 3 takeaways from Kevin’s study 4:42 – Why younger users love AIOs—and older users don’t trust them 5:37 – How brand strength is driving revenue despite declining CTRs 7:42 – Why results vary dramatically by industry (SaaS, e-comm, publishers) 9:20 – Mobile users scroll more—what that means for engagement 13:00 – Trust signals that matter: bylines, bios, disclosures & authority 16:14 – Riskier queries = higher skepticism. Assigning a “risk score” to search terms 19:18 – Why your SEO strategy must include Reddit, YouTube & non-Google channels 23:27 – New team structures: why SEOs must align with social, paid & brand 28:08 – Creating a brand health dashboard: tracking reach beyond Google 31:27 – Leveraging your existing customer base to create high-converting content 34:45 – How review mining and transcripts unlock real user needs 38:09 – AI-generated content: when it works, when it fails, and why “mediocre is invisible” 40:09 – Turning blog content into interactive tools for higher ROI and defensibility 43:34 – Mission statement generator: the surprising success story 46:43 – Final advice for SEOs in 2025: speed, adaptability, and user-first everything Show Links: Kevin’s UX Study on Google’s AI Overviews: [https://www.growth-memo.com/p/the-first-ever-ux-study-of-googles] Ramp’s Mission Statement Generator: [https://www.ramp.com/mission-statement-generator](https://www.ramp.com/mission-statement-generator) Optiversal – Turning reviews into content: [https://www.optiversal.com](https://www.optiversal.com) Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross sits down with Jess Joyce, SEO consultant at Inbound Scope, to talk about why the term "blog" is outdated—and how systems thinking, revenue-led SEO, and diagram-driven storytelling are creating smarter strategies for SaaS brands.Jess unpacks her visual-first approach to social content, explains the shortcomings of traditional keyword research, and breaks down how AI tools like Gong and Granola are unlocking insight directly from sales calls. They also explore the growing irrelevance of traffic as a core metric and why internal linking, customer pain points, and first-link architecture matter more than ever.Plus: why technical SEO isn’t dead, how to build smarter weekly systems with your team, and a hopeful rant about killing the word “blog” once and for all.Show Notes00:00 – Intro: Why Jess’s Diagrams Stand Out01:00 – Visualizing Content for Clients (And Prospects)03:30 – Why Revenue-Led SEO > Traffic-Led Metrics06:00 – What Google & AI Are Doing to Top-of-Funnel09:00 – Segmenting Content by Intent, Not Format12:00 – Sales Conversations as the New Keyword Research15:00 – Using Granola and Gong to Extract Real Pain Points17:00 – Are Keywords Dying in a Zero-Click World?20:00 – Technical SEO Still Matters (Despite the Hype)24:00 – First Links, Internal Linking & Breadcrumbs27:00 – Systems Thinking: Weekly Sprints & Triangulated Ops30:00 – Why "Blog" Is the Wrong Word for Modern Content33:00 – Enterprise Content Silos & the WordPress Problem34:30 – Where to Follow Jess & Final ThoughtsShow LinksJess’s Work: https://jessjoyce.com/Inbound Scope: https://inboundscope.com/Granola AI: https://www.granola.ai/Gong.io: https://www.gong.io/Ross’s Studio Recording: https://riverside.fm/dashboard/studios/ross-hudgenss-studio/recordings/29fbaa7c-9c87-41a0-82b0-e46416b9401d?share-token=ad8195daf09f9375064a&content-shared=recordingJess on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jessjoyce_heres-how-i-would-create-an-roi-generating-activity-7295472607041138690-v4L0?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAOzg8UB65a5t0zuiVlWCkdHaLrjxPPAwS8 Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross sits down with Kieran Flanagan, SVP of Marketing at HubSpot, for a deep dive into AI’s impact on SEO, content strategy in a post-search world, and the real story behind the "HubSpot traffic drop. Kieran breaks down why conversions—not clicks—have always been at the core of HubSpot’s strategy, how AI is reshaping team structures, and why co-citation and brand authority are the future of SEO. They also cover LLM optimization, the importance of tools in training sets, and what separates influential content from purely informational posts. Plus: Why lazy AI marketers will fail, what The Hustle acquisition means for HubSpot’s media strategy, and how to build long-term influence through POV-driven content. Chapters: 00:00 – Intro: Did HubSpot Really Lose 80% of Blog Traffic? 02:00 – HubSpot’s Real Metrics: LTV: CAC, Not Just Clicks 04:00 – Google’s AI & the New Era of Search Disruption 06:00 – What Content Will Be Cannibalized by LLMs 08:00 – Influence or Information: Winning with Point of View 10:00 – From Links to Mentions: Co-Citation SEO Strategy 12:00 – Optimizing for LLMs: Citations, Not Just SERPs 14:00 – AI, Brand Authority & The Repetitional Layer 17:00 – Tools, Training Sets, and the Battle of Ideas 20:00 – Inside HubSpot’s Media Play: The Hustle, Podcasts & Creators 24:00 – Why Interactive Tools Still Work (If Done Right) 26:00 – Gated Content & Moving the “Free Line” 28:00 – New Team Models: Journalists, Generalists, and Engineers 32:00 – Kieran’s Leadership Framework: Manage Problems, Not People 35:00 – Contrarian Bet: Buying The Hustle & Building Influence 38:00 – Lessons from Zapier vs HubSpot’s Go-To-Market 40:00 – Why Lazy AI Marketers Will Fail 42:00 – Is M&A Still a Growth Lever for HubSpot? 44:00 – Final Thoughts & Where to Follow Kieran --- Show Links Did Hubspot Lose 80% of Blog Traffic? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBHoJMOkL6Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBHoJMOkL6Y) Contrast Ratio by Siege Media [https://www.siegemedia.com/contrast-ratio](https://www.siegemedia.com/contrast-ratio) Interactive Content Data Use [https://www.siegemedia.com/strategy/content-marketing-trends#interactive-content](https://www.siegemedia.com/strategy/content-marketing-trends#interactive-content) The Hustle by HubSpot [https://blog.hubspot.com/the-hustle/page/1](https://blog.hubspot.com/the-hustle/page/1) Kieran Flanagan on LinkedIn [https://linkedin.com/in/kieranjflanagan](https://linkedin.com/in/kieranjflanagan) 🎧 Subscribe & Follow Subscribe for weekly tips: [https://bit.ly/3dBM61f](https://bit.ly/3dBM61f) iTunes: [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174) Spotify: [https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM](https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM) Google Podcasts: [https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA) Follow Siege: [http://twitter.com/siegemedia](http://twitter.com/siegemedia) Follow Ross: [http://twitter.com/rosshudgens](http://twitter.com/rosshudgens) Directed by Cara Brown: [https://twitter.com/cararbrown](https://twitter.com/cararbrown) Email Ross: [ross@siegemedia.com](mailto:ross@siegemedia.com) #seo #contentmarketing Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross sits down with Andrew Warden, CMO of Semrush, for a behind-the-scenes look at how the company has scaled past a billion-dollar valuation through brand innovation, performance marketing, and fearless experimentation. Andrew unpacks how he’s built and structured Semrush’s powerhouse marketing team, why they favor in-house execution over agencies, and how data science and AI are reshaping modern marketing ops. From viral hits like “Be Like Gaby” and “CEO Kiddos," this episode highlights what works—and what doesn’t—when building a global brand. 00:00 – Intro & Nick Eubanks M&A Stories 02:00 – Building the Semrush Marketing Team Structure 04:00 – Why In-House Creative Wins Over Agencies 06:00 – Brand, Digital, and Owned Media: Org Design Explained 08:00 – The Role of Data Science & Marketing Ops at Scale 10:00 – AI Ops: Automating for Speed, Not Just Hype 13:00 – Enterprise vs. SMB: Maintaining Brand Balance 16:00 – Big Wins: “Be Like Gaby” and User-Driven Campaigns 18:00 – When Humor Doesn’t Convert: Learning from the “CEO Kiddos” Flop 21:00 – Why Failure Is Part of the Process at Semrush 24:00 – Scaling Content: Growing the SEO Team from 4 to 40+ 26:00 – Localization: What Works, What Doesn’t 29:00 – Brand vs. Performance: How to Actually Measure Impact 33:00 – Traffic Down, Revenue Up: Moving Beyond Vanity Metrics 36:00 – What SEOs Should Actually Be Goal-ed On 39:00 – AI and Search: The Real Impact on Marketers 41:00 – Semrush’s AI Toolkit & ContentShake Overview 44:00 – The Most Underrated Features in Semrush 47:00 – Prompt Engineering & Early AI Adoption Lessons 48:00 – Conference Announcements & What’s Next for Semrush ContentShake: https://www.semrush.com/apps/contentshake/ Impress your boss commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNCR5XBEM5c Semrush’s most popular campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRHG5CjsPvo Andrew Warden on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewwarden Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Chris Walker (CEO of Passetto) joins Ross to talk about personal transformation, scaling through delegation, and why most entrepreneurs are chasing the wrong kind of freedom. Chris shares insights from his month-long sabbatical, including frameworks for creating true independence—beyond just financial freedom—and lessons learned about leadership, agency structure, and internal alignment. Ross and Chris also unpack strategies for delegation, avoiding burnout, client selection, the evolving role of SEO, and how B2B companies should rethink go-to-market in a post-ChatGPT world. 00:00 – Welcome Chris Walker & “The Collision of Worlds” 00:51 – Why Bigger Doesn’t Mean Better (And Why Chris Took a Month Off) 02:05 – The Real Test: Can Your Business Run Without You? 03:09 – 10 Types of Freedom (Beyond Just Financial) 06:01 – Time, Social, Creative, Mission, Health & More 09:10 – Letting Go of the Clients That Drain You 13:07 – Freedom Through Delegation: Fake vs Real 15:05 – Why Firing Someone Might Set Them Free 17:20 – Rethinking Wealth: Why 2x More Money Won’t Make You Happy 20:00 – Breaking Mental Loops Around Growth, Suffering, and “Success” 22:50 – Why Resistance Means You’re Out of Alignment 26:00 – Layoffs, Misalignment, and Making the Hard Call 29:00 – A New Agency Playbook: 10 People, $10M 31:32 – Delegation as a Superpower (And Trap) 34:20 – Hiring Without Job Descriptions 37:00 – How Top Talent Finds You (Not the Other Way Around) 39:01 – From Fake Delegation to Freedom Frameworks 41:00 – Pattern-Matching LinkedIn Content for Real ICP Impact 43:13 – SEO Today: Outdated, Unpersonalized & Being Replaced 46:50 – Why ChatGPT over Google for User Intent 48:10 – The Case for Diversified GTM (and SEO’s Narrow Role) 50:00 – Reframing Search: It’s Not Just Google Anymore 52:20 – Personal Holdings Companies & Managing Partners 54:00 – Why Resume-Perfect Execs Often Underperform 56:00 – Agency Scale: Founder as Visionary, Not CEO 59:00 – Building the Business That Serves Your Life Chris Walker on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chriswalker171 Chris’s Company, Passetto: https://www.passetto.com Siege Media: https://www.siegemedia.com Subscribe for weekly episodes: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Follow Ross on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosshudgens Follow Siege Media on Twitter: https://twitter.com/siegemedia Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Kristan Bauer returns for a deep dive into the technical and organizational SEO strategies that helped Zillow grow to nearly 2 billion annual visits. She shares tactical insights on enterprise SEO at scale, including testing frameworks, internal collaboration, indexing strategies, and what it takes to lead with executive presence in a high-stakes environment. Ross and Kristan also unpack the challenges of long-tail targeting, structuring an SEO team for success, and how to know when it’s time to build your own SEO testing platform. 00:00 – Welcome Back Kristan & The Zillow SEO Journey00:34 – From Agency to Zillow: What Made Zillow’s Traffic Explode01:09 – How Zillow Reached Nearly 2 Billion Visits/Year03:23 – The Hidden SEO Power of Off-Market Listings04:23 – Internal Linking Tactics to Boost Indexing06:52 – Long-Tail Dynamic Pages from Listing Descriptions08:44 – Managing Page Quality in Long-Tail SEO10:21 – When & Why Zillow Invested in an SEO Testing Platform12:09 – How SEO Was Structured at Zillow (and Why It Worked)13:58 – Quarterly Planning + Executive-Level SEO Visibility15:05 – One-on-One Collaboration With Other Channel Leads17:10 – Building a Culture of Shared Ownership Around SEO18:56 – Risk Management via SEO Testing Platforms20:39 – Why Testing Is a Must at Enterprise Scale22:51 – How Zillow Prioritized Smart Resource Allocation24:41 – How to Know When It’s Time to Build a Platform26:41 – Structuring SEO Inside Product vs. Marketing30:06 – How Cross-Team SEO Works at the Enterprise Level32:21 – Building Executive Presence & Communicating Up34:05 – Wins, Challenges & Transparent SEO Reporting36:00 – SEO Summits with Airbnb, Yelp, TripAdvisor & More41:00 – Final Lessons: Communication, Creativity & Big Rocks Kristan’s Website: https://www.kristanbauer.comKristan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristandaubleOur Previous Episode on Enterprise Real Estate SEO: https://www.siegemedia.com/conversation/kristan-bauer Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross welcomes Eli Schwartz, author of Product-Led SEO , to unpack the evolving role of SEO in a world shaped by AI, shifting perceptions, and organizational challenges.Eli dives into why SEO is being deprioritized, what companies are getting wrong, and how product-led SEO is the path forward.They cover layoffs, agency churn, the role of growth teams, and why most companies shouldn’t do SEO at all. Show Notes: 00:00 Welcome Back Eli & The Current Pulse on Search 00:53 Marketing Layoffs & Volatility in SEO 02:31 Why SEO Struggles to Defend Its Value 05:49 AI Search vs Traditional SEO — What Actually Changes? 07:58 Are We Just Rebranding SEO? 09:27 Visibility, Links & Human-Like Search Engines 12:50 The Problem With “AI SEO” Hype 14:45 Why Edge Case SEO Will Die Fast 18:19 Why “Technical SEO” Isn’t a Moat Anymore 22:06 The AI Content Misstep: Spam at Scale 24:27 The New SEO: Blending Human + AI + Product 28:11 Your Product Has to Be Good Now — Period 29:20 Revisiting the Book: What Eli Would Update 30:20 The Spicy Take: Most Companies Shouldn’t Do SEO 35:03 How to Evaluate if SEO is Right for You 38:45 The “Tax Preparer” Problem With Agencies 41:06 If You’ve Fired 3 SEO Agencies… It’s You 43:20 The SEO Funnel Needs the Right Org Buy-In 46:01 Growth & Product Titles Are the Key 47:28 The Sales Enablement Side of SEO 50:30 Content Strategy vs Keyword Volume Obsession 51:40 The Non-Apocalypse of AI 55:04 The Real AI Shift Will Be Gradual 56:01 How to Actually Execute Product SEO 59:49 Final Thoughts & Where to Follow EliShow Links:Eli’s Newsletter: https://www.productledseo.com/Eli’s Book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091D572ZLEli on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schwartze Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross sits down with A.J. Ghergich, VP of Consulting Services at Botify, to unpack enterprise SEO, AI governance, and why SEOs absolutely need a Bing strategy in 2025. A.J. shares the story of how he landed the rare @SEO Twitter handle and what it’s meant for his visibility in the industry. They dive into findings from Botify’s latest AI survey, highlighting the disconnect between perceived AI readiness and real-world implementation challenges.From AI hallucinations and live retrieval limitations to crawl budgets and indexation at scale, this conversation is packed with tactical insights. A.J. also drops a hot take on Bing, explaining why it's now critical for AI visibility—especially in the age of ChatGPT and live search integration.They also explore practical steps marketers can take to better control their brand messaging in AI outputs, and why technical SEO still reigns supreme at the enterprise level. Show Notes: 00:00 – Intro & AJ’s @SEO Twitter Handle Story 02:00 – The Early Twitter Beta and Getting the Handle 04:00 – Value from the @SEO Handle & the Power of Network 06:00 – Botify's AI Survey: 94% Claim AI Readiness? 08:00 – What AI Readiness Really Looks Like 10:00 – Why Governance is the Missing Piece 13:00 – Content Hallucinations, Training Data, and eCommerce Pitfalls 16:30 – Centralizing Brand Messaging for AI 19:00 – Enterprise SEO: Hidden Challenges at Scale 22:00 – Indexation Gaps in Enterprise Sites 24:30 – Crawl Budget, Canonicals & Technical SEO Realities 27:00 – Freshness & Product Page Recency = Revenue 30:00 – AI Overviews, CTR Drops, and the Future of Search 33:00 – Ghost Clicks & Attribution in an AI-Driven World 36:00 – Preparing for Bot-to-Bot Web Traffic 39:00 – Are You Ready for ChatGPT Traffic? 41:00 – Why You Need a Bing Strategy in 2025 43:00 – How to Push Content into Bing (and ChatGPT) with IndexNow 44:30 – AJ’s Hot Take: Optimize for Humans and AIs 45:00 – Where to Connect with AJ Show Links: AJ on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SEO Botify AI Survey: https://www.botify.com/blog/marketing-leaders-want-to-meet-ai-search-head-on-new-survey-results How Many People Search on Google?: https://sparktoro.com/blog/new-research-how-often-do-americans-search-google-which-search-verticals-do-they-use IndexNow: https://www.bing.com/indexnow Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross sits down with Dr. Pete Meyers of Moz to discuss the ever-changing landscape of SEO, the impact of AI overviews, and how Moz is adapting to a rapidly evolving industry.They dive into the challenges of innovation in a competitive space, the role of brand authority versus domain authority, and the data-driven future of search marketing. Plus, Dr. Pete shares insights on Moz’s latest tools and the future of tracking Google’s updates.If you’re in the SEO world, this episode is packed with valuable insights you won’t want to miss. Show Notes:00:00 Introduction & Welcome01:04 Moz’s Position in a Competitive SEO Landscape02:52 AI Overviews & the Future of SERPs07:06 MozCast & Google Update Tracking12:53 The Role of Brand Authority in SEO19:09 How SEO Has Shifted Over the Years24:15 Keyword Research & New Moz Tools30:56 The Decline of Blog Comments & Online Community Shifts36:41 SEO Data & Attribution Challenges41:26 What’s Next for Moz? Resources & Links:Brand Authority vs Domain Authority during a recent update: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thcapper_i-had-a-theory-from-the-google-leaks-the-activity-7237411717947817985-Nz4V/Introducing Brand Authority: https://moz.com/blog/introducing-brand-authorityGoogle’s Update History:https://moz.com/google-algorithm-changeMozCast:https://moz.com/mozcastMozCon’s on the road in 2025: https://moz.com/blog/mozcon-on-the-road-2025Dr. Pete on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpete/Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross sits down with Tim Soulo, CMO of Ahrefs, to dive deep into content marketing, SEO, and Ahrefs’ evolving approach to growth. Tim shares insights on how Ahrefs built its marketing team, the role of SEO in today’s digital landscape, and why they’re investing in YouTube, LinkedIn, and thought leadership content. They also discuss the challenges of enterprise marketing, the rise of social-first content, and the impact of backlink trends on the SEO industry. Show Notes: 00:00 Intro – Meeting in Chiang Mai SEO 00:53 Ahrefs’ Marketing Evolution 06:06 SEO vs. Diversification in Marketing 10:09 The Role of Technical SEO at Ahrefs 12:57 LinkedIn & Social Media Strategy 18:10 Scaling Content & Thought Leadership 22:31 Going Upmarket: Enterprise Marketing at Ahrefs 30:38 The Power of Events & Conferences 32:22 Programmatic SEO & Directory Strategies 40:31 Backlink Trends & The Changing Web 46:55 The Future of Ahrefs Marketing 48:24 Announcing Ahrefs Evolve – West Coast Conference Show Links: Ahrefs: Top Website: https://ahrefs.com/websites Ahrefs: Data & Studies: https://ahrefs.com/blog/category/data-studies/ Ahrefs YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/AhrefsCom Tim Soulo’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsouloSubscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
Ross welcomes back Rand Fishkin, co-founder of SparkToro and longtime marketing thought leader, for a candid conversation about the evolution of search, audience research, and the shifting tides of digital marketing. Rand shares insights on why SEO’s golden age is behind us, why influence—not traffic—should be marketers’ primary focus, and how PR is making a major comeback. He also discusses SparkToro’s growth, lessons from launching an indie video game company, and why understanding audience behavior is more critical than ever. Show Notes: 00:00 Welcome Back, Rand! 01:10 Reflections on Lost and Founder 02:37 The importance of timing and market demand 06:48 Venture Capital and Market Trends 14:34 The Changing Reputation of SEO 19:27 AI, Search, and Zero-Click Results 28:58 Influence Over Traffic 38:46 How to Prioritize Marketing Channels 43:42 The Rise of Digital PR 49:51 The Future of Search and Content Show Links: SparkToro https://sparktoro.com/blog/traffic-is-down-revenue-is-up/ SparkTogether 2025 https://sparktoro.com/sparktogether Rand’s Blog “Traffic Is Down; Revenue Is… Up?" https://sparktoro.com/ Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing
How do you build SEO strategies that mesh seamlessly with product teams? Ross Hudgens chats with Sharanya Srinivasan, Head of SEO, Product at Boatsetter, about combining strong user experience, savvy engineering partnerships, and growth-focused tactics. Learn how Sharanya’s approach to A/B testing, internal links, and UX research can help you unlock new levels of organic traffic, no matter how your team is structured.Show Notes:0:00 Background & Why Product Matters02:47 Landing in Product-Focused Roles07:43 Top of Funnel vs. Bottom of Funnel11:01 A Typical Day in a Product-Led SEO Role16:40 Technical vs. Product Manager SEO21:47 Should SEO Sit in Marketing or Product?26:32 UX & User Research Resources30:47 A/B Testing for Better User Journeys39:37 Tools & Tactics for SEO A/B TestingShow Links:NNGroupUserTesting.comSearchPilotSharanya on LinkedIn Apartments.com related linking exampleWirecutter “Mentioned above” example Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: ross@siegemedia.com #seo | #contentmarketing