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/ 

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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