Risk Tolerance: Black Hat vs Long-Term Builds

E924: I sit down with Lars Lofgren and Jacky Chou to talk about what's really happening inside search right now - not the PR version, not the Google blog version, but what people running sites, ranking pages, and making money are actually seeing.

We dig into why white-hat, content-driven SEO feels like it's collapsing for a lot of people, while black-hat operators, parasite SEO, and forum spam are quietly having one of their best years ever.

This isn't a theoretical conversation. Lars and Jacky work directly inside these systems. They see what ranks, what breaks, and what keeps working after updates.

If you run a website, a SaaS, a content business, or an affiliate site, this episode explains why things could feel harder than they used to - and why some people are still doing extremely well.

What we cover - Why MozCon felt depressing while black-hat conferences felt optimistic - How Google's Helpful Content updates changed who wins and who loses - Why technical SEOs and parasite SEOs are outperforming content-first sites - How forums, Reddit, and Facebook groups are being used to manipulate rankings - Why casino, VPN, and adult niches still dominate traditional search results - How listicles, review sites, and media publishers control AI recommendations - Why Forbes keeps ranking for everything, even after being hit - How AI Overviews and LLMs pull from Google's front page - How easy it is to make a fake brand show up inside ChatGPT and other LLMs - Why Trustpilot, Reddit, and listicles matter more than backlinks right now - How some publishers recover while others stay permanently buried - The HouseFresh case study and why public pressure actually works - How parasite SEO works on newspapers and Google News sites - Why many white-hat SEOs feel stuck while black-hat operators scale - How founders should build brands in an LLM-driven world - Why social, video, and personal brands now beat pure SEO

This episode is for anyone who: - Runs a content site - Does affiliate SEO - Builds SaaS or online tools - Depends on Google traffic - Wants to understand how AI is changing search - Feels like rankings and traffic don't make sense anymore

⭐️ Lars Lofgren's website and newsletter: https://larslofgren.com/ ⭐️ Lars Lofgren on LinkedIn (tell him you came from this podcast and he'll accept your connection): https://www.linkedin.com/in/larslofgren/ ⭐️ Lars Lofgren on 𝕏: https://x.com/larslofgren

⭐️ Jacky Chou on 𝕏 - https://x.com/indexsy ⭐️ Jack Chou's website - https://jackychou.com/ ⭐️ Jacky Chou on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@indexsy

💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/

00:00 White Hat vs. Black Hat SEO: A Tale of Two Conferences 01:15 The Impact of AI and Google's Algorithm on SEO 02:10 Black Hat SEO: Thriving in the Current Landscape 04:43 Forbes and the Content Quality Debate 07:57 The Rise of Technical SEOs in the LLM Era 09:23 Gaming LLMs: New Tactics and Strategies 22:21 The Golden Age of Forum Spam 23:04 The Power of Masterminds and Private Communities 35:29 Reddit Manipulation and the Coding Bootcamp Scandal 41:47 Starting Local: Leveraging Facebook and Reddit 42:55 AI Influencers and Monetization Strategies 44:09 AI Content and Detection Challenges 44:45 AI in SEO: Misconceptions and Strategies 47:36 Google Algorithm Shifts and SEO Tactics 49:12 Niche Sites and Content Strategies 01:00:46 Trustpilot Reviews and Black Hat Tactics 01:07:12 Social Media Strategies for SEO and Branding 01:19:53 Concluding Thoughts and Final Tips

The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/

#blackhatseo #searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #growthhacking