User engagement as a ranking filter

E884: Some of the most shockingly effective SEO tactics of 2025: listicle self-plugs, Medium parasite SEO, Reddit domination, AI visibility hacks… then the future of SEO/GEO/AEO tactics in 2026.

Ivan Palii (Head of Product at Sitechecker) joins the podcast to share real experiments he's running right now - including AI manipulation, influencer marketing results, backlink insertion tactics, Reddit sub takeover strategies, and how Medium articles with zero backlinks are still outranking major brands.

If you're an SEO, a founder, or anyone trying to rank in the age of AI search, this might be the most actionable podcast you listen to all year.

Topics We Cover - Why listicle self-plugs STILL work in 2025 (and when they'll stop) - How LLMs treat citations - and why small brands can hack them - The rise of Medium as a parasite SEO powerhouse - How Ivan ranks competitive keywords on Medium with no backlinks - Reddit as the SEO frontier + how to grow a subreddit that ranks - Backlink insertions vs guest posts (what actually works now) - AI chat visibility: what influences Claude/ChatGPT rankings - The future of SEO in 2026 - predictions you can act on today - The real results from spending $20K on LinkedIn influencers - Why most agencies spend 0% effort protecting rankings (and should)

⭐️ Ivan Palii's Looker Studio templates - https://ivanhoe.pro/ ⭐️ Sitechecker - SEO & AI visibility for agencies - https://sitechecker.pro/ ⭐️ Ivan Palii's SEO newsletter - https://www.hackthealgo.com/ ⭐️ Ivan Palii's SEO community - https://www.reddit.com/r/seogaps/ ⭐️ Ivan Palii on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ivanpalii/ ⭐️ Ivan Palii on 𝕏 - https://x.com/IvanPalii ⭐️ Ivan Palii on Medium - https://medium.com/@ivanpalii ⭐️ Ivan Palii on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@ivanhoedigital

🔔 Subscribe for daily episodes (884 days in a row!). I drop a new podcast every single day on SEO, marketing, AI, growth, and experiments that actually work.

💎 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 Introduction and Initial Question 00:22 Debating AI-Generated Backlinks 01:15 Quality Over Quantity in Backlinks 01:35 The Power of Listicles 04:38 SEO Strategies and Tools 06:42 SEO in Ukraine 08:27 Crazy SEO Trends in 2025 10:11 Influencing AI and Search Engines 16:17 User Engagement and SEO 29:51 Marketing Experiments and Strategies 43:21 Creating Anonymous Accounts for Experiments 45:24 SEO Agencies: Visibility vs. Protection 49:54 Influencer Marketing on LinkedIn 55:54 Effective Link Building Tactics 01:13:40 SEO Strategies for 2026 01:17:37 Final Thoughts and Future Plans

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

#searchengineoptimization #growthhacking #answerengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization