Systemizing SEO: How Top Operators Scale Rankings in the AI Era (w/ Nathan Gotch)

E917: I'm joined by Nathan Gotch to break down how modern SEO actually works in the AI era - and why systemizing your process matters more than ever.

We go deep into how top operators think about SEO today, from local and e-commerce to SaaS and AI search platforms. This conversation is practical, opinionated, and grounded in real campaigns, not theory.

What we cover: - Why systemizing SEO is more important than tactics or hacks - How to structure SEO playbooks, systems, and SOPs for repeatable results - The biggest mistakes people make with service area pages and local SEO - How to think about URL structure, intent, and conversion-first pages - When to create a new page vs expanding an existing one - How Nathan approaches SEO testing and experimentation - What actually matters in SEO audits (and what doesn't) - Site architecture, internal linking, crawl depth, and page support - HTML vs JavaScript sites and why it still matters - How AI retrieval changes crawling, indexing, and visibility - Page speed, retrievability, and why AI is less tolerant of slow sites - Using Google Search Console data to build supporting content - How to approach category pages in e-commerce without hurting conversions - The role of backlinks today and how link strategy is changing - How AI platforms pull citations for local and service-based businesses - Why Google Business Profiles still matter - and where they don't - The difference between traditional SEO and AI search visibility - What types of content AI cannot replace - When AI content works and when it clearly fails - How Nathan uses AI for development while keeping SEO fundamentals intact - Why small teams can now compete with much larger companies - What successful SEO operators do differently from everyone else

This episode is especially relevant if you: - Run an SEO agency or manage client campaigns - Work in local SEO, SaaS, or e-commerce - Are trying to understand how AI affects search and visibility - Want to build repeatable SEO systems instead of starting from scratch - Care about long-term rankings, not short-term wins

Nathan also shares how he's thinking about the future of SEO, AI search, and building platforms that work across Google, AI assistants, and emerging search environments.

If you're serious about SEO and want to understand how top operators actually approach it today, this episode will give you a clear framework to think from.

Thanks for watching and listening.

⭐️ Nathan Gotch's Search OS - https://os.nathangotch.com/ ⭐️ Nathan Gotch's Rankability - https://www.rankability.com/ ⭐️ Nathan Gotch on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@nathangotch ⭐️ Nathan Gotch - https://nathangotch.com/ ⭐️ Nathan Gotch on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathangotch/ ⭐️ Nathan Gotch on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nathan.gotch/ ⭐️ Nathan Gotch on 𝕏 - https://x.com/nathangotch

💎 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 00:21 The Importance of Systemizing SEO 01:33 Nathan Gotch's SEO System 03:10 Building a Client Knowledge Base 07:28 Common SEO Mistakes and Best Practices 15:58 E-commerce SEO Strategies 36:51 Migrating Sites to Replit 46:05 Reading SEO Books and Creating Content 46:23 The Power of Experience in Content Creation 47:15 AI's Limitations and Human Advantages 48:53 Using AI for Case Studies and Content 49:21 Debating the Best CMS for SEO 51:08 Challenges and Benefits of WordPress 52:50 Exploring Vibe Coding and AI Tools 59:13 Building and Marketing Linkable Assets 01:01:53 Creating Software Companies with AI 01:17:16 SEO Strategies and AI Content 01:23:27 Building and Realizing Ideas 01:24:10 Mission and Vision for Rankability 01:25:40 Challenges and Persistence in Business 01:32:43 SEO Strategies and Local Business Focus 01:40:46 Influencing AI Platforms 01:49:42 Link Building and SEO Success 01:53:00 Consistency and Execution in SEO 01:59:22 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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

#searchengineoptimization #linkbuilding #generativeengineoptimization #answerengineoptimization