The Shockingly Easy Way to Rank: Listicle Self-Plugs, Medium, and the Future of SEO

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Dec 5, 2025

Ivan Palii, Head of Product at Sitechecker and an SEO expert, shares groundbreaking insights into the future of SEO. He reveals the power of listicle self-plugs in 2025 and how Medium is thriving without backlinks. Ivan discusses clever tactics for leveraging Reddit and the astonishing results of his $20K LinkedIn influencer experiment. He highlights how AI treats citations and the importance of user engagement in rankings. Get ready for savvy predictions on SEO trends for 2026 and actionable strategies to boost visibility in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

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ADVICE

Prefer Quality Backlinks Over Cheap Volume

Avoid buying backlinks from low-quality, AI-generated listicles because they often drop later and harm long-term rankings.
Pay more for fewer backlinks from reputable sites to secure lasting SEO impact.

INSIGHT

Listicles Dominate AI Citations

Listicles are massively used as citations in AI chat outputs and rank signals right now.
Writing your own listicle that places your brand at #1 can directly influence AI and search citations today.

INSIGHT

AI Chat Visibility Is Less Filtered Than Google

AI chat models currently lack Google's strict quality filters, so low-quality content can influence AI charts.
That wild-west visibility may change but provides temporary tactical opportunities.

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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

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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/

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