The Edward Show

E944: Google has introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a system that allows merchants to send product data directly to Google so users can discover and buy products inside search, AI Mode, and Gemini - without ever visiting a website. In this episode, we break down what UCP actually is, how agentic commerce works, and what this shift means for e-commerce SEO, CRO, brand authority, and margins. Joining the discussion are Harpreet Singh, Gagan Ghotra, and David Quaid, three experienced SEOs with deep backgrounds in e-commerce, SaaS, B2B, and technical SEO. Together, we unpack what's real, what's overhyped, and what businesses should actually prepare for. Topics covered in this episode: - What Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) really does - Buying products directly inside Google search, AI Mode, and Gemini - Whether product pages, collection pages, and CRO still matter - How rankings work when everyone submits the same product feed - Trust issues with AI checkout and agent-driven purchasing - Why average order value (AOV) may drop in an AI commerce world - The impact on email capture, upsells, and owned customer relationships - Margins, platform fees, and why merchants may opt out of agentic commerce - Google vs OpenAI vs Shopify: who benefits financially - Why brand authority may matter more than ever - Backlinks, internal links, and how AI agents explore the web - Discovery vs brand-aware searches in an AI-first environment - The difference between "AI SEO" and actual SEO - What CMOs are getting wrong about generative search - Whether e-commerce SEO is ending - or just changing shape This episode is essential listening for: - E-commerce founders and operators - SEOs and digital marketers - CMOs evaluating "AI SEO" strategies - Anyone trying to understand where search and commerce are heading If you're thinking seriously about the future of search, AI shopping, and how people will buy online over the next decade, this conversation will help ground you in reality. ⭐️ David Quaid on 𝕏 - https://x.com/DavidGQuaid ⭐️ David Quaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidquaid/ ⭐️ David Quaid's agency - https://primaryposition.com/ ⭐️ Gagan Ghotra on 𝕏 - https://x.com/gaganghotra_ ⭐️ Gagan Ghotra on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gagan-ghotra/ ⭐️ Gagan Ghotra's website - https://gaganghotra.com/ ⭐️ Harpreet Singh's Personal Site - https://harpsdigital.com ⭐️ Harpreet on X - https://x.com/harpreetchatha_ ⭐️ Harpreet's Newsletter - https://seoespresso.com ⭐️ Harpreet on LinkedIn - https://linkedin.com/in/harpreetsingh8/ ⭐️ Harpreet on TikTok - https://tiktok.com/@seoharp ⭐️ Harpreet on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@harpsdigital 💎 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 Guest Introductions 01:06 Google's Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) Explained 02:05 Impact of UCP on E-commerce SEO 03:55 Historical Context and Future Predictions 07:10 Financial Implications of AI and E-commerce 10:02 Trust and Consumer Behavior in AI-Driven Commerce 11:46 Challenges and Opportunities in Agentic E-commerce 16:11 The Role of Brand Marketing in AI E-commerce 25:49 Backlinks and Authority in the Age of AI 42:41 The Efficiency of ASCII Content 42:55 Challenges in Detecting AI Content 44:42 The Role of Thoughtful Prompts in AI 46:19 The Hype Around AI Tools 46:26 Google's Investment in AI and Data Centers 47:56 Authority and SEO Strategies 53:39 The Myth of Chunk Optimization 01:00:04 OpenAI's Advertising Strategy 01:07:18 Black Hat SEO Tactics for Valentine's Day 01:15:08 Networking for Initial Clients 01:16:13 AI SEO vs Traditional SEO for CMOs 01:19:09 The CMO's Dilemma: Allocating Budget to AI SEO 01:21:55 Understanding Query Fanout and Its Impact on SEO 01:25:02 The Relaunch of Digg and Its Implications for SEOs 01:36:16 The Rise of Grokipedia: A Competitor to Wikipedia 01:49:47 The Future of User-Generated Content and SEO 01:52:11 Conclusion and Final Thoughts The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization #ecommerceseo #shopifyseo

A practical dive into extracting high-quality backlinks from podcast appearances. He explains how syndication, show notes, transcripts and YouTube links create SEO value. The conversation covers branded searches, knowledge panels and a real recovery case study. Actionable tactics for consistently booking and trading spots and using your own podcast for reciprocal links are highlighted.

A real case study of an $80 press release that climbed to the top of Google for a non-branded query and even shaped AI overviews. Discussion of how press releases can build topical authority, influence search and language models, and persist in caches after removal. Comparison of low-cost distribution services and how to use legitimate announcements rather than spam as part of an SEO strategy.

E941: Edward is joined by Charles Floate and David Quaid for a deep, technical conversation about what is actually happening in search right now - and why many long-held SEO assumptions no longer hold. We discuss a growing pattern of manual actions that appear to be permanent, rejected reconsideration requests even after large-scale cleanups, and why some businesses may never fully recover organic traffic from Google. From enterprise sites to small publishers, the rules are shifting fast. The conversation moves into AI search, ChatGPT visibility, Reddit's dominance in the SERPs, and how Google's own behavior is pushing SEOs toward tactics that were once considered off-limits. This is not theory. It's based on live examples, experiments, client data, and firsthand experience. Topics covered: - Why manual actions are increasingly permanent and what that means for long-term SEO strategy - What to do when reconsideration requests keep getting rejected - The risk of relying on a single branded domain for all organic traffic - Multi-domain strategies, exact match domains, and when they still work - Why Reddit now occupies multiple positions on page one - How Reddit SEO is being used to offset traffic losses from Google updates - The difference between SEO and AI search optimization - How ChatGPT, Bing grounding, and source consensus actually work - Why most AI visibility still depends on traditional SEO foundations - The real role of links in modern SEO and AI surfacing - Common SEO tactics that no longer move rankings - Underrated techniques that still produce results - Internal linking mistakes that kill performance - Why "just write good content" is not a strategy - How misinformation and tribalism are hurting the SEO industry - The growing gap between white hat theory and what actually works - Who is winning right now: white hats or black hats - and why This episode is intended for SEOs, founders, CMOs, and operators who want a realistic view of search in 2026, not recycled advice or surface-level commentary. ⭐️ David Quaid on 𝕏 - https://x.com/DavidGQuaid ⭐️ David Quaid on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidquaid/ ⭐️ David Quaid's agency - https://primaryposition.com/ ⭐️ Charles Floate on 𝕏 - https://x.com/Charles_SEO ⭐️ Charles Floate on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesfloate/ ⭐️ Charles Floate on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@CharlesFloate ⭐️ Charles Floate on Facebook - https://facebook.com/thecharlesfloate ⭐️ Charles Floate's PressWhizz - https://presswhizz.com/ 💎 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 Guest Welcome 00:22 Manual Actions and Permanent Bans 01:08 SEO Strategies for Corporate Clients 02:09 The Risks of Relying on a Single Domain 10:48 The Power of Reddit in SEO 18:44 Challenges in the SEO Community 31:02 Experimenting with AI and SEO 46:07 Link Building Strategies and Challenges 46:30 Cool Link Acquisition Stories 50:10 PressWhizz Revolutionizing Link Building 56:38 SEO Techniques: What's Worth It and What's Not 01:13:20 Understanding YMYL and Its Impact 01:25:22 Maximizing SEO with Short Pages 01:26:17 The Power of Internal Linking 01:27:06 Link Building Strategies and Challenges 01:28:04 The Evolution of Link Building Costs 01:29:38 Adapting to AI and SEO Changes 01:32:03 Common Internal Linking Mistakes 01:35:05 Effective URL Slug Changes 01:38:09 White Hat vs. Black Hat SEO 01:48:03 The Role of Private Blog Networks (PBNs) 01:58:52 SEO Consulting and Agency Recommendations 02:05:46 Final Thoughts and Farewell The Edward Show. The #1 search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/ #searchengineoptimization #blackhatseo #linkbuilding #generativeengineoptimization

Sites are being rejected after fixes, suggesting penalties may now be judged on perceived trustworthiness rather than actions. Reports show mass deletions and disavows still failing, with similar patterns in other search and ad platforms. The conversation highlights risks of aggressive or gray-area SEO tactics and why consistent white hat strategies and long-term marketing win out.

Practical tactics for getting your first backlinks without shortcuts or spam. Simple trust-building steps like directories, social profiles, and community participation. Smart partnerships, press releases, and expert-quote platforms for early visibility. Advice on when to outreach, how podcast appearances help, and why consistency and quality beat chasing volume.

New data shows YouTube now outpaces Reddit as the top source for AI-generated citations. The conversation covers why transcripts, titles, and descriptions make video content machine-readable. Practical tips focus on structuring descriptions and filenames for discovery. Strategies include pairing videos with SEO pages, building topical authority, and repurposing shorts to boost reach.

Sarvesh Shrivastava, an SEO practitioner and agency operator testing Claude Cowork in real workflows. He demos live local and on-page audits, competitor analysis on Google Business Profiles, and automating on-site fixes. Short, practical dives into pattern recognition, automated reports, and how a PC agent can run audits, edit profiles, and integrate with tools like Ahrefs.

Local backlink strategies that boost city-specific authority. Tactical partnerships and sponsorships that send real referral traffic. Using AI to research local sponsors and vet partners safely. Essential citations to claim and how citation language shapes local relevance. Structuring location hub pages and targeting pillar pages to support weaker service pages.

A funded AI startup is scaling financial content with unchecked automation and seeing a familiar spike then collapse. The episode examines how press, rapid backlinks, and low-authority domains can mask SEO risks. It highlights Google's detection of AI content in YMYL niches and safer AI uses like interactive tools and engagement features. Practical precautions are offered to avoid long-term domain damage.