Rankable

Cut through the bullshit of online gurus. Erica Schneider provides frameworks, processes, and examples that actually help content creators edit their stuff to make it more attention-grabbing, interesting, and helpful.

In this episode, she shares her personal editing rituals, how the hell you get past your own editing roadblocks, and the key differences between crappy blog writing and attention-span-deficient social writing.

Find out what changed her perspective on the role of Generative AI writing and how she incorporates it into her writing and editing process. You're going to learn a few neat little formulas and AI models that can speed you up while maintaining your own personal authenticity.

[0:00] Intro

[1:20] Starting a business with young twins

[3:20] Personal editing rituals: Developmental edits followed by copyedits

[6:35] Editing roadblocks: Using frameworks like SCQA (Situation, Challenge, Question, Answer) to move forward

[8:38] The key differences between editing for digital platforms and traditional copywriting

[10:50] How should you start a blog post so it doesn’t suck? Story driven? Data-driven?

[12:56] How will GenAI change the game for writers? It’s an assistant

[15:55] Spotting crappy GenAI content and how to fix it

[17:50] Concerns around AI killing authenticity

[20:35] Learn how to communicate clearly

[21:50] Social is exhausting. Perspectives on changing communities

[24:10] Rapid Fire Rankings

In episode 130, Christian Ward joins Garrett for a deep dive into the application and impact of AI in both personal and professional spheres. Christian is bullish on AI in daily operations, highlighting its power to enhance learning, decision-making, and efficiency through real-world applications. He discusses leveraging AI for everything from understanding data partnerships to automating tasks and analyses, underscoring the importance of practical usage over theoretical knowledge to unlock AI's potential.

Christian and Garrett explore the evolving nature of digital ecosystems, predicting a future where conversational AI breaks down the barriers of traditional user interfaces, making technology more accessible and intuitive.

Christian foresees a significant shift in how marketers and businesses approach customer engagement, moving from a reliance on monologues to embracing dialogues facilitated by AI. This change, he argues, will revolutionize personalization, making interactions more meaningful and customer-centric, thereby enhancing the consumer experience in unprecedented ways.

The conversation touches on the broader implications of AI on privacy, content creation, and the digital landscape, suggesting a future where AI not only simplifies but also democratizes access to technology. Christian believes personal AI assistants will manage our interactions with brands and services before long, ensuring privacy and efficiency.

Both agree that the integration of AI into daily life and business is inevitable, urging everyone to embrace this transformation proactively. 

• [0:00] Intro
• [1:07] How do you use AI in your day-to-day?
• [3:30] Will AI change user behavior?
• [7:30] The exponential advancement of AI and the frictionless abstraction layer
• [11:15] Will brands and digital ecosystems be siloed in the future?
• [14:50] Implications of AI on marketers - monologues vs. dialogues
• [18:15] Data privacy in the age of AI
• [21:40] Thoughts on IP copyrights - the NYTimes lawsuit against OpenAI
• [24:31] Rapid Fire Rankings

Top 5 Changes to Marketing

• Cookie Deprivation
• Two Choices - Tracking or ZPD
• SEO Content Generation & Tools
• From Monologue to Dialogues
• CMO Metrics Overhaul

Top 5 AI Expectations

• AI Efficiency at Work
• Prompt Inversion
• AI Model Convergence
• Conversational UI’s Explode
• Personal AI Usage

Top 5 Tools to Try to Learn

• ChatGPT: Best best-around tool to learn what’s possible
• Opus: Brilliant for cutting videos and creating AI posts
• Swell: Video or Audio AI tool for posts
• Reflect: Note-taking application and Personal Knowledge Graph
• Anthropic: Excellent alternative to GPT
• (Shameless Plug): Yext

Top 5 People to Follow for AI

• Ethan Mollick (Academic & Theory)
• Rowan Cheung (General AI)
• Paul Roetzer (Marketing AI)
• Allie Miller (AI Applied)
• Cassie Kozyrkov (Decision Science and AI)

In episode 129, Erika Varangouli shares the time, effort, and marketing discussions that went into Semrush's 2023 Ranking Factors study. Too often, uninformed SEOs will use statistics from these correlation studies and use them to serve their own agendas despite them not proving causation. Erika argues that the data still has value to inform and guide us. We can apply the insights to hypotheses and experiments to our own websites without using it purely as a prescriptive playbook.

She explains why the team landed on a study called 'Ranking Factors' and used their own metrics quantified as 'Content Quality.'

Resources: Semrush 2023 Ranking Factors Study - https://www.semrush.com/blog/ranking-factors-semrush-study/

[0:00] Intro

[1:30] The Semrush Ranking Factors Study - What is it?

[3:20] The methodology to address the correlation implications.

[6:20] How should SEOs remain skeptical yet find value in these SEO correlation studies?

[10:15] Highlighting limitations and the nature of correlation.

[12:20] How did you decide on the controversial title and the marketing of the study? The metrics created behind 'content quality.'

[19:45] Big insights and takeaways from the Ranking Factors Study

[22:00] What's your take on SGE and GenAI based on the study's findings?

[26:30] Do you think Brand recognition should trump content quality in search rankings?

[30:05] Rapid Fire Rankings

In episode 128, Joel Klettke of Case Study Buddy drops by to discuss the underrated value of the case study for SEO and beyond.

Joel argues that a well-designed customer story is not a fluff piece. How do your buyers talk? Should you use jargon in your customer stories? Klettke shares his experience of creating a buffet of content from your customer story interviews.

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[0:00] Intro

[2:57] How can B2B companies effectively integrate SEO strategies into their customer success stories to enhance their online visibility?

[5:17] From an SEO and human perspective should you try to use jargon in the content of the customer story?

[7:35] Don’t limit the use cases and potential of your case studies.

[10:50] Leveraging case study videos for SEO value.

[12:45] Are SEOs involved in case study creation? Should they be?

[15:10] Who should own case study creation?

[17:45] Does the case study deliverable go according to plan? What’s the output? [23:25] Rapid Fire Rankings

Rank your best SEO marketing win:

Having multi-billion dollar enterprises come to us due to word of mouth/our niche specialization.

Rank your top 3 SEO tools:

My opinion on these is worthless lol. Honestly, I don't do SEO anymore; so pretty light here.

• Ahrefs
• Semrush
• ScreamingFrog

Rank your best SEO or trick or tactic:

Have a repurposing plan that includes video.

What’s the biggest scam in SEO that you’ve recently seen?

There was all the controversy around that brand generating a huge amount of AI content and 'stealing' market share from competitors.

I had to laugh -- yes, the generating content part might be questionable with the tech, but SEOs have been ripping off each others' strategies for YEARS, so I'm not sure what made this so special other than the cockiness in the way it was shared.

Rank what you love most about the SEO industry:

Probably what I also hated most about it when it was my job: it is always changing.

Rank your top 1-3 marketers:

• Sam Woods

• Andy Crestodina
• John-Henry Scherck
• Joanna Wiebe
• Stefan Georgian

What's your Generative AI hottake?

My hot take on this is that generative AI can, in fact, generate creative content.

There's this weird notion that since it was trained on other content, generative AI is unable to come up with original ideas. That's only somewhat true because we're missing half the equation: the human using it.

I've seen how introducing creative prompts can drive wild, new ideas out of generative AI, especially when it comes to imagery. Yes, it's anchored in the past, but it can iterate toward the future.

Rank your best SEO learning resource:

I... honestly wouldn't even know where to go these days.

Rank your top cause or charity:

Ronald McDonald House -- meaningful to me because we've had friends make use of it; having a place to be close to your children in their worst and most heart-wrenching, uncertain moments is a HUGE blessing for those who need it.

In episode 127, Chris Butterworth stops by to shed light on the critical yet often overlooked topic of digital sustainability.

Chris discusses the importance of education around digital sustainability and strategies to impact change and the carbon footprint of your company.

He also addresses how to engage people in caring about their digital footprint and the environmental impact of LLMs and Generative AI. He shared his thoughts on the responsibility of large companies in reducing their digital footprint.

(0:00) Intro

(1:53) Defining Digital Sustainability

(3:43) Education in Digital Sustainability

(5:15) Regulations Around Digital Carbon Footprint

(6:50) How to Fight for Change in the Digital Landscape

(10:46) What Responsibility Do Large Companies Have in Improving Our Digital Footprint?

(13:35) Who are the People at Organizations Launching Reduction Initiatives?

(15:30) How to Implement Sustainability Changes at an Organization

(17:47) How to Get People to Care About Their Digital Footprint

(20:25) The Environmental Impact of LLMs and Generative AI

(23:30) Don’t Feel Guilty

(25:54) Reducing Your Digital Footprint

(27:11) Rapid Fire Rankings

Top 3 of anything:

Music

Family

The Planet

Rank your best SEO marketing win:

Redesigned a website to make it incredibly lightweight which while migrating domain and URLs boosted rankings.

Rank your top 3 SEO tools:

Screaming Frog

Webmaster Tools

Hemingway

Rank your best SEO or trick or tactic:

Focus on conversion over winning traffic.

Rank what you love most about the SEO industry:

It can be used to shorten user journeys.

Rank your top 1-3 marketers:

Tim Frick

Mark Butcher

Tom Greenwood

Rank your best SEO learning resource:

Your own experience.

Rank your top cause or charity:

Big Orange Heart

In episode 126, Ryan Law of Ahrefs stops by to discuss the complexities and potential of Generative AI in content creation and SEO.

Ryan shares insights on how SEO will be impacted by generative AI content and whether it will devalue SEO as a channel in the future.

We also discuss what this means for the importance of E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) in content going forward, the ideal direction for Google in search results, & what the next five years might look like in SEO.

(0:00) Intro

(3:11) Generative AI Content

(4:07) The Fear Around Artificial Intelligence

(5:36) The Right Way to Use GenAI

(6:36) Transparency Around the Use of Gen AI

(8:52) How Will SEO be Impacted by Generative AI Content

(10:45) Does GenAI Devalue SEO as a Channel?

(11:47) Will We Always Need Humans for Content Creation?

(12:35) How AI Can Challenge Humans in Thought Leadership?

(13:50) The Importance of EEAT Going Forward

(15:47) How Will Google Adjust?

(16:40) The Ideal Direction for Google to Go in Search Results

(18:52) How GenAI Can Solve the Personalization Problem in Search?

(21:27) What Will the Next 5 Years Look Like?

(22:19) The Hardest Content to Make Right Now

(23:46) How GenAI Will Change Keyword Research

(25:17) The Next Generation of Search

(25:55) Rapid Fire Rankings

Top 3 of anything:

1. The Lord of the Rings
2. The Malazan Book of the Fallen
3. A Song of Ice and Fire

Rank your best SEO marketing win:

I Googled 50 of the best-looking digital marketing agencies in the UK.

I wrote a bunch of flattering stuff about their blogging strategies.

I hit publish and emailed every agency.

One agency asked if I had availability for a test project. another asked about a retainer.

It snowballed from there.

I used my "agency experience" as social proof for more outreach soon, one agency offered me a full-time role to stop me from working with their competitors, setting me on the path to a role as agency VP - nearly a decade later.

Rank your top 3 SEO tools:

• Ahrefs
• Clearscope
• Screaming Frog

Rank your best SEO or trick or tactic:

Routinely running experiments to collect original, first-hand data that no other company possesses.

Rank what you love most about the SEO industry:

The problem-solving!

Working out what people are looking for, how you can deliver it, how you can bring new value to the SERP.

It's a big, fun game.

Rank your top 1-3 marketers:

• Tim Soulo
• Amanda Natividad
• Bryan Casey

Rank your best SEO learning resource:

Ahrefs aside, I really enjoyed the BlueArray Technical SEO course.

Rank your top cause or charity:

Support Devin Through Cancer

In episode 125, Victor Pan of HubSpot joins the show for a deep exploration into the world of search intent and its broader implications.

Victor shares some insight into the Department of Justice's lawsuit against Google, examining its relationship with search intent. He provides some valuable thoughts on the complexities of understanding search intent and how it shapes user experiences online.

We also discuss the concept of the data void in search, information gain, and the impact on information accessibility and quality.

(0:00) Intro

(1:55) Search Intent and the DOJ Lawsuit Against Google

(8:11) Understanding Search Intent

(15:31) The Data Void in Search

(24:40) The Value of Information Gain

(40:43) Rapid Fire Rankings

Top 3 of anything:

• Uncomfortable Silences
• Conspiracy Theories
• Weird things on the internet

Rank your best SEO marketing win:

HubSpot Ecosystem

Rank your top 3 SEO tools:

• HubSpot
• Ahrefs
• SEMrush

Rank your best SEO or trick or tactic:

Keep your old URLs over creating new ones.

Rank what you love most about the SEO industry:

• It’s not new.
• It’s always "dying"
• There’s no one way to be successful in an SEO career.

Rank your top 1-3 marketers:

• Mike King
• Garrett Sussman
• Whoever I can run into at a conference that is producing great work online

Rank your best SEO learning resource:

Reach out to people who really know their stuff.

HubSpot Academy.

Rank your top cause or charity:

Wire money directly to the causes you believe in. Mine is the Ukranian armed forces.

In episode 124, we're joined by Bernard Huang of Clearscope to dissect the evolving landscape of search and AI.

Bernard chats with us about the past year's developments in search and AI and weighs in on whether Google is finally mastering search results.

We also discuss his predictions for Google's Search Generative Experience, whether search will become fragmented in the years to come, and Bernard shares some deep insights around information gain.

(0:00] Intro

(1:38) The Past Year in Search and AI

(4:21) Is Google Starting to Get Search Results Right?

(11:58) Query Expansion vs Information Gain

(18:25) Query Diversification

(21:57) Predictions for Google’s Search Generative Experience

(28:03) Will Search be Fragmented in the Future?

(34:00) Rapid Fire Rankings

Top 3 of anything:

• Rare Steak
• Sauna
• That's it!

Rank your best SEO marketing win:

We did a Food Crawl at SXSW. We ended up getting over 23,000 RSVPs.

It got so big that SXSW made it an official food crawl in partnership with the festival.

Rank your top 3 SEO tools:

• Clearscope
• Google Search Console
• Google SERPS

Rank your best SEO or trick or tactic:

Understand the searcher's intent. Make sure your title tag matches the tags for the query, and make sure you’re above the fold experience answers the question as quickly as possible.

Rank what you love most about the SEO industry:

It's constantly changing.

Rank your top 1-3 marketers:

• Mike King
• Kevin Indig
• Lily Ray
• BONUS: Aleyda Solis

Rank your best SEO learning resource:

Clearscope Webinars.

Rank your top cause or charity:

Women In Tech SEO

In episode 123, we welcome Kristin Tynski for a deep dive into the dynamic world of Generative AI.

We chat about the wealth of new developments over the last year in Generative AI and some key takeaways from OpenAI’s Dev Day presentation earlier this month. Kristin shares some thoughts on how organizations can effectively adopt Generative AI, offering actionable insights for businesses.

We also discuss the importance of incorporating subject matter expertise into AI systems for enhanced accuracy and relevance and Kristin gives a few predictions for what the world of AI could look like in 2024.

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(0:00) Intro

(2:10) The Last Year in Generative AI

(5:47) GPT 3.5 Expectations vs Reality

(7:51) Biggest Takeaways from OpenAI Dev Day

(11:17) How Your Organization Can Adopt Generative AI?

(16:43) Incorporating Subject Matter Expertise

(21:34) How Trustworthy are Generative AI Results?

(24:50) AI Predictions for 2024

(33:25) Rapid Fire Rankings

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Top 3 of anything:

• My Daughter

• My Wife

• Running a Family Business

Rank your best SEO marketing win:

Serendipitously, in the months before that, I had been working on a content idea for a site called Lawsuit.org, owned by Fractl. The goal was to come up with something interesting and newsworthy. I realized through some Fractl work that my local county has a database of all arrest and traffic stop records.

We undertook a large scraping project to gather all the data we could from Palm Beach County, looking at police activities, anomalies, and if certain officers had disproportionately high arrest rates of African American people. While we found some anomalies, nothing was super groundbreaking. However, it proved that you could scrape a county's police data and identify potential issues.

I published this on Hacker News, Reddit, and other platforms. The content did really well, especially on Reddit, likely due to its coincidence with the George Floyd situation. People were looking for tangible ways to contribute.

I suggested on Reddit the idea of doing this for every county, not just Palm Beach County.

The Reddit post went viral, leading to a Slack group where about 2,500 people joined in a few days. It self-organized from there, with little input from me after the first few weeks, turning into a community. A law firm helped turn it into a nonprofit, which received $250,000 in funding.

Rank your top 3 SEO tools:

• SEMRush

• Ahrefs

• SERP API

BONUS: Appify

Rank your best SEO or trick or tactic:

Creating content that is truly adding new and newsworthy information, which requires doing some sort of data analysis.

You need to create something really that hasn't existed before, and that is adding value in an entirely new way.

Rank what you love most about the SEO industry:

I love how dynamic it is. I love how quickly it changes.

Rank your top 1-3 marketers:

• Mike King

• Britney Muller

• Rand Fishkin

Rank your best SEO learning resource:

I think for the more advanced stuff, you're going to find the most interesting, cutting-edge stuff inside of closed groups.

Rank your top cause or charity:

Police Data Accessibility Project

Medical Aid for Palestinians

In episode 122, Susan Wenograd takes the stage to share her profound insights into the dynamic world of Google Ads.

Susan shares thoughts on the current state of Google Ads, providing a comprehensive overview of the latest trends and developments and discusses how to expertly navigate some of these new challenges.

She also outlines how Google's SGE could impact Google Ads, unlocking exciting new possibilities and avenues for growth.

(0:00) Intro

(2:31) The Current State of Google Ads

(4:21) How to Navigate the New Google Ads

(5:45) The Iteration Process for Google Ads

(9:35) Will Google Ads Improve Over the Next Year?

(13:05) Ideal improvements to Google Ads

(16:09) Impact on Black Friday

(19:00) What Role Will Google Ads Play in SGE?

(21:45) How SGE Could Benefit Google Ads

(22:42) Creative Trends in Social Ads

(26:16) Rapid Fire Rankings

Top 3 of anything:

• My Family

• My Dogs

• Traveling

Rank your best marketing win:

This past year, pretty much every audit where I’ve met with resistance when I’ve said “You need to stop controlling this.” And every client that shared results has gotten better.

Rank your number 1 Ad Tool:

Google Search Terms.

Rank your best Google Ads trick or tactic:

You can either choose to try to control the match types or you can control the audience and be less controlling about the search terms.

What I recommend that a lot of brands do is add observation audiences. Add as many as you can that make sense to your brand campaigns.

You can then take those audiences, make a campaign that’s filtered only to people that match those markets, and then run a broad match against them.

You learn a lot about what they search for.

Rank what you love most about digital advertising:

It’s never boring.

Rank your top 1-3 marketers:

• Mike King

• Jess Cook

• Kirk Williams

Rank your best digital advertising learning resource:

Talking to other marketers one on one.

Rank your top cause or charity:

Lone Star Dog Ranch.