Podcast

SEO 101

Business, Marketing, Technology

SEO 101 is Search Engine Optimization from the very beginning. SEO 101 will teach you SEO from Square one. Hosts Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte give out helpful information for the beginners without overwhelming you with technical details.

Episodes
542
Releases
Every two weeks
Typical length
28 min
On air since
2009
Latest episode
1 week ago

Episodes

542 episodes, newest first

  1. SEO 101 Ep 539: AI Tracking Issues and Google’s Latest Technical SEO Tips Explained

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte break down critical URL formatting best practices, including hyphens vs underscores and handling special characters. They cover the PHP2Shell exploit and its SEO impact, robots.txt rule pitfalls, Google Business Profile verification updates, delays in review appeals, and the surprising value of raw log file analysis for site owners and SEOs.

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    34 min
  2. SEO 101 Ep 538: AI Overviews Soar, Google Spam Update Ends, and Healthcare Star Ratings Disappear

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte cover Google's September 2026 spam update, disappearing review snippets for healthcare, AI content fact-checking, fake author warnings, and quality rater guidelines. They also break down Google's AI overviews growth, changes in Reddit search presence, updated crawling and indexing timelines, and the new WhatsApp button in Google Local Panels.

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    29 min
  3. SEO 101 Ep 537: SEO 2026 Ranking Factors, Indexing Bug Updates, and Google AI’s Impact on Traffic

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers the 2026 top Google ranking factors survey, a recent Search Console indexing bug, and the growing dominance of AI Overviews in People Also Ask results. Additional topics include Google’s new character counter tool, changes to product listings, updates to Google Business Profile verification, and reporting challenges with Bing.

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    27 min
  4. SEO 101 Ep 536: Reddit Citations Drop in ChatGPT and Google; AI and Search Updates Discussed

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte dive into Google’s August 2026 spam update, go-to URL redirects, the expanding impact of AI Overviews, and new AI reporting tools in Google Search Console. They also discuss ChatGPT ads, Reddit citation declines, and manual action changes in the European Economic Area.

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    26 min
  5. SEO 101 Ep 535: Major Changes in Search Console, Plus AI Overview Lawsuits

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers Google Ads policy changes for social casino gaming, ad format tests, SEOs taking over expired X accounts, major lawsuits over AI Overviews, indexing mistakes with Claude AI chats, Search Console’s new social tracking, multilingual site advice for AI visibility, and updates on Google’s metadata conflict handling.

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    28 min
  6. SEO 101 Ep 534: Google to Share Search Data with Rivals, Plus AI Features Drive Billions of Clicks

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers Google’s upcoming search data sharing mandate, major changes to Google Image Search, updates to AI Overviews and image generation, canonicalization fixes, Google Business Profile bugs, the importance of review management, domain citations in AI mode, and best practices for changing URLs without hurting site traffic.

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    22 min
  7. SEO 101 Ep 533: Episode 533: Google Search Console, AI in Content Creation, and Remembering an SEO Pioneer

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte focus on major Google news, including new Search Console social and video platform integration, Google Trends comparison features, tracking URL tests, and a bug in generative AI reports. They also discuss best practices for content creation, the impact of AI, and the June 2024 spam update.

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    28 min
  8. SEO 101 Ep 532: Listicles Backfiring, the Dangers of Domain Changes, and Unfair Review Removal

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte cover the June 2026 Google spam update, Google AI Overviews and listicles, click data frustrations in AI reports, Bing Webmaster Tools improvements, the danger of switching domains, and important advice on managing and responding to online reviews to protect your business reputation and conversions.

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    32 min
  9. SEO 101 Ep 531: Zero Click Searches Up, Schema Popularity, and AI Overview Lawsuits

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers the dangers of tracking parameters in internal links, http://schema.org/ markup adoption stats, the surge in zero-click Google searches, phishing scams in Google Ads, AI overview lawsuits, rejected Google review replies, and the growth of Claude as an AI referral source. Essential SEO news and actionable best practices are discussed throughout.

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    24 min
  10. SEO 101 Ep 530: Google’s AI-Powered Search: What SEOs and Retailers Need to Know Now

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte cover the May 2024 Google core update, shifting content indexing, Google I/O announcements, Gemini 3.5 Flash, new AI-powered search features, entity maps, Google Merchant Center insights, UK-exclusive AI controls in Search Console, and Google's stance on mentions manipulation and AI attribution in search. It’s a big episode!

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    34 min
  11. SEO 101 Ep 529: Bing’s Growth, Ask.com’s Demise, and AI Overviews Link and Schema Updates

    Show notes

    In this solo episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers Bing's growing market share, updates to Google's AI Overviews, a major Google Search Console data bug, the impact of structured markup on AI citations, the end of FAQ rich results, Ask.com's shutdown, a defamation lawsuit over AI errors, and Google's outdated meta keywords advice.

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    24 min
  12. SEO 101 Ep 528: AI Assisted SEO Competitor Analysis, The Ghost Citation Problem, and More AI SEO Insights

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte dive deep into AI-assisted SEO competitor analysis, the Ghost Citation Problem in AI search results, and evolving strategies for brand mentions versus citations.

    They also discuss Google’s “Read More” links, Bing Webmaster Tools’ new AI reporting features, click-through rates with AI overviews, and Google’s back button hijacking crackdown.

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    32 min
  13. SEO 101 Ep 527: Back Button Hijack Penalties Begin, Core Rollout Over, Review Rules Confuse Businesses

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte cover the March 2026 Google Core Update, Google’s crackdown on back button hijacking, a Search Console impressions bug, changes to spam report policies, and quirky new review guidelines. They also discuss local SEO post updates, Data Studio’s rebranding, and the mysterious 418 "I'm a teapot" error.

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    20 min
  14. SEO 101 Ep 526: AI Bots Dominate Traffic, Google Algorithm Updates, and Local SEO Developments

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte dive into the March 2026 Google core and spam updates, the surge of AI bot traffic, optimizing for AI agents, ChatGPT ad revenue, citation trends in AI search, Google’s crawling limits, Gemini-powered Ask Maps, location sharing features, and a new service to remove unfair Google reviews.

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    30 min
  15. SEO 101 Ep 525: Google AI Mode Threatens Web Traffic and Publishers

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte dive into the decline of publisher search traffic, impacts of Google’s AI mode, ChatGPT ads management, Google cracking down on self-promotional listicles, and the ease of ranking misinformation. They also cover Google’s personal intelligence expansion and the removal of the "What People Suggest" health search feature.

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    20 min
  16. SEO 101 Ep 524: How AI Is Shaping Search, Google’s Recipe Update, and a Website Redesign Cautionary Tale

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte share a cautionary tale of SEO disaster during website redesigns, discuss new branded queries filters in Google Search Console, break down stats on AI assistant search volume, cover Amazon blocking Perplexity’s shopping bot, explore Google Maps’ new conversational AI feature, and highlight updates to AI-powered recipe results.

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    26 min
  17. SEO 101 Ep 523: Expert SEO Tips - AI Content Citations and Core Update Recovery Explained

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte discuss findings that 44% of ChatGPT citations come from the first third of content, review the strategies four sites used to recover from Google’s December 2025 core update, and share tips for Google Business Profile setup. They also discuss entity richness, content quality, and optimizing for AI citations.

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    29 min
  18. SEO 101 Ep 522: SEO Reality Check, AI Click Losses, and Fixing SEO Mistakes in 2026

    Show notes

    In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte dive deep into AI's impact on SEO, the rise and fall of ads in AI platforms, and Google’s Discover Core update. They discuss significant changes to local search features, Bing AI performance reports, new Google Search Console updates, and examples highlighting the importance of expert-led SEO over relying solely on AI.

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    38 min
  19. SEO 101 Ep 521 - The Shift to AI in Search: Gemini 3, Fewer Clicks, and SEO Survival Tactics

    Show notes

    In this episode of the SEO 101 Podcast, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte dive into Google's AI Overviews, shifting search behaviors, and declining organic clicks. They discuss Gemini 3's global rollout, AI's growing influence on user queries, crawling and indexing challenges, Googlebot file limits, and potential crackdowns on self-promotional listicles, while emphasizing strategies for visibility amidst these major changes.

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    28 min
  20. SEO 101 Episode 520: ChatGPT Ads & AI Overviews: Is Organic Search in Trouble?

    Show notes

    In this episode of the SEO 101 Podcast, Scott Van Achte covers the latest on ChatGPT paid ads, organic search traffic trends, and the impact of AI overviews; especially misinformation in health topics. He discusses local keyword search behavior in ChatGPT, core web vitals' limited effect on AI rankings, LLMs.txt usage, and key insights on impressions in Google Search Console.

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    21 min