Podcast · Business

The Best SEO Podcast

by Matthew Bertram · English · Business

AI-Driven Visibility. Real-World Impact. Getting found, named and cited by AI search. Running since 2009. Over 5 million downloads. The same question the whole time: what is actually working right now, and what only sounds like it is. Matthew Bertram hosts. He owns and leads EWR Digital in

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 48 min
Latest: 12 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

12 Oct 2026 · 40 minNew

Good SEO Still Matters

SEO is entering another frontier, and some of the strategies that built rankings over the last decade aren't enough to build visibility in AI search. Matthew Bertram sits down with Leo Poitevin to explore where traditional SEO overlaps with AI visibility and where the playbook is starting to diverge. They dig into third-party listicles, online consensus, backlinks, outreach, brand authority, and why the sources talking about your company may become just as important as what's published on you...

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

5 Oct 2026 · 45 min
Entity SEO In The Age Of AI
The customer journey isn't a straight line anymore, and last-click attribution may be giving marketers the wrong picture of what's actually driving revenue. Matthew Bertram sits down with Carol Larson of Marketstorm to explore how AI, changing buyer behavior, fragmented platforms, and longer decision cycles are reshaping digital marketing. They break down Google's "messy middle," the difference between creating influence and capturing existing demand, and why the channel that gets the final c...
28 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 26 min
Why Your AI Is Acting Like A Junior Developer
Using AI is one thing. Building an entire system around it is another. Matthew Bertram sits down with returning guest Richard Valentine and Hector Herrera for a deep technical conversation about how AI power users are moving beyond individual prompts and building their own AI architecture, specialized agent teams, memory systems, workflows, and internal infrastructure. They explore model drift, token management, specialized AI teams, scheduled learning, memory decay, human approval systems, a...
20 Sep 2026 · 46 min
GEO Vs SEO In The AI Era With Callum Kennard
SEO strategies that worked five years ago may actually be holding brands back today. Matthew Bertram sits down with Calum Kennard, Head of Sales at ClickSlice, to explore how Google and AI search are changing what it takes to earn visibility, trust, and conversions online. They break down stale and duplicate content, authorship and entity signals, information gain, topical authority, and why e-commerce brands may be better served focusing SEO efforts on category and collection pages rather th...
13 Sep 2026 · 42 min
When ChatGPT Picks Winners, Who Counts As An Expert
AI search is changing what it means to build visibility online. Matthew Bertram sits down with Matt Emgi to explore the evolving relationship between SEO, AEO, and LLM visibility, including why authority, entity associations, consensus signals, and brand presence are becoming increasingly important. They break down digital PR, original research, Reddit marketing, link building, attribution, automation, and the strategies SaaS and B2B companies can use to turn search visibility into meas...
30 Aug 2026 · 47 min
Personal Branding For AI Search
We talk with Karen Tiber Leland about how AI search changes personal branding, rebranding, and what it takes to stay findable when machines summarize the internet for your customers. We break down how to pick a canonical name, reduce mixed signals across channels, and decide whether you need a full rebrand or a focused re-up. • Choosing one canonical form of your name and using it everywhere to reduce identity collision • Buying the right domain and cleaning up scattered online da...
24 Aug 2026 · 46 min
Better Conversion Goals In Google Ads
We get back to paid ads fundamentals and why AI automation only works when we set clear, revenue-connected conversion goals. We share practical ways to define personas, protect lead quality, and build landing pages that help Google Ads learn what “good” actually looks like. • goal-first thinking for Google Ads and paid social automation • common conversion tracking mistakes that burn budget • building multiple personas and matching each to the right channel • avoiding spam traffic on...
17 Aug 2026 · 47 min
Digital PR For AI Search
AI watermarking and AI search make third-party trust the new battleground for SEO and brand visibility. Host, Matthew Bertram, talks with Austin Holmes about how digital PR, reviews, and consistent profiles can turn your business into the default recommendation. • why off-page SEO and third-party citations carry outsized weight in AI-driven search • how Claude watermarking and AI content detection push brands toward real human signals • building entity authority with uniform bios, consistent...
26 Jul 2026 · 55 min
When PR Meets SEO
We dig into how podcasting, digital PR, and SEO now reinforce each other, especially as AI search tools pull answers from trusted third-party sources. We also share practical ways to turn press and interviews into long-term visibility while staying grounded when attention brings criticism. • why early podcasting works as a relationship builder and business flywheel • how press placements create credibility and authoritative backlinks • what “AI visibility” means for brands i...
20 Jul 2026 · 45 min
SEO Works If You Measure The Right Things
We get brutally honest about why traffic is a vanity metric and how SEO only earns budget when it ties to real business outcomes. We lay out the data and reporting foundation you need to walk into the C-suite with confidence, even when attribution is messy and timelines are long. • separating vanity metrics from revenue-driving KPIs • building the business case for SEO with CFO-ready numbers • fixing data quality in Google Analytics and conversion tracking • enforcing ...
22 Jun 2026 · 55 min
Traffic Times Conversion Equals Customers
Join us for a special episode hosted by Geoff Campbell who is standing in for Matt Bertram, we focus on the part of marketing most teams ignore: turning existing traffic into real phone calls, form fills, and sales. We break down a simple conversion framework, why dynamic website messaging works, and how to think about proof, positioning, and AI search as buyer behavior changes. • traffic times conversion rate equals customers as the core lens for SEO and CRO • treating an agency...
31 May 2026 · 52 min
How LLM Search Changes SEO And E-Commerce
We talk through what “AI visibility” really means and why marketers are racing ahead of the data, even as consumer behavior shifts toward AI search and AI assistants. We connect SEO fundamentals to GEO and agentic commerce so you can take practical steps instead of getting stuck in paralysis. • AI visibility tools and why the industry lacks a baseline standard • How context and personalization change AI search results • Why LLM analytics is immature and often modelled on simulations ...
18 May 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
Bad Data Breaks AI More Than Bad Models
We talk about the real shift happening as AI moves from chatbot to teammate, and why persistent memory is the make or break layer for useful automation. We dig into governance, data hygiene, and practical workflow design so AI output gets better over time instead of turning into expensive noise. • moving the show toward YouTube and a more educational format • why memory matters when AI becomes a partner or agent • how regulated industry thinking exposes weak spots in busine...
11 May 2026 · 1 hr
How An Agency Uses Podcasts To Grow
Rate the show in your podcast app. Apple ratings are how new listeners decide whether to press play — an honest one takes about thirty seconds. Steps for iPhone, Mac and Spotify: www.bestseopodcast.com/review We reconnect with Chris Burres to talk about the real mechanics of podcast marketing, brand legacy, and why consistency beats quick wins when you are trying to earn attention. We also zoom out into AI governance and longevity, from building AI-native workflows to the accelerating scien...
4 May 2026 · 1 hr
How SEO Grew Up
We get real about what AI search changes and what it does not, then map SEO back to fundamentals like attribution, buyer intent, and revenue. We also share how agency teams can use agent workflows and governance to move faster without turning the business into chaos. • Matt’s return, agency ownership changes, and why the timing matters • Cameron’s path from engineering to SEO through referrals and Google Business Profile wins • AI search as a conversation starter with CEOs while fundamenta...
27 Apr 2026 · 42 min
Content First In The AI Era
In this episode of the Best SEO Podcast, hosted by Matthew Bertram, Zara Carbonell joins the show to talk about why AI makes content more important, not less, and how real trust now comes from human context and clear communication. We share practical ways to use AI to analyze performance, sharpen your personal brand, and reach buyers where they already spend attention. • AI as a tool that frees humans from repetitive marketing ops • The creative side and analytical side of market...
19 Apr 2026 · 55 min
Agentic AI For Marketers
We map the shift from chat-based AI to real agentic systems that can run workflows, manage memory, and publish results without constant human babysitting. We break down how to design AI agents like jobs so they stay grounded, cost-controlled, and useful for marketing, SEO, and software work. • tiering AI use from assistance to automation to full agents with memory and tools • writing a clear job description with input, process, and output formats • building an SEO research a...
13 Apr 2026 · 47 min
How To Build An AI First Agency
We talk with Lynn Ward about why marketing is shifting from search and retrieve to solve my problem, and why speed is becoming the moat for agencies and clients alike. We break down what AI-first agencies are building right now to protect conversions, reduce bottlenecks, and stay visible as web traffic and SEO change. • search behavior shifting as ChatGPT and other LLMs absorb intent • speed as the new moat for agencies and operators • why agency pricing based on headcount starts to fail • p...
6 Apr 2026 · 44 min
Stop Paying For SaaS You Never Use
Matthew Bertram sits down with David Albert of CRO Metrics to unpack what is actually changing across SEO, AEO, GEO, LLM visibility, and the modern stack as tools like Claude Code make custom apps and automations feel effortless. • the shift from bloated martech stacks to custom AI middleware and small internal apps • why compliance, governance, and shadow AI access are now daily marketing risks • using guardrails and shared boilerplates to democratize internal tool building ...
20 Mar 2026 · 48 min
Why AI Overviews Changed Your Traffic
We trace the fast shift from link-based search to AI-generated answers and show how that change reshapes content, measurement, and strategy. Connor Kimball of Cairrot shares data on LLM traffic surges, concrete AEO tactics, and how unified analytics reveals brand lift beyond referral clicks. • AI search replacing link lists with answers • AEO as the method, LLM visibility as the metric • Informational traffic down, transactional content up • Comparison and battle-card pages driving citations...
9 Mar 2026 · 34 min
AI, IP, And The New Marketing Rules
We dive into how AI is reshaping marketing law and what agencies can do today to protect work, clients, and brand trust. Sharon Toerek shares a practical playbook for policies, contracts, and IP strategy while courts and states sort out the rules. • AI ownership and liability questions for agencies • Copyright cases on training data and outputs • State patchwork versus federal pressure on AI rules • Practical guardrails and written AI policies • Contract terms for AI use, warranties, and ind...
2 Mar 2026 · 43 min
What Actually Scales A Marketing Team
We cut through AI hype to show what actually scales: disciplined ops, brand-led content, and a practical framework for awareness, nurturing, and trust. Eric Huberman shares Hawk Media’s scaling lessons, where AI helps, where it hurts, and how to build a moat in a noisy market. • LLM shifts to persona-first, Q&A-led visibility • AI as acceleration, not strategy replacement • Hiring and tooling only with clear business cases • Lean tech stack choices that reduce complexity • Brand as the m...
23 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 6 min
SEO’s New Frontier
We push past rankings and traffic to map the real skills SEOs need to influence AI answers. Duane Forrester explains the machine layer, vector embeddings, semantic density, and why structured data is a must if you want reliable retrieval. • AI reshapes marketing and elevates SEO’s role across the business • Good SEO foundations as the prerequisite for AI performance • Writing for chunks with high semantic density • Structured data and entity clarity to validate facts • Vector embeddings as t...
16 Feb 2026 · 56 min
Which SEO Metrics Actually Matter Now
We unpack how search is changing as LLMs reshape discovery and why revenue, not rankings, should anchor your strategy. Corey Morris joins Matt to map a practical path: entity clarity, brand differentiation, GA4 fixes, and forward-looking KPIs that speak C-suite. • shifting from keyword rankings to revenue KPIs • LLM visibility layered on modern SEO foundations • entity clarity, consistent data, and brand trust • quality content over AI slop with lived expertise • GA4 configuration and custom...
9 Feb 2026 · 50 min
Why Traffic Is Down But Leads Are Up
We unpack how AI finally lets marketers count what matters, why attribution is broken across platforms, and how to use behavioral insight and benchmarking to choose better bets. We share a simple playbook: listen in niche communities, test in organic, scale what pops, and measure outcomes not vanity. • AI compressing the cost of data integration and analysis • Platform bias, privacy limits and pixel gaps in attribution • Traffic down, leads up as signal quality improves • Behavioral personas...
2 Feb 2026 · 40 min
What Actually Drives Citations in LLMs
We unpack how search is shifting from blue links to AI-driven answers and why clean data, focused positioning, and public citations now decide who gets recommended. Solomon Timothy joins us to share practical frameworks for AEO, prompt mapping, and measurable AI visibility. • why prompts replace keywords across the funnel • how to make content machine-readable with schema and FAQs • why entity clarity and niche focus boost trust • media, podcasts, YouTube, and press as authority signals • di...
26 Jan 2026 · 55 min
SEO Isn't Dying, Bad SEO Is
Matthew Bertram sits down with Krešimir Ćorluka. We argue that SEO isn’t dying; bad SEO is. Fundamentals still drive wins while LLMs change how answers surface, making complete, original content and smart strategy more valuable than ever. • fundamentals over fads as LLMs shift discovery • why pages beyond top ten fuel LLM citations • customer journey, CRO, PR, and dev fluency as real leverage • global markets with lower competition and faster output • enterprise constraints, silos, and when ...
19 Jan 2026 · 1 hr 6 min
The New Rules of Authority in an AI World
Matthew Bertram sits down with Dmitrii Kustov. We dig into how AI reshapes SEO work, why trust beats volume, and how remote teams stay tight without an office. A candid case study shows how hyperlocal signals and first‑party data restored rankings after a brutal update. • AI as a tool, not a crutch • Remote hiring across time zones and roles • SOPs, status norms, and redundancy for coverage • Quarterly meetups to rebuild culture and speed • Recharge days to protect quality and focus • Hyperl...
12 Jan 2026 · 50 min
Using AI Without Wrecking Quality Or Trust
We dig into why traffic is fragmenting, why single-channel expertise won’t cut it, and how expert generalists, stronger offers, and brand strategy are now the true growth levers. We share a practical path from productized “done-for-you” to higher-margin “done-with-you,” plus frameworks for attribution, remote team performance, and human-in-the-loop AI. • AI-driven traffic shifts and platform changes • Generalists with deep skills as the new edge • Offers, positioning, and CRO over channel tr...
5 Jan 2026 · 41 min
How To Turn Google Reviews Into Profit
We unpack how AI turns Google reviews into real revenue by cutting leakage, lifting ad performance, and converting bottom-of-funnel readers with responses that actually inform and persuade. George Swetlitz of Right Response AI shares agentic workflows, CRM-powered personalization, and a playbook for multi-location growth. • Reviews as the true bottom of the funnel • Leakage defined and how to stop it • Personalizing review requests from CRM data • Reducing friction with prompts and draft ass...

About The Best SEO Podcast

The Best SEO Podcast is a English business podcast from Matthew Bertram. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Matthew Bertram
Language: English
Category: Business
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 48 min
Latest episode: 12 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id303672420

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