EDGE of the Web - The Best SEO Podcast for Today's Digital Marketer Podcast

Human vs. Machine Mayhem

Marketing maven Mark Schaefer returns to EDGE of the Web, diving headfirst into the audacious art of brand disruption in a world brimming with AI-generated noise. 

We unpack Schaefer’s latest book, "Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World" offering wild tales of brands that drop the cookie-cutter for shock, spectacle, and seriously weird TikToks (lookin’ at you, Nutter Butter). From QR codes in the sky luring diners out of restaurants, to the marketing taboo-breakers of Liquid Death and ELF Cosmetics, we explore how marketers can stir emotion, break convention—without getting canceled—and measure the impact when you throw the box away altogether.

Pro tip? If your marketing feels safe, it’s probably boring, and AI will eat your lunch. Mark serves up a snappy checklist for dodging legal snooze-fests and making campaigns people actually remember—because sometimes a little weird goes a long way.

Key Segments:

[00:02:22] The Book!

[00:07:41] Reimagining Storytelling with AI

[00:08:48] Unconventional Brand-Audience Connection Spaces

[00:14:36] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics

[00:15:55]  What Taboos are Worth Breaking

[00:25:29] EDGE of The Web Sponsor: Inlinks (WAIKAY)

[00:30:38] Unprecedented Innovation Evaluation

[00:31:52] Embracing Unconventional Marketing Opportunities

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

Site Strategics: http://edgeofthewebradio.com/site

Inlinks/WAIKAY: https://edgeofthewebradio.com/waikay 

Follow Our Guest

Twitter: https://x.com/markwschaefer 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwschaefer/ 

Resources:

https://businessesgrow.com/

https://businessesgrow.com/audacious/

WordPress hits play after a messy pause, but is it too little, too late for the CMS giant? Meanwhile, Google’s AI experiments are changing the rules for email marketing, local search, and desktop Discover, leaving marketers everywhere scrambling for a playbook that doesn’t exist.

Erin and SEO pro Cindy Krum break down WordPress’s mudslinging match with WP Engine and the quiet return to development, all while raising eyebrows over community trust. We check on Google’s ever-evolving SERPs—AI Overviews, the deployment of Discover on desktop, and the not-so-sneaky ways impressions and clicks are decoupling faster than you can say “zero-click search.” Added to the mix: AI’s impact on your inbox and why we might all end up living the “Dead Internet Theory.”

Is SEO on life support or just evolving (again)? We debate the rosy new journey-centric approach while side-eyeing Google’s “trust us, bro” attitude toward data transparency. Buckle up for a rapid-fire tour through the SEO wilderness—tracking AI hallucinations, local search creepiness, and why “hyper-personalization” might not sell more cannolis after all.

News from the EDGE:

[00:03:22] WordPress Unpauses Development - but is it out of time?

[00:08:05] Google Discover on Desktop

[00:12:53] AI is Making a Major Impact on Email Marketing

[00:16:57]  Title Sponsor: Site Strategics

SEO News from the EDGE:

[00:20:01] The Great Decoupling Of Google Search

[00:26:06] AI Overviews Research: How Google’s AI Answers Vary Across Five States

[00:32:07] AI and Local Search: The New Rules of Visibility

[00:37:49] Sponsor: WAIKAY from InLinks

[00:40:33] Google Search Console to Show AI Mode Performance

[00:46:01] Is SEO Still Relevant In the AI Era?

Thanks to our sponsors!

Site Strategics https://edgeofthewebradio.com/site

Inlinks https://edgeofthewebradio.com/waikay

Follow Us:

X: @ErinSparks

X: @Suzzicks

X: @TheMann00

X: @EDGEWebRadio

Mark Schaefer returns to EDGE of the Web to share his vision of marketing's future in an AI-saturated landscape. With a blend of insight and candor, Mark tackles the evolution of social media, the risks and rewards of AI, and how brands can stand out by tapping into authentic human emotion. Hear why traditional marketing is falling flat and discover what “everyday awe” means for building deep brand loyalty. Plus, Mark unveils the tech twist behind the cover of his new book, Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World. This is not just another marketing chat; it’s a call to disrupt before you're disrupted.

Key Segments:

[00:04:12] Marc Schaefer: Marketing Visionary

[00:07:55] Shift to Private Online Spaces

[00:12:45] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics

[00:15:35] Innovative Tech Saves Podcast Episode

[00:17:28] AI Mimicking Voices of Deceased Relatives

[00:21:49] Brand Marketing's Emotional Impact

[00:23:25] Everyday Awe and Collective Effervescence

[00:29:41] EDGE of The Web Sponsor: Inlinks (WAIKAY)

[00:32:21] "Audacious" Book Concept Exploration

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

Site Strategics: http://edgeofthewebradio.com/site

Inlinks/WAIKAY: https://edgeofthewebradio.com/waikay 

Follow Our Guest

Twitter: https://x.com/markwschaefer 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwschaefer/ 

Resources:

https://businessesgrow.com/

https://businessesgrow.com/audacious/ 

CTR Secrets and Social Shakeups

It’s another jam-packed ride on EDGE of the Web as Erin is joined by Duncan Alney of Firebelly to discuss News in Social this week. With Google hyping up AI Overviews but dodging every meaningful CTR question, it seems the only thing spinning faster than SERP layouts are the PR answers.

Get the inside scoop on how ChatGPT gobbles up over 80% of AI search traffic (Google, take notes), why Meta’s launching a CapCut rival to remix your socials, and how Reddit is scrambling to keep the bots at bay after AI sock puppets could sway opinions 3-6x better than humans. Meanwhile, Pinterest is charging ahead with AI content labeling so you can actually see—surprise!—real images again. Plus, political maneuvering has TikTok advertisers doing the Hokey Pokey while Meta rolls out shiny new ad options across Threads and more.

Our hot take? If you thought getting a blue check was easy, wait until you see Blue Sky put the power of verification in the hands of users and newsrooms—finally, checkmarks that mean something!

So, whether you’re lamenting lost organic traffic, trying to dodge AI slop, or just want to keep your brand out of the spammy dog pile, grab your headphones and catch Erin, Duncan, and Jacob as they break it all down with wit, wisdom, and maybe one too many tinfoil hats. See you at the EDGE—don’t be a piece of cyber driftwood!

News from the EDGE:

[00:03:03] Google hypes AI Overviews, refuses to answer CTR question

[00:09:19] ChatGPT Leads AI Search Race While Google & Others Slip

[00:15:28] U.S. Copyright Office Cites Legal Risk At Every Stage Of Generative AI 

Social News from the EDGE:

[00:20:11] Meta releases its CapCut rival Edits globally

[00:22:45] Meta rolls out ads globally on Threads feed

[00:26:15] Meta adds dynamic overlays to Advantage+ Catalog ads

[00:29:12] A New Form of Verification on Bluesky

[00:31:31] Cracking Down on Spammy Content on Facebook

[00:36:44] Trump Says He May Extend TikTok Sell-off Deadline Once Again

[00:40:26] Pinterest launches new tools to fight AI slop

[00:42:44] Reddit Looks To Add Human Checks To Weed Out AI Profiles

Thanks to our sponsors!

Site Strategics https://edgeofthewebradio.com/site

WAIKAY https://edgeofthewebradio.com/waikay

Thanks to our Social News Expert: Duncan Alney

X: @firebelly

LinkedIn: Duncan Alney

Firebelly

Follow Us:

X: @ErinSparks

X: @TheMann00

X: @EDGEWebRadio

Curious where your website visitors are really clicking—or rage-clicking? On this week’s EDGE of the Web, SEO expert Celeste Gonzalez returns to break down how heatmaps and session recordings are transforming the way we analyze user behavior, optimize pages, and (hopefully) keep our clients engaged.

We dig into practical tips for choosing the right pages to monitor, interpreting the sometimes confusing world of “dead clicks” versus “rage clicks,” and why your mobile hero image might be killing conversions. A/B testing? Internal linking tests for those blog post traffic hogs? 

On a side note: if you haven’t looked at Microsoft Clarity (a freebie, folks), you’re missing out. Celeste spills why it’s her go-to and what to watch for as AI-powered tools like Copilot throw their hot takes into the mix. And we concur!

Always be optimizing! Whether you’re an SEO wrangling for bigger budgets or a marketer tired of guessing, Celeste’s advice on collaboration, continuous testing, and the necessity of structured analysis is worth its weight in user insights. 

[00:06:03] Prioritizing Heatmap Analysis for SEOs

[00:07:27] Analyzing Target Pages versus Real Traffic Hits

[00:08:55]  Interpreting Areas of Frustration

[00:10:48] Patterns that Require Immediate Attention

[00:12:05] EDGE of the Web Title Sponsor: Site Strategics

[00:13:17] The Role of A/B Testing

[00:15:33] Heat Maps and the Mobile Experience

[00:20:07]  SEOs: Always Be Optimizing the User Experience

[00:23:02] What Should Guid the Decision on Heat Map Tools

[00:26:56] Microsoft’s Copilot with Clarity

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

Site Strategics: https://edgeofthewebradio.com/site

Follow Our Guest

Twitter: https://x.com/CelestexLili 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/celestelili/ 

YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@celestexlili?si=YCO1lfGw3KX2T4gJ 

BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/celestelili.bsky.social 

Resources

https://clarity.microsoft.com/blog/how-to-make-the-most-of-your-heatmaps-data/

https://serpology.substack.com/p/leveraging-heatmaps-for-seo-testing