Meredith's Husband | SEO for People Who Don't Like SEO

How do you know if the SEO advice you're getting is any good?

The answer isn't about finding the right buzzword, it's about recognizing when someone is selling you a myth.

Terms like AEO and GEO get pitched as replacements for SEO, but Google itself has flagged this exact claim as a warning sign when evaluating consultants.

1. The AEO and GEO myth and where it's coming from
2. What Google's own guidance says about AI search
3. Why the change...

Why do the same competitors always outrank you on Google?

The answer usually comes down to links, but figuring out where those links come from takes real digging.

Most SEO advice stops at optimizing your own site, but the bigger gap is usually how other websites link to your competitors and not you.

1. Local directories that pass along a valuable backlink
2. Free versus paid directory listings
3. Using AI to surface where a competitor is men...

Wondering if Yelp reviews still matter when people search with AI?

The answer is "probably yes". It depends on a partnership most small business owners haven't heard about yet.

OpenAI just struck a deal with Yelp, meaning ChatGPT will start pulling local business recommendations directly from Yelp reviews instead of relying only on Google.

1. Why OpenAI needs outside sources like Yelp and Reddit
2. How Yelp hides five-star reviews to pre...

Are you accidentally sending Google a spam signal without knowing it?

Technically, the problem isn't the AI tool itself, it's what the AI learned SEO advice from.

Most AI models build their SEO knowledge from blogs online, and a lot of those blogs are wrong.

• Keyword stuffing disguised as AI-generated advice
• Why AI delivers bad advice with total confidence
• The garbage in, garbage out principle
• What AI connectors could change going for...

Is a photo credit worth anything for SEO if the business won't link it?

Technically, an unlinked mention isn't as valuable as a link, but it's a lot closer than people believed in the past.

A leaked piece of Google's algorithm showed unlinked mentions carry real weight, and AI search tools are making that gap even smaller because AI struggles to follow links the way a person does.

1. Why links have always mattered so much in SEO
2. What ...

Should you trade links with another business, or will it hurt your SEO?

Technically, links are one of the most important ranking signals Google has, but not all links carry the same weight.

The real issue isn't trading links occasionally, it's when link trading or low quality backlinks make up too large a share of your overall link profile.

1. Reciprocal links and why Google treats them differently than natural links
2. When trading link...

Is AI getting better at doing SEO, and does that mean you can eventually just hand it the whole job?

AI does continue to improve, but better AI doesn't change the difference between using a tool and relying on one. If everyone could press the same "do my SEO" button, the button can only ever make you even with everyone else, never ahead of them.

This episode discusses:

1. Using AI vs relying on AI
2. The "Garbage in, garbage out" princip...

Can I just ask Claude or ChatGPT to do my SEO? 

Technically yes, but there are three potential problems every website owner needs to understand first. 

Remember AI's objective is to make you happy in the immediate term. That doesn't always mean the same thing as giving you good advice. 

1. AI delivers tips with complete confidence whether it's right or wrong
2. AI has no strategic framework 
3. AI often bases suggestions ...

Google released updated guidance for optimizing websites in both traditional and AI-powered search. The message is clear: SEO hasn't changed as much as you think. In this episode, Meredith's Husband walks through the new guidance from Google's and explains what it means for you as a website owner.

Get the full article with links discussed in the episode:
https://www.meredithshusband.com/blog/google-ai-seo-guide

Timestamps
[0:0...

Google's recent developer conference announced several updates worth paying attention to as a local business owner. This episode breaks down what those announcements mean for your website, including a new AI detection tool, changes to Google Business Profiles, a long-overdue update to Google Search Console, and key findings from an AHREFS study on how AI search engines actually send traffic, and how you can get cited more often.

Tim...

A listener asks whether Ubersuggest's $290 lifetime plan is worth it as an alternative to Semrush. The answer covers the founder's reputation, why lifetime pricing at that level raises red flags, and what Adobe's $2 billion acquisition of Semrush might signal about the tool's long-term value. 

Timestamps
[0:00] Introduction
[0:45] The question: Is Ubersuggest worth $290 lifetime?
[0:57] What Ubersuggest claims to do

Google's developer conference just delivered what may be the most significant shift in SEO in years. Meredith's Husband breaks down what Google announced about AI-powered search, why website traffic will decrease for most owners, and why that can be good news for photographers and small business owners who want more qualified visitors and fewer window shoppers.

Timestamps
[0:00] Introduction 
[0:26] Why Google's announce...

Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing a potential client sees when searching your name, and most small business owners leave it incomplete. In this episode, Meredith's Husband walks through 12 must-do steps to optimize your profile, including why using a real address beats a service area every time, how to use the "From the Business" section to stand out, and why your reviews strategy matters more than you think.

Tim...

Your website navigation is doing more damage than you might think. Meredith's Husband walks through three common mistakes photographers and small business owners make with their main nav, why each one hurts both SEO and conversions, and what to do instead so that Google, AI search, and potential clients can all find exactly what they need without hunting for it.

Timestamps 
[0:00] Introduction 
[0:30] Why service pag...

Two common Google Search Console questions get answered in this episode: what it means when impressions are rising but average rankings stay flat, and whether keywords still matter for blog posts. The short answer on rankings might surprise you. And the advice around blogging and keywords could save your site from a problem that looks like progress while quietly making things worse.

Timestamps 

[0:00] Introduction 
[0:24...

Most photographers rely on AI tools that hand them the same baseline everyone else gets. This episode breaks down why that approach keeps you stuck in the crowd with mediocre results. Meredith's husband talks about how building a custom AI engine, using your own data, is the necessary first step in getting ahead of the crowd. 

Timestamps 
[0:00] Introduction 
[0:28] The problem with off-the-shelf AI SEO tools&nb...

Three listener questions, three straight answers. This episode covers what agentic AI actually is and why over-relying on it is a risk, whether an LLMS.txt file is worth having on your site, and what Google really does when it detects AI-written content. If you have been uncertain about any of these topics, this episode gives you a clear, practical take on where things stand right now.

Timestamps 
[0:00] Introduction 

Meredith's Husband breaks down why SEO and AI search sound so confusing and why the confusion is mostly by design. The SEO industry benefits from complex-sounding language, but the rules behind all of it are common sense. This episode explains why no one should feel locked out of understanding how it all works.

This Episode... 
[0:00] Introduction 
[0:24] Why SEO sounds confusing 
[1:12] Why computer people u...

Wondering about AI and/or SEO?
👉 Send your questions!
https://www.meredithshusband.com/podcast

--

This Episode...
Meredith and her Husband tackle listener questions about AI and SEO. The episode covers whether tools like ChatGPT do SEO on their own, why  content still matters with AI & "Zero Click Search" and what website owners should do differently right now to better prepare for AI search. 

Questions this ep...