E825: Big blogs that once dominated SEO are now collapsing - and it’s not just because of AI.
The SEO legend, Lars Lofgren joins the show. Lars was one of Neil Patel’s early employees back in 2011 and was active in aggressive marketing when the term, “growth hacking” was invented.
We go into why so many large content sites are in steady decline, what “sloppy SEO” looks like, and the brutal truth about recovering from years of content bloat, broken links, and weak topical authority.
You’ll learn:
- Why SEO “moats” don’t work anymore
- How big blogs got lazy and started sinking
- The future of blog SEO
- What it really takes (time + money) to rebound
- The role of topical authority in 2025
- When to save a site vs. when to start fresh
If you run a blog, manage SEO, or want to understand the future of search, this conversation is a must-listen.
⭐️ Lars’s newsletter: https://larslofgren.com/
⭐️ Lars on LinkedIn (tell him you came from this podcast and he’ll accept your connection): https://www.linkedin.com/in/larslofgren/
⭐️ Lars on 𝕏: https://x.com/larslofgren
⭐️ Lars’s post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7374545781061718017/
💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/
00:00 Introduction
00:52 Common Issues with Large Blogs
01:32 Google Algorithm Changes and Their Impact
03:50 Rearchitecting Struggling Blogs
08:33 Challenges with Topical Authority
20:48 Fixing Foundational Issues
38:51 Evaluating SEO Strategies for Different Business Sizes
52:33 The Evolution of Attribution in Marketing
52:52 The Impact of LLMs on Marketing Strategies
54:09 Shifting Away from Performance Affiliate Models
56:07 The Case for Creating Your Own Product
57:41 Challenges in Transitioning Business Models
58:28 The Importance of Bottom-of-Funnel SEO
01:08:12 Google's Recent Changes and Their Implications
01:11:24 The Rise of AI Programmatic SEO
01:16:31 Balancing Quality and Quantity in SEO
01:23:10 Final Thoughts and Recommendations for Brands
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #contentmarketing #blogseo #digitalmarketing