E1028: Breaking down what Google is rewarding right now when it comes to SEO - and how so much "standard" content isn't working.
Last week at the Google Search Central Live Toronto event, a series of slides started circulating in the SEO community. One in particular stood out: the difference between commodity content and non-commodity content.
This is a practical breakdown of that idea, what it means for your site, and how to apply it without losing rankings for keywords.
I also share a simple ChatGPT prompt you can use to create titles that combine keyword targeting with real, experience-driven angles that people actually want to click.
What you'll learn in this episode:
- The difference between commodity content and non-commodity content
- How generic "tips" content struggles to rank and convert
- How to keep strong keyword relevance while making your content more specific
- A simple prompt you can use with ChatGPT to generate better titles
- When non-commodity content works best (top-of-funnel vs. bottom-of-funnel)
- How to structure titles so they match search intent and improve click-through rate
- How scaled, templated content can lead to ranking drops or manual actions
- What Google actually says about AI-generated content and when it becomes a problem
- Why you don't need to target every keyword variation or conversational query
- Practical advice on SERP comparison and keyword selection
Key takeaway:
You still need keywords. Google is still a relevance-driven system. But content that is generic, repeatable, and easy to produce is getting filtered out more aggressively.
Content that is specific, experience-based, and difficult to replicate performs better - especially when combined with clear keyword targeting.
⭐️ The Commodity vs Non Commodity slide: https://x.com/CyrusShepard/status/2047044462774563300
⭐️ Google Search Central Live Toronto - All Slides (April 2026) - https://www.jcchouinard.com/google-search-central-live-toronto-slides-april-2026/
⭐️ The Reddit Thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/TechSEO/comments/1svgj8p/need_help_manual_action/
🚀 Edward's SEO Articles - https://edwardsturm.com/articles/search-engine-optimization/
💎 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 Organic Search Shift
00:15 Commodity vs Non-Commodity Content
01:14 Kris Ott Shoutout
03:51 Keyword Targeting Reality
04:26 ChatGPT Title Prompt
05:30 Top vs Bottom of Funnel Titles
07:05 Avoid Obvious Patterns
07:55 What Non-Commodity Means
08:43 AI Content Guidance
10:09 Myth Busting SEO Slides
12:40 Core SEO Still Works
13:17 Wrap Up And Outro
The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/
#searchengineoptimization #seo #contentmarketing #digitalmarketing