Who’s Winning: Black Hat or White Hat?

E1000: Julian Goldie, Charles Floate, and Alejandro Meyerhans join this milestone episode to break down a simple but important question: if you had to start from zero today, with almost no budget, how would you build an SEO business to $10,000 per month?

Each guest approaches the problem differently. We go deep into what actually works right now, what has changed, and what is being overlooked by most people in the industry.

This conversation also expands far beyond that starting question. We get into AI workflows, link building, Reddit strategies, social algorithms, and how search is evolving.

If you are trying to build something from scratch, or rethink your current approach, this episode gives you real strategies and honest perspectives from people actively doing the work.

What we cover: - How to reach $10K/month in SEO starting with almost no money - Selling links vs building local partnerships vs AI services - Using aged domains and simple sites to generate early cash flow - Parasite SEO, trend jacking, and fast monetization strategies - Why some older SEO tactics are working again - How AI agents are being used to create and scale content - The risks and limits of automating SEO work - Building systems for YouTube and 𝕏 that consistently generate traffic - How social platforms like 𝕏, LinkedIn, and Reddit actually distribute content - Why comments, engagement, and timing matter more than most people think - Growing and monetizing subreddits - How LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.) are changing search behavior - Query fan-out, brand signals, and why reviews matter more now - Why so many SEOs are moving to places like Thailand - Black hat vs white hat: who is actually winning today - Where Google is heading and what SEO might look like in the next few years

You can do it! Edward writing this personally: I. BELIEVE. IN. YOU!

This is episode 1000 of the podcast. No days missed since starting the show 1000 days ago. Here's to the next 1000 🥂.

If you watched this one on YouTube, thank you so much for watching.

If you listened on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, thank you so much for listening.

And I will talk to you again tomorrow.

Bye now.

⭐️ Julian's Free SEO Strategy Session - https://go.juliangoldie.com/strategy-session?utm=edwardshow ⭐️ Julian's AI Profit Boardroom - https://www.skool.com/ai-profit-lab-7462/about ⭐️ Julian Goldie's Main YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@JulianGoldieSEO ⭐️ Julian Goldie's Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/@JulianGoldiePodcast ⭐️ Julian Goldie on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliangoldieseo/?skipRedirect=true ⭐️ Julian Goldie on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jules_goldie/ ⭐️ Julian Goldie on 𝕏 - https://x.com/JulianGoldieSEO

⭐️ Charles Floate on 𝕏 - https://x.com/Charles_SEO ⭐️ Charles Floate on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesfloate/ ⭐️ Charles Floate on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@CharlesFloate ⭐️ Charles Floate on Facebook - https://facebook.com/thecharlesfloate ⭐️ Charles Floate's PressWhizz - https://presswhizz.com/

⭐️ Get backlinks from Alejandro - Use code EDWARDBUILDS for 15% off your first order - https://getmelinks.com/ ⭐️ Alejandro Meyerhans on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexmeyerhans/ ⭐️ Alejandro Meyerhans on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@alexmeyerhansseo ⭐️ Alejandro's first time on the pod - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SVpRAE9t40

🚀 Learn SEO for free - https://freeseoknowledge.com/

💎 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 Episode 1000 Kickoff 00:24 $10K SEO Challenge 00:49 Local SEO Partnerships 01:50 Link Selling Blueprint 03:58 Fighting Link Resellers 05:54 AI Content Funnel 07:15 Scaling AI Services 08:42 Chaotic SEO Testing 10:17 Old Spam Tactics Return 11:10 AI Agent Ranking Tests 12:36 Mega Authority Sites Win 14:30 Three Click Sites 17:37 OpenClaw vs Claude 19:22 AI Privacy Risks 20:57 Reverse Engineering Social Algorithms 23:03 𝕏 Algorithm Hacks 25:13 LinkedIn Reach Reality 28:18 Sales Channels Debate 28:51 LinkedIn Niche Leads 30:36 𝕏 Comments Boost 31:16 Reddit Anti Spam Signals 35:14 Subreddit Marketing Playbook 39:47 Google's Reddit Signals 41:52 Claude Powered Content Engine 47:23 𝕏 Growth Hacks 52:06 Reviews For Query Fan-Outs 55:21 Instagram Trial Reels 58:47 LLM Seed List Bias 01:00:21 SEO Pages That Win 01:01:50 AI Search Loopholes 01:04:45 SEO In Three Years 01:07:09 Who Wins The AI Race 01:12:47 Automating SEO Workflows 01:16:21 RAG And Patent Driven SEO 01:20:48 Why SEOs Move To Thailand 01:30:33 Black Hat Vs White Hat 01:36:51 AI Mode Becomes Default 01:41:25 Episode 1000 Wrap Up

The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/

#searchengineoptimization #searchmarketing #digitalmarketing #marketingstrategy