143. The New World of SEO with Eric Enge

The rate of available technology gets faster and faster as time goes on. In fact, in as little as 30 years, we may reach the point of singularity, when computers and technology are so much smarter than us that all of the known laws of evolution break down. Whether you find this fascinating or frightening, you’ll love this conversation with Eric Enge. While we’ll dig into the possibilities for the future, we’ll also explore what these mean for us today, and how we can stay on top of SEO and organic Google rankings.

Find Out More About Eric Here:

Eric Enge at Stone Temple
@stonetemple on Twitter
Eric Enge on LinkedIn
Eric Enge on YouTube
Stone Temple Consulting
eenge@stonetemple.com

In This Episode:

• [01:04] - Stephan and Eric talk about how long they’ve known each other, and how they first met.
• [03:26] - What comes to Rand’s mind as something that isn’t common knowledge, or about which there’s a lot of misinformation?
• [07:54] - Stephan and Eric take a moment to differentiate machine learning versus AI for listeners who may not be familiar with the terms.
• [11:27] - AI doesn’t necessarily mean “artificial intelligence,” Stephan explains.
• [14:16] - The rate of adoption is increasing in the same way as the rate of the available technology, we learn.
• [16:04] - Does Eric think that SEO will be a very different ballgame in five years?
• [18:51] - Eric explains that Hummingbird was Google’s first foray into understanding natural language, and explains RankBrain and what it does.
• [25:35] - We hear about Eric’s studies to analyze the before-and-after results of RankBrain.
• [29:49] - Stephan and Eric talk about why it’s difficult for Google to deal with queries that it’s never seen before.
• [31:06] - Eric talks about some other studies he’s done analyzing various aspects of Google.
• [35:21] - How does this study differ from other studies on the same subject of featured snippets?
• [40:15] - We hear about why Google invests so much energy into featured snippets.
• [42:36] - Eric discusses his in-depth Digital Personal Assistant study and reveals that Google was the smartest.
• [46:27] - Voice search is part of voice, Eric explains, but there are also voice commands that aren’t searches.
• [50:30] - Eric talks about a set of steps that you can go through to get featured snippets.
• [52:29] - We switch topics completely, with Eric explaining how he went from multiple lead-gen businesses to running an agency.
• [55:16] - Is Eric able to work on the sites he’s been talking about, or is he too busy speaking at conferences and writing?
• [57:57] - Eric talks about how he balances his time at work, and how his management team functions in that process.
• [59:56] - Does Eric have any assessments that he uses when he’s onboarding or considering people?
• [65:50] - Eric lists the ways that listeners can learn more or get in touch with him.

Links and Resources:

• Eric Enge at Stone Temple
• @stonetemple on Twitter
• Eric Enge on LinkedIn
• Eric Enge on YouTube
• Stone Temple Consulting
• eenge@stonetemple.com
• The Art of SEO by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, et al.
• Rand Fishkin
• Jessie Stricchiola
• The Law of Accelerated Returns
• Hummingbird
• RankBrain
• How to Earn Google Featured Snippets for Mobile: Large-scale Study from SEMrush
• STAT Search Analytics Whitepaper: How to Get More Featured Snippets
• Digital Personal Assistant study from Stone Temple
• Your Personal AI by John Smart
• StrengthsFinder
• 7Geese
• DISC Profile
• Values Determination
• Fascinate Test
• Kolbe Index