Shows
Performance SEO UnpackedFrom Layoffs to Leads: Building a Thriving SEO Consulting Practice Today | Ep. 32Market turbulence, SEO layoffs, budgets being slashed, brands tightening up—yet some consultants are building a thriving practice right in the middle of it. On Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal sits down with Emanuel (Alexandru) Petrescu to ask why this might actually be the best time to plant the tree and bet on yourself as an SEO consultant.ㅤEmanuel shares how two decades of experience—from running his own business in Romania to agency, in-house and enterprise roles in North America—shaped his move into solo consulting. He talks about reaching out to people, putting...
2025-12-1033 minPerformance SEO UnpackedFrom Vanity to Value: Rethinking Digital Performance Metrics in a GenAI World with Scott Lux | Ep. 31Retail has been in the family, from a lighting store in Dallas, Texas, to Birmingham, Alabama, to fashion retail brands in New York. On Performance SEO Unpacked, Ruchi Pardal and Scott Lux connect that soft spot for retail with digital, agency work, and e-commerce in a world where everything’s changing every day and feels completely upside down right now.ㅤThey walk through the shift from chasing impressions, traffic, and easy, accountable metrics to chasing outcomes and customer behavior. Instead of a simple math exercise around traffic, conversion, average order value, and units per transaction, the...
2025-12-0329 minPerformance SEO UnpackedWhen AI Eats the Middle: Rethinking Local SEO as the Buyer Journey Goes Conversational | Ep. 30Performance SEO Unpacked brings together host Ruchi Pardal and Fred Shramovich, who has been in the SEO industry for over 15 years and now manages four different retail brands across fast-moving apparel and lingerie. The conversation starts with how people find and choose stores today when AI assistants are creeping into the buyer journey and long, very specific local questions are becoming normal. Instead of simple “near me” searches, Fred is tracking prompts like “long black dress at a boutique” or gifts under a certain price and watching how AI answers those.ㅤFred shares how a lean team...
2025-11-1926 minPerformance SEO UnpackedInside TechTarget’s Massive SEO Cleanup: The Case Study You’ve Never Heard (with Jenny Waggenheim) | Ep. 29Performance SEO Unpacked with Ruchi Pardal brings a real-world case study: a previously successful search program collapses overnight—a 25% drop with 90% of traffic from organic. No splashy trend report—the playbook is patience and the messy work most SEOs avoid. Guest Jenny Waggenheim walks through late 2019 when a massive site with 50-something subdomains and thousands of index pages hit a wall. Signals pointed to old content, page speed, and a registration process—fixed to second click so Google always saw content the way users did. The team cut about 80% of the content (hundreds of thousands of pages), cleaned up index...
2025-10-2938 minPerformance SEO UnpackedScaling SEO Through Team Transitions: How Collaboration Fuels Long-Term Search Growth With Natalia Matos | Ep. 28When leadership changes, everything changes—processes shift, priorities reset, and SEO teams are forced to prove their value all over again. In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal talks with Natalia Matos, SEO Manager at Quadient, about keeping performance steady when transitions hit hard.Natalia shares how she kept SEO moving through leadership changes by focusing on clarity, documentation, and momentum—because, as she puts it, “SEO does not pause because of reorganization.” She explains how aligning SEO with shared business goals turns teams into partners, not requesters, and why trust builds on quick wins and...
2025-10-0822 minPerformance SEO UnpackedFirst AI Checkout: How eCommerce Brands Must Ready Themselves for Black Friday 2025 | Ep. 27Performance SEO Unpacked takes a sharp turn with host Ruchi Pardal as she explores a seismic shift in e-commerce: OpenAI’s Buy It integration inside ChatGPT. Instead of directing shoppers to websites, users can now browse, compare, and purchase products directly within AI interfaces.This episode unpacks what the update really means for retail and e-commerce brands, why blue-link thinking is outdated, and what technical and strategic moves are critical before Black Friday. Ruchi explains how to structure product feeds, fix rendering, sync pricing in real time, and rethink visibility inside AI-driven ecosystems. The message is clear: AI...
2025-10-0206 minPerformance SEO UnpackedThe Hidden Leaks in SEO Budgets: What Your CMS and CDN Aren’t Telling You | Ep. 26Many SEO teams believe their budgets are airtight, yet silent leaks are draining performance in ways that don’t show up on a spreadsheet or monthly report. On Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal exposes the hidden culprits: CMS limitations, CDN misconfigurations, and bloated tech stacks that quietly hold visibility hostage.Instead of pointing fingers at content or backlinks, Ruchi shows how infrastructure flaws masquerade as strategy failures—leading to wasted spend, flat results, and endless frustration when asking for new budgets. From server logs to cache headers, she shares a mental checklist used with enterprise clients to u...
2025-09-1006 minPerformance SEO Unpacked7 Hard SEO Questions CMOs Are Finally Asking — And What to Do About Them | Ep. 25On this solo episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal takes on seven of the toughest SEO questions she hears every week from CMOs, VPs, and growth leaders across SaaS, e-commerce, and multi-location businesses.With no fluff and all tactics, Ruchi lays out why flat traffic with falling conversions signals an intent mismatch, what really determines visibility in AI overviews, and how multi-location SEO can quickly turn chaotic without a hub-and-spoke approach. She makes a strong case for bringing SEO into product roadmap conversations early, reframing reporting around revenue impact, and using AI as a multiplier — no...
2025-09-0507 minPerformance SEO UnpackedThe VOLT Framework: How SEO Visibility Really Drives Revenue | Ep. 24Performance SEO Unpacked with Ruchi Pardal explores a simple yet powerful framework for connecting search visibility with real business growth. In this solo episode, Ruchi introduces VOLT — Visibility, Outcomes, Leads, Transactions — a model designed to close the gap between “we are ranking” and “we are growing revenue.”ㅤShe explains why most SEO teams stall at visibility, overlooking outcomes, leads, and transactions, and shows how to connect content performance with conversions. From multi-channel visibility across Google, ChatGPT, Gemini, Reddit, and YouTube to tracking ripple effects and stitching data into CRM systems, Ruchi demonstrates how VOLT transforms SEO into a tru...
2025-08-2707 minPerformance SEO UnpackedAI or Not, Authority Wins: Structuring Enterprise Content for Search and Sentiment | Ep. 23Enterprise SEO can get messy fast — five business units, hundreds of stakeholders, and AI reshaping what shows up in search. On Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal sits down with Joe Bare to unpack what it really takes to build authority when visibility doesn’t always mean clicks.ㅤJoe, who has led strategy across industries from travel to healthcare to SaaS, now works in enterprise risk intelligence — and is redefining how websites function in a zero-click, AI-driven search environment. From shifting SEO from a performance channel to a branding play, to navigating the politics and precisio...
2025-08-1320 minPerformance SEO UnpackedWhat Makes You Mention-Worthy? Winning Search Visibility in an AI-First World | Ep. 22In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal sits down with Derek Woo, Director of Search Engine Optimization and App Store Optimization at Albertsons Companies. Derek’s deep SEO experience dates back to the early days of the internet, even before the term SEO was coined, giving him a unique perspective on the evolution of search.Together, they explore how AI and large language models (LLMs) are reshaping SEO strategies, visibility, and brand influence—especially in retail. Derek shares how his team anticipates user intent by mapping out “the next question” a searcher might ask, turning...
2025-08-0648 minPerformance SEO UnpackedBeyond Search Volume: SaaS Keyword Strategy That Fuels Real Business Results | Ep. 21What if your keyword research could shape product development, uncover revenue potential, and spotlight entire user segments your product team never considered?ㅤOn Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal is joined by Jennifer Long, Lead SEO Manager at SolarWinds, who brings a radically strategic lens to keyword research. She calls it “off-label SEO”—a method that extends SEO far beyond website optimization into influencing product, audience, and regional strategies.ㅤTogether, they explore how low-volume keywords can still be meaningful, what happens when SEO insights reach the C-suite, and why understanding feature gaps might...
2025-07-3015 minPerformance SEO UnpackedWhat to Do If Your Brand Is Not Being Picked Up — And How Long Recovery Takes | Ep. 20Nothing stinks quite like realizing your brand isn’t showing up in Google’s AI Overview, ChatGPT answers, or Perplexity snippets while competitors bask in the glory. In this solo session of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal strips away the mystery and lays out why AI engines ignore some brands and how to win back visibility. Drawing on trusted-source signals, knowledge graphs, third-party mentions, schema markup, and crawl health, she shows that recovery is less about quick tricks and more about rebuilding trust—typically a 60- to 80-day journey. Listen in for crisp action items that turn “missing” into “reco...
2025-07-2310 minPerformance SEO UnpackedStructure for the future: Schema, entities and search impact with Nick Pustay | Ep. 19On this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal sits down with Nick Pustay, Head of SEO at Scholastic, to tackle one of the most pressing topics in modern search: schema markup and entity optimization in the age of AI Overviews.With schema evolving from a “nice-to-have” to a “must-have,” Nick offers a real-world look at what it takes to roll out structured data across 16 business units at scale. From navigating legacy CMS systems to choosing between global and local implementations, Nick shares practical strategies and challenges from the enterprise SEO frontlines.This conversation gets tac...
2025-07-0923 minPerformance SEO UnpackedSearch Without Queries: What Copilot, IndexNow, and AI Agents Really Mean for the Future of SEO | Ep. 18Performance SEO Unpacked is back with a big conversation about the new frontier of SEO—where queries disappear, and AI anticipation takes the lead. Host Ruchi Pardal sits down with Krishna Madhavan, Principal Product Manager of the Web Data Platform at Microsoft AI, to decode what “search without queries” really means.In this episode, Krishna breaks down how AI systems like Copilot are shifting from "search and find" to "understand and assist," challenging the foundation of traditional SEO. From IndexNow protocol to semantic clarity, citations over clicks, and the compression of the funnel, this is a roadmap for SE...
2025-07-0227 minPerformance SEO UnpackedFrom Product to Page One: How a Data and UX Mindset Accelerates SEO Results (with Neha Khanna from ZipRecruiter) | Ep. 17On Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal is joined by Neha Khanna to explore how product thinking is transforming SEO at scale. Drawing from her experience at ZipRecruiter and Wayfair, Neha Khanna shares how moving away from technical checklists and toward user-centered problem-solving creates lasting growth.Instead of chasing keywords, she focuses on systems that scale—measuring outcomes like conversion and engagement rather than impressions and rankings. Ruchi Pardal and Neha Khanna discuss AI not as a content factory, but as a storytelling co-pilot. They also break down how prioritization frameworks like RICE can bring clarity and co...
2025-06-2523 minPerformance SEO UnpackedGoogle’s AI Mode Is Killing the Blue Links—Now What? | Ep. 16The world of SEO isn’t just evolving—it’s being rewritten. On this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, Joseph Lewin steps in as guest host to interview Ruchi Pardal, founder of ResultFirst, about one of the most seismic shifts in digital marketing: Google’s move to AI Mode.Forget ranking #1. That blue-link legacy is fading fast as Google transitions from search engine to response engine. Instead of offering choices, it now delivers AI-powered answers—instantly. Ruchi Pardal breaks down what this means for SEOs, content marketers, and brands who’ve relied on traditional traffic models.What repla...
2025-06-1823 minPerformance SEO UnpackedHow E-Commerce Businesses Can Enhance Product Discoverability in ChatGPT | Ep. 15The landscape of product discovery is shifting as AI tools like ChatGPT become a bigger part of how people find and buy online. On Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal shines a light on how these AI systems are now suggesting products directly, impacting what shoppers see and buy. Instead of relying only on traditional SEO, e-commerce businesses need to focus on structured data, conversational content, and keeping up with AI-driven changes. Ruchi’s straightforward advice is all about making sure your product information and content are ready for this new era, so your brand stays visible and relevant in...
2025-06-1104 minPerformance SEO UnpackedThe Truth About 404s, Internal Links, and Other SEO Myths with Paul Shapiro from Uber | Ep. 14What does it take to move over 100 international websites and deliver hundreds of millions in lifetime value? On Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal welcomes Paul Shapiro from Uber to share the story behind one of the most ambitious SEO projects in recent memory: Shopify’s ccTLD to subfolder migration.Ruchi and Paul explore the mindset, measurement, and technical architecture needed to execute SEO at enterprise scale. From custom crawling infrastructure and SQL reporting to Python-driven automation and internal linking experiments, Paul offers a detailed, practical view into what makes technical SEO truly effective—or fail. They also...
2025-05-2821 minPerformance SEO UnpackedDesigning for Humans & Machines: How UX, UI & SEO converge in the AI Era | Ep. 13Ranking in Google is no longer the final goal—it’s just the starting line. In this solo episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal reveals how the rise of AI agents like Gemini and ChatGPT is forcing a seismic shift in how enterprise teams approach SEO, UX, and UI. Traditional distinctions between crawling and navigation, keyword strategy and visual hierarchy, are collapsing fast.Ruchi breaks down the mechanics of what it means to design for AI usability—where semantic clarity meets layout predictability. If your product or service pages can’t be parsed, summarized, and actioned...
2025-05-2105 minPerformance SEO UnpackedWhy I Use AI for 100% of Our Content—And It Works - Rob Dougherty from Kiteworks : 12On this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal sits down with Rob Dougherty to explore a real-world blueprint for AI-driven content success. Rob leads content and SEO at Kiteworks—solo. He shares how he replaced a traditional agency model with a full AI-based production system, scaling from near-zero visibility to conversion-generating blog content. Rob walks through his personal content prompt framework, the editing processes he trusts, and the KPIs that drive his strategy: from impressions to clicks to demos. With a practical lens on regulated industries and EEAT, Rob’s story is a must-listen for SEOs serious abou...
2025-05-0738 min
Your Digital Marketing Coach with Neal SchafferBeat the AI Box: SEO Strategies for the New Google ResultsIn this episode of the Your Digital Marketing Coach podcast, I’m diving into one of the biggest changes to how we show up in Google search results—the AI overview box. If you’ve noticed a drop in your traffic, you’re not alone. These new AI summaries are changing how people click, what links they trust, and which brands get noticed. I went deep into the data—10 studies from the past year—to find the real patterns that help content get featured. From building stronger topic clusters to writing short, clear answers and updating your posts more often, I’ll...
2025-05-0520 minPerformance SEO UnpackedWhy HubSpot’s Homepage Disappeared—and How They Fixed It with Christina Clark from Hubspot : 11Big brands aren’t immune to SEO surprises—just ask Christina Clark from HubSpot. In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal explores the unexpected disappearance of HubSpot’s homepage from search results. Christina shares how her team uncovered a deeper issue with Google's understanding of their brand and why technical SEO demanded center stage in a content-driven company.From digging into core web vitals to reshaping internal links, Christina takes us through a real-world SEO challenge that tested cross-functional collaboration and highlighted the need to prove technical SEO’s business impact. If you've ever faced re...
2025-04-3018 minPerformance SEO UnpackedNavigating The Complexities Of Marketplace SEO With James Kelly From TrueCar : 10In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal speaks with James Kelly of TrueCar about navigating the complexities of marketplace SEO in the age of artificial intelligence. They explore how marketplace sites differ from traditional ecommerce, the mistakes many SEOs make when using AI, and strategies for future-proofing your marketplace presence online.Best Moments:(01:11) Introduction to the discussion: cracking marketplace SEO in the AI age(01:45) The biggest mistakes SEOs make with AI and marketplace content(02:10) Gartner’s prediction: Google searches expected to drop 25% by 2026(06:58) How to future-proof marketplace SEO with technical approaches(09:21) The importance of...
2025-04-2329 minPerformance SEO UnpackedHow Enterprise SEOs Win With People Skills, Not Just Rankings With Sam Page From InMotion Hosting : 9Enterprise SEO is not just about rankings—it’s about scale, trust, and playing the long game. In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Parda, SVP of Growth at ResultFirst, is joined by Sam Page, Head of SEO at InMotion Hosting, who shares real-world lessons from his time leading SEO at companies like Amazon Business and Slack.Sam breaks down what separates successful SEOs in enterprise environments: a mindset shift, clear communication, data-backed decisions, and a whole lot of people management. From overcoming the scarcity mindset to navigating slow-moving stakeholder approvals, this conversation is packed with...
2025-04-1619 minPerformance SEO UnpackedAuthority Signals Are Shifting—Here’s What SEOs Need to Track Now With Chris Reynolds From Indeed : 8SEO metrics are shifting; AI search is the reason. In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal is joined by Chris Reynolds of Indeed to unpack how authority building, brand mentions, and AI-driven visibility are reshaping the SEO landscape.From discussing why link building may no longer be the gold standard to measuring impressions and citations in generative search tools, Chris lays out the emerging playbook for brands navigating this transformation. The conversation goes deep into how informational content is becoming a brand-building activity and why mentions—across third-party sites, niche blogs, and even Reddit—are...
2025-04-0926 minPerformance SEO UnpackedWhat Is Pay-For-Performance SEO? : 7In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, guest host Joseph Lewin interviews Ruchi Pardal, SVP of Innovation at ResultFirst, diving into the nuances of enterprise SEO. Ruchi shares insights on the industry's accountability challenges and ResultFirst’s innovative pay-for-performance model that shifts the focus from effort to results. The conversation also touches on the changing landscape of SEO influenced by AI and explains how businesses can leverage these trends to optimize their strategies for better outcomes.Topics Discussed:Greater accountability is essential for effective SEO practices, particularly in aligning strategies with business goals.The pay-for-performance model sh...
2025-04-0221 minPerformance SEO UnpackedUnlocking International SEO with Amir Alsayegh, Organic Growth Advisor-SEO @ Crocs : 6In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal is joined by Amir Alsayegh, Organic Growth Advisor-SEO @ Crocs, a seasoned expert in international SEO from Crocs. They discuss the complexities of navigating international SEO, emphasizing the importance of cultural understanding and technical strategies. Amir shares personal anecdotes and practical advice on effectively approaching international markets and the critical factors contributing to successful SEO strategies across diverse regions.Topics Discussed:The multifaceted nature of international SEO beyond just technical aspects.The significance of cultural considerations in shaping effective international SEO strategies.Real-world insights into keywords that c...
2025-03-2627 minPerformance SEO UnpackedMastering Large-Scale Website Migration — Leighann Follis, SEO Director @ JLL : 5In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal welcomes Leighann Follis, SEO Director @ JLL, a global SEO manager with deep expertise in technical SEO. They break down the complexities of large-scale website migrations—covering what content to consolidate, how to avoid losing search visibility, and best practices for planning and communication.Best Moments:(01:28) The biggest concern for SEO experts during migrations: losing search visibility(04:02) Deciding what content to keep, remove, or consolidate(07:05) A case study of a difficult migration and how it was resolved(11:00) Essential checklist items fo...
2025-03-1920 minPerformance SEO Unpacked5. NAVIGATING NEWS SEO IN THE AI ERA — Louisa Frahm on Search Strategies, Breaking News & Publisher AdaptationIn this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal interviews Louisa Frahm, SEO Director at ESPN, about the unique challenges of news SEO and how AI-generated content is changing the search landscape. They explore strategies for staying ahead in a fast-paced environment where accuracy and timeliness are paramount.Best Moments(01:29) Impact of AI overviews on search results and SEO strategies(06:53) Adapting SEO strategies for AI-driven search landscapes(13:38) Challenges of news SEO, including time pressure and accuracy(23:37) Real-world examples of breaking news SEO challenges(32:34) How publishers can...
2025-03-1243 minPerformance SEO UnpackedLeveraging Zero-Click Searches For SEO Success! : 4In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal explores the phenomenon of zero-click searches and provides actionable strategies for businesses to thrive in this changing SEO environment. As the SVP of Innovation at Result First, Ruchi shares her insights on how zero-click searches are reshaping SEO and offers practical advice to help enterprise businesses succeed.Best Moments:(00:39) Introduction to zero-click searches and their impact on businesses(01:41) Definition and examples of zero-click searches(02:28) Three strategies to implement for success in the zero-click era(02:36) Strategy 1: Optimizing for featured snippets
2025-03-0507 minPerformance SEO UnpackedMeasuring SEO ROI For Enterprise Success! : 3In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal tackles the challenge of proving SEO ROI to leadership teams. She shares actionable strategies for measuring and presenting SEO success, offering insights into how enterprise businesses can showcase the value of their SEO efforts.Best Moments:(00:39) Introduction to the challenge of proving SEO ROI(01:40) Why proving SEO ROI is complicated(02:22) Metrics that matter to leadership(03:16) Treating product URLs as individual salespeople(04:16) The importance of zero-click searches(05:02) Share of voice and impression growth(05:36) Presenting...
2025-02-2609 minPerformance SEO UnpackedAI-Powered Search & The Future Of SEO! Sam Page, Director of SEO @ Slack : 2In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal interviews Sam Page, Director of SEO at Slack, about the evolving landscape of SEO and the growing importance of optimizing for AI-powered search engines beyond just Google. Sam shares valuable insights on maintaining a strong technical SEO foundation, leveraging schema markups, balancing optimization for Google vs. AI, and measuring the impact of AI search optimization efforts. He also discusses the increasing role of user-generated content (UGC) in SEO and provides expert advice for future-proofing SEO strategies.Best Moments:(00:01:14) Why SEOs need to think beyond Google...
2025-02-2021 minPerformance SEO UnpackedHow to Dominate with AIO: Optimizing for Google's AI Overview : 1In this episode of Performance SEO Unpacked, host Ruchi Pardal dives into Google's AI Overview (AIO) and its impact on search engine optimization. Ruchi explains what AIO is and why it's essential for enterprise businesses and provides actionable strategies to optimize content for this new AI-powered search feature.Best Moments:(00:39) Introduction to Google's AI Overview (AIO)(01:34) Explanation of what AIO is and how it works(03:00) Real-world example of optimizing for AIO(04:02) Step-by-step guide to getting started with AIO optimization(05:53) The importance of relevance over authority in AIO
2025-02-2009 minPerformance SEO UnpackedIntroducing Performance SEO UnpackedGet ready to simplify enterprise SEO with Performance SEO Unpacked, the podcast for businesses that want measurable growth and actionable strategies.Hosted by ResultFirst, this show tackles the unique challenges of scaling SEO at the enterprise level, from leveraging AI tools to proving ROI.Subscribe now and join us for the first episode as we unlock the full potential of enterprise SEO.Visit resultfirst.com for more.
2025-01-1702 min
Vroom Vroom Veer with Jeff SmithCarlos Rosales – 10X for ChristCarlos Rosales worked in business leadership roles for 35 years, he knows what it takes to be a successful executive. His career has centered largely around sales and management, with experience in product development, new market establishment, and building/growing successfulteams for aggressive startups.
A Certified Professional Leadership Coach and Certified Process Consultant, Carlos launched his own coaching practice in 2007, where he helped his clients grow and develop as business leaders. Through his coaching assignments, Carlos was drawn to the concept of integrating faith and business, so he embarked on his life’s mission of speaking truth into the lives of pr...
2019-11-2552 min