Search a title or topic

Over 20 million podcasts, powered by 

Player FM logo
Artwork

Content provided by Jon Clark and Joe DeVita. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jon Clark and Joe DeVita or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
Player FM - Podcast App
Go offline with the Player FM app!

SEO Then & Now: Marshall Simmonds on AI, Dark Traffic , LLM.txt & the Future of Search 🚀

52:53
 
Share
 

Manage episode 502347761 series 2621139
Content provided by Jon Clark and Joe DeVita. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jon Clark and Joe DeVita or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

https://page2pod.com - What happens when the gatekeepers of search stop sending traffic, but still take the content? In this milestone Episode 90, Marshall Simmonds (Defined Media Group) joins us to trace SEO’s journey from white-text-on-white-backgrounds to log-file analysis, AIO, and LLM.txt—plus what publishers must do right now. He even shares the wild story of spinning up a mirror test server so Google (and others) could pound on About.com to refine their crawlers.

We dig into why watching server logs matters more than ever, how “dark traffic” is back, and why author authority and structured content still win—despite shifting consumption and murky attribution in AI-assisted search.

Marshall also takes us behind the scenes on unlocking The New York Times archive (and why it crushed for traffic and revenue), plus a pragmatic take on AIO monetization, blocking AI training vs. real-time access, and the early but evolving role of LLM.txt.

🧠 In This Episode:
• The About.com “test server” era: letting engines crawl a mirror site to improve their bots—what Marshall learned by “watching the watchers.”
• Why log files are mission-critical again as dark traffic surges and LLM crawlers multiply.
• Enterprise-grade log tooling & options: Sitebulb, Screaming Frog, Splunk—what to use when.
• Crawl budget signals hiding in plain sight: the Search Console “Crawl stats” report.
• NYT archive strategy: opening history for scale, membership, and revenue (and why it worked).
• E-E-A-T before the acronym: building human authority into content and authorship.
• LLM.txt today: yes, it’s crawled; no, standards aren’t settled; how teams are exposing it.
• AIO reality check: impressions up, clicks down; what’s converting (and why patience pays).
• Blocking AI training vs. real-time use: robots.txt limits, legal gray zones, and first-line defenses.
• Holistic marketing > channel silos: brand, email, social, search, Discover—working together.

If you've ever wondered where SEO has been and where it's headed, this conversation with Marshall Simmonds is essential listening.

📌 Subscribe for more insightful episodes on SEO, AI, and digital strategy.
💬 Comment below: How are you adapting your SEO strategy in the age of AI and dark traffic?

🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned
Marshall Simmonds LinkedIn
Defined Media Official Site
Page 2 Podcast Noah Learner episode

Sponsored by Moving Traffic Media

Follow the Page 2 Podcast

Follow Jon Clark

  continue reading

89 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 502347761 series 2621139
Content provided by Jon Clark and Joe DeVita. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jon Clark and Joe DeVita or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

https://page2pod.com - What happens when the gatekeepers of search stop sending traffic, but still take the content? In this milestone Episode 90, Marshall Simmonds (Defined Media Group) joins us to trace SEO’s journey from white-text-on-white-backgrounds to log-file analysis, AIO, and LLM.txt—plus what publishers must do right now. He even shares the wild story of spinning up a mirror test server so Google (and others) could pound on About.com to refine their crawlers.

We dig into why watching server logs matters more than ever, how “dark traffic” is back, and why author authority and structured content still win—despite shifting consumption and murky attribution in AI-assisted search.

Marshall also takes us behind the scenes on unlocking The New York Times archive (and why it crushed for traffic and revenue), plus a pragmatic take on AIO monetization, blocking AI training vs. real-time access, and the early but evolving role of LLM.txt.

🧠 In This Episode:
• The About.com “test server” era: letting engines crawl a mirror site to improve their bots—what Marshall learned by “watching the watchers.”
• Why log files are mission-critical again as dark traffic surges and LLM crawlers multiply.
• Enterprise-grade log tooling & options: Sitebulb, Screaming Frog, Splunk—what to use when.
• Crawl budget signals hiding in plain sight: the Search Console “Crawl stats” report.
• NYT archive strategy: opening history for scale, membership, and revenue (and why it worked).
• E-E-A-T before the acronym: building human authority into content and authorship.
• LLM.txt today: yes, it’s crawled; no, standards aren’t settled; how teams are exposing it.
• AIO reality check: impressions up, clicks down; what’s converting (and why patience pays).
• Blocking AI training vs. real-time use: robots.txt limits, legal gray zones, and first-line defenses.
• Holistic marketing > channel silos: brand, email, social, search, Discover—working together.

If you've ever wondered where SEO has been and where it's headed, this conversation with Marshall Simmonds is essential listening.

📌 Subscribe for more insightful episodes on SEO, AI, and digital strategy.
💬 Comment below: How are you adapting your SEO strategy in the age of AI and dark traffic?

🔗 Links & Resources Mentioned
Marshall Simmonds LinkedIn
Defined Media Official Site
Page 2 Podcast Noah Learner episode

Sponsored by Moving Traffic Media

Follow the Page 2 Podcast

Follow Jon Clark

  continue reading

89 episodes

All episodes

×
 
Loading …

Welcome to Player FM!

Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices.

 

Copyright 2025 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | | Copyright
Listen to this show while you explore
Play