Brand Mentions Are Exploding in Value - But Do Backlinks Still Matter?

E1078: Charles Floate joins the show to talk about where SEO is going as Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and other AI systems change how people find information. The main question: if brand mentions are becoming more important, do backlinks still matter? Charles argues that backlinks still have value, but mentions are becoming much more important because AI systems do not only look at links. They also look at where a brand is mentioned, which sources mention it, how often it appears near certain topics, and whether those sources are trusted in a specific niche. We also talk about why Charles stepped back from his day-to-day role at PressWhiz, what he thinks is happening to link building, why small teams may have an advantage right now, and how SEO work is changing as search becomes more personalized and answer-based. Topics covered: - Why brand mentions are becoming more valuable in SEO - How to acquire brand mentions - Whether backlinks still matter for AI Overviews, AI Mode, and ChatGPT - How AI systems may evaluate trust, authority, and source quality - Why different niches may have different ranking and citation signals - Why Reddit, YouTube, podcasts, reviews, PR, and community signals can matter - The difference between links, mentions, co-occurrence, and trusted sources - Why mass AI content can hurt a site long term - How small technical teams can compete with larger companies - Why Charles left the day-to-day work of a major link building marketplace - What he is building next - Why video is becoming more important for SEO - Why customer support and product quality can affect brand mentions - Why automating marketing before understanding it is usually a mistake - How AI may change SEO teams, agencies, and software companies We also discuss Google I/O, AI Mode, AI Overviews, multimodal search, query fanout, personalization, digital PR, Reddit manipulation, link building marketplaces, indie hackers, AI startups, and why SEO interest is higher than ever. ⭐️ 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 Training - https://charlesfloatetraining.com/  ⭐️ Charles Floate's PressWhizz - https://presswhizz.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 Meet Charles Floate 00:13 Newlywed Europe Plans 01:09 Why Shift From PressWhizz 02:24 Google IO Fallout 04:14 Multimodal Search Future 06:09 Trust Signals And EEAT 08:04 Adult And iGaming SEO 12:08 AI Search Centralization 14:37 GEO Versus SEO Debate 18:37 Indie Hacker Beats Brands 22:25 Leaving PressWhizz Explained 26:13 Backlinks Versus Mentions 27:38 Getting Brand Mentions 29:30 Unbundling Tool Suites 31:12 Three Startups In Motion 33:53 Team And Marketing Setup 34:47 Hiring Video Editors 36:26 Why SEO Marketing Sucks 36:43 Avoiding Tough Niches 37:35 Hiring Editors With AI 39:21 SEO Interest Surging 41:55 Optimism About Grounded AI 45:07 Businesses Struggling With Change 49:48 What Not To Automate 54:16 Video Workflow And Descript 01:00:26 Email And Social Strategy 01:05:43 Best Next Step CRO 01:08:22 Closing And Wrap Up The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/  #backlinks #linkbuilding #searchengineoptimization #seo