Internal Linking, SME Interviews, and Platform Diversification: Daniel Horowitz's Modern SEO Playbook

Guest Information Daniel Horowitz Senior SEO Manager at Informatica Connect: LinkedIn Episode Summary Daniel Horowitz shares his decade-long journey in SEO, from agency-side link building campaigns to managing enterprise SEO at Informatica. We dive deep into the impact of Google's Helpful Content Update, the shift from traffic-focused to conversion-focused strategies, and practical tactics that still work in the AI-dominated search landscape. Key Takeaways The traditional SEO content model is dead, especially for volume-based sites Enterprise SEO success now depends on cross-functional collaboration and subject matter expert interviews Internal linking remains one of the most underutilized yet effective strategies Platform diversification is essential as Google transitions to being an answer engine Community-driven digital PR creates more valuable signals than traditional link building Episode Timestamps [00:01] - Introductions and Daniel's background at Informatica [00:42] - Link building experiences with Shopify Exchange project [02:09] - Evolution from link building to enterprise SEO strategies [03:39] - Digital PR vs traditional link building approaches [07:02] - Google's maker sessions and the "answer engine" revelation [08:13] - The Helpful Content Update's devastating impact on travel blogging [09:03] - Enterprise SEO evangelism and cross-functional collaboration [11:50] - Subject Matter Expert (SME) interview series strategy [15:05] - Moving beyond basic keyword-focused content [15:48] - Transitioning from blogs to resource pages and use cases [19:00] - Justifying content marketing spend with declining traffic [21:39] - Cross-channel marketing and sentiment analysis [25:28] - Platform diversification beyond Google [29:54] - The future of SEO in an AI-dominated world [37:13] - Actionable advice: The power of internal linking Topics Discussed Link Building Evolution Shopify Exchange outreach campaigns Local directory and publication resistance The shift from tactical links to semantic search understanding Digital PR becoming more important than traditional link building Enterprise SEO Strategy Cross-functional collaboration with product marketing and web teams Building topical authority over chasing head terms SME interview series for authentic content creation Moving from "what is X" to "use cases of X for Y" Impact of Algorithm Updates Helpful Content Update destroying travel blogging business overnight Six-figure revenue loss with no recovery path Shift from traffic volume to conversion quality metrics AI overviews cannibalizing top-of-funnel content Modern SEO Tactics Internal linking for semantic relevance Community engagement and analog events for link building Platform diversification strategy Creating unified content ecosystems AI and Search Evolution Google's transition to answer engine model Optimizing for AI agents and semantic search The death of volume-based content strategies Future of creator content and platform dependency Mentioned Resources & Links People & Companies Informatic...