
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


I'm sick of business owners coming to me convinced their competitors have some secret SEO strategy. They don't. You're just making it ridiculously easy for them to beat you by ignoring the fundamentals on your own website.
Hi, I’m Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of "SEO F**king What", I’m talking about:
The uncomfortable truth: Your competitor's website probably isn't that impressive. They've just done the basics - proper page titles, decent content, a filled-in Google Business Profile, and a site that actually works on mobile. That's it. No magic formula. Just competent execution of SEO fundamentals that you haven't got around to yet.
I've been in SEO for over 30 years, and I help businesses make money from their websites by getting found in search. This episode is your wake-up call to stop stalking your competitors' websites and start fixing your own.
Stop blaming your competitors. Fix your own shit first.
Chapters / Timestamps00:00 - Introduction: The Real Reason You're Losing at SEO
02:05 - Common SEO Mistakes Sabotaging Your Success
02:28 - Mistake #1: Your Meta Titles Are Useless
03:10 - Mistake #2: Your Service Pages Are Thinner Than an Over-Filtered Influencer
04:00 - Mistake #3: You've Got No Internal Links
04:40 - Mistake #4: Your Google Business Profile Is a Ghost Town
05:20 - Mistake #5: Your Site Is Slower Than a Wet Weekend
06:00 - Mistake #6: Your Mobile Experience Is Atrocious
06:40 - Mistake #7: You've Got Broken Shit Everywhere
07:20 - Why We Focus on Competitors Instead of Our Own Sites
08:22 - How to Fix Your SEO Issues: The 30-Minute Self-Audit
09:00 - Step 1: Check Your Page Titles
09:40 - Step 2: Check the Words on Your Key Pages
10:10 - Step 3: Click Every Link on Your Site
10:40 - Step 4: Load Your Site on Your Phone
11:00 - Step 5: Check Your Google Business Profile
11:30 - Step 6: Look at Your Internal Links
12:10 - Step 7: Search for Yourself on Google
12:40 - Stop Looking Over the Fence
13:47 - Final Thoughts and Actionable Steps
If you want straight-talk SEO without the jargon, follow SEO F**king What.
More episodes here:
https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
Most businesses aren’t bad at blogging because they’re lazy.
They’re bad at blogging because no one ever told them what blogs are actually for.
Hi, I’m Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of "SEO F**king What", I’m talking about one of the biggest SEO mistakes I see every single week.
Business blogs that read like diaries, newsletters, or internal updates… and then the owner wonders why Google ignores them.
This is the episode your marketing agency probably won’t volunteer to send you.
Because it explains why “blog regularly” was never enough, and how years of well-meaning content can actually f**k up your site instead of helping it.
In this episode, I cover:
Why most business blogs get no traffic at all
Why Google can tell when you’re writing for yourself, not searchers
The types of blog posts nobody is actually Googling
How thin, self-serving content hurts your whole site
What crawl budget is and why it matters
How to choose blog topics people are genuinely searching for
Why keyword research isn’t optional
When to rewrite old posts and when to delete them
Where company news should live if you still want to share it
If you’ve been blogging for months or years and seeing nothing come from it, listen to this.
If your blog is full of “exciting news”, “reflections”, or “a message from the CEO”, listen to this.
And if you’re about to publish another post nobody asked for, definitely listen to this.
Share this with whoever writes your blog.
Share it with your marketing manager.
Share it with anyone about to hit publish on “Reflections on a Wonderful Q1”.
00:00 Why your blog isn’t content
01:50 The diary blog problem
03:50 How bad blogs hurt your whole site
06:11 What to do instead
07:20 Matching search intent
08:05 Answering the actual question
09:42 Audit, rewrite, or delete
11:22 When company news is OK
12:20 Final reality check
If you want straight-talk SEO without the fluff, follow SEO F**king What.
More episodes here:
https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
Most businesses aren’t confused about SEO because it’s complicated.
They’re confused because the industry keeps inventing new acronyms and pretending the rules have changed.
Hi, I’m Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of "SEO F**king What", I’m talking about... well let's be honest... I'm having a bit of a rant. And it's a rant that you need to hear if you've fallen into the same trap I've seen some other SEOs fall into recently.
This is the episode your favourite SEO hustle bro probably doesn’t want you to hear.
GEO isn’t a new discipline.
It’s SEO with a new acronym and a higher invoice.
In this episode, I cover:
Why SEOs are adding GEO to their headlines even when their skills haven’t changed
Why “AI optimisation” isn’t meaningfully different from good SEO
What Google has already confirmed about AI search
How buzzwords validate inflated pricing and bad behaviour
Why playing along makes it harder for clients to tell who actually knows what they’re doing
Why honesty builds trust, even when it costs you work
If you’re an SEO feeling pressured to add GEO to your profile just to compete, listen to this.
If you’re a business owner wondering why suddenly everything costs more for the “same” SEO, listen to this.
And if you’re about to pay someone extra because they stuck three new letters in their headline, definitely listen to this.
Share this with your SEO mates.
Share it with a business owner who’s being sold magic.
Share it with anyone who’s about to pay more money for the same work.
Chapters/Timestamps00:00 “Why Adding GEO Is Making Things Worse”
01:25 Losing work to buzzwords
03:20 What Google has already confirmed
04:45 Why SEOs playing along is a problem
06:35 The uncomfortable truth
08:16 How the SEO industry created this mess
09:40 Why I’m not adding GEO
If you want straight-talk SEO without the jargon, follow SEO F**king What.
More episodes here:
https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
Most businesses don’t lose their traffic because SEO “stopped working”.
They lose it because someone redesigned the website and didn’t know what they were doing.
Hi, I’m Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of "SEO F**king What", I’m talking about website migrations, redesigns, domain changes, and how businesses accidentally torch years of SEO in a single launch.
This is the episode your controlling web developer probably doesn’t want you to hear.
In this episode, I cover:
Why website migrations go wrong so often
Why developers are not SEO specialists (and why that matters)
How URL changes wipe out rankings overnight
What 301 redirects are actually for and how people mess them up
Why missing metadata quietly kills performance
How to tell Google you’ve changed domain properly
What to do if you’ve already launched and everything’s gone a bit tits up
If you’re planning a website redesign, changing platforms, moving from .co.uk to .com, or touching your URLs in any way, listen to this before you launch.
If you’ve already launched and your traffic has fallen off a cliff, this will help you work out what’s broken and how to fix it.
Share this with your web developer.
Share it with your marketing manager.
Share it with anyone who’s about to make a very expensive mistake.
Timestamped summary00:00 "Your Developer Is Not Your SEO Team"
01:49 "Why Website Migrations Go Wrong"
05:00 "A Real SEO Disaster Story"
06:47 "What Happens When You Mess It Up"
08:11 "How to Migrate a Website Properly"
12:10 "Fixing a Broken Migration"
If you want better results from your SEO and you don’t want to be firefighting disasters like this, I offer SEO supervision, training, and support for businesses and teams – https://nikki-pilkington.com/seo-training-and-development-uk/
Want more episodes?
https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
Most small business owners don’t fail at SEO.
They get confused, overwhelmed, or quietly ripped off.
Hi, I'm Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of SEO F**king What, which is part two of a two parter, I’m letting you know what a good SEO person looks like in terms of their offers.
What SEO really costs in the UK, how long it takes to work, and how to spot legitimate professionals from cowboys.
No jargon.
No “it depends” nonsense.
No magical promises.
In this episode, I cover:
If you’re about to hire an SEO, already paying one, or wondering why results don’t match the promises, this episode could save you a lot of money and frustration.
If you haven’t listened to part one yet, go back and start there first.
And if this helps, please share it with someone who’s about to sign an SEO contract.
Timestamped summary00:00 "Good SEO: Clarity Over Jargon"
04:03 "SEO That Drives Real Results"
08:42 "SEO Timelines Simplified"
12:18 "SEO: Consistent, Methodical Work"
This episode is all about helping you identify a decent SEO person from a scammer. But you'll have even better results from your SEO by having me in your corner, and I offer supervision and set up of these kinds of arrangements as a service - https://nikki-pilkington.com/seo-training-and-development-uk/
Want to check out more episodes? https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
Ever been quoted some ridiculous SEO retainer and thought… hang on, what the f**k am I actually paying for? Yeah. Same as lots of my clients. And honestly, I’m tired of watching small businesses get fleeced by agencies who talk a big game but can’t explain a single thing they’re doing.
Hi, I'm Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of SEO F**king What, I’m breaking down the biggest red flags in SEO.
Guaranteed rankings. “Secret” methodologies. Vague contracts. The lot.
If you’ve ever felt stupid for falling for any of this, don’t. These people are professionals at sounding credible while delivering absolutely nothing.
By the end, you’ll know exactly what questions to ask, what bullshit to ignore, and how to spot an SEO that’s more scammer than specialist.
Part two is coming next week, where I’ll show you what good SEO should actually look like (and what it should cost). But for now, let’s make sure you stop handing your hard-earned money to chancers.
If you’ve got questions, come yell at me on LinkedIn or drop me an email. I don’t bite… unless you promise “guaranteed rankings.”
Timestamped summary00:00 "Protecting Small Businesses in SEO"
04:03 Vague SEO Contracts Warning
09:27 Avoid SEO Shortcuts
10:21 SEO: Hard Work, Real Experts
This episode is all about helping you ensure your SEO isn't a red flag waving scammer. But you'll have even better results from your SEO by having me in your corner, and I offer supervision and set up of these kinds of arrangements as a service - https://nikki-pilkington.com/seo-training-and-development-uk/
Want to check out more episodes? https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
I’ve lost count of the businesses that hire an SEO expert, pay good money, and then make it impossible for us to actually do the job.
Hi, I'm Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of SEO F**king What, I’m calling out the ridiculousness I sometimes see when a business hires an SEO. Not you. You wouldn't do any of this, I'm sure. But we'll explore some of the absolute sh*ttery that can go down when one of us SEO experts gets hired by someone who doesn't understand what our role in their business actually is!
If you want fluffy LinkedIn advice, this isn’t the show for you.
But if you’re ready to stop sabotaging your own results and work with an SEO like a grown-up, hit play.
This one might sting a bit — but it’ll make you money, which is all I f**king care about.
Timestamped summary00:00 Freelancing Isn't Remote Employment
04:26 Clients Restricting Access Harms Results
09:00 Empower Your SEO Expert
10:45 Respect Freelancers for Better Results
This episode is all about helping you ensure your SEO is equipped to do their job properly.
But you'll have even better results from your SEO by having me in your corner, and I offer supervision and set up of these kinds of arrangements as a service - https://nikki-pilkington.com/seo-training-and-development-uk/
Want to check out more episodes? https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
In this episode I’m taking on one of the most annoying lies in the SEO world. You’ve probably heard it. “SEO isn’t really for businesses your size.” Yeah. That's total bullshit.
Someone asked me about it on LinkedIn and honestly, I could feel my blood pressure rising.
So I’m breaking down why small businesses keep getting fobbed off by big agencies and why it has nothing to do with SEO… and everything to do with profit.
I talk through the real reasons you’re being dismissed and then walk you through what small businesses can actually do to get found. Local SEO wins. Smarter page titles. Writing content that answers real questions. Getting reviews. Fixing the basics on your website. It’s all here and none of it requires dropping two grand a month on an agency.
If you’ve ever been told you’re “too small” for SEO or felt like your website is just sitting there like a digital paperweight, this one will sort you out.
If it helps, follow SEO F**king What so you don’t miss next week’s episode. And if you know someone who’s been fed this same rubbish, send this to them. Sharing is caring and all that.
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
Ever handed over a chunk of cash to your web designer for “SEO” and ended up with nothing but a plugin and a lot of empty promises?
Hi, I'm Nikki Pilkington. My site is https://nikki-pilkington.com/ and in this episode of SEO F**king What, I’m pulling back the curtain on what really happens when web designers say they do SEO—and how you can tell if you’ve been stitched up.
I’ll walk you through the fixes and explain why most web designers aren’t SEO experts (and why that’s not a dig at them), reveal what real SEO looks like, and share the right questions to ask before you hire anyone.
Plus, I’ve got actionable steps you can take right now to get your site sorted—no bollocks, just practical advice.
If you’re ready to finally get found and make some money, hit follow and click play for some non-wanky SEO guidance that actually works!
Timestamped summary00:00 "Web Design vs. True SEO"
03:52 "SEO Advice: Get Found"
This episode is all about ensuring your web designer doesn't totally fuck you over on your SEO.
But you'll have even better results from your SEO by having me in your corner - https://nikki-pilkington.com/seo-training/
Want to check out more episodes? https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
Fed up with watching charlatans and self-proclaimed “AI SEO gurus” rake in cash and followers by selling absolute bollocks? Yeah, me too.
This is SEO Fu*king What. I'm Nikki, and I help business owners like you to get found in search and make money from your website
In this no-bullshit episode, I’m explaining:
If you care about sustainable SEO that actually ranks, this
one’s for you.
This episode is all about the total dickheads who are offering terrible advice that could fuck up your website and its SEO.
You'll learn a lot from it.
But you'll get even better results from your SEO by having me in your corner - https://nikki-pilkington.com/seo-training/
Want to check out more episodes? https://seofuckingwhatpodcast.co.uk/
Mentioned in this episode:
Join our blogging masterclass
Blogging Masterclass
From the publisher's feed