Introducing “SEO Emergency Questions” to Revamp My Podcast Interviews

I’ve been thinking over this idea lately, and I thought it’d be a good one to share. So, you might recall back in January when I mentioned some of my favourite podcasts. Among them was Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast—it’s the one that really got me into podcasts in the first place. Richard Herring, if you’re not familiar, is a British comedian who was quite the fixture on telly in the 90s. He’s known for interviewing other comedians and famous folks, often throwing in his infamous “emergency questions” to keep things lively.

Now, these emergency questions are brilliantly absurd. They’re designed to catch guests off guard, spark interesting conversations, and often lead to hilarious anecdotes. Questions like, “Would you rather have a hand made out of ham or an armpit that dispenses suncream?” Completely bonkers, but they get people talking in ways standard interviews just don’t.

This got me thinking—why not bring a similar concept into the world of SEO? I’m planning to have guests on my podcast soon, and I want to avoid the usual talking heads format that, let’s be honest, can get a bit dull. So I’ve been working on creating my own set of “SEO emergency questions.” The idea is to ask things that they’ve probably never been asked before, revealing more about their core beliefs and approaches to SEO.

I thought I’d share a few of these questions with you, along with my own answers, to give you a feel for what I’m aiming for.

What’s the strangest keyword or search query you’ve ever come across in your work?

This one always brings a smile to my face. So, I was working with a beekeeper who runs a small website selling his own honey. Lovely chap. We were going through his Google Search Console data when I noticed he was getting traffic for the term “Love Honey.” Now, if you’re in the UK, you might know that Lovehoney is actually a well-known retailer of, shall we say, adult products. Not exactly the kind of traffic a beekeeper is aiming for! Turns out, because he often wrote about how much he “loves honey,” he inadvertently started ranking for that term. It was one of those moments where we both had a good laugh and then worked on adjusting his content to avoid any awkward misunderstandings.

If you could ask Google one question and be guaranteed a 100% truthful answer, what would it be?

Ah, this is a big one for me. I’d ask, “Exactly how important are backlinks compared to content in your ranking algorithm?” There’s so much debate in the SEO community about this. Some folks swear by building as many links as possible, even buying them, while others focus purely on content. Personally, I’ve always leaned towards creating quality content. After getting burned by the Penguin update years ago due to dodgy link practices, I’ve been cautious about link-building. But I’d love to know straight from the horse’s mouth how Google weighs these factors. It would settle so many arguments and help us all focus our efforts more effectively.

Have you ever tried to optimise something in real life, forgetting it’s not a website?

Guilty as charged! My local pub is often the target of my optimisation urges. I live in a tiny village, and the pub is a central hub for us. I’m always suggesting ways they could tweak their menu for better conversions—things like removing the pound signs to make prices seem less intimidating or using heavier cutlery because studies show it can make the food taste better. They’ve humoured me and tried some of my suggestions, and I like to think it’s helped. Or at least that’s what they tell me!

If you could only use one SEO tactic for the rest of your career, which one would it be and why?

Without a doubt, building tools. Throughout my career, creating useful tools has been the most effective strategy for me. Back in the day, with Broadband.co.uk, we developed a postcode checker that was revolutionary at the time. It provided real value, and people naturally linked to it. We didn’t have to game the system; we just offered something genuinely helpful. Even now, with Keywords People Use and our recent free tool MyConsoleData, creating something that solves a problem continues to be a powerful way to attract traffic and build authority. Tools draw attention and earn links organically, which is the best kind of SEO in my book.

So there you have it—a sneak peek into my SEO emergency questions. I’m excited about this new direction for the podcast and can’t wait to bring some guests on to see how they tackle these questions. I think it’ll lead to some insightful and entertaining conversations that you won’t get anywhere else.

Let me know what you think. And if you’re up for being a guest and diving into some of these questions yourself, drop me a line!