“SEO isn’t just about rankings or traffic—it’s about aligning search with business impact. If it doesn’t drive revenue, it’s not a priority.” – Brian Shumway
Brian Shumway is a seasoned SEO and product strategist with extensive experience leading SEO initiatives at major brands like Angie, Upwork, and Indeed. With a background in the military and PPC before transitioning into SEO, Brian has a unique, data-driven approach to search optimization. His expertise spans SEO product management, large-scale technical SEO, and combating spam attacks. Passionate about revenue-focused SEO, he prioritizes strategies that drive measurable business impact rather than vanity metrics.
Episode Summary
In this episode of SEO Success Stories, host Russ Macumber sits down with Brian Shumway to discuss the importance of SEO strategy, navigating AI-driven search changes, and the evolution of SEO product management. Brian shares insights from his time at Indeed, Upwork, and other major organizations, focusing on balancing agility with long-term planning. The conversation dives into technical SEO challenges, Google’s evolving SERP landscape, and how SEOs can align with business objectives. Brian also reflects on his time combating large-scale spam attacks and explains why SEO professionals need to master internal communication and strategic influence.
Key Takeaways
- SEO Strategy Over Tactics: Many SEOs focus too much on execution rather than developing a long-term strategic vision.
- AI & SEO in 2025: AI-driven search experiences (AI Overviews) are shifting the way users interact with search results, requiring a rethink of SEO priorities.
- SEO Product Management is the Future: Working closely with engineers and integrating SEO into product workflows is key for large-scale success.
- Spam Attacks & Google Penalties: Large brands face sophisticated spam threats—understanding indexing thresholds and automation is crucial to combating them.
- Internal Communication is Key: SEOs must learn to influence stakeholders, from engineers to executives, by translating SEO initiatives into business language.
Timestamped Summary
- 1:38-2:26 – The biggest SEO challenge of 2025: strategy, not AI, is the real challenge for SEOs.
- 3:14-5:35 – Brian’s career journey: from the military to PPC, then transitioning into SEO.
- 6:28-7:58 – Early SEO learnings: why hands-on experimentation is crucial for growth.
- 8:59-9:48 – Navigating Google’s algorithmic shifts and adapting to major SERP changes.
- 12:44-14:29 – Large-scale SEO at Indeed: handling billions of pages and major spam attacks.
- 14:34-19:49 – A deep dive into one of the biggest SEO spam attacks on Indeed, Facebook, and Dell.
- 20:32-25:05 – The transition to SEO product management: key learnings and best practices.
- 28:50-30:25 – Roadmap planning for SEO: balancing agility with long-term strategy.
- 32:39-33:06 – The difference between SEO specialists and SEO product managers.
