The SEO 101 Podcast on WMR.FM

The SEO 101 Podcast on WMR.FM is the world’s oldest and longest running SEO podcast. It has been hosted by our CEO, Ross Dunn since 2009 and before that, it had been a popular podcast hosted by David Brown, Carolyn Shelby, and Brian Mark.

In Ross’s time as host, the podcast has been favourited by Google’s own John Mueller, regularly cited as a top podcast on SEO by top sites like Search Engine Journal and HubSpot, and has millions of downloads.

Subscribe at any of these leading platforms
Spotify | iTunes | iHeartRadio

Play the Latest Episode of SEO 101

Powered by RedCircle

SEO 101 Ep 511 – Instant Checkout in ChatGPT and the End of Traditional SEO Rankings

In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte dive into ChatGPT’s instant checkout, answer engine optimization trends, ranking report disruptions, ChatGPT’s growing referral traffic for retailers, YouTube’s dominance in AI search, Google’s August spam...

SEO 101 Ep 510 – Core Web Vitals Winners, Google’s Schema Shake-Up, and Apple’s Big AI Search Plans

In this episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers improvements to core web vitals across major CMS platforms, Google removing support for certain structured data types, Apple’s plans for an AI-powered search engine, the latest on Google’s AI Mode, LLM traffic...

SEO 101 Ep 509 – Google’s Latest Spam Update, Crawl Issues, and AI Overview Survey Insights

In this episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers the August 2025 Google spam update, Ahrefs’ new traffic tracker comparing LLMs and search engines, Googlebot crawling issues, practical Search Console tips for duplicate content, a survey on AI Overviews and...

SEO 101 Episode 508 – SEO Conversion Declines: Analyzing TOFU Traffic and Economic Impacts

In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte cover Perplexity’s bold bid for Chrome, Google’s new Preferred Sources feature, the impact of AI on SEO conversions, attribution challenges, behavioral shifts toward Reddit and YouTube, GPT-5’s rocky rollout, a...

SEO 101 Episode 507 – Mastering SEO in an AI-Driven Landscape: Key Strategies for Content Visibility and Brand Recognition

In this episode of SEO 101, we explore essential strategies for thriving in an AI-driven search landscape. Discover how to enhance content visibility, leverage SEO versus GEO techniques, and understand the importance of ongoing content production to maintain brand...

SEO 101 Ep 506: AI Overviews Eroding Web Traffic, Google’s Update Volatility, and CSS for SEO

In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte break down the June 2025 Google core update, discuss AI Overviews eroding web clicks, share updates on Core Web Vitals data in Search Console, cover OpenAI’s crawling behavior, CSS and image best practices for...

SEO 101 Ep 505 – Local SEO Shifts, Core Update Effects, and What AI Means for Site Rankings

In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte discuss the June 2025 Google core update, its impact on local SEO, new Google Search Console features, possible Core Web Vitals bugs, issues with online reviews, disavow file relevance, AI-generated content in...

SEO 101 Episode 504 – Google Search Console Indexing Tips and Service Area Guidelines Update

In this episode of SEO 101, we explore practical uses for the Google Search Console URL Inspection Tool, including indexing checks and troubleshooting page rendering. We also discuss Google's new guidelines on service area businesses, prohibiting the addition of...

SEO 101 Episode 503 – Yoast LLMs.txt Support, Google Markup Removals, and Search Console Updates

In this episode of SEO 101, we explore the latest SEO developments, including Yoast plugin support for LLMs.txt, Google's removal of seven structured data markups, and the integration of AI Mode traffic data in Search Console. We also address a question from a viewer...

SEO 101 Episode 502 – Exploring SEO Evolution and Future Trends: An Interview with SEO Expert Jim Hedger

In this episode of The SEO 101 Podcast, hosts Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte interview SEO expert, friend, host of Webcology on WMR.FM, owner of Digital Always Media and StepForth’s first employee, Jim Hedger. The topics discussed range from the early days of SEO to...

Sometimes, you just need to get down to the very basics. That’s why we love Webmaster Radio’s SEO 101 — a series of podcasts that dive into search engine optimization from the bottom-up.

Amanda Zantal-Wiener

Senior Staff Writer, HubSpot

More About the SEO 101 Podcast

Our CEO, Ross Dunn began hosting the SEO 101 Podcast on WMR.FM (it was Cranberry.FM for a short stint) back in 2009 with his acclaimed colleague Jennifer Evans-Cairo. Both Ross and Jennifer were known in the SEO world at the time as veterans and the show started earning a loyal following from that point on.

After a few episodes, Jennifer took a step back and Ross worked with a couple of co-hosts and guest-hosts until one of his great friends and fellow industry veteran John Carcutt stepped permanently into the role. Over the years, the two of them have created over 350 episodes together discussing the ins and outs of search engine optimization (SEO) from a basic to occasionally advanced standpoint.

In 2020, John took a step back from the show and Scott Van Achte, stepped in to co-host (officially a guest host) with Ross Dunn. Scott is now the regular co-host with a lot of SEO experience to share with listeners.

Over the years, the SEO 101 Podcast has benefited from an SEO industry star-studded lineup of guests. The list includes the following: Google’s John Mueller, Stephan Spencer, David Szetela, Dan Thies, Martijn Beijk, Jennifer Laycock, Stoney deGeyter, Richard Zwicky, Loren Baker, Joost deValk, Mike Blumenthal, Pete Meyers, Jon Henshaw, Gil Namur, David Ogletree, and Dave Snyder, among others.

Co-hosts and special guest co-hosts with Ross Dunn have included Jennifer Evans-Cairo, Jeff Quipp, Eric Lander, John Carcutt, Scott Van Achte, and David Harry.

You can get more helpful tips by joining our SEO 101 Community.

Ross Dunn

Ross Dunn

Host of SEO 101

Ross Dunn is the long-time host of SEO 101 on WebmasterRadio.FM. He has been practicing SEO since 1997, working as the CEO of StepForth Web Marketing Inc. and a co-founder of First.Dentist.

He is dedicated to making the SEO 101 Podcast a long-term resource of quality SEO news, insights, interviews, and Q&As.

Scott Van Achte

Scott Van Achte

Regular Co-Host of SEO 101

Scott Van Achte has been the regular co-host of SEO 101 since 2020 when John Carcutt stepped down. Scott had also been a stand-in for many years when John couldn’t attend an episode.

Scott’s SEO experience is immense. Since 2003, he has worked with Ross Dunn at StepForth Web Marketing Inc. His position is now the Senior SEO at the company and Ross is lucky to consider him a great friend.

John Carcutt (In Memoriam)

John Carcutt (In Memoriam)

Past Co-Host of SEO 101

John Carcutt was the long-time co-host of SEO 101 on WebmasterRadio.FM and the Director of SEO for Advance Local. His SEO roots go back even farther than Ross’s to 1995.

Truly a veteran in the SEO realm, John’s perspective and insight into SEO was invaluable on the show. He was a co-host from 2010 to 2020. He is profoundly missed.

The SEO 101 Podcast on WMR.FM is the world’s oldest and longest running SEO podcast. It has been hosted by our CEO, Ross Dunn since 2009 and before that, it had been a popular podcast hosted by David Brown, Carolyn Shelby, and Brian Mark.

In Ross’s time as host, the podcast has been favourited by Google’s own John Mueller, regularly cited as a top podcast on SEO by top sites like Search Engine Journal and HubSpot, and has millions of downloads.

Subscribe at any of these leading platforms
Spotify | iTunes | iHeartRadio

Play the Latest Episode of SEO 101

Powered by RedCircle

SEO 101 Ep 511 – Instant Checkout in ChatGPT and the End of Traditional SEO Rankings

In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte dive into ChatGPT’s instant checkout, answer engine optimization trends, ranking report disruptions, ChatGPT’s growing referral traffic for retailers, YouTube’s dominance in AI search, Google’s August spam...

SEO 101 Ep 510 – Core Web Vitals Winners, Google’s Schema Shake-Up, and Apple’s Big AI Search Plans

In this episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers improvements to core web vitals across major CMS platforms, Google removing support for certain structured data types, Apple’s plans for an AI-powered search engine, the latest on Google’s AI Mode, LLM traffic...

SEO 101 Ep 509 – Google’s Latest Spam Update, Crawl Issues, and AI Overview Survey Insights

In this episode of SEO 101, Scott Van Achte covers the August 2025 Google spam update, Ahrefs’ new traffic tracker comparing LLMs and search engines, Googlebot crawling issues, practical Search Console tips for duplicate content, a survey on AI Overviews and...

SEO 101 Episode 508 – SEO Conversion Declines: Analyzing TOFU Traffic and Economic Impacts

In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte cover Perplexity’s bold bid for Chrome, Google’s new Preferred Sources feature, the impact of AI on SEO conversions, attribution challenges, behavioral shifts toward Reddit and YouTube, GPT-5’s rocky rollout, a...

SEO 101 Episode 507 – Mastering SEO in an AI-Driven Landscape: Key Strategies for Content Visibility and Brand Recognition

In this episode of SEO 101, we explore essential strategies for thriving in an AI-driven search landscape. Discover how to enhance content visibility, leverage SEO versus GEO techniques, and understand the importance of ongoing content production to maintain brand...

SEO 101 Ep 506: AI Overviews Eroding Web Traffic, Google’s Update Volatility, and CSS for SEO

In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte break down the June 2025 Google core update, discuss AI Overviews eroding web clicks, share updates on Core Web Vitals data in Search Console, cover OpenAI’s crawling behavior, CSS and image best practices for...

SEO 101 Ep 505 – Local SEO Shifts, Core Update Effects, and What AI Means for Site Rankings

In this episode of SEO 101, Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte discuss the June 2025 Google core update, its impact on local SEO, new Google Search Console features, possible Core Web Vitals bugs, issues with online reviews, disavow file relevance, AI-generated content in...

SEO 101 Episode 504 – Google Search Console Indexing Tips and Service Area Guidelines Update

In this episode of SEO 101, we explore practical uses for the Google Search Console URL Inspection Tool, including indexing checks and troubleshooting page rendering. We also discuss Google's new guidelines on service area businesses, prohibiting the addition of...

SEO 101 Episode 503 – Yoast LLMs.txt Support, Google Markup Removals, and Search Console Updates

In this episode of SEO 101, we explore the latest SEO developments, including Yoast plugin support for LLMs.txt, Google's removal of seven structured data markups, and the integration of AI Mode traffic data in Search Console. We also address a question from a viewer...

SEO 101 Episode 502 – Exploring SEO Evolution and Future Trends: An Interview with SEO Expert Jim Hedger

In this episode of The SEO 101 Podcast, hosts Ross Dunn and Scott Van Achte interview SEO expert, friend, host of Webcology on WMR.FM, owner of Digital Always Media and StepForth’s first employee, Jim Hedger. The topics discussed range from the early days of SEO to...

Sometimes, you just need to get down to the very basics. That’s why we love Webmaster Radio’s SEO 101 — a series of podcasts that dive into search engine optimization from the bottom-up.

Amanda Zantal-Wiener

Senior Staff Writer, HubSpot

More About the SEO 101 Podcast

Our CEO, Ross Dunn began hosting the SEO 101 Podcast on WMR.FM (it was Cranberry.FM for a short stint) back in 2009 with his acclaimed colleague Jennifer Evans-Cairo. Both Ross and Jennifer were known in the SEO world at the time as veterans and the show started earning a loyal following from that point on.

After a few episodes, Jennifer took a step back and Ross worked with a couple of co-hosts and guest-hosts until one of his great friends and late fellow industry veteran John Carcutt stepped permanently into the role. Over the years, the two of them have created over 350 episodes together discussing the ins and outs of search engine optimization (SEO) from a basic to occasionally advanced standpoint.

In 2020, John took a step back from the show and Scott Van Achte, stepped in to co-host (officially a guest host) with Ross Dunn. Scott is now the regular co-host with a lot of SEO experience to share with listeners.

Over the years, the SEO 101 Podcast has benefited from an SEO industry star-studded lineup of guests. The list includes the following: Google’s John Mueller, Stephan Spencer, David Szetela, Dan Thies, Martijn Beijk, Jennifer Laycock, Stoney deGeyter, Richard Zwicky, Loren Baker, Joost deValk, Mike Blumenthal, Pete Meyers, Jon Henshaw, Gil Namur, David Ogletree, and Dave Snyder, among others.

Co-hosts and special guest co-hosts with Ross Dunn have included Jennifer Evans-Cairo, Jeff Quipp, Eric Lander, John Carcutt, Scott Van Achte, and David Harry.

You can get more helpful tips by joining our SEO 101 Community.

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Ross Dunn

Ross Dunn

Host of SEO 101

Ross Dunn is the long-time host of SEO 101 on WebmasterRadio.FM. He has been practicing SEO since 1997, working as the CEO of StepForth Web Marketing Inc. and a co-founder of First.Dentist.

He is dedicated to making the SEO 101 Podcast a long-term resource of quality SEO news, insights, interviews, and Q&As.

Scott Van Achte

Scott Van Achte

Regular Co-Host of SEO 101

Scott Van Achte has been the regular co-host of SEO 101 since 2020 when John Carcutt stepped down. Scott had also been a stand-in for many years when John couldn’t attend an episode.

Scott’s SEO experience is immense. Since 2003, he has worked with Ross Dunn at StepForth Web Marketing Inc. His position is now the Senior SEO at the company and Ross is lucky to consider him a great friend.

John Carcutt (In Memoriam)

John Carcutt (In Memoriam)

Past Co-Host of SEO 101

John Carcutt was the long-time co-host of SEO 101 on WebmasterRadio.FM and the Director of SEO for Advance Local. His SEO roots go back even farther than Ross’s to 1995.

Truly a veteran in the SEO realm, John’s perspective and insight into SEO was invaluable on the show. He was a co-host from 2010 to 2020. He is profoundly missed.

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