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Jan 28, 2021 · 22m · top-founders

SEO Secrets from Shopify, G2 Head of SEO Strategy

Kevin Indig · 16m spoken Nathan Latka · 3m spoken Frank Bien · 4s spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

In this episode of Conversations with Nathan Latka, Shopify Director of SEO Kevin Indig breaks down enterprise search strategies, team alignment frameworks, and technical marketplace optimization from his leadership tenures at G2 and Shopify.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 18.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 4.5 Guest teaching 5.8 Guest disagreement 0.8 Nathan pushing back 3.5
05100:0010:0020:003:56–8:19 · Nathan as informed peer 6/10 Scaling G2 Marketplace Through Technical SEO and SERP Optimization Nathan demonstrates solid SEO knowledge by drilling into technical schemas and competitive SERP dynamics, specifically querying G2's use of FAQ schema dropdowns. Kevin explains the counterintuitive nuance of how snippet drop-downs act as appetizers rather than stealing search traffic.8:20–12:57 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 G2 Internal Team Alignment and Content Hub Strategy Kevin details organizational alignment between marketing and product engineering at G2 as well as the top-of-funnel content hub strategy. Nathan primarily facilitates by prompting for metrics and internal team structures.12:57–16:28 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 SEO Hygiene Tools and the Psychology of Trust Badges Nathan asks for specific log file tool recommendations and inquires about the value of rating badges. Kevin educates on how badges function as broader brand trust signals and unlinked mentions rather than simple backlink acquisition.16:30–22:25 · Nathan as informed peer 5/10 Transitioning to Shopify and Global SEO Scaling Tactics Nathan aggressively interrupts and pushes back against Kevin's high-level strategy explanations, demanding concrete tactics and bluntly calling brand strength concepts 'fluffy.' Kevin responds directly with specific tools like Google Trends and keyword search volumes across international regions to quantify brand equity.3:56–8:19 · Guest teaching 5/10 Scaling G2 Marketplace Through Technical SEO and SERP Optimization Nathan demonstrates solid SEO knowledge by drilling into technical schemas and competitive SERP dynamics, specifically querying G2's use of FAQ schema dropdowns. Kevin explains the counterintuitive nuance of how snippet drop-downs act as appetizers rather than stealing search traffic.8:20–12:57 · Guest teaching 6/10 G2 Internal Team Alignment and Content Hub Strategy Kevin details organizational alignment between marketing and product engineering at G2 as well as the top-of-funnel content hub strategy. Nathan primarily facilitates by prompting for metrics and internal team structures.12:57–16:28 · Guest teaching 6/10 SEO Hygiene Tools and the Psychology of Trust Badges Nathan asks for specific log file tool recommendations and inquires about the value of rating badges. Kevin educates on how badges function as broader brand trust signals and unlinked mentions rather than simple backlink acquisition.16:30–22:25 · Guest teaching 6/10 Transitioning to Shopify and Global SEO Scaling Tactics Nathan aggressively interrupts and pushes back against Kevin's high-level strategy explanations, demanding concrete tactics and bluntly calling brand strength concepts 'fluffy.' Kevin responds directly with specific tools like Google Trends and keyword search volumes across international regions to quantify brand equity.3:56–8:19 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Scaling G2 Marketplace Through Technical SEO and SERP Optimization Nathan demonstrates solid SEO knowledge by drilling into technical schemas and competitive SERP dynamics, specifically querying G2's use of FAQ schema dropdowns. Kevin explains the counterintuitive nuance of how snippet drop-downs act as appetizers rather than stealing search traffic.8:20–12:57 · Guest disagreement 0/10 G2 Internal Team Alignment and Content Hub Strategy Kevin details organizational alignment between marketing and product engineering at G2 as well as the top-of-funnel content hub strategy. Nathan primarily facilitates by prompting for metrics and internal team structures.12:57–16:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 SEO Hygiene Tools and the Psychology of Trust Badges Nathan asks for specific log file tool recommendations and inquires about the value of rating badges. Kevin educates on how badges function as broader brand trust signals and unlinked mentions rather than simple backlink acquisition.16:30–22:25 · Guest disagreement 2/10 Transitioning to Shopify and Global SEO Scaling Tactics Nathan aggressively interrupts and pushes back against Kevin's high-level strategy explanations, demanding concrete tactics and bluntly calling brand strength concepts 'fluffy.' Kevin responds directly with specific tools like Google Trends and keyword search volumes across international regions to quantify brand equity.3:56–8:19 · Nathan pushing back 3/10 Scaling G2 Marketplace Through Technical SEO and SERP Optimization Nathan demonstrates solid SEO knowledge by drilling into technical schemas and competitive SERP dynamics, specifically querying G2's use of FAQ schema dropdowns. Kevin explains the counterintuitive nuance of how snippet drop-downs act as appetizers rather than stealing search traffic.8:20–12:57 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 G2 Internal Team Alignment and Content Hub Strategy Kevin details organizational alignment between marketing and product engineering at G2 as well as the top-of-funnel content hub strategy. Nathan primarily facilitates by prompting for metrics and internal team structures.12:57–16:28 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 SEO Hygiene Tools and the Psychology of Trust Badges Nathan asks for specific log file tool recommendations and inquires about the value of rating badges. Kevin educates on how badges function as broader brand trust signals and unlinked mentions rather than simple backlink acquisition.16:30–22:25 · Nathan pushing back 7/10 Transitioning to Shopify and Global SEO Scaling Tactics Nathan aggressively interrupts and pushes back against Kevin's high-level strategy explanations, demanding concrete tactics and bluntly calling brand strength concepts 'fluffy.' Kevin responds directly with specific tools like Google Trends and keyword search volumes across international regions to quantify brand equity.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 55.4% · guest 44.6%0:00 · Nathan 55.4% · guest 44.6%3:00 · Nathan 23.4% · guest 76.6%3:00 · Nathan 23.4% · guest 76.6%6:00 · Nathan 19.7% · guest 80.3%6:00 · Nathan 19.7% · guest 80.3%9:00 · Nathan 8.2% · guest 91.8%9:00 · Nathan 8.2% · guest 91.8%12:00 · Nathan 10.3% · guest 89.7%12:00 · Nathan 10.3% · guest 89.7%15:00 · Nathan 9.9% · guest 90.1%15:00 · Nathan 9.9% · guest 90.1%18:00 · Nathan 7.3% · guest 92.7%18:00 · Nathan 7.3% · guest 92.7%21:00 · Nathan 13.7% · guest 86.3%21:00 · Nathan 13.7% · guest 86.3%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 19:42 Polite resistance to redundant tactic requests

Kevin pushes back when Nathan asks for more tactics, noting they already covered several and emphasizing that effective SEO heavily depends on the specific site context.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 21:52 Calling out strategic generalities as fluffy

Nathan cuts in aggressively to demand concrete quantification, directly calling Kevin's assessment descriptions fluffy.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 7:28 Explaining why rich FAQ snippets increase CTR

Kevin reframes Nathan's assumption that FAQ schemas cannibalize traffic by detailing how rich snippets act as an appetizer in research-heavy niches.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 7:02 Technical metadata and FAQ schema probing

Nathan showcases his technical understanding of SERP mechanics by bringing up specific competitor testing around FAQ schema implementation.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Scaling G2 Marketplace Through Technical SEO and SERP Optimization 6513 Nathan demonstrates solid SEO knowledge by drilling into technical schemas and competitive SERP dynamics, specifically querying G2's use of FAQ schema dropdowns. Kevin explains the counterintuitive nuance of how snippet drop-downs act as appetizers rather than stealing search traffic.
G2 Internal Team Alignment and Content Hub Strategy 3602 Kevin details organizational alignment between marketing and product engineering at G2 as well as the top-of-funnel content hub strategy. Nathan primarily facilitates by prompting for metrics and internal team structures.
SEO Hygiene Tools and the Psychology of Trust Badges 4602 Nathan asks for specific log file tool recommendations and inquires about the value of rating badges. Kevin educates on how badges function as broader brand trust signals and unlinked mentions rather than simple backlink acquisition.
Transitioning to Shopify and Global SEO Scaling Tactics 5627 Nathan aggressively interrupts and pushes back against Kevin's high-level strategy explanations, demanding concrete tactics and bluntly calling brand strength concepts 'fluffy.' Kevin responds directly with specific tools like Google Trends and keyword search volumes across international regions to quantify brand equity.

Statements from this episode (7)

Opinion
Indig: Software review SEO is second only to finance and insurance
“It's probably one of the most competitive spaces on the internet after the finance and insurance and credit card space.”
Kevin Indig Jan 28, 2021 ▶ 5:36
Assertion Supported
Indig: G2 is the software marketplace with the most reviews
“G two is the marketplace with the most software reviews.”
Kevin Indig Jan 28, 2021 ▶ 5:58
Insight
Indig: FAQ schema snippets increased G2's organic click-through rates
“At the very beginning, when Google wrote FAQ schema out there was a lot of controversy around this and some sites reported lower click rates. We, on the other hand, we're, we noticed the opposite and it's interesting because it seems that FAQ, or at least the …”
Kevin Indig Jan 28, 2021 ▶ 7:32
Disclosure
Indig: G2 aligned marketing and engineering teams under identical milestones
“We were Set under marketing, and we had a product organization with engineers. So one of the main challenges that we tackled, faced, and solved is to work very closely with the engineering organization. And we did that by just setting the same goal, right? We …”
Kevin Indig Jan 28, 2021 ▶ 10:13
Insight
Indig: Brand visibility matters more for SEO than backlinks
“Backlinks, still important in SEO, but the overall perception and visibility of the brand is much more important, right?”
Kevin Indig Jan 28, 2021 ▶ 15:36
Opinion
Indig: Google likely tracks unlinked brand mentions for SEO
“So we think that Google even looks at unlinked mentions on other sites, meaning you don't even need a backlink, but when Forbes or New York Times or these big publishers write a lot and mention your name a lot, that could be a signal that Google might be able …”
Kevin Indig Jan 28, 2021 ▶ 15:44
Insight
Indig: Content pruning works surprisingly well for large-scale enterprise SEO
“If you work with you know, a site similar to G two or Shopify there's a lot you can do, for example, the content pruning space where you look at what content performs well, what doesn't perform well, and then either consolidate the content that doesn't perform…”
Kevin Indig Jan 28, 2021 ▶ 19:54
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