804: The New Rules of SEO in 2026 with Casey Markee

Megan chats with Casey Markee about the massive shifts happening in SEO, AI search, semantic content, and what food bloggers must do now to stay visible and profitable.

Casey Markee is the owner of internet consultancy Media Wyse. An SEO for over 25 years, he has been working exclusively with food and lifestyle bloggers since 2015. During that time, he's worked with thousands of bloggers across every recipe niche imaginable. He likes long walks to the refrigerator and back and believes bacon and candy corn are gourmet foods.

SEO is changing faster than most food bloggers realize. In this episode, Casey breaks down why Google has shifted from keywords to intent, how AI is changing search behavior, and which outdated SEO practices are quietly hurting rankings. He also shares practical strategies for improving recipe content, increasing visibility in AI search, and building a site that can compete long-term in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Key Topics Discussed:

- Google now prioritizes intent and semantic relevance over exact match keywords.

- AI summaries and AI buttons can increase visibility and referral traffic.

- Thin and outdated content weakens the overall strength of your site.

- Readability matters more than optimization scores from SEO tools.

- Internal linking strategy directly impacts rankings and topical authority.

- Popups consistently hurt crawl quality and search performance.

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