Semantic SEO in the AI Era with Koray Tugberk GÜBÜR
Wed Jan 14 2026
In this episode, John Wright sits down with Koray Tugberk GÜBÜR, one of the most respected voices in semantic SEO, to unpack how Google actually understands, ranks, and retrieves content in the age of AI. The conversation goes far beyond traditional keyword-based SEO and dives into vector search, entity relationships, topical authority, and how large language models are reshaping search as we know it.
Koray explains why semantic SEO is not a “new trend,” but a system Google has been building toward for years and why many websites fail when they treat AI as a shortcut instead of an infrastructure shift. From vectorizing your own content and reducing dimensionality in SEO data, to understanding momentum, crawl behavior, and layout-based ranking signals, this episode breaks down what actually matters if you want to rank sustainably.
The discussion also explores real-world use cases for affiliates, SaaS companies, and publishers, including how AI-generated content can be used safely, why user-generated signals are becoming increasingly important, and how Google Search Console is evolving into a topic and entity-driven analytics tool. Koray shares practical insights on personalization, content repurposing, podcast-to-SEO workflows, and how creators can influence both traditional search results and AI-generated answers.
If you’re building content for Google, YouTube, or AI-powered search experiences or trying to understand why semantic search, vector databases, and entities are now foundational, this episode offers a deep, practical look at where search is headed and how to adapt without chasing hype.
Timestamp
00:00 Introduction and Industry Overview
00:12 Welcome to Revenue Optimization with Stats Drone
00:34 Building an Affiliate Product
01:05 Vectorizing Data for SEO
01:24 Search Beat: Analyzing Search Engine Results
04:18 Semantic SEO and Content Management
09:36 AI Tools and Content Generation
20:28 Google Search Console and Future Trends
31:41 Identifying User Clicks and Tracking
32:05 Permission-Based Tracking and Revenue Matching
32:20 Keyword Hero and Google Analytics Partnership
32:51 Implementing Click ID Level Tracking
33:55 Personalization in Newsletters and Websites
36:11 SEO Strategies and Personalization Challenges
39:42 Optimizing Content for Search Engines
45:53 Future of SEO and Personalization
48:27 Podcast Content Strategy and Repurposing
51:53 Improving Affiliate Program Rankings
55:47 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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In this episode, John Wright sits down with Koray Tugberk GÜBÜR, one of the most respected voices in semantic SEO, to unpack how Google actually understands, ranks, and retrieves content in the age of AI. The conversation goes far beyond traditional keyword-based SEO and dives into vector search, entity relationships, topical authority, and how large language models are reshaping search as we know it. Koray explains why semantic SEO is not a “new trend,” but a system Google has been building toward for years and why many websites fail when they treat AI as a shortcut instead of an infrastructure shift. From vectorizing your own content and reducing dimensionality in SEO data, to understanding momentum, crawl behavior, and layout-based ranking signals, this episode breaks down what actually matters if you want to rank sustainably. The discussion also explores real-world use cases for affiliates, SaaS companies, and publishers, including how AI-generated content can be used safely, why user-generated signals are becoming increasingly important, and how Google Search Console is evolving into a topic and entity-driven analytics tool. Koray shares practical insights on personalization, content repurposing, podcast-to-SEO workflows, and how creators can influence both traditional search results and AI-generated answers. If you’re building content for Google, YouTube, or AI-powered search experiences or trying to understand why semantic search, vector databases, and entities are now foundational, this episode offers a deep, practical look at where search is headed and how to adapt without chasing hype. Timestamp 00:00 Introduction and Industry Overview 00:12 Welcome to Revenue Optimization with Stats Drone 00:34 Building an Affiliate Product 01:05 Vectorizing Data for SEO 01:24 Search Beat: Analyzing Search Engine Results 04:18 Semantic SEO and Content Management 09:36 AI Tools and Content Generation 20:28 Google Search Console and Future Trends 31:41 Identifying User Clicks and Tracking 32:05 Permission-Based Tracking and Revenue Matching 32:20 Keyword Hero and Google Analytics Partnership 32:51 Implementing Click ID Level Tracking 33:55 Personalization in Newsletters and Websites 36:11 SEO Strategies and Personalization Challenges 39:42 Optimizing Content for Search Engines 45:53 Future of SEO and Personalization 48:27 Podcast Content Strategy and Repurposing 51:53 Improving Affiliate Program Rankings 55:47 Conclusion and Final Thoughts