The SEO Tree: Connect Stories, Guides and Business Pages

New articles need a clear purpose and a place in the site’s topic map. Every piece of content you create needs to fit within a larger structure, what we call the SEO Tree. In this training, Dylan Haugen and I walk through exactly how this framework works, why most people get it wrong, and how to fix it.

Context over chaos

The number one mistake we see from VAs, freelancers, and even experienced marketers is that they create content without understanding the business behind it. They know how to use tools. They know how to write. But they don’t understand the goals, content, and targeting of the business they’re working for.

If you’re turning a video into an article and you don’t understand the topic, the client’s customers, or how that content fits into everything else the business has published, you’re creating what I call unintentional, well-meaning vandalism. Skill with editing or writing software does not supply that context. Without context, the new piece may miss the reader’s need or duplicate a guide the site already has.

Take Dylan Haugen as an example. He wrote an article on his personal website honoring his friend Travis Reynolds, a professional dunker.

The goal was simple: rank on Travis’s name since there wasn’t much information about him online. Dylan describes a later training trip to North Carolina that supplied more videos and stories.

New stories can add detail to the main article about Travis. Give the story its specific lesson, then connect it to the broader person page. That is the tree relationship illustrated here; current rankings need separate evidence.

Now imagine someone else is assigned to process one of those dunking videos. If they don’t understand the difference between professional dunking and just playing basketball, they won’t process the images, social media posts, or video clips correctly. They lack the context. And that’s why we call our approach Learn, Do, Teach. If you’re turning a video into an article, you’re teaching, even if you don’t realize it. So you need to actually understand what you’re teaching.

And those connections go deeper. Jordan Kannon has met with Dylan and talked with Travis. Travis was already on the Dunk Talk podcast hosted by Dylan. If you don’t know who the other dunkers are, why they go to competitions, what kinds of awards and prizes and money they might win, you can’t properly repurpose that content. The goals, content, and targeting for Dylan’s dunking content is a whole tree of its own.

In this recorded training, I describe a retreat in Idaho called Startups with Stu, with a lot of LDS entrepreneurs.

Stuart Draper was there. The example shows why the people and setting matter when repurposing a conversation.

Jeremy Barker, the founder of Murphy Door, was there. Some people had just gotten back from their two-year missions telling the world about Jesus, knocking on doors and selling pest control. Without understanding that context, we wouldn’t be able to write an article that properly honored the people we met at that mastermind. And even if we wrote an okay article using deep research tools, for it to be valuable it has to make money somehow.

That article would need to link to our AI Builder Program, which is related. It would need to link to the Four-Stage Content Factory, which is how we process content.

It would link to how to start a podcast and interview someone, because I interviewed Sam McLeod on my podcast, the Coach Yu Show. You’d need the context that our mission is to create jobs for young adults doing digital marketing to drive revenue for local service businesses. Without that context, the article doesn’t fit into the tree and doesn’t help drive business.

The SEO tree framework

Think about a website’s content like a tree. At the top, you have the root, which is usually the homepage or brand name. That page introduces the person or business. From there, you have the trunk, which branches into major topics. Those branches split into smaller subtopics, and at the very tips you have leaves, the specific examples, blog posts, and detailed content.

Move up the tree for broader context, down for specific detail, and across for a related topic. These are page relationships, not a promise that one page has more search authority.

Give each useful page a clear relationship to the rest of the site. Add relevant incoming and outgoing links so readers can find it and understand its context. Missing links need a check; they do not by themselves prove a ranking loss.

As Dylan put it, the biggest thing is having everything reinforce itself. Not just making the same thing over and over again, but having everything fit into the concept of the tree.

The key insight is that most of the time, new content should enhance existing content rather than stand alone. If an article is already ranking, make it better by adding more examples, more links, and more depth. Create a new page when it serves a distinct reader need: a real case story, a new task, or a useful related topic. First compare the pages you have, then give the new piece a clear role and links to the pages it supports.

EEAT: why real experience matters

E-E-A-T means Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. Google’s helpful content guidance explains these qualities; it is not a single ranking factor. Our practical guide, I Love to EEAT, shows how to apply them to real content.

What Google wants to see is real, unique experience. When there’s a webinar, a dunking event in North Carolina, or the Startups with Stu mastermind in Idaho, there are specific experiences. A camera capturing a scene of specific people doing specific things in a specific place at a specific time. Those connections between real people, real companies, and real customers are the raw ingredients that Google and ChatGPT look for to determine if content is real, helpful, and unique.

As Dylan develops his relationship with Travis Reynolds over time, there are more connections. As Travis continues to win awards or unlock new dunks, that enhances his EEAT, which means we need to go back and enhance those articles and strengthen the connections between those related topics.

A page needs useful information and proof the reader can check. AI can help prepare it, but generic copy does not demonstrate the work or experience behind a claim.

The Content Factory: produce, process, post, promote

We use a four-stage system called the Content Factory. Stage one is Produce: record real work or a useful conversation. An interview can supply firsthand material about the people and topic. Stage two is Process, which is where you take that raw content and turn it into articles, social posts, and other formats. Stage three is Post, distributing it across channels. Stage four is Promote, where you run ads, gather feedback, and amplify what’s working.

The important thing is that one person should be able to take content through all four stages. Henry, one of our team members, started out only knowing basic video editing.

For a while, Dylan would edit the videos and then Dylan would go post them for clients. That just doesn’t make sense. It’s much better for the person who processed the content and already understands it to go post it and promote it too.

As Dylan says, it’s really not that hard. Taking a video that’s already done and putting it on YouTube is simple. Boosting posts is simple once you do it once. Being open to learning all parts of the process is where the true value is.

Our friend Dan Leibrandt of Pest Control Millionaires demonstrates this perfectly.

He shows how he edits videos and he does almost nothing to them. Why? Because he has a good guest who’s authoritative in a certain topic, he asks good questions, and they have a good conversation. The raw video with just a couple minutes of editing is all that’s necessary. A useful conversation supplies the material for the later article and clips.

In the Thursday Office Hours demonstration discussed here, I took a recording through editing, a blog post, social sharing and an ad. Those are the four stages. Use the maintained Content Factory guide for the current tools and channel checks; the recording illustrates the connection between stages.

Why single-tool specialists fail

If you only know one tool or one platform, you’re at risk. We don’t need someone who only does Instagram reels or only does thumbnails or only does technical SEO audits. What matters is the ability to see content all the way through from production to revenue.

Can you show what happened after an article was published? Keep dated measures for search visibility, visits and useful business actions. Those measures answer different questions; a change in one does not prove the next result or what caused it.

Being a specialist in one narrow tool makes you replaceable. Being someone who understands the full picture and can drive business results makes you invaluable. Jack Wendt, Henry, and other successful young adults on our team have demonstrated this. They didn’t just learn one thing. They learned to see it all the way through.

Real example: Murphy Door

Murphy Door provides a useful example of a site that connects a brand, product topics and specific customer needs.

Its hidden-door and bookcase-door products give the site a clear central topic.

The screenshots from the training show brand, hidden-door and Murphy-bed topics. Use them to study the page relationships; they are historical views, not current traffic reports.

The homepage connects to product topics, including Murphy beds and Murphy bed desks. A guide about a Murphy bed with a desk can help with a more specific choice than a general Murphy-bed guide.

The training examines a Murphy bed desk page as a smaller topic within that structure.

But it could be better.

It has very few actual examples of a Murphy bed with a desk. There could be blog posts showing specific customers, specific room configurations, and specific use cases, all linking back up to that product page.

If someone writes an article about “20 amazing Murphy bed desks” but doesn’t link it back through the tree, it creates confusion. The leaf has to connect to the branch, the branch to the limb, the limb to the trunk, and the trunk to the root.

The training also examines an article called “Creative and Practical Small Gun Room Ideas for Limited Spaces.” The useful review question is whether it helps with that specific need and gives evidence readers can check. Its appearance alone does not establish how it was written or its future rankings.

A reader may use terms such as “wall bed,” “full-size Murphy bed” or “queen Murphy bed.” Explain the relevant options where they help the reader. A wording variation does not automatically need a separate page.

What not to do: the plumber case study

This published example examines repeated location pages for Plumbing Pros in Easton, Pennsylvania.

The training compares location-service pages with repeated copy and changed town names. “Plumbing services in [town name]. At Plumbing Pros, we are proud to service [town name]. Reliable plumbing for [town name].”

The examples include Wind Gap, Hellertown and Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. Compare their repeated service language with the specific proof a local reader needs.

The screenshots below are historical page and search-tool views. They illustrate the review; they do not establish current traffic, revenue or how the copy was created.

Changing a town name does not supply evidence of work in that town.

The useful improvement is specific local evidence: a documented job, a customer’s account or a real video and photo tied to that place.

Add documented examples of plumbing work in each place when the evidence exists. Explain the job and include relevant photos, videos or attributed customer reviews. Do not invent local proof or promise that the change will rank.

A homepage, review page and helpful explanation of water pressure serve different reader needs. Connect them where the next page helps; check current search data separately when that is part of the job.

Internal linking rules

Internal linking is not about jamming as many links as possible into an article. It should help the reader find the next useful explanation. Every link should make sense in context. If someone is reading your article and they see a linked phrase, clicking it should take them to something that actually deepens their understanding.

Google’s guidance on crawlable links explains how links help it find pages and how anchor text helps it understand them. Choose words that describe the destination and make sense in this sentence.

Repeat a link when a later section gives the reader a useful reason to follow it. Repetition alone does not establish more ranking value. A call to action should clearly describe the next useful step.

A generic social-platform homepage rarely explains the topic in your sentence. Use the precise guide, profile, post or required action that serves the reader.

Link to the relevant guide, verified identity or precise source when it helps this reader. A tool can suggest a link; read the destination and apply the entity-linking guide before using it.

After you publish a page, keep it useful. For Local Service Spotlight (LSS) work, follow the knowledge-system maintenance guide. Check that the topic still fits its SEO Tree branch, the links lead to the right help, and the facts are current. Save each fix in the maintained page and its linked task instructions. Apply approved link choices and keep private account information out of public copy.

Enhance vs. create

Dylan and I start by checking whether existing content can serve this need. Every piece of content reinforces other content in a different way. Some are specific examples of us practicing what we preach. Those reinforce the bigger things like our definitive articles on each subject, or the packages and services we offer.

Those packages and service pages are money pages, and they raise a structural question worth its own guide: why your money pages belong in your site hierarchy as pages, not blog posts.

New proof often belongs on a page that already answers the same question. Add it there when it helps the reader. If a case story has a distinct lesson and enough real detail, it can have its own page and link back to the main guide.

A related topic may also need its own page when readers have a different question. For example, a “Murphy bed with desk” guide can support a broader “Murphy bed” guide if each helps with a distinct choice. Check the pages you already have, the available proof and the reader’s need before adding one. Search rank alone does not decide this.

A podcast episode is another useful source for a distinct article. An interview like this one can become its own webpage, video and snippets when there is enough useful material. But it links to all the other things we’re talking about, which is why in each section of this training we reference related concepts. We’re literally demonstrating the content tree in this discussion.

Banned phrases and fixes

We’ve built common AI giveaway phrases into our article guidelines. Phrases like “it’s a game changer,” “no more fluff,” and “here’s the real deal” are dead giveaways that content was AI-generated. If you use ChatGPT or any of these tools, you already know what we’re talking about. Don’t use them.

Instead, use real facts, real examples, and real names. Not just because we’re submitting for Google Knowledge Panels, but because real facts create real links. We have proof, which links to the leaf-level examples of detail. All of our content pages, like a bio for an entrepreneur, should link to the detail on what that entrepreneur has actually done. Not just “they’re a great entrepreneur and they love helping the community.” Real examples.

In the training, I mention interviewing Ethan Van De Hey about his work for Infinity Doors and Exteriors. A useful follow-up would record the real work and its sources before making any claim about SEO impact.

Your assignment

If you want to work with us, here’s what to do. Use a recording you are authorized to repurpose and turn it into an article following our guidelines.

Show that you understand the SEO Tree, EEAT, the Content Factory, and internal linking.

Don’t tell us you have five years of experience. Don’t tell us how great you are. Show us the work. We won’t ask whether you studied the training materials. We’ll know from your submission whether you did or didn’t.

If you’re an A-player, we want to work with you. The AI Builder Program offers the next training path. Start by showing useful work against these checks. Use the group to learn from the work people share. Your competition is yourself and your ability to do good work.

Think about Learn, Do, Teach. Think about Anthony Hilb, a landscaper in Bloomington, Indiana, who does great work out in the field, cutting down trees, training his staff, buying trucks for his people, talking to customers.

There are tons of proof of him and me hanging out at SeaWorld wearing silly hats, feeding monkeys, walking the coast in San Diego, and attending Perry Marshall’s Mastermind in Chicago. Everything we do is based on proof.

Watch this video. Watch the Nine Triangles video. Watch the Two-Sided Network video. Use these concepts to make your next piece of work more useful. Take action and let us know what you think.

The skill files for this page

Use the maintained task guides below for detailed work. Their Task Library records show the current instructions, examples and review state. A listed guide is not automatically verified. The tasks mapped to this framework share this topic hub; each keeps its own evidence and status.

The structural half of this framework now has its own instrument: the money tree draws any site’s SEO Tree from its real internal links, marks which branches are money pages, and names the six defects a sitemap hides — with a downloadable skill file so you can run it on your own site.

Originally published March 20, 2026.