"Just GPT it" is all the rage right now.
(Okay, okay. It hasn't caught on just yet. But my Uber driver said it, and I hope it sticks.)
But our marketing leader this week isn't sweating it. She doesn't think SEO is going anywhere.
"I remember when people were saying up to 50% of queries were going to be handled by voice assistants. The SEO industry was in a tizzy over it," she told me with a laugh.
"And the only thing I ask my Alexa for is the weather. So I wouldn't write [Google] off."
She's also HubSpot's senior director of global growth, so I'll take her word over my Uber driver's .
Lesson 1: Go non-monogamous with Google.
The HubSpot Blog team has been running on Google fumes for years, and we've racked up millions of views in organic traffic based on high-intent searches. It's also how we attracted many of our current customers.
Aja Frost, who started on the Blog team in 2017 (back when "SEO strategy" was based on our own personal whims that day), knows Google's value better than anyone.
But she tells me it's time for a new playbook.
"The encroachment of AI search has required us to lean into other channels like YouTube, micro-apps, and areas we see as more defensible against AI. And it’s pushed us to figure out new ways to be ultra-helpful to our reader," she says.
Frost’s tip for any marketing leader? Spread the love. Test out Substack, team up with creators, or invest in your own micro-apps.
Google is still a viable channel. It's just not the only one.
Lesson 2: The days of reverse-engineering algorithms are over — and that's a good thing.
I asked Frost — in the same tone of voice you'd use to avoid scaring the neighborhood cat — if she's concerned about the future of SEO in the midst of AI search. (I asked timidly because, you know… SEO is still her job.)
But she adamantly shook her head. "I think it's one of the most exciting developments over the last two years. For so long, we have all just oriented toward Google, and reverse-engineering the Google algorithm has, in many ways, stifled innovation in content marketing and SEO."
She adds, "If there is a more competitive landscape, then the relationship between SEO or content strategist and search engine could change pretty dramatically. It could be a much more collaborative, mutually beneficial relationship."
Frost sees the future of SEO as a shift from obsessing over algorithms to building real partnerships with search engines.
Is there a world where Google takes input from little old me, a content creator? We'll see.
Lesson 3: Stop writing off marketing channels as "dead."
One of Frost's pet peeves is knee-jerk reactions to industry hype.
"What bugs me is when people say any channel is dead, and this applies to search, too," she says.
"I definitely don't think search is dead. I don't think podcasts are dead. I don't think any channels are dead. I think you can make any channel work really well for you."
I'm seriously hoping MySpace is "no longer with us", but I concede her point.
She adds, "That doesn't mean we should all go out and invest in channels that aren't working for us — but it does mean don't write something off if your intuition says it could work."
Lesson 4: Focus on expertise.
Questions like “How do I do XYZ?” get funneled straight to ChatGPT these days. So if your SEO strategy revolves around basic definitions or info keywords, brace yourself for a traffic drop.
But when it comes to complex or opinion-based topics, readers still want the human touch.
Case in point: my recent obsession with LED red light therapy.
Those at-home LED masks cost about a bajillion dollars, so I wanted to know: Will I look like a newborn baby if I purchase the mask, or will I be shining a bright red light in my face for 10 minutes while the company's CEO laughs all the way to the bank?
I didn't turn to GPT for my skin aging concerns; I turned to Google, and asked, "What do dermatologists say about LED red light therapy?"
This isn't supposed to be an infomercial for red light therapy (although any brands looking to give one away, hit me up ✋), but the point holds: People still turn to websites for answers to more complex, nuanced questions. Not AI.
Frost is all-in on adding expertise (the extra "E" in Google's new E-E-A-T rankings) to your posts.
As she puts it, "You're talking to me because I have a ton of experience in SEO. This content wouldn't pack the same punch if you were chatting with someone who just joined the SEO team. In general, the more expertise the better."
She has some additional advice, as well: "Make sure you really outline that expertise in the post itself with relevant information and examples. Highlight to Google — and more importantly, the reader — that you know what you're talking about."
