“Just GPT it” is all the rage right now.
(Okay, okay. It didn’t catch on just more. But my Uber driver said so, and I hope it sticks.)
But this week’s marketing leader isn’t sweating it. She doesn’t think SEO is going anywhere.
“I remember when people were saying that up to 50% of queries would be handled by voice assistants. The SEO industry was in an uproar over that,” she told me with a laugh.
“And the only thing I ask my Alexa 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 for it over an Uber driver.
Lesson 1: Be non-monogamous with Google.
The HubSpot Blog team has been working on Google smoke for years, and we’ve collected millions of views in organic traffic based on high-intent searches. That’s how we attracted many of our current customers.
Aja Frost, who started with the Blog team in 2017 (back in the day when “SEO strategy” was based on our personal whims), knows the value of Google better than anyone.
But she tells me it’s time for a new book.
“Making inroads into search AI has required us to rely on other channels like YouTube, micro-apps, and areas we feel are more defensible against AI. And that’s encouraged us to come up with new ways to be of great help to our readers,” she says.
Frost’s advice for every marketing leader? Spread the love. Try Substack, partner with creators, or invest in your own microapps.
Google is still a viable channel. He’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 neighbor’s cat — if she was worried about the future of SEO amid AI search. (I asked sheepishly because, you know…SEO is still her job.)
But she shook her head steadfastly. “I think it’s one of the most exciting events of the last two years. For so long, we’ve all been Google oriented, and reverse engineering the Google algorithm has, in many ways, stifled innovation in content marketing and SEO.”
She adds, “If there’s a more competitive landscape, then the relationship between SEOs or content strategists and search engines could change quite 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 the little old ones withcontent creator? We’ll see.
Lesson 3: Stop writing off marketing channels as “dead”.
One of Frost’s favorite reactions is the reaction to the industry.
“What bothers me is when people say any channel is dead, and that includes search,” she says.
“I definitely don’t think search is dead. I don’t think podcasts are dead. I don’t think any channel is dead. I think you can make any channel work really well for you.”
I seriously hope MySpace is “no longer with us” but I take her point.
She adds, “That doesn’t mean we should all go out and invest in channels that aren’t working for us — but works so don’t write something off if your intuition says it might work.”
Lesson 4: Focus on expertise.
Questions like “How do I do XYZ?” direct you directly to ChatGPT these days. So if your SEO strategy revolves around basic definitions or keywords, prepare for a drop in traffic.
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 homemade LED masks cost about a bajillion dollars, so I wanted to know: Will I look like a newborn if I buy the mask, or will I be shining a bright red light in my face for 10 minutes while the CEO of the company laughs all the way to the bank?
I did not turn to GPT for skin aging issues; I turned to Google and asked, “What should I do dermatologists say about LED red light therapy?”
This shouldn’t be an advertisement for red light therapy (although any brands that want to give it away, hit me up ✋), but the point is: people still turn to websites for answers to more complex, nuanced questions. Swimming AI.
Frost is all about adding expertise (an extra “E” in Google’s new EEAT rankings) to your posts.
As she says, “You’re talking to me because I have a lot of experience in SEO. This content wouldn’t have the same effect if you were talking to someone who just joined the SEO team. In general, the more expertise the better.”
She also has some additional advice: “Make sure you really outline that expertise in the post itself with relevant information and examples. Show Google—and more importantly, the reader—that you know what you’re talking about.”
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/hubspot-senior-director-ai-search
