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Live Session July '24 - recap

Video, summary, Q&A, show notes and registration link for the next session
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Thank you all for joining the first Growth Memo Live Session!

Register for the next Live Session on August 23rd, 9 AM ET:

August Live Session

Below is a summary of the session, a link to the slide deck and the tools I mentioned!

Slide deck

The deck includes links to all cited sources. It’s meant for you to read it (and peek into the slide notes):

Slide deck

Summary

The live session covered recent developments in SEO, emphasizing the shift towards AI, the importance of data journalism and product-led SEO, and the need for speed and adaptability in the evolving SEO landscape.

June Content Review

We began with a recap of June's paid content, including highlights from my presentation at SaaS Talk in Austin. The presentation focused on "What the Best Do Best," summarizing key strategies from successful clients and other top sites. The central theme was the shift from "growth at all costs" to "profitable growth," driven by changes in the economic environment and a renewed focus on profitability.

Major SEO Shifts:

  1. From Text to Tools: The traditional method of scaling through blog content is being overtaken by the use of tools. These tools, such as lead generation quizzes and AI-driven solutions, offer more interactive and conversion-friendly alternatives to static text.

  2. Scaling Qualitative Research: Leveraging AI to analyze customer conversations allows for a deeper understanding of customer needs and more targeted content creation. Tools like Humata AI help extract valuable insights from customer interactions.

  3. Data Journalism Over Link Building: The focus shifts from traditional link-building tactics to creating stories based on first-party data. This involves using data from your product, surveys, and market research to generate compelling, newsworthy content.

  4. Programmatic SEO: Contrary to its bad reputation, programmatic SEO can be incredibly effective. It involves creating data-driven content at scale and integrating SEO closely with product development.

  5. Product-Led SEO: This approach integrates SEO into the product itself, enhancing both user experience and search visibility. Companies like TripAdvisor and Zillow exemplify the power of product-led SEO.

Travel Industry Deep Dive

My analysis of the travel industry revealed that it is one of the most competitive sectors on Google, with top aggregators like Booking.com and Expedia dominating the market. Key takeaways include the importance of local strategies, mobile optimization, and the need for brands to perform well both on their sites and within aggregator platforms.

Critical News Highlights

  • AI Licensing Deals: Companies like Shutterstock and The Atlantic have entered lucrative licensing deals with LLM developers, reflecting the growing value of high-quality content in training AI models.

  • Apple's AI Entry: Apple's introduction of Apple Intelligence marks its significant entry into the AI space, leveraging its device-level integration for enhanced user experiences.

  • YouTube's AI Features: YouTube has launched features like Skip Ahead and conversational AI, aiming to improve user engagement and cater to the trend of shorter attention spans.

Future Trends

  • Semiconductor Industry Boom: The semiconductor industry is set to become a $1 trillion market by the end of the decade, fueled by substantial investments from the US, South Korea, and China.

  • Amazon's Data Center Expansion: Amazon plans to build over 200 data centers, shifting its capital expenditure from logistics to data infrastructure to support AI and AWS growth.

Q&A

Q: What is the typical conversion rate from blogs? How can we increase the conversion rate from blog content?

A: "The conversion rate varies wildly...on average, anything around 1% is considered quite good." To increase the conversion rate, "write about problems that people care about, so they would actually consider buying a product." I also emphasized using effective CTAs and offering different levels of CTAs to cater to varying user interests.

Q: With the evolution of the SEO market with AI and search engines being embedded in new AI chatbots, how do you see the roles of pillar SEO tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush evolving within this landscape? What do you think the strategies of these companies will be to stay relevant in this ever-evolving SEO market?

A: I explained that the evolution of these tools would depend on the direction SEO takes. "If we are in a world where search engines with blue links are the main thing, then their focus will probably revolve around that. If we move into a world where everything is chat-based or voice-based, they will adapt and aggregate data accordingly."

Q: Bing is testing with a new SERP layout focused on AI, pushing traditional blue links to the right-hand side. Search GPT is in the works. Google sooner pre-tries, said AI is the future, etc. Do you think users will shift to AI and abandon search? How long will this take? What does this mean to SEO and SEOs?

A: I notice that early adopters are already using AI tools and using search less for learning and finding answers. However, search engines might still be preferred for product or transactional searches. The shift to AI will depend on the type of search, technological advancements, and adoption by late adopters, which could take around three years. For SEOs, it means focusing on specific verticals, understanding user intent, and building strong brands to drive traffic.

Q: You mentioned that not all businesses will be able to benefit from the new way SEO should be done. What industries do you think will be affected the most?

A: Product-led SEO is most suitable for marketplaces, some SaaS companies, and some e-commerce companies. "Those that are probably going to be affected the most are those that are going to adapt the slowest."

Tools mentioned

Tools to visualize Data Stories:

Extract insights from customer conversation transcripts:

Over to you:

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