Rethinking SEO in the age of AI | Eli Schwartz (SEO advisor, author)

Eli Schwartz is a leading SEO consultant and the author of Product-Led SEO. He has worked with industry giants like Zapier, Tinder, Coinbase, Quora, LinkedIn, and WordPress to build and execute global SEO strategies that significantly enhanced their organic visibility at scale. In our conversation, Eli shares:
• How AI and LLMs are reshaping the SEO landscape
• Why you should be focused on mid-funnel SEO strategies
• How to determine if SEO is the right approach for your business
• Why SEO should be treated as a product rather than just a marketing tactic
• SEO myths
• The future of search in light of recent legal challenges faced by Google
• Much more

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Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/re...

Where to find Eli Schwartz:
• X: https://x.com/5le
• LinkedIn:   / schwartze  
• Website: https://www.elischwartz.co/
• Newsletter: https://www.productledseo.com/

Where to find Lenny:
• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com
• X:   / lennysan  
• LinkedIn:   / lennyrachitsky  

In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Eli’s background
(02:10) The impact of AI on SEO strategies
(11:34) Understanding search intent
(15:30) Real-world impact and structured vs. unstructured data
(20:19) Top-of-funnel vs mid-funnel SEO strategies
(22:57) Case studies
(31:29) Steps for getting started with SEO
(35:20) Examples of when not to focus on SEO
(39:17) Evaluating SEO investment
(44:00) Understanding the tradeoffs in marketing channels
(46:23) SEO conversion metrics and expectations
(52:09) Understanding the time horizon of SEO
(59:37) The role of AI in content creation
(01:05:26) AI overviews
(01:07:40) Brand building and SEO
(01:09:51) Programmatic vs. editorial SEO strategies
(01:16:06) Insights from the Google antitrust verdict
(01:20:36) Google’s dominance in search
(01:23:52) The future of SEO and user choice
(01:26:28) SEO myths debunked
(01:36:58) Forecasting SEO success
(01:44:18) The need for SEO expertise
(01:46:26) Lightning round and closing thoughts

Referenced:
• Product-Led SEO: The Why Behind Building Your Organic Growth Strategy: https://www.amazon.com/Product-Led-SE...
• SurveyMonkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/
• Google AI: https://ai.google/
• Perplexity: https://www.perplexity.ai/
• Claude: https://claude.ai/
• G2: https://www.g2.com/
• Riverside: https://riverside.fm/
• Zapier: https://zapier.com/
• Wade Foster on LinkedIn:   / wadefoster  
• Salesforce: https://www.salesforce.com/
• Tinder: https://tinder.com/
• Udi Milo on LinkedIn:   / udimilo  
• The ultimate guide to SEO | Ethan Smith (Graphite): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/th...
• Mixpanel: https://mixpanel.com/
• Vanta: https://www.vanta.com
• Quora: https://www.quora.com/
• Canva: https://www.canva.com
• Notion: https://www.notion.so/
• Red Ventures: https://www.redventures.com/
• CNet: https://www.cnet.com/
• Noah Smith on X: https://x.com/noahpinion
• Noahpinion newsletter: https://www.noahpinion.blog/
• Leveraging growth advisors, hiring well, mastering SEO, and honing your craft | Luc Levesque (Shopify, Meta, TripAdvisor): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/le...
• Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/
• Zillow: https://www.zillow.com/
• Capterra: https://www.capterra.com/
• U.S. v. Google: all the news from the search antitrust showdown: https://www.theverge.com/23869483/us-...
• Bing: https://www.bing.com/
• Neeva: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neeva
• Google’s tweet about the antitrust case: https://x.com/Google_Comms/status/182...
• Mailbag: Google and Antitrust Festivus, Credit Card Dominance, AI for Movies and Writing, Shohei’s Contract | Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast...
• DuckDuckGo: https://duckduckgo.com/
• Kayak: https://www.kayak.com/
• Expedia: https://www.expedia.com/
• Faire: https://www.faire.com/
• Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/
• WordPress: https://wordpress.com/
• Semrush: https://www.semrush.com/
• Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/
• Similarweb: https://www.similarweb.com/
...References continued at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/re...

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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.