Speaker 1: 1:00

So if you're leading a business today, maybe you felt it right that subtle sense that organic traffic isn't quite what it was.

Speaker 2: 1:08

Yeah, or the inbound leads feel a bit sluggish.

Speaker 1: 1:11

Exactly. And then leadership comes knocking, asking OK, where should this growth budget actually go? Because, let's face it, the search landscape, I mean the whole economics of it, has fundamentally changed.

Speaker 2: 1:21

You really have.

Speaker 1: 1:22

Which is why today we're doing a deep dive into AI era, seo strategy and budget for success. We've pulled together a lot of key insights from our source material to hopefully cut through some of the noise for you.

Speaker 2: 1:36

Yeah, our mission here is really to pull out those crucial insights we want to look at. You know what you should actually expect now with AI driven search, why a lot of the old methods just don't measure up anymore, and, critically, how to budget strategically so you actually succeed. Okay, we've got some, I think, surprising facts and definitely some actionable stuff that should give you a real shortcut to getting up to speed.

Speaker 1: 1:58

All right, let's dig in then. What is this fundamental shift? What's forcing everyone to completely rethink search strategy right now?

Speaker 2: 2:05

Well, the big seismic event was really Google launching its AI overviews.

Speaker 1: 2:08

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:09

That changed the game.

Speaker 1: 2:09

How so.

Speaker 2: 2:10

We're now seeing stats like nearly 60% of searches ending without a click. People get the answer right there in the overview 60%. Yeah, and on top of that you've got a growing number of users just bypassing Google altogether, going straight to tools like ChatGPP or Perplexity.

Speaker 1: 2:27

Okay, that is a massive shift. So what's the core implication for businesses then? If clicks are down but information is still being delivered, the implication is huge.

Speaker 2: 2:37

It doesn't matter quite as much which tool someone uses Google Perplexity, whatever. The result is similar. Only a tiny handful of really trusted sources actually get cited in those AI summaries.

Speaker 1: 2:48

And everyone else is just invisible.

Speaker 2: 2:50

Pretty much, yeah, invisible. So for revenue teams this totally reshapes expectations. You should probably expect lower click-through rates from your traditional organic rankings.

Speaker 1: 2:58

Right.

Speaker 2: 2:59

But the flip side is if your content does get cited by AI, that carries immense trust. We're seeing much higher conversion rates from that traffic.

Speaker 1: 3:09

OK, higher quality traffic potentially.

Speaker 2: 3:10

Definitely. But and this is the catch the climb to build that level of authority, the kind needed for AI citations, it's significantly steeper. Now. It's a whole new hurdle.

Speaker 1: 3:22

That steeper climb makes me immediately think about, you know, all those quick fix SEO promises you see advertised everywhere. Are those basically just dead in the water? Now? Why do the old tactics, the bargain basement, seo packages, fall so short in this new reality?

Speaker 2: 3:40

Well, fundamentally, it's because they cut corners, and AI, well, it's not very forgiving of shortcuts. How do they cut corners? Low budget providers.

Speaker 1: 3:45

It's not very forgiving of shortcuts. How do they cut?

Speaker 2: 3:45

corners, low budget providers. They scale by, skipping really critical steps. They automate things that honestly need careful, expert human judgment. There's a great quote from an industry vet Cheap SEO services aren't good and good SEO services aren't cheap.

Speaker 1: 3:59

You get what you pay for.

Speaker 2: 4:00

You really really do, Especially now.

Speaker 1: 4:02

And often that translates to like minimal content, minimal links. Right Given that AI seems to want deep, trustworthy information, why is that such a killer now?

Speaker 2: 4:12

It's a huge problem, because effective SEO today I mean really effective demands high quality, genuinely resource intensive content and strong backlinks.

Speaker 1: 4:23

So like proper research expert input.

Speaker 2: 4:27

Exactly A single well-researched article that could easily cost hundreds, maybe even thousands, to produce properly. Cheap plans just can't afford that volume of original expert content or the effort needed to get reputable links.

Speaker 1: 4:39

So what do they do instead?

Speaker 2: 4:40

They often fall back on, you know, low-quality, thin content, sometimes even plagiarized stuff. Ai systems are specifically designed to ignore or even penalize that. Without robust original content and real link building, your height just won't build the authority AI results rely on.

Speaker 1: 4:56

And what about the strategy itself? Those cheap packages often seem very one size fits all. Does that kind of generic approach work with AI?

Speaker 2: 5:03

Not really no Bargain. Seo often uses the exact same template for every single client. Doesn't matter the industry, the audience.

Speaker 1: 5:09

Split and play.

Speaker 2: 5:10

Right and that scalable approach. It just leads to mediocre results because it completely lacks the customization and the strategic depth that you need to stand out as an authority in an AI driven market. It just doesn't cut it.

Speaker 1: 5:23

Okay, here's where I think it gets really interesting and maybe a bit alarming those wild promises, what's the biggest red flag listeners should watch out for? I keep hearing things like we'll get you listed first in chat GPT.

Speaker 2: 5:35

Right, okay, that is flat out false. Yeah, period.

Speaker 1: 5:39

Just not possible.

Speaker 2: 5:40

It's pure snake oil. There's no concept of being indexed or ranking hashtag one in chat, gpt or similar AI tools. They don't work like that. They don't have a traditional index or a ranking algorithm. You can game.

Speaker 1: 5:52

So how do they generate answers?

Speaker 2: 5:54

AI assistants pull answers together based on their massive training data and sometimes real-time web sources, but there's no public ranking to manipulate, so any vendor guaranteeing you placement like that they're selling a fantasy. So the only way is the only path to potentially showing up in AI answers is to consistently be a high quality, genuinely authoritative source across the whole web. That's a very different and much harder thing than just ranking hashtag one for a keyword.

Speaker 1: 6:23

And talking about pitfalls. This really highlights the cost of just doing nothing or doing the wrong thing. What's the hidden cost of sticking with a low cost, underperforming SEO strategy?

Speaker 2: 6:34

I think the biggest hidden cost is wasted time. That's huge.

Speaker 1: 6:38

Right.

Speaker 2: 6:38

SEO has always been a long game. We know that, but now speed is absolutely paramount. If you spend six months, 12 months on some cheap approach that just doesn't deliver, your competitors the ones who are investing correctly will have raced ahead. There's another good quote you can always replace your SEO provider, but you can never get back wasted time In this environment. That kind of delay. You can never get back wasted time In this environment. That kind of delay it's deadly. It lets your rivals build their authority, fortify their lead in those AI results.

Speaker 1: 7:06

They become the default answer. So, knowing those risks of inaction, why is acting now, like right now, so critical? What's the urgency?

Speaker 2: 7:13

The urgency comes from the fact that we're still, relatively speaking, in the early innings of this AI-centric search world.

Speaker 1: 7:21

Still early. Days.

Speaker 2: 7:22

Yeah, I think so, and that means there's still a huge white space opportunity for forward-thinking brands. If you move decisively now, you can potentially leapfrog competitors who are maybe still hesitating or sticking to old methods. It's an investment in locking down future visibility.

Speaker 1: 7:38

And you mentioned this advantage it compounds over time. It's not just a one down future visibility. And you mentioned this advantage it compounds over time. It's not just a one-off boost. Oh, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 7:44

There's a powerful virtuous cycle at play.

Speaker 1: 7:46

How does that?

Speaker 2: 7:46

work. Okay. So let's say Google's SGE or ChatGPT quotes one of your pages. That early citation. It tends to lead to more clicks from interested users, Right. More clicks then drive stronger signals back to Google and other platforms. Things like more traffic, longer time on site, maybe people linking to you. Naturally, All that boosts your overall domain authority.

Speaker 1: 8:06

OK, so you look more credible.

Speaker 2: 8:07

Exactly and stronger signals then make future citations more likely, because the AI models start to see your site as one they already trust. They favor reliability.

Speaker 1: 8:16

So it snowballs.

Speaker 2: 8:18

It really does. This virtuous cycle creates a highly defensible lead. It widens the gap that your rivals have to try and close later. As one expert, will Melton, put it early citations drive backlinks, brand trust and further AI visibility it all feeds itself.

Speaker 1: 9:29

So what's the flip side, what's the real strategic cost of waiting, of not getting into that cycle early?

Speaker 2: 9:35

Well, that visibility gap. It just widens week by week, month by month. Your competitors who are showing up in AI answers. They're actively training both the algorithms and the users to see them as the default authority. Oh yeah, Trying to dislodge those incumbents later it becomes incredibly expensive, maybe even impossible in some niches. And beyond that, there's the massive opportunity cost. Every quarter you spend just testing the waters or delaying, that's another quarter where high intent traffic goes straight to someone else's sales funnel, not yours.

Speaker 1: 10:05

So for the executives listening, thinking about strategy and budget, the clear takeaway seems to be speed and commitment are absolutely critical on this new battleground 100%.

Speaker 2: 10:15

A decisive, properly funded, AI-focused SEO program launched today can potentially lock in top-of-funnel visibility for years. Half measures delaying action you risk being permanently stuck in second place in what's rapidly becoming a winner-takes-most kind of environment. Right, it truly is, as our sources put it, the battleground where visibility is either earned or erased.

Speaker 1: 10:39

Okay, so let's shift to the positive, then. Enough about the pitfalls. What does it actually take to win, to achieve that top visibility in AI search? It sounds like it's not about tricks. It's about a really comprehensive approach.

Speaker 2: 10:51

You're exactly right, it's not about tricks at all. It's a full, really comprehensive approach. You're exactly right, it's not about tricks at all, it's a full spectrum effort. You need a blend of really high quality content, solid technical SEO, smart digital PR and even reputation engineering. And, yes, it requires serious investment.

Speaker 1: 11:03

Can you break that down? What are the core components? Sure.

Speaker 2: 11:06

I think there are four really essential pillars. First, and maybe most obviously, high quality AI optimized content.

Speaker 1: 11:12

Okay, Content is king has been around forever. How has that changed specifically for the AI era? What kind of content actually wins now?

Speaker 2: 11:19

Well, the bar has been raised dramatically. If you want your content to be chosen as a trusted source in an AI summary, it needs to be more than just okay. It needs to be exceptionally informative, really well-structured, concise where possible, and demonstrably trustworthy.

Speaker 1: 11:35

Trustworthy how.

Speaker 2: 11:36

Through things like citing sources, showing expertise, being accurate and up-to-date and, ideally, bringing something new to the table, maybe a novel perspective or even a contrarian viewpoint that's well-supported.

Speaker 1: 11:47

So we're talking more than just standard blog posts.

Speaker 2: 11:50

Oh, yeah, we're talking about publishing truly in-depth articles, maybe structured FAQs that directly answer common questions, comprehensive resource hubs that cover a topic fully, and you absolutely have to be rigorously following EAT principles.

Speaker 1: 12:04

Remind us what EAT stands for again.

Speaker 2: 12:06

Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. These signals are more critical than ever for AI evaluation and, crucially, you need to use schema markup. This is structured data that helps AI systems understand the context and relationships within your content. It's essential now. If the AI can't easily parse your information, it won't use it.

Speaker 1: 12:27

And producing this level of content sounds expensive.

Speaker 2: 12:31

It is. It's not just a writer anymore. You often need input from subject matter experts SEO strategists guiding the structure, editors ensuring quality designers for visuals, maybe even developers for interactive elements or proper schema implementation.

Speaker 1: 12:44

So what are we talking? Cost-wise ballpark.

Speaker 2: 12:47

Typical costs, based on our sources, might range from, say, $500 to $1,500 for a single high-quality blog post. For more foundational pillar content, you could be looking at $3,000 or more, and for a full campaign to really own a topic, building out a content cluster, tens of thousands isn't unusual. Yeah, and to truly dominate a topic in AI search, you'll likely need dozens of these high-value assets, not just a handful. It's about building a comprehensive digital resource that AI simply has to rely on.

Speaker 1: 13:15

Okay, pillar one is content. What's the second pillar?

Speaker 2: 13:18

Second is technical excellence and AI readiness.

Speaker 1: 13:21

Right, you mentioned schema. What else is involved technically beyond just fixing the usual website errors? Sounds like there's a new layer needed for AI.

Speaker 2: 13:30

There definitely is. The basics still matter, Of course, fast page loads, mobile friendliness, making sure search engines can crawl your site. But for AI you need more advanced stuff.

Speaker 1: 13:40

Like what.

Speaker 2: 13:41

Advanced schema implementation is key, as we said. Also, really clean metadata, a clear heading structure H1s, h2s, h3s that outlines the content logically, and smart internal linking that essentially creates a knowledge graph within your own site.

Speaker 1: 13:56

So you're connecting related concepts.

Speaker 2: 13:58

Exactly. You're making it easy for AI to see how different pieces of information relate to each other, demonstrating your comprehensive understanding of a topic. If your content isn't formatted correctly or it lacks these technical signals, it's basically invisible to these generative models, no matter how good the writing is.

Speaker 1: 14:14

So this requires real technical SEO expertise, maybe even developer input.

Speaker 2: 14:19

Absolutely. You need experts who can perform AI-specific technical audits. They're looking for things like schema presence and correctness, how accessible the content is, the clarity of the page structure and readiness for entity-level SEO, which is about optimizing for the actual things or concepts AI understands, not just keywords.

Speaker 1: 14:39

It's like building the framework.

Speaker 2: 14:40

Yeah, someone called it building the scaffolding for the AI to climb. Without that structure, your brilliant content just sits there unseen at ground level.

Speaker 1: 14:49

Okay, content, technical excellence. What's pillar number three?

Speaker 2: 14:53

Third is authority building through digital PR and earned media.

Speaker 1: 14:56

Why is offsite authority suddenly so crucial? It feels like AI's focus on trust really amplifies this.

Speaker 2: 15:02

Precisely Because AI models heavily favor content that is trusted and widely referenced across the web. It's not just about what you say on your site. It's about who else trusts and points to you.

Speaker 1: 15:13

So getting links is still important.

Speaker 2: 15:14

Yes, but it's evolved. It means actively securing backlinks from genuinely reputable publications, earning brand mentions on high-trust domains, creating assets that people naturally want to share and getting quoted by influencers, journalists or other experts in your field.

Speaker 1: 15:32

Interesting. There was a stat about this, wasn't there?

Speaker 2: 15:34

Yeah, a study by Edelman suggested that up to 90% of the citations we see in AI summaries actually come from earned media sources, not directly from the brand's own website 90%, so it's really about third-party validation. Exactly. This isn't old-school backlink stuffing or buying links. This is modern digital PR. It might involve pitching insightful articles, maybe hiring a PR firm, sponsoring relevant research, engaging constructively on platforms like Reddit or Quora, even creating valuable YouTube content.

Speaker 1: 16:04

Sounds resource intensive.

Speaker 2: 16:06

It definitely is, but every piece of credible third-party validation directly contributes to your site's overall trust profile, which is a huge factor in whether AI systems will see you as a reliable source worth recommending.

Speaker 1: 16:17

Okay, makes sense. Content, tech, authority, PR. What's the fourth and final pillar?

Speaker 2: 16:22

And the fourth is continuous monitoring and iteration.

Speaker 1: 16:26

How dynamic is this compared to, say, SEO five years ago? Does AI make things change faster?

Speaker 2: 16:34

Much more dynamic, I'd say, and definitely less forgiving. Just because you show up in an AI overview today doesn't guarantee you'll be there tomorrow. Google, Perplexity, ChatGPT they're all constantly learning and updating their models.

Speaker 1: 16:47

So you can't just set it and forget it.

Speaker 2: 16:48

Absolutely not Winning. Programs now must include regular, probably monthly, tracking of visibility in both traditional search results and these new AI features. You need tools or processes to spot when your brand gets mentioned in generative answers. You need ongoing competitive intelligence to see what's working for others, and you need regular content refreshes to keep information accurate and relevant.

Speaker 1: 17:10

And all this data feeds back into the strategy.

Speaker 2: 17:12

It has to. Adjustments need to be based on real-time data and observed performance, not just assumptions or gut feelings. This is really where you see the difference between a vendor just executing tasks and a true strategic partner. The best teams act like an embedded growth function, constantly monitoring, analyzing and adapting the strategy.

Speaker 1: 17:33

Wow, okay, that's a really comprehensive picture. So when we talk about the investment needed for all this, it's clearly not just buying SEO services in the old sense, is it? What are you really investing in?

Speaker 2: 17:45

You've nailed it. It's not just services. You're investing in what some are calling strategy infrastructure.

Speaker 1: 17:49

Strategy infrastructure. Explain that.

Speaker 2: 17:51

Well, if your current SEO plan is still just about, you know, tweaking a few meta tags here and there, or maybe publishing one or two blog posts a month, you're just not operating at the level required to compete, let alone lead in AI search.

Speaker 1: 18:04

So what is required?

Speaker 2: 18:05

To really dominate this space. You need a comprehensive roadmap covering all four pillars we just talked about. You need a cross-functional team or an agency partner acting as one that gets content, tech, PR and data. You need a publishing model that can create high-quality content at scale and speed. You need a proper measurement system, tracking both AI visibility and traditional metrics and, critically, you need the funding to actually support all of that consistently.

Speaker 1: 18:33

So it's much bigger than just hiring an SEO person or a cheap agency.

Speaker 2: 18:37

Way bigger. It's not a one-person job. It's not a one-tool solution. It's definitely not a small monthly retainer anymore. You're not just paying for SEO tasks. You are investing in building search authority infrastructure that will basically define how discoverable your brand is for the foreseeable future.

Speaker 1: 18:53

OK, that brings us to maybe a hard truth for some listeners those traditional SEO retainers, the ones many businesses have relied on for years, are they essentially failing? Now, what's the real risk of sticking with that outdated model?

Speaker 2: 19:06

The risk is huge, honestly. The risk is huge, honestly. That legacy model maybe paying $1,500, $3,000, even $5,000 a month for a vaguely defined bundle of optimization activities. It's just dangerously outdated for this AI era. Why dangerous? Because many providers operating on that model are still selling undefined retainers. They offer minimal content volume, like we said, maybe one or two blog posts a month and, crucially, they often have zero strategic emphasis on AI readiness or even the capability to measure if you're showing up in AI citations.

Speaker 1: 19:39

So you might be paying but getting no relevant results.

Speaker 2: 19:45

Exactly their work is specifically helping you get visibility in AI-generated results, then frankly, you're probably wasting money and, maybe more importantly, wasting precious time while competitors pull ahead.

Speaker 1: 19:56

Okay. So if that old model is broken, what should businesses actually be paying for today? If you want to invest strategically for that long-term advantage, what does the investment cover?

Speaker 2: 20:04

Right. So today, seo success isn't just about ranking for keywords anymore. It's about being referenced, being recommended and being remembered by these AI systems.

Speaker 1: 20:13

Referenced, recommended, remembered. I like that.

Speaker 2: 20:16

Yeah. So a strategic investment needs to cover all the pillars. That means robust technical and structural SEO setup. It means strategic content clustering, creating groups of related content, maybe dozens of articles per core topic published aggressively, not just trickling out blog posts. It also includes active brand signal building, getting those valuable offsite mentions, encouraging positive reviews, generating new citations and, of course, specific AI visibility tracking Are you actually appearing in Google overviews? Perplexity answers, chat, gpt responses. Plus that ongoing intelligence gathering and optimization loop, constantly refining the strategy based on data.

Speaker 1: 20:57

So it's much more proactive and integrated.

Speaker 2: 20:59

Totally the best. Agencies aren't just selling SEO packages anymore. They're essentially engineering an entire ecosystem for your brand, an ecosystem designed specifically to build and demonstrate authority to both users and AI.

Speaker 1: 21:11

All right, let's get practical for listeners trying to figure out budgets what are some realistic starting points for this kind of strategic investment in, say, 2025? What?

Speaker 2: 21:23

kind of money facilitates real impact. Ok, based on the sources, let's break it down by typical business stage, bearing in mind these are starting points, not necessarily the end goal For a small business. You might look at a foundational project, getting the strategy and tech right, costing maybe $10,000 to $20,000 as a one-time investment. Then an ongoing retainer could be $2,000 to $5,000 a month, but that might be for a shared or fractional role. Content budget Often it's DIY at this level, which is a significant time commitment.

Speaker 1: 21:52

Okay, makes sense. What about mid-market?

Speaker 2: 21:53

For a mid-market company, that foundational project might be more in the $20,000 to $60,000 range. The ongoing retainer could be $5,000 to $15,000 a month and the dedicated content budget could realistically be anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 or more per year to produce the necessary volume and quality.

Speaker 1: 22:10

Right, a serious commitment and for enterprise.

Speaker 2: 22:13

At the enterprise level, everything scales up. The foundational project could easily be $50,000 to $150,000, maybe even more. The ongoing strategic retainer might range from $15,000 to $50,000 plus per month and the content budget we're talking $250,000 to $1 million, or potentially even more, per year.

Speaker 1: 22:33

Wow.

Speaker 2: 22:34

Yeah, these are significant numbers, but they reflect the level of strategic depth, content, volume, technical expertise and ongoing analysis required to be truly competitive and earn those valuable AI citations in major markets.

Speaker 1: 22:47

So what if someone listening just doesn't have that kind of budget, especially for a high-level agency, right now? Is there an alternative path or are they just out of luck?

Speaker 2: 22:55

No, definitely not out of luck, but you have to be realistic. The first piece of advice is don't waste money on those low-value SEO gimmicks we talked about. You're genuinely better off doing nothing, or rather doing it yourself, than paying someone a small amount to just check boxes that AI is going to completely ignore than paying someone a small amount to just check boxes that AI is going to completely ignore.

Speaker 1: 23:16

So what?

Speaker 2: 23:17

does doing it yourself look like realistically for, say, a small company or a solo founder. Ok, a realistic path could involve maybe investing in some focused foundational help up front. Hire a good consultant or a small agency for a limited project just to get your technical SEO set up right and maybe get some initial strategic guidance.

Speaker 1: 23:32

OK, get the foundation solid.

Speaker 2: 23:33

Exactly, then you likely need to become your own content engine. You're the subject matter expert, right? So you need to produce that persistent, high quality original content. Start aiming for maybe two or three substantial pieces per week, focusing on building out topic clusters, not just random blog posts. You can use AI tools to help with drafting or outlining, but the core expertise and insights have to come from you.

Speaker 1: 23:56

Right Use AI as an assistant, not a replacement.

Speaker 2: 23:59

Precisely, yeah, and make sure you use schema markup and clear formatting so AI can actually read and understand your content. Set up some basic tracking, even just manually checking key AI platforms to see if and where your content is starting to appear.

Speaker 1: 24:12

It sounds like a lot of work.

Speaker 2: 24:13

It is. There's a saying right If you don't have money, use time. If you don't have time, don't expect results. The companies that are winning, regardless of size, are the ones publishing more high-quality content, optimizing more deeply based on data and generally showing up smarter. If you can't afford the full agency route, you need to compensate with your own expertise and significant time investment.

Speaker 1: 24:36

That's very clear. Okay, so, whether you're spending $5,000 a month or $50,000 a month, or even doing it yourself, how do you evaluate a potential partner, or even just your own strategy? What should you look for? How do you vet someone in this new AI era?

Speaker 2: 24:51

That's a great question. There are probably five crucial questions you need to ask any potential partner, or even ask yourself about your own efforts.

Speaker 1: 24:58

OK, what are they?

Speaker 2: 24:59

First, can they clearly show how their proposed strategy specifically connects to improving your visibility and AI search results? Ask them directly about their plans for structured content, their topic cluster strategy, what their goals are around earning citations. If it's vague, that's a red flag.

Speaker 1: 25:14

Right Be specific about AI Number two.

Speaker 2: 25:17

Second, do they recommend or require a significant one-time foundation project If they just want to jump straight into a monthly retainer without deeply analyzing your site, your market and setting up the technical and strategic groundwork? How are they really setting you up for long-term success versus just ongoing busy work?

Speaker 1: 25:37

Good point. What's third?

Speaker 2: 25:38

Third, how do they define success beyond just traditional keyword rankings? You want to hear them talking about metrics like appearing in AI summaries, increasing your over-eye share of the search results page, s-e-r-p share and ultimately tying efforts back to actual revenue impact.

Speaker 1: 25:53

Makes sense.

Speaker 2: 25:54

Number four Fourth, what is their realistic content production capacity and how quickly can they scale it if needed? As we've established, content volume and quality are critical. Be very wary of anyone promising one blog post a month. That's not a strategy, it's barely a pulse. It's a recipe for falling behind.

Speaker 1: 26:10

Okay, capacity and speed. And the last one.

Speaker 2: 26:13

And finally, number five have they actually proven they can get results in this new landscape? Does their own agency website show up prominently in AI results for relevant queries? Can they show you solid, verifiable case studies demonstrating improved AI visibility for clients similar to you? So proof is key Absolutely. If they can't answer these five questions with real clarity, specific examples and genuine confidence, honestly, you should probably walk away.

Speaker 1: 26:41

That's incredibly helpful. It really sounds like the ultimate decision for C-suite leaders for anyone planning budgets is pretty stark. I view AI-era SEO as a core strategic growth driver, not just some line item marketing expense to be minimized.

Speaker 2: 26:54

That's exactly it. Think about it. You wouldn't expect to dominate your market with a skeleton sales team right, or with a bare-bones PR effort. It's the same here. You can't expect to achieve dominant visibility in search, especially now with AI raising the stakes, with an undersized, underfunded or ill-defined SEO investment.

Speaker 1: 27:11

So patience and realistic expectations are also key.

Speaker 2: 27:14

Definitely Set realistic goals and timelines. Building true authority takes time. It isn't built overnight, and any reputable provider will tell you that. Beware of anyone promising instant results under Underinvesting early. Trying to cut corners now often just leads to sunk costs down the line with very little to show for it.

Speaker 1: 27:33

Better to invest properly from the start.

Speaker 2: 27:35

Yeah, the much better path is to launch a right-sized campaign now, whatever right-sized means for your business stage and goals, while these early mover opportunities still exist, Because the cost and difficulty of earning that AI trust and visibility it's only going to increase from here.

Speaker 1: 27:50

And keep those red flags in mind.

Speaker 2: 27:51

Absolutely Steer clear of vague promises like guaranteed AI rankings. Remember, the only reliable path to AI visibility is the same path that builds strong, sustainable traditional SEO performance, excellent structured content, solid technical foundations and genuine off-site authority earned through PR and reputation.

Speaker 1: 28:12

And integrate it with everything else.

Speaker 2: 28:13

Yes, treat SEO as a deeply connected part of your overall growth strategy. Coordinate your SEO efforts with PR campaigns, product launches, paid media pushes, get buy-in across different departments. The companies truly winning now are the ones who've elevated SEO from being just a siloed service to being a strategic pillar of the business, a true infrastructure investment.

Speaker 1: 28:37

So, to wrap up, the core message seems clear In this new AI-driven search landscape, the old cheap tricks, the shallow content, they're just out, they won't work.

Speaker 2: 28:46

Absolutely Reinforcing that. Winning today means committing to quality. It means investing properly in content, technology and authority. It means working with partners or building internal teams who genuinely understand how these complex AI systems surface information and, critically, it means moving with a sense of urgency before that window of early mover advantage narrows even further.

Speaker 1: 29:07

And for those companies, those leaders who do make that commitment, the potential reward sounds significant.

Speaker 2: 29:11

It really is. Yeah, it's the potential for trusted top of funnel visibility and what's becoming a shrinking field of winners. It's building lasting brand authority and, ultimately, it's fueling your sales funnel with organic interest coming directly from the most prominent part of the modern search experience.

Speaker 1: 29:27

A powerful potential upside.

Speaker 2: 29:29

Plan accordingly, fund it properly and get there first.