Avoiding Commoditization in SEO Strategy

Stop budgeting SEO like a factory. Most SEO budgets are still built around output: “X blogs. Y links. Z pages.” That model is breaking. And this is because attention moved upstream. AI Overviews, zero-click journeys, and LLM answers now absorb intent before a user ever sees your content. Publishing more deliverables doesn’t fix that. It often makes it worse. The smarter shift is this: Budget for capacity, not output. Capacity = strategic brainpower + execution flexibility. The ability to pivot what you work on based on what actually drives visibility this quarter, not what looked good in last year’s playbook. One month that might mean: → fixing technical debt so AI agents can crawl and trust you Another month: → building third-party signals via digital PR Another: → refreshing high-impact pages to stay citation-worthy You’re not buying “stuff.” You’re buying adaptability across discovery surfaces: Search, AI answers, LLM recommendations, and off-site trust loops you’ll never fully see in analytics. Instead of counting deliverables, you invest in capabilities like: • Digital PR → real third-party validation (quality beats volume) • Technical SEO + UX → makes your site legible to humans and machines • Audience & first-party research → knowing where decisions actually happen • Content re-optimisation → recency is now a ranking and citation advantage • Additive content → original insight, not commodity summaries • Engineering & design support → tools, experiences, not just pages • Video & custom visuals → increasingly surfaced in AI answers See, smaller teams don’t need more output. They need direction. Mid-market teams don’t need more vendors. They need coordination and agility. Enterprise teams don’t need bigger agencies. They need governance that prevents waste and protects influence. Across all sizes, the pattern is the same: The companies winning visibility aren’t publishing more, they’re reallocating faster. The question is no longer: “What ROI will this blog deliver?” It’s: “What capabilities do we need to earn visibility right now?” Because in an AI-mediated world, influence comes before traffic. And traffic only follows brands that machines already trust. P.S.: Are you allocating budget for capacity?

For years, companies played the SEO game. Write a blog. Rank on Google. Capture leads. Now, ChatGPT answers “What is CRM?” in seconds. No clicks. No traffic. Awareness-stage content? Commoditized. Buyers don’t trust vendors anymore. They trust people. Reddit threads. Telegram groups. Slack communities. Real humans sharing real experiences. The old model? Broken. The new rule? Depth. Write fewer pieces. Make them better. Be where your audience is—not just on Google. Own your channels: podcasts, newsletters, communities. A great product is your best marketing. People share what they love. AI didn’t kill marketing. It killed lazy marketing. Trust, not just traffic. Bullish on communities. Bearish on fluff.

CEO: We’re not getting enough traffic SEO: Let’s publish more blog posts. CEO: Our rankings are dropping SEO: Let’s build more backlinks. CEO: Our organic leads aren’t converting SEO: Let’s target more keywords. CEO: We’re losing to competitors SEO: Let’s increase our ad spend. This is how you build an SEO strategy that doesn’t work. To avoid this: - Focus on search intent, not just traffic volume. - Prioritize technical SEO before publishing more content. - Optimize existing pages before chasing new backlinks. - Understand that SEO is a revenue strategy, not just a traffic game. The best-performing companies in 2025 won’t be the ones producing the most content. They’ll be the ones ranking with more thinking, fewer pages, and better execution. Here’s to smarter SEO, not just bigger websites.

90% of your content is invisible. The other 10%? Google is rewriting it anyway. Google no longer needs your blog post. It can synthesize, summarize, and replace you instantly. If your content is: ❌ Based on keyword spreadsheets ❌ Written for bots, not humans ❌ Measured by rankings, not usefulness You're not just invisible. You're obsolete. Here’s how to stay relevant in a zero-click, AI-dominated future: 1. Identify "solved query" zones → and stop writing about them. - If Google can answer it with a snippet, don’t waste time writing it. - Instead: Cover topics with nuance, controversy, or original POVs. 2. Interview your subject-matter experts weekly. - Stop outsourcing your voice to AI - and freelancers who don’t understand your product. - Create a standing 30-min content call with internal experts. - Turn those insights into posts, videos, carousels, and articles. 3. Publish for the journey, not just the conversion. - Don’t wait until someone’s ready to buy. - Start showing up when they’re - lost, exploring, or just curious. 4. Syndicate like a strategist. - One blog post = 10 content assets. - Rework it natively for: • Reddit → Honest breakdowns • TikTok → Short tutorials • LinkedIn → Insights + carousels • YouTube → Walkthroughs • Email → Recap + CTA 5. Content ≠ commodity. - It’s your interface with the world. - If your voice doesn’t build trust, differentiate, or solve, it’s just noise. ---- The rules of content have changed, And clinging to the old ones is a liability. If your strategy still relies on keywords, filler blogs, and last-click thinking… You're not just behind. You're invisible. ✅ Be early ✅ Be useful ✅ Be human ✅ Be everywhere your audience learns Don’t just publish. Earn trust. Solve problems. Shape the journey. Because in the era of zero-click search, the best content isn’t ranked- It’s remembered. #seo

SEOs are killing digital PR by obsessing over "cost per link" metrics. Here's the problem: Digital PR has become commoditised. This approach is destroying what makes digital PR powerful in the first place. When you focus on cost-per-link before signing contracts, you're forcing PR agencies to play it safe. They can't risk creative campaigns that might lead to massive results. Think about it: Would you rather have 10 guaranteed mediocre links, or take a shot at a campaign that could explode with 50+ high-quality links and brand mentions? The industry is stuck in an outdated PageRank mindset, obsessing over follow vs. no-follow links. But here's what SEOs are missing: Brand mentions might be even more valuable than links. Google can parse every sentence on the web and see where brands are being cited, linked or not. A brand citation in a relevant, high-authority article is incredibly powerful – yet "cost per link" metrics completely ignore this. The real tragedy? Digital PR should be judged on effectiveness first and efficiency second. By demanding link guarantees upfront, SEOs are optimising for the wrong thing. It's like telling a chef to cook with one hand tied behind their back, then complaining about the meal. The solution is simple but requires a mindset shift: Judge digital PR success at the end of campaigns, not the beginning. Let creative teams ideate and execute without artificial constraints. Because as long as real humans read news, digital PR needs human creativity at its heart. Remember: You're not buying links. You're investing in human talent that maximises SEO success. Stop counting links. Start measuring impact.

Commoditisation isn’t a pricing problem. It’s an identity problem. You become a commodity the moment the market can’t tell why you’re different in five seconds. And when that happens, business starts to feel heavy. You’re constantly proving yourself. Explaining. Justifying. Discounting. Trying to sound more convincing than the next option. That’s not competition. That’s invisibility. A Category of One feels different. It’s quieter. Cleaner. Less effortful. Because the right buyers recognise themselves in your message. They arrive pre-sold on fit. Not convinced. Not chased. Not negotiated down. That’s not confidence. That’s clarity. Here’s the hard truth most people miss: The market cannot pay you for what it cannot recognise. If your positioning hides the parts that make you different, you’ll attract the wrong people, do your best work, and still get paid mid-tier fees. Not because your work isn’t premium. But because your identity isn’t visible. That’s why we built the Brand Magnetism Score. Not to invent a persona. Not to make you louder. But to surface what’s already true about you— and translate it into a message the right buyer instantly understands. Micro exercise: Write the three words you want buyers to feel after reading your headline. Then look at your current positioning and ask: Does it actually produce that feeling? If not, you don’t need more content. You don’t need better positioning. You need a clearer identity.

In the past few weeks, I spoke to a few CEOs who asked me the same question. How do we position our brand to actually stand apart in a market where everyone looks and sounds the same? Here is how I tried to clarify. Like in any mature market, every competitor has similar features, pricing, case studies, and sales decks. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗮𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶.𝗲., 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗘. Which means longer cycles, smaller margins, and churn you can't control. That's not a sales or marketing problem. That's a positioning problem. 𝗦𝗼, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗗𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲? Being 10% faster, 10% cheaper, or 10% easier doesn't matter. If your website could be swapped with a competitor's and no one would notice, you're in the commodity trap. And the harder you compete on the exact dimensions, the deeper you sink.  Features vs. features. Price vs. Price. Content vs. Content.  It's a race to the bottom dressed up as strategy. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆. Don't compete against competitors. You win by being the answer to why the current way of doing things no longer works. 𝗢𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲. Prospects don't care about your features. They care about the result. We cut manufacturing CFOs' working capital by 30%. That's a promise, not a feature. 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. Salesforce didn't start everywhere. They started as the CRM for small businesses. Own one slice, then expand. 𝗪𝗲𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀. Less funding, smaller team, fewer features? Stop hiding it. Turn it into your edge. We're boutique, so you'll never be a ticket number. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄. A value proposition is forgettable. A strong POV is polarizing. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂. Your TAM will look smaller. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝘆: 𝗬𝗘𝗦, 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲. That's how you escape commoditization, protect margin, and build a category of one. So, if you're struggling with the same question, ask yourself:  • What specific outcome do our best customers achieve that they couldn't achieve any other way?  • What conventional wisdom in our space do we fundamentally disagree with?  • Who is the narrowest viable segment we could completely dominate?  • What constraints are competitive advantages if positioned correctly?  • How do our best customers describe us when they refer someone?  • What belief about your industry would make your ideal customer lean forward and competitors hate you? 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.   And until you define it, you'll always be fighting to be better instead of remembered. Let's talk. #B2BMarketing #BrandPositioning #Sales #ContentStrategy #ThoughtLeadership #BrandStrategy 

One of the most underrated SEO strategy is to optimize the web entity instead of just optimizing the website. A website is just a domain with certain webpages. But, if we shift the perspective to the web entity, there will come attributes connected to that entity. For example: + CEO + Team members + Social accounts + Products + Departments + Address + Brand Story + Culture: + Operating Hours + Core Values + Policies + Copyrights Strengthening those attributes would increase the website's trust and signal to Google that it's not just a website which provides commoditized information (which every other website can give). But there is a REAL business behind that website with its own unique value and attributes. That VALUE would play a central role in building the growth strategy for the website to acquire more leads and ultimately strengthen the business. So the more you focus on such web entity attributes, the more solid foundation you’d have for building its successful organic growth strategy.

Can't count the times I've seen brands hire an "SEO vendor" and get no results. The main culprit is two-fold. Fix em and you'll hire your last SEO provider. (1) Choosing a vendor instead of a strategic partner If you're using the terminology of "vendor" you are already setting yourself up for failure. A vendor is a silo'd role that churns and burns deliverables and tasks with no rhyme or reason. No thought, no strategic approach, no understanding of your market, your goals, and how to drive more pipeline. Just a task and order taker. You tell them "do X and get me Y" and they do it. The agencies that offer this vendor-based relationship sell mass quantities of deliverables to mass markets and thus lack the specialization needed to grow your particular business. And due to only being a vendor that churns and burns mass deliverables, they never get truly exceptional at the very thing you are hiring them for: improving SEO as a source of business growth. Because of their focus on taking orders and tasks, rather than crafting strategy across different markets for different business goals, they fundamentally do not understand your business, your market, and the "why" behind the approach. They just do, with no rhyme or reason, because it was instructed, rather than inputting years worth of strategy execution success, failures (even more important to know what NOT to do!), and more, into a cohesive strategy that is likely to produce a return. (2) Selecting based on price, not value potential Vendors are cheap for the exact reasons above. No truly great SEO who spent years driving biz outcomes for brands is going to work at, or run, a vendor commodity SEO biz that cranks out cheap links + articles. And not a single soul that spent years cranking cheap links and articles as a vendor with no need to care about strategy ever became an exceptional SEO. Period. When hiring a "vendor" rather than a partner, you are never getting true value beyond the commodity pricing of the deliverable you pay for, which is a perpetual race to the bottom, and thus quality of work product AND talent follows suit. The vendor trap is bad for both you and the vendor. You get vendor quality cheap work with no thought behind it, and the vendor is perpetually trapped in the cycle of taking orders, not planning and executing strategic decisions that over time allow them to better understand your market than even you do. This isn't to say "pick the most expensive one" when hiring an agency, at all. It's to say that pricing should never be the first factor. Is their plan going to drive value in excess of the cost? Then who cares. Is their plan just "pick how many deliverables you want and tell us what articles and links to do"...good luck turning that into business outcomes your execs continue to fund each year. If you're looking for an SEO team that is outcome driven, ping me. Let's drill down on your biggest SEO problems and come up with a solution-focused plan.

➡️ While you’re still chasing page-one rankings, ChatGPT & friends are quietly siphoning off your traffic—and your leads. The world is moving away from "Search Engines" to "Answer Engines" ➡️ Here are the 10 SEO shockwaves you need to address **Traffic Diversion from Organic Results to AI Summaries**  Search engines now prioritize AI-generated answers (e.g., Google’s AI Overviews) over traditional website links. **Lower Engagement from LLM-Generated Traffic**  Users arriving via LLM referrals show **significantly lower engagement** than organic search visitors. . **Attribution and Tracking Complexity**  LLMs obscure traditional referral paths, making it harder to track user journeys, measure conversions, or attribute leads accurately. T 4. **Shift from SEO to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)**  Traditional SEO (focused on keywords/backlinks) is becoming obsolete. GEO prioritizes **authoritative content** optimized for LLM citation 5. **Increased Costs for Multi-Platform Optimization**  Brands must now optimize for both traditional search engines **and** LLMs (e.g., ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude). This requires dual-strategy investments in SEO and GEO, straining budgets. **Commoditization of Top-Funnel Content**  Informational content (e.g., "What is X?") is rarely cited by LLMs, as answers are synthesized without attribution. This devalues top-funnel content, forcing brands to focus on bottom-funnel queries (e.g., "best tools for X") where LLMs explicitly recommend products . **Erosion of Backlink Value**  Backlinks remain vital for traditional SEO but matter less for LLM visibility. LLMs prioritize **semantic relevance** and comprehensive topic coverage over domain authority. **Local SEO Fragmentation**  Local businesses face reduced visibility as LLMs struggle to integrate real-time local data. . **Keyword Intent Misalignment**  LLMs interpret **conversational queries** contextually, rendering traditional keyword research inadequate. **Brand Authority Dilution**  LLMs rarely display bylines or source brands prominently, weakening brand-driven trust signals. ➡️ The transition demands a hybrid approach: **traditional SEO for residual organic traffic** and **GEO for LLM visibility**. ➡️ Join us TONIGHT at 7p ET / 4p PT at our weekly Learning Lab (a video call) with a discussion this topic with Rosemary Brisco, AI Training Guru and Mike Ensing. Sign up via Meetup David Edelman Bill Hobbib Kim Pitsko John Sviokla Liz Vanzura John Spottiswood Parag Shah Dan Slavin #SEObloodbath #GEO #AEO