Forget Keywords. This Is the New SEO

For the last two decades, SEO has been about keywords, backlinks, and website-centric content. But AI is disrupting that model. Today:

• AI pulls from credible, high-quality sources, not necessarily the most keyword-optimized blog post.
  
• Generic content is being ignored—by both AI and humans.
  
• Search behavior is changing: People rely on summaries, social media, YouTube, and AI tools for answers, not just search engines.
  
• Websites are less of a content hub and more of a validation tool—used when someone is shortlisting providers or checking your credibility.

What’s the path forward? In this article, we’ll explore the shift toward AI-optimized SEO (AIO), the new SEO strategy for traffic and authority, and how to remain visible, credible, and discoverable. 

EEAT Was Only the Beginning

When Google introduced EEAT, the message was clear: Search engines aren’t looking for the most optimized content. They’re looking for content that demonstrates: 

• Expertise
• Experience
• Authority
• Trustworthiness

AI is no different. It’s designed to give users accurate and reliable information—just like search engines—so it prioritizes content from sources deemed credible and authoritative. 

EEAT isn’t just for Google. Humans, search engines, and AI want high-quality content that shares your in-depth knowledge, and  EEAT is the perfect framework for delivering it. 

The takeaway: To earn organic traffic, we must create content that showcases our expertise and unique insights—optimized for today’s buyers, search engines, and AI. Traditional SEO won’t give you this because it’s built for old consumer behaviors and outdated hacks for gaming the algorithm. 

Let me explain.

No One Wants to Visit Your Website

I hate to break it to you, but consumers don’t care about your website. If your number-one goal is to increase traffic, you’re target is off. Traffic is a leading indicator, not a bottom-line objective. And today, there are more efficient ways to generate demand.

When people go online, it’s for engagement, entertainment, and answers. Their favorite destinations aren’t websites. They’re social media platforms, podcasts, and YouTube channels—short-form content that entertains and engages. 

They would rather see highlights than the entire piece of content. They prefer short clips from their favorite late-night show than the whole episode. Similarly, they’d rather you give them the main points of your long-form article or video in bite-sized pieces, delivered to their chosen platform.

Platforms know this and reward native content, not outbound links. 

Bottom line: We must adjust to this new reality,

Ownership vs. investment

There’s a decade’s-old content strategy that pops up every now and then when I talk to marketers: Build on “owned” land (your website), not “rented” land (social platforms. But that mindset is outdated. 

The more important discussion is your relationship with your audience. People follow and engage where they spend time. If we add value, they’ll stick around. If we don’t, they’ll move on.

This is about investing in your audience, adding value t every stage of their journey—including the beginning of their journey, when they aren’t ready yet to visit your website. 

As with any investment, we must diversify. Build your brand across YouTube, LinkedIn, newsletters, and podcasts. This insulates you from algorithm shifts and helps AI and people recognize you as a trusted source.

The mindset shift: Your content is your brand, no matter where it lives. Taking it off-site makes it more discoverable and more impactful.. 

Why people visit your site (and what it means for SEO)

People visit your site when they’re:

• Vetting you as a potential solution
• Checking your pricing or product details
• Looking for proof of results

Your website is now a brochure, not a hub. Optimize it to help them make a better buying decision.

This, then, is the content to prioritize:

• Thought leadership
• Product content
• Buyer FAQs
• Case studies and testimonials

And optimize not for keywords but for:

• Google’s AI summaries
• AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity
• Snippets and Q&A formats
• Multi-platform discoverability

This leads to a new approach to SEO. It’s not about an algorithm or gaming the system. It’s about authority and trust. Which means our content should demonstrate expertise and knowledge, and it should be optimized to deliver value to both humans and AIs.

Let’s Summarize: The New SEO 

1. Prioritizes Original Insights: Move beyond generic content by sharing unique experiences, proprietary research, and innovative frameworks. This originality sets your content apart and aligns with AI’s preference for fresh perspectives and expertise.​
   
2. Develops Comprehensive Case Studies: Highlight successful projects, detailing the challenges faced, strategies implemented, and results achieved. Well-crafted case studies not only build trust with your audience but also signal to AI algorithms that your content is valuable and credible.​
   
3. Leverages Multiple Channels: Distribute your thought leadership content across various platforms, including LinkedIn, newsletters, podcasts, and YouTube. This multi-channel approach increases visibility and reinforces your authority across different contexts, enhancing recognition by AI systems.​ 

4. Creates Native Content: Your long-form content can still live on your website, optimized for AI systems. But don’t focus too heavily on driving traffic back to it. By building an audience on multiple platforms, you increase visibility and insulate against algorithm changes on any one platform. 

Optimizing Your Website 

When visitors arrive, they’re evaluating you. Give them what they need:

• Thought leadership
• Answer-based content (FAQs, how-to’s)
• Proof (testimonials, awards, press)

Make content easy to scan:

• Clear headings
• Bullet points and lists
• Q&A sections
• Short, clear sentences

For humans: Add story, examples, transitions, and flow.

Thought Leadership Content

Don’t write content that answers questions your audience isn’t asking. That rules out “What is a french fry” articles and fluffy articles that don’t relate to your core offerings.

Your blog content should offer: 

• Original ideas
• Fresh insights
• Perspectives that contribute meaningfully to industry conversations

This content should guide’s people’s thinking and position your as a leader in your speace. This not only attracts AI algorithms seeking authoritative sources but also resonates with audiences looking for trustworthy information.​

Case Studies

Case studies provide concrete evidence of your capabilities and successes. 

For visitors, they provide details about: 

• The specific challenges you’ve addressed
• Your problem-solving skills
• The results you’ve delivered 

For AI, case studies demonstrate practical applications and outcomes, which establish credibility as a go-to source for accurate information.​

Text Isn’t Everything: The Rise of Video Content

Most SEO strategies were designed for text content, but people are increasingly engaging with video over text content. 

Video is more engaging. Complex ideas and deep insights are easier to understand because it “shows” as well as “tells.” It’s also unique in its ability to boost authority and trust. Now only does it showcase your expertise, your viewers feel they know you, which increases liking and trust. 

The stats don’t lie:

• Viewers retain 95% of a video’s message compared to just 10% when reading text.

• 89% of consumers want more video from brands. 
• 73% of consumers prefer short-form videos to search for products or services. 
• 93% of companies report acquiring new customers through social media videos. 
• YouTube has 2.7B+ active monthly users, making it a dominant platform for content consumption.

• Meta’s Investor Relations reported that reels account for half of all time spent on Instagram.
• Social media platforms encourage video content because it holds users’ attention, gets more engagement, and keeps people on the platform longer. 

And marketers are taking note. Marcus Sheridan predicts that in just 5–10 years, your YouTube Channel will be more important to your business than your website. 

Why is this important? 

The point of SEO is to make your content more visible. Since algorithms favor content that gets more engagement, it won’t be long before we’re prioritizing video content. 

Already, it’s getting prime real estate on Page 1 of Google SERPs (search engine results pages): 

Since video is becoming increasingly important, I want to quickly review the new SEO (AIO) approach to video optimization.

How to Optimize Video Content

The same optimization rules apply to video and text: 

• Create a clear structure
• Answer people’s questions using a Q&A format
• Use the EEAT framework

But with video, you must ensure AI can read it. Here’s how to do that:

• Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions.
• Add captions and transcripts.
• Stay on message
• Publish consistently
• Structure videos clearly

Conclusion

Old SEO is fading. AIO is the future. It’s time to upgrade our strategies. 

Here’s your cheat sheet for AIO:

1. Build authority, not just traffic.
2. Answer questions; don’t chase keywords..
3. Diversify your channels. 
4. Optimize your content for AI AND humans.
5. Use text, video, and audio to expand your brand reach.

Need help? I offer digital/AI transformation consulting, growth marketing, and executive coaching to help brands future-proof their strategy for the AI era.