The audio and video are in Spanish. These notes are a translation.
In a world where ChatGPT is redefining how we search for and consume information, it is essential to understand how SEO must adapt in order to remain an effective growth channel.
To understand this, I invited Alejandro González, an SEO consultant with more than 15 years of experience, who has taken websites from zero to more than 2 million organic visits per month.
Alejandro shared his view of how artificial intelligence will change SEO and how to adapt in order to stay relevant.
This was a masterclass on SEO, a growth channel many companies underuse, and I am sure it will be very useful for your startup.
Youtube Timestamps*
[1:05] - Intro to SEO
- Alejandro told us how he got into the fascinating world of startups.
In a past episode, Pamela Valdes of Beek said that at an early stage most companies have to master one acquisition channel that brings in 80% of their customers.
That is why we asked Alejandro to explain when it makes sense to focus on SEO as a growth channel, and the right moment to invest.
Especially today, when there is so much talk about the future of SEO given ChatGPT, Bard, and AI search engines.
- What characteristics of a company or a product tell you that SEO can be a good growth strategy?
- How do you measure the size of the opportunity of investing in SEO?
- And, in a world of ChatGPT, will it still be a good customer acquisition channel?
Many founders tend to put off SEO until a more advanced stage of their companies because they believe SEO usually takes a long time to generate results. Some say months, or even a year.
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How do you recommend evaluating the potential return of SEO, and when to prioritize it, compared with other channels that deliver more immediate returns?
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Broadly speaking, what activities or processes must a startup carry out to be good at SEO, as a team and as a company?
[23:05] - What Is Good SEO Content?
We asked him to break down the factors Google considers when deciding whether a piece of content is high quality and giving it a better ranking.
- First, what does quality mean for Google’s algorithm? And second, what is the mechanism by which Google pushes you higher in the search results?
There are several types of SEO (programmatic, editorial, technical, and product-led).
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Alejandro explained each one with examples of companies that use them successfully, and he taught us how to think about which one we should focus on.
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What is his research and analysis process for identifying which keywords or topics offer a better chance of success?
[38:41] - SEO Implementation
- Alejandro told us whether it is better to hire someone in-house full time or to hire an agency or an external consultant, and if it is someone full time, what skills and profile should you look for in that person?
Many people believe that writing SEO articles is as simple as identifying the keywords, making a table of contents, and writing everything needed to cover the topic.
But Google has this concept of “people centric content”.
- Alejandro explained this concept and how it should show up in the working method of a startup that does SEO, in terms of research, content format, writing style, and so on.
In theory, if we all used AI to create our content, then all the content will converge and become very similar, since AI is based on past content.
- What should the role of AI in SEO be? What general recommendations does he have for implementing AI in SEO?
- What are the biggest risks or problems when relying on AI for content creation?
There are AI tools that prepare the brief, the table of contents, and the research for you.
- What does Alejandro think of these tools, and which ones does he recommend?
[55:50] - Rapid-Fire Questions
- If Alejandro were to work at a startup for the first time, what would be the main piece of advice he would give himself?
- How are Alejandro and his team preparing to use AI in their day to day?
- What would he like to change about the startup world in Latin America?
Episode Mentions
You can find Alejandro on LinkedIn
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Follow Enzo Cavalie on X: @enzocavalie.