Lenny's Podcast: Product | Career | Growth

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

September 19, 2024

AI Summary

5 min read

Eli Schwartz, SEO advisor and author of Product-Led SEO, explains how AI Overviews in Google search are shifting SEO from top-of-funnel discovery to mid- and bottom-funnel intent, where users seek specific solutions. He frames SEO as a product challenge for product managers, emphasizing user empathy and self-directed discovery over traditional keyword races or generic content.

AI Overviews Reshape the Search Funnel

AI summaries handle broad queries like "best beach vacations" or "top podcast tools," pulling from web data to give quick answers and push organic results lower. This disrupts sites like G2, Capterra, WebMD, or listicle farms that relied on top-of-funnel traffic, as users get direction without clicking. Mid-funnel searches persist—e.g., "Riverside pricing" or "Gmail to Salesforce integration"—where intent forms and SEO can capture conversions. Users benefit from concise AI starts, then deeper research; Google rolled out AI Overviews broadly after initial glitches, masking impacts amid algorithm updates.

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What you'll learn

1 `* (00:00:44) **SEO as Product-Led Strategy**`
2 `* (00:06:52) **Google's AI Response: From ChatGPT Threat to AI Overviews**`
3 `* (00:11:34) **AI Impact: Top-Funnel Disruption, Mid-Funnel Opportunity**`
4 `* (00:23:20) **Core Advice: Build for Buyer Journey**`
5 `* (00:26:10) **Success Examples: Zapier & Tinder Programmatic SEO**`
6 `* (00:31:54) **3 Steps to Start SEO + Investment Evaluation**`
7 `* (00:59:49) **AI Tools in SEO + Programmatic Best Practices**`

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

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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