Guest: Flynn Zaiger, Founder & CEO of Online Optimism
Host: Jeremy Rivera, Unscripted Podcast

Read the full detailed recap blogpost of the interview

Bottom Line Up Front: Modern SEO agencies must evolve beyond traditional tactics to become true business consultants who understand conversion funnels, sales processes, and cross-channel marketing strategies to survive the AI disruption.

"At the end of the day, you need a human to make a decision."

"Your client is rarely going to measure you just on organic search traffic. They're going to measure you on are you helping to grow the business."

"I think what still works long-term is the unscalable strategy."

Connect with Flynn Zaiger:

Summary

In this UnscriptedSEO conversation, Jeremy Rivera and Olesia Korobka, an SEO entrepreneur, discuss the evolving landscape of SEO in the context of AI advancements. Olesia shares her experiences working across various niches, emphasizing the importance of brand visibility and knowledge graphs. They explore the challenges of customer support in the age of AI, the potential future of websites, and the role of SEO in charitable initiatives. The discussion highlights the need for businesses to adapt to new technologies while maintaining a focus on effective communication and brand presence.

Takeaways

In this episode, Jeremy Rivera interviews Darcy Sullivan from Propel Marketing and Design, focusing on the intricacies of local SEO, particularly for health and wellness businesses like chiropractors and physical therapists. They discuss the importance of niche specialization, effective content strategies, link building, and the role of AI in SEO practices.

Darcy emphasizes the significance of maintaining an optimized Google Business Profile and the impact of branding on local search visibility. The conversation also touches on the value of email marketing and actionable tips for small business owners to enhance their local SEO efforts.

In this episode of the Unscripted SEO Podcast, Jeremy Rivera interviews Melissa Popp, the content strategy director at Rickety Roo. They discuss Melissa's extensive experience in SEO and content marketing, particularly focusing on the challenges faced by small and medium-sized businesses in local SEO.

The conversation delves into the evolving landscape of digital marketing, emphasizing the importance of multi-channel strategies, the impact of social media on SEO, and the necessity of quality content. Melissa shares actionable insights for local businesses, including optimizing their Google Business Profiles and understanding the nuances between service area and brick-and-mortar profiles.

The episode highlights the need for SEOs to adapt to changing consumer behaviors and the importance of branding in driving organic traffic. takeaways

In this conversation, Jeremy Rivera and Daniel Horowitz discuss the evolution of SEO and link building in the context of AI advancements. Daniel shares his experiences transitioning from traditional link building to a more integrated approach that includes digital PR and enterprise SEO.

They explore the importance of building topical authority, the challenges posed by AI in search, and the need for content strategies that go beyond traditional blogging. The discussion emphasizes the significance of internal linking and the necessity for SEOs to diversify their strategies in an ever-changing digital landscape.

In this episode of the Unscripted SEO Podcast, host Jeremy Rivera interviews Joshua Ramsey, Fractional CMO and founder of JRCMO. They explore how authentic storytelling can differentiate brands in crowded markets, the evolution of the fractional CMO role, and how to develop unique selling propositions even for seemingly "boring" industries.

Joshua Ramsey

"If the metrics you're looking at are growing, but it's not the metric that moves the business, then you're wasting a lot of effort."

"I believe a brand is built based on the USP, but a USP is not the brand... My concept is building a brand means that they're familiar with who you are... But the USP makes me love the brand."

"My narrative that I found was abandonment. The abandonment has made me better today and that is part of why I say I treat people the way I want to be treated."

A conversation with Grady Teske of Rising Tides on the Unscripted SEO Podcast hosted by Jeremy Rivera

"The more that I implement technology into our stack and into working with customers, the more we really realize that personalization isn't really a primary factor. It's bringing the humanity in and creating connection and alignment." - Grady Teske

"Your business relationship with ideal customers is a lot like your relationship with your neighbors, close friends, and family... As long as you're nurturing the practice of conversation within them, you'll find ways to come back to each other." - Grady Teske

"I need to reach restaurant tours and have genuine conversations that the keyword research would never have touched on. There's no volume for a restaurant kid. There's no humanity." - Jeremy Rivera

In this episode of the Unscripted SEO Podcast, host Jeremy Rivera interviews Rai Hyde Cornell, founder of Cornell Content Marketing. With a background in psychology and criminology, Rai shares how she applies behavioral science principles to content marketing to help companies change buyer behavior without increasing ad spend.

Rai introduces her unique approach applying the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) triangle to marketing. "Our thoughts affect our emotions, which affect our behaviors, which affect our thoughts... Most marketers just focus on, 'I want to get them to buy. I want to get them to opt in.' They focus on the behavior," she explains. This approach neglects the complete internal experience of potential customers.

The "Learn" phase of Rai's method goes deeper than traditional marketing frameworks. She applies the "stages of change matrix" from psychology to understand where customers are in their journey: Are they aware they have a problem? Are they looking for solutions or trying to handle it in-house? Do they have other priorities?

"You have to look at the internal experience that's going on for them to see where they are in a much more robust model than what the sales funnel provides," Rai says.

Jeremy highlights how SEO professionals often neglect this human element: "We jump right to the keywords and keyword research and we forget there's humans behind those keyboards." He shares a conversation with Michael McDougald about the importance of understanding who you're trying to reach.

Rai emphasizes that content strategy must be a "living organism" that evolves with market feedback. "Too many companies just think, we've got our website done, we've got two or three dozen blog posts, we're done, let's go just focus on sales. That's not enough."

Jeremy agrees, citing his work with Save Fry Oil: "Your site needs to breathe." He points out how SaaS companies often focus on creating content for new audiences while neglecting existing users, despite recurring revenue being "the holy grail."

The "Enhance" phase creates feedback loops between departments. Rai recommends monthly meetings between marketing and sales, with quarterly meetings between marketing and customer support.

Jeremy relates this to Classic City CPR classes: "If you're running CPR classes, you want to have a connection between your marketing team and the instructors, because you know they have questions all the time."

When asked if content marketing is dead due to AI, Rai strongly disagrees: "That's a fatalistic perspective... And that's a huge mistake because if everyone else is taking that approach but you actually put in the effort, then you're gonna be the one that ranks."

She concludes with a powerful exercise: "Sit in your desk chair, turn off your email notifications, turn off your monitor, turn off your cell phone, and just sit there for 15 minutes and think, the people that I want to connect with, what is their day-to-day life like?"

"If you can practice that empathy exercise... you're going to be ahead of the curve because you are going to be tapping into those internal experiences and providing content and messaging that resonates on a level that AI never can."

Connect with Rai Hyde Cornell on LinkedIn or visit Cornell Content Marketing.

Listen to more episodes of the Unscripted SEO Podcast with host Jeremy Rivera.

Summary

In this episode of the Unscripted SEO podcast, Jeremy Rivera and Lisa Raehsler, founder of Big Click Co., delve into the intersection of SEO and PPC, exploring how AI is reshaping digital advertising. They discuss the challenges posed by AI overviews, the importance of click-through rates, and the evolving landscape of social media advertising.

The conversation highlights the significance of remarketing, audience targeting, and nurturing the customer journey, while also addressing the need for effective collaboration between SEO and PPC strategies. In this conversation, Lisa Raehsler and Jeremy Rivera discuss the importance of integrating various marketing strategies, particularly the synergy between PPC and SEO. They explore how new companies can establish brand visibility, the creative challenges in less glamorous industries, and the legal considerations when advertising against competitors.

The discussion also emphasizes the need for marketers to adapt their strategies in response to economic conditions, ensuring that messaging aligns with current consumer sentiments, from B2B programs like Save Fry Oil, to local service asphalt contractors.

Summary

In this UnscriptedSEO interview, Jeremy Rivera and Chris Scott, founder of Boschetto Consulting, delve into the concept of execution debt, a term coined by Scott to describe the inefficiencies and bottlenecks that accumulate in businesses over time. They discuss how execution debt is relevant across various industries and the importance of identifying and addressing these inefficiencies.

The conversation emphasizes the need for a mindset shift in business operations, the role of tools in managing execution debt, and the significance of stakeholder engagement in diagnosing issues. Scott shares actionable steps for business owners to assess and improve their execution processes, highlighting the importance of testing small and iterating based on feedback. 

Detailed Recap: Getting More Out Of SEO & Marketing Budgets By Resolving “Execution Debt”

Takeaways