I went to an SEO meetup yesterday Here are 10 interesting things that I learned 1. Stop optimizing for keywords. Instead, optimize for the Agentic Research Process AI (LLMs) performs web searches just like humans do to verify facts. Instead of targeting keywords users type, target the queries an AI agent would search to build an answer about your topic. "In this new AI search world, how do you actually get brand mentions and citations? You have to look at what the agents are searching." 2. The Entity is the new Keyword Google and AI models no longer just look for string matches. Instead they look for "Entities" which is basically a known person, place, or thing. You must establish your brand or yourself as the Entity that is the authority on a specific topic. 3. Reputation Management is now 50% of SEO Because AI summarizes what is known about a brand, having a clean, authoritative digital footprint is essential. If someone searches your name, you need to control the top results to influence what ChatGPT says about you. 4. The Listicle strategy for AI visibility To get recommended by an AI as a software solution, you must appear on the "Best X Software" listicles (e.g., Efficient App, G2, TechRadar, etc). LLMs crawl these lists to determine who is a market leader. If you aren't on the list, you don't exist to the AI. 5. Shift from SEO Keyword Philosophy to Insight-Led Expertise Don't just write content to fill a keyword gap. Write content based on first-party data and unique subject matter expertise. That is the only moat left against AI-generated slop. 6. YouTube doesn't need high production We talked a lot about how people are using YouTube to boost rankings and get more traffic. A Loom video walkthrough often converts better than a highly produced commercial because it feels more authentic and helpful. 7. The Shorts Algo Hack YouTube Shorts and TikToks can and do rank well in Google Search. If you want to rank for a software tool, sometimes a 60-second vertical video will leapfrog a 2,000-word blog post. 8. Affiliate expenses are a Frenemy Game You have to pay the tax to the affiliates (lists of "Best Tools") to get the brand mentions required to rank organically yourself. Think of this more like a sunk cost and focus less on your CAC for these placements. 9. The Cluster Strategy I’m not sure where we landed here. But the idea was: Don't just write one article on a topic. You need to surround the topic with 10-20 articles to prove to Google you are a subject matter expert. However, one person said his website had very few articles but they were all extremely high quality - and he was ranking well. 10. Brand Mentions are the new Backlinks In the LLM era, a clickable link matters less than the text context. If an AI reads your brand name associated with "reliable," "affordable," or "best" across the web, this is good. Even without a link it will strengthen your Entity status. You need to get people talking about you, not just linking to you. THE END Thanks to Chandler from https://t.co/EcH8yolNB6 for hosting us and for everyone who replied to my post here asking for people to invite.