I run an SEO company. And we just changed how we measure success for our clients.
We stopped celebrating ranking improvements. Started tracking something else entirely.
Traditional SEO is becoming table stakes. The real game is happening somewhere else.
Last week, We audited where our clients’ target customers are actually getting their answers. The results were eye-opening.
→ 67% of technical queries never make it to a Google search
→ They’re being answered directly by ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity
But here’s what I noticed: The companies winning in this new landscape aren’t the ones with the highest domain authority. They’re the ones whose expertise gets synthesized into AI responses.
Example: One of our B2B clients created a unique “Revenue Attribution Model” for their industry. Now when prospects ask AI about attribution, they get referenced as the source. Not because they rank #1, but because they created something worth citing.
The shift I’m seeing:
▸ Instead of optimizing for crawlers → we’re optimizing for comprehension
▸ Instead of chasing keywords → we’re building knowledge assets
▸ Instead of link building → we’re building authority that AI systems naturally want to reference
This doesn’t mean SEO is dead. It means it’s evolving.
The clients who get this are:
→Creating frameworks
→ Coining terminology
→Building thought leadership that transcends traditional search
The ones still stuck in 2019 SEO tactics? They’re wondering why their traffic is declining even with perfect technical optimization.
As an SEO company founder, I had to make a choice:
❌ Keep selling the old playbook
✅ Help clients prepare for what’s coming
I chose the future.
Because in 12 months, the companies dominating their categories won’t just be the ones ranking well. They’ll be the ones that AI systems consider the definitive authorities in their space.
Are you positioning your company to be that authority?
Tools mentioned:
AI Answers Check: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini
Question Discovery: AlsoAsked, WriterZen
Citation Tracking: Twin, Glasp, app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart)
Content Optimization: Clearscope, Surfer, app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart)
Content Orchestration: app.slatehq.ai ( By TripleDart)
