Replacing an eight-person engineering team

E908: We break down how SEOs are using vibe coding and AI development tools to build rankable web apps, calculators, and tools that generate organic traffic and revenue faster than traditional content.

Today's guest is Ram Berrouet, a longtime co-founder, friend, product builder, and founder of Relief, a Series A startup with hundreds of thousands of users.

Ram explains how recent breakthroughs in AI models have fundamentally changed what's possible for SEO-driven businesses - from building full web apps in minutes to replacing large engineering teams with AI-assisted workflows.

This episode is specifically for: - Niche site builders - Publishers losing organic visibility - SEOs tired of traffic volatility - Founders looking for faster MVPs - Marketers who want durable revenue - Anyone who wants to turn search demand into products

What we cover: - How "vibe coding" works in real production environments - Why recent AI models now outperform junior and senior engineers for many tasks - How Ram replaced an 8-person engineering team using AI tools - Building rankable web apps instead of just blog posts - Turning bottom-of-funnel SEO keywords into revenue-generating tools - Creating calculators, widgets, and interactive assets that rank in Google - How fast iteration changes SEO strategy and monetization - Why SEO is becoming the most predictable distribution channel again - How to migrate large, high-ranking sites without losing SEO equity - Using AI to maintain metadata, internal links, canonicals, and site structure - Publishing new pages, tools, and blog posts using prompts instead of CMS editors - Why social distribution is getting harder - and how SEO fills the gap

Tools and platforms discussed: - AI-powered IDEs and development agents - Gemini 3 and Claude Opus 4.5 models - Cursor and automated code review agents - Replit for no-code and low-code app development - AI-assisted site migrations and crawlers - Front-end SEO tools like calculators and widgets embedded on CMS platforms

Key takeaway for SEOs: If you can already rank pages, you can now build products.

AI has reduced the cost and complexity of building apps, tools, and interactive assets to near zero. That means SEOs can: - Create defensible assets - Target high-intent keywords - Monetize traffic directly - Reduce reliance on ads and affiliates - Build real products without engineering teams

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⭐️ Ram Berrouet on 𝕏 - https://x.com/RamBerrouet ⭐️ Ram Berrouet on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ram-berrouet/ ⭐️ Ram Berrouet app, Relief - https://www.relief.app/

💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/

00:00 Introduction and Guest Background 00:21 The Insanity of Vibe Coding 04:32 AI Breakthroughs in Development 12:05 Replacing Traditional Development Teams 17:55 Building Apps with No Technical Experience 23:11 SEO and Web App Development 32:42 Website Redesign and SEO Optimization 34:18 New Workflows with AI Tools 35:37 Voice Commands and Whisper Flow 37:58 Evolution of AI in Development 42:44 Social Media Strategies and Challenges 51:31 SEO vs. Social Media Content 53:39 Creating Web and Mobile Apps 55:50 Podcast Conclusion and Guest Information

The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/

#searchengineoptimization #linkableassets #linkbuilding #indiehackers