Marketing Speak®

Stephan Spencer, an SEO consultant and author, shares his insights on intentional marketing in the age of AI. He discusses the importance of working with nimble, mission-driven companies over giant brands. Spencer argues that links are becoming increasingly valuable as AI improves in detecting unnatural content. He also critiques AI-generated material for lacking authenticity and emphasizes the need for high-quality content. Additionally, he outlines strategies for successful cross-channel marketing that leverage social media for SEO impact.

Is SEO dead in the age of AI? Not even close. Google's AI overviews are literally making up statistics, citing fake sources, and providing dangerous medical advice. People are actively searching "how to turn off AI overviews" because they can't trust the results. I had an incredible conversation with Samantha Riley on her podcast Influence By Design, where we broke down why SEO is more critical than ever. While Google Ads stop working the moment you stop paying, SEO builds an actual ASSET. An asset that appears on your balance sheet. An asset that generates traffic for months or years, even if you take time off. We covered: ✅ The difference between "visitor authority" and "algorithmic authority." ✅ Why your "Testimonials" page should be a "Results" page instead. ✅ How to seed interviews to earn 5+ backlinks instead of just one. ✅ The trick questions to ask so you never get snookered by a bad SEO hire. If you're building on rented land (social media only), this episode is your wake-up call. Listen now! The show notes, including the transcript and checklist to this episode, are at marketingspeak.com/535.

🔬 What happens when you analyze leaked search engine source code and build an SEO tool from it? You discover the entire industry has been optimizing wrong for years. Ryan Jones (Head of SEO at Razorfish) joined me on Marketing Speak to share what he learned from the Yandex and Google leaks. The truth is uncomfortable: while SEOs count keywords and stack H2 tags, search engines are plotting documents in vector space using machine learning. Here's what actually matters in 2025: 📊 Complete topic relevance (not single keyword optimization) 🎯 Semantic similarity scores using cosine distance 🤖 BERT-extracted keywords from current top-rankers 📱 Intent matching using ML models (not keyword pattern matching) 🔗 Third-party consensus for knowledge panels 📄 Research papers that still accurately describe how AI search works Ryan built SERPrecon to measure content the way search engines actually measure it. The tool uses Yandex's exact-title-tag scoring logic. It applies Passage BERT to predict AI Overview citations. It extracts entities and keywords using the same open-source algorithms Google uses. Ryan reverse-engineers which phrases AI Overviews will cite based on Google's patent, then writes content incorporating those exact phrases. Result? He consistently "steals" citations from competitors. This isn't theoretical. This is production-level SEO based on actual source code. The show notes, including the transcript and checklist to this episode, are at marketingspeak.com/534.

Pinny Gniwisch, a former rabbi turned e-commerce visionary, transformed ICE.com into a $75M success. He delves into the nuances of blending spirituality with business, sharing insights on the downfall of influencer culture and the crucial balance of gut intuition and AI in marketing. Pinny discusses how Kabbalah principles shape ethical decisions in business, the importance of data-driven strategies, and the necessity of adapting to the evolving digital landscape. His wisdom bridges ancient teachings and modern marketing tactics.

From family gig work to a national acquisition in 30 years. 🚀 Keith McMaster started helping his police officer dad serve legal papers as a side hustle. Three decades later, his company, Firefly Legal, was acquired as part of a major industry consolidation involving 6+ companies. When Keith volunteered to hot-seat his "old and dated" website during one of Jay Abraham's courses, he got brutally honest feedback. Instead of being defensive, he leaned in and completely transformed his digital presence. The results: ✅ Website became a 24/7 automated marketing funnel ✅ Went from invisible to top of search rankings in key markets ✅ Scaled operations without proportional staff increases ✅ Built a business so efficient and scalable that acquirers came knocking In this Marketing Speak case study episode, Keith and I break down the exact SEO strategy, content approach, and technical optimizations that transformed a family business into an acquisition target. Listen now to learn how to build your website into an automatic sales tool that works while you sleep! 🎧 The show notes, including the transcript and checklist to this episode, are at marketingspeak.com/532.

Your company brand can be sold. Your personal brand can't. That's why I've been investing in StephanSpencer.com alongside my agency for decades—and it's paying dividends in the age of AI. In this week's Marketing Speak episode, my longtime collaborator Greg Merrilees of Studio1 Design walks through the complete evolution of my personal brand website—from a simple WordPress blog in 2004 to a comprehensive authority platform that attracts 9-figure clients. Greg reveals why your About page needs storytelling instead of just credentials, how to structure case studies that convert rather than just collect testimonials, the bridging page strategy for managing multiple brand properties, why every page needs one clear and relevant call-to-action, and how to customize social proof for maximum impact on each specific page. If you're being found online but not getting the caliber of clients you deserve, your personal brand website is likely the bottleneck. This episode is a masterclass in fixing that. The show notes, including the transcript and checklist to this episode, are at marketingspeak.com/531.

Mark Williams-Cook, the founder of Also Asked and a seasoned SEO expert, dives into the evolving dynamics of AI and SEO. He discusses how AI agents are reshaping brand perception and consumer interactions, likening traditional search to a mall compared to the concierge experience AI offers. Privacy concerns and the potential decline in click data are also addressed. Mark emphasizes the importance of technical SEO and a multi-site presence to thrive in this AI-driven landscape, encouraging brands to leverage storytelling for organic visibility.

Dan Petrovic, a pioneering machine learning specialist and managing director of Dajon, dives into the evolution of SEO and AI's role in brand visibility. He argues that traditional link building is transitioning to content seeding with digital PR being critical for model training. Dan shares insights on measuring brand visibility through his tools, AI Rank and Treewalker, and emphasizes the importance of grounding in reducing model biases. He explores the future of websites and agent-based commerce, warning that without adapting to AI perceptions, brands risk being left behind.

Dr. Gary Sanchez, founder of the Y Institute and former dentist, discusses the transformative power of discovering your 'why'. He shares insights on creating compelling brand messages and building motivated teams based on intrinsic motivations. Gary recounts a life-altering health incident that solidified his commitment to help others find their purpose. He introduces the Y Operating System, a streamlined approach to uncovering one's motivations, and emphasizes the importance of early discovery for maximizing impact and fulfillment.

Most entrepreneurs ask: "How do I get my first client?" My answer: Stop asking. Start delivering value—uninvited, uncompensated, and unapologetically. When I dropped out of my PhD program in 1995 (drowning in student loan debt), I had no portfolio, no speaking experience, and no business asking Fortune 500 companies for their money. But I understood something most don't: Your playing small does not serve the world. In this Marketing Speak episode, I reveal: The "willing suspension of disbelief" that opens miraculous opportunities Why I transform every interaction with the intention to "reveal light" How trusting your gut is actually receiving divine guidance (not just random intuition) The NetConcepts pivot from web agency to SEO powerhouse after the Target audit Whether you believe in spiritual business practices or not, I offer a compelling invitation: Try it as an experiment. Get into a high vibration and ask for guidance on which prospect to contact. What's the worst that could happen? You might just double your sales. Repeatedly. 📈 The show notes, including the transcript and checklist to this episode, are at marketingspeak.com/527.