HubSpot's Senior Director of Global Growth on Embracing AI, Diversifying Beyond Search, and Reviving 'Dead' Marketing Channels

"Just GPT it" is each nan rage correct now.

(Okay, okay. It hasn't caught connected just yet. But my Uber driver said it, and I dream it sticks.) 

But our trading leader this week isn't sweating it. She doesn't deliberation SEO is going anywhere.

"I retrieve erstwhile group were saying up to 50% of queries were going to beryllium handled by sound assistants. The SEO manufacture was successful a tizzy complete it," she told maine pinch a laugh. 

"And nan only point I inquire my Alexa for is nan weather. So I wouldn't constitute [Google] off."

She's besides HubSpot's elder head of world growth, truthful I'll return her connection complete my Uber driver's . 

Lesson 1: Go non-monogamous pinch Google. 

The HubSpot Blog squad has been moving connected Google fumes for years, and we've racked up millions of views successful integrated postulation based connected high-intent searches. It's besides really we attracted galore of our existent customers.

Aja Frost, who started connected nan Blog squad successful 2017 (back erstwhile "SEO strategy" was based connected our ain individual whims that day), knows Google's worth amended than anyone. 

But she tells maine it's clip for a caller playbook. 

"The encroachment of AI hunt has required america to thin into different channels for illustration YouTube, micro-apps, and areas we spot arsenic much defensible against AI. And it’s pushed america to fig retired caller ways to beryllium ultra-helpful to our reader," she says.

Frost’s extremity for immoderate trading leader? Spread nan love. Test retired Substack, squad up pinch creators, aliases put successful your ain micro-apps.

Google is still a viable channel. It's conscionable not nan only one. 

Lesson 2: The days of reverse-engineering algorithms are complete — and that's a bully thing.

I asked Frost — successful nan aforesaid reside of sound you'd usage to debar scaring nan vicinity feline — if she's concerned astir nan early of SEO successful nan midst of AI search. (I asked timidly because, you know… SEO is still her job.) 

But she adamantly shook her head. "I deliberation it's 1 of nan astir breathtaking developments complete nan past 2 years. For truthful long, we person each conscionable oriented toward Google, and reverse-engineering nan Google algorithm has, successful galore ways, stifled invention successful contented trading and SEO."

She adds, "If location is simply a much competitory landscape, past nan narration betwixt SEO aliases contented strategist and hunt motor could alteration beautiful dramatically. It could beryllium a overmuch much collaborative, mutually beneficial relationship."

Frost sees nan early of SEO arsenic a displacement from obsessing complete algorithms to building existent partnerships pinch hunt engines. 

Is location a world wherever Google takes input from small aged me, a contented creator? We'll see. 

Lesson 3: Stop penning disconnected trading channels arsenic "dead." 

One of Frost's pet peeves is knee-jerk reactions to manufacture hype. 

"What bugs maine is erstwhile group opportunity immoderate transmission is dead, and this applies to search, too," she says. 

"I decidedly don't deliberation hunt is dead. I don't deliberation podcasts are dead. I don't deliberation immoderate channels are dead. I deliberation you tin make immoderate transmission activity really good for you."

I'm earnestly hoping MySpace is "no longer pinch us", but I concede her point. 

She adds, "That doesn't mean we should each spell retired and put successful channels that aren't moving for america — but it does mean don't constitute thing disconnected if your intuition says it could work."

Lesson 4: Focus connected expertise. 

Questions for illustration “How do I do XYZ?” get funneled consecutive to ChatGPT these days. So if your SEO strategy revolves astir basal definitions aliases info keywords, brace yourself for a postulation drop.

But erstwhile it comes to analyzable aliases opinion-based topics, readers still want nan quality touch.

Case successful point: my caller obsession pinch LED reddish ray therapy. 

Those at-home LED masks costs astir a bajillion dollars, truthful I wanted to know: Will I look for illustration a newborn babe if I acquisition nan mask, aliases will I beryllium sparkling a agleam reddish ray successful my look for 10 minutes while nan company's CEO laughs each nan measurement to nan bank?

I didn't move to GPT for my tegument aging concerns; I turned to Google, and asked, "What do dermatologists opportunity astir LED reddish ray therapy?"

This isn't expected to beryllium an infomercial for reddish ray therapy (although immoderate brands looking to springiness 1 away, deed maine up ✋), but nan constituent holds: People still move to websites for answers to much complex, nuanced questions. Not AI. 

Frost is all-in connected adding expertise (the other "E" successful Google's caller E-E-A-T rankings) to your posts. 

As she puts it, "You're talking to maine because I person a ton of acquisition successful SEO. This contented wouldn't battalion nan aforesaid punch if you were chatting pinch personification who conscionable joined nan SEO team. In general, nan much expertise nan better."

She has immoderate further advice, arsenic well: "Make judge you really outline that expertise successful nan station itself pinch applicable accusation and examples. Highlight to Google — and much importantly, nan scholar — that you cognize what you're talking about."