Is Traditional SEO Dead? 2-Month-Old Startup Seeking Advice

You absolutely need to do both.

Traditional SEO, even with Google's push into AI results, isn't going away overnight, and there will still be discovery through those means.

But AISEO, is coming up, and for some of our sites, and sites of friends, it's actually starting to send a significant amount of traffic.

It's more work, for sure. You do not do the same things for the LLMs as you would for Google.

Think more machine formatted data, and content structured in the form of questions, for starters.

If you wanna chat more about it, ping me.

Really impressive work on Woberry! Love how you’re combining design with functionality — the clean UI and practical use case make it stand out. As someone also working in the online education space, I know how much effort goes into building something that’s both useful and scalable.

If you're ever exploring tools or integrations in the online learning niche (especially for Quran education), feel free to check out what we’re doing at — always open to feedback and collaboration. Keep building! 🚀

Websites need to be useful in other ways besides answering user’s questions. All questions will be answered by LLMs and the only reason people will want to visit your website is to do something an LLM can’t answer or do.

Something I found as I've been diving in my self into SEO for small start ups is that you need to rank for keywords others aren't targeting. Especially if you are in a highly competitive market.

So I did some research for Woberry and found these keyword opportunities:
- resume creation software - estimated volume 1,800/mo
- job application automation tools - est. vol. 900/mo
- time-saving job application tools - est vol. 600/mo

And here's some AI gap analysis on that market:
AI resume builder for remote jobs - est. vol. 1,200/mo - ranking 4/10 Easy
With the rise of remote work, job seekers are looking for tools that cater specifically to remote job applications. This keyword targets a niche market that is increasingly relevant.

Why competitors miss this: Competitors are focusing on general resume building without emphasizing the remote work aspect, leaving a gap for specialized tools.

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So, I've been taking this approach by building the long-tail keywords on what I call opportunity gaps, and then making sure my formatting and structure are both human and AI readable. This is important for two reasons:
1. Google penalizes things that seem keyword dense for the sake of SEO ranking
2. AI uses Google and Bing to find articles.

So if I don't rank for the search, then AI won't pick me up, at least partly. It seems that AI also looks for context alongside the answer. Here's straight from the source on that:
"If someone asks me about “best time to plant tomatoes in Arizona,” and your article covers not just the when, but also soil prep, water schedules, and climate zones—you win."

So if I apply that to a key word gap, like yours above, I'd write some stuff about:

• Understanding of remote work trends and the specific needs of remote job applicants

• Capabilities and limitations of AI in customizing resumes and cover letters

• The role of AI in automating job application processes and improving efficiency

• Comparison of AI resume builders with traditional methods

• The importance of keyword optimization in AI-generated resumes for ATS systems

Here's some optimization tips AI gave me to help it read any post:
▸Use structured data and schema markup to help AI models understand content relevance and context

▸Incorporate conversational, FAQ-style content to align with AI model interaction styles

▸Ensure content is comprehensive yet concise, providing clear, actionable information

▸Highlight unique features and benefits of the Woberry service with user-centric examples

▸Include visual aids like infographics or charts to support text-based explanations, aiding AI in drawing connection

These might still be competitive, but probably less so than the general keywords, and depending on how you answer them, you might see results from seo or recommendations.

Just an idea, but what if you tried to rank for other things instead of directly for job related functions (like resume related activities)?

You can try a more narrative approach and build up (longform?) content in areas of work culture or trends or education or interviews with industry professionals.

In this way your long term play would be content/branding and that would be the top of the funnel that leads to your product.

That being said, SEO can probably still be a good source, you might just have to be a bit creative with what you try to rank for. You've probably heard this before but, try to think what your users would be looking for and how and why, and then write the things that'll answer their questions.
Maybe instead of "resume builder" it is: How do I get my resume to pass AI filters.
Instead of "job search tips" it is: what are companies in x field looking for in a resume/candidate

These might still be competitive, but probably less so than the general keywords, and depending on how you answer them, you might see results from seo or recommendations.

you gotta do both

I see the organic traffic definitely changed, it was decreased from the regular channels, but also noticed in the analytics systems more & more visitors comes from ChatGPT/Perplexity without me doing something special ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Really feeling this..

this is an interesting subject, i feel like we are missing something here there is always that thing lingering in the back of my head, the dead internet theory, it feels eerie quiet a lot these days, for example the whole X platform feels like its full of bots and automated responses there are even actual scam advertisements on there which is insane, it feels and seems its going to be hard to impossible for new startups, i feel that with ours,

I've noticed the new google feature where the AI answers your questions.. We are noticing a shift exactly as you say. Unfortunately I don't have the answer to counter this yet.

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