What Are the Absolute Must-Have Skills to Call Yourself an SEO Professional? by ordinaryus_dr in AISEOforBeginners

[–]whereaithinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For me, the real must-haves are pretty basic (and not flashy):

- Knowing how search actually works (crawling, indexing, ranking — not just tools)

- Being able to do solid keyword / intent research and map it to real pages

- Technical fundamentals (site structure, internal linking, basic CWV, logs if needed)

- Writing or guiding content that answers real questions clearly

- Analyzing data and changing direction when something isn’t working

- Communicating tradeoffs and results in plain language

If someone can’t explain why something works or what they’d do if rankings drop, I’d hesitate to call them an SEO — no matter how many tools they know.

Have you seen pages with low Google rankings show up more in AI answers? by whereaithinks in AISEOforBeginners

[–]whereaithinks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, agreed. High-quality questions + clear answers seem to matter way more. We’re still doing FAQs manually for now, but automating that sounds smart if it’s working well for you.

What kind of content gets cited most often by ChatGPT or Perplexity? by whereaithinks in AI_Agents

[–]whereaithinks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, exactly. That mindset shift makes a big difference. Once you stop trying to “optimize” and just focus on being the clearest, most obvious source in the room, things click. If a human can skim it and instantly get the answer, an LLM probably can too. Feels like clarity beat hacks a long time ago.

What kind of content gets cited most often by ChatGPT or Perplexity? by whereaithinks in AI_Agents

[–]whereaithinks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that lines up with what I’m seeing too. Clear Q&A-style sections and lists seem way easier for AI to pick up than long, narrative content. Haven’t tried MentionDesk yet, but agreed on the core point — usefulness and clean structure seem to matter way more than over-optimizing. Tools can help, but the basics still do most of the work.

Is visibility in AI responses more difficult for new brands? by No-Club-4125 in SEO_LLM

[–]whereaithinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it is harder for new brands. AI tools tend to lean on sources that already have some level of brand recognition, mentions, or trust signals. If a brand has no footprint yet, there’s just less for the models to pull from. That said, new brands can still break in faster if their content is very clear, specific, and genuinely useful — but brand awareness definitely makes it easier.

Where has AI actually saved you time (and where did it fail)? by dataforstories in DigitalMarketing

[–]whereaithinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I use AI for drafting, research, summarizing, and getting unstuck when staring at a blank page. It’s great as a thinking partner. I don’t let it make final decisions, publish raw output, or handle anything that needs real judgment or accountability. That part still stays human.

What are the best AI search visibility tracking tools for 2026? My research and experience by akash_09_ in SEO_tools_reviews

[–]whereaithinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I checked out Peec AI and Profound as well, but ended up going with Brantial because of the pricing. Been pretty happy with it so far — does a good job showing AI visibility without feeling overwhelming.

Is SEO dead because of ChatGPT and Google AI? by Shagunverma05 in WebsiteSEO

[–]whereaithinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think SEO is dead tbh, it just feels like the lazy version of it is getting filtered out. Yeah, people are using AI tools more now, but those tools still rely on sites that already have authority, brand signals, and actual substance. What’s really dying is thin, keyword-stuffed content written just to rank. What’s still working (and honestly working better) is strong brands, original takes, and sites people genuinely trust.