Selling Online in the Age of AI – Kaspar Szymanski on SEO, Trust, and Sustainable Growth

Leaving the familiar corporate environment and building our own agency together with my trusted colleague and former Google engineer, Fili Wiese, was one of the most consequential decisions of my career.

The knowledge and experience gained while working at Google Search continue to be a significant competitive advantage today, one that we both exploit and pass on to our clients. Understanding how Google Search actually works helps enormously when it comes to prioritizing SEO signals that truly matter.

However, that’s only one side of the equation. The other is data.

At SearchBrothers, we rely on our own infrastructure, much of which has been shaped by our firsthand experience with Google Search. Real expertise is essential, but so is access to fresh, relevant crawl data, both on-page and off-page. Whether we’re talking about Search, SEO, LLM optimization, or GEO, the fundamentals remain the same: all of them are driven by data.

Our clients compete in some of the most challenging industries online. Their goal and ours is not simply to generate visibility, but to grow sustainable, relevant traffic that converts consistently rather than producing short-lived ranking spikes.

The combination of hands-on experience with Google Search and the ability to collect, process, and interpret complex datasets gives us a unique advantage. It’s a combination that few, if any, agencies can genuinely offer, and one that allows us to provide a level of service that is difficult to replicate.

Looking back, the two most important lessons I took away from my time at Google are that data consistency and policy compliance matter enormously. Organizations that get both right create a lasting competitive advantage, regardless of the vertical they operate in.

Like so many consequential decisions in life, chance played a role in my journey into the Search industry.

At the beginning of my professional career, I was pursuing a very different direction, working as an expatriate on GSM network infrastructure projects in a developing country. It was during that time that I came across a rather cryptic job posting from Google. There was very little information about the position itself, other than the suggestion that it was something exciting and unusual. That was enough to spark my curiosity.

A few weeks later, I stepped into a Google office for the first time. It felt magical then, and in many ways it still does whenever I have the opportunity to visit former colleagues.

What impressed me most wasn’t the perks, the gourmet meals, or even the chance to contribute to a truly global brand. It was the people. Google brought together some of the brightest, most intellectually curious individuals I had ever met.

During my years there, I built an international network of talented professionals, many of whom have since gone on to launch new businesses or to take on influential roles across the industry. A number of those professional relationships have also evolved into lasting friendships.

Fundamentally, successful online sales rest on a solid foundation. That foundation consists of technical excellence, data consistency, and full compliance with Google’s policies. Without these fundamentals in place, it becomes much more difficult to achieve sustainable results.

Once the foundation is established, the focus should shift to performance and differentiation. Make your web platform fast, build and expand your brand, and amplify your unique selling proposition. Businesses that execute well in these areas will be in a much stronger position to sell more online.

SEO is a converting traffic channel, but reducing it to traffic acquisition alone is too narrow a view.

What many organizations underestimate is the value of a brand. Building a recognizable brand takes time, and attributing ROI to those efforts is notoriously difficult. In a business environment increasingly focused on immediate results, long-term investments often receive less attention than they deserve.

Yet real brand recognition can be a powerful differentiator. If users already know your platform and instinctively turn to it when they need a product, service, or information, you’ve overcome one of the toughest challenges in business. That’s why I see SEO not just as a source of traffic, but also as a vehicle for building lasting brand equity.

Two factors stand out.

First, a compelling, unique selling proposition. Before thinking about traffic, rankings, or conversions, a business needs a product or service that users are genuinely willing to spend their time and money on. If that foundation is missing, no amount of optimization will compensate for it.

Second, ensuring that search engines can efficiently crawl, recrawl, and understand the parts of the website that matter most. Whether it’s Google or Bing, visibility depends on making the most relevant content accessible and understandable. In many cases, that comes down to effective crawl budget management and a clear site structure.

In short, successful websites combine a strong offering with strong technical execution.

There are many, but FOMO, the largely unfounded fear of missing out, is high on the list.

Some publishers become almost paralysed by the notion that their competitors are about to do something they themselves haven’t thought of yet. That mindset is a reliable way to make poor, often expensive decisions. Focusing on the competition is a flawed approach from the outset. At best, it leads to imitation. FOMO doesn’t drive innovation. It stifles it.

There are other misconceptions, of course. One that continues to surprise me is how many companies, even in the age of AI and LLMs, still commit significant budgets to building PageRank-passing backlinks as the backbone of their online marketing strategy. In almost every case, it is a complete waste of money. Yet the practice persists because that’s what everyone else appears to be doing—or so the story goes. Meanwhile, there are much bigger SEO fish to fry.

The biggest misconception is that a website that has been compliant with Google’s guidelines for years will remain so automatically. Websites evolve, technologies become outdated, and both Google’s policies and the broader web ecosystem are constantly changing. Without ongoing oversight and regular policy reviews, publishers who assume they are operating in safe waters expose themselves to significant risk. That is why regular technical audits and compliance reviews are not a luxury; instead, they are a business-critical necessity. 

The answer depends on the business.

If this is a startup built around a completely new idea, save and preserve all server log data from day one. The value of that data will become apparent over time. Beyond that, forget SEO for the time being. Focus relentlessly on customers and on building the business. SEO can help grow an online revenue stream, but it cannot create one in the absence of a viable business model.

If, on the other hand, this is a new e-commerce venture launched by an established organization, build on existing strengths. Learn from past experience, especially past failures. Ensure server reliability, maintain technical signal consistency, and operate in full compliance with Google’s policies, better known today as Google Search Essentials. Introduce regular independent audits and invest in developing in-house SEO expertise. At the same time, continue to build and strengthen the brand.

In a nutshell, their importance is fundamental.

Technical SEO is the cornerstone. If a website cannot be crawled, rendered, and understood by search engines, nothing else matters. Without that foundation, even the best content and user experience will not compensate.

At the same time, if the content is perceived as poor or users dislike the product, service, or overall experience, the outcome will be equally disappointing. Technical SEO, content quality, and user experience are not competing priorities. They are complementary factors, each contributing to increased online sales.

In competitive markets, all of these elements need to come together. A weakness in any one area can undermine success in the others.

There are several warning signs.

One is when new technologies are introduced primarily because they are generating hype rather than because they solve a real business problem. Chasing trends rarely leads to sustainable results.

Another is when terms such as PageRank or TrustRank are thrown around as justification for SEO expenditure. In many cases, that is a sign that the discussion is focused on outdated, or downright wrong, concepts rather than meaningful business outcomes.

A further warning sign is when a website’s rankings fluctuate dramatically around confirmed Google core updates. Significant volatility often indicates underlying technical problems, such as signal inconsistency or server-related issues.

There is no universal answer. That depends on the individual business. That said, building PageRank-passing backlinks is a classic waste of SEO budget. Despite all the changes in search, AI, and user behaviour, many organizations continue to spend significant resources on link building strategies designed primarily to pass PageRank. In the overwhelming majority of cases, that money is better spent elsewhere. That having said, building links for converting traffic and brand recognition is a different thing.

Search engines have become more sophisticated, yet the fundamentals remain remarkably consistent. Reliable uptime and fast server performance are essential. If a website is not consistently accessible or performs poorly, it is difficult to compete regardless of how strong the content may be.

Beyond the technical foundation, user signals continue to matter. Ultimately, search engines aim to understand whether users find a website’s content useful and relevant. Authenticity and authority are equally important. Websites that demonstrate genuine expertise, provide value, and establish themselves as credible sources tend to outperform their competitors.

The impact is tremendous. Trust is one of the most important factors in online selling. Users are far more likely to engage with and buy from businesses they perceive as credible, transparent, and accountable.

Fortunately, building trust does not necessarily require complex initiatives. Simple measures can go a long way. Demonstrating that there is a real business behind the website, featuring real employees, providing complete company and contact information, and clearly communicating responsibility and ownership are all important steps.

Brand presence and consistency across channels matter as well. Businesses that present themselves consistently and transparently tend to inspire greater confidence than those that do not.

In some ways, it is preferable to operate a very strong brand with poor SEO than a highly optimized website that lacks meaningful brand signals. While branding is not, in itself, an SEO signal, a strong brand tends to have a positive effect on user engagement, recognition, and loyalty.

Ideally, however, this is not a choice businesses have to make. SEO and branding are not mutually exclusive. They work best when they go hand in hand. Strong SEO helps users discover a brand, while a strong brand helps users choose it.

The often-predicted SEO revolution is unlikely to materialize. What lies ahead is evolution, not revolution, and that evolution will play out over an extended period of time.

AI and LLMs offer an exciting alternative to traditional search and have already demonstrated considerable potential. At the same time, these technologies are still in their infancy. Questions around latency, reliability, data validation, and legal accountability remain far from resolved.

For that reason, AI won’t replace traditional search anytime soon. It will take considerable time before AI- and LLM-driven systems are in a position to compete meaningfully with the established search engines. In the foreseeable future, both approaches are far more likely to coexist than for one to replace the other.

In many industries, the impact of AI is currently being overestimated. We are already seeing some organizations scale back their commitments after initial enthusiasm failed to translate into the expected business outcomes.

That is not to say that AI and LLMs lack value. Quite the contrary. When applied to solve real problems, these technologies can be tremendously useful and, in some cases, help reduce costs significantly.

The challenge arises when AI is adopted for its own sake rather than to address a clearly defined need. In those situations, technology can become an expensive distraction rather than a meaningful business asset. As with most technologies, the value lies not in the technology itself, but in how effectively it is applied.

The opportunities can be substantial, provided AI is applied responsibly and with appropriate oversight.

AI and LLMs are fundamentally data-driven technologies, yet they do not possess a robust validation model of their own. As a result, deploying them does not absolve organizations of the need for ongoing review, quality control, and accountability. Human oversight remains essential.

Companies that understand these limitations can use AI and LLMs to streamline workflows, improve efficiency, and reduce costs in specific areas. Those who assume the technology can operate without supervision often end up paying a high price for that mistake.

AI and LLMs have a tendency to be compliant and to produce expected answers. There is an inherent risk in that, particularly when validation, human review, and ongoing oversight are absent. Errors, inaccuracies, and poor assumptions can be replicated and amplified at scale.

From a purely SEO perspective, the frequently discussed idea of replacing or significantly reducing editorial teams in favour of AI-generated content is folly. Content production may become more efficient, but responsibility for quality cannot be delegated to a language model.

Users recognize AI-generated content. And they tend to dislike it. Businesses that rely heavily on AI-generated content risk alienating their audience while simultaneously weakening the quality and distinctiveness of their online presence.

Over the next five years, I expect search to continue evolving rather than undergoing a sudden revolution. Technologies, interfaces, and user behaviour will change, but the underlying challenges will remain remarkably similar.

As a result, expertise in big data and technical implementation will continue to be among the most sought-after skills. Search engines, AI systems, and recommendation platforms all rely on data. The ability to collect, process, interpret, and act on that data effectively will remain a significant competitive advantage.

Critical and independent thinking are fundamental. As AI becomes more widely adopted, the ability to question assumptions, validate information, and exercise sound judgment will only become more important.

Equally important is the ability to make sense of complex data. Technologies will continue to evolve, but professionals who can interpret data, identify meaningful patterns, and turn insights into action will remain highly valuable.

Conduct a comprehensive technical and policy compliance review. Many businesses focus on new technologies, trends, and growth opportunities while overlooking the fundamentals. Yet technical shortcomings and policy compliance issues often have a far greater impact on long-term performance than the latest industry trend. Before investing in anything else, make sure those foundations are in order.

The web used to be a far more local and, in many ways, kinder place. The rise of social media created new opportunities to connect, communicate, and share ideas. At the same time, it also provided anonymity and a sense of lawlessness for those who feel disgruntled or frustrated.

A better web is not primarily a technological challenge. It is a human one. Businesses, professionals, search engines, and users all share responsibility for the environment we create online. Making the web a better place starts with treating people online the same way we would treat our neighbors, colleagues, and friends in the real world: with compassion, humility, and respect.