How to optimize for the search experience, not just results to drive growth

In this Predictable B2B Success episode, Edward Sturm talks about his journey from creating viral videos to becoming an SEO expert and owning an AI startup. He shares tips on leveraging podcasts, short-form mobile videos, and personal branding to establish a strong connection with your audience and hedge against AI disruption. Edward and I also explore the evolution of SEO from search engine optimization to search experience optimization, the benefits of targeting bottom-of-funnel keywords in this new model, and using mobile video as a growth hack. We also talk about the advancements in AI technology and its impact on the world.

Edward Sturm is a blockchain and crypto entrepreneur with an impressive track record. He co-founded the first video game in the blockchain and crypto space, launched a year and a half before his latest venture, Reverb.

One night, while walking around a beautiful lookout in Kyiv, Edward and his co-founder came up with the concept for Reverb, a cloud-based voice recorder that allows users to share their recordings with a link that can be embedded in Twitter. They launched it on BetaList and Product Hunt and were surprised by its success. The education sector widely adopted it, and with the pandemic, it was a way for people to communicate over distances.

Edward implemented a thorough search engine optimization funnel, and at its peak, they were getting 32,000 users a month from SEO alone. They helped many people and are now adding an AI feature that, at the time of recording, competitors haven't as yet.

Some areas we explore in this episode include:

• Edward's perspective on AI having more utility than blockchain and is amazed by advancements in AI technology, including chatbots and voice apps.
• They think most cryptocurrencies are scams and trust only Bitcoin.
• Edward's perspective on the world has become strange and sci-fi-like due to rapid advancements in advanced technologies like AI.
• Why anyone can start a TikTok account and build a personal brand that can result in business success.
• A success story about a friend who started a TikTok account using Chat GPT to write scripts and an app called Caption AI for teleprompting is shared.
• Consistency and not giving up are essential to creating content on platforms like TikTok while building a personal brand.
• Targeting bottom-funnel keywords as they are more effective than high-level keywords due to conversational AI, which will disrupt the ranking model in SEO.
• Technical SEO is important for allowing AI to crawl and recommend content.
• Mobile video is a growth hack that requires a small investment of time and money for great results.
• Generating content is easier now as algorithms suggest content based on its transcript, keywords, and previous viewer behavior.
• And much, much more.