The New Rules Of SEO | Brandon Leibowitz

⚡ TL;DR

Search is expanding beyond traditional Google results into platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini, but many of the fundamentals of SEO remain intact. Brandon Leibowitz explains why useful content, keyword research, technical structure, user experience, and especially relevant third party backlinks continue to matter as businesses work to become visible across search engines and AI platforms.

📄 Show Notes

For years, SEO often felt like a technical exercise in keywords, tags, and website optimization. Now businesses are asking a larger question: where will customers search next, and what will make a business visible there?

Brandon Leibowitz has worked in SEO since 2007, and his perspective on the changing search environment is grounded in a simple observation: the platforms may change, but as long as people are searching, businesses need to understand how those searches work.
Google remains important, but ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI platforms have become part of the search landscape. That has led to new terminology such as GEO and AEO, yet Brandon argues that businesses should not lose sight of the fundamentals. Good content, relevant keywords, sound website architecture, and credible references still matter.

The bigger shift is in where trust comes from.

A business can publish a beautifully optimized website and still struggle to gain visibility if nobody else is validating its expertise. Brandon places significant weight on backlinks from relevant third party websites because they provide an external signal that a business is known and trusted within its subject area. A mention from a niche publication, industry website, or relevant podcast can carry more value than simply placing links across easily accessible social platforms.
That makes content quality especially important. Brandon’s advice is not to create the longest article possible, but to understand what is already ranking, identify what those pages cover, and produce content that genuinely helps the person searching. A 5,000 word article is not inherently better than a 500 word article. The appropriate depth depends on the subject and what the searcher actually needs.

AI introduces another complication. Anyone can now ask a tool to generate an article, which means businesses can quickly produce large amounts of generic material. Brandon sees AI as useful for generating topics and outlines, but the finished content needs something more personal: real experiences, examples, case studies, reviews, and information that demonstrates genuine expertise. Those elements give readers a reason to trust the source and give the content substance beyond generic information.
The website itself still matters. Brandon points to practical details such as clean coding, appropriate H1 and H2 structure, internal links, schema, FAQs, image alt text, mobile performance, accessibility, and a clear navigation structure. These details may not be visible to most visitors, but they help search platforms understand the site and help users find what they need.

There is also a business consideration that can get lost in the pursuit of rankings. Getting someone to your website is only part of the job. Once visitors arrive, the site needs to make the next step obvious. Calls to action, testimonials, contact information, and an intuitive path through the site support conversion rather than leaving visitors wondering where to go next.
For AI search, Brandon’s message is surprisingly grounded. He does not recommend abandoning traditional SEO for a completely new system. In his view, the same core practices continue to provide the foundation, while the importance of external trust signals and broader online visibility continues to evolve. He also cautions against assuming that emerging technical additions such as an llms.txt file will automatically improve rankings.

The practical lesson is that search visibility is not built through a single tactic. It develops through consistent work across content, technical foundations, user experience, authority, and external validation.

And that work rarely produces overnight results. Brandon compares SEO to the natural movement of search rankings, where progress includes increases and setbacks. Sustainable visibility tends to come from patience, persistence, and steady improvement rather than expecting one piece of content to suddenly transform traffic.
The new rules of SEO may involve more platforms and more sophisticated search technology, but the underlying responsibility remains familiar: give people useful information, make your expertise credible, make your website accessible and easy to use, and build enough trust outside your own website that search platforms have reasons to believe you belong in the results.
That is what makes SEO a long term business practice rather than a one-time optimization project.

✅ Key Takeaways

Search is expanding across Google, AI platforms, marketplaces, and other search environments.

Strong content and keyword research remain foundational to SEO.

Relevant third party backlinks are important trust signals for search engines and AI platforms.

AI can assist with content development, but original experience and useful examples create differentiation.

Website structure, internal linking, schema, headers, accessibility, and usability still matter.

A strong search strategy should connect visibility with conversion once visitors reach the website.

Social links may have value in AI environments but do not carry the same weight as relevant website backlinks.

SEO rewards consistent improvement and patience rather than expectations of instant traffic growth.

👑 Host Info

Rick Meekins (https://rickmeekins.com) is a serial entrepreneur, strategic business disruption advisor, podcast guest, and host of The Relentless Pursuit of Winning Podcast, where he explores what it actually takes to build, lead, and sustain meaningful businesses. With over 30 years of experience working alongside founders and leadership teams, Rick focuses on helping companies develop and implement disruptive advantages and developing platforms to explore and distribute human insight.

Interested in working together, having Rick speak, or partnering with the show?

🧭 Chapters

00:00 The Changing Search Landscape
04:23 SEO, GEO, and AI Search
07:32 Creating Content That Ranks
10:17 Website Design and User Experience
15:24 Technical SEO Foundations
18:38 Accessibility and Image Optimization
21:09 Building a Stronger Website
22:17 Preparing for AI Search
23:45 Why Relevant Backlinks Matter
27:17 Understanding Website Authority
29:07 Trust, E-E-A-T, and Competitor Research
31:11 Patience and Persistence in SEO
32:14 Free SEO Resources and Website Analysis

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