Rand Fishkin joins Ross Hudgens to unpack the latest acronym craze—GEO, AEO, LEO—and why none may be necessary. They explore the origins of SEO, the rise (and fall) of inbound marketing, and how marketers can avoid falling into the trap of trend-chasing. From naming conventions to the real value of brand clarity, this is a conversation for anyone navigating search in the age of AI.
Rand also shares a bold bet on AI’s impact on jobs, reflects on his early days in the “promised land of SEO”—and discusses why “SEO for AI” might be the clearest path forward.
Plus: Cooking games, Snack Bar Studios, and whether creating a new marketing category is ever worth the effort.
Show Notes
0:08 – Why SEO has too many new acronyms
0:44 – The wild origin of SEO in Bend, Oregon
1:29 – Danny Sullivan, Circuit City, and the OG SEO crowd
2:54 – Who coined “zero-click search”?
3:29 – Why naming trends like GEO can hurt clarity
5:00 – Is GEO catching on because A16z backed it?
5:59 – Should we name this shift at all?
6:37 – Why “SEO for AI” is clearer than new acronyms
8:09 – Organic digital vs SEO vs paid—don’t confuse your client
9:33 – Naming things doesn’t always benefit the person who coined it
10:13 – Why SEO isn’t in decline (despite the narrative)
11:07 – Google is still orders of magnitude bigger than any AI tool
12:34 – Rand bets \$100K AI won’t take half of all jobs
13:39 – “SEO for AI” has 100% clarity, unlike GEO or AEO
14:58 – GEO and AEO should be considered tags under SEO
16:07 – Simplifying your services for buyers: SEO still works
17:11 – SEO can carry baggage—but it’s still foundational
18:20 – Organic growth as the category; SEO as the tactic
19:03 – The Snickers bar analogy for misaligned category tags
20:01 – Why HubSpot had the power to rebrand with inbound marketing
20:54 – Applying lessons from game tagging at Snack Bar Studios
22:16 – Final thoughts: ride the wave if you’re Mars; otherwise, keep it clear
23:07 – Rand’s AI/job displacement bet explained
24:53 – Revisiting his blockchain bet with Dharmesh from 2016
25:21 – What worries Rand more than AI? Government decisions
26:14 – Elon, politics, and the future of tech influence
26:22 – Snack Bar Studios: magical boars and carbonara
26:56 – Sparktoro and “Search Everywhere Optimization”
27:03 – Tagging the cooking game: chill action, story rich, 2D action
27:51 – Geraldine’s writing brings it to life
Show Links
- It’s Still SEO (SparkToro Blog)
- a16z: How GEO Rewrites the Rules of Search
- Rand’s Game Studio
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