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Welcome to Volume 198 👋
Happy Thursday!
In this week’s newsletter, we cover:
- 💻 What is Generative AI SEO and How Does Gen AI Affect SEO Long Term?
- 👀 The Latest in B2B SaaS This Week
- 🧠 This Week’s Brain Food
- ➕ The Best Content across the Web
Let’s get into it.
Intersection 2024: Catch the Recording Here
Did you miss Intersection 2024?
Don’t worry! We recorded the whole thing.
Foundation’s best and brightest kicked off the summer yesterday with a virtual conference exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and marketing. Whether you’re still exploring different use cases for generative tools or are ready to level up your AI strategy, it has plenty of insights for you.
Hosted by our very own Leigha Henderson, Intersection 2024 featured:
- What Content AI Can’t Do (Yet) — Chris Meabe, Senior Content Specialist, discussed what these disruptive tools still struggle with and how to avoid misusing AI.
- Fireside Chat on Disruptive Technologies — James Scherer, VP of Strategy, joined Ross for a virtual sit-down on the marketing innovations making waves.
- Key Note Speaker: Ross Simmonds — The marketing master himself spent an hour separating hype from reality when it comes to using AI for creation and distribution.
Want to watch the full recording packed full of those insights?
👉 Watch the Intersection 2024: Fireside Chat recording here! You can find the other presentations from the summit on our YouTube channel.
B2B SAAS NEWS
What is Generative AI SEO and How Does Gen AI Affect SEO Long Term?
In 2024, generative AI and SEO are becoming so intertwined that it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. This begs the question: What role should gen AI play in your SEO strategy, and how will it impact long-term results?
When it comes to SEO, here’s a list of things Gen AI can help you with:
- Input processing: The AI system takes a prompt or set of instructions as input. This could be a topic, a set of keywords, or a specific content format.
- Content generation: Based on the input, the AI generates text that attempts to fulfill the given requirements. This can range from blog posts and product descriptions to meta titles and descriptions.
- Optimization: Advanced generative AI systems can be fine-tuned to incorporate SEO best practices. They can optimize content for readability, keyword density, and other SEO factors.
- Iteration and refinement: Many systems allow for multiple iterations, where human feedback can be incorporated to refine and improve the generated content.
- Scalability: Generative AI can produce large volumes of unique content quickly, allowing for the creation of comprehensive content strategies that would be time-consuming to implement manually.
And here’s a list of what Gen AI can’t help you with:
- Creating an effective SEO strategy that gets real results.
In our latest deep dive, Ross explains the importance of developing an SEO strategy that focuses on EEAT (experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness). He emphasizes that AI can only get you so far. After all, search results are still being read by humans, so your content should be crafted to help humans first.
That means adding real insights, providing utility for your audience, and writing in a way that doesn’t just regurgitate the information on existing SERPs but actually resonates with your target audience and delivers genuine value.
Ross also dives into how language models power AI-generated content and how, with the right strategy in place, gen AI can help you quickly optimize and create content that boosts your SEO game.
Want to check all this out for yourself? Head on over to our blog and give it a read.
🚨New Podcast Alert: The Key to Better Content🚨
Ross sat down with Rob Marsh, founder of The Copywriter Club, to talk about all things content. They cover everything from how the content game has changed in the last couple of years to why “bad content” seems to be the new norm and how AI is changing the definition of truly valuable content.
During their chat, Ross also gets candid about his own journey. He shares exclusive insights into how he ran a fantasy football blog in university, why he believes marketers need to start looking at content as an investment, and how he really feels about the impact AI is having on content creation.
He also dives into the key strategies for creating valuable content and maximizing its impact, such as:
- Staying irreplaceable: Why niching down and offering specialized content makes it tougher for AI to replace you.
- Boosting content value: How learning to incorporate new ideas and proprietary research can elevate your content’s worth.
- Mastering distribution: Why promoting your content repeatedly can drive long-term ROI.
You can listen to the full chat between Ross and Rob right here.
👀 What’s the Latest in B2B SaaS This Week? 👀
- Google: Core Update Expected in the Coming Weeks | Search Engine Roundtable
- OpenAI’s Fastest Model, GPT-4o Mini, Is Now Available on Azure AI | Microsoft Azure
- The Global CrowdStrike Outage Triggered a Surprise Return to Cash | Wired
- This Gen Z Startup Raised $41.5 Million as the “Anti-Facebook” | Fortune
B2B MARKETING STRATEGY
How Brands Can Use STAT To Thrive Amidst SERP Chaos
The SERPs are in turmoil, and savvy marketers are turning to advanced tools to weather the storm. This week, Ross dropped by the Foundation Lab to pull back the curtain on STAT Search Analytics.
We’re talking full-funnel SEO strategies informed by real-time SERP data. He discusses how to use STAT to monitor everything from video carousels to AI overviews, ensuring you’re always one step ahead. Inside this breakdown, you’ll discover:
- How to monitor seismic shifts in SERP features (like the 📈 rise of Reddit and forums)
- Strategies for leveraging directory sites in your SEO mix
- The data-driven approach to deciding when (and where) to invest in video content
- How to use STAT’s “Daily Snapshot” to spot emerging competitors and opportunities
- The surprising dip in G2’s performance (and what it means for your directory strategy)
This guide is a masterclass in using data to drive decision-making in a volatile search landscape. Whether you’re an enterprise brand or a scrappy startup, these insights will help you maximize your SERP real estate and capture more organic traffic.
Don’t let SERP chaos sink your organic strategy. Dive into Ross’s STAT playbook now and learn how to turn volatility into opportunity. Your search visibility (and your bottom line) will thank you.
🧠 This Week’s Brain Food 🧠
I’m a chronic “procrasti-planner”, and it’s making me miserable. But I think I’m addicted to it.
Let me explain.
Ever since I was in high school, my sister and I would spend weekends, holidays, and any free time planning.
We’d meticulously outline each aspect of our lives, from how we’d eat to lose weight and get the bodies we wanted to strategies for getting straight As. Our walls would be filled with routines, schedules, and plans that accounted for every last minute of the day.
Why did I do this? Well, I craved what I’d been told to crave — that movie moment where the girl gets a ’90s makeover, takes off her glasses, and suddenly becomes the belle of the ball. I wanted to take off my metaphorical glasses and suddenly have an entirely new wardrobe, personality, and life. Because deep down, I knew that would unlock a new level to my existence.
I spent so much time doing this that by the time I graduated, I wasn’t just proficient in English; I had mastered the art of planning.
But here’s the issue: While I’m a fantastic planner (seriously, I’m next-level good), I can’t, for the life of me, stick to my plans. 🫠
Fast-forward to the present day, and I’m ashamed to say that I’ve become addicted to the idea of “getting it down on paper”. I keep writing plans for all of my worries about work, life, stress, relationships, health, and the future; not sticking to them; and then repeating the process over and over and over again.
The thing is, I know this process stops me from making any real progress, and I know this process makes me miserable. But I just can’t help myself.
That brings me to last night. I was rewatching my all-time favorite TV show, Fleabag, for the millionth time (no exaggeration). As I watched the final scene and wiped my tears away (I won’t spoil it, don’t worry), I had a sudden realization: Maybe the answer is not to hold on, but to let go.
Maybe I need to learn how to feel comfortable being uncomfortable. Maybe the answer is not trying to control everything but forming a sense of security in knowing that I can’t anticipate the next step.
What will this look like?
Honestly, I have no idea. But I’m going to give it a go. Here’s a photo of my final plan — the one I made last night. I stuck it on the back of my bedroom door.
It might have taken 24 years to get here, but hey, it happened. And I’m taking that as a win. For any of my fellow procrasti-planners reading this, I know there’s still hope for us. We just have to do what we’ve never dared to do before: Act before we think.
(PS: I’ll track my progress and update you in my next newsletter!)
Want to sponsor our next issue? Reply to this email, and we’ll share how you can reach more SaaS founders and marketers today.
🏅 Twitter/X Thread of the Week
Free SEO Training Session by Nathan Gotch
🎖️ LinkedIn Post of the Week
What Trends Tell Us — Zaria Parvez
🤳🏽 Nice Finds You Should Binge
- 57 Best AI Tools to Try in 2024 | Semrush
- What Happens When You Disavow Every Link To Your Site? | Zyppy SEO
- AI News: We’re One Step Closer to AGI This Week! | Matt Wolfe
- A One-Size-Fits-All Social Media Strategy | SparkToro
- The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout | Big Think
💻 Job Postings Worth Checking Out
Looking for a new opportunity? Here’s a round-up of some exciting job openings in the B2B SaaS space.
- SignalFire Job Board
- Foundation: Content Marketing Manager
- Foundation: B2B Content Marketing Strategist
- Foundation: Social Media Editor [Freelance]
- Foundation: Senior Director of B2B Marketing
- Foundation: Senior Director of Social Media
- Foundation: Content Creator
Want us to include your job postings in our next issue? Reply to this email, and we’ll share how you can reach more SaaS professionals today.
🎧 What We’re Wired into This Week
Oh, and in case you were wondering, this stunning premiere is brought to you by me, Chloe Francis, a.k.a. Chlos-a-tron, a.k.a. Chloe-the-Bish, a.k.a. your next favorite newsletter writer 😉.
If you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you want to see in this newsletter, feel free to shoot me an email at chloe@foundationinc.co. We’re always looking for ways to improve and provide the best B2B SaaS marketing resources.
That brings us to the end of my first-ever newsletter. I don’t know about you, but this feels like the start of something beautiful. We’re going to have a lot of fun.
On that note, I wish you all a very happy weekend (don’t do anything I wouldn’t do).
Chlos-a-tron over and out!
