In this episode of E-Coffee with Experts, we sit down with Steven Jaenke, CEO of Digimark, to unpack how SEO has evolved from early Google algorithms to today’s AI-driven search landscape.
He shares his unconventional journey, from nursing to building websites in the late 90s, surviving major Google updates like Google Penguin, and scaling an SEO agency through strategic pivots.
We dive deep into why following Google’s guidelines still matters, how SEO pricing mistakes nearly stalled growth, and why chasing high-volume keywords too early can hurt businesses.
The conversation explores how AI overviews, ChatGPT, and Gemini are reshaping search behavior, making traditional SEO metrics like traffic and rankings increasingly misleading.
Steven explains why attribution, brand influence, and original content are becoming the real competitive advantages, and how agencies must adapt their content and technical strategies to stay visible inside LLMs.
Takeaways:
- SEO stays stable because guideline-led work survives updates.
- Agencies struggle early because pricing is often too low.
- Penguin changed SEO because link manipulation stopped working.
- Big keywords fail early because authority takes time.
- Small keywords win faster because competition is lower.
- Traffic matters less because AI reduces clicks.
- Brand presence grows because LLMs reward mentions.
- Original content wins because AI needs new sources.