Avoid the AI snake oil and prepare for Jarvis
Transcript
Why Traditional SEO Is Dead—and What Smart Businesses Are Doing Instead
Brand Over Backlinks: The New SEO Reality
For years, businesses were sold the dream that blogs and backlinks would bring in traffic—and by extension, sales. But that illusion has well and truly shattered.
The rise of AI-generated content and “AI Overviews” in search results has removed the last crutch that traditional SEO tactics stood on. Backlinks? Useless without traffic. Blogs? Ghost towns for readers who never buy. What Google and OpenAI are building is a world where your website may never even be visited—unless you’re the brand people already know and search for.
So what now?
AI Doesn’t Care About Your Backlinks—And Neither Should You
Old-school SEOs are scrambling. AI tools like ChatGPT don’t crawl your backlinks. They don’t care if you’ve paid for a thousand placements on obscure blogs. What AI does care about is your brand presence and how users interact with your content.
This isn’t a prediction—it’s already happening. Businesses who focused solely on keyword stuffing, backlink profiles, or volume blogging are seeing their traffic evaporate. Zero-click results were the first clue. AI Overviews are the nail in the coffin.
Take it from someone who’s been shouting this for a decade: SEO without brand building is a house of cards.
Why Blogs Don’t Convert
Let’s get something straight: most blog content is created for bots, not buyers.
Ten years ago, StewArt Media ditched the blog-for-traffic strategy. Why? Because even though blog posts were ranking high in Google for things like “car park designs” or “toilet paper FAQs,” nobody who visited those pages actually converted.
Readers don’t buy. They read.
And now, with AI models answering those queries directly, they’re not even visiting your site to read anymore.
The Only Links That Matter Are the Ones That Drive Sales
Let’s bust the myth once and for all: backlinks are only valuable if they bring you traffic and sales.
Forget about digital PR campaigns that chase backlinks for the sake of “authority.” The only real PR that works is the kind that gets people searching for your brand. That’s what moves the needle. That’s what builds relevance with AI systems and customers alike.
If you want to invest in links, invest in relationships and coverage that actually sends people to your site—and gets them talking about you.
Focus on UX, Not Jargon
While the SEO industry invents new terms like “online mode” and “footlay” (yes, that’s a thing), the truth is simple: great SEO is just good marketing.
The foundation of everything—from organic rankings to paid ads—is user experience. If your site isn’t a pleasure to shop on, it won’t convert. And if it doesn’t convert, no traffic in the world will fix that.
That’s why at StewArt Media, we focus on the things that actually drive business outcomes:
- Product copy that sells
- Effective calls-to-action
- Seamless navigation
- Optimized page load speeds
And we do it all without blogging or link-building. One of our clients saw a 155% year-on-year growth in organic revenue—without a single blog post or backlink campaign.
AI Will Soon Be Your Customer’s Assistant—So Prepare Now
Let’s talk about the future. Where is this all headed?
Jarvis.
Not the Hollywood version (though it’s close), but the universal digital assistant being developed by Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and others. Think ChatGPT that shops for you, recommends your plumber, or books your hotel—without ever showing you a screen.
This is the screenless, searchless future. And in that future, the assistant—Jarvis—is the gatekeeper. If your business isn’t recognized as a credible, valuable, and trusted brand, Jarvis won’t pick you.
So the real question is: What can you do to be Jarvis’ first choice?
What You Should Be Doing Now
- Double down on your brand. Make sure people are searching for you by name.
- Get structured. Implement structured data across your site so AI understands your products and services.
- Encourage real reviews. Customer experience is everything. Make it visible.
- Stop writing for bots. Create content for your customers—sales content, not filler.
- Optimise for the shopper. Your site should serve the customer first. The AI will follow.
Final Thoughts: The Jarvis Mindset
We’re entering an era where customer experience and brand recognition are the ultimate SEO.
Ignore the jargon. Forget the old tactics. Focus on what matters: building a business that customers love—and that AI assistants trust enough to recommend.
Because if you’re not preparing for Jarvis, you’re preparing to disappear.
Want to know if your site is future-proof?
Let’s talk. We can show you how to build a brand that stands out in the AI age—without wasting time on dead-end SEO tactics. If you want to know how to AI-future proof your site, reach out to me at [email protected]
Jim’s been here for a while, you know who he is.
