SEO is dead, followers don't matter, and AI rewired everything


Stop playing by old rules. Here's the new playbook that's actually printing money right now.

If having trouble with any links, you can read the online version here

Hey Guys,

Let's cut through the noise.

I've been watching the marketing landscape shift faster than ever, and while everyone's chasing the next shiny tactic, most people are missing the fundamental changes that are making old methods completely obsolete.

Here's what's actually happening: SEO isn't about keywords anymore. Social media follower counts are becoming meaningless. And AI isn't just changing how we work—it's rewriting who makes money and who gets left behind.

I spent hours digging through 15 expert videos to find the strategies that are actually working right now. Not theory. Not "maybe this will work someday." The stuff people are using to generate real revenue in 2026.

➡️ Your Complete Implementation Guide

I know you're busy. That's why I've created a comprehensive Google doc with everything you need to implement these strategies fast:

4-paragraph summary for each video (get the core strategy in 60 seconds)

25 key takeaways extracted from each video

Step-by-step checklists you can follow immediately

No fluff. No theory. Just the exact steps to implement what you're about to learn.

Access Your Complete Implementation Guide Here

Now let's get into it.

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What's Actually Changed (And Why It Matters)

The Old Rules Are Dead:

  • Traditional keyword research? Obsolete.
  • Ranking in Google? Not the goal anymore.
  • Follower counts? Vanity metrics.
  • Grinding out content? Wrong game entirely.

The New Rules:

  • SEO is now about "Service Entity Research" and being cited by AI
  • Social algorithms favor virality over followers
  • AI tools can multiply one piece of content into platform-specific viral machines
  • Simple AI services to local businesses print money
  • Free tools have never been more powerful

Here's everything you need to dominate in 2026.


The New SEO: Google's AI Changed Everything

1. Keywords are DEAD, do THIS instead

Most people are wasting hours in keyword research tools playing a game that ended years ago. Google's AI doesn't just scan for keywords anymore—it understands "entities." This is the shift you need to understand for local SEO.

What you'll learn:

  • The specific Google algorithm change that killed traditional keyword research
  • Why Domain Authority (DA) is a vanity metric for local rankings
  • How to perform "Service Entity Research" so you're not invisible for entire search categories

Watch: Future-Proof Your SEO Strategy


2. Google's Gemini 3.0 Didn't "Upgrade" AI — It Rewired How Money Moves Online

Some businesses are seeing 86% traffic collapses from AI Overviews. But this creates a massive opportunity: selling "AI Visibility" services to desperate businesses who need to be featured in AI answers.

What you'll learn:

  • Why the new goal isn't ranking in Google—it's being cited by AI
  • How to find unlimited local business leads using Gemini
  • The "Google AI Defense" monthly retainer service that businesses desperately need

Watch: The Biggest Shift Since Google Began


3. How to Use AI to Go VIRAL on Social Media (full guide)

Remember when followers actually saw your content? Those days are gone. This is about building a content machine that feeds the new algorithms by focusing on "packaging" and virality.

What you'll learn:

  • Why the "death of the follower" is the most critical shift for your content strategy
  • How to use Poppy AI to analyze top content and repurpose one video into dozens of platform-specific assets
  • The actual metrics you should be tracking instead of vanity numbers

Watch: Build Your Content Machine


Business Models That Print Money in 2026

4. How I'd Make Money With AI In 2026 (If I Had To Start Over)

Simple business model: sell AI automation services to local businesses for recurring monthly revenue. Takes 15-20 minutes to set up per client.

What you'll learn:

  • Three simple AI services: Google Business Profile optimization, automated miss-call text-back, AI review generation
  • How to use white-label AI software to deliver these services (no coding required)
  • Complete step-by-step walkthrough designed for total beginners

Watch: The Complete Business Blueprint


5. The Best Business to Start in 2026 (Even with $0)

While trendy businesses get saturated fast, the digital agency remains one of the most effective, cash-flow-positive models. Here's the framework for building a seven-figure agency without burning out.

What you'll learn:

  • Why an agency is the perfect first business (no capital, no inventory, skills compound over time)
  • The most common agency failure points and how to solve them with systems
  • The three pillars every agency needs: Traffic, Leads, Customers

Watch: Build a Scalable Digital Agency


Affiliate Marketing: Three Proven Approaches

6. How To Start AI Affiliate Marketing In 2026 (1 Hour Full Course)

This is a masterclass in paid ads affiliate marketing. Forget unpredictable organic reach—this is about creating a scalable machine that turns $1 in ad spend into $2+ in commissions.

What you'll learn:

  • Complete guide to picking winning offers using a proven checklist
  • How to use VSL (Video Sales Letter) playbook with AI to write scripts that sell
  • Detailed over-the-shoulder guide to setting up, testing, and scaling Meta ads campaigns

Watch: 1-Hour Paid Ads Affiliate Course


7. How to Start Affiliate Marketing in 2026: Full Course with AI

Complete foundation for building a long-term, sustainable affiliate marketing business with organic traffic. These are the crucial first steps that determine success or failure.

What you'll learn:

  • How to choose profitable niches by focusing on search intent (specifically, the word "best")
  • Key platform differences: when to use YouTube vs. website
  • The two essential content types: "how-to" informational posts and "best of" transactional posts

Watch: Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Affiliate Marketing


8. AI-Powered Affiliate Marketing — Full Course for Beginners (2026)

Different approach emphasizing the mindset of "helping people" to let products sell themselves. Heavy focus on creating actual ad content for paid traffic.

What you'll learn:

  • Checklist for finding trustworthy products with good commissions and existing video materials
  • How to use ChatGPT with proven script playbook to generate compelling story-based ad scripts
  • How to use AI voice generators (11 Labs) and stock video to produce high-quality ads without being on camera

Watch: The Art of Affiliate Video Ads


9. Start Affiliate Marketing FAST With AI - My 2026 Make Money Online Plan!

Want the absolute fastest path to results? Stop competing on content. Start building simple, valuable "assets" like calculators and tools that solve specific problems and attract traffic instantly.

What you'll learn:

  • Core philosophy: Find unglamorous problems and solve them with simple tools
  • Live demonstration using Gemini AI to build "AI Business Idea Generator" in minutes
  • How to use "fast traffic" sources like press releases to drive immediate interest

Watch: Fastest Way to Get Started


Your Free Toolkit: Powerful Resources Most People Don't Know About

10. STOP Paying for WordPress! Host Websites 100% Free

Website builders look cheap until hosting fees and upgrades add up. Here's how to build and host professional, Google-ready, AI-ready websites for free.

What you'll learn:

  • How platforms lock you into recurring payment "vortex"
  • Live demonstration building custom website in under 5 minutes using gitpage.site
  • How to auto-generate robots.txt and llms.txt to make your site easily crawlable by Google and AI

Watch: Host Websites For Free


11. Build this Free Backlink to Rank #1 Fast (DR83)

Want a powerful, high-authority backlink? This walks you through building a legitimate backlink from a real, high-traffic DR83 domain without paying a dime.

What you'll learn:

  • The exact website (prlog.org) that lets you publish free press releases
  • Step-by-step process for submitting and getting indexed links
  • How paid options can syndicate your link across hundreds of news outlets

Watch: Free Backlink Tutorial


12. NEW Google Antigravity Update is INSANE (FREE!)

Google's been quietly upgrading their "Anti-gravity" AI tool. The latest updates are a game-changer—faster, smarter, better context understanding.

What you'll learn:

  • Three huge changes making this tool 10x more useful: insane speed, higher quality responses, deep contextual understanding
  • Practical real-world examples for content creation, email marketing, monthly content strategy
  • Why this tool multiplies what you can do instead of replacing you

Watch: Google Anti-Gravity Tool in Action


13. Gemini Agent Skills Changes Everything! Supercharged AI Coding Agent!

For tech-savvy marketers: Google's open-source terminal agent (Gemini CLI) just got massive update with "Agent Skills"—teach the AI to perform specific, repeatable tasks.

What you'll learn:

  • How Agent Skills turn generic AI into specialized expert for your exact needs
  • Introduction to Gemini Conductor bringing context-driven development into your terminal
  • Real-world example transforming messy notes into organized knowledge graph in under 30 minutes

Watch: Future of AI Coding Assistants


Master Your Mindset & Strategy

14. Give me 58 Secs... I'll END your procrastination forever

Procrastination isn't about being lazy—it's a brain glitch caused by fear of failure. Your brain is wired to keep you safe, not successful.

What you'll learn:

  • The real reason you stall and distract yourself instead of taking action
  • The simple mental fix: Stop aiming for "perfect" and start aiming for "done"
  • How lowering the stakes rewires your brain, shrinks fear, and starts a cycle of results

Watch: 58-Second Procrastination Fix


15. I made 1,246 videos to realise what I'll tell you in 19 minutes

After 1,000+ videos, this creator realized YouTube success isn't random luck—it's a formula. Most creators fail because they only focus on what they want to make.

What you'll learn:

  • The Venn diagram of YouTube success: videos you want to make, videos the algorithm wants, videos that achieve your goals
  • Five-step formula to find perfect, sustainable niche for your channel
  • Three pivotal questions that narrow down ideas and eliminate content types destined to fail

Watch: Formula for Sustainable YouTube Success


Want the Unfair Advantage?

If you're serious about staying ahead of the curve (instead of constantly playing catch-up), you need more than just intel. You need:

The marketers making serious money aren't just reading about these strategies – they're implementing them with proven systems that actually work.

Ready to Actually Implement This?

Look, information without action is just entertainment. I've given you 15 proven strategies that are working right now in 2026.

The difference between people who succeed and people who stay stuck isn't access to information—it's execution speed.

Pick ONE strategy from this newsletter. Just one.

Go through the implementation checklist in the Google doc. Follow the steps. Launch something today.

That's it. That's the whole game.

The person who ships first usually wins.

Talk soon,

- Tony

Tony Hayes Daily Growth Signals Newsletter

Every day we handpick the top 20 marketing tips, insights, case studies, methods, workflows, and free trials we've spotted on Twitter (X) and YouTube. It's completely free and lands in your inbox 6 days a week. No fluff, just the good stuff that's actually working right now. Creator of NicheBlasta, LeadBlasta, Viral Content Pilot, and many more innovative marketing automation tools. I build and release new tools every week built with no code platforms and run a WhatsApp group and the 'Unshackled' product creation bootcamp.

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