How AI search is killing Google traffic (and what smart marketers are doing about it)

Hey Guys,

What if the traffic you're getting from Google is actually less valuable than traffic from other sources? One of today's discoveries reveals a source of traffic that converts six times better than traditional search. The answer might surprise you and completely change your marketing strategy for 2026.

TLDR: Today is all about the major shifts in search and social. We're looking at the rise of "Answer Engine Optimization" (AEO) and how to get suggested by ChatGPT, the new rules for ranking on X (formerly Twitter), and how to leverage AI to create content that resonates. Plus, we've got actionable tips on YouTube growth, Pinterest traffic, and a simple framework for selling anything online.

1. Is SEO Still a Goldmine in 2025?

Why it's worth your time: If you're skeptical about the ROI of SEO, this post offers a compelling case study. Sarvesh Shrivastava breaks down a real-world example of how a significant investment in SEO yielded a massive return for a local business.

Key Takeaway: A home services contractor invested $24,000 in SEO services.

The Result: This investment generated $1.5 million in revenue within 12 months.

The Bottom Line: Strategic SEO continues to deliver substantial returns, even in competitive local markets.

​Read the original post on X​

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2. How to Win the AI Search War (AEO)

Why it's worth your time: Lenny Rachitsky shares a goldmine of insights from an expert on "Answer Engine Optimization" (AEO). This is your guide to getting your product or website recommended by AI like ChatGPT, and the traffic it generates is highly valuable.

Higher Conversion: Traffic from LLMs (like ChatGPT) can convert up to 6 times better than Google search traffic because users have more intent.

Mentions Over Rankings: Unlike traditional SEO where ranking #1 is key, in AEO, the volume of mentions across platforms like Reddit, YouTube, and blogs is more important.

Level Playing Field: Early-stage startups can compete with established players in AEO from day one, as it doesn't rely on years of domain authority.

The Power of the Long Tail: People use much longer, more specific queries with AI. Owning these micro-niches can be a winning strategy.

Reddit is King: ChatGPT trusts Reddit for recommendations. Genuine, helpful participation on the platform can significantly boost your AI visibility.

Untapped B2B YouTube Gold: Creating videos on niche B2B topics that nobody else is covering is a massive opportunity.

Your Help Center is a Growth Channel: Optimize your help center articles to answer specific questions people ask AI.

​Get all the AEO insights on X​

3. The ChatGPT Prompt That Could End "SEO Gurus"

Why it's worth your time: Sarvesh Shrivastava teases a powerful ChatGPT prompt that he claims could automate high-level SEO tasks. This is a must-see for anyone looking to leverage AI for their search optimization efforts. Click through to see what the prompt is.

​See the "Guru-Killing" prompt on X​

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4. Adapting Your SEO Strategy for the AI Era

Why it's worth your time: Connor Showler argues that while SEO isn't dead, the game has changed. This thread provides a clear roadmap for how to compete in an environment where Google's crawling and AI Overviews are shaking things up.

The New SEO Trinity: Brand building, deep topical authority, and "parasite SEO" are now more critical than ever.

Own Your Brand: Focus on dominating search results for your own brand name.

Leverage Other Platforms: Use Reddit and other high-authority sites to get your brand cited in AI Overviews.

Prove Your Authority: Your on-page and off-page SEO should be geared towards establishing your brand as a trustworthy entity in your niche.

Monitor Conversations: Use tools to get real-time alerts for relevant conversations on platforms like Reddit.

​Learn how to stay ahead of the changes on X​

5. The "4-Hour Workweek" Business Model in a Boring Niche

Why it's worth your time: Ian shares an inspiring case study of a business that has achieved incredible success in just five years, with the founder working minimal hours. This is a great read for anyone interested in building a lifestyle business.

Impressive Numbers: The business boasts $567,000 in Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR).

Niche Success: It operates in a "very boring niche," proving that you don't need a flashy idea to be successful.

Rapid Growth: Started just 5 years ago and is now listed for sale for $10 million.

Founder's Lifestyle: The founder literally works only 4 hours per week.

​Get the details on this incredible business on X​

6. A Ghostwriting Prompt to Clone Your Voice

Why it's worth your time: Tyler provides a detailed prompt for GPT or Claude that can turn the AI into a ghostwriter that perfectly mimics your unique writing style. This is a game-changer for anyone looking to scale their content creation without losing their personal touch.

The Goal: To have an AI ghostwriter that can replicate your vocabulary, tone, and thought patterns so precisely that the output is indistinguishable from your own writing.

The Process: The prompt instructs the AI to analyze your existing content to identify and replicate patterns in your writing style, including sentence structure, humor, and calls-to-action.

Key Inputs: You need to provide the AI with a breakdown of your audience and a file of your example tweets.

​Grab the full ghostwriting prompt on X​

7. A Simple Framework to 10x Your YouTube Views

Why it's worth your time: Max lays out a straightforward, five-month plan that took a YouTube channel from 500 views per video to over 5,000, without relying on "viral luck."

Month 1 - The Problem: Low views due to poor packaging, flat retention, and bad thumbnails.

Month 2 - The Fix: Analyzed analytics to identify drop-off points, rebuilt video hooks to start with the payoff, and hired a professional thumbnail designer.

Month 3 - The Result: Click-Through Rate (CTR) jumped from 3% to 8%, and retention increased from 32% to 50%, leading to a snowball effect in views.

Month 4 - Double Down: Cloned the best performing video idea into five variations.

Month 5 - The Breakthrough: One video surpassed 100,000 views, taking the channel's total monthly views from 6,000 to over 60,000.

​Bookmark this 10x growth plan on X​

8. The "Proof then Plug" Framework for Effortless Selling

Why it's worth your time: Aaron shares a powerful and simple framework for selling anything online without being salesy. He used this exact method to generate $60,000 in sales for an affiliate product.

The Framework: "Proof then Plug" - first, you show proof that something works, and then you plug the product or service that helped you achieve those results.

Why It Works: Humans are drawn to results and look for shortcuts to achieve them. Your offer becomes the shortcut.

Start Small: You don't need massive results to start. Sharing small wins is still proof and can be very effective.

Natural Selling: This approach feels more authentic because you're not hard-selling; you're simply sharing your successes and the tools that got you there.

​Learn the "Proof then Plug" framework on X​

9. Turn One URL into Dozens of Pinterest Traffic Magnets

Why it's worth your time: Mo Mullah provides an advanced strategy to maximize your reach on Pinterest from a single piece of content. This is a must-read for anyone using Pinterest for traffic generation.

Topic Mapping: Break down your content into micro-topics (H1s, H2s, FAQs, lists) to create multiple pin concepts from one URL.

Keyword Extraction: Use Pinterest search and Pinterest Trends to find long-tail keywords for each micro-topic.

Design Pin Families: Create 3-5 pin variations for each keyword cluster with different angles (checklists, mistakes, benefits).

Precise Linking: Link each pin to the specific section of your page that matches its promise.

Strategic Distribution: Pin your sets to multiple, ultra-specific boards over several days.

Track and Clone: Identify which pin angles are driving the most clicks and clone them for other subtopics.

Batch Your Assets: Create a "Pin Bank" of pre-cropped photos, text overlays, and quotes to speed up your pin creation process.

​Get the full Pinterest strategy on X​

10. The Untapped Potential of the Faceless Sports Niche on YouTube

Why it's worth your time: Saim breaks down why the sports niche is a massive opportunity for faceless YouTube channels, offering a huge global audience and a low barrier to entry. Click through for a deeper dive into how these channels are scaling to over $10,000 a month.

High Demand: The sports niche has a massive and passionate global audience.

Evergreen and Trendy: You can create content around both timeless topics and current trends.

Low Trust Barrier: Viewers are receptive to faceless channels in this niche.

​Explore the sports niche breakdown on X​

11. A Treasure Trove for AI Agent Enthusiasts

Why it's worth your time: Aadit Sheth highlights what he calls "the best hands-on AI agents repo you'll ever see." If you're interested in the practical application of AI agents, this is a resource you'll want to check out.

​Find the AI agents repo on X​

12. How to Clone Viral TikTok Formats

Why it's worth your time: Jacob Rodri shares a method for reverse-engineering the viral video formats used by apps making over $200,000 a month on TikTok. This is a must-bookmark for anyone looking to crack the code of TikTok virality.

​Discover the viral format cloning method on X​

13. On Track for $4 Million This Year with Pay Per Call

Why it's worth your time: billionatee is on track to make over $4 million this year from pay-per-call and is opening the floor for questions. This is a rare opportunity to learn from someone at the top of their game in a lucrative niche.

Impressive Earnings: Already secured $2.9 million this year.

Seasonal Highs Ahead: The busy season for this business hasn't even started yet.

Open Q&A: The author is inviting questions about their success.

​Ask your questions on X​

14. How the X (Twitter) Algorithm Ranks Your Posts

Why it's worth your time: Alex Finn provides a breakdown of how the X algorithm weighs different interactions, based on recently found code. Understanding these ranking factors is crucial for maximizing your reach on the platform.

Replies are King: Replies to your post are worth more than double the value of likes.

Conversation is Everything: The algorithm prioritizes content that it believes will generate conversation.

Negative Interactions Hurt: Getting blocked or muted has a significant negative impact on your content's reach.

Actionable Takeaways: Focus on creating content that encourages replies, respond to those replies, and optimize your profile to encourage clicks.

​See the full algorithm breakdown on X​

15. A Free Tool to Fix Broken X Video Downloads

Why it's worth your time: Rob Hallam has created and is sharing a free tool that fixes the issue of broken video downloads on X. It allows you to grab any video format, and even an mp3, in a single click.

​Get the free video downloader tool on X​

16. The "AI Agent Marketplace" That's Consolidating AI Tools

Why it's worth your time: Chase Dimond introduces MuleRun, an AI Agent Marketplace that aims to replace the need for multiple AI tool subscriptions. This is an interesting look at the future of AI-powered work.

One Platform, Many Tools: Access hundreds of specialized AI agents for tasks like writing, research, and design in one place.

"Digital Employees": Think of each agent as a hireable specialist for a specific job.

Free Trial: New users get 1,000 free credits to test out the platform.

​Check out the AI Agent Marketplace on X​

17. $88k in 15 Days with an AI Beauty Influencer

Why it's worth your time: Arsène Lupin claims to have made $88,000 in commission in just 15 days by launching an AI beauty influencer. The post is a lead magnet for a guide on how to do it.

Stunning Claim: Significant income generated in a very short time frame.

No Filming or Editing: The content is created using short AI clips with no ad spend.

Lead Magnet: You need to engage with the post to receive the "how-to" guide.

​See the AI influencer claim on X​

18. The AI Bot That Automates YouTube Video Creation

Why it's worth your time: AIwithLady showcases an AI bot that can automatically create and upload YouTube videos, with the entire system built in just 20 minutes. This is a lead magnet for the full documentation and workflow.

Full Automation: The bot handles both the creation and uploading of YouTube videos.

Quick Setup: The system was built in only 20 minutes using n8n.

Gated Information: You have to interact with the post to get the workflow and documentation.

​Check out the YouTube automation bot on X​

19. The New YouTube System: From Idea to Publish in 30 Minutes

Why it's worth your time: Gling AI outlines the modern, AI-powered workflow that top creators are using to produce YouTube videos incredibly fast.

The Old Way: Hire an editor, spend hours in editing software, and upload once a week.

The New Way: Use AI tools like Grok 4 for writing and Gling for editing to go from idea to published video in just 30 minutes.

Efficiency is Key: The game has shifted towards speed and efficiency in content creation.

​Learn about the new YouTube system on X​

20. How to Make $2M+ with YouTube Organic

Why it's worth your time: Nate shares his strategies for how he has generated over $2 million for his clients in the last year using organic YouTube marketing. This is a must-watch for anyone serious about scaling their information products.

Proven Track Record: Over $2 million generated for clients through organic YouTube efforts.

Current Strategies: The content focuses on what is working right now.

Target Audience: Aimed at those looking to scale their info offers.

​Find the YouTube organic guide on X​

21. The AI-Powered Penguin Story Channel with 10 Million Views

Why it's worth your time: Raunak Yadush highlights a YouTube channel that has gained 10 million views in just three weeks by creating AI-generated penguin stories. This is another lead magnet offering a guide in exchange for engagement.

Rapid Growth: The channel achieved massive viewership in a very short period.

Simple Production: The videos feature basic editing, straightforward scripts, and simple thumbnails.

AI-Generated Content: The stories themselves are created using AI.

​See the viral AI channel example on X​

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

Ready to Transform Your Marketing Game?

After diving into all these cutting-edge strategies, you're probably wondering how to implement them without getting overwhelmed by the technical side. The truth is, most marketers know what works but struggle with the execution.

That's exactly why I created my signature Social Listening System - it's how I stay ahead of every trend mentioned in this newsletter before they become "common knowledge." While others are scrambling to catch up, my system keeps me 2-3 steps ahead of the competition.

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Talk soon,

- Tony

P.S. - The AI revolution in marketing isn't coming... it's already here. The question is: will you be leading the charge or playing catch-up? The choice is yours.