This week's founder breakdown changed how I think about SEO.
I got on a call with Rob Hoffman.
He's bootstrapped three companies to multiple millions in revenue, and his playbook is something he calls Search Everywhere Optimization.
The idea is simple.
SEO is no longer just about ranking on Google.
It's about showing up when someone asks ChatGPT or Claude for a product like yours.
And given LLMs like ChatGPT convert higher than Google, showing up in their answers should be your priority.
Full interview here → click to watch
Here's what stuck with me.
LinkedIn is the #2 most cited source by AI.
Everyone knows Reddit is number one.
I would have bet money that YouTube was second.
But it’s not.
LinkedIn is.
To prove it, Rob showed how his co-founder Jake wrote a LinkedIn Pulse article about programmatic SEO, and that very post is now outranking their actual website for that keyword.
If your site is brand new with zero domain authority, this is huge.
LinkedIn's authority is massive, and you can ride it instead of fighting to build your own.
Write a LinkedIn article about your niche. Link back to your homepage. That's it.
A YouTube video with 17 views is being cited by ChatGPT.
This was the highlight of my conversation with Rob.
He showed me a real example.
A YouTube video reviewing form builders.
91 views. Two likes.
And ChatGPT is citing it when people ask "what is the best form builder."
The bar is on the floor.
You don't need a good camera or to be a great speaker.
You just need a video that's relevant to your niche and a few things done right:
Closed captions on.
Target keyword in the title and description.
A description that's actually descriptive.
The video embedded on the relevant page of your website.
The first content to create for a brand new product.
If you shipped something and you've never touched SEO, Rob says start with three types:
Versus keywords. "Your product vs competitor." Bottom of funnel. The person searching is already close to buying.
Alternative keywords. "Competitor name alternatives." You're catching people who are already unhappy and looking for something new.
Review keywords. Sign up for your competitor's tool, screenshot it, write an honest review, link it back to your versus page.
Rob showed his own bootstrapped SaaS doing this against a VC-funded competitor. His tool is ranking number one and number two.
The thing Rob said that I keep thinking about.
"If all your competitors also think they're geniuses because they can spin up content with Claude Code, then you're doing the exact same thing as your competitors."
Everyone has access to AI now.
That's not the edge anymore.
Your edge is the stuff only you know, only you've experienced, and only your product can show.
I've seen this with SuperX. The pages that rank best on my site are the ones built from real user data, like Twitter bio templates pulled from our top users and best-time-to-tweet numbers based on actual engagement.
Full interview → click to watch
Question for you: what's your biggest challenge right now when it comes to getting people to see what you're building? Reply and let me know, it helps me decide what to cover next.
See you next Tuesday.
You've got this.
- Rob
