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Howdy Notebooker,
Bruce Clay passed away this week, and I've been sitting with the news for a couple of days before writing anything.
If you're newer to this industry, you might not know the name.
Bruce Clay coined the term "search engine optimization." Danny Sullivan confirmed it. The three words that define what you and I do every single day came from him.
He started Bruce Clay, Inc. in 1996, working from his kitchen table. He was a mainframe programmer by training, and he treated search like an engineer treats a system. Something to be understood and solved, not guessed at.
He built the first webpage-analysis tool. He created the Search Engine Relationship Chart, which was downloaded 300,000 times in its first month. That was viral content before "content marketing" was even a phrase.
He wrote the SEO Code of Ethics because he believed our work carries real weight. When you run a client's SEO, you're running their livelihood. His motto was "do no harm," and that's a standard most of us still measure ourselves against.
He's the reason you organize your content into silos. He trained over 5,000 students. He wrote the book on this stuff. Literally.
Book your Power 25 hosted by Steve Toth
When a category-defining airline puts AEO on the budget, the "is this real yet" question is over. Big-brand AEO is here, and the agencies in front of it are the ones their clients will trust to lead them through it.
Your prospects and clients are asking about AEO…
"How do we show up in ChatGPT?" "What's our AI search strategy?" "Are we losing traffic to AI?" Most agencies don't have answers yet. This session is designed to make sure you do.
"Here's the thing. The agencies offering AEO and getting hired alongside you right now? They're gunning for your SEO retainers next. I'm not making this up. Here's exactly what came up on my last coaching call:"
“Thank you so much Steve for taking the time and even going over time with us. The resources are next-level and we definitely learned a ton and can’t wait to implement.”