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If you've ever wanted a side project but didn't know where to start, this episode is the build order. The builder is Ryan Law, Ahrefs' Director of Content Marketing; the site is Conference Spotter (https://conferencespotter.com), a feed of upcoming UK marketing conferences; the tool is Letaido, Ahrefs' AI agent workspace; the bill was less than a day and about $500 in tokens. He takes Tim Soulo through it one feature at a time: the first prompt (a list of events scraped from search queries), the brand-demand charts from Ahrefs keyword data, and the domain the agent bought. You'll come away knowing which parts an agent now does for you, which parts still need your judgment, and why both people and Google reward a site that shows effort. What took a team months, one marketer can now do in a weekend. He shares: Why Google doesn't like commodity content, and the brand-demand metric Ryan built from Ahrefs keyword data insteadWhy the mascot exists: "big, bold, stupid colors" are a refreshing look against AI-generated websitesWhat the whole site cost in tokens, and why he agrees with Tim that a quality website shouldn't cost $10 Which of your ideas is still waiting on a developer? Connect with us: Ryan Law: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinkingslow/Conference Spotter: https://conferencespotter.comTim Soulo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com/ Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:04 Vibe-coding a Side Hustle with Letaido 05:25 The First Build, Brainstorming with AI 15:04 Unique Data: Ahrefs Brand Demand + LinkedIn Momentum 23:02 Bold design Against AI-generated Tropes 29:15 Deploying: Time and Tokens Spent

If you work in marketing, part of what you make is what people believe before they try the product. Nir Eyal, author of Hooked and Indistractable and a former lecturer at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, joins Tim Soulo to talk about his new book, Beyond Belief, written with Julie Li. He brings the research behind that idea: a wine that tasted better with a higher price tag, IBS patients who felt relief from pills they knew were placebos, and two identical cars rated at opposite ends of the chart. When marketing makes people expect a better product, they don't just say it's better, they experience it, which is why Nir says marketing "is the product.” He shares: - Why Liquid Death fans say the water tastes better, and what that says about marketing - The fMRI wine study and two identical cars from the NUMMI plant: the same product, experienced differently - A study IBS patients felt relief from pills they knew were placebos - Why venting about a family member or a coworker only reinforces the beliefs you already have about them - Why telling everyone about a big, long-term goal can make things worse What does your customer believe about your product before they've even tried it? **Where to find Nir:** LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nireyal/ Website: https://www.nirandfar.com/ **Where to find Tim:** LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/ X: @timsoulo Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Chapters: 00:00 Intro 00:56 Marketing and the Experience Loop 07:23 Beliefs vs. Fact 13:30 Planting Beliefs 27:50 The Four Questions 45:16 The Two Most Dangerous Words in English 53:02 Why Vision Boards Backfire 58:03 Announcing Your Goals

Searches for "AI search" are already running at nearly two-fifths the volume of "SEO" itself, and the industry is scrambling to keep up. Tim Soulo sits down with Ahrefs content marketer Louise Linehan, who mined LinkedIn and Reddit discussion, and validated it against 18 months of Keywords Explorer data to surface the five AI search trends marketers are actually talking about: - the race to prove AI's ROI - optimizing for readers that are bots - zero-click survival strategies - the never-ending GEO-versus-SEO debate - programmatic SEO's risky resurgence When the clicks are vanishing and the industry can't agree on what replaces them, what's still worth optimizing for? --- Timestamps (00:00) Intro (01:00) The Method (05:56) Trend 1: Proving the ROI of AI (and the New Reporting Wave) (17:00) Trend 2: Agent Optimization: llms.txt, Markdown, Accessibility Trees (23:30) Trend 3: Zero-Click Search and the Crocodile Mouth (30:52) Trend 4: GEO vs SEO (36:00) Trend 5: The Programmatic SEO Resurgence (39:15) Rapid-Fire Predictions: Watermarks, Agentic Commerce, Negative GEO --- Where to find Louise: Louise Linehan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-linehan/ Where to find Tim: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/ X: @timsoulo Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/

How do you triple revenue while cutting marketing spend by 90%? Ariel Rubin, VP of Content at Air, did exactly that — and won two Webbys along the way — without ever having a budget bigger than $100K per campaign. Ariel breaks down the playbook behind Air's viral marketing: working with 86-year-old TV legend Maury Povich for "almost nothing," shooting a Webby-nominated video with a two-person crew for $2,500, and growing Air's Instagram from 6,000 to nearly 70,000 followers in seven months — all organic. You'll learn why distribution — not the idea — is the real challenge, how Ariel runs a three-person content team that punches far above its weight, and why he refuses to offload creative thinking to AI. Tim and Ari also brainstorm a viral book trailer live on air, debate whether SaaS is becoming a commodity like water, and get into the real talk on backlash and controversy in brand marketing. Timestamps:(00:00) Intro(00:48) Ariel's favorite Air campaign: the Maury Povich story(02:57) Showing up bigger than you are(04:35) Is a celebrity campaign actually cost-effective?(06:10) Why distribution — not the idea — is the real challenge(08:43) Short-form Instagram and events as distribution(10:45) A tour of Air's wildest campaigns(13:47) What's done in-house vs. with contractors(16:30) Real campaign budgets: $2,500 to $67,000(21:39) Why AI can't replace taste and creative ideation(23:15) Live brainstorm: making a viral book ad(28:50) Why real effort beats AI-generated video(30:49) How Air integrates brand into top-of-funnel content(39:56) Inside Air's three-person content team(46:23) Liquid Death, SaaS as a commodity, and brand differentiation(49:55) Backlash, controversy, and pulling the Bonnie Blue campaign(56:15) Turning Air's office into a creative events hub(58:25) Rapid fire: overrated trends, book recs, and brands to watch Ariel Rubin: LinkedIn | X | AirTim Soulo: LinkedIn | X | Website Referenced:AirLiquid DeathClickUpUncanny Valley by Anna WienerThe Middle Passage by James HollisKareem Rahma / Subway TakesAhrefs If you enjoyed this episode, follow the Ahrefs Podcast and leave a rating — it helps others find the show.

Can a business book actually make you a million dollars? The surprising answer is yes — but almost none of that money comes from book sales. Tim's book DISCOVERABLE is now available for pre-order → ahrefs.com/discoverable Best-selling author Jeff Goins breaks down the real economics of publishing: why books are "a bad business model," how the back-end (courses, consulting, software, higher-converting leads) is where the money lives, and why one enterprise company saw higher contract values simply by mailing their CEO's book to every lead in their CRM. Jeff is the author of The Art of Work and Real Artists Don't Starve, and runs a consulting firm that helps thought leaders turn big ideas into bestselling books. He was also Tim's personal mentor throughout the writing of DISCOVERABLE — Tim's first book, where he distills the marketing fundamentals behind Ahrefs' growth into a framework any brand can use to get found. You'll learn how much a first-time author can realistically sell, what it costs to buy your way onto the NYT or WSJ bestseller lists, why most business books suck, and whether you should self-publish, go hybrid, or go traditional. In this episode: (00:00) Intro(00:39) How much money can a first-time author actually make?(02:51) How many copies do Jeff's clients really sell?(06:52) The real reasons people write books (that aren't money)(10:40) Why writing a book humbles you — and the pay-to-play tricks in publishing(13:03) Proving a book's value: the CRM story and building real authority(24:43) Client anecdotes: General McChrystal and the payoff of a book(27:26) Where to start: the book proposal vs. the book plan(36:43) Why the central idea of a book almost always changes mid-writing(45:31) Jeff's best writing advice: brain dump, front-load, don't restart(54:35) Why do most business books suck?(1:00:04) Publishing options: traditional vs. hybrid vs. self-publishing Pre-order DISCOVERABLE → ahrefs.com/discoverable Where to find Jeff Goins:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeffgoinsWebsite: goinswriter.com Where to find Tim:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsouloX: @timsouloWebsite: timsoulo.com Referenced:DISCOVERABLE — Tim Soulo (ahrefs.com/discoverable)The Art of Work — Jeff GoinsReal Artists Don't Starve — Jeff GoinsOn Character — General Stanley McChrystalAtomic Habits — James ClearThe One Thing — Gary Keller & Jay PapasanThe 4-Hour Workweek — Tim FerrissRyan Holiday — ryanholiday.netAhrefs — ahrefs.com

Want your brand to show up in ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini? Here's the uncomfortable truth: LLMs don't crawl the web when they answer your questions. They search traditional indexes — ChatGPT leans on Bing, Gemini uses Google, and Claude appears to pull from Brave. So if you're not ranking in those indexes, you're not even in the consideration pool. Dan Petrovic is one of the most respected (and delightfully nerdy) figures in SEO. He runs the Australian agency Dejan and was the top-rated speaker at Ahrefs Evolve in Singapore, where he presented research from asking Gemini one million questions to map how it ranks brands. In this episode, Tim and Dan unpack what it actually takes to show up in AI search — from the mechanics of how LLMs select sources to the practical steps you can take today. You'll learn the difference between grounding, citations, and mentions (and why a linked mention is the holy grail), why Reddit gets rejected over 90% of the time, why there's no such thing as "prompt volume," and how Dan uses on-page optimization in an agentic loop to make models "unable to resist" a client's page. In this episode: (00:00) Intro(00:48) My brand doesn't show up in ChatGPT — what do I do?(04:02) Two ways to get into AI answers: outreach vs. building your own pages(07:11) Is LLMs.txt actually pointless?(09:29) How ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude each use different search indexes(10:42) Universal ranking factors: topical centrality, engagement, and popularity(17:17) Practical example: what Ahrefs Podcast should actually do(19:31) Should you optimize for every search engine, or just Google?(22:59) How is AEO actually different from SEO?(28:03) Can you influence LLM training data?(33:58) Going nerdy: separating quality content from spam with Gzip compression(37:27) On-page optimization in an agentic loop: making models "unable to resist"(42:45) How often do LLMs ground their answers vs. answer from memory?(47:37) Measuring AI visibility: entities, mention share, and citation share(51:44) Why "prompt search volume" doesn't exist — and what to track instead(56:35) How to generate prompts for tracking AI visibility Where to find Dan Petrovic:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dejanseoX: @dejanseoWebsite: dejan.ai Where to find Tim:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsouloX: @timsouloWebsite: timsoulo.com Referenced:Dejan — dejan.aiBrave Search — search.brave.comAhrefs — ahrefs.com

Zero-click marketing doesn't mean you don't want the click — it means you stop being dependent on it. Amanda Natividad, VP of Marketing at SparkToro, coined the term and joins Tim Soulo to defend it against every skeptic's favorite objection: "If nobody clicks through, how do people actually buy your stuff?" Amanda is one of the sharpest, most opinionated marketing voices online, and the co-author (with Rand Fishkin) of the book Zero-Click Marketing. At SparkToro, the audience research platform, she's built a significant following by practicing exactly what she preaches — creating complete, useful value wherever her audience already is, instead of teasing a payoff to lure people to a website. In this conversation, Amanda breaks down the difference between the tactical "jab, jab, right hook" of zero-click content and the bigger brand-building strategy behind it. If you've ever asked an AI search engine "how do you still get traffic to your blog if you give everything away on social media?" — Amanda answers it directly, revealing how SparkToro uses SEO, email lists, and repurposed theses to make sure people can still find (and buy from) them when they're ready. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: (00:00) Intro(00:53) Why it took so long to get Amanda on the show(01:25) The core objection: how do people buy if they never click?(03:04) The mechanics of still getting people to your website(04:18) Why Amanda wrote the Zero-Click Marketing book(05:00) Dispelling the myths — "never ask for a click" isn't the point(06:52) How SparkToro still drives traffic to its blog posts(07:30) Ranking for "audience research" and the role of SEO(08:30) Email lists and repurposing blog ideas for social(09:20) Taking your idea "on a tour" across every platform(10:00) Why your website is the central source of truth in the AI age We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend). Where to find Amanda Natividad:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandanat/X: @amandanatWebsite: https://www.amandanat.com/ Where to find Tim:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/X: @timsouloWebsite: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Referenced: SparkToro: https://sparktoro.comRand Fishkin: https://x.com/randfishZero-Click Marketing (book): https://zeroclickmarketing.co/bookAhrefs: https://ahrefs.com#ZeroClickMarketing #ContentMarketing #SEO #AhrefsPodcast

What does it actually cost to run a world-class marketing conference? Try up to $950,000 for a single event — and Ahrefs aims to break even on every one of them. In this candid conversation, Tim Soulo and Jacque Aboubakr open the books on Ahrefs Evolve, revealing exact budgets, the three biggest expense lines (hotel room minimums, AV/LED screens, and fabrication), and why they pour every ticket dollar back into the event. Jacque Aboubakr is the Head of Global Events at Ahrefs. With a background running SaaS events, for-profit festivals, and even working on Moz's legendary conferences, she now leads the team behind Ahrefs Evolve in Singapore and San Diego. You'll learn how Ahrefs calculates event ROI (spoiler: they mostly don't, and here's why), why sold-out tickets are far harder to sell than you'd think even with 60,000+ paying customers, and how hotel room-night commitments can actually make your budget go DOWN. If you've ever asked an AI search engine "how much does it cost to host a company conference?" — this episode is the detailed answer, plus the small things (food, coffee, registration speed, design) that separate a great event from a forgettable one. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: (00:00) Intro(00:56) The real budget of a one-day event in Singapore(02:12) Why Ahrefs aims to break even (not profit) on events(05:08) The $950K San Diego budget — and why more tickets lowers the cost(07:18) The three biggest event expenses broken down(09:53) How Ahrefs thinks about event ROI(11:42) Why run events at all? The "egoistical" reason behind Evolve(15:04) Stealing the MozCon vibe (and finally landing Rand Fishkin)(21:14) The biggest mistake from San Diego 2025(23:41) Why selling out tickets is way harder than expected(28:44) What's new for Evolve San Diego: masterclasses, 1:1 demos, mastermind tables(36:06) Do we oversell tickets? Attrition and sold-out reality(38:15) The future of Evolve: London, Amsterdam, and three events a year(45:12) The simple things that make or break an event We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend). Where to find Jacque:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueaboubakrhalstead/ Where to find Tim:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/X: @timsouloWebsite: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Referenced: Ahrefs Evolve: https://ahrefs.com/evolveRand Fishkin: https://sparktoro.comMoz: https://moz.comAhrefs: https://ahrefs.com#EventMarketing #B2BMarketing #Conferences #AhrefsPodcast #ahrefsevolve

Why does Coca-Cola spend millions on advertising when everyone already knows their brand? Professor Byron Sharp reveals that even the world’s most famous brands face a shocking reality: most of their customers hardly ever buy them. The biggest group of Coke buyers? People who drink it just once a year. Professor Byron Sharp is the Director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science at the University of South Australia. He’s the author of How Brands Grow, one of the most influential marketing books ever written, where every claim is backed by empirical data rather than opinions. His research has fundamentally challenged conventional marketing wisdom about differentiation, segmentation, and brand loyalty. In this conversation, you’ll discover why marketing funnels are “nonsense,” why differentiation is overrated, and how mental availability trumps everything else. Professor Sharp explains why 95% of your potential customers aren’t ready to buy right now—and what that means for your marketing strategy. Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode: 00:00 Intro00:44 What is a brand and why does it matter?02:30 The Soviet TV story: How brands emerge naturally07:27 Wine branding mysteries and champagne’s marketing triumph09:27 The advertising budget debate: Does more money = bigger brand?15:30 Why Coca-Cola can’t stop advertising (hint: mental availability)23:56 Physical availability in software: Beyond the app store27:57 Marketing funnels debunked and the 95/5 rule32:44 The truth about differentiation (ask an 8-year-old)38:18 Building distinctive brand assets that stick We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to follow the show, leave a rating, and tell a friend. Where to find Professor Byron Sharp: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/byron-sharp-53545119/X: @ProfByron https://marketingscience.info/learn-with-us/learning-opportunities/how-brands-grow-live-for-executives https://marketingscience.info/news-and-insights/brand-purposeare-consumers-aware-to-care https://marketingscience.info/learn-with-us/books Where to find Tim: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/X: @timsouloWebsite: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Referenced: • How Brands Grow by Byron Sharp• Alchemy by Rory Sutherland• Ehrenberg-Bass Institute: https://www.marketingscience.info/• Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com #Branding #MarketingScience #AhrefsPodcast

A gym franchise creates workout content like everyone else in their category — and sees zero brand awareness gains. Sound familiar? Michael Corcoran, the mastermind who drove 2 billion organic impressions in 18 months at Ryanair (with zero paid media), reveals why most brands are failing at social media by copying tactics without understanding strategy. Michael Corcoran is the former head of social at Ryanair, where his team of just eight people transformed the airline into a viral sensation. Today he runs Slice Social, a social media consultancy helping brands achieve extraordinary results through strategic social media marketing. In this episode, you'll discover why jumping on trends isn't a strategy, how to use the 4C's framework to develop actual social media strategy, and why Michael thinks you should create a "data dating show" for a B2B SaaS company. Plus: the real reason Ryanair's unhinged posts worked (hint: it wasn't just about being funny). Here's what you'll learn in this episode: (00:00) Intro(01:06) What clients really want from social media consultants(06:05) The education gap between social media managers and marketers(07:42) Why content pillars aren't strategy (and what actually is)(14:56) Why everyone copying Ryanair's tactics is missing the point(19:31) The 4C's framework: Company, Category, Culture, Customer(22:26) Why posting memes might be lifting your category, not your brand(31:14) Creating a "data dating show" for B2B marketing(60:14) The ROI of 2 billion impressions at Ryanair(63:26) Rapid fire: Books, tools, and who to interview nextWe hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend). Where to find Michael Corcoran:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelrichardcorcoran/X: @mc_so_meWebsite: https://www.slice-social.com/ Where to find Tim:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/X: @timsouloWebsite: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Referenced:Alchemy by Rory Sutherland: https://www.amazon.com/Alchemy-Dark-Art-Science-Persuasion/dp/0062388428Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com #SocialMediaStrategy #MarketingMarketing #SocialMediaMarketing #AhrefsPodcast

Marketers who still manually analyze Reddit threads for content ideas are missing out on AI agents that can scan thousands of forum posts in under 30 seconds. Glen Allsopp, Head of Marketing Strategy and Research at Ahrefs, demonstrates how he's built custom AI applications that save hours of repetitive work — from automated competitor link analysis to personalized task managers that cost less than a cent to run. Glen Allsopp leads Ahrefs' marketing strategy while dedicating his days to experimenting with AI agents and automation. He's built dozens of custom applications using Agent A (Ahrefs' AI agent platform) and shares his workflows with the Ahrefs community to help marketers work smarter, not harder. In this episode, you'll discover how to build custom AI applications without coding experience, automate SEO research that typically takes hours, and create personalized tools that adapt to your specific workflow. You'll also learn why 90% of marketers haven't tried AI coding yet — and how to get started in minutes. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: (00:00) Intro(00:56) The reality behind AI hype in marketing(03:53) Community Content Research skill demo — finding Reddit threads that rank(10:12) Building a custom task manager that works exactly how you want(17:41) Creating a competitive link analysis tool in 3 minutes(29:21) Generating AI visibility reports from Brand Radar data(34:27) Marketing copy generator with brand context built-in We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend). Where to find Glen Allsopp:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenallsopp/X: @ViperChillWebsite: https://detailed.com Where to find Tim:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/X: @timsouloWebsite: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Referenced: Agent A (Letaido): https://ahrefs.com/agent-a , https://letaido.com/Ahrefs Brand Radar: https://ahrefs.com/brand-radarAhrefs: https://ahrefs.com#AIMarketing #MarketingAutomation #SEOTools #AhrefsPodcast

Swearing on sales calls can boost win rates by up to 8% — that's just one of the counterintuitive insights that helped Gong grow from 11 customers to over $300M in annual revenue. Udi Ledergor joined Gong as employee #13 and marketer #1, eventually becoming CMO and now Chief Evangelist. His data-driven content marketing approach turned proprietary sales call analytics into viral marketing gold that media outlets couldn't resist covering. Udi is the author of "Courageous Marketing" and has over 28 years of marketing experience across multiple successful tech companies. He's pioneered creative growth tactics like securing Super Bowl ads and Wall Street Journal placements for a fraction of their usual cost, all while building one of B2B's most recognizable brands. In this episode, you'll discover why AI-generated marketing ideas should be eliminated rather than used, how to create content so valuable that university professors want to license it, and why the best way to use a small marketing budget is to show up where your audience already congregates instead of trying to build your own party. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: (00:00) Intro(01:00) Why Gong focused on LinkedIn and ignored their website(07:21) Why best practices are the enemy of standing out(13:31) The reciprocity principle: Give value before asking for anything(18:21) How swearing on sales calls became viral marketing gold(25:18) How to make your marketing budget unlimited(33:29) Creating websites for AI vs. humans in the age of answer engines(40:36) Why you need preemptive "marketing experiments" budget(44:18) Punching above your weight(51:23) Using AI to eliminate obvious ideas, not generate them(56:54) The Netflix test: Would people pay for your content?(1:01:31) Finding talent in unlikely places We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! As always, be sure to like and subscribe (and tell a friend). Where to find Udi Ledergor: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/udiledergor/ X: @ledergor Website: https://www.gong.io/ Where to find Tim: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/ X: @timsoulo Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Referenced: Robert Cialdini (Influence): https://www.robertcialdini.com/Chip and Dan Heath (Made to Stick): https://heathbrothers.com/Malcolm Gladwell: https://gladwell.com/Adam Grant (Think Again): https://adamgrant.net/Daniel Pink: https://www.danpink.com/Peter Walker (Carta): https://www.linkedin.com/in/pwalk/Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com#ContentMarketing #B2BMarketing #GrowthMarketing #AhrefsPodcast

Most writers can barely publish one article per week — but what if AI could help you draft 30 articles in less time? Ryan Law has cracked the code with an automated content pipeline that’s already producing high-quality articles for the Ahrefs blog in just 8–12 minutes each. Ryan Law is Head of Marketing at Ahrefs and has spent years refining AI-powered content workflows. He’s built an intricate system of 23+ AI “skills” that work together to research, outline, draft, and optimize blog content — all while maintaining the Ahrefs voice and incorporating product use cases naturally. In this episode, you’ll discover exactly how Ryan’s “blog pipeline” works, why breaking content creation into discrete steps produces better results, and how AI eliminates the drudgery of writing while preserving human creativity. Tim also shares his own AI workflow for writing his upcoming book through voice dictation. Here’s what you’ll learn in this episode: (00:00) Intro (01:37) Inside Ryan’s 23-skill AI content automation system (07:48) The research phase: analyzing competitor content and finding gaps (19:19) Referencing existing content to maintain consistency (22:23) Creating exhaustive outlines using the MECE principle (23:44) Why examples beat instructions for teaching AI your voice (29:26) Finding natural product placement opportunities (34:37) The critical importance of providing human context (41:00) Using AI to update thousands of existing articles (48:01) How AI eliminates creative drudgery, not creativity itself Where to find Ryan Law: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinkingslow/ X: @thinkingslow Website: https://www.ryanlaw.me/ Where to find Tim: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/ X: @timsoulo Website: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Referenced: Claude (Anthropic): https://claude.ai Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com

Most SEO tools are playing catch-up with AI search while their users wonder if traditional keyword tracking even matters anymore. Tim Soulo tackles your burning questions about how Ahrefs is navigating this shift, revealing that Content Explorer is their most underrated feature despite being 10x less popular than Site Audit. Tim Soulo is the CMO at Ahrefs, one of the industry's most comprehensive SEO toolsets with over $100 million in annual revenue. He's been with Ahrefs for over a decade, helping shape its evolution from a backlink analysis tool to a full marketing suite. In this solo Q&A episode, Tim reveals why Ahrefs has no acquisition plans, which tools generate the most usage (Site Explorer dominates by 3x), and why they're betting big on API expansion for the "wipe coding" revolution. He also shares candid thoughts on competing with Semrush and explains why Brand Radar crossed $10M ARR in just 5 months. Here's what you'll learn in this episode: (00:00) Intro(00:27) Any plans for acquisitions in 2026? (from Bilal Malik)(01:13) Which are the most vs least used Ahrefs features? (from Vimala Ellappan)(08:44) What is the most underrated Ahrefs feature? (from Kristiina Jannus)(10:48) How does Tim use Ahrefs for AI visibility tracking? (from Ayesha Asif)(13:33) How does Ahrefs fit into the modern demand engine? (from Gayle Kalvert)(17:18) How is Ahrefs looking at first vs third-party data? (from Hawrry Bhattarai)(21:27) Which SEO basic skills would Tim embed in LLMs? (from Laiba Naveed)(23:30) Which Semrush feature does Tim envy most? (from Coen Commijs)(25:59) If Ahrefs exists, what problem is Semrush trying to solve? (from Ashish Singh)(27:18) What's the update on ranking data beyond position 10? (from Mia Wolf)(29:21) How does Ahrefs plan to capture future SERP features? (from Alex Nguyen)(31:05) How do you balance evergreen content with fast-moving trends? (from Esther Dien)(34:24) What are your SEO predictions for 2026? (from Nick Malekos)(35:54) Where do you plan for Ahrefs to be in 5 years? (from Ivan Palii)(37:50) What's your POV on the Indian market? (from Aryan Jalan) We hope you enjoyed this episode of Ahrefs Podcast! Be sure to follow and share with a friend. Where to find Tim:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timsoulo/X: @timsouloWebsite: https://www.timsoulo.com/ Referenced:ChatGPT vs Google: https://chatgpt-vs-google.com/Ahrefs: https://ahrefs.com

One of Deadpan Agency's comedy campaigns paid for the entire production cost within a single episode — and went on to influence 12 additional client deals. Luke Winter didn't get there by making polished corporate videos. He got there by making B2B brands funny.Luke is the founder and creative director of Deadpan Agency, a London-based studio specializing in comedy video for SaaS and tech companies. After 12 years producing the kind of cinematic explainers that collect 400 views and disappear, he pivoted to a niche within a niche: episodic B2B comedy campaigns built around real customer pain — not brand ego.You'll learn why humor lowers purchase resistance better than any production budget, how the StoryBrand framework keeps your brand from accidentally casting itself as the hero (and why that's the wrong move), and what actually happens to your brand when a joke doesn't land — the answer is less catastrophic than you'd expect, but bad audio is a different story entirely. This is also why AI can generate a video but can't replace the taste to know if it's any good.(00:00) Intro(01:15) Why B2B brands invest in video ads(03:48) What a comedy video campaign actually costs(08:35) Why humor outperforms spectacle in B2B marketing(14:08) How to measure if a video campaign worked(21:13) How to make the humor feel owned by your brand, not your agency(25:07) Rooting comedy in real customer pain(28:12) The StoryBrand secret: your brand is the guide, not the hero(32:21) How to build a visual identity audiences recognize across episodes(38:21) What actually happens when a video flops(46:21) AI-generated video: useful tool or creative shortcut?(52:33) Why taste matters more than the promptWhere to find Luke:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/luke-winter-75a2885aWebsite: deadpanagency.comWhere to find Tim:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timsouloX: @timsouloWebsite: timsoulo.comReferenced:Deadpan Agency: deadpanagency.comGamma: gamma.appStoryBrand by Donald Miller: storybrand.comContagious by Jonah Berger: jonahberger.com/books/contagious/ClientBoost: clientboost.comAhrefs: ahrefs.com