SEO in 2025: How I'd Learn it if I Were Starting Over

millions of visitors from Google search.

But for the first time in 17 years, I'm

questioning everything I know about SEO.

SEO used to be simple. You'd find a

keyword, post, optimize content, get

back links, and boom, huge traffic, huge

income. But that playbook is dead. Why?

Mostly because of AI. AI has flooded

Google with cheap, mass-produced

content. And in response, Google has

cracked down harder than ever, erasing

perfectly legitimate websites from

search results. But that doesn't mean

SEO is dead. Google still gets 5

trillion searches a year. That's roughly

100 times more conversations than Chat

GPT is expected to have this year. SEO

has just evolved. And if you don't

evolve with it, you're going to waste

months or years on strategies that don't

work anymore. So, in this video, I'm

going to share exactly what I'd do if I

was learning SEO from scratch in today's

AI era. Now, despite all the changes AI

has brought to SEO, fundamentals haven't

gone anywhere. People still search using

keywords and topics. You still need to

create content that search engines can

find, index, and understand. And

backlinks, they still help pages rank

high in Google. So, the first thing I do

to learn SEO in this new AI era is to

learn the fundamentals of search engine

optimization because they haven't

changed. Now, learning the fundamentals

and getting good at executing them used

to be enough to drive tons of free

search traffic before AI tools, but

they're no longer enough to stay

competitive. And the reason comes down

to a mental shift most people, even pro

SEOs, haven't figured out yet. Before AI

content tools became mainstream, ranking

on Google was easy. People would copy

the top ranking page, add a few extra

points to make it feel original.

Sprinkle in some keywords and cover

subtopics, get a few backlinks to the

page, and first page rankings would come

fast. And because it worked, everyone

did it. SEO copywriting became so

mechanical that writing for SEO became

an industry phrase. But here's the flaw.

Search engines don't buy from you,

people do. Now that AI can mass-produce

this kind of content, it doesn't seem

like Google wants to reward writing for

algorithms the way it once did. Instead,

it seems like Google is doubling down on

what it's always wanted to deliver the

most relevant and useful result for any

given search query. And are they getting

it right all the time? Not even close,

but they're trying. So, if I were

learning SEO today, I'd ignore many of

the outdated mechanical approaches to

writing for search engines and instead

focus on creating genuinely useful

content with a user obsessed mindset.

What does that mean? Well, let's say you

wanted to rank for the query, how to

start a YouTube channel. Instead of

asking, how do I rank for this keyword?

What do I have to cover? Start by

getting obsessed with what the searcher

actually wants to know. Are they a total

beginner? Do they need gear

recommendations? Are they struggling to

find a niche or something else? Then dig

deeper. Why do they want to start a

YouTube channel? Is it a creative outlet

or a way to make money? How do they want

the information? Would a checklist,

step-by-step tutorial, or interactive

guide help most? If you don't understand

the searcher's intent, you'll end up

creating content that doesn't actually

help the people you're trying to serve.

But if you nail what they're really

looking for, you won't just rank higher.

You'll keep people engaged, build trust,

and convert more visitors into

customers. Now, that doesn't mean you

should ignore AI tools. In fact, I think

that every SEO, new and experienced,

should be embracing AI tools rather than

resisting them. The problem with generic

robotic AI content isn't the tools, it's

how people are using them. AI tools are

faster and better than most of us at

brainstorming, writing, and analyzing

data. But the quality of its output is

only as good as the guidance it

receives. Take Joe Schmo, a guy who

knows nothing about SEO. He can't guide

AI to produce good content or to

optimize his site for better performance

because he doesn't understand SEO

himself. So, what happens? AI ends up

guiding him. But take Sam Edward O, a

dude that's helped millions of people

learn SEO and get traffic to their site.

He'll probably do keyword research on

his own, do some audience research, and

collect clues about that audience from

Google search results. Then he'll take

what he's found, feed it to a tool like

Chat GBT, and guide it to help him

execute on his SEO strategy. And I

actually shared the exact tactics and

processes in a video when I used Chat

GPT to rank number one in Google in 1

hour. AI isn't going anywhere. It's one

of the most revolutionary technologies

since the internet itself. So instead of

avoiding it, learn how to use it

properly. And SEO goes way beyond just

content creation. So the use cases are

truly endless. Bottom line, use AI as an

assistant, not a replacement. train

yourself to be the operator and you get

those operating skills through strong

SEO fundamentals and firsthand

experience. All of which you can learn

for free in our free SEO course for

beginners. Now, learning SEO shouldn't

just be about learning what to do. It's

also about knowing what to prepare for

because once the traffic starts rolling

in, it's going to feel like free money.

And that's when things get dangerous.

Google's going to keep sending you free

and consistent traffic that doesn't fade

over time because that's SEO by design.

The harsh reality is that that traffic

can vanish overnight. It's happened to

hundreds of creators and we've actually

heard their stories and shared them on

our YouTube channel. It's real. It hurts

and it's unpredictable. So, if I were

learning SEO from scratch today, I would

be preparing myself to diversify beyond

just Google. I know that sounds

counterintuitive in a video about

learning SEO, but SEO isn't just about

Google. The skills you'll build while

learning and doing SEO, like keyword

research, understanding search intent,

link building, and technical SEO, will

apply to nearly every searchdriven

platform in some way, shape, or form.

For example, when I first started with

YouTube SEO, I knew nothing about it.

But I applied my Google SEO skills to

YouTube and we're now consistently

getting over a million views from

YouTube search alone that are important

to our business. I've done the same with

Pinterest, Reddit, eBay, Quora, and the

list goes on. From my experience, any

platform that sorts and surfaces content

based on user queries follows similar

core principles. But if you can master

Google SEO, you'll be way ahead of the

curve when optimizing for other search

engines. At its core, SEO is still about

one thing, connecting searchers with the

best search results. But in a world

where AI can turn out endless mediocre

content, copying what already exists

isn't enough. And honestly, it shouldn't

be enough. You need to be worth finding.

So, if you want to learn SEO and

actually succeed in the AI era, check

out our free SEO course for beginners

and then apply the rest of what I've

shared with you today.