Coffee N° 5 with Lara Schmoisman

Episode: SEO Without the Nonsense: What Actually Drives Organic Growth
Host: Lara Schmoisman
Date: November 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In this solo episode, marketing strategist Lara Schmoisman demystifies SEO (Search Engine Optimization), breaking down the key components that actually matter for sustainable organic growth. Drawing on her deep experience working with brands, Lara delivers actionable insights, updated best practices, and real talk about what's changed in SEO—especially with the advent of AI—and what remains essential to drive both traffic and conversions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why SEO Still Matters

• Lara emphasizes that many brands squander their budgets on paid media while neglecting organic SEO strategies, which are vital for long-term growth and control over brand narrative.
• Quote:

  "I've seen so many brands wasting their budgets on media buy over and over again and they're forgetting about organic."
  (00:30)

2. The Three Pillars of SEO

a. Technical SEO: The Foundation

• Definition: Technical SEO ensures the website’s structure and backend are optimized for search engines and users.
• Lara clarifies this isn’t about user interface design but about performance, structure, and operational reliability.
• Key Points:
  • Your website is your "core" and the seat of your brand's narrative.
  • Technical issues (broken links, slow load times, etc.) undermine all other SEO efforts.
  • Even with AI tools, basic technical soundness is non-negotiable.
• Quote:

  "If your website is broken everywhere, no search engine or AI tool will help you."
  (02:46)

b. Backlinks: Authority Builders

• Definition: Backlinks are links from other reputable websites to your own, previously the gold standard for search authority.
• With evolving AI algorithms, the emphasis is now on quality over quantity, and brand mentions are becoming more influential.
• Quote:

  "AI is not looking for as many backlinks that we wanted before. It’s looking more for quality links and more also on brand mentioning."
  (04:10)

c. Keywords: The Connective Tissue

• Types of Keywords:
  • Short (Head) keywords: Extremely competitive, often single words.
  • Long-tail keywords: Question-based, specific phrases reflecting real search behavior.
• Success comes from understanding what your particular target audience is searching for, and choosing keywords that answer their actual questions.
• Quote:

  "When you go to Google or you go to ChatGPT or Gemini, you ask a question looking for an answer. So those keywords need to be the answer to people's questions."
  (05:13)

3. Lara’s Keyword Strategy Breakdown

• Three Types of Keywords:
  1. DNA Keywords: Your brand, product, or core offerings.
  2. Competitor Keywords: Terms where your competitors appear. Lara argues you should be showing up wherever your competitors do for brand awareness.
  3. Trending Keywords: Seasonal or trending search terms relevant for a short time, e.g., holiday gift guides.
• Brand Recognition Insight:
  • Recent figures suggest consumers now require up to 38 exposures to a brand before making a purchase decision—up from 12 in the past.
  • Quote:

    "People need to have 12 times to connect with your brand in order to make a decision to buy or not. Now it’s about 38 times."
    (07:13)

4. Content Creation: Blogging Remains Essential

• Lara insists on the ongoing importance of regular, keyword-informed blogging for maintaining ranking and relevance.
• Quote:

  "You cannot stop blogging. You need to keep blogging—super important. That is going to give you relevant keywords all the time."
  (05:59)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lara’s SEO Philosophy:

  "You want to have a core SEO that works for you." (03:45)

• AI’s Role:

  "Yes, your website needs to be structured for AI to find you, but it still has to be organic." (02:08)

• On Monitoring Audience Trends:

  "What we need to make sure is who’s your target audience, what they’re looking for. Write about it—on time—and then grow with the trend." (08:15)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:30 – Brands wasting budget on media over organic SEO
• 01:20 – Introduction to the three parts of SEO
• 02:08 – Clarifying technical SEO’s relationship to AI
• 04:10 – Backlink quality vs. quantity in the AI era
• 05:13 – Keywords as answers to audience questions
• 05:59 – Importance of continuous blogging
• 07:13 – Rise in brand exposure points needed for sales
• 08:15 – Why timely content matters for trends

Takeaway & Tone

Lara’s approach is direct and practical. She debunks outdated tactics, prioritizing real, sustainable organic growth powered by technically sound, high-quality, and audience-focused SEO. Her parting advice: skip the fads, keep your site healthy, produce relevant content, and focus on what your audience truly needs—with the understanding that the digital landscape is ever-changing, especially with AI’s increasing role.

For more business advice and resources, Lara invites listeners to check out her website or the episode notes for further reading.