Podcast Summary: Voices of Search – "SEO Impact in a Product-Driven Enterprise"
Date: January 27, 2026
Host: Jordan Cooney
Guest: John Vantine, Director of SEO at GoodRx
Episode Overview
This episode dives into the evolving role of SEO within product-driven, enterprise-level organizations—specifically in the highly competitive and sensitive healthcare space. With Google's new AI Overviews now showing for over 90% of informational queries, Trusted brands in the Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) sector, like GoodRx, need to adapt their content and SEO strategy not only for traditional organic search but also for AI-generated results. Guest John Vantine shares how GoodRx is navigating these shifts, balancing technical basics, user-first content, cross-functional collaboration, and future-proofing for new generative search models.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Navigating the AI Search Revolution & YMYL Stakes
- AI Overviews now dominate informational queries: Google's AI Overviews have leapfrogged traditional snippets [00:44].
- Visibility in AI summaries is critical: Sites cited in these summaries gain a huge advantage, especially in sensitive areas like healthcare.
- GoodRx’s Position: Competing with giants like WebMD and Healthline, they're building authority not just for humans, but also for AI models [01:15].
Quote:
“In a space where misinformation can literally hurt people, GoodRx has shown growth into an AI visibility content powerhouse.”
— Jordan Cooney, [00:51]
2. The Evolving SEO Skillset: Collaboration is Key
- From solo SEO to cross-functional teams: Modern SEO requires close work with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), editorial, product, marketing, and engineering [02:36].
- SEO and SME input should be 50/50: True SEO success is a blend of both expert-driven content and search optimization [04:16].
- Teach principles, not just data: Empower SMEs by sharing SEO basics and performance metrics, not just keyword data.
Quote:
“You can’t turn shit into strawberries. The best SEO in the world isn’t going to get you anywhere if your content or your product... sucks.”
— John Vantine, [05:32]
3. Back to Basics—with a Generative Twist
- Technical basics still matter: Many generative crawlers are less sophisticated than Googlebot; classic SEO hygiene is more important than ever [06:54].
- Content integrity is paramount: No amount of technical SEO can compensate for poor content [05:32].
- Cross-functional work is expanding: SEO at GoodRx sits in product, not marketing, which creates a need to actively build bridges with PR, social, and executive comms [08:26].
4. Demonstrating E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, Trust) across Channels
- Real stories build authenticity: Instead of fixating on E-A-T checklists, focus on stories from real users addressing real problems [11:10].
- UGC & social content increasingly influences search: Google’s new “What people are saying” carousel pulls social and forum content directly into SERPs [12:35].
- Multi-channel presence is critical: Brands must show up wherever users look for answers, not just on their own site [13:12]:
- TikTok
- YouTube, etc.
Quote:
“SEO can do…we can publish content…till we’re blue in the face, but these other slots will be occupied by us or our competitors.”
— John Vantine, [13:19]
5. AI Hype vs. SEO Reality: Communicating with Leadership
- There’s more hype than substance at times: Many AI advances get oversold; most real user volume is still happening on Google [15:52].
- Stay grounded in data: Show leadership real screenshots, traffic trajectories, and competitor comparisons [19:26].
- AI discovery tools are still new and limited: There is little hard tracking available for AI Overview clicks.
Quote:
“The tech press in a lot of ways acts as sort of a glorified, like, PR machine for OpenAI…Let’s ground ourselves in reality here.”
— John Vantine, [15:55]
6. Team Structure & Naming in the AI Era
- Still called "SEO": Despite new acronyms (AIO, GEO, etc.), the fundamental mission remains [24:02].
- SEO now stands for “everywhere,” not just “engine”: It’s about ensuring GoodRx shows up as an answer regardless of platform or device [24:02].
- As long as users search, SEO’s role exists: Could be on a screen, in a voice assistant, or elsewhere in the future [24:25].
7. “Fan-Out Query” and Predictive Content Structure
- Fan-out queries help anticipate user intent: These expand on a question with likely follow-ups to structure comprehensive content [26:08].
- If you’re not already using this approach, you should: It mirrors Google’s “People Also Ask” and supports being cited by AIs.
Quote:
“If you can build that into your content, you’re going to get cited over and over again.”
— John Vantine, [27:53]
8. Strategic Partnerships with Generative Engines
- Being an official partner = prime placement: ChatGPT integrations with brands like AllTrails or Instacart are the new “knowledge panels” [28:41].
- There’s no public application yet: Building these relationships and being ready with technical infrastructure is essential.
9. Technology, Engineering, and Future Proofing
- SEO must work closely with engineering: Proximity is critical for scalable integrations with LLMs and headless CMS setups [33:10].
- Technical SEO is more vital than ever: New bots may be less capable; optimized, clean, fast content delivery is crucial [33:37].
10. The Frictionless (Agentic) Future
- AI may bring “zero-click” conversions: As LLMs move towards agentic recommendations and automated actions, brand trust and technical integration become key [35:10].
- User trust will always matter: Even in frictionless protocols, brand recognition influences decisions [38:41].
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
On Content & Collaboration
-
"The balance between...SEO input and ... subject matter expert input is something like 50/50."
— John Vantine, [04:16] -
"SEO isn’t the only way…it needs to be truly collaborative."
— John Vantine, [04:35]
On AI Hype
-
"Not all of this is true—have you used agentic tools?...Let’s ground ourselves in reality here."
— John Vantine, [15:55] -
"Our users…are using Google. Maybe they're using ChatGPT a little bit, but it's not at the expense of their Google usage.”
— John Vantine, [16:38]
On Partnerships
- "A partnership is also like doing SEO within the ChatGPT ecosystem...they’re going to recommend it even if users aren’t searching for it explicitly."
— John Vantine, [29:45]
On Technical SEO
- "You need a really, really solid...foundation for them [ChatGPT, Perplexity] to even discover your content."
— John Vantine, [33:47]
On Staying User-First
- "As long as the prescription ends up in the hands of the patient that needs it: that's a win for us."
— John Vantine, [38:13]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- AI Overviews, YMYL and GoodRx's challenge: [00:44]–[02:09]
- SEO career path & role evolution: [02:11]–[03:47]
- Balancing SEO with SMEs/UX: [03:47]–[05:54]
- Technical SEO’s continued importance in AI search: [06:03]–[07:40]
- Collaboration with marketing & cross-functional teams: [08:26]–[09:57]
- E-A-T & authenticity through user content: [11:10]–[13:12]
- The impact of UGC and multiple channels: [12:35]–[14:00]
- Cutting through AI hype for executives: [15:52]–[19:26]
- Team naming and future of SEO: [24:02]–[25:37]
- Fan-out queries and anticipating user needs: [26:08]–[27:53]
- Partnerships with generative engines: [28:41]–[31:40]
- Importance of technical collaboration and infra: [32:10]–[33:37]
- Agentic future and frictionless checkout: [35:10]–[38:41]
- Lightning round Q&A (tactics, hiring, signals): [39:02]–[44:08]
Lightning Round Highlights (Q&A)
- Most overlooked page type: About Us / FAQs—make your value clear in plain text [39:12]
- Tactic likely to evolve: Internal linking for simple crawler access [40:43]
- Key hire: SEO embedded in product management seat [41:39]
- Guiding signal for content updates: Simple—traffic and performance changes [42:24]
- Message to leadership: Start by asking, “Are our users using these tools at all?” [43:17]
Conclusion
This episode is an essential listen for SEO and product leaders seeking to future-proof their strategy as AI transforms search. John Vantine’s approach balances technical rigor, user-first content, cross-team education, and executive communication, all rooted in the reality of user behavior and data—not just the latest AI hype. The core lesson: while the landscape is shifting, the fundamentals—technical excellence, content quality, user trust, and smart collaboration—remain the key drivers of search success.