Voices of Search Podcast Summary

Episode: Should you optimize content for simple elements?
Date: October 1, 2025
Host: Jordan Cooney
Featured Guest: Guy from Webflow

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Voices of Search team examines the current debate in SEO and content marketing: Should content be optimized for simple elements such as summaries and FAQs, or should brands continue to invest in long-form content such as listicles and detailed blog posts? The discussion explores how both human users and emerging AI models, particularly LLMs (large language models), interact with different types of content. The conversation provides nuanced perspectives, cautioning against chasing trends without considering user and AI needs, and speculates about the future direction of web content optimization.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Trend or Trash: Are Summaries and FAQs the New SEO Gold?

[00:44]

• Jordan kicks off with a "lightning round" question: Should brands focus on optimizing simple content elements (like summaries and FAQs), or stick with long-form formats?
• Guy responds quickly, indicating the necessity of both formats:

  "I would say trash. I think LLMs are valuing structured content...You also see some trend towards longer rather than shorter, but...longer for more likely having the answer the LLM is looking for." — Guy, [01:02]

2. The Complex Relationship Between Content Length & AI Crawling

[01:02]

• Structured content (including FAQs and summaries) can help AI models find key information more efficiently.
• Some experimentation is happening, such as including FAQs at the end of articles to aid AI parsing.
• There's a debate about whether providing information in shorter or longer formats is more efficient for AI, even as context windows increase:

  "Even if they have infinite context windows? I think they will still...differentially crawl things that are easier for them." — Guy, [01:54]

3. Context Remains King for Human Audiences

[02:12]

• Jordan points out there's industry hype around summaries and FAQs, but human users still need context—something usually provided by long-form content:

  "I do fundamentally think that audiences need context and context typically comes in these longer form pieces..." — Jordan, [02:19]

• Brands must assess the strengths and weaknesses of their content experiences, rather than blindly following template norms or trends.

4. Content Experiences Must Serve Both Humans and AI

[03:17]

• Guy underscores the importance of focusing on what human readers actually need:

  "What does the human on the other end actually need? What's actually valuable? Because that's ultimately true north." — Guy, [03:18]

• He speculates on a potential future: websites could provide dual experiences—visually rich experiences for humans and markdown/text versions for LLMs.

  "I do wonder whether there's a world where you serve the humans these visually stunning, emotionally engaging experiences...And for the LLMs...a markdown version of every page..." — Guy, [03:40]

5. Future SEO: Responsive to Both AI and Human Feedback

[04:20]

• Jordan and Guy suggest that as AI models become clearer about what they require, the web community will better adapt content strategy—balancing data, information, and context.
• Currently, content creators still lean on traditional SEO tactics, awaiting clearer guidelines for AI optimization.

  “On pages today, there’s very little direction, right? We’re still beholden to many of the traditional SEO guidelines…” — Jordan, [04:21]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Guy, on content structuring:

  “You also lower their crawl budget by giving them a listicle...I’ve seen people experimenting...put the entire same set of content in FAQs at the bottom...so that I can make it easier for an LLM to crawl…” [01:10]

• Jordan, on user needs:

  “I do fundamentally think that audiences need context and context typically comes in these longer form pieces...” [02:19]

• Guy, on the UX/AI balance:

  “Websites have to serve these two audiences, the humans and the LLMs.” [03:23]

Important Timestamps

• 00:44 — Lightning round: Simple elements vs. long-form content question introduced
• 01:02 — Guest (Guy) argues for the balance of content types, details on LLMs and crawl budget
• 02:12 — Jordan on the hype around simple elements and the enduring need for context
• 03:17 — Guy on true north of content being human value; speculation on parallel content for AIs
• 04:20 — Future of SEO, need for clearer AI feedback, wrapping up

Conclusion

While there's industry buzz around optimizing for summaries and FAQs, both Jordan and Guy stress that a one-size-fits-all approach is misguided. Long-form content still offers essential context for users, while structured elements benefit AI models. The future may involve creating dual content experiences—rich for humans, efficient for AIs—while always keeping "what's actually valuable" as the guiding principle.

For further information, contact Guy via LinkedIn (details in show notes) or explore Webflow at webflow.com.