What's a common mistake companies make when hiring a new resource?

Summary

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Episode Overview

Podcast: Voices of Search
Episode Title: What's a common mistake companies make when hiring a new resource?
Date: January 20, 2026
Host: Jordan Cooney
Guest: Eli Schwartz, Growth Advisor, SEO Consultant, and Author of "Product Led SEO"

This episode dives into the pitfalls organizations face when hiring for SEO and content marketing roles, especially in light of new AI technologies and evolving search paradigms. The discussion focuses on the misguided rush to bring on AI-specific roles rather than focusing on foundational SEO expertise and adaptability.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The "AI Role" Hiring Fad (00:44–01:42)

• Host's Lightning Round Question:
  "What is one of the most common mistakes companies are making when it comes to hiring a new resource, especially in this new AI discovery world?"

• Eli Schwartz’s Main Point:
  Many companies are too quick to create or seek "new" roles (e.g., AIO—Artificial Intelligence Optimization, GEO, AEO) in response to emerging AI technologies and search platform changes.

  "It's not just resources, not just people, but it's software too. But thinking that something's new. So anybody that has the best user empathy and understands the way these platforms engines work, it should be able to adapt to whatever the near future is so you don't need to invest in a replacement." — Eli Schwartz (01:09)

• Advice to Companies:
  Rely on skilled SEO professionals and agencies who already understand the core principles of optimization and have the adaptability to work with new technologies.

  "You have SEO already. You have an SEO agency already. You have an SEO consultant already." — Eli Schwartz (01:32)

2. Trusting Your Existing Team (03:10–03:27)

• If you don't trust your current SEO team to handle new technological SEO challenges, the underlying issue is much deeper than a need for "AI specialists".

• The channel and tools may evolve, but foundational SEO skills and logic remain core. Attempting to replace your team or role because of buzzwords is misguided.

  "...if you can't trust the SEO team, you have to do the aeo aiogeo, whatever it is you have, then don't trust them to do SEO. So this channel, and I don't want to be a dinosaur here, it's an extension of SEO. It is not a replacement of SEO. You don't need a new resource." — Eli Schwartz (03:10)

3. Perspective on Innovation and Adaptability (Implicit throughout)

• The episode encourages organizations to remember the importance of user empathy and platform understanding over chasing the latest hiring trends.
• True innovation in SEO comes from adaptable, well-informed professionals, not from new job titles or tech hype.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Illusion of "New" Roles:

  "Anybody that has the best user empathy and understands the way these platforms engines work, it should be able to adapt to whatever the near future is..."
  — Eli Schwartz (01:14)

• On the Overlap Between SEO and New Technologies:

  "It's an extension of SEO. It is not a replacement of SEO. You don't need a new resource."
  — Eli Schwartz (03:22)

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Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:44 — Host intro to the lightning round focusing on hiring mistakes in an AI-driven market.
• 01:09–01:42 — Eli explains the mistake of chasing new roles, emphasizing adaptability and user empathy.
• 03:10–03:27 — Eli gives direct advice: trust and empower your existing SEO team rather than hiring for trendy, unproven roles.

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Episode Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is practical, direct, and focused on demystifying current hiring fads in SEO and content marketing. Eli’s advice empowers businesses to invest in foundational expertise and adaptability rather than chasing new labels or technologies.

Key takeaway:
Don’t let the AI hype or search algorithm buzzwords distract you from your essential SEO foundation. Invest in people and teams who understand the core of SEO and can grow with the changes, rather than constantly looking for the next shiny object or title.

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Transcript

[Jordan Cooney]

The Voices of Search Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast, I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice then visit iheareverything.com welcome to the Voices of Search podcast. A member of the I Hear Everything podcast network, ready to expedite your company's organic growth efforts. Sit back, relax, and get ready for your daily dose of search engine optimization wisdom. Here's today's host of the Voices of Search podcast, Jordan Cooney.

[Eli Schwartz]

Awesome.

[Podcast Host]

All right, let's move into our lightning round where I'm going to ask you a search related question from this week's topics. This week's topic was LLM tracking and the value to the future of Search. All right, ready already? Okay. What is one of the most common mistakes companies are making when it comes to hiring a new resource? In this new AI discovery world, it's.

[Eli Schwartz]

Not just resources, not just people, but it's software too. But thinking that something's new. So anybody that has the best user empathy and understands the way these platforms engines work, it should be able to adapt to whatever the near future is so you don't need to invest in a replacement. And I have counseled multiple companies companies this year who wanted to hire some of them called AIOs, some of them called GEOs, some of them called it AEOs. Like, oh, we need an AEO on my team. And I'm like, no, you have SEO already. You have an SEO agency already. You have an SEO consultant already.

[Sponsor Voice]

Time for a one minute break to hear from our sponsor, Pre Visible. So you're looking for SEO help and you got a couple of options. You could start replying to spam from agencies that claim they can get you to rank number one on Google. You can pay an hourly rate for a consultant who will inevitably nickel and dime you with hourly charges. Or you can work with a cookie cutter agency to quickly launch a strategy less project with low success rate. None of those sound very good now, do they? Well, that's where Pre Visible's integrated consulting model comes in. Pre Visible draws From a collective 40 years of SEO and digital marketing experience to unlock your organic growth opportunities. They build custom solutions that combine strategy, technical expertise, content and reporting to effectively operationalize SEO for your business. Pre Physical's four stage approach ensures that your SEO programs thrive by starting off with a strategy first approach. Then they support you in your efforts to create quality content, help you identify technical issues, and most importantly, they'll work with your cross functional teams to integrate your SEO strategies to make sure that your SEO budget actually drives results, not just your agency's bottom line. So join brands like Yelp, eBay, Canva, Atlassian Square, all who rely on the SEO consultants at Pre Visible. For more information go to Pre Visible IO that's Pre Visible P R E V I S I B L E IO.

[Eli Schwartz]

You've got your bases covered. If you can't trust the SEO team, you have to do the aeo aiogeo, whatever it is you have, then don't trust them to do SEO. So this channel, and I don't want to be a dinosaur here, it's an extension of SEO. It is not a replacement of SEO. You don't need a new resource.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. And that wraps up this episode of the Voice of Search podcast. A huge thank you to Eli Schwartz, Growth Advisor, SEO Consultant and author of Product Led SEO, for joining us. If you'd like to connect with Eli, you can find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on the voicesofsearch.com you can also visit his personal website, productled SEO.com if you haven't subscribed yet and want a daily stream of SEO content marketing knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app or on YouTube and we'll be back in your feed every week. Okay, that's all for today, but until next time, remember the answers are always in the data.

[Sam]

Sam.