Which overlooked metric makes the case for generative search investment?

Summary

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Episode Overview

Title: Which Overlooked Metric Makes the Case for Generative Search Investment?
Podcast: Voices of Search
Host: Jordan Cooney
Guest: Jon Vantine, Director of SEO at GoodRx
Date: February 1, 2026

This episode delves into a pressing question for SEO leaders and content marketers: What key metric or consideration is most often missed when evaluating investments in generative search and AI-driven discovery? Jon Vantine shares his perspective on user behavior, practical evaluation methods, and how teams should think critically before jumping into new technologies.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Most Overlooked Metric: Actual User Adoption

• Jon Vantine identifies user engagement with generative search tools (like ChatGPT) as the crucial yet often ignored factor executives miss.
• Before creating strategies or executing on technical roadmaps, teams should ask: "Are our users actually using these tools?" (01:20)

Notable Quote

“The most overlooked message is: are our users actually using these tools? Usually I feel like as SEOs we have this tendency to jump to the answer and jump to the action without thinking about the question behind the action.”
— Jon Vantine [01:20]

2. Avoiding Premature Action in SEO Strategy

• Jon warns against the common SEO pitfall of "jumping to action" (e.g., rushing out new projects or optimizations) without validating the need and context.
• He suggests starting with simple, fundamental user questions, rather than blindly executing pre-set plans.
• This ensures the SEO roadmap aligns with real user habits and opportunities.

Notable Quote

“I think those are two important steps that sometimes get looked past in favor of just checking the box and executing on a roadmap. We need to start with like some simple questions first.”
— Jon Vantine [03:28]

3. Practical Evaluation: Tools and Tactics

• User Behavior Check:
  • Investigate whether your actual target customers are interacting with generative AI tools like ChatGPT.
  • Referenced Rand Fishkin's tool for checking user adoption.
• Direct Testing:
  • Open ChatGPT in incognito mode and experiment with target queries.
  • Evaluate: Are these tools even recommending websites for your target queries, or is there a lack of link-out and attribution altogether?
• The implication: If AI tools don’t refer traffic to websites, investment impact could be limited.

Notable Practical Insight

“Are those tools even recommending websites for the queries that we might optimize for? Fire up incognito mode, open ChatGPT and start asking some questions. Like, are they even… There are responses that don’t have any links in them at all.”
— Jon Vantine [03:06]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Missed Metrics and Mindsets
  • “We have this tendency to jump to the answer and jump to the action without thinking about the question behind the action.” [01:22]
• On Testing Assumptions with Real Queries
  • “Fire up incognito mode, open ChatGPT and start asking some questions.” [03:06]
  • “There are responses that don’t have any links in them at all.” [03:12]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:44 — Introduction to Jon Vantine and his experience with generative search at GoodRx.
• 01:20 — Jon identifies user adoption as the most overlooked metric for generative search investment.
• 03:06 — Practical steps for evaluating whether generative search tools recommend your content.
• 03:28 — The call to start with fundamental user questions before action.

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Concise Takeaways

• Before investing heavily in generative search or AI, organizations need to critically assess whether their audiences actually use these tools and whether those tools drive web traffic.
• Simple investigative tactics—like real-world user research and experimenting with generative AI queries—should precede any roadmap execution.
• A data-driven, user-first mindset remains at the core of sustainable and effective SEO and content marketing strategies in the evolving AI landscape.

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Transcript

[A]

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.

[B]

I'm Jordan Cooney and joining me today is Jon Vantine, Director of SEO at GoodRx. John has spent over 7 years building a world class cross functional generative search task force and editorial frameworks that that has powered discovery throughout Google, ChatGPT and beyond. Today, John shares the system signals and stories from technical migrations to content refreshes that are reshaping how he thinks about AI. What's the most overlooked message to leaders and executives when they're asking about AI, discovery and search?

[C]

Oh my God, this is easy. The most overlooked message is are our users actually using these tools? Usually I feel like as SEOs we have this tendency to jump to the answer and jump to the action without thinking about like the question behind the action. Like.

[D]

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[C]

First of all, our users use are our people, are our customers using ChatGPT? Right. Rand Fishkin has a great tool that speaks to this. So that's one step. But then also, are those tools even recommending websites for the queries that we might optimize for? Fire up incognito mode, open ChatGPT and start asking some questions. Like are they even There are responses that don't have any links in them at all.

[B]

Right.

[C]

So like I think those are two important steps that sometimes get looked past in favor of just checking the box and executing on a roadmap. We need to start with like some some simple questions first.

[B]

Love that, John. Excellent advice. And that wraps up this episode of the Voices of Search podcast. A huge thank you to John Vantine, director of SEO at GoodRx. Thank you for joining us. If you'd like to contact John, you can find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes or on the voicesofsearch.com you can also visit his company website, goodrx.com if you haven't subscribed yet and would like 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 each week. Okay, that's all for today, but until next time, remember, the answers are always in the data.