Podcast Summary: Voices of Search

Episode: Your publisher's plan for visibility with direct AI answers?
Date: August 16, 2025
Host: Jordan Cooney
Guest: Kevin Indig

Overview

This succinct lightning-round episode of Voices of Search delves into the urgent new challenge facing publishers and marketers: how to maintain and grow visibility as generative AI models serve direct answers to users—often cutting publishers out of the conversation. Kevin Indig, renowned SEO strategist, shares his practical and tactical plan for publishers who seek to remain relevant and visible in the age of direct AI answers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The AI Visibility Challenge

• Host Jordan Cooney kicks off by asking for a direct plan to stay visible when AI increasingly provides direct answers in search results.
  • [00:43] “All right, last lightning round. Question: Your game plan. What's your plan for visibility with direct AI answers?”

2. Building Direct Audience Channels

• Kevin Indig outlines a proactive, audience-centric approach:
  • Build direct channels (e.g., newsletters, communities, owned media) to the target audience.
  • Prioritize deeply understanding the audience—identify their problems and primary considerations.
  • Infer likely prompts that users would ask generative AI systems.
  • Produce targeted, highly specialized content tailored to these users’ “profile, persona, or jobs to be done.”
  • Measure impact not just with traffic—but also citations, mentions, and, ultimately, business results.
  • [00:54] “Game plan is to build direct channels to the target audience, to deeply understand their problems and consideration sets, and then infer prompts from that. Invest in very targeted, specialized content tailored to the audience based on their profile, persona, or jobs to be done. Measure the impact in terms of citations and mentions and of course, bottom line. If that goes in the right direction, then do more of that.”
    — Kevin Indig

3. Measurement and Iteration

• The iterative approach: If the strategies drive positive results (mentions, citations, revenue), double down. If not, adapt.
• The focus is on building durable audience relationships that cannot be easily disintermediated by AI.

4. Host Endorsement

• Jordan Cooney enthusiastically supports Kevin's approach:
  • [01:24] “Love it.” — Jordan Cooney

Notable Quotes

• Kevin Indig [00:54]:
  “Game plan is to build direct channels to the target audience, to deeply understand their problems and consideration sets, and then infer prompts from that. Invest in very targeted, specialized content tailored to the audience based on their profile, persona, or jobs to be done. Measure the impact in terms of citations and mentions and of course, bottom line. If that goes in the right direction, then do more of that.”

• Jordan Cooney [01:24]:
  “Love it.”

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:43 — Main question: The AI direct answer challenge.
• 00:54–01:24 — Kevin Indig’s visibility plan detailed.
• 01:24 — Host’s endorsement.
• 02:53 — Guest contact information and show wrap.

Tone & Language

The episode is direct, actionable, and grounded in practical wisdom for SEO and content strategists. Kevin’s advice is delivered with clarity and a focus on results, and Jordan brings encouragement and affirmation.

Memo

• For more from Kevin Indig, check out his newsletter at growth-memo.com ([02:53]).
• For audience growth in a shifting search landscape, the clear takeaway: Own your audience, specialize your content, and measure impact beyond clicks.

“The answers are always in the data.” – Voices of Search