AMA with Maeva Cifuentes on Internationalizing Your SEO Strategy

Client Perspectives on SEO

Q: What's the general vibe around SEO with your clients right now?

A: The overall sentiment is one of seeking innovation. While budgets aren't being cut, clients are scrutinizing SEO activities more closely. They're looking for approaches that go beyond traditional methods used in the past 5 years. There's varying interest in GEO (generative engine optimization), but all clients expect original, creative strategies backed by thorough data and critical thinking.

SEO and LLM Optimization

Q: What are the top takeaways on how to optimize for LLMs to pick up your content in addition to Google?

A: GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) significantly overlaps with SEO work and should be handled by SEO teams. Both require:

• High-quality, relevant, original content
• Technical optimization
• Authority and brand building

The key differences lie in content approach:

Traditional SEO writing focuses on:

• Keyword optimization and relevant synonyms
• Formatted content for scanability
• Formulaic approaches with standard outlines

NLP-focused writing emphasizes:

• Deeper context and logical narrative flow
• Clear relationships between concepts
• Evidence-based explanations
• Coherent structure for AI understanding

Brand building remains crucial, with "surround sound SEO" being important - ensuring client visibility not only through their own rankings but also through mentions on other top-ranking pages.

Technical Considerations

Q: What are your strategies for an AI-specific technical audit?

A: Currently, technical audits look at the same elements for both SEO and AI - focusing on crawlability, site speed, and rich markup implementation.

Content Publishing Strategy

Q: What do you suggest regarding the number of SEO articles to publish monthly?

A: While specific numbers vary, here are the key considerations:

• Minimum 8 articles per month for good growth
• 20 articles is preferable for faster results
• Publication volume should be based on:
  • Competitor content volume
  • Current website position
  • Business goals
  • Timeline expectations

Agency Growth and Management

Q: How did Flying Cat evolve from a solopreneur project?

A: The growth was organic:

1. Started as a solo operation
2. Hired freelance writers to handle content creation
3. Brought in project management support
4. Gradually expanded with focus on serious business development
5. Continuous learning about management, leadership, and finance

Content Strategy and ROI

Q: What would you say to a CMO considering divesting from blog content due to low traffic?

A: When addressing this concern, focus on:

• Competitor traffic analysis
• Timeline expectations for growth
• Alignment with company OKRs
• Conversion data
• Comparative ROI across traffic sources

SEO Projects and Success Stories

Q: What SEO projects have worked recently for your clients?

A: Several successful initiatives:

• Technical optimizations (canonicals, hreflang tags)
• Strategic link building
• Targeted lead magnets aligned with search intent
• Adding infographics to content (pages with infographics showed better performance post-August update)

Future of SEO

Q: How do you see SEO evolving in 2025?

A: Key predictions:

1. Google will continue driving traffic to complex queries and thought leadership content
2. Original/unique content will become more crucial
3. Traffic sources will diversify beyond Google
4. Zero-click search will continue growing
5. Cost of SEO will increase

Risk Management

Q: What are the biggest risks agencies face right now?

A: The main risk is failure to adapt, particularly regarding:

• AI integration
• Innovation in service offerings
• Forward-thinking partnerships
• Meeting evolving client expectations

Strategic Link Building Approaches

Q: Can you elaborate on how strategic link building has been moving the needle?

A: The approach combines several strategies:

Agency Perspective:

• Focus on "surround sound SEO" - getting clients mentioned in category lists
• Delegated to specialized link building manager
• Program has shown significant results since implementation

B2B Traffic Recovery Case Study

Q: Can you share more about how you recovered your B2B client's traffic decline?

A: The situation involved a client who had experienced a significant traffic loss (10,000 monthly clicks over 6 months) due to over-optimization by their previous agency. The recovery strategy included:

1. Content Reoptimization
   • Reduced keyword density
   • Added expert quotes
   • Incorporated infographics
   • Balanced optimization approach
2. Strategic Improvements
   • Implemented comprehensive link building
   • Developed internal linking strategy
   • Organized content into topic clusters
3. Results
   • Full traffic recovery achieved
   • Maintained through multiple algorithm updates
   • Shifted from random blog posts to structured content categories

The key was moving away from tool-driven keyword strategies to a more holistic content approach.

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