To a Strategic Marketing Leader, SEO Is Spelled R-O-I

Dots Oyebolu speaks with James Wirth, Senior Director of Strategy and Growth Marketing at Citation Labs, to explore how SEO is more about ROI than just rankings and why SEO professionals should “steal” budgets from PPC campaigns.James shares insights on the impact of AI on search, the role of structured content, backlinking strategies, and how competitive analysis shapes SEO success.Key Takeaways:(01:00) To a marketing strategy leader, SEO isn’t just SEO — it’s all about ROI.(02:28) The rise of AI is reshaping organic search, shifting from "dark social" to "dark search" and "dark communities."(03:47) Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) changes how marketers approach SEO.(06:19) Early studies indicate that SGE pulls search results from specific ranking positions.(10:26) Google may reduce the number of search pages, making Page One rankings even more critical.(12:52) Bing’s role in SEO may expand as Microsoft invests heavily in AI-powered search.(17:03) Structured content and schema markup are more crucial than ever for SEO success.(21:09) Leveraging podcast content for guest-authored articles is an effective backlinking strategy.(26:16) The concept of "money pages" determines where backlinks should point for the highest SEO impact.(28:54) Competitive analysis involves evaluating link gaps, search ranking positions, and content structure.(35:42) Look at unasked questions when making recommendations around content.(44:04) Measuring SEO ROI is an ongoing challenge, but controlled testing helps quantify impact.Resources Mentioned:James Wirth -https://www.linkedin.com/in/jameswirth/Citation Labs -https://www.linkedin.com/company/citation-labs/Link Launch | A new mission control for link building -https://linklaunch.com/Citationlabs.com | Blog including ROI Forecasting template -https://citationlabs.com/link-building-your-cmo-will-love/Insightful Links:https://intergrowth.com/seo/vs-ppc/https://searchengineland.com/7-things-wish-cmos-knew-link-building-192705https://www.mediajel.com/blogs/link-building/https://www.thehoth.com/blog/new-way-to-build-links/Thanks for listening to the “Marketing Leadership” podcast, brought to you by Listen Network. If you enjoyed this episode, leave a review to help get the word out about the show. And be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation.We appreciate the enthusiasm and support from our community. Currently, we are not accepting new guest interview requests as we focus on our existing lineup. We will announce when we reopen for new submissions. In the meantime, feel free to explore our past episodes and stay tuned for updates on future opportunities.#PodcastMarketing #PerformanceMarketing #BrandMarketing #MarketingStrategy #MarketingIntelligence #GTM #B2BMarketing  #D2CMarketing #PodcastAds