In Conversation With
Dan Earle
Vice President, Arketi Group
Thank you for joining us, Dan! A little controversy! What is a popularly held belief in the SEO industry right now that you think is complete garbage?
Dan Earle:
The reality that content is king is often greatly misconstrued. Yes, regular content updates, ongoing thought leadership and backlinks will help your SEO and even GEO standings…but only to a degree. Creating content for the sake of having content means nothing if it doesn’t align with your expertise, industry pain points and prospect interests. So, if anything, we need to adjust this belief so that we’re abiding more by the mantra that “relevant content is king.” Let’s stop thinking about this as a quantity play and more of a quality play.
Google disappears tomorrow. The algorithm is gone. Based on your current strategy, does your brand (or your clients) survive? What is the ‘Plan B’ moat you are building right now?
Dan Earle:
Yes, because we’re really focusing on GEO to drive the future of search. LLMs are leading the way so adjusting our strategies to better appeal to these models keeps us and our clients where we need to be in today’s search arena.
We all know chasing Google’s algorithms is a losing game. What is one ‘evergreen’ growth strategy you stick to, even when a Core Update tanks everyone else’s traffic?
Dan Earle:
Targeted advertisements, whether through retargeting or paid social. We have the ability to deliver hyper focused messages to our audiences with everyday tools, so ensure that these placements are fresh, relevant, and tied to key pain points.
Long-form content or Short-form video: If you could only pick one for 2026, which wins?
Dan Earle:
Short form video, 1000%. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all have the attention span of a goldfish. So short, direct videos will often trump longer-form content for most prospects until they are further down the funnel.
SEO is notoriously a ‘long game.’ How do you maintain stakeholder buy-in during the ‘trough of sorrow’ before results kick in?
Dan Earle:
You have to be very direct about expectations from the start. Most clients come in with an unrealistic goal of wanting instant results. Having clear communications from the start to establish realistic goals and regular touchpoints is critical.
Dan Earle is Vice President at Arketi Group, a B2B digital marketing and PR agency, where he leads integrated campaign design, SEO, and digital growth execution. Connect with Dan at www.linkedin.com/in/danielhearle/.