Business
Shaun Kanary is VP of SEO, SEM & Marketing Growth Strategies at Kuno Creative, and a college professor teaching digital marketing. In this episode, Shaun breaks down why traditional SEO is no longer enough in the age of AI and what brands need to do right now to stay visible.
We cover how AI has shifted ranking authority from backlinks to trust validation, why your first-party data is your biggest competitive moat, and how to build topical authority that AI systems actually recognise. Shaun also shares the exact steps any founder, CEO, or marketer can take to start dominating a niche and becoming the go-to expert in their space.
We talked about:
- Why AI does not care about your domain authority
- How off-page SEO signals have evolved beyond backlinks
- First-party data and why it matters more than ever
- The new AI-era funnel: visibility, trust, confidence, conversion, and advocacy
- How to build topical authority from scratch
- Why niching down is the fastest path to authority
- LinkedIn thought leadership and executive personal branding
- The five steps to clarify your point of view and build your entity
Get Your Exclusive AIO Growth Plan - We’ll kick off with a Live AIO Audit to see how shoppers find you, followed by Competitor Research to steal their spotlight: https://lunacal.ai/team/dws/dws-meetings
In this episode, we discuss:
00:00 - 01:00: Introduction
01:00 - 04:30: Why Shaun became a professor (hint: free Chipotle)
04:30 - 08:00: Teaching AI in the classroom: from enemy to curriculum
08:00 - 11:30: Why AI won't replace agency strategy
11:30 - 15:00: Using AI to simulate ICPs and test campaigns before launch
15:00 - 19:30: First-party data: the real competitive moat in the AI era
19:30 - 23:00: How constraints create better marketing strategy
23:00 - 30:00: How off-page SEO has completely changed with AI
30:00 - 34:30: Backlinks vs. trust validation: the new SEO model
34:30 - 39:00: Executive thought leadership and LinkedIn strategy
39:00 - 43:30: What brands get wrong when auditing their digital footprint
43:30 - 47:00: Why chasing high-volume keywords will hurt you now
47:00 - 51:00: The new AI-era funnel: visibility, trust, confidence, conversion, advocacy
51:00 - 55:00: 5 steps to clarify your point of view and dominate your niche
55:00 - 56:11: Where to find Shaun and Kuno Creative
Connect with Shaun Kanary
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaunkanary/
http://www.kunocreative.com/
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