Will Scott

06/23/2026

My SMX Master Class is this Thursday: Claude Code for SEO.

If you’ve read my Search Engine Land piece on turning Claude Code into an SEO command center, this is the deeper, live version.

We’ll walk through the structure behind the workflow: client/site context, data folders, imports, prompts, reusable reports, QA checks, and the path from raw data to recommendations a client or team can actually use.

It’s online June 25, live and on-demand, with time for Q&A. Use Friend15 for 15% off.

https://events.searchengineland.com/smx-master-classes-june-2026/register?ref=will

06/22/2026

SEO work has always been a lot of context switching: Search Console for queries, GA4 for behavior, Ads for paid overlap, crawlers for technical checks, spreadsheets for cleanup, AI visibility tools for the new layer, and docs for briefs, drafts, QA, and distribution.

Claude Code can become the connective tissue across that workflow.

That’s what I’m teaching in my SMX Master Class, Claude Code for SEO, live online this Thursday, June 25.

Use Friend15 for 15% off.

https://events.searchengineland.com/smx-master-classes-june-2026/register?ref=will

06/20/2026

Most SEO teams don’t need another dashboard. They need a better way to connect the data and workflows they already have.

That’s what I’ll cover in my SMX Master Class next week: Claude Code for SEO.

We’ll look at how Claude Code can sit across Search Console, GA4, Semrush, Google Ads, site exports, AI visibility data, prompts, reports, and QA checklists so the workflow becomes repeatable.

The point is not “AI writes SEO copy.” The point is building a practical operating system for SEO work.

Live online June 25. Use Friend15 for 15% off.

https://events.searchengineland.com/smx-master-classes-june-2026/register?ref=will

06/19/2026

I’m teaching an SMX Master Class next week: Claude Code for SEO.

It’s live online Thursday, June 25, and the focus is practical: how to turn Claude Code into a working SEO command center instead of another tab in the stack.

We’ll cover how to structure a reusable SEO project, pull in data from Search Console, GA4, Semrush, Google Ads, and AI visibility tools, and turn those signals into briefs, drafts, QA checks, distribution plans, and client-ready recommendations.

Use code Friend15 for 15% off.

Register here: https://events.searchengineland.com/smx-master-classes-june-2026/register?ref=will

06/18/2026

Ranking on Google still matters.

But AI search adds another question:

Can the AI tools understand and explain your business correctly?

That is not automatic.

Research from the SMX Advanced deck showed that different AI systems cite very different sources. In one dataset, 71.1% of cited domains appeared in only one model's responses. In another benchmark, Google's #1 result earned a citation in at least one of six AI systems 37% of the time.

So the work is not just "write a page and rank it."

It is also:

1. Make your services clear.
2. Make your location and audience clear.
3. Put proof on pages AI can crawl.
4. Get other trusted sources to confirm the same story.

That is especially important for local businesses, universities, healthcare groups, and service companies where trust matters before someone ever clicks.

Source article: https://willscott.me/2026/06/04/smx-advanced-2026-less-busywork-more-geo/

06/15/2026

Unlike some of my colleagues, I don’t think AI means everyone becomes a manager.

We will all delegate more work to software. That part seems obvious.

But there is still a lot of work between an AI output and something a business should actually use.

Someone has to know whether the answer is any good. Someone has to catch the thing that sounds right but isn’t. Someone has to know what to keep, what to throw away, and what needs another pass.

That’s not really management. It’s closer to QA, editing, and being a useful reviewer.

That’s what I was getting at in my reply to Wil Reynolds on Greg Isenberg’s post. The org chart may change, but the need for context, judgment, and quality control is not going away.

06/04/2026

SMX Advanced 2026: Less Busywork, More GEO

Slides and summary from my SMX Advanced 2026 talk on agentic workflows, AI search visibility, and why rankings are only part of the picture....

Slides and summary from my SMX Advanced 2026 talk on agentic workflows, AI search visibility, and why rankings are only part of the picture.

05/29/2026

The first AI move in sales and marketing is not picking a tool. It is mapping the funnel.

Then use AI where it can improve the system: top-of-funnel creative rotation, better audience testing, and paid versus organic gap analysis.

05/28/2026

If you're trying to use AI for sales and marketing, don't start with the tool. Start with the funnel.

Map where leads come from, what happens to them, and where the biggest constraint actually is. Most of the time, the biggest opportunity is at the top of the funnel.

04/27/2026

One wants SEO + AEO.

The other wants wants AEO - SEO.

I’ll take the first one.