Use Data Or Be Used By Data!

The October 26 issue of Seotistics is here for you!

You read a lot of stuff online decreting the end of SaaS, GA4 and whatever due to AI.

Most of it is wrong and shouldn't affect your work or career.

I will show and explain you why.

Just came back from Athens from SEO On Stage, will post more details on LinkedIn.

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📣📣 Important Announcements 📣📣

I will speak at MeasureCamp Zurich (November 22), my last event for 2026 (too tired).

And for 2027, don't forget about Found Conference Tokyo - 18-19 Feb 2027 (Super Early Bird active now).

Now that I am more free, I can finish a lot of my projects like:

updating my courses
finish existing articles
expanding my content system!

As usual, my peak course is here:

Become a Top Analyst Now!

News Recap

To be posted tomorrow on my LinkedIn, sorry folks just came home after Athens and didn't have the time lol

Massive Panic, Zero Evidence

A lot of the stuff you read online has no supporting evidence and I am here to debunk it.

In most cases, it's all hype and zero substance (somewhat).

The SaaScalypse

The baseline assumption is that SaaS is to be sunset because now AI exists.

This is a very narrow perspective and implies every single person knows how to use computers.

Plus, consider these real problems:

architecture
hosting
scalability

So no, there is no replacement for engineering.

If you have internal resources or good externals (like me), then it's so much easier to build actual software today.

Past example of a simple control panel I built with evidence.dev... and also why I dislike drag-and-drop tools today.

The #1 blocker is that AI helps you build a tool but is blind to proper modeling and governance...

that come before AI.

However, there is software you shouldn't pay for because it's a waste of money.

My full list is:

most of the SaaS for data (you can DIY now and use BigQuery + whatever)
Dashboards/BI (most often waste of money)

You can rent a VPS and have your internal web apps, problem solved.

I avoid AI "tools" like the plague because they are ChatGPT wrappers with a cool interface.

Google Analytics 4: the never-ending nightmare

GA4 suffers from "success", the UI per se is not good at all but can boast a large adoption rate.

This is what holding a monopoly means 💀

Today there are better alternatives for privacy, like Matomo and Piwik Pro... but they are quite small in terms of adoption.

I remember that when Consent Mode became a thing, people where panicking and considering creating their own GA4 alternative 🤣

Most GA4 problems boil down to "I don't wanna upskill and stick to the UI"

It didn't work out as planned and everyone got back to the usual old life.

In my ongoing job study for Web Analytics, GA4 is the dominant tool.

GA4 alone doesn't suffice since it's obvious.

You still need it as an entry point and to work within most of the daily life scenarios.

It's not that bad as people say, it's mostly laziness and obstination with using the interface.

Content Writing & Operations

A common stereotype diffused by people who do NOT work in content is that AI can write ALL content.

I assure you, it's incredibly difficult to produce AI content that meets expectations.

As you know, I worked and am working on content operations with my system.

Still, you need time and care to actually produce quality content that people (like you) want to read.

Many are still stuck at manufacturing content like supply chain and churning it out. No wonder SEO is shunned.

That's one of the main reasons why most SEO agencies offer subpar services at best.

Deliverables are seen as homework and not as something you spend time on.

Research is an area where you can save a lot of time, despite the recent SERP poisoning.

From a business point of view, content is a way to express your value proposition and become visible.

It's no coincidence that successful companies in B2B spend most of their budget in attracting the right "influencers".

LLMs & Marketing

There is a strong misunderstanding behind AI (and not only).

We have been brainwashed into considering only what produces traffic and eventually a conversion.

In the real world people don't buy after seeing an ad once... there is much more nuance!

I am still writing that famous article on LLM measurement and now that I am more free, I can finish it.

I'd also specify that an increase in Organic Search COULD be caused by a previous AI search.

The core idea is that you build awareness and make people aware you exist.

Then, you can work on converting them into your customers.

This is why you can NOT compare visibility on LLMs to SEO and of course PPC.

Different paradigms and goals.

What I've observed is that it's better to avoid obsessing over the throughput and focus on the outcome.

There are no magic optimizations to do on product pages or even articles.

Keep your operations smooth and don't obsess over labels.

The Generalist Hype

I swear, I have no idea how is it even possible to look at AI and conclude generalism is better than specialism.

AI is absolutely mid at specific topics, whereas it excels in giving you bits of many concepts.

Knowing your industry is the #1 driver of success.

This isn't an "intelligence" issue or us waiting for better models.

Some sources are just not available online or are submerged by slop.

In niche B2B industries, most of the information does't exist and it needs to be documented first.

Knowing 2-3 areas is much better than being another generalist.

I am able to immediately spot inaccuracies in my topics because I know them quite well.

Still valid today folks, don't overexpand!

AI's output looks sound until you dissect it and notice most of it rearranged common sense.

You already notice today that AI itself requires specialists because there are too many news and...

the industry is realizing it boils down to proper engineering (again).

We go back to the initial point of needing specialized people who can take care of specific technologies and systems, withing a given niche.

What To Keep Doing

If you have solid foundations without AI, then keep going.

I'd recommend you explore new tools like the ones I showed in the past weeks/months.

Otherwise, find a good mentor (or ask me) and focus on mastering the basics and creating good processes.

In the next issue I will cover more cool stuff (while I rest after 2 conference trips in a row 💀).

👥 Join Our Community

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I will start posting more there as we have a forum channel now.

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Even if you leave SEO, the foundations are the same for other jobs!

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📚 Recommended Reads - Peak Content 🗻

Read these peaks:

As usual, my most recent LinkedIn content is here.

❗️ Feedback and Recommendations

If you have ideas/recommendations for the next issues of Seotistics, you can simply reply to this email.

Marco Giordano
Data/Web Analyst

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