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Marketing & Growth

Is traditional SEO dead, what should an early-stage startup actually do?

No, but it has mutated: Google still drives far more volume than all AI assistants combined, while AI answers eat top-of-funnel clicks (up to a 58% CTR drop when an AI Overview appears). Google itself says there is no separate AI index, so helpful, well-structured, crawlable content is the same ticket for rankings and for AI citations. An early-stage startup should run lean, bottom-of-funnel SEO and layer AEO on top, rather than picking one and abandoning the other.

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21 resources.

Terms in this answer

Answer Engine Optimization Search Engine Optimization Click-Through Rate

More in Getting Found in AI Search (AEO/GEO)

Why does it now matter how ChatGPT and Perplexity describe my startup? 17 → How do founders get their product recommended by AI assistants? 18 → How do I find out what ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini currently say about my startup, and track it over time? 21 → How do AI assistants actually choose which sources to cite in an answer? 20 → Do Reddit, review sites, and press mentions matter more than my own website for AI visibility? 16 → Should I publish comparison pages and 'best X' listicles to win AI recommendations? 18 → What technical setup does my site need so AI crawlers can find, read, and cite it? 20 → Google now answers with AI Overviews and AI Mode. Does my Google strategy change? 17 → How do I measure traffic, signups, and revenue coming from AI search? 17 → I sell products online. How do I get into ChatGPT Shopping, Perplexity, and agent-driven commerce? 19 → ChatGPT says something wrong or outdated about my startup. How do I fix it? 17 →

Also in Starting Up

The same ground, over in Brand, web & content, our Starting Up track.

How do I come up with a good name for my startup? 3 → What should actually go on my startup's landing page? 2 →
eChai Partner Brands The partnership →