Digital PR, AI Visibility & Building Software
The one with Fery Kaszoni
What we talked about
- From developer to SEO and digital PR
- Software-first agency operations
- Vibe coding and system-building skills for hires
- How digital PR helps AI/LLM visibility
- Link building still matters because LLMs use search
- Shift in client base toward 'AI rankings'
- AI visibility / prompt tracking tool demo
- Using AI to scale without replacing people
- 'SEO is dead' as VC-funded propaganda
- Unlinked brand mentions in reporting
- Social media as primary brand building
- Future of the SEO profession with AI
The questions we dug into
Q1How did you move from development into SEO and digital PR?
From childhood electronics to blogging on Blogspot in 2007 and tweaking its XML, then founding Search Intelligence in 2014. After working with PBNs and paid blogger links, he saw digital PR agencies rising around 2019–2020 and scaled a digital PR department with custom software for scheduling and journalist targeting.
Asked by Nik · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q2How important is vibe coding / building your own code when hiring, and is it key for SEOs in 2026?
Every future hire, especially leadership, will need to be a system builder — able to prototype a solution (e.g., with Claude) and communicate it to a dev team. For mid-level digital PR executives it's optional.
Asked by Sara · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q3How does being featured in the media/digital PR impact visibility in AI search?
Three ways: 1) ChatGPT searches Google/Bing, so links that boost organic rankings help you rank for fan-out queries; 2) at the training level, repeated brand mentions with descriptive context reinforce what the brand is; 3) data-led campaigns get your brand cited as a source for related queries. Listicles on good sites are currently the most effective way to shape the AI's narrative.
Asked by Nik · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q4Has the sales conversation changed in the last two years?
Not much. Clients who know links still buy. Content/affiliate sites are fading, but they're being replaced by brands who ignored SEO before and now want 'AI rankings' — a new client base.
Asked by Nik · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q5Can you tell us about your AI search visibility tool?
You add a domain; it scrapes the site and Google data to understand the brand, generates topics and hundreds of prompts, tracks brand mentions, positions and sentiment, scrapes citation sources, suggests link-building quick wins (excluding competitor sites), and creates detailed content briefs with internal linking. It uses expensive models for quality data, so profitability is still being worked out.
Asked by Nik · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q6Should we rely 100% on AI tools, and do they mean hiring fewer people?
No. AI tools should amplify skilled people, not replace them. Think about spreadsheets: they made people more efficient, but they didn't eliminate the need for skilled people. AI can similarly help a team deliver faster, better, and cheaper work. If one person can use AI to deliver 15 campaigns instead of 3, the lower cost and faster execution can create more demand for those services. As demand grows, companies may need more people to manage, operate, and scale those AI-powered workflows. The goal is not fewer people. It's giving people more power and efficiency so the business can grow.
Asked by Sara · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q7Are new AI SEO tools missing ICP/marketing knowledge?
He sees a subtle, VC-funded 'SEO is dead' propaganda campaign pushing AI-optimization tools with ad money. SEOs understand ranking anywhere better than anyone and should push back, while respecting the tools that have been built.
Asked by Nik · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q8Do clients ask if digital PR is still worth it, and do you report unlinked brand mentions?
Clients have always asked; the 'brand mentions are the new links' narrative actually increased conviction in digital PR. Brand is the best protection when Google cuts unbranded traffic. They report unlinked mentions in a separate table, but KPIs remain links.
Asked by Sara · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q9Does digital PR need to adapt to multi-platform search (YouTube, Reddit, LLMs)?
Brand building is most important for AI search, and social media is the most powerful brand-building channel. Digital PR should be complementary. It's a misconception that a mention in The Sun alone makes AI love you — it helps indirectly via links and organic rankings.
Asked by Sara · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Q10What's the future of the SEO profession with AI, and what's your focus?
The future is scary but exciting; he chooses excitement and learns to build with AI (even teaching his daughters to code games). Within ~2 years AI will outperform humans at data analysis, but strategists who lead with AI will be needed more than ever.
Asked by Nik · answered by Fery Kaszoni
Lines that stuck with us
- Fery: 'Every future hire will have to be a system builder.'
- Fery: 'Old school organic search is never going away' — ChatGPT's results would be bad without SERP data.
- Fery: listicles are 'by far the best way' to shape an AI's narrative right now — 'it's silly how it works but it works.'
- Fery: 'For brand building, social media is the holy grail.'
Note: This page was AI-generated from the podcast transcript and manually reviewed for accuracy and context. While we’ve made every effort to ensure it reflects the original conversation, mistakes or omissions are still possible. If you spot something that doesn’t look right, please reach out and let us know.