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Endless Customers Podcast
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This transcript has been generated by AI and not checked for accuracy.
[01:00:00:00 - 01:00:07:18]
Stephanie Baiocchi
It sure is, I mean, it puts you in the strongest position to never worry about gaming a search engine again. You just are the trusted source.
[01:00:07:18 - 01:00:08:19]
(Music)
[01:00:09:19 - 01:00:52:02]
Stephanie Baiocchi
You're listening to the Endless Customers podcast, brought to you by the team at IMPACT. Endless Customers is the proven system to become the most known and trusted brand in your market. If you want to learn the principles of Endless Customers and how you can implement them in your business, pick up a copy of Endless Customers, a national bestseller, wherever books are sold. Ready to start implementing Endless Customers in your business? Talk to IMPACT about how our coaching program can help you implement Endless Customers to success. If you want to experience Endless Customers in person, don't miss our upcoming event, Endless Customers Live in Hartford, Connecticut, October 5th through the 7th, 2026. Registration is now open. Now, onto the show. Here's your host, Bob Ruffolo.
[01:00:52:02 - 01:01:10:12]
Bob Ruffolo
Well that voice you just heard was Stephanie Baiocchi and she has been with impact for almost 10 years now. And we've done 150 episodes plus 150 plus episodes of the Endless Customers podcast. And holy bananas, you've never been on the podcast Stephanie. What the heck? Holy bananas.
[01:01:10:12 - 01:01:13:19]
Stephanie Baiocchi
I know, I've been too busy planning Endless Customers Live.
[01:01:13:19 - 01:01:22:18]
Bob Ruffolo
Yes, yes. So for those of you that don't know, Stephanie is our chief events officer. Every--
[01:01:22:18 - 01:01:25:02]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Oh, stealing that title. I like that title.
[01:01:25:02 - 01:01:41:18]
Bob Ruffolo
But every one of our conferences, the Endless Customers Live conference which is put on twice a year, which most businesses will not do a conference because it is a ton of work and does require a lot of people. We do two here and Stephanie runs both of them because she is an absolute machine.
[01:01:41:18 - 01:01:45:07]
Bob Ruffolo
So Stephanie, how have you never been on the show before?
[01:01:45:07 - 01:01:56:15]
Stephanie Baiocchi
I know, it's crazy. I think just been so focused on the events and that's not something that we necessarily coach and train on. So I'm over here on the behind the scenes side.
[01:01:56:15 - 01:02:08:19]
Bob Ruffolo
So we've made some massive shifts here with our content here at Impact. And as you probably have noticed, we're gonna be ramping up how many of these episodes we're doing a week on here. We are
[01:02:10:00 - 01:02:34:19]
Bob Ruffolo
gonna be doing different types of episodes and addressing different content. And we were talking about what we wanna address. And obviously Google just had their I.O. Summit on the 19th and they announced a lot of things. We thought we would cover what is going on in the world of Google, AI, search, because a lot is changing. Stephanie, I know you were obsessing over it and that's why you're on here.
[01:02:35:20 - 01:02:37:15]
Bob Ruffolo
What is going on in search right now?
[01:02:37:15 - 01:03:27:07]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, so I'm always keeping my pulse on search just as any good marketer would. And this core update in particular caught my attention because even though it's I think the third or fourth one this year already, it was tied specifically timing wise with I.O. And so while their update about the core update specifically was very vague, Google was like, it's a standard update and it's gonna better surface relevant content and all those things they say, the timing is just cannot be ignored with I.O. And so a lot of what they announced with I.O. is how we're moving forward with conversational search. More and more search is happening with what Google's calling AI mode. They launched Gemini flash 3.5. And so they're creating this smoother, more
[01:03:28:21 - 01:04:02:16]
Stephanie Baiocchi
immersive search experience where when you ask a question, even if it's the kind of AI mode question you ask in Google right now on search on your desktop or your phone, it used to kind of give you that AI summary and then you took that and you did something with it or not. And now you can follow up on that query and then you can ask a deeper question and Google can take in context from additional things, additional searches, soon even context from your own information like your Gmail, your Google Photos, if you allow it to. So we know this is the direction everything's going.
[01:04:02:16 - 01:04:21:04]
Bob Ruffolo
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And obviously Google said this is the largest shift to the search box and just search in general in over 25 years. I mean, search is dramatically changing and they know it. All of our behavior has rapidly changed ever since chat GPT came out. It's like, oh, we can just ask a question, get an answer. Google gave us our views.
[01:04:21:04 - 01:04:25:21]
Stephanie Baiocchi
So we know we're not command clicking a bunch of blue links anymore and opening a bunch of tabs.
[01:04:25:21 - 01:04:36:04]
Bob Ruffolo
Yeah, so if you were gonna pull on this thread a little bit more, and obviously you are one of the biggest digital marketing geeks I know and that's why I love you so much.
[01:04:37:20 - 01:04:44:11]
Bob Ruffolo
Tell us more about where search is going and as brands and companies, where do we need to be paying attention?
[01:04:44:11 - 01:05:49:02]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, I think the biggest thing to take away is that sometimes when we talk about Google algorithm updates, it's like, oh, how do we win with Google? How do we beat the algorithm? And the algorithm wants to make people happy. It wants to provide searchers with good information. So don't worry so much about if you're providing the algorithm with what it's looking for, it's are you providing people with what they're looking for and eventually agents. And Google did talk a little bit about agents at IO as well. So we know that part. And then we know with trust signals, what AI tools in search are looking for. So with this, what people need to focus on with search is are you giving these tools the right kind of deep educational information? If you're just creating content for content's sake or you're putting up tons of pages, but they're thin and not really educational, it's not gonna cut it anymore. And I think the majority of what this update is gonna show us is that expertise, information and authority are reign supreme. And we know that and now it's gonna show.
[01:05:49:02 - 01:06:33:17]
Bob Ruffolo
You know, Stephanie, we've been working together for a long time and impact has always been a content powerhouse. And certainly, you go back just a handful of years ago, before AI, we were approaching a million website visitors to our site a month. Obviously most businesses have seen their traffic and they've seen it drop. But I would tell you, leading a lot of those content efforts throughout those years, I never paid attention to algorithm changes ever. Any of those years. I just, because what I actually paid attention to was the Google guidelines. That's what mattered more than anything because every, and those guidelines, the algorithms have changed how many times? Every month, every year.
[01:06:33:17 - 01:06:36:00]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, the guidelines are still a published article from 2019.
[01:06:36:00 - 01:07:11:00]
Bob Ruffolo
The guidelines haven't changed at all. And I think if you just pay attention to what Google advises companies to be creating content on, answer the questions people are asking, help Google understand what's going on in the world so it can present accurate and great answers. And then have validation and proof and back up the answers that you give and show that you are credible and you're adding to those conversations, then the algorithm changes don't matter because all the changes they're doing are trying to get closer to the guidelines.
[01:07:11:00 - 01:07:30:15]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, and that's true. And I think a lot of times the algorithm change is to stop rewarding people who try to game the system. And so if you're not trying to game the system, you're actually proving your credibility, you're doing your original research, you shouldn't have an issue with most of the algorithm changes.
[01:07:30:15 - 01:08:19:15]
Bob Ruffolo
I know you're absolutely right. And it's so funny, I was at a Vistage event and there was a marketing speaker and I was so curious, I was like, what are other people that speak at these events talking about marketing, what are they talking about? And there was a lot of good stuff she shared. But one of the things she did specifically say was that, and she was making the case why you have to have an agency and specialists and all that and there's just some truth to that. But one of the specialists she said was you have to have an SEO specialist because the algorithm changes all the time and somebody needs a full-time only focus on that. And I'm sitting there and being like, that's complete BS. That is bad advice. Because you don't need a SEO specialist, you need somebody that just knows the guidelines. There are technical things to it, schema.
[01:08:19:15 - 01:08:23:14]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, of course there's schema and yeah. We just say schema when we say technical things now.
[01:08:23:14 - 01:08:24:15]
Speaker 3
I know, it's always schema.
[01:08:24:15 - 01:08:25:17]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Semantic, yeah.
[01:08:27:20 - 01:09:37:06]
Stephanie Baiocchi
I totally agree, I can't believe people are still so behind in that they're thinking that way. I think you do need someone who either has the capacity to understand the technical side of things and implement it with AI's help or at least have someone who understands how to create the right content and then leverage a resource for marking it up appropriately. But yeah, I can't imagine having a full-time SEO at this point. And the other thing that cracks me up when I hear people at these marketing events and what they're talking about is people will always complain or at least for a while they have, when they see AI generated answers or summaries and they say, "Well, that's not the right information." Or, "How did it present that? "That's not the right information "about my industry or my company." Well, where do you think it got its information? Your stupid website that doesn't have the information on it. Where is it gonna get it? It's not gonna have a sales call with your rep who bogarts everything and then put that in the AI summary. So I just love still seeing people mad. The AI search results are wrong, quote, unquote, and not providing it with the right information to fix it.
[01:09:37:06 - 01:09:58:11]
Bob Ruffolo
So, you know, a lot of companies are both fearful right now and some of them have seen a drop. Now to your point before, they did advise you have to give it a little bit of time. That can be very scary for people, but we've also seen algorithm updates happen and people just fall down, they don't recover. And it's scary for a lot of people.
[01:09:59:21 - 01:10:13:10]
Bob Ruffolo
What are the most likely reasons, if you had to guess, that somebody had a lot of traffic and an algorithm change happened and now all of a sudden they have less traffic coming? What do you think would probably the
[01:10:13:10 - 01:10:51:15]
Stephanie Baiocchi
most-- There's kind of two possibilities there. One is the update has been very volatile. You could have been the number one reference source for weeks and then all of a sudden you're not. And then all of a sudden you are again and then you're not. So you definitely have to let these updates settle. They were saying June 9th would be the date where you could potentially see a good, like things have evened out and we can compare this to pre-update back in May. And that, it take that date with a grain of salt, but just look at your data and see are things starting to settle out? Because it could just be a very volatile shift from the update and things will resettle back in your favor.
[01:10:53:00 - 01:11:46:12]
Stephanie Baiocchi
If not, if there's a significant drop in traffic, I mean, without knowing a true answer myself, my gut would say that you have to beef up your content and the proof of your content. And really whether it's missing schema or original research or unique value, because if you're putting out content that you think maybe you spend a lot of time on and you worked really hard on it and that's great, but if you asked AI to help you write it and then you edited it and then you published it, it's more of what AI already had. So it's not giving any new information. It's not creating any unique value. You need to be creating things that your SMEs are creating essentially from scratch. And that's not to say you can't use AI to write your content. You absolutely can within your workflow, but there are, I would say people who are severely hit by this update need to beef up their content.
[01:11:46:12 - 01:11:48:19]
Bob Ruffolo
Yeah, yeah. And I think,
[01:11:49:22 - 01:11:54:11]
Bob Ruffolo
where I would advise people is to look at EAT. Mm-hmm, yeah, EAT.
[01:11:55:12 - 01:12:01:06]
Bob Ruffolo
Expertise, experience, authority and transparency. Is that what it is? I always get that before.
[01:12:01:06 - 01:12:13:05]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, and you know, Austin here at Impact has been working a lot on that right now. I wouldn't be surprised if we roll out another episode or a webinar or something with him on it. And the T is trustworthy, not transparent.
[01:12:13:05 - 01:12:14:15]
Bob Ruffolo
Trustworthy, sorry, trustworthy.
[01:12:14:15 - 01:12:22:03]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, yeah, experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness, which is kind of just a little thesaurus group there,
[01:12:23:21 - 01:12:40:19]
Bob Ruffolo
but the idea of that is, if you're thinking like Google right now or these AI platforms are saying, how do we know that we should be recommending this content? How do we help validate the trustworthiness of it?
[01:12:41:22 - 01:13:21:01]
Bob Ruffolo
It's having an author that produced it, that it has credibility. So that means that you have a bio, you have a page of them with their awards, and other pieces of content they created, people talking about them and you talking, and bi-directionally, you have links going off your site, links back to your site from the bio. It says, this person, people care about them. When they speak, people should listen. You're building that profile of yourself. And then the content that's being produced is not what everyone else is saying on the internet. That's like the biggest culprit is, to your point, people write articles from chatgbt, and they publish on their site, and it's just what chatgbt says. They already know it.
[01:13:21:01 - 01:13:22:03]
Stephanie Baiocchi
It already had that.
[01:13:22:03 - 01:14:04:03]
Bob Ruffolo
That's not gonna value what you're adding to the conversation, you're just adding what they said, right? Yeah. So you've gotta bring unique perspectives, and insights, and thoughts, and experiences, and stories, and client situation, whatever it is. Original research is, every time, that's like the highest thing right now, it wants more original data because it needs it. It needs real answers. So that's probably where most of the issues are coming from. And if you do have a lot of that, that could be technical, it could just be a schema issue. I know we keep saying schema. If you don't know what schema is, look it up. But it's just basically the code that you put on your website, and tell us these search engines, and these AI platforms, how to understand the data. That's all it is.
[01:14:04:03 - 01:14:45:03]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah. And if you can nail telling it how to understand the content, the data, the content types, then beyond that, actual content wise, this is like, I mean, I don't wanna be too self-serving, but an algorithmic endorsement of the four pillars. Yeah. Like that's, I feel like that's what I'm looking at, because if you just look at, say what others aren't willing to say, show what others aren't willing to show, sell what others aren't willing to sell, that's most of the content. But then you have this be more human layer, and that's where EEAT comes in. We have authors who are people, who have real profiles, who have LinkedIns, and that's such an important piece of this.
[01:14:45:03 - 01:15:32:09]
Bob Ruffolo
And the other thing I've been saying a lot of too, is focus on building a good business first. Yeah. That does well by the customers. It's a good product. There's something unique about it. People care about it. There's a reason for people to choose you over the competition. There's a reason for them to switch from the competition to you, and you get good reviews and great feedback, and people keep buying from you. People want to work there. People enjoy working there. Focus on that first, because if you start you have nothing to market. Yeah, what are you marketing? Right? And when you have a really solid business foundation, then the marketing really just takes care of itself in many ways. You have stories, you have perspectives, you've got reviews. People want to talk about it. People want to talk about it.
[01:15:32:09 - 01:15:59:21]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, and you said something interesting there, which is for people to choose you. And I think that's the distinction between what we focus on with search, and what we focus on within our internal sales process marketing business, is search is in the business of answering questions. They're trying to get people answers to their questions. We as businesses need to help people decide. And we take it that step further of, okay, you got some answers, now what are you gonna do with those answers? What are you gonna decide to do?
[01:15:59:21 - 01:16:08:08]
Bob Ruffolo
Great, great point, great point. Good, and the other thing I've just been saying a lot too, Steph, I think you'll appreciate this, is that it used to be
[01:16:09:21 - 01:16:15:03]
Bob Ruffolo
previous algorithm editions, that's what we're gonna call them, previous algorithms.
[01:16:16:15 - 01:17:19:23]
Bob Ruffolo
It was so hyper focused on your website, and what you put on your site, what you said about yourself, and it was all about getting your pages to rank above other people's pages, Oh yeah. Rancher and keywords, and you'd add more words, or add more SEO, and you'd rank. But with the complexity of these AI models, and the ability to understand so much more information, and of course all these systems wanna keep your content on their platforms, not on your site, it's your overall brand that matters so much more than anything else. If you ever wanna get recommended, you wanna show up in these results, it's the awards that you won, it's the reviews you have, it's other people, big brands talking about you on their websites, and being on their best of lists. These were all the things that, anything you think of that's like, hey, I wish I was there, I wish I had more of that, I wish, and people as a buyer, you're looking at those things, and you're valuing those things, that's the stuff that matters most. Again, great business, build up the credibility around it, and everything else just falls in place.
[01:17:19:23 - 01:18:10:03]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, that's so true. And I think one other thing that is interesting in this situation is if you are doing a good job of that, you're a trusted, trustworthy brand in the eyes of Search, and then not just Google, you know, chat, GPT, perplexity, everything. And then you're giving it the ability to surface a really clear answer for someone. The journey for them might look like getting their answer and then having to move about their day and coming back later, and that would look like in the reporting, a decline to your traffic. However, if you're being cited and you're doing a good job answering buyers questions and you're a trustworthy company, that dip in traffic is not necessarily a bad thing or something you need to win back. You need to figure out then how to be a memorable brand, give them the best possible answer that captures their interest there. And so it's a different strategy entirely.
[01:18:10:03 - 01:18:11:11]
Bob Ruffolo
Oh, you're absolutely right.
[01:18:13:14 - 01:18:45:09]
Bob Ruffolo
Don't have the same mindset you had three years ago. We have to get as much traffic because all that top of the funnel traffic, it's gone and it's not coming back. If your strategy is to try to get it back, forget about it. It's not happening. People are not searching and then go into websites to go read the answer anymore. They're searching and then they get the answer right away and they don't have to go websites at all and they're not going to. There's nothing you can do to get them back. So don't even try. And I worry about companies like all those publisher companies.
[01:18:46:16 - 01:18:49:21]
Bob Ruffolo
I mean, there are a lot in trouble, like the Buzzfeeds of the world.
[01:18:49:21 - 01:19:21:19]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, I think a lot of what we're gonna see now is, I mean, I think we already see it, is less patience from people reading information to do things like click through to get the answer. I mean, we see even on social media, you'll see a Buzzfeed post with a really clickbaity headline. And the first comment is the person just answering what the question was. Someone dives in, reads it and puts the answer for everyone. And there's just a really little threshold for that kind of, I don't even wanna say gamifying because that's positive, but that kind of trying to work the system. Yeah.
[01:19:21:19 - 01:19:23:13]
Bob Ruffolo
So, Stephanie, what did we miss today?
[01:19:25:00 - 01:19:30:00]
Bob Ruffolo
What did we miss? What did we miss? Is there anything we should address on the, we beat this topic up pretty good, right?
[01:19:30:00 - 01:19:54:13]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, I mean, I'd say just content richness is still a big factor here. And when we say content, and when you and I are talking about content, just wanna reiterate that we're not just talking about written content. And there's videos surfacing in these results. There's articles, there's tools. I mean, Google is truly noting things like pricing calculators within these results now. It goes far beyond just written content.
[01:19:54:13 - 01:19:57:07]
Bob Ruffolo
Yeah, no, really, really good point. And
[01:19:59:00 - 01:20:13:05]
Bob Ruffolo
you just look up the stats. I don't have them off the top of my head. I have some of them, but not all of them, but just how powerful YouTube really is. And we underestimate that. That is a place people still go to get answers and consume content, especially when they're doing research.
[01:20:13:05 - 01:20:15:13]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Google tools can watch videos.
[01:20:15:13 - 01:20:17:08]
Bob Ruffolo
Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah.
[01:20:17:08 - 01:20:23:15]
Stephanie Baiocchi
I mean, yes, you should have a transcript and yes, you should have all that information, but it also has the ability to watch videos.
[01:20:23:15 - 01:20:39:20]
Bob Ruffolo
And YouTube videos show up in search results. Yeah. Some different more, but even more importantly, I think 200 times more than any other type of video is showing up in AI results, but AI platforms used to be Reddit. I think they still love Reddit, but they skew more towards YouTube today.
[01:20:41:02 - 01:20:54:14]
Bob Ruffolo
And then the other thing about YouTube is, it's more credible because they can see you and it's more believable. It's not just content that was written by chat.gbt. It's really you in front of your people. It could be an avatar, but in most cases, it's gonna be you, so yeah.
[01:20:54:14 - 01:21:15:10]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Well, that's the thing with that be more human element of it is when you're putting the face of your brand or putting faces of your SMBs on video, you're also building a relationship with people and someone's gonna have a harder time, let's say ghosting a meeting they book with someone they've watched 10 YouTube videos of because they feel a connection to them. They have a parasocial relationship with them.
[01:21:15:10 - 01:21:28:20]
Bob Ruffolo
Yeah, awesome stuff. All right, so before we go, there's another "NLS Customers Live" coming up and it's gonna be in Hartford. Sure is. Can you tell us all about it and get us all excited why we should all be there?
[01:21:28:20 - 01:22:10:18]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yes, so "NLS Customers Live", the next one is October 5th through the 7th in Hartford, Connecticut, back at the Marriott, if you were with us before. And we are bringing back all of the "NLS Customers" content that you need to stay engaged on your journey, get your team along with you, but we're also adding a lot more interactive workshops. We did a few at the last event and we saw how much people loved them and having the chance to really sit down for a good amount of time in a round table with a group of people and be guided by the coaches that impact through activities about your business and actually work on a worksheet and do some things and walk away with something tangible. So we're doing more of that, which I'm really excited about.
[01:22:10:18 - 01:22:17:12]
Bob Ruffolo
Yeah, and you know what I'm really excited about stuff is that finally one of these "NLS Customers Lives", we're gonna take a break from AI and we're not gonna talk about it at all.
[01:22:18:18 - 01:22:18:19]
(Laughing)
[01:22:18:19 - 01:22:21:02]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, I don't think that's happening.
[01:22:21:02 - 01:22:22:00]
(Laughing)
[01:22:22:00 - 01:22:58:00]
Stephanie Baiocchi
But I think you'll see that AI is just so infused to everything at this point. First it was a session, then it was a day and now it's everywhere, it's part of everything. But we'll still be folks, you'll hear us say AI, I'm sure many times. And the other thing is we have some new faces at Impact who've been working with our clients and doing really cool things with the businesses who are gonna have things to share. And then we'll have a whole new round of award winners winning the "NLS Customers Awards" who have really cool examples and things they've been doing, tools they've been building that you can get inspired from. And we'll have Casino Night again, we're bringing back it all, Casino Night.
[01:22:58:00 - 01:23:10:06]
Bob Ruffolo
Oh yeah, if nothing else, come for Casino Night. Learn a little bit about "NLS Customers Marketing", growing your business, yeah, yeah, yeah. But Casino Night is a ton of fun. I had a lot of fun with that, so awesome stuff.
[01:23:10:06 - 01:23:11:11]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, it really is, I had a blast.
[01:23:11:11 - 01:23:18:12]
Bob Ruffolo
We should make this a recurring thing. I think we should have you on the podcast, maybe a couple times a month, what do you think?
[01:23:18:12 - 01:23:29:09]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Couple times a month. Well, yeah, this is fun. I'm here whenever you need. For anyone listening, we were trying to decide who should be on this episode, and I finally just said, "Can I do it, please?"
[01:23:29:09 - 01:23:32:09]
Bob Ruffolo
Oh, I know, I know. Well, stuff,
[01:23:33:12 - 01:23:37:11]
Bob Ruffolo
we'll throw back a little impact history. We had the impact show back in the day.
[01:23:37:11 - 01:23:38:11]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yeah, that's what made me think of it.
[01:23:38:11 - 01:23:41:23]
Bob Ruffolo
I know. We did the impact show. I don't know if you and I ever did an episode together.
[01:23:41:23 - 01:23:43:04]
Stephanie Baiocchi
We did, we did.
[01:23:43:04 - 01:23:43:11]
Bob Ruffolo
Okay.
[01:23:43:11 - 01:23:50:13]
Stephanie Baiocchi
There were a few when I first started working at Impact almost 10 years ago. I was in the office, and we did a couple episodes in person.
[01:23:50:13 - 01:24:01:09]
Bob Ruffolo
Oh, that's right, that's right. Because it was me and Nick, no, I started as me and Kyle Bento. Yeah. And then, hi, Kyle. And then it was me and Nick Sal, hi, Nick.
[01:24:01:09 - 01:24:03:15]
Stephanie Baiocchi
Yep, then it was you and me, and then it was me and Nick.
[01:24:03:15 - 01:24:13:08]
Bob Ruffolo
That was you and Nick, yeah. So, wow, yeah, man, that was fun, those good times. I guess we kind of brought it back now. Kind of brought it back. I'm doing this again, yeah. Hopefully I don't get bored of it.
[01:24:13:08 - 01:24:32:15]
Stephanie Baiocchi
I mean, that's the only way we can really stay up to date on the things that are changing so rapidly, and I think exactly what we said earlier. Don't worry so much about the Google Core update. Yes, those change, but are you doing what it takes to show up for people and for AI? And there's just so many things to talk about with that.
[01:24:32:15 - 01:24:36:08]
Bob Ruffolo
And the analyst customer system is the solution for that.
[01:24:36:08 - 01:24:44:15]
Stephanie Baiocchi
It sure is, I mean, it puts you in the strongest position to never worry about gaming a search engine again. You just are the trusted source.
[01:24:44:15 - 01:24:48:06]
Bob Ruffolo
Awesome, all right, well, I think next time there's another
[01:24:49:16 - 01:24:54:08]
Bob Ruffolo
big news thing that you want to address, you're probably gonna be the person. You'll be like our sideline reporter, how does that sound?
[01:24:54:08 - 01:24:56:14]
Stephanie Baiocchi
I love it, I love it.
[01:24:56:14 - 01:25:09:00]
Bob Ruffolo
All right, well, thank you everyone. This is another episode of the Endless Customers Podcast with Stephanie Biocchi making her Endless Customers Podcast debut. I, again, can't believe it's been so long, but until our next episode, take care.
[01:25:10:22 - 01:25:17:03]
Stephanie Baiocchi
If you liked this episode, please take a minute to leave us a review. Thanks for checking out the Endless Customers podcast.
Google recently announced what it calls the biggest change to search in more than 25 years.
That should get every business owner's attention.
For decades, the formula was relatively simple. Someone had a question, they searched Google, clicked a few links, visited some websites, and eventually found an answer.
That behavior is disappearing.
Today, buyers are increasingly turning to AI-powered search experiences that give them answers immediately. They ask a question, get a response, ask a follow-up question, and keep moving. In many cases, they never visit a website at all.
For business owners and marketers, that reality can feel unsettling. If traffic is declining and buyers aren't clicking through the way they used to, what does that mean for lead generation, visibility, and growth?
To help make sense of what all this means, I sat down with Stephanie Baiocchi, Senior Director of Membership at IMPACT. Stephanie has been paying close attention to Google's latest announcements from Google I/O and the recent core search update. During our conversation, we dug into what these changes actually mean, why some businesses are seeing traffic drops, and what companies should focus on if they want to stay visible in an AI-driven world.
The businesses that thrive in this next era of search won't be the ones that get better at chasing algorithms. They'll be the ones that become the most trusted source of information in their market.
What is actually changing with search?
One of the reasons I wanted Stephanie on the show is that she pays close attention to what's happening in search and AI.
While she spends most of her time leading IMPACT's events and membership programs, she's also one of the biggest digital marketing nerds I know. She follows search trends closely and immediately noticed something interesting about Google's latest update.
As Stephanie pointed out, "The timing just cannot be ignored with I.O."
On the surface, Google described this as a standard core update, which is exactly what you'd expect them to say. At the same time, during Google I/O, the company unveiled major advancements to AI Mode, expanded Gemini's capabilities, and painted a much clearer picture of where search is headed. Taken together, those announcements tell a larger story. Google is moving aggressively toward a more conversational search experience, one that looks much more like interacting with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Perplexity than the traditional search experience we've all grown accustomed to.
For years, finding information online meant opening multiple tabs, comparing sources, and piecing together answers yourself. Today, people increasingly expect a direct answer to their question, followed by the ability to ask another question and continue the conversation. As Stephanie put it, "We're not command-clicking a bunch of blue links anymore and opening a bunch of tabs." Most of us already know that's true because it's exactly how we've started using AI in our daily lives. What Google is doing now is adapting its search experience to match that behavior. The shift isn't really about new technology. It's about recognizing that the way buyers find and consume information has already changed.
Should businesses be worried about Google algorithm updates?
One thing I've noticed over the years is that every time Google announces a major update, the conversation quickly turns to rankings. Business owners start wondering whether their traffic will drop, marketers start dissecting every detail of the update, and everyone wants to know the same thing: How do we stay ahead of the algorithm?
What I appreciated about Stephanie's perspective is that she challenged the question itself.
As she explained, "The algorithm wants to make people happy. It wants to provide searchers with good information."
That sounds simple, but it's a useful reminder. Google's objective hasn't really changed. Its job is to help people find accurate, helpful answers to their questions. The updates may get more sophisticated, especially now that AI is playing a much larger role in search, but the underlying goal remains the same.
Because of that, businesses often run into trouble when they become too focused on trying to figure out what Google wants instead of focusing on what buyers want. The companies that tend to get hit hardest by algorithm updates are often the ones looking for shortcuts, chasing tactics, or creating content primarily for search engines. The companies that weather these changes well are usually doing something much simpler. They're answering real questions, sharing genuine expertise, and creating content that helps people make informed decisions.
Stephanie made that point directly when she said, "If you're not trying to game the system, you're actually proving your credibility, you're doing your original research, you shouldn't have an issue with most of the algorithm changes."
That idea aligns closely with what we've taught through Endless Customers for years. Trust has always been the foundation of effective marketing. What's changing now is that search engines and AI platforms are getting much better at identifying which businesses have actually earned that trust and which ones are simply claiming it.
Why are some companies losing traffic?
If there's one topic that creates anxiety for business owners whenever Google announces an update, it's traffic. Many companies have spent years investing in content, SEO, and organic search. So when they log into their analytics and see visits declining, it's natural to wonder whether something has gone wrong.
According to Stephanie, there are a couple of reasons that can happen.
The first is simply that major updates often create volatility. Rankings can move around quite a bit while Google's systems adjust. A company that appears prominently in search results one week may see a temporary drop the next, only to recover later as things settle. That's why Stephanie cautioned against making quick judgments immediately after an update rolls out.
The second possibility is more significant, and it's one that many businesses need to take seriously. In Stephanie's view, some content simply isn't delivering enough value anymore.
As she put it, "If you're just creating content for content's sake or you're putting up tons of pages, but they're thin and not really educational, it's not gonna cut it anymore."
That observation gets to the heart of a challenge many organizations are facing right now. For years, the advice was straightforward: publish more content. Businesses responded by creating articles, resource pages, and blog posts at a rapid pace. The problem is that volume alone is no longer enough. Search engines and AI tools have become much better at evaluating whether content actually contributes something meaningful to the conversation.
Think about it from the perspective of an AI platform. If your article says the same thing as dozens of other articles that already exist online, why would it choose your content as a source? Why would it recommend your business over someone else's?
Stephanie captured this perfectly when she said, "It's more of what AI already had. So it's not giving any new information."
That's the part I think many businesses are still wrestling with. AI can already summarize information that's widely available. What it can't easily generate are your experiences, your customer stories, your research, your perspective, and the lessons you've learned from working with real people. Those are the things that make content valuable today.
If your content could have been written by virtually anyone in your industry, it becomes much harder to stand out. The businesses that are gaining visibility are the ones contributing something unique, something useful, and something that helps buyers make better decisions.
What kind of content does AI actually want?
The answer isn't as complicated as many people think.
AI systems are trying to provide the best possible answer to a user's question. To do that, they need information that is credible, useful, and adds something new to the conversation. That's why content built around original research, firsthand experience, customer stories, expert insights, and real-world examples is becoming increasingly valuable.
During our discussion, Stephanie pointed out a mistake that's becoming more common as AI writing tools become easier to use. A company asks AI to generate an article, makes a few edits, publishes it, and assumes they've created something helpful. The problem is that the content often contains information that already exists across hundreds of other websites.
As Stephanie explained, "It's more of what AI already had. So it's not giving any new information."
That idea stuck with me because it gets to the heart of what separates average content from content that earns attention. AI can already summarize information that is widely available online. What it needs from businesses are the things it can't generate on its own. It needs your experience working with customers. It needs the lessons you've learned. It needs the questions your buyers ask every day. It needs the data you've collected and the examples you've seen firsthand.
Think about two companies writing an article on the same topic. One publishes a generic overview that sounds similar to everything else online. The other shares actual customer experiences, pricing examples, common mistakes buyers make, and insights gathered from years of working in the industry. Which one would you trust more as a buyer? More importantly, which one would an AI system trust as a source?
The businesses that stand out today are the ones contributing something uniquely their own. They're not simply repeating information. They're helping people understand it, apply it, and make better decisions because of it. That's the kind of content AI is increasingly looking for, and it's the kind of content buyers have always valued.
Why trust matters more than ever?
One of my favorite parts of this conversation was when we started talking about Google's E-E-A-T framework. It's not a new concept, but it's becoming increasingly important as AI plays a larger role in how information gets discovered and recommended.
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. At its core, it's Google's way of evaluating whether a person or business is qualified to answer a question and whether that answer should be recommended to others.
As Stephanie and I discussed, that's becoming one of the defining challenges of modern marketing. It's no longer enough to simply publish content. Search engines and AI platforms are looking for signals that help validate the source behind that content.
That's where things like author bios, LinkedIn profiles, speaking engagements, customer reviews, awards, media mentions, and industry recognition come into play. Individually, each of those things may seem small. Collectively, they help answer a very important question: Should someone trust this business?
When you think about it, that's exactly how buyers make decisions too. If you're evaluating a company, you don't just look at what it says about itself. You look at who is behind the company. You look at their experience. You look at what customers are saying. You look for proof that others trust them before deciding whether you should.
Search engines and AI platforms are increasingly doing the same thing.
For years, businesses could improve visibility by focusing heavily on keywords and optimization tactics. Those things still have their place, but they aren't enough on their own anymore. Credibility, reputation, and demonstrated expertise are carrying more weight because they're much harder to fake.
The future of search isn't becoming less human. In many ways, it's becoming more human. The businesses that consistently earn attention will be the ones that can demonstrate real expertise, real experience, and real trustworthiness, both online and off.
What does this mean for Endless Customers?
The tactics and technologies may change, but the underlying principles of earning trust remain remarkably consistent.
In fact, Stephanie was the one who connected the dots during our conversation.
"I feel like that's what I'm looking at, because if you just look at say what others aren't willing to say, show what others aren't willing to show, sell what others aren't willing to sell. That's most of the content."
That observation stood out to me because it helps explain why some businesses are adapting to these changes more successfully than others. The companies gaining visibility today are often the ones willing to answer difficult questions, share information openly, and educate buyers in ways their competitors won't. They're creating content that is useful because it's honest, specific, and grounded in real experience.
Stephanie also pointed to the fourth pillar of Endless Customers: be more human.
That may be the most important takeaway of all.
Search engines and AI platforms are looking for evidence of real people behind the information they recommend. They want expertise tied to actual experience. They want identifiable authors. They want businesses with credibility, reviews, and a track record of helping customers succeed. In other words, they're looking for many of the same signals that buyers look for when deciding who to trust.
That's why I don't view these changes as a complete departure from what's worked in the past. If anything, they reinforce something we've believed for a long time: businesses grow when they earn trust. The tools helping people find information may be evolving, but the companies that consistently provide honest answers, share their expertise, and show up as real humans are putting themselves in a much stronger position for whatever comes next.
What role does video play in AI search?
Even today, I still meet business leaders who view video as a nice addition to their marketing strategy rather than a core part of it. The reality is that video is becoming increasingly important, both for buyers and for the platforms helping buyers find information.
One point Stephanie emphasized is that when we talk about content, we're talking about much more than articles and blog posts. Search results today can include videos, pricing tools, calculators, guides, and other interactive resources. The experience is becoming much richer than simply serving up a list of web pages.
As Stephanie explained, "When you're putting the face of your brand or putting faces of your SMEs on video, you're also building a relationship with people."
That relationship has real business value. Think about your own buying habits. If you've watched several videos from someone, learned from them, and consistently found their advice helpful, you naturally feel more comfortable engaging with them. There's already a level of trust in place because you've spent time with them, even if it's through a screen.
That's one reason video continues to play such an important role in the Endless Customers approach. It's not simply about creating another piece of content. It's about helping buyers connect with the people behind your business. As AI and search platforms place greater emphasis on expertise and trustworthiness, that human connection becomes even more valuable. The businesses that put their experts in front of the camera aren't just creating content. They're creating familiarity, credibility, and trust at scale.
Does traffic matter less than it used to?
One of the more interesting parts of my conversation with Stephanie was how it challenged some of the assumptions many of us have carried for years about what marketing success looks like.
Traditionally, traffic has been one of the most important metrics businesses track. More visitors meant more opportunities to generate leads, create awareness, and grow revenue. As a result, many organizations have spent years trying to increase website traffic and viewing any decline as a sign that something is wrong.
The challenge is that the way people find information is changing. Increasingly, buyers are getting answers directly within search results or through AI platforms before they ever visit a website. In many cases, they may get the information they need, continue their research, and move closer to a decision without generating a click at all.
That's why Stephanie made a point many businesses need to hear: "That dip in traffic is not necessarily a bad thing."
At first, that can feel counterintuitive. After all, fewer visitors sounds like a problem. But if your company is being cited in AI-generated responses, if buyers are finding accurate answers to their questions, if they're becoming familiar with your brand, and if qualified opportunities continue to grow, then traffic alone becomes a much less meaningful measure of success.
What matters is whether you're influencing the buying decision.
A buyer who receives a helpful answer from an AI platform that references your expertise may remember your company even if they never click through to your website. They may return later when they're ready to evaluate options. They may search specifically for your brand. They may come into a sales conversation already trusting your perspective because they've encountered it multiple times during their research.
Businesses need to start expanding the way they think about visibility and performance. Traffic will always be a useful metric, but it can no longer be the only metric. In a world where answers are increasingly delivered directly to buyers, the bigger objective is becoming known, trusted, and remembered. The focus shifts from simply attracting attention to earning credibility in the moments that influence decisions.
How can businesses prepare for the future of search?
The companies that are best positioned for what's coming aren't necessarily the ones with the largest content teams, the biggest SEO budgets, or the most sophisticated marketing tactics. They're the ones that have invested in becoming a trusted source of information within their industry.
Throughout our discussion, we talked about the growing importance of expertise, original insights, customer education, credibility, and human connection. Those aren't new ideas. What's changing is that search engines and AI platforms are becoming much better at identifying and rewarding businesses that consistently demonstrate those qualities.
For business owners, that's encouraging news. It means the path forward isn't about chasing every new algorithm update or trying to reverse engineer every change Google makes. It's about building a company that people trust, creating content that genuinely helps buyers make decisions, and sharing expertise in ways that are useful and memorable.
That's why Stephanie's closing thought resonated with me so strongly: "It puts you in the strongest position to never worry about gaming a search engine again. You just are the trusted source."
I think that's ultimately where this conversation leads. The businesses that will thrive in the future of search are the ones that become known for answering questions honestly, educating buyers openly, and consistently delivering value long before a purchase is ever made.
When you earn that level of trust, something interesting happens. Search engines want to recommend you. AI platforms want to cite you. Buyers want to learn from you. Instead of constantly adapting your strategy to keep up with the latest changes, you build a foundation that remains valuable regardless of how people search for information.
And that's a position every business should aspire to be in.
How do I get started building trust that AI will recognize?
If there was one lesson I took away from my conversation with Stephanie, it's that businesses don't need to spend their time obsessing over every Google update or new AI feature that gets released.
Instead, they need to focus on becoming the source that buyers trust most.
That starts by taking an honest look at the information you're providing today. Are you answering the questions buyers are actually asking? Are you openly discussing pricing, problems, comparisons, timelines, and expectations? Are you sharing the expertise that's currently trapped inside your sales team's conversations? Are you creating content that helps people make confident decisions?
Look across your articles, videos, pricing pages, tools, reviews, case studies, and sales resources. Identify the questions buyers still have to ask because they can't find the answers on their own. Then start filling those gaps.
The businesses that will thrive in the future of search won't necessarily be the ones producing the most content. They'll be the ones producing the most helpful content. They'll be the companies that consistently educate, guide, and build trust with buyers long before a sales conversation ever happens.
That's what search engines are increasingly rewarding. It's what AI platforms are increasingly recommending. Most importantly, it's what buyers have always wanted.
If you're ready to build a strategy that helps your business become the most known and trusted voice in your market, talk with the team at IMPACT. We've helped hundreds of businesses build trust through content, video, sales, and AI, and we'd love to help you determine the right next steps for your organization.
Connect with Steffany
Steffany Aye is the founder and director of Adoption & Beyond, a Kansas City-based adoption agency she launched more than 28 years ago. A licensed clinical social worker and adoption professional, Steffany has helped more than 7,000 families navigate the adoption process through education, transparency, and compassionate support. Known for her commitment to building trust with both adoptive families and birth parents, she has been a longtime advocate for open adoption and helping families make informed decisions every step of the way.
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Posted On:
Jun 17, 2026
Topics:
Content Marketing
Marketing Strategy
Endless Customers Podcast
Endless Customers