DeepSeek and Why It Is Important for the Future of SEO
New AI startup and what it means for the future of online findability
Generative AI is going to influence web search and search habits dramatically, so I am keeping a close eye on the technology and startups that bring something new to the AI world.
I am not reporting on just about any new project or trend thought. But when something significant happens, we need to know.
I am sure you’ve heard about DeepSeek already, it’s everywhere now. Everyone is talking about it and no one exactly knows why it is big news. Let me make it easy for you:
DeepSeek does everything that ChatGPT does, only faster and less expensive
DeepSeek is China-based which puts the whole agenda of “America being the head of AI innovation” under question
DeepSeek phenomenon opens up doors to non-enterprise AI startups.
Funding and infrastructure have been tough on AI-based startups. That’s why you only see projects with huge funding and big brands’ support (Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Twitter, etc.) making it to headlines. It looks like now we know you don’t need billions of dollars to be a successful generative AI project.
Without going into boring technology-driven topics (which I am not good at), what does it mean for the search industry?
1. ChatGPT may not be the future
ChatGPT was the first well-known generative AI brand. It may or may not be the future.
Don’t fall for “ChatGPT optimization” services. There is no specific optimization strategy for ChatGPT, nor there’s a need for it.
2. It is going to be much more diverse than we think/thought
At the dawn of the search, it wasn’t really obvious what it was going to look like. Well, at least it wasn’t obvious from our side of the world where we were using Yandex and Rambler…
Google sneaked into the picture and became the monopoly. In social media, it looked pretty much the same. We were all on Myspace until Facebook became the only option.
AI landscape is going to be much more diverse, it seems. The entry into the market looks more and more doable. The competition among AI platforms looks more and more intense.
That is good news for SEO because we have time to figure out what is happening and what the strategies should look like.
Fierce competition also makes collaboration more possible. Google started by working with website owners. There may be an AI platform that will co-exist with publishers instead of making enemies with them.
3. Good old marketing is still key
So many clients are asking me how to optimize for ChatGPT and similar platforms.
And I keep giving the same response:
Generative AI knows what we know. To be findable in AI search engines, you need to be a brand.
When you think of “NYC steakhouse,” you remember “Peter Luger…” When you think “SEO,” you think “Ann Smarty” 🙂 That’s not me saying. That’s DeepSeek, thank you:
Having a relevant web presence is step 1.
Making sure you are findable and then known online is the way forward.
Everything and anything that builds your brand - whether it’s giving interviews or sponsoring local events - is good as long as your brand is talked about.
Viral marketing - like infographic marketing - is great because it drives mentions and signals.
In essence, all the fundamentals remain the same: keywords, external mentions, branding, etc.
But don’t try to find a new magic button. It’s the same fundamental SEO - you need to be findable and you need to be an entity. There’s no secret sauce!
Ótima análise! O crescimento de startups como o DeepSeek mostra que o futuro da IA será muito mais diversificado do que imaginávamos. Para quem trabalha com SEO, isso significa que a adaptação contínua será essencial. No fim das contas, o que realmente importa é a construção de marca e a relevância digital. A tecnologia muda, mas os princípios do marketing eficaz continuam os mesmos!