🐌1. I Thought I Was Blogging, Turns Out I Was Whispering

Dear Invisible Friends:

I’m new to blogging. Not a marketer, not a content creator. Just someone who’s been on the receiving end of the internet for years. Now, I’m in the driver’s seat. And wow – writing online feels like building a message in a bottle, only to realize the ocean is absolutely packed.

A few weeks ago, I told you about my AI-free writing challenge and my struggles with perfectionism. Since then, I’ve shared my thoughts on AI and education, especially the panic around ChatGPT “making us dumb.”

But while I was typing from the heart, the internet wasn’t exactly applauding. In fact, it wasn’t reacting at all. The numbers were… humbling. And by humbling, I mean: low.

(Shout-out to my mom for actually reading my blog. Shout-out to Google Chrome for translating it into Spanish – her native language – so she can enjoy my chaos in two languages.)

2. 💻 My Blog Got Roasted by ChatGPT – and Deserved It

So I asked ChatGPT-4o to evaluate my blog. “Be brutally honest,” I said. And oh, it was. My site had:

• No proper SEO title
• A URL slug that looked like a corrupted file name
• No alt text on my images
• And worst of all: it hadn’t even been indexed by Google or Bing

Which – sorry – isn’t that their job?! I thought Google just found stuff. Apparently not. Rude.

That was the start of my descent into the confusing world of the SEO rabbit hole. In this world, GIFs need captions. Your blog needs a formal invitation just to be seen.

3. 🛠️ SEO, Slugs & Alt Text: My Crash Course in Being Found

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It sounds intense, but really it just means: make it easier for people (and Google) to find your stuff.

Some of the fixes I made:

• Shortened the slugs -that’s the part of the URL after the slash
• Added alt text to my images, so screen readers and search engines know what they’re looking at
• Wrote meta descriptions – those little blurbs you see under search results
• Submitted my site to Google and Bing manually (turns out they don’t just “find” you)
• Used proper heading structure: H1 for the page title, H2 for sections, H3 for subsections

Without SEO, your blog is like a beautiful letter that never gets mailed. It just sits there, unread. But after these tweaks? My blog started showing up. Not viral – but visible.

4. 🪦 Is SEO Already Dead? (Asking for a Blogger)

Here’s the twist: all of this might already be obsolete.

The rise of AI browsers and search tools – like Arc, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity – is changing how people find stuff online. These platforms don’t hand you a list of links anymore. They give you direct answers. And those answers come from content they trust.

In this new game, it’s not about being first on Google – it’s about being the source AI quotes.

That’s where AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) comes in. Think of it like this:

SEO is like mailing out letters – hoping someone opens them. AEO is like writing something so helpful and clear that AI reads your words out loud, like a smart librarian answering a question.

To show up in these answers, your content needs to:

• Be genuinely helpful and valuable
• Avoid shallow keyword-stuffing
• Offer rich, structured information AI can digest

I first came across this idea thanks to Elisa Baas and her excellent LinkedIn post, where she breaks down how AI-powered browsers and search tools are replacing the classic ’10 blue links’ with direct summaries. Her post made me realize how quickly the rules are shifting – from SEO to AEO. Go and check her post as well as her website for more information on AI.

Old-school SEO isn’t dead, but it’s definitely getting crowded.

5. 💔 The Algorithm Wants One Thing, My Soul Wants Another

This is where I draw the line.

Yes, I use AI for formatting and structure. Yes, I want to be found. But no – I won’t let the algorithm take the wheel.

I still write from the gut. I want my voice to feel human, messy, alive. And in a world of clickbait and auto-generated sameness, maybe that’s what makes us different.

The algorithm craves clarity, speed, and engagement. But what about nuance? Humor? Ambivalence? What about a sentence that doesn’t scream, but simply says something true?

These days, we’re all serving the algorithm. On blogs, social media, even the news. If you don’t trigger a reaction, you disappear. The loudest voices rise: outrage, extremes, certainty. The algorithm rewards noise, not thought.

But I’d rather whisper something real than shout something hollow – even if no one hears it.

✌️ SEO May Be Dying, But I’m Still Here

So that’s where I’m at. Somewhere between Google Search Console and my messy draft’s paper notebook.

I’m learning to work with the system, but I’m not becoming it. If AI wants to cite my blog someday, great. If not, I’ll still be here, writing my heart out.

SEO isn’t dead. But it’s definitely got company.

And whether or not I get picked up by an algorithm, I’m proud of this little corner of the internet I’m building.

Was this helpful or relatable? Share it or leave a comment – I’d love to know who’s out there.

RoxenOut!