95% of SEO Work Is Waste: Marcos Ciarrocchi on Winning AI Search with Topical Authority 🤖

https://page2pod.com - In this episode Marcos Ciarrocchi, co-founder of Graphite, breaks down why Graphite believes that 95% of SEO work is often waste and why the real leverage comes from identifying the small percentage of initiatives that actually drive growth. The conversation dives deep into how SEO strategy is shifting from keyword-first thinking to topic-first systems built around search intent, topical authority, AI prompts, and answer engine visibility.The discussion also explores how AEO and SEO may not be separate disciplines, but two versions of the same strategic question: what does the user want, and are you the best answer?🤖 In This Episode• Why Graphite believes 95% of SEO work does not drive meaningful impact• How Marcos defines a “topic” as a cluster of intent, not just keywords• Why topic graphs are living systems that change as search behavior evolves• How AI prompts, question clusters, and query fan-outs connect to traditional SEO and content marketing • The role of topical authority in deciding what content a site can realistically rank for• Why smaller sites may need to target more specific topic variants before expanding• How internal linking helps redistribute authority across large websites• Why content structure, FAQs, headings, and direct answers matter for AI citations• How RAG, citations, off-site reputation, and digital PR influence AEO visibility• Why consistency across owned and earned channels is critical for AI searchThis episode is packed with practical SEO strategy insight for marketers, SEOs, and growth teams trying to understand how search strategy should evolve in the age of AI answer engines.Subscribe to the Page 2 Podcast for more conversations with the people shaping the future of SEO, AEO, and digital visibility.What do you think matters more for AI search visibility right now: owned content, citations, or off-site reputation? Drop your thoughts in the comments.🛠️ Tools & Resources Mentioned• Marcos Ciarrocchi on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcosciarrocchi/• Graphite - https://graphite.io• Graphite’s 2026 Topical Authority Study - https://graphite.io/five-percent/topical-authority-white-paper• Graphite’s AEO Guide - https://graphite.io/five-percent/aeo-is-the-new-seo• Graphite’s Entity Position Tracking Guide - https://graphite.io/five-percent/how-to-track-entity-position-in-aiFollow the Page 2 Podcast✅ Page 2 Podcast on Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/@thepage2podcast922✅ Page 2 Podcast on Linkedin → https://www.linkedin.com/company/page2podcast✅ Page 2 Podcast on Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/ThePage2Podcast/Follow Jon Clark✅ Jon Clark on Bluesky → https://bsky.app/profile/jonclark.co✅ Jon Clark on Linkedin → https://www.linkedin.com/in/ppcmarketing/### Sponsored by Moving Traffic Media → https://www.movingtrafficmedia.comAbout Moving Traffic MediaMoving Traffic Media is a digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO, answer engine optimization, generative engine optimization, and performance media. In plain English: Moving Traffic Media helps brands show up in traditional search and in AI Answers. And they back that up with everything around it, from paid media and social to web development built for how AI agents actually browse. Moving Traffic Media was co-founded by Jon Clark and Joe DeVita and is headquartered in New York, with a second office in Miami. So if your brand isn't showing up in AI answers the way it should, contact Moving Traffic Media at: https://www.movingtrafficmedia.com.