Duane Forrester

Cohorts, Clusters, and the Coming AI Ad System GenAI already forms cohorts from your prompts. The next step? A fully autonomous ad platform built to target them in real time.

Cohorts are forming that didn’t exist 5 minutes ago.
Not by demographics or keyword. But by meaning and intent.
AI systems are clustering prompts, not people, and very soon, ads will follow.
The next funnel isn’t visible and it’s already working.
duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/cohorts-cl...

Small Business AI Automation: Real Wins & Results (Part 2) More experts reveal how they use AI automation for business to save time, cut costs, and scale smarter. Find out what tools they use. Read part 2 of 3.

I joined an expert round-up on how small businesses can use AI & automation. Lots of voices here, which means plenty of perspectives to pick through. If you’re exploring where AI fits in your ops, this might spark ideas: www.systemology.com/small-busine...

I’ve kind of talked about this in the past: taking a “what’s the one thing…” approach simply doesn’t work anymore. Success now comes from knowing all the things, not one thing really well.

Didn’t I just answer those questions in the article? 😁😁

YouTube video by Imposter The Series IMPOSTER The Series | Teaser | Female Dark Comedy

Smokin’ up a chuck roast for lunch with a friend. He has a video production company here in LA (produced this dark female comedy series: youtu.be/IbSEVbjJt-w?...) and he’s helping me set up my studio properly here at home. Should be a fun, tasty afternoon!

Which SEO Jobs AI Will Reshape, And Which Might Disappear AI is redrawing the line between what's strategic and what's becoming added overhead in SEO. Here's how to pivot, up-skill, or double down, based on where your role sits now.

Which SEO jobs are at risk? Which are evolving fast? And which ones still have room to grow?

This isn’t fear-mongering. It’s a skills map based on Microsoft’s own AI task overlap study; plus tactical steps to stay relevant.

Read it here: duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/which-seo-...

The SEO Industry Is Teaching the Wrong Skills Stop training people for a game that no longer exists.

We’re still teaching title tags while AI systems are citing chunks, not pages. SEO training is stuck in the past—and it's costing us visibility. Here's what needs to change, and how to lead the shift: duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/the-seo-in...

Beyond Fan-Out: Turning Question Maps Into Real AI Retrieval Query fan-out helps structure content. But without chunk testing, vector storage, and trust signals, your work may never get seen. Here's how to close the loop.

ICYMI, now published on @sejournal - Beyond Query Fan Out: how that’s just the start of the journey - www.searchenginejournal.com/beyond-fan-o...

Are We Hiring the Right Skills for the AI Search Era? Absolutely not. The job has changed, but your job description hasn’t.

Are we hiring the right skills for the AI search era? Absolutely not. We’re still writing job posts like search is ten blue links; surprised we can't find good candidates. This isn’t a talent gap. It’s a vision gap. And it’s costing you visibility. duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/are-we-hir...

Beyond Fan-Out: Turning Question Maps Into Real AI Retrieval Query fan-out is a smart start — but real AI visibility demands testing, indexing, and authority work too.

Query fan-out is useful — but it’s not your GenAI SEO magic bullet. This guide breaks down what fan-out does, what it can’t do, and the testing, chunking, and trust work you still need. Map smarter: duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/beyond-fan...

The GenAI Optimization Tool Quadrant: 30+ Toolsets: Coverage Scored, Confidence Tested What work are they doing, and can you believe the marketing?

30+ AI SEO tools scored for task coverage and confidence. A map for GenAI optimization, not just hype. See the new quadrant and where each tool sits: duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/the-genai-...

Introducing Pay per crawl- enabling content owners to charge AI crawlers for access Pay per crawl is a new feature to allow content creators to charge AI crawlers for access to their content.

This won’t end well. Auto-blocking AI crawlers? Charging for crawling? Will end with businesses working to be included in answers and wondering why nothing ever works because they don’t know the crawler blocking is beyond their control, unless they pay. blog.cloudflare.com/introducing-...

From Panda to Parameters Navigating Search and AI Model Updates - and yes, it's all happening much faster now

Google’s updates came with names and warnings. GenAI shifts don’t. New models rewrite your visibility with no announcements. Here’s how to update your habits to keep up: duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/from-panda...

Redefining Spam: From Spam Teams to Semantic Judgments Google and Bing used rule books. GenAI just doesn’t need your content.

You’re not being penalized. You’re being ignored.
No alert. No warning. Just silence.
GenAI systems don’t flag your content as SPAM — they quietly skip it.
And not getting retrieved is very bad.
Here’s what that actually means (and how to fix it):
duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/redefining...

Jill Whalen's SEO Legacy Still Shapes The Industry Jill Whalen, who recently passed away, shaped a generation of ethical SEOs through both her work and mentorship.

Definitely going to miss Jill Whalen. 💔💔

www.searchenginejournal.com/jill-whalens...

I’ll just say that while I appreciate and respect your POV here Ammon, I almost completely disagree. This is so different, my concern is that thinking it’s basically the same is going to strand people who could have otherwise shifted. But, different POVs are entirely OK. 🤝🙏

SEO’s Existential Threat Is AGI — But Not the Way You Think Doesn’t matter if the road to AGI ends in sentience. It’s being paved with systems that retrieve and complete — and quietly erode the ROI of traditional SEO.

SEO’s existential threat is AGI — just not how you think.
Agents that retrieve and complete are already replacing the work search used to do. And as this happens, traditional SEO doesn’t just fade. It's value erodes...to zero?
duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/seos-exist...

From Map Packs to Machine Perception Local SEO in an AI-first world of Meta Ray-Bans, TikTok Maps, and spatial discovery models.

Local SEO isn’t just about ranking anymore.
It's about being recognized—by AI agents that see, hear, and suggest.
Smart glasses. Short-form video. Ambient signals.
Welcome to the new local discovery stack:
duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/from-map-p...

Machine Trust: Authority, Rebuilt for Retrieval Tactics for Visibility and Trust in AI-Driven Discovery

Backlinks don’t make you the authority anymore. Machines decide who gets surfaced.
Here’s how to be recognized, retrieved, and trusted in GenAI search systems.
Your future visibility depends on this.
🔗 duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/machine-tr...

You’re Not Falling Behind — You’re Reading Too Shallow How strategic reading builds the edge AI can’t fake

You’re not out of time.
You’re out of signal.
Buried in noise. Swamped by summaries. Skimming instead of learning.
This isn’t about reading more — it’s about reading better. Smarter.
Here’s how I stay ahead when everyone else is overwhelmed:
duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/youre-not-...

Machine-Facing Strategy: Leadership Roles for the GenAI Era (Part 4-4) From Search Stack to Workflow to Job Title: How GenAI Is Quietly Reshaping Your Job Description

Titles changed. Salaries jumped. The work got weird.
I reimagined 14 marketing roles for the GenAI era — with task shifts, salary curves, and what every team needs to adapt.
Part 4/4 just landed. Glossary, methodology and more - all shared.
🔗 duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/machine-fa...

After the Click: UX, Retention, and Engagement in a Machine-First World (Part 3-4) From Search Stack to Workflow to Job Title: How GenAI Is Quietly Reshaping Your Job Description

UX. Retention. Engagement.
You still need them. But AI just changed the job.
In Part 3 of my GenAI job series:
💡 4 reimagined roles
💼 Salaries through 2030
⚙️ New task models
The work after the click now starts before the first prompt.
🔗 duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/after-the-...

Google offers “voluntary exit” to all US platforms and devices employees This could be a precursor to wider layoffs.

Google just offered buyouts to staff in Search, Ads, and more. AI disruption? Cost cutting? Strategic shift? Whatever it is… it’s big.
🔗 www.theverge.com/news/603432/...

From Copy to Credibility: Rebuilding Trust, PR, and Prompting in the AI Era (Part 2-4) From Search Stack to Workflow to Job Title: How GenAI Is Quietly Reshaping Your Job Description

Copy. Trust. PR.
AI isn’t replacing them — it’s rewriting how they work.
Part 2 of my GenAI marketing job series just dropped.
Meet the 4 roles driving visibility and verifiability in the new org chart:
🔗 duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/from-copy-...

Thank you, sir! 🙏🙏 Part 2 is tomorrow, then part 3 Wednesday and part 4 on Thursday. 👍👍

Reimagining Digital Marketing Roles for the GenAI Era (Part 1-4) From Search Stack to Workflow to Job Title: How GenAI Is Quietly Reshaping Your Job Description

The work’s already changed. The titles just haven’t.
I broke down 14 marketing roles by future visibility, workflow evolution, and salary impact.
4-part series starts today. Ends Thursday.
Your next role might already be here.

duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/reimaginin...

#genai #marketingstrategy #search #contentmarketing #aiinmarketing… | Duane Forrester HUGE NEW SERIES DROPPING TOMORROW Your job hasn’t disappeared. But it might be about to change...or evaporate. Over the last few months, I’ve been quietly rebuilding the digital marketing org chart —...

I’m dropping a HUGE new 4 part series on how GenAISearch is going to affect jobs, titles and workflows over the next 5 years. Part 1 is June 9, Part 4 is June 12 - hit the link for the newsletter path: www.linkedin.com/posts/dforre...

Chunked, Retrieved, Synthesized - Not Crawled, Indexed, Ranked The Practical Guide to GenAI Optimization

If you want your content to show up in AI answers, not just search results, this is your guide.
Practical, tactical, and built for how GenAI retrieves and reasons.
It’s time to optimize for comprehension.
👇
duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/chunked-re...

Explaining AI Search to Your Execs: No, It’s Not Too Complex If you can explain Core Web Vitals to a dev, you can explain AI search to a VP and the C-Suite.

You said your execs will never understand these complex new metrics. I’m saying you don’t speak their language—and that’s the real problem. Translation & mapping.
Here’s how to bridge that gap before your relevance gets chunked:
duaneforresterdecodes.substack.com/p/explaining...

12 new KPIs for the generative AI search era We’ve spent years tracking clicks and rankings. But in the age of LLMs and AI search, are we still measuring what matters?

Search is changing fast. If you’re still tracking rankings and traffic, you’re already behind. My latest on @sengineland breaks down 12 KPIs every marketer needs to understand in the GenAI era.
searchengineland.com/new-generati...