10 Years in SEO: What I’ve Learned About Ranking (and What I’m Learning with AI)

I’ve been working in SEO for a decade and in these 10 years, I’ve seen how organic search has changed radically, and how new terms like GEO and E-E-A-T have emerged. What’s interesting is that, at the same time, despite changes in names or formats, some things still hold a common essence: understanding the user.

When Keywords Were the Main Task

Yes, there was a time when writing an optimized blog post was almost a mathematical formula: choosing the right keywords, placing them strategically (in the H1, within the first 100 characters, in bold if possible...), and repeating them naturally but not excessively.

Everything revolved around that. But even back then, there was a more subtle, a more human part that I always found essential: stepping into the shoes of the person searching.

Search Intent: The Real Driver

Behind every search, there’s an intention. A person. A need. And understanding that has always been the key.

The real challenge was not just ranking, but creating useful, clear, and well-structured content that genuinely addressed that search intent.

SEO Has Always Been Technical (and Strategic)

From the earliest black hat and white hat practices, SEO has involved technical and strategic decisions—from using clean HTML structures and internal linking to manipulating (or respecting) algorithms in more or less ethical ways.

What has changed is the complexity of the technical side: now we talk about Core Web Vitals, structured data, mobile-first, semantic AI, smart crawling… But the technical component isn’t new; it’s simply evolved and become more sophisticated.

With AI, SEO Isn’t Dying, It’s Getting Stronger

With the rise of artificial intelligence, many wonder if SEO is going to disappear. I don’t think so. Quite the opposite: AI is another tool we can use to improve our work, not a threat that’s going to replace it.

We can speed up research, detect emerging trends, generate drafts, identify content gaps, or analyze large data sets in record time. But that doesn’t replace human analysis or strategic vision.

Judgment Is Still Human

Understanding what content deserves to rank, how to connect with your audience, and how to meet search intent effectively… that takes more than data. It takes context, empathy, experience, and above all, critical thinking.

After 10 years, I’m still learning. SEO is dynamic, demanding, and constantly evolving, it's organic, and that’s exactly what keeps it exciting.

The Core Doesn’t Change: The User Is at the Center

Despite all the changes in algorithms, tools, and technologies, one thing hasn’t changed: the focus.

The center of SEO is not Google, it’s the user. That’s why, even in this new era of AI, my approach remains the same: research, understand, empathize, and create with purpose.

Technology can enhance us. But the real value still comes from those of us who know how to read between the lines.