Finding alpha is the most valuable skill in SEO and AI search

When I’m asked about what makes either a person or an agent great at SEO, my answer to this question is simple. The best SEOs can systematically and repeatedly find “alpha” in a dynamic environment with zero-sum aspects. I use the word “alpha” here as a metaphor, not in the strict financial sense.

What is alpha in SEO terms?

Alpha in financial markets refers to an investment strategy’s returns in excess of a benchmark index, such as the S&P 500. When we consider what alpha means in SEO terms, the benchmark can be considered to be the theoretical “average” attempt at ranking for a particular prompt or keyword, inclusive of the company’s content quality, domain authority, and other affecting factors.

A high alpha SEO strategy is one that manifests an edge against competitors targeting a similar keyword or prompt by leveraging one of a few different alpha sources.

The 4 sources of alpha

There are primarily four different strategies for acquiring SEO alpha.

1. Enrich content with expert insights

If you or someone on your team has unique information about a particular topic that’s earned through hard-won, first-hand experience, it can be a source of alpha. In fact, this is the principal difference between what Google denotes as non-commodity content, vs. commodity content.

A standout example of this that is rarely highlighted is law firms that write detailed answers to specific and narrow challenges that a prospective customer may have. As an example, the 83B election is a critical tax form that every founder must submit when they start a company. If you miss the deadline for filing this form, the tax consequences are devastating.

Mike Baker, a tax lawyer in Utah, wrote one of the best articles on this exact dilemma. He didn’t merely summarize third-party sources; he injected a unique and differentiated perspective based on his many years of experience working directly on these cases.

2. Enrich content with unique data points

ProductHunt is an excellent example of a company that has a strong data component to its SEO moats. They have a product-led SEO motion that automatically creates pages targeting queries like “Reviews of [product]” or “Alternatives to [product]”, enriched with thousands of user-generated reviews and recommendations.

Any startup could theoretically scrape ProductHunt to create meta-summaries, but they would always be one (or several steps) behind. ProductHunt has an engaged user base that originates information on new products faster than any other competitor, giving them a durable advantage in SEO.

3. Create valuable tools that others haven’t built

Creating new, previously unavailable tools can also be an excellent way to build alpha, albeit more at a domain level. Tools are mainly used to target tool-specific search terms (ex. calculators), with a primary intent to drive backlinks to the domain, through the tool page. You can embed tools into blog posts to improve onsite SEO, but I’ve seen tools used more as standalone pages, rather than as a means to enrich other, non-tool-focused pages. This is mainly because tools may not neatly align with the search intent of a query that primarily targets a non-tool-related search query.

Calculator.net is a website that receives 25M+ visitors per month by publishing calculators of different types, with nearly 100% of its traffic coming from different calculator-related search terms like “pregnancy calculator”, “pace calculator”, and so on.

4. Publish research with net-new insights

Similar to tools, compiling newsworthy research reports in one’s industry can be an effective way to improve the domain authority of your website. It’s so effective at scale that this has become an entire sub-industry of SEO, with many agencies now offering “digital PR services”, which is essentially the white-glove production of studies for the purposes of acquiring backlinks.

The standout example of a company that does this exceptionally well is NerdWallet, which has an entire team dedicated to producing data journalism. NerdWallet produces studies and research on everything from gas prices to the savings goals of Americans to national statistics on credit card debt.

NerdWallet has professionalized this strategy to such an extent that they even have a partnership with the Associated Press to syndicate their personal finance content through AP.

The “meta” SEO skill

Sourcing and capitalizing on unique alpha is the meta SEO skill that will continue to be important, regardless of what technological breakthroughs we see in the future, what the industry is, or where you’re at in your SEO journey. With change happening at a faster pace than ever before, it’s important to pay attention to the fundamentals. Ignore the noise, put your head down, and focus on what won’t change.