It sounds pretty boring IMO

Also, this made it crystal clear that this person was not actually very knowledgeable about SEO.

I did respond and point these things out in a professional manner. Normally I wouldn't bother but I thought it might be a learning opportunity for this person. 🤷‍♀️

I'm not averse to constructive feedback, but not when it's implied that I was trying to lie about my experience.

I approach everyone in good faith, and it's what I expect in response. I don't think that's too much to ask.

--They didn't say they were looking for writers with SEO strategy skills
--They didn't specify they wanted to see examples that ranked on page 1
--I don't have control over optimizing those articles over time as SEO strategies change and keywords shift

I responded with some links of posts and articles I've done within the framework of an SEO strategy. They let me know they'd decided to move ahead with other candidates but that they'd run my articles through Semrush and "none of them rank on page 1."

Analyze your strengths, examine your goals, and map out a strategy for creating high-value, high-quality content across the board.

Voice, authenticity, and originality are more important than ever. Your content shouldn’t look like everyone else’s. This means you need to conduct research, figure out what you know or can do that everyone else doesn’t, or find a way to speak about what you do in a unique way.

So what does this mean for your content marketing strategy? Well, first of all, there’s no magic bullet. You gotta do a lot more things to keep up in this environment.

But also:

🤖 Those AI searches you’re trying to optimize your content for? They’re pulling mainly from sources you don’t control—like reviews.

👎 Organic search has plummeted, no surprise.

🧨 The traditional SEO funnel is now a pinball machine, with consumers bouncing across TikTok, Reddit, private chats, and other touchpoints before potentially reaching brand sites. That means we have to think of content marketing as an ecosystem, not a path.

(Personally I don’t know that this can last, as expecting marketers to be unicorns and perform all of these well isn’t realistic.)

🦄 Content marketing roles are evolving toward more “full stack” responsibilities, looking for people who can adapt to multiple functions like demand generation, product marketing, and brand storytelling.