The energy at DigiMarCon Denver 2025 was something else. After two days packed with sessions on artificial intelligence and search, one thing became crystal clear: the game has completely changed. We’re done asking if AI will impact SEO. The real question now is, how are you using it to win?
I had the honor of speaking at the event, and I’ve already posted my high-level recaps of the incredible insights from both days on LinkedIn, which you can check out here if you want the play-by-play:
- DigiMarCon Day 1: My Top Takeaways & Why Your Sales Calls are SEO Gold
- DigiMarCon Day 2 Recap: From AI Teammates to Marketing to Machines
Now, I want to go deeper.
I’m not here to give you more theory. I’m here to give you the machine. In my session, I pulled back the curtain on the exact system I’ve built to turn raw, unscripted conversations into fully-optimized, #1-ranking thought leadership content. This isn’t just a prompt; it’s a complete, 9-step strategic framework for AI SEO that I call The Universal Content Engine.
This is the system. This is how I cracked the code.
The Engine’s Fuel: Turning Conversations into Assets
The most valuable content asset in your business is probably disappearing into thin air every single day. I’m talking about your sales calls. These conversations are a goldmine of authentic, expert-driven content. They are unscripted, raw, and directly address the real-world pain points of your ideal clients.
I built my engine to capture and weaponize this raw material, creating a powerful new approach to using AI for SEO.
The proof? I took a single transcribed sales call with a property management company, fed it into the engine, and in a short time—with zero manual promotion—landed at position #1 on Google for “property management SEO.”
[Insert Image: Screenshot of the #1 Google ranking for “property management SEO”]
That article is now a lead-generation machine for my agency, Boulder SEO Marketing. The ROI on the 90 minutes it took to run the process is almost unbelievable.
I walked through this entire case study live at DigiMarCon. Here’s the full, uncut recording:
Now, let’s look under the hood.
The 9-Step Strategic Process of the Universal Content Engine
This isn’t about lazy prompting. This is a rigorous, strategic workflow that forces an AI to function as an elite SEO and content strategist. Before I begin, the engine is fed two critical inputs: my Expert Profile Module (a “Virtual Chris” trained on my entire body of work) and the Project Parameters (the target website, audience, and the transcript itself). This is the foundation of my AI SEO methodology.
STEP 1: Strategic Theme Identification
The process begins not with keywords, but with strategy. The AI’s first job is to analyze the entire transcript and identify the single most strategically valuable theme. It’s not looking for what was said; it’s looking for the “Big Idea”—the one theme that best positions my expertise, attracts high-value clients, and can serve as a cornerstone piece of thought leadership.
STEP 2: Keyword Research & Strategy
Once the theme is approved, the engine shifts into a keyword strategist role. It proposes 5-7 keyword candidates specifically targeting sophisticated business decision-makers, not DIY researchers. It must provide a rationale for why each keyword has commercial intent and aligns with the core theme. After I provide manual research data from SE Ranking, it finalizes a list of 3-5 primary keywords and up to 10 long-tail variants.
STEP 3: AI Overview Analysis
This is where we move from traditional SEO to GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). As many experts at the conference highlighted, the game is now about becoming the cited source in AI-generated answers. My engine actively researches the AI Overview landscape for our target keywords, identifying content gaps and opportunities to provide depth that a generic AI summary simply can’t match. This is a critical step when using AI for SEO.
STEP 4: Competitive Content Analysis
The engine now acts as a competitive analyst. It dissects the top 10-15 ranking articles to find their vulnerabilities. It’s not just looking for missing keywords; it’s looking for missing depth, a lack of practical application, or a failure to connect tactics to real business outcomes. The goal is to identify exactly where my unique experience can deliver superior value and dominate the conversation.
STEP 5: Content Architecture & Outline
With the strategic foundation laid, the AI designs the full content architecture. This isn’t a simple list of H2s. It’s a comprehensive blueprint that maps out the opening hook, the logical flow of the argument, and where to naturally weave in my specific frameworks and case studies. This process is a core component of my trademarked Micro-SEO Strategies℠ methodology.
STEP 6: Content Creation & Video Integration
Now, the engine writes. Guided by the outline and the “Virtual Chris” profile, it drafts the entire article in my authentic, first-person voice. It’s programmed to write with confident, conversational authority, avoiding hedging language and generic filler. It then searches my YouTube channel to identify and naturally integrate a relevant video, introducing it with context like, “I recently explored this in a Friday SEO tip about video SEO…”
STEP 7: Strategic Internal Linking
No piece of content is an island. The engine crawls my website and recommends 3-5 strategic internal links, providing the target page, the ideal anchor text, and a clear rationale for why the link adds value to the reader and strengthens my site’s topical authority.
STEP 8: External Authority Linking
To bolster E-E-A-T, the engine researches and recommends 3-5 external links to non-competitive, high-authority sources like industry studies, academic papers, or official Google documentation. This signals to both readers and search engines that my content is well-researched and situated within a broader expert conversation.
STEP 9: SEO Final Polish
Finally, the engine puts on its technical SEO hat. It crafts multiple options for optimized title tags and meta descriptions, reviews the heading structure, checks for natural keyword integration, and identifies opportunities for schema markup. This is the final step that ensures the brilliant strategic content is also perfectly packaged for search.
The Future is a System
The insights from across DigiMarCon all pointed in the same direction. We heard from experts about a future where our primary role shifts from tactical execution to becoming managers of AI agents. Another speaker gave us the organizational framework for building those agents as specialized “AI Teammates.” We were even prepared for a world where we market to those AI agents directly, a concept that fundamentally changes how we think about content structure and data.
The Universal Content Engine is my answer to this future. It’s not just a tool; it’s a system. It’s a repeatable, scalable process for turning latent expertise into high-performance digital assets—a true engine for modern AI SEO. The most successful agencies will be those that develop a clear AI for business strategy.
The raw material is already there, in your conversations.
Your job is to build the engine to unlock it.
Conclusion: The Only Constant is Change
As excited as I am about this system, I know one thing for sure: it will change. The worlds of AI and SEO are evolving at a breathtaking pace. The strategies that win today will be table stakes tomorrow. The key isn’t to find a single magic bullet, but to commit to constant learning and adaptation.
To help you stay on the cutting edge, I invite you to join our upcoming AI and SEO webinar, where we’ll dive into the latest best practices and show you what’s working right now.
Register for the Free AI & SEO Webinar Here
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going
This stuff excites me more than anything else in my 30 years in the SEO industry. If you’re as passionate about the future of AI, SEO, and GEO as I am, let’s connect.
- Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: I regularly post hands-on tips, tutorials, and interviews with other experts in the field. You can subscribe here: Chris Raulf on YouTube.
- Join my Weekly Newsletter: For a curated dose of the latest trends and strategies in AI and SEO, subscribe to my weekly newsletter on LinkedIn: AI and SEO Newsletter.
- Schedule a 1-on-1 Session: Have a specific challenge or want to see how these systems could apply to your business? Let’s talk. You can schedule a no-strings-attached session with me directly through my website: Schedule a Session with Chris.