Seth Godin asked Google's own AI what happened to the open web over the last decade. The answer named three phases, starting with the death of Google Reader in 2013.
Ross Simmonds, founder of Foundation and the person who was telling B2B brands to get on Reddit back in 2016, joins Mark and Natalie to discuss what that admission actually means for marketers. Ross walks through why he bet on Reddit and Quora years before anyone else cared, how a fantasy football blog in college turned into a content marketing company, and why he thinks YouTube is the next channel everyone is sleeping on.
The conversation also covers the difference between commodity and non-commodity content, why volume plays on programmatic SEO are a fast track to getting deindexed, and how to reverse-engineer what a community actually wants before you post to it.
Jump into action:
(00:00) Why AI is a blessing and a curse for marketers
(00:41) Catching up while moving
(03:43) Seth Godin asked Google's AI what happened to blogs
(11:47) Ross on calling the Reddit wave back in 2016
(17:52) The three times Google admitted to killing the open web
(19:55) Why 10 blue links are never coming back
(24:53) Commodity content versus non-commodity content
(28:48) Turning one report into dozens of micro assets
(29:47) The brand, product, and content marketing trifecta
(39:46) Why leadership teams are pressuring the wrong metrics
(44:24) Why AI visibility tools are still just directional
(49:29) The next underinvested channel is YouTube
(52:13) Ross's take on webinars
Connect with Ross Simmonds: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosssimmonds/
Check out Foundation: https://foundationinc.co/
Read Blogs, Traffic, and Google by Seth’s Blog: https://seths.blog/2026/06/blogs-traffic-and-google/
Produced in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://shareyourgenius.com/