MozCon New York 2025 felt like stepping into a think tank for SEO and digital marketing, from breakthroughs in AI to surprising shifts in search behavior. As someone who’s navigated the entrepreneurial field across continents, I was eager to see how these talks could transform businesses like yours. The energy at the venue mirrored the city itself, with bold ideas and practical lessons on seizing modern opportunities, less theory, more 'try this tomorrow.'
Let’s dive into the gems this conference delivered.
Striking Lessons from Key Speakers
I prioritize actionable takeaways over jargon, so here’s the round-up from the event’s sharpest minds.
Using AI in Search for Real Impact
Lily Ray emphasized that when it comes to winning in AI search, familiar SEO principles apply. Large Language Models pull heavily from trustworthy platforms like YouTube and Wikipedia rather than isolated Google rankings. The message was clear: aiming for authority across multiple platforms now matters more than obsessing solely over SERPs. Businesses can turn that strategy into steady results by dominating smaller niches where AI citations thrive.
Repurpose for Revenue
Paul Norris showcased how revamping a single piece of content into multiple formats fueled exponential growth for his brand. One marketing video split into 26 platform-specific iterations yielded over 370,000 views and tripled digital revenue. This method, though labor-intensive upfront, becomes indispensable for breaking into highly fragmented user ecosystems like TikTok or Instagram Reels.
Building Content That Sticks, Not Just Clicks
Dr. Pete Meyers encouraged shifting focus from singular keywords to clusters of intent. With AI merging questions and contexts, it pays to create content like “how-to guides” and opinion-driven essays that can’t be summarized too easily. It's a strategy that pushes deeper interaction with your audience, fostering trust and long-term engagement rather than short-term rankings.
Quick How-To Guide: Scaling SEO Practices
To modernize your approach, clarity and agility need to take center stage. Here’s a five-step roadmap inspired by MozCon speakers:
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Audit Your Presence Beyond Google
Use tools like Canvanizer to map brand mentions across platforms like TikTok, Reddit, and even AI-driven channels. Establish benchmarks for visibility where trends emerge, not where visibility shrinks. -
Upcycle Existing Content
Sit down with one successful blog post and brainstorm its alternative presentations, tutorial clips for YouTube Shorts, interactive polls for Instagram Stories, or a podcast episode. With tools like Figma Templates, customizing designs for specific audiences gets simpler. -
Track Revenue-Generating Content Separately
Don’t water down metrics by lumping all traffic together. Tools such as Supercharged BMC Generators let you prioritize high-converting pages, not just those bringing superficial clicks. Present these to leadership directly tied to revenue improvements for buy-in. -
Invest in Simplified Content Engineering
Josh Spilker’s workflows impressed me. If you’ve avoided AI in production workflows, start with free automation platforms like Zapier or low-code app builders. -
Pitch Yourself as the “Primary Authority”
Every speaker touched upon this idea: dominate small, highly specialized spaces. TikTok healthcare hacks or niche engineering communities offer golden opportunities that no giant corporation may bother overtaking.
Statistics to Bookmark
- 66 million impressions but <0.5% CTR: Misty Larkins painted this grim picture for brands failing to optimize beyond SERPs.
- AI-driven longtail searches expanding: Dr. Pete Meyers projected endless keyword combinations, meaning traditional keyword-focused SEO won’t cut it anymore.
- 400% improvement in GitHub’s visibility boiled down to triaged, biweekly amendments by its SEO team.
These highlight one thing repeatedly, change arrives at scale when systems adapt fast.
Common Mistakes Entrepreneurs Can Fix
MozCon revealed frequent SEO errors harming businesses like yours:
- Being Google-dependent: With search traffic consistently declining due to AI overviews and zero-click results, relying on Google alone spells trouble.
- Quantity over quality content: Low-value content risks becoming invisible. Instead, create valuable resources others reference frequently.
- Vague measurement strategies: Metrics should incorporate cross-platform brand signals rather than generic analytics sheets.
A Valuable Conclusion
MozCon New York 2025 showed two clear trends: SEO's complexity is multiplying, yet its solutions are simpler than you'd expect. Users want authentic, reliable content they can trust. AI is both a threat and a tool, it depends on how fast you adjust your strategy. Repurpose wisely, boost offline reputation to earn AI citations, and flip the narrative by following results, not rankings.
Your next project doesn’t need fancy jargon. It needs structure, clarity, and tools that match ambition.
FAQ on MozCon New York 2025
1. What were the key themes of MozCon New York 2025?
MozCon New York 2025 delved into AI’s impact on search, SERP traffic declines, multi-platform strategies, measurement beyond clicks, and strengthening trust/brand in SEO. Read more about MozCon New York 2025
2. How can businesses adapt to AI-powered search according to MozCon speakers?
Businesses should focus on earning trust and authority across platforms like YouTube, Reddit, and Wikipedia, as generative AI models rely heavily on citations from these sources. Dive into Lily Ray’s insights
3. What strategy did Paul Norris share for multiplying content impact?
Paul Norris emphasized repurposing content into various formats for different platforms, showcasing a practical method that led to exponential revenue growth. Learn about multi-platform content strategies
4. What did Dr. Pete Meyers highlight regarding keyword research in AI-driven SEO?
Traditional keyword research evolves with AI merging contexts; focusing on clusters of intent is key for building deeper audience engagement. Discover Dr. Pete Meyers’ takeaways
5. How important is content engineering in modern workflows?
Josh Spilker emphasized leveraging low-code tools and automating production workflows to scale content creation cost-effectively. Explore content engineering tools
6. How can SEO practices be modernized beyond search rankings?
Misty Larkins illustrated that SEO should prioritize branded mentions, multi-platform visibility, and media-driven strategies to capture conversions outside of Google. Expand SEO with Misty Larkins’ strategies
7. What metrics should replace vanity metrics like traffic and rankings?
Bianca Anderson suggested tracking at the URL level for revenue-generating pages and presenting metrics tied directly to revenue per session to demonstrate ROI effectively. Learn about impactful SEO metrics
8. How can brands dominate smaller, specialized spaces online?
Speakers recommended targeting niche areas where large corporations may lack presence, such as TikTok healthcare hacks or engineering communities. Explore modern content strategy
9. What common mistakes were highlighted during MozCon 2025?
Frequent mistakes include over-reliance on Google traffic, creating low-value content, and using overly generic measurement strategies. Fix common SEO errors
10. When will MozCon return to New York?
MozCon plans to return on July 14, 2026, bringing the next wave of SEO insights and marketing strategies. Join the waitlist for MozCon 2026
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
Violetta Bonenkamp's expertise in CAD sector, IP protection and blockchain
Violetta Bonenkamp is recognized as a multidisciplinary expert with significant achievements in the CAD sector, intellectual property (IP) protection, and blockchain technology.
CAD Sector:
- Violetta is the CEO and co-founder of CADChain, a deep tech startup focused on developing IP management software specifically for CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data. CADChain addresses the lack of industry standards for CAD data protection and sharing, using innovative technology to secure and manage design data.
- She has led the company since its inception in 2018, overseeing R&D, PR, and business development, and driving the creation of products for platforms such as Autodesk Inventor, Blender, and SolidWorks.
- Her leadership has been instrumental in scaling CADChain from a small team to a significant player in the deeptech space, with a diverse, international team.
IP Protection:
- Violetta has built deep expertise in intellectual property, combining academic training with practical startup experience. She has taken specialized courses in IP from institutions like WIPO and the EU IPO.
- She is known for sharing actionable strategies for startup IP protection, leveraging both legal and technological approaches, and has published guides and content on this topic for the entrepreneurial community.
- Her work at CADChain directly addresses the need for robust IP protection in the engineering and design industries, integrating cybersecurity and compliance measures to safeguard digital assets.
Blockchain:
- Violetta’s entry into the blockchain sector began with the founding of CADChain, which uses blockchain as a core technology for securing and managing CAD data.
- She holds several certifications in blockchain and has participated in major hackathons and policy forums, such as the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum.
- Her expertise extends to applying blockchain for IP management, ensuring data integrity, traceability, and secure sharing in the CAD industry.
Violetta is a true multiple specialist who has built expertise in Linguistics, Education, Business Management, Blockchain, Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property, Game Design, AI, SEO, Digital Marketing, cyber security and zero code automations. Her extensive educational journey includes a Master of Arts in Linguistics and Education, an Advanced Master in Linguistics from Belgium (2006-2007), an MBA from Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden (2006-2008), and an Erasmus Mundus joint program European Master of Higher Education from universities in Norway, Finland, and Portugal (2009).
She is the founder of Fe/male Switch, a startup game that encourages women to enter STEM fields, and also leads CADChain, and multiple other projects like the Directory of 1,000 Startup Cities with a proprietary MeanCEO Index that ranks cities for female entrepreneurs. Violetta created the "gamepreneurship" methodology, which forms the scientific basis of her startup game. She also builds a lot of SEO tools for startups. Her achievements include being named one of the top 100 women in Europe by EU Startups in 2022 and being nominated for Impact Person of the year at the Dutch Blockchain Week. She is an author with Sifted and a speaker at different Universities. Recently she published a book on Startup Idea Validation the right way: from zero to first customers and beyond, launched a Directory of 1,500+ websites for startups to list themselves in order to gain traction and build backlinks and is building MELA AI to help local restaurants in Malta get more visibility online.
For the past several years Violetta has been living between the Netherlands and Malta, while also regularly traveling to different destinations around the globe, usually due to her entrepreneurial activities. This has led her to start writing about different locations and amenities from the POV of an entrepreneur. Here’s her recent article about the best hotels in Italy to work from.