Hey Reader,

I just got back from an incredible vacation in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I'm talking for-real vacation, too. Not the kind of vacation I used to do when I was a newbie freelancer.

Back then, I would travel with friends or family, and bring my laptop along so I could sneak in emails or write an article here and there.

AKA not vacation, but working while traveling.

But this time, no laptop, no Slack messages, no emails. Just me, a bunch of friends, the desert, and about one million tacos. 🌮

I spent the week relaxing and laughing and reflecting on my current goals.

I felt like I had a fresh, positive perspective, and was more energized than ever to keep pushing on my own business.

And then, on my plane ride home, I started to feel a tiny tickle in my throat.

By the time I'd landed back in Boston, the tickle had turned into a fever, and I spent the entire weekend in a state of delirium, only waking up to dash to the bathroom as needed. 🤒

I'm feeling much better now, but it definitely threw a wrench in the works.

In fact, "wrench in the works" would be a good motto for the last year in SEO.

It seems like every time I open up my laptop and skim through my news feeds, something else has changed drastically.

Like today, for example, OpenAI announced a new version of ChatGPT that has even more features that will most certainly change the SEO landscape in the coming months.

These kinds of upheavals in SEO aren't anything new; but in the last year and a half, they've been happening more often and are way more baffling than those of the past.

It gives me anxiety, and anyone in the industry who says they aren't worried about it at least a little bit is lying.

But there's something I've learned over the many years I've been battling anxiety:

Panicking doesn't solve anything.

In fact, panicking usually makes things worse.

So if we can't run around freaking out, what are we to do in an industry filled with so much uncertainty?

My advice: Focus on the fundamentals.

It's true that the nature of SEO is changing rapidly, in ways even Google doesn't understand.

But a deep knowledge of the fundamentals of search will always be a competitive advantage, even if Google goes belly up tomorrow.

No matter what happens in the next weeks or months, here are two truths that aren't going to change:

1. People are still going to search for the information they want on the internet.

2. Businesses still rely on organic traffic to sell their products and services.

👆 This means folks who understand the fundamentals of search will be in demand, no matter where the future takes us.

When I say fundamentals, I mean lessons that will be applicable to the future of search no matter what:

• Understanding why and how people search
• Understanding how search algorithms work
• Learning how to maintain quality and creativity no matter what the algorithms demand
• How to find leads who understand the value of SEO and will pay for it
• How to convert those leads into ongoing, high-paying clients (no more Fiver or Upwork, ever.)
• How to apply today's SEO standards to the future of the industry

All this stuff is what we're going to cover in the new SEO Bridge Builders Case Study group, which starts in just a little over a week. (!!)

This program is a chance for a handful of freelancers to get a deep understanding of the fundamentals of SEO, and use that knowledge to land their next long-term, high-ticket client ASAP (before the program ends).

If you want to go deep on fundamentals, and wrangle a new client or three in the process, there are still a few places left.

Just reply to this email and let me know you're interested, and I'll send over the deets. 😉

For now, I'm going to go chug another Gatorade and hope the last few remnants of this illness are gone in time for our first session! 😷

- Liam