I'm Shutting Gotch SEO Down
After more than a decade, I’m closing the chapter on Gotch SEO. Not because the work no longer matters—quite the opposite. It matters so much that it deserves a name and a structure that match where search is headed, not where it started.
This isn’t a post about endings. It’s a post about alignment.
From services to systems
The original journey was scrappy. I learned SEO the hard way: niche sites, small retainers, and relentless outreach. Services paid the bills, but scale hit a ceiling. The first academy launch was text-only and underwhelming; the next iterations added hundreds of videos; the breakthrough came when education turned into enablement—when training was paired with coaching, community, and real execution support.
That changed outcomes. Completion rates went from typical course numbers to the kind of engagement you get when people never feel stuck. When there’s a place to ask questions twice a week. When there’s a system, not just a syllabus.
Why close a working brand?
Because the market moved—and I’ve moved with it.
Search is no longer a single channel game. Today’s winners execute across:
Traditional SEO for classic results,
AI search optimization for chat platforms,
Automation and agents to compound output,
Platform SEO (YouTube, Reddit, marketplaces, and beyond).
You can’t bolt that on as an afterthought. It needs to be the core.
The academy evolved to be AI-centric. Processes were rebuilt to cut execution time and expand reach into AI-driven surfaces. But there was still friction: the brand that taught the systems and the product that accelerated them lived apart.
The synergy we couldn’t ignore
Here’s what became obvious: members who used the academy and the software produced the strongest, fastest results. The systems gave structure; the tool added acceleration. Users who picked only one of the two left compounding gains on the table.
Two brands made that synergy invisible. One brand makes it a promise.
So the academy continues—same cadence, same community, same focus on creating practitioners, not just watchers. The software continues—same mission to operationalize AI search and “search everywhere” optimization. But they now live under one banner and one roadmap.
Bootstrapped on purpose
Since 2022, most profit from other lines of business has been poured into building the product. No outside capital. That forced real prioritization: ship what actually moves results for real campaigns, not what looks good on a pitch deck. Revenue began offsetting founder funding once customers started onboarding in 2024; the goal is simple—let the product fund its own growth, like a business should.
Why the rebrand matters
A name change isn’t cosmetic. It’s a public constraint: one company, one focus. Splitting energy across services, training, content, and tools is a slow bleed. Concentration compounds. The next decade is about a single flywheel:
Codify systems that work across Google, AI chat platforms, and key ecosystems.
Coach operators until those systems become muscle memory.
Automate the drudgery with AI agents and a purpose-built toolset.
Feed field results back into the product and curriculum.
Loop. Improve. Repeat.
What isn’t changing
Cadence: Twice-weekly coaching continues.
Community: Private discussions, accountability, and templates stay central.
Standards: Practitioner-first material, built from real campaigns.
Access: Existing members keep everything they have—only the logo on the door changes.
What is changing
Positioning: From “SEO course/software” to Search Everywhere Operations—traditional SERPs, AI chats, and platform algorithms treated as one operating surface.
Tooling: Deeper automation, agent-assisted workflows, and cross-surface optimization features.
Offers: Clear bundles that align training, coaching, and the software so teams can implement in weeks, not quarters.
The AI search moment
If you haven’t integrated AI into your workflows and learned the characteristics of major chat platforms, you’re behind. This isn’t a hype cycle you can sit out. The operators quietly building edge today will look “lucky” later. The play is simple: master the systems, then let automation multiply throughput.
The promise going forward
The brand that started as a personal banner did its job: it turned hard-won experience into replicable systems and helped thousands build capability. The next brand has a bigger job: to be larger than any one person and to outlast them. To give agencies and in-house teams a durable operating model for search in all its forms—and a product that makes that model faster every month.
So yes, I’m shutting Gotch SEO down.
The work continues—more focused, more integrated, and more ambitious than ever. The sign on the building changes. The mission gets sharper:
Teach systems that win across every surface where people search.
Coach until action is inevitable.
Automate until leverage is undeniable.
Onward.