Unscripted SEO: The Human Element in SEO & Tiana Mamalick

Why AI Content Isn't Ranking (And What Actually Works for SMBs)

Author

Jeremy Rivera
December 15, 2025

I just wrapped an eye-opening conversation with Tianna Mamalick from SMB Marketing School, and I need to share what we uncovered about what's actually working in SEO right now versus what the "experts" are selling.

Spoiler alert: If you're banking on AI-generated content or obsessing over ChatGPT rankings, you're betting on the wrong horse.

The AI Content Experiment Is Over

Here's something Tianna admitted that most agencies won't tell you:

They tested AI-generated content extensively. None of it ranked.

Not some of it. Not most of it. None of it.

After months of experimenting with prompts and AI tools, her agency went 100% back to human-written content. They now use AI for only one thing: creating outlines based on top-ranking competitors.

Why? Because everyone is using the same AI tools with similar prompts, creating identical content that sounds like... well, like AI.

Your customers can tell. Google can tell. And it's not working.

What's Actually Moving the Needle for Small Businesses

After 12 years specializing in SEO for small businesses, Tianna shared her proven formula. Here's what's converting right now:

1. Service Pages Over Blog Posts

Stop churning out blog content. Start with making your service pages comprehensive and specific.

Not "We offer roofing services" — but individual pages for:

  • Storm damage roof repair

  • Metal roof installation for coastal homes

  • Emergency leak repair for historic properties

  • Roof replacement with solar panel integration

Every service deserves its own detailed page that speaks to different customer types.

2. The SEO + Ads Pairing Strategy

Tianna pairs Google Ads with SEO in a way that strategically helps prime new pages through engagement (not direct ranking impact — that's not how it works).

When launching a new location or service page, running targeted ads helps get your Google Business Profile moving faster and improves location-specific performance.

3. Mining Your Customer Conversations

Here's where the content gold actually lives:

  • Customer support emails

  • Sales call recordings

  • Front-line staff daily questions

  • The objections your team overcomes every single time

This real-world language converts 100x better than anything distilled into corporate marketing speak.

The ChatGPT Reality Check You Need to Hear

Everyone's panicking about AI search. Here's what the actual data shows across Tianna's SMB client base:

  • ChatGPT traffic: Less than 10% (often 2-3%)

  • Google organic: Still 70-80% of total traffic

  • We're in early adoption — the average consumer isn't using ChatGPT to find their local plumber yet

Should you prepare? Absolutely. Enrich your About pages with certifications and expertise. Make your service pages answer conversational questions.

Should you abandon what's working to chase AI search? Absolutely not.

One of Tianna's clients got excited: "Someone found me on AI!"

Great. They get 40 leads per month. One came from AI. Once. In six months.

Let's look at this logically.

Why Small Business SEO Hits Different

When Tianna worked for big software companies, she'd post articles with 20% conversion rates and get a polite "that's nice."

Now when she helps a small business increase revenue by $10K/month?

She gets emails like:

  • "I just hired my first employee!"

  • "I took my first real vacation in years"

  • "We're finally investing in growth"

That's not just a metric. That's life-changing.

This is why she only works with small businesses now — and why the strategies that work for SMBs are different from enterprise SEO playbooks.

The Brutal Honesty About Expectations

Here's how Tianna approaches new clients:

✅ Three-month minimum with no guarantees
✅ Budget reality: "You need money you can afford to lose completely"
✅ Market-specific truth: Same strategy doesn't work in every market
✅ Three-month check-in: Evaluate results honestly and decide together

She turns away a lot of businesses. And that's okay.

She's built a repeatable formula that works exceptionally well for "boring" service-based businesses where people are already searching. When someone's business model doesn't fit that formula, she's honest about it — even if it means less revenue.

This is the kind of honest conversation about SEO that most small businesses never get.

Your Action Steps This Week

Based on this conversation, here's what you should do right now:

1. Audit Your Service Pages
Does each service have its own detailed page? Or are you still using a menu-style list?

2. Start Recording Conversations
Ask your sales team to note what questions they answer on every call. That's your content goldmine.

3. Review Your Social Media
Are you actually mentioning your services, or just posting generic content with a keyword in your bio?

4. Stop Chasing AI Hype
Focus on what's converting NOW while preparing for what's coming NEXT.

Listen to the Full Conversation

We covered so much more in this interview:

  • The nexus of care strategy for building partnerships

  • Why collaboration posts work better than guest posting

  • Platform-agnostic SEO across social channels

  • How to scale service businesses to multiple locations

  • The truth about retargeting for small budgets

Connect With Tianna

If you're a small business owner tired of SEO promises that don't deliver, check out:

What I'm Thinking About This Week

This conversation reinforced something I've been seeing across my own client work: the fundamentals matter more than ever, but they need to be executed with far more depth than most businesses attempt.

It's not that blog posts are dead or that service pages are "new." It's that most businesses have:

  • Service pages with generic fluff ("quality results, excellent service")

  • Blog content created for keyword volume instead of actual customer questions

  • No strategy for mining the conversational gold sitting in their support tickets

The opportunity isn't in some new AI tool or search platform. It's in doing the foundational work properly — with the depth and specificity that creates actual competitive advantage.

Stop looking for shortcuts. Start looking for depth.

Listen to this week's episode:
🎧 The Human Element in SEO with Tianna Mamalick