The Future of Content is Less “How To” and More “How You”
Ryan Law, Director of Content Marketing at Ahrefs (an SEO tool), recently shared this graph:
Photo: Ryan Law
This is Hubspot’s organic blog traffic over the last decade (for reference, Hubspot is known in the industry for being the creme-of-the-creme in terms of SEO-driven content).
The dropoff on the right side of the graph? That’s where we are right now, in January 2025.
Before you start spiraling over SEO (like all the SEO bros in the 200+ comments on Ryan’s post), this doesn’t mean that SEO is dead.
But what it does mean is that it’s changing.
A new content playbook
The old playbooks that used to work 5-10 years ago to drive SEO-driven content (you know, where every article begins with “how to” and ends with keyword stuffing) won’t work in this new era.
There’s a few reasons for this. Because of Google’s new AI updates, you don’t have to click on an article to find what you’re looking for—any information you need is aggregated and summarized at the top of the search page.
Moreover, people bypass search engines altogether, heading straight to ChatGPT or Claude for their inquiries or turning to other platforms like YouTube, TikTok, or Pinterest to complete their search inquiries.
Google has become the new Yellow Pages—surface level without going into depth. It’s become a wasteland for AI-generated SEO content that doesn’t demonstrate any expertise. It also means that anyone (or anything) can create it.
So, what does all this mean for the future of content?
The future of content will be less “how to” and more “how you.”
“How you” content is also known as conversational content. It is optimized to answer specific questions rather than for keywords. Conversational content is built on unique perspectives, insights, and approaches and prioritizes storytelling, interviews, and visuals over keywords.
It’s designed with both humans and AI in mind, providing value to readers while making it a trusted, easy-to-skim source from which AI can pull.
“How you” content allows you to showcase your expertise and point of view, positioning you as a trusted source.
Examples of “how you” content include:
Customer case studies that showcase your transformation
Hot takes/spiky opinions that demonstrate authority
Walking through your signature frameworks
Sharing workflows you create in your business or how you approach your work
Sharing how you solved challenges or answered questions your clients have
The name of the game with “how you” content is creating content different from what AI can generate.
“How you” content CAN BE “how to” content
The difference is in the depth of the content you share.
Most “how to” content is surface-level, covering a generic topic with generic answers you might find on Google or through AI.
“How you” goes deeper. It’s sharing YOUR approach and methodology for solving a problem your clients face. It can still be educational in a way that packs more POV and value for your clients.
Some examples:
If you’re a brand designer and want to talk about choosing fonts, pull in how you’ve helped clients pick between two similar font choices
If you’re a copywriter and want to discuss creating effective About pages, discuss how adding a personal touch from your backstory helps build trust and connect with the audience.
If you’re an SEO expert and want to talk about ranking, share some lesser-known techniques you and your clients have used to get results.
The content is still educational, but in a way that puts you in the driver’s seat as the expert, sharing teachings from your own experiences. This builds more credibility because you’ve seen and solved these problems firsthand.
And there’s no better teacher than first-hand experience.
You don’t have to abandon creating educational content. Instead, it’s about infusing your experiences and point of view to demonstrate your expertise.
