How agency strategists are evolving content to satisfy search engines without losing authenticity
If you work in content strategy at an agency, you know the tension: Google wants one thing, your client wants another, and the humans reading your blog post want something else entirely.
This was the focus of one of the most practical AmpUp 2025 sessions: The Content Strategy Evolution: Balancing SEO Needs with Brand Authenticity. Hosted by GatherUp’s Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Alexia Platenburg, and featuring panelists Cathy Atkins (Co-founder of Fuze 32) and Jim McDannald (Founder of Podiatry Growth), the session delivered real-world guidance for agency pros tasked with turning vague strategy into visible results.
And yes, you can write for Google and still sound human.
Let’s Stop Pretending This Is a Binary Choice
“When clients ask us to choose between SEO and brand voice, we tell them that’s not the right question,” said Cathy Atkins. “It’s about defining what’s right for your audience, then mapping that back to what will actually get found.”
With Google increasingly rewarding E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust), the middle ground between search optimization and brand storytelling has never been more important.
Alexia framed the challenge this way: “It’s not SEO versus creativity, it’s SEO in service of clarity, and clarity in service of trust.”
Start With Intent, Not Keywords
“If you’re just chasing keywords, you’re missing the whole point of content,” said Jim McDannald. “Your goal is to be useful. That starts by understanding what your audience actually needs, not what Google Trends says they want.”
Cathy agreed. “We ask every client: what keeps your customer up at night? Then we build the content around that—not the other way around.”
Don’t Abandon SEO Basics—Just Update Them
That said, both panelists emphasized that the technical side of SEO still matters.
“You still need to play the game,” Jim noted. “We just don’t lead with it anymore.”
That includes:
- Clear, logical page structure
- Fast load times
- Clean metadata
- Natural use of keywords and semantic relevance
“Think of SEO as a table stake,” Cathy said. “It gets you in the room. Brand voice and value keep you there.”
Say Something. Don’t Just Say Stuff.
“We’re way past the era of generic content,” Jim said. “If your blog post could be written by AI, why would anyone care?”
The solution isn’t louder content—it’s more specific content. Cathy shared how they coach clients to embed true perspective, even in lower-funnel assets:
- Add founder quotes
- Share lessons learned from real clients
- Highlight what not to do—not just best practices
Reviews: The Authenticity Shortcut (and SEO Win)
Alexia brought up a secret weapon that many agencies overlook: reviews.
“One of the most underutilized content assets we see in agency work is first-party reviews,” she said. “They give you tone, proof, freshness—and Google loves them.”
Jim chimed in: “When I add real patient reviews to a podiatrist’s service page, I see ranking improvements and better time-on-page. That’s not a coincidence.”
GatherUp clients often use:
- Review snippets in blog intros
- Customer quotes in local SEO pages
- Aggregated NPS and review trends in sales enablement content
“It’s like UGC for SEO, and it adds real emotional pull,” Cathy added.
The Brief Is Where Alignment Starts
“You can’t expect good content if the brief is a keyword list and a deadline,” Cathy warned. “You need to give your writers context, voice direction, and clear goals.”
Jim shared that at his agency, even one-person content teams create a mini-brief that includes:
- Primary intent
- SEO objective
- Brand tone targets
- CTA clarity
“The tighter the brief, the more likely the draft gets approved without 3 rounds of edits,” he said.
Success Metrics Should Reflect Reality
“Ranking is a vanity metric if no one converts,” said Alexia. “You need to measure what matters.”
Jim tracks:
- Organic-assisted conversions
- Time on page
- Engagement with CTAs
- Review submissions driven by content
Cathy recommends tracking “how often content gets used outside the website—like in newsletters, social, sales decks. That’s when you know it’s valuable.”
Final Word: SEO That Sounds Human Wins
Cathy closed with this advice: “Don’t make your writers choose between sounding smart and getting found. Great content does both.”
At GatherUp, we believe your customer’s voice is part of your brand voice. And your reputation is more than a trust signal—it’s a content asset.
Use it. Quote it. Rank with it.
