Kitchen Side: Boots, Bots & Brand Gravity

In this Kitchen Side episode of The Long Game Podcast, Alex Birkett and David Ly Khim reflect on the parallels between craftsmanship in daily life and high-quality marketing in the age of AI. They critique the growing dominance of low-effort, mass-generated content and advocate for a return to thoughtful creation—whether that’s cooking a meal, writing a note by hand, or building content that stands out in generative search. The duo also dives deep into GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), sharing a powerful framework: Be the source. Be cited in the source. Or replace the source. They discuss the shift toward brand gravity, proprietary data, and becoming the trusted name in your category—especially as AI models increasingly shape what content gets surfaced.

Key Takeaways

• Craftsmanship Over Convenience: Great content is like a well-made meal—it takes intention, care, and can't be rushed or fully outsourced to AI.
• Be the Source, Be Cited, or Replace the Source: To win in GEO, you must create original content, appear in authoritative lists, or become the reference itself.
• Brand Gravity Is the New SEO Moat: Off-page presence, media saturation, and citations across the web influence your LLM visibility more than keywords alone.
• Proprietary Data Creates Value: Unique product data, micro case studies, and original research can't be easily replicated—and LLMs favor that originality.
• SEO Is Converging with GEO: While traditional SEO and LLM optimization are currently distinct, the two are quickly merging into one organic growth strategy.
• AI Is a Thought Partner—With Limits: LLMs can help challenge assumptions, but they’re persuasive by nature—use them with discernment.
• Effort Signals Intent: In a noisy content landscape, showing effort is a competitive advantage that builds trust and emotional resonance.

Show Links

• Connect with David Khim on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Connect with Alex Birkett on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Connect with Allie Decker on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

What is Kitchen Side?

One big benefit of running an agency or working at one is you get to see the “kitchen side” of many different businesses; their revenue, their operations, their automations, and their culture.

You understand how things look from the inside and how that differs from the outside.

You understand how the sausage is made. 

As an agency ourselves, we’re working both on growing our clients’ businesses as well as our own. This podcast is one project, but we also blog, make videos, do sales, and have quite a robust portfolio of automations and hacks to run our business.

We want to take you behind the curtain, to the kitchen side of our business, to witness our brainstorms, discussions, and internal dialogues behind the public works that we ship.

Past guests on The Long Game podcast include: Morgan Brown (Shopify), Ryan Law (Animalz), Dan Shure (Evolving SEO), Kaleigh Moore (freelancer), Eric Siu (Clickflow), Peep Laja (CXL), Chelsea Castle (Chili Piper), Tracey Wallace (Klaviyo), Tim Soulo (Ahrefs), Ryan McReady (Reforge), and many more.

Some interviews you might enjoy and learn from:

Actionable Tips and Secrets to SEO Strategy with Dan Shure (Evolving SEO)

Building Competitive Marketing Content with Sam Chapman (Aprimo)

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