Startup Pricing, LLMs, Return of Quality, and Multimedia SEO with Aashish Krishna Kumar (Zuora)

In this episode of The Long Game Podcast, Alex Birkett speaks with Aashish Krishna Kumar, Director of Go-To-Market at Zuora, about startup pricing strategies, AI-driven changes in SEO, and the increasing importance of high-quality content. Aashish explains why early-stage startups should prioritize survival over pricing optimization and why pricing only becomes a growth lever after product-market fit. He also shares an optimistic perspective on SEO, arguing that traditional tactics like backlinks and keyword stuffing are fading while expert-driven content, multimedia formats, and brand authority will define future success. The conversation explores how businesses should adapt their strategies in the evolving digital landscape.

Key Takeaways

• Startup Pricing Priorities: Early-stage startups should focus on survival and product-market fit before optimizing pricing.
• AI’s Impact on SEO: AI-driven search is changing how users engage with content, reducing reliance on traditional SEO tactics.
• Backlinks Losing Relevance: Google is prioritizing trust signals and content utility over paid link-building strategies.
• Shifting SEO Metrics: Marketers should move away from traffic as a key metric and focus on business impact and conversions.
• Rise of Digital PR: Brand mentions and expert-driven narratives are becoming stronger ranking signals than traditional backlinks.
• Multimedia SEO Growth: Video, images, and interactive content will play a bigger role in organic visibility and engagement.
• Brand Authority in SEO: Companies with strong brand recognition will have a competitive edge in search rankings.

Show Links

• Visit Aashish's YouTube channel GMT Talk
• Connect with Aashish Krishna Kumar on LinkedIn
• Connect with Alex Birkett on LinkedIn and Twitter
• Connect with Omniscient Digital on LinkedIn or Twitter

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.

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Also, check out our Kitchen Side series where we take you behind the scenes to see how the sausage is made at our agency:

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