Most e-commerce brands are chasing AI the wrong way.

They're publishing AI-generated blogs. Stuffing their sites with keywords. Obsessing over prompts. And wondering why nothing changes.

Meanwhile, some brands are quietly growing their organic revenue by 30-40% year over year without relying on hacks or chasing the latest AI trend.

The difference? They understand that AI hasn't replaced SEO. It's changed how people discover businesses.

In this episode, Colin Ma breaks down the exact playbook he's using to grow established e-commerce brands through the combination of traditional SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). He explains why real customer questions are now one of the biggest competitive advantages, how a simple change to your collection pages can unlock entirely new traffic, and why optimizing your Google Merchant Center feed can drive thousands of additional clicks, often in just a couple of months.

But the conversation goes well beyond rankings.

Colin also shares how AI has completely transformed his workflow, allowing him to produce the work of an entire agency without sacrificing quality. From using Claude to analyze thousands of customer emails in minutes to building SEO assets that once took weeks, he reveals where AI actually creates leverage and where trusting it blindly can become an expensive mistake.

If you're running an e-commerce brand, buying online businesses, or trying to figure out what SEO looks like in the AI era, this episode is packed with practical strategies you can apply immediately.

🎧 Hit play and discover why the future of SEO isn't about replacing the fundamentals. It's about using AI to execute them better than everyone else

 

Episode Highlights

05:00 - How Colin Is Driving 30-40% Year-on-Year SEO Growth for Household E-commerce Brands Using AI

08:10 - Why Real Customer Emails Beat SEO Tools Every Time When Optimizing for ChatGPT and AI Search

12:18 - The Collection Page Strategy That Most E-commerce Stores Miss and How It Unlocks More Organic Traffic

18:32 - How Optimizing Google Merchant Center Feeds Turned 200 Monthly Clicks Into Nearly 5,000 in Just Two Months

22:45 - Why Claude Has Made SEO Fun Again and the AI Workflow That Replaced Weeks of Manual Work

26:08 - The Dangerous Mistake Businesses Make by Trusting AI Blindly (And Why Colin Fired a Client Over It)

35:12 - Why Buying Pure Content Sites Is Riskier Than Ever and What Colin Would Look for Instead in the AI Era





Key Takeaways

➥ SEO remains the foundation of AI search. Brands with strong SEO are far better positioned to appear in ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI-powered search platforms.

➥ Real customer questions outperform traditional keyword research. Mining support emails, live chats, and customer inquiries helps create content that matches how people actually search and how AI models understand intent.

➥ Better category pages create more growth opportunities. Expanding collection pages into more specific subcategories gives Google and AI search engines more relevant pages to rank.

➥ Optimizing your Google Merchant Center feed can generate fast wins. Richer product data improves visibility in Google's free listings while often boosting paid campaign performance as well.

➥ AI is a force multiplier, not a replacement for expertise. The biggest gains come from using AI to automate repetitive work so you can spend more time on strategy, analysis, and decision-making.

➥ Human judgment still matters. AI is incredibly powerful, but blindly accepting its recommendations without validating them can lead to costly mistakes.

➥ Sustainable growth comes from combining AI with genuine customer value. Businesses that solve real customer problems while using AI to execute faster will have the strongest competitive advantage in the years ahead.

 

About Colin Ma

Colin Ma is a digital entrepreneur and SEO operator with over 10 years of experience building, buying, and selling online businesses. He's acquired, grown, and exited 15+ content and affiliate brands,  including multiple six-figure deals. Known for his data-driven, systems-first approach to SEO, Colin now manages a portfolio of large digital brands, using AI-powered workflows to drive 30–40% year-on-year growth with leaner, more consistent teams than ever before.

 

Connect with Colin Ma

➥ https://matchagrowth.com/

➥https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinlma/  

 

Resource Links

➥ Connect with Jaryd here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarydkrause

➥ FREE Download the Due Diligence Framework - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/freeresources/

➥ Buying Online Businesses Website - https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com

➥ Online Business Due Diligence Services -https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/duediligence

 

Buy & Sell Online Businesses Here (Top Website Brokers We Use) 🔥

➥ Empire Flippers - https://bit.ly/3RtyMkE

➥ Flippa - https://bit.ly/3wGa8r5

➥ Motion Invest - https://bit.ly/3YmJAmO

➥ Investors Club - https://bit.ly/3ZpgioR

 

*This post may contain affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site/posts at no additional cost to you.

Most e-commerce brands are chasing AI the wrong way.
They're publishing AI-generated blogs. Stuffing their sites with keywords. Obsessing over prompts. And wondering why nothing changes.
Meanwhile, some brands are quietly growing their organic revenue by 30-40% year over year without relying on hacks or chasing the latest AI trend.
The difference? They understand that AI hasn't replaced SEO. It's changed how people discover businesses.
In this episode, Colin Ma breaks down the exact playbook he's using to grow established e-commerce brands through the combination of traditional SEO and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). He explains why real customer questions are now one of the biggest competitive advantages, how a simple change to your collection pages can unlock entirely new traffic, and why optimizing your Google Merchant Center feed can drive thousands of additional clicks, often in just a couple of months.
But the conversation goes well beyond rankings.
Colin also shares how AI has completely transformed his workflow, allowing him to produce the work of an entire agency without sacrificing quality. From using Claude to analyze thousands of customer emails in minutes to building SEO assets that once took weeks, he reveals where AI actually creates leverage and where trusting it blindly can become an expensive mistake.
If you're running an e-commerce brand, buying online businesses, or trying to figure out what SEO looks like in the AI era, this episode is packed with practical strategies you can apply immediately.
🎧 Hit play and discover why the future of SEO isn't about replacing the fundamentals. It's about using AI to execute them better than everyone else
&nbsp;
Episode Highlights
05:00 - How Colin Is Driving 30-40% Year-on-Year SEO Growth for Household E-commerce Brands Using AI
08:10 - Why Real Customer Emails Beat SEO Tools Every Time When Optimizing for ChatGPT and AI Search
12:18 - The Collection Page Strategy That Most E-commerce Stores Miss and How It Unlocks More Organic Traffic
18:32 - How Optimizing Google Merchant Center Feeds Turned 200 Monthly Clicks Into Nearly 5,000 in Just Two Months
22:45 - Why Claude Has Made SEO Fun Again and the AI Workflow That Replaced Weeks of Manual Work
26:08 - The Dangerous Mistake Businesses Make by Trusting AI Blindly (And Why Colin Fired a Client Over It)
35:12 - Why Buying Pure Content Sites Is Riskier Than Ever and What Colin Would Look for Instead in the AI Era
 
Key Takeaways
➥ SEO remains the foundation of AI search. Brands with strong SEO are far better positioned to appear in ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI-powered search platforms.
➥ Real customer questions outperform traditional keyword research. Mining support emails, live chats, and customer inquiries helps create content that matches how people actually search and how AI models understand intent.
➥ Better category pages create more growth opportunities. Expanding collection pages into more specific subcategories gives Google and AI search engines more relevant pages to rank.
➥ Optimizing your Google Merchant Center feed can generate fast wins. Richer product data improves visibility in Google's free listings while often boosting paid campaign performance as well.
➥ AI is a force multiplier, not a replacement for expertise. The biggest gains come from using AI to automate repetitive work so you can spend more time on strategy, analysis, and decision-making.
➥ Human judgment still matters. AI is incredibly powerful, but blindly accepting its recommendations without validating them can lead to costly mistakes.
➥ Sustainable growth comes from combining AI with genuine customer value. Businesses that solve real customer problems while using AI to execute faster will have the strongest competitive advantage in the years ahead.
&nbsp;
About Colin Ma
Colin Ma is a digital entrepreneur and SEO operator with over 10 years of experience building, buying, and selling online businesses. He's acquired, grown, and exited 15+ content and affiliate brands,&nbsp; including multiple six-figure deals. Known for his data-driven, systems-first approach to SEO, Colin now manages a portfolio of large digital brands, using AI-powered workflows to drive 30&ndash;40% year-on-year growth with leaner, more consistent teams than ever before.
&nbsp;
Connect with Colin Ma
➥ <a href="https://matchagrowth.com/">https://matchagrowth.com/</a>
➥<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinlma/">https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinlma/</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Resource Links
➥ Connect with Jaryd here -<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarydkrause"> https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarydkrause</a>
➥ FREE Download the Due Diligence Framework - <a href="https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/freeresources/">https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/freeresources/ </a>➥ Buying Online Businesses Website -<a href="https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/"> https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com</a>
➥ Online Business Due Diligence Services -<a href="https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/ads-services/"> </a>https://buyingonlinebusinesses.com/duediligence
&nbsp;
Buy &amp; Sell Online Businesses Here (Top Website Brokers We Use) 🔥
➥ Empire Flippers -<a href="https://bit.ly/3RtyMkE"> https://bit.ly/3RtyMkE</a>
➥ Flippa -<a href="https://bit.ly/3wGa8r5"> https://bit.ly/3wGa8r5</a>
➥ Motion Invest -<a href="https://bit.ly/3YmJAmO"> https://bit.ly/3YmJAmO </a>➥ Investors Club -<a href="https://bit.ly/3ZpgioR"> https://bit.ly/3ZpgioR</a>
&nbsp;
*This post may contain affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site/posts at no additional cost to you.

Jaryd Krause quit his plumbing job in 2015 by acquiring online businesses and never looked back. Now one of the world's leading Online Business M&A advisors, he's helped thousands of people acquire profitable businesses, made his clients millions, and scaled companies from 6 to 8 figures.

The Buying Online Businesses Podcast cuts through the noise on acquisitions, M&A strategy, and building real wealth through buying already profitable online businesses. Whether you're looking to replace your income or build a portfolio that funds the life you actually want, this is your show!

Jaryd Krause quit his plumbing job in 2015 by acquiring online businesses and never looked back. Now one of the world's leading Online Business M&amp;A advisors, he's helped thousands of people acquire profitable businesses, made his clients millions, and scaled companies from 6 to 8 figures.
The Buying Online Businesses Podcast cuts through the noise on acquisitions, M&amp;A strategy, and building real wealth through buying already profitable online businesses. Whether you're looking to replace your income or build a portfolio that funds the life you actually want, this is your show!

Buying Online Businesses Podcast

Hosted by Jaryd Krause who went from plumber to creating an online business empire through buying websites for passive income. 

This podcast will unfold his secrets as you explore the highs, lows and light bulb moments of his personal journey in each episode. He will show you that no matter where you are in life an alternate lifestyle is more than possible. You will gain the knowledge you need to start buying online businesses yourself and live a fulfilling lifestyle.