Level Up Your Impact: Using SEO to Compound Your Wealth and Life

What if your digital presence could compound in value the same way a great real estate investment does?

For entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners, we often think about compounding in terms of capital. Buy the right asset, improve it, hold it over time, and allow the value to grow. But there’s another asset many business owners overlook: online authority.

In a recent episode of Build It to Billions, I sat down with Kevin Roy, CEO and co-founder of GreenBanana SEO, to talk about how search engine optimization is changing in the age of artificial intelligence—and why SEO may be more important than ever.

SEO Is Becoming a Long-Term Digital Asset

Kevin has spent nearly two decades studying SEO and digital marketing. What started with building websites eventually became an obsession with understanding how businesses get found online.

His company was built around a unique performance-based model: help clients achieve page-one Google rankings or they don’t pay.

But today, the search landscape is changing.

People aren't only searching Google anymore. They’re asking questions through ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI-powered platforms.

That raises an important question:

Does traditional SEO still matter?

According to Kevin, absolutely.

In fact, SEO is becoming the foundation for visibility inside many AI-driven search experiences.

Authority Matters More Than Ever

One of Kevin's biggest observations is that his company has not been cited by AI platforms for topics where it wasn't already ranking strongly in traditional search.

That makes sense.

AI can generate enormous amounts of content, but generating content isn't the same thing as establishing credibility.

Anyone can ask AI to create an impressive-looking article about virtually anything. Kevin used the extreme example of writing about a new brain surgery technique. AI could help someone create diagrams, explanations, and references that look authoritative.

But that doesn't make the person a brain surgeon.

That's why authority, citations, and trusted sources are becoming increasingly important.

For business owners, the lesson is simple: publishing more AI-generated content isn't necessarily going to win the game.

You need to build genuine authority around the subjects your company actually knows.

Think of SEO Like Buying Digital Real Estate

Real estate investors understand location.

Owning a great property in a market where people want to live can produce cash flow and appreciation for years.

SEO works similarly.

Ranking for a valuable search term is like owning a prime piece of digital real estate. Instead of paying for every visitor through advertising, your content can continue attracting potential customers month after month.

And the benefits can compound.

One useful article leads to backlinks and citations. Those signals can strengthen your domain authority. Greater authority can help additional pages rank. Those rankings generate more traffic, leads, and brand recognition.

Now, AI search adds another potential layer.

If your company becomes a trusted authority that search engines recognize, you may increase the chances of your brand being referenced when someone asks an AI platform a question related to your expertise.

Don't Abandon SEO Because of AI

There has been plenty of speculation that AI will kill traditional search.

Kevin's perspective is different.

Instead of replacing SEO, AI is changing where and how businesses need to establish authority.

Business owners should focus on several fundamentals:

• Create genuinely useful content around your core expertise.
• Build authority rather than simply chasing content volume.
• Structure website content so search engines and AI systems can understand it.
• Use proper schema and technical SEO behind the scenes.
• Earn credible citations and references from other trusted websites.
• Continue monitoring how customers are searching as AI adoption grows.

The companies that win won't necessarily be the businesses producing the most content.

They'll be the companies producing the most credible and useful content around the problems they actually solve.

Visibility Can Increase Enterprise Value

There's another reason entrepreneurs should care about this.

A business that consistently generates qualified inbound leads isn't just easier to grow—it can potentially become more valuable.

If you're preparing to eventually sell a company, buyers want to understand how customers are acquired.

Is revenue dependent entirely on the founder?

Does the company have to continually spend more money on advertising?

Or has the business built a recognizable brand and an inbound marketing engine that continues producing opportunities?

That digital infrastructure can become part of the business's competitive moat.

It's another reminder that entrepreneurs shouldn't wait until they're ready to sell before thinking about enterprise value.

Build assets today that someone will want to own tomorrow.

Compound More Than Wealth

Ultimately, this conversation wasn't only about ranking on Google or ChatGPT.

It was about impact.

If you've developed a product, service, or expertise that genuinely helps people, visibility allows that value to reach more people.

The same principle applies to wealth.

Wealth isn't simply about accumulating more. It's about becoming a better steward of the resources, businesses, relationships, and opportunities we've been entrusted with.

Build authority.

Create systems.

Invest for the long term.

And use the growth you create to make a bigger impact.

That's how you begin compounding not only your wealth—but your life.

Thinking about selling a highly appreciated business, commercial property, or investment real estate? Before the sale closes, it's worth understanding your options for managing capital gains taxes and repositioning your wealth for the next chapter. A Deferred Sales Trust may provide an alternative to an immediate taxable sale or restrictive 1031 exchange, depending on your situation.

We recently discussed this topic in more detail on the Build It to Billions podcast. Here’s the full conversation on YouTube for anyone who wants to dive deeper: