SEO for Startups: From Zero Budget to AI-Proof Strategy

What does it take to rank and stay visible online today?

It’s easy to assume that good content and a polished website are enough. But in reality, search engines are evolving faster than most startups can keep up with. SEO isn’t just about keywords or backlinks anymore. It’s about understanding how people search, where they search, and what makes them click.

In 2 webinars co-hosted with Beyondweb GMbH and Swiss Startup Association, Kim von Däniken and Ato Herzig, the founders of Beyondweb GmbH, shared what’s actually working right now. Drawing from their own early mistakes, real-world examples, and the latest trends, they offered founders clear, practical advice for getting found online.

Their message is simple. You don’t need a big budget. You need focus, adaptability, and relevance.

SEO Without a Budget

Webinar: How to Do SEO with ZERO Budget

Kim and Ato’s SEO journey started with a crypto education website they built as students. With no ad spend and only free tools, they tried to grow it through SEO. They created content for months but saw almost no traffic.

Looking back, they know why. Like many, they misunderstood what actually drives visibility. It’s not about targeting the most popular keywords. It’s about solving real problems.

Kim pointed out that tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush can be helpful, but they don’t reveal what your audience is really asking. That information often lives in unexpected places like Reddit threads, YouTube comments, or TikTok videos.

Ato shared their test using AI to write blog posts. The results were clear. Articles written entirely by AI didn’t rank. But when they used AI to create a structure and then edited it with their own expertise, the content performed much better.

SEO in 2025 Means Playing a Different Game

Webinar: Adapting to AI and Social Search

In their second webinar, Kim and Ato took a closer look at how SEO is changing right now. Search behavior is shifting because of AI tools, social platforms, and a rise in what are called zero-click results.

Here’s what that means in practice:

• Google is showing more AI-generated answers that give users the information they need without clicking any links.
• People are increasingly searching on TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit instead of using Google.
• And more than half of all searches now end without the user visiting any website at all.

So what should startups do? Kim’s advice is to show up where people are already searching. That might mean publishing video content, indexing your site for Bing, or answering real questions in user communities.

Where Startup Founders Should Focus

Across both sessions, Kim and Ato came back to the same core principles. These are the essentials for building visibility today:

1. Search intent comes first. Think about what your user is really trying to solve.
2. Get the structure right. Use H1 tags, meta titles, internal links. Nail the basics.
3. Use AI wisely. Let it help you draft or outline content, but always add your own experience and voice.
4. Be visible beyond Google. Publish on TikTok, optimize for Bing, engage on Reddit. Think multi-platform.
5. Build trust through relevance. Backlinks matter, but only when they’re coming from respected, topic-aligned sources.
6. Let your audience know you. Personal branding matters more than ever. As Ato said in the second webinar, people trust people. Especially when they’re making a buying decision.

Final Thought

SEO today isn’t about hacks or tricks. It’s about understanding people. Where they search. What they need. What earns their trust. Kim and Ato have shown that you don’t need money to start ranking. You just need to listen to your users, do the fundamentals well, and evolve with the landscape.

Catch the full webinar How to Do SEO with ZERO Budget and Adapting to AI and Social Search replays in SSA’s Education Library. It’s free for our members!

Not a member yet? Explore our membership benefits and join the community that empowers Swiss startups!