AI, SEO & Social Marketing in the Real World: 7 Lessons Learned

The marketing landscape has never moved faster—or felt less predictable. Artificial intelligence is rewriting search, social platforms are reshuffling the deck every six months, and even the most reliable tools for visibility are getting blurred by “answer engines” that pull from everywhere at once.

But for remodelers and home improvement pros, the fundamentals haven’t changed. Trust still drives conversions. Real people still buy from real people. And the companies that adapt fastest are the ones that stay curious, test ideas, and measure what matters instead of chasing every new trend.

At the 2025 Pro Remodeler Leadership Summit, three pros compared notes on what’s working now. Rita Mikhailova of Next Stage Design + Build in San Jose, Amanda Venditti of Premier Home Pros in Akron, and Alice Conlin of Hull Millwork in Fort Worth each brought a different vantage point—design-build, high-volume home improvement, and heritage craft—but their lessons echoed across categories.

They agreed on seven themes: diversify your online proof, understand your audience’s mindset, tell your own story, treat SEO as the backbone that feeds AI, let video do the heavy lifting, use automation without losing the human touch, and build your base one authentic interaction at a time.

Here’s how they’ve learned those lessons—sometimes the hard way—and what they’re doing about it now.

1) Don’t park all your reviews in one place

“GuildQuality was our process. We were so proud of those 400 reviews,” Rita says. “But when you type in ‘best remodeler in San Jose,’ a bot doesn’t know what GuildQuality is. It just goes to Yelp, Google, Houzz—places we didn’t even care about before.”

Next Stage pivoted: reviews could land anywhere, and anyone on staff could earn a $50 bonus for getting one. “In one year, our Google reviews doubled just because we asked.” 

Lesson learned: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Someone’s going to shake that basket. Spread the reviews across the board.”

2) Know your audience, even when it hurts your ‘aesthetically pleasing heart’

At Leaf Home, Amanda’s team made beautiful, polished ads. “They were gorgeous,” she says, “but they didn’t convert. The raw, authentic, not-polished ads were the ones people clicked on. And it hurt my aesthetically-pleasing heart—but we had to go with what worked.”

She recalls another flop: an influencer program. “We partnered with this amazing designer on Instagram—her feed was gorgeous. But we were trying to sell gutter guards. Totally wrong audience. We should have stuck with the male-dominated base that actually buys.

Lesson learned: conversions beat creative pride. “Brand awareness is nice,” Amanda says. “But brand awareness without conversions means nothing.”

3) Bring the storytelling in-house

Hull Millwork once had a History Channel show. “It looked good on TV,” Alice says, “but it wasn’t us. The things they asked us to do weren’t in our repertoire, and it didn’t really lead anywhere.”

They also hired outside marketers. “It always fell flat,” she remembers. “It never fully explained who we are.”

The turning point came when Hull’s owner, Brent, just started filming YouTube videos himself. “He talked about what he wanted to talk about—rafter tails, historic siding, the stuff he loved. And it resonated.” The result: a growing audience and clients who already feel educated before they call.

Lesson learned: “We stopped letting other people script us,” Alice says. “The work—and why we do it—became the script.”

4) SEO isn’t dead; it’s the diet that feeds AI

“I hear people ask, is SEO dead now that AI is here?” Rita says. “No—SEO is what feeds AI. That’s what the bots are pulling from. Domain authority, brand mentions, query-based content. It all matters.”

Amanda agrees. “For a year we neglected SEO, and I’m embarrassed to admit that. But now it’s our top priority. Technical SEO—site speed, meta descriptions, title tags—but also authority. Google is looking at EEAT: experience, expertise, authority, trust. ChatGPT and Perplexity are looking at brand mentions. So, we’re pushing PR too—getting quoted, getting published.”

Lesson learned: “Think of SEO as the diet that keeps AI alive," Amanda says, "If you’re not feeding it, you won’t show up.”

5) Treat video as your proof engine—and edit for each platform

“People love process,” Amanda says. “We do fast, affordable bathrooms, so we show installers working, time-lapses, design consultations, every step. That’s what converts.”
Rita shoots everything she can on project days. “I’ll take a close-up of a countertop edge, and my designers look at me like I’m crazy,” she says. “But that one clip can become 10 different pieces of content. It’s a blank slate for text overlays, for education, for mistakes to avoid. Overshoot and you’ll always have options.”

At Hull, Alice and Brent go deep. “We’ll do an 8-minute video on a project detail. Then we cut it into 15 to 20 shorts. Long form teaches, short form distributes. And you have to tailor it: TikTok is quick with text overlays, Instagram is more polished, YouTube is the full class.”

Lesson learned: Don't just shoot and forget. Shoot, tailor, and distribute.

6) Use AI to kill drudgery; keep the soul human

“AI can create the draft, but humans add the soul,” Rita says. “That’s the part that shows your brand, your personality, your why.”

Amanda uses it to free up time—and then trains her team to use that time better. “We tell people, master the Three I’s: Idea, Influence, Implement. If you can do that, you can get promoted. AI lets us run leaner, but humans have to influence and lead. That’s where the real value is.” 

Alice adds, “We’ll use AI to generate graphics for a video, or to clean up edits. But we’d never let it take over the face of our brand. People still want to work with a person.”

Lesson learned: Robots lack humanity

7) Start where you are—and police your partners

For newer companies, Amanda says, outside partners can help jump-start leads. “Find partners who share risk. Don’t just buy a landing page. Make sure they’re willing to put skin in the game, and then police what they put out about your brand.”
Alice underscores the basics: “Word of mouth is still huge for us. Referrals, reviews, repeat work. That snowballs.”

And Rita adds: “Reviews are the referrals that live online. If you’re starting out, build that foundation early. Don’t wait until year five to start asking.”

Lesson learned: You don’t own the algorithm. You do own your proof (reviews), your process (video), and your point of view (a human voice). Put those everywhere, and you’ll be visible—no matter what AI or SEO update comes next.