SEO in the LLM era: why entity first search is eating keywords

For years, most SEO playbooks treated keywords as the main unit of work. You picked a phrase, matched it in a title and a heading, and hoped that enough links would push you into the top ten. That world is fading. Large language models and modern search systems care a lot more about which entities a site represents and how trustworthy those entities are.

In practice, that means Google and other engines are asking a different set of questions. Who is behind this site. What topics do they cover deeply. Do other real properties on the web agree that this person or brand is connected to these concepts.

From keyword lists to entity maps

When we build or rebuild a property at Margin Media, we still look at keyword data. The difference is that we organize those queries under entities and themes, not as disconnected targets. A creator teaching music theory is an entity. The Macarena as a song is an entity. The set of tutorials, translations, chords, and guides around that song are all expressions of the same underlying concept.

Once you see the world this way, the shape of the site changes. You do not need twenty thin pages that repeat the same idea with minor keyword variations. You need a smaller set of strong hubs that clearly establish who and what the property is about, supported by spokes that answer real questions with real depth.

Why this matters for creator and business assets

Creator and business sites have an advantage in an entity first world. You already show up as a person or a brand across platforms. Your name, your channel, your social profiles, and your content history are all signals that you are real. The missing piece is usually an owned property that ties those signals together in a structured way.

That is why many of our builds start with an entity map. We outline the people, topics, products, and problems that define the asset. From there we design a site architecture, content system, and internal linking model that makes it easy for search engines to understand who you are and where your expertise sits.