In this week’s episode of the Niche Pursuits Podcast, Keval Shah and I discuss the growth of his SEO agency, how he built an inbound lead machine using Platform X (formerly Twitter), and how AI is driving the future of SEO. Keval is the founder of Inbound Pursuit, a boutique SEO agency that now earns $200,000 to $250,000 per month, all built without advertising or cold calling.
We explore how he uses content to grow his audience and attract high-quality e-commerce clients, what will change in SEO in 2025, and how AI is changing both SEO strategy and agency internal operations. Let’s break down the main topics of our conversation.
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From Personal Blog to Developing Agency
Keval’s story begins more than a decade ago, when he taught himself SEO as a teenager trying to drive traffic to his blog. After trying the traditional agency route and not enjoying it, he went solo and eventually launched Inbound Pursuit.
- Started learning SEO in high school, earning money with Google AdSense
- They were working in a traditional agency, they didn’t like their outdated strategies
- Launched Inbound Pursuit in 2019 and focused on growth
- Built customer base organically through content on X (formerly Twitter)
The turning point came when one of his early X followers booked a call and signed a contract for $2,000 a month. That single sale validated his content strategy and changed the way he approached marketing forever.
Building a $200K Per Month Business Without Ads
Keval agency consistently generates between $200K and $250K in monthly recurring revenue (MRR). What makes it particularly impressive is that it never runs ads or relies on cold promotion.
- No paid advertising or cold email
- 100% incoming leads from X, LinkedIn, referrals
- A team built for boutique service, not mass scale
- Focused on SEO for e-commerce brands only
He credits this growth to creating content that builds trust. Rather than trying to keep “secrets” for sales calls, he posts insightful insights and SEO strategies that show potential clients how he thinks.
Downsizing for growth: Why Keval only works with e-commerce brands
At first, Keval worked with any client he could land. But when the pandemic hit and local businesses stopped marketing, he naturally gravitated to e-commerce brands. This change was a major decision.
- E-commerce brands were still growing during the COVID era
- X made it a good fit, attracting e-commerce builders and marketers
- Niche positioning created more trust and authority with leads
- As it became known for e-commerce SEO, referral growth exploded
Despite his initial hesitation about narrowing down his target market, Keval now considers niching one of the smartest moves he ever made.
Embracing X (formerly Twitter) as a Lead Generation Engine
Keval built his business by consistently sharing his SEO insights and personal experiences on X. Although he initially started posting to express himself, he quickly realized that valuable, educational content could also attract leads.
- It reached over 55,000 followers
- Posts daily long-form content focused on SEO and case studies
- Paid early to have content promoted for rapid growth
- Today’s X algorithm favors long-form, highly engaging posts
- Engagement (likes + comments), not retweets, drives reach
He advises others starting at X to find small ways to increase initial visibility, whether by joining engagement groups or paying for shoutouts.
Why Content Strategy Has Changed in 2025
SEO has evolved rapidly, especially with the rise of AI and Google’s generative AI search features. Keval agency no longer produces top-notch blog content that doesn’t drive traffic or revenue.
- It no longer focuses on high-volume data requests
- Artificial intelligence steals a lot of clicks
Focus instead
- Brand and brand inquiries
- Alternative searches (eg “alternative X”)
- Comparison of products
- Optimized collection pages
These lower funnel keywords often have less AI intervention and result in actual conversions. In one example, a client earned $20,000 per month from blog content focused solely on product comparisons.
Links Still Matter: The Old Guard of SEO Remains Relevant
Even as content strategies change, Keval says link building remains more important than ever. With AI making content easier to produce, links have become one of the few true differentiators in SEO.
- 70% of his agency’s SEO efforts go into link building
- Links help both traditional search rankings and AI model citations
- Appearing on authoritative sites helps with Google and LLM (big language models)
It also encourages clients to provide a brand presence on Reddit, Quora and social profiles to improve citations in AI-generated search answers.
AI and LLM SEO Navigation: What is Real and What is Hype
AI SEO is one of the hottest buzzwords in marketing right now, and clients are demanding it. Keval clearly understands what this really means and what it doesn’t.
- AI SEO (AISCO) clients specifically request these services
- The real AISCO is mostly a mix of traditional SEO, brand visibility on authoritative platforms, and PR and brand mentions where LLMs are crawled (like Reddit and Quora).
- Being cited by ChatGPT is often strongly associated with high Google rankings
- Keval’s clients are already seeing results, including $24,000 in sales from ChatGPT referrals within 12 months.
Despite the hype of new SaaS tools promising “LLM dominance,” Keval cautions that many of these are just glorified keyword research tools with flashy branding.
Leveraging internal artificial intelligence: Making the agency more efficient
While most of the talk is focused on customer-facing SEO, Keval is also using AI tools to improve operational efficiency behind the scenes.
- Automated tracking and joining of tasks using Google Sheets scripts
- Faster site audits using AI-powered spreadsheet scripts
- Explore tools like N8N and Google’s Opal for future automation
- The goal is to improve margins and free up time for strategy and creative work
The back-end changes may not be flashy, but they have a meaningful impact on day-to-day operations.
Final Thoughts
Keval concluded the interview with useful tips for anyone working in digital marketing today. When AI and SEO began to change dramatically, his first instinct was to ignore it, but that only created anxiety. What made all the difference was accepting uncertainty and deciding to be excited about the future.
- Resistance to change leads to anxiety and stagnation
- The excitement of change leads to creativity and motivation
- SEO experts have historically been great at adapting
- AI may be disruptive, but it is also full of opportunity
Whether it’s rebuilding its site to focus on AI SEO or testing new content formats, Keval embraces change rather than resisting it.
Keval Shah’s second interview on the Niche Pursuits Podcast is full of strategies, mindset shifts and honest advice. Whether you’re trying to get more customers, get found in generative AI results, or figure out where SEO is headed, this episode offers a masterclass from someone in the trenches every day.
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