01What Is Agentic SEO and How It Works
Agentic SEO is the practice of using AI agents to automate SEO tasks around the clock without constant human input. Instead of manually doing keyword research, writing content, and checking rankings, you assign these jobs to software that works while you sleep.
In this episode, Julian Goldie explains how two tools, OpenClaw and Hermes, are leading this shift. OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent that runs on your machine or server. It has a skill specifically for SEO called programmatic-SEO that you can install from Clawhub.
Hermes, built by Nous Research, is another open-source agent written in Python. It sits between a command-line tool and a messaging platform agent.
These agents can analyze search results, pull headings from competitor pages, and give you a brief without you opening a single tab. The key is that they run automatically, so you can focus on reviewing their work rather than doing the ground-level research yourself.
This model is replacing the old way of SEO—sitting down, doing keyword research, writing a blog post, and hoping Google likes it. Agentic SEO makes that process faster, continuous, and scalable.
02Key Features of OpenClaw and Hermes
OpenClaw and Hermes bring different strengths to agentic SEO. Here are the main features Julian highlights:
- OpenClaw has an SEO skill that can be installed in seconds from Clawhub. It scrapes competitor websites, extracts heading structures, and cross-references them with Google's People Also Ask data.
- OpenClaw can run on a schedule, waking up every four hours to check competitors, draft content, and publish straight to WordPress.
- Hermes has a built-in learning loop. Every task it completes, it learns from and saves as a skill. This makes it faster and more efficient the more you use it.
- Hermes builds a deepening model of who you are across sessions, remembering your keywords and strategy so you don't have to re-explain them.
- Hermes has search and summarized memory, which is better for a personal operator who needs deep recall across a long history of varied work.
Both agents are open source and can be customized. OpenClaw is better for multi-agent coordination across a team, while Hermes excels for solo operators who need personal memory.
03How to Set Up OpenClaw and Hermes for SEO
Setting up agentic SEO is more accessible than most people think. Julian explains the setup process for each tool.
- Install OpenClaw on your machine or server. It is open source and free.
- Go to Clawhub and install the SEO skill called programmatic-SEO. This takes seconds.
- Configure a scheduled task so OpenClaw wakes up every four hours to perform SEO tasks.
- Connect OpenClaw to your WordPress site so it can draft and publish content automatically.
- For Hermes, install it from GitHub. It is built in Python.
- Once installed, you simply type "Hermes" and start talking to it. No gateway to configure, no background processes to manage.
The local setup for OpenClaw takes about 15 to 30 minutes with moderate technical skill. Hermes is even simpler. Once installed, you can send messages via WhatsApp or Telegram to OpenClaw, or interact directly with Hermes.
04Using Agentic SEO for Content Gap Analysis and More
Once your agents are running, you can use them for a variety of SEO tasks. Julian walks through several examples.
For content gap analysis, you can ask OpenClaw: "Analyze the top 10 Google results for my target keyword, pull all the headings in, find the content gaps and give me a brief." The agent does the crawl for you and hands you the gap. You don't have to open 10 competitor tabs and read thousands of words.
For a local service business targeting 50 keywords, you give OpenClaw your keyword list. It clusters them by intent, drafts the pages, and monitors rankings. Local SEO management drops from 50 hours a week to about two hours of review.
For link building, Hermes tracks your outreach history, flags which prospects responded, and notes which angles got replies. This makes your outreach smarter over time.
You can also set OpenClaw to monitor competitor change logs and feature pages. When a major tool launches an update, the agent flags it the same day it goes live. This used to mean manually checking a dozen sites every week.
05Real Results and Comparisons Shown in the Episode
Julian shares specific numbers and examples to show how agentic SEO performs in real use.
- One user documented a setup where OpenClaw woke up every four hours, scraped competitor sites for trending keywords, drafted content, and pushed articles to WordPress. This reclaimed over 50 hours a week and increased organic leads by 35%.
- An agency replaced three to four hours of weekly manual SEO monitoring with a 10-minute WhatsApp briefing every Monday morning.
- OpenClaw and Hermes are compared: OpenClaw is better for multi-agent coordination across a team, while Hermes wins on the personal operator side with better memory and learning.
- The best OpenClaw skills for marketers can replace over $450 per month in SaaS subscriptions with open-source extensions.
These results show that agentic SEO isn't just about saving time—it's about doing SEO better and faster than manual methods.
06Tips, Limits, and Mistakes to Avoid
Agentic SEO is powerful, but it has a learning curve and requires oversight. Julian offers several tips and warnings.
- You still need to review the agent's work. The goal is to reduce time to about two hours of review, not zero.
- Setup requires moderate technical skill for OpenClaw. Don't be discouraged, but be prepared to spend 15-30 minutes on installation.
- Don't expect agents to replace all your SEO knowledge. They automate tasks, but you need to guide strategy and check output.
- Avoid the old mistake of treating SEO as a one-off campaign. Agentic SEO compounds—agents learn, rankings build, and leads come in.
- Don't ignore GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). If your content isn't structured for AI tools to read and cite, you're getting bypassed.
The biggest mistake is waiting. Julian warns that the gap between businesses using agentic SEO and those doing it the old way grows every week.
07Why Agentic SEO Matters for Generative Engine Optimization
Julian also discusses the GEO angle, which is critical for staying visible in AI-driven search. GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization—getting your brand cited by AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI overviews.
He reports that 73% of AI search interactions now end without a click, making brand visibility in the answer itself the new top priority. If you're not the source the AI system cites, you're invisible.
OpenClaw's SEO skills can be trained for GEO, or you can install optimization skills from Clawhub. This way, you're not just optimizing for Google—you're optimizing to be the source AI systems pull from.
He also notes that 22% of e-commerce sites have already reported a measurable drop in search traffic because AI suggestions are replacing traditional clicks. Structuring your content so AI agents can read it, understand it, and cite it is now essential.
08Who Should Use Agentic SEO and Why It Matters
Agentic SEO is for anyone who wants to get found online without hiring a huge team or spending endless hours on manual tasks. Julian names three groups who benefit most: agencies, local service operators, and e-commerce brands.
For an agency owner managing 20 clients, using an agent to run competitor audits every Monday cuts hours of work and delivers a briefing before coffee. For a solo operator, Hermes remembers your strategy and improves over time. For e-commerce, agentic SEO helps you adapt to the new AI-driven search landscape before you lose traffic.
The shift is happening now. Julian emphasizes that agentic SEO isn't coming—it's already here. Businesses that set it up first will pull ahead fast, while those still doing manual keyword research in spreadsheets will wonder why their traffic flatlined.
Setting up these tools is accessible, and the rewards compound. You save time, cut costs on SEO software, and build a system that works 24/7.
