Your product page reads fine. Your blog publishes every week. Traffic still flatlines, conversions still hurt, and customers still bounce before they buy.
I've seen this pattern across DTC brands, Shopify stores, and CPG launches: the content isn't broken — it's empty. It checks the SEO boxes but never earns trust.
The AI content trap
Generative AI made it easy to publish at scale. It also made every brand sound the same.
When I audit e-commerce sites, the tells are obvious:
- Product descriptions that list features but never answer "Why should I buy this from you?"
- Blog posts targeting keywords with no original reporting, testing, or perspective
- FAQ pages written for crawlers, not humans — and definitely not for AI Overviews (AEO)
Google's gotten better at rewarding helpful, experience-backed content. Your customers always were.
What human copy actually does
I'm a journalist who moved into e-commerce content strategy. That matters because the job isn't "write 1,500 words." The job is:
- Research — Ahrefs keyword gaps, competitor angles, search intent
- Report — real details, specific claims, voice that matches the brand
- Structure — SEO headers, internal links, AEO-ready answer blocks
- Convert — benefits, objections handled, CTAs that feel natural
AI can assist steps 3 and 4. It can't replace 1 and 2 without your brand sounding like everyone else.
Three fixes you can make this week
1. Rewrite your top 5 product pages for outcomes, not specs
Pick your five best sellers. For each one, lead with the outcome your customer wants — not the ingredient list. If you wouldn't say it out loud to a friend, cut it.
2. Audit your blog for "template voice"
Read three posts aloud. If they could belong to any brand in your category, they're not building equity. One reported, specific post beats ten generic ones.
3. Add an AEO FAQ hub for your category
Answer the questions people ask before they buy — clearly, in plain language, in standalone paragraphs AI systems can quote. This is the content format that's working in 2026.
The bottom line
Cheap content is expensive when it doesn't convert. Human copy — researched, structured, and written for both search and humans — is how DTC brands stop blending in.
If your product pages, blog, or ad copy isn't pulling weight, book a free content audit. I'll tell you honestly what's fixable and what it takes.
Also on Substack · Published work on Yahoo, Blavity, and Travel Noire