Megan Timmer
🟩 Published by Ryan Goloversic & Megan timmer • March 28, 2026
Most content is built from what already exists.
We build from what doesn’t exist yet.
At Rygo Labs, this is part of how we approach Generative Engine Orientation. We’re not optimizing pages. We’re improving the quality of information feeding the system.
That starts in the analog with people.
Real conversations create Information Gain. The difference between what’s already online and what actually helps someone understand and decide.
Introducing the Onion Framework by Ryan Goloversic, Megan Timmer, and Franco Tremsal.
Before we ever build a website or write a page, we focus on what most content skips.
The Onion framework is how we uncover it.
At the Labs, this sits inside our broader system. The character profile, the Navigator framework, MesoClusters, and our proprietary Trust framework we are developing with a senior attorney and an adjunct professor. But the Onion is where we go deeper. It is our way of doing investigative PR to find the delta, the gap between what is already online and what only exists in real-world experience.
We do that by talking to people. The ones doing the work. We peel back layers until we get past the polished version and into what is happening and what is missing from the training data.
O.N.I.O.N.
Observe what’s happening
Navigate the real problem beneath the surface
Investigate the gaps in public information
Organize the intel into usable structure
Network it across the site and ecosystem
We use this process to map our information architecture and the decision architecture behind every build.
This is the first step in what we call Answer Engine Research. (AER) A term coined by us at the labs to replace crude keyword research that neglects the customer and machine journey.
We’re a marketing firm, but we’re also a lab that develops new frameworks and systems to help compete in a shifting landscape. Change is only going to accelerate, but synaptic thinking rooted in first principles and systems survives the algorithm and compounds over time.
How Does Interviewing Industry Experts Improve AEO, SEO and Build Trust?
When I started working with Rygo Labs, I wasn’t focused on writing more content.
I was focused on understanding more.
Ryan taught me about information architecture and decision architecture. We start every build with a brief that is tied to the website structure.
All headers are built like a query or a prompt, each focused on guiding the reader to the best outcome based on their emotions or circumstances behind the target header. The entire website needs to function as a database for AI, guiding both the customer and the machine through what we call the orientation hub. Ryan calls this a dual track between the Machine Journey and the customer journey, where the goal is to move from what we coined Machine share → Mind share → Market share.
At an ops meeting, we had a conversation about improving our content and getting more analog sweat so we could leave the digital receipts. Franco Tremsal was interested in getting more feedback from our partners, and Ryan was leaning heavily into finding the delta. The gap between what is in the training data and what only exists in our customers’ heads from real experience. That is when I started scheduling regular interviews.
That meant talking to people. Riders, business owners, team members, and the people around our clients who see how things work.
Without new information, search engines and AI systems have no reason to prioritize content because it does not reduce uncertainty.
Interviewing industry experts changes that input.
I saw the opportunity right away. Most competitor content was being built from what was already online, and it felt disconnected from the people doing the work.
So I started reaching out.
I began talking to riders, shop owners, brand reps, and even our clients’ customers. Not to collect quotes, but to understand how things work. What they see every day. What goes wrong. What most people misunderstand.
That decision changed the output and how we build websites and pages.
Instead of starting with existing pages, we start with people who are in it. Riders testing gear in real conditions. Shop owners dealing with real customers. Brand designers and reps who understand why something was built the way it was.
It replaces assumption with direct knowledge. It replaces summaries with first-hand perspective. It introduces details, trade-offs, and edge cases that do not exist in standard content. It feeds the training data the information gain and the delta it’s starving for.
This is now a standard practice for us. We start every new relationship or project with investigative and ongoing interviews or even getting into the field. As Ryan says. “Experience is the most expensive letter in E-E-AT.”
We integrated this system into our Navigator Framework. The art of orienting customers with decision architecture and guiding the machine with information architecture. Ryan like to say “What’s old is new. We’re PR for Ai now.”
This is where authority begins.
Why This Approach Works in AI Search and With Real Readers
When a page contains insight that cannot be easily found elsewhere, it becomes a source. Not a version. Not an interpretation. A source.
That distinction is what search systems are now designed to detect. Information gain is water in the charred desert of an Ai summarized desert on SERP.
Google and its AI looks for signals that indicate whether something helps a user understand a decision more clearly. Content built from real conversations carries that signal because it reflects in the dirt experience, not filtered messaging.
This also changes how readers engage.
Instead of being guided toward a sale, they are given a clearer picture of how something works, who it is right for, and where it might fall short. That clarity builds trust faster than any positioning statement. It reduces the trust tax on the knowledge graph and in the minds of your customers.
It also filters the wrong audience.
When someone can see the trade-offs and real use cases, they make better decisions. The right people move forward with confidence. The wrong people step away early. Both outcomes are good for your business.
Over time, this compounds. Everything we do is about compounding, from how we structure a site, to how we design the message and the ideas we’re injecting into the market, to creating entry points to your site and claiming real estate on the SERP. Even our understanding of you and your unique value proposition.
Each interview adds another layer of perspective. Each layer strengthens the overall structure of the site. Instead of isolated pages, the content becomes a network of real-world insight that supports both search visibility and decision-making.
Information architecture meets decision architecture. This trains the machine and generates the orientation hub, that place in the messy middle where customers use Google and other LLMs to navigate their decisions or learn about identity and culture.
Machine share → Mind share → Market share.
When the information is clearer, decisions get easier. That’s what this approach builds toward.
It is about improving the quality of the input so the output becomes something worth ranking, citing, and trusting. This is why we lean into PR for AI systems. We build trust by helping when it matters most, and we feed the training data new information that we uncover.
Why Do We Interview Riders, Brands, Lawyers, and Industry Experts for Client Content?
We create new information.
When I started working with Rygo Labs, a lot of our content was already grounded in real experience. We were pulling from Ryan’s professional background, his YouTube reviews, and our clients’ videos to build pages that reflected what actually happens on the water. We had them leave notes and developed a system to improve over time.
That gave us a strong foundation.
But I realized there was an opportunity to go further.
We could bring in more voices from inside the industry. Different perspectives. Different roles. People could see the same product or situation from another angle.
That’s what pushed me to start reaching out directly.
I began talking to riders, product designers, brand reps, shop owners, and people inside the industries our clients operate in. Not to validate what we already knew, but to uncover what was missing and to learn more about our clients.
Those conversations became the source.
When I spoke with people inside kite brands, I started to understand how different kites are actually positioned, not just how they are marketed. Who they are built for. Where they fall short. What riders experience over time. That level of detail does not exist in standard product descriptions.
That shift happened in a conversation with our client Vadim from Green Hat.
It wasn’t a formal interview. It was a normal meeting. I asked how he came up with the name for his business. He walked me through the full backstory. Where it came from, what it meant to him, and how it ties into how he runs the business today.
That context doesn’t exist on a service page or in a keyword tool.
It comes from asking the right question and letting someone answer it fully and then following up with deeper questions.
That story becomes part of the brand’s foundation online. It gives meaning to everything else on the site. It helps people understand who is behind the business and how it was built.
That’s what creates content that stands on its own. It also changes how people connect with the business. When someone understands the story behind it, trust builds faster. We’re not just describing a business.
We’re building it from the inside out.
How Does a Public Relations Background Improve AEO and SEO Content?
My degree in Public Relations from Central Michigan University shaped how I approach every interview.
It taught me that the quality of what you get comes down to the quality of what you ask.
Good content does not start with writing. It starts with asking the right questions.
When I’m interviewing someone, I’m not looking for surface-level answers. I’m listening for openings. Moments where someone can go deeper, explain something more clearly, or share an experience they wouldn’t normally put into a product page or a standard response.
That is where the real insight comes from.
You begin to understand not just the product or service, but the environment around it. The decisions, the mistakes, the patterns.
That is what we build from.
Those personal stories and real experiences become the foundation of the content. They give us something to work with that is specific, grounded, and useful. Instead of writing around a topic, we are building from a lived perspective.
The role then shifts from writing to translating.
Taking what someone knows and turning it into something a reader can actually understand and use. Keeping the meaning intact, but structuring it in a way that helps someone make a decision.
That’s how we get details most content never reaches. This is how we inject training data, but with information that carries more truth. We dig out the analog sweat and leave digital receipts.
What Happens When You Talk Directly to People Inside the Industry?
One of the biggest shifts for me was realizing how much clearer things get when you talk to someone who deals with it every day.
That’s been especially true working with Buchanan Firm.
Ryan was leaning into the 10 Laws of GEO, especially “stay in the dirt.” He reached out to Leslie and asked her to start adding real case studies, the messy, real-world details. Then he organized and directed a video shoot to capture more of what happens behind the scenes, where most firms stay generic and safe. Now we can guide more people in need with new, unique information that actually reflects reality.
Part of our Navigator framework entails blending our PR work with helping customers through new, unique, and messy data points. When I work with our writing team of PhDs like Patrick Anderson on topics like personal injury or medical billing, I’m not trying to piece a story together from what’s already online. I bring those drafts to Leslie, a paralegal at the firm, and she adds what really happens in real cases.
She’ll walk through how situations unfold, what clients are dealing with behind the scenes, and where things tend to get complicated. Not the ideal version. The real version.
That changes the content.
Instead of explaining how something is supposed to work, we can show how it plays out in the real world so the reader can be guided with their own problem.
Those details don’t exist in standard content because they come from experience, not documentation.
Each perspective adds something different.
Instead of building content from one angle, we build it from multiple points of view that connect. That is what allows the final piece to feel complete.
Not because it covers everything, but because it reflects how things actually work.
How Interviews Help Us Go Deeper Than Typical Product or Service Content
Most content stops at the surface. It lists specs. It compares features. It tries to help, but it stays inside what is already known and easily searchable.
That’s not where real value comes from.
Real value comes from what isn’t written yet.
Our Content Starts With Conversations, Then Expands Into Strategy
When we talk to people inside the industry, we are identifying gaps, and injecting the delta back into the training data.
A single conversation can expose entire areas of knowledge that haven’t been structured yet.
For example, while working with iKitesurf alongside Tyler Spence from Stoke Riders, a discussion about how riders actually use wind data turned into something much bigger.
It wasn’t just about “how to read wind direction.”
It revealed:
- How forecasts evolve throughout the day
- Why wind feels different at the beach vs offshore
- How beginners misinterpret data
- Which tools are most helpful
From that one conversation, we mapped out:
- A full wind education pillar page
- Multiple supporting articles targeting real search behavior
- A structure designed to guide beginners from confusion to clarity
That doesn’t come from keyword tools.
That comes from talking to the right people.
This Is Where Depth Comes From
Instead of guessing, we build content around:
- Who a product is actually for, and who it is not for
- Real scenarios and edge cases riders experience
- Why decisions matter in real conditions, not ideal ones
- What happens inside shops, lessons, and communities
You start to see patterns that don’t exist in generic content.
Interviews Turn Content Into Infrastructure
Most people think interviews improve a blog.
What they actually do is:
- Reveal missing topics
- Create new content clusters
- Strengthen internal linking strategy
- Expand topical authority in a real way
One good conversation can turn into:
- A pillar page
- Five to ten supporting articles
- A stronger position in both search and AI results
That structure doesn’t come from planning. It comes from understanding how people actually use the information.
We’re Not Just Writing Pages. We’re Building Systems
Most people think interviews improve a blog.
What they actually do is:
- Reveal missing topics
- Create new content clusters
- Strengthen internal linking strategy
- Expand topical authority in a real way
One good conversation can turn into:
- A pillar page
- Five to ten supporting articles
- A stronger position in both search and AI results
That structure doesn’t come from planning. It comes from understanding how people actually use the information.
We use them to map entire websites and seed ideas back into the feedback loop of social media via MesoClusters.
We’re Not Just Writing Pages. We’re Building Systems
This is the difference.
Anyone can write about what already exists. That’s easy. It’s already been said, indexed, and recycled.
We use interviews to find what’s missing, then build around that. Real conversations. Real edge cases. The stuff that never makes it into generic content.
That’s how you move from content that fills space to content that actually owns a topic.
At the Labs, we build marketing systems. It starts with the character profile, moves through the Navigator framework, expands into the mesocluster strategy, and pushes further with concepts like the Onion framework, where we do investigative PR to uncover and inject the delta.
O.N.I.O.N.:
Observe what’s happening
Navigate the real problem beneath the surface
Investigate the gaps in public information
Organize the intel into usable structure
Network it across the site and ecosystem
How This Approach Builds Trust With Readers (and Google)
Trust comes from truth, not polish. There’s no upsell tone. No inflated claims. No “best product” positioning. We show what actually happens. Real stories. Real use. Real limitations.
They’re not trying to decode what’s being sold to them. They can see where something works, where it doesn’t, and decide for themselves.
Search systems pick up on the same signals.
Content that introduces real perspective and grounded detail stands apart from pages built on summaries. It gives the system something to reference, not rewrite.
That’s what shifts a business from being listed to being trusted. This is why we developed the Character Profile
How Interviews Reveal the True Story Behind a Business
What people around a business say about it matters more than what the business says about itself.
I saw that clearly when I spoke with Nicholas Reeser, a team rider at Epic Boardsports.
Through him, I got a different view of the shop. Not from the inside looking out, but from someone who’s part of the community around it.
He talked about how Epic supports riders. If someone’s board is down, they don’t just send them away. They try to fix it on the spot. If it has to be sent out, they’ll offer gear so the rider isn’t stuck off the water.
That tells you how the shop operates.
It’s not just transactions. It’s support, access, and keeping people progressing.
That kind of detail doesn’t show up in standard business copy. It comes from the people who experience it.
That conversation also showed where we could go next.
Nicholas is more than a rider. He’s someone who can break down gear from real use. That made him a strong fit for the video program we’re building with Epic, especially around honest gear reviews.
You understand the role someone plays, what they see, and where that fits into the bigger picture. That perspective changes how the business shows up.
Why We Focus on Real Experiences Instead of Selling
We’re not here to push gear, to inflate clients. or to sound impressive.
We focus on what actually helps. Clear decisions. Less confusion. Real scenarios. That includes trade-offs. Much like Ryan pioneered in the kitesurfing industry with MACkite.
When people understand how something works in practice, they don’t need to be convinced. They can decide for themselves.
Empowerment is what people respond to.
What Happens When We Don’t Have the Answer?
We go find it. We ask someone who knows.
We test, interview, or validate.
If it’s not grounded, it doesn’t make the page. We don’t guess. We source.
Why This Makes RYGO Labs Different
We don’t take every client.
We evaluate the business first. What they do, how they operate, and whether we believe in it.
If it’s not something we can stand behind, we don’t move forward.
We’re not here to extract. We’re here to align with businesses that actually help people and should be found.
From there, we don’t push a single path.
We lay out options. What we’re seeing, what’s possible, and what it would take to get there. The client chooses how they want to move.
That keeps the relationship clean.
On the execution side, we’re not chasing keywords. We’re building presence.
GEO, SEO, and EEAT all come from the same place. Real experience, real input, and clear information that helps someone understand what they’re looking at.
That’s what we build.
Content that reduces confusion, shows trade-offs, and reflects how things actually work.
A business that can be found, understood, and trusted.
What I’ve Learned From Interviewing Business Owners and Riders
Everyone has a story.
Not a polished version. The real one. How they started, what they figured out the hard way, and what they’re still working through.
Business owners carry more than people see.
You hear it when you ask the right questions. The pressure, the decisions, the responsibility to keep things moving. It’s not just a service. It’s something they’ve built and continue to hold together.
Communities matter more than products.
The strongest businesses aren’t just selling something. They’re creating a place people come back to. To learn, improve, and stay connected.
The best brands give more than they take.
You see it in how they treat people, how they show up, and what they do when no one’s watching. That’s what people remember. That’s the broader goal.
Ryan is constantly talking about expansive systems. Systems that elevate everyone involved. He believes zero-sum games trend toward zero, while self-replenishing systems drive long-term growth and compounding.
He often references Milton Hershey, who built an entire town and refused to make cuts during the Great Depression. That mindset matters. Building something that sustains people, not extracts from them.
Ecosystems of meaning are what drive us.
Yes, we are a marketing firm. Yes, we are a lab that develops marketing systems. But the real purpose is to build expansive systems that elevate everyone, with a deep commitment to mastery and mutual growth.
How This Approach Helps Clients Grow Long-Term
Growth comes from clarity.
When someone lands on the site, they can find what they need, understand what they’re looking at, and move forward without second guessing.
That reduces friction.
Over time, the site becomes easier to navigate, easier to trust, and easier to choose.
The right people recognize it quickly.
FAQ About Interview-Based AEO, SEO Content
Why are interviews important for SEO content?
A crucial step in Answer Engine Research (AER) by Rygo Labs. They create information that doesn’t already exist. Instead of repeating what’s online, interviews bring in real experience, which gives the content depth and originality. You inject the delta back into the training data.
Does original information actually impact Ai visibility?
Yes. in 2026 it’s imperative. Content that adds a new perspective stands out. It gives search systems something to reference instead of something to rewrite.
How do interviews improve trust with readers?
People can tell when something is grounded in real experience. Clear examples, trade-offs, and honest context make it easier to understand and decide.
Can interview-based content show up in AI search results?
It can. Content built from real input is more likely to be used because it helps answer questions more clearly than surface-level summaries.
What makes content feel authentic?
Specific detail. Real scenarios. The messy stuff. Clear boundaries around who something is for and who it’s not for. That’s what makes it feel real.
How does this connect to the Laws of GEO?
It aligns with how visibility actually works. Content reduces uncertainty, adds new information, and is built from real experience. That’s what gets picked up over time.
How do interviews support a full content strategy, not just one page?
One conversation can lead to multiple pieces of content. A core topic becomes a pillar, and supporting questions turn into blogs that link back and strengthen the overall structure. We use it to map entire websites.
What is a semantic content structure and why does it matter?
It means topics are connected. Pages link to each other based on real relationships between ideas. This helps both readers and search systems understand the full picture.
How do blogs, service pages, and pillar pages work together?
Blogs answer specific questions. Pillar pages organize the topic at a higher level. Service pages connect that knowledge to what the business offers. Together, they guide someone from learning to decision.
Why don’t you just target keywords directly?
Because keywords without context don’t build anything. We focus on topics, questions, and real use cases. The language follows naturally from there.
What happens if a topic isn’t fully understood yet?
We don’t publish assumptions. We find someone who knows, test it, or validate it before building the page.
How does this approach compound over time?
Each piece connects to the next. More clarity, more coverage, more trust. Over time, the site becomes easier to understand and easier to choose.
Summary
Interview-based content changes the quality of what gets published.
Instead of building from existing pages, it starts with real conversations. Riders, business owners, team members, and industry experts provide context that doesn’t exist anywhere else. That input becomes the foundation of the content.
This approach leads to clearer information, stronger structure, and more useful pages. Readers understand what they’re looking at faster, including who something is for, where it works, and where it doesn’t.
Over time, that clarity compounds. The site becomes easier to navigate, easier to trust, and easier to choose.
RYGO Labs builds content this way on purpose. This is built to last, connect, and help people make decisions with confidence.
Megan Timmer
With a BAA in Public Relations and Design and a minor in Dance, Megan blends a sophisticated understanding of human communication with the psychology of Decision Architecture. As a protégé to the firm's leadership, she serves as the lead behind our Authority Marketing program, moving beyond crude keywords to map the psychological frameworks that drive user action.
Megan is the firm’s intelligence gatherer. She specializes in Field-Investigative Research, going deep into the source to interview product designers, test gear in the elements, and extract the raw human expertise that AI cannot replicate. By translating these insights into strategic briefs for our writing teams, she ensures every piece of content is grounded in real-world authority and designed to convert.
A digital nomad who moves between the Michigan office and seaside cafés in Portugal, Megan balances the "chaos control" of managing global content calendars with the high-energy flow of a kiteboarder and snowboarder.
Ryan Goloversic
Author of the Character Profile and the Laws of GEO, the tactical survival guide for the post-SEO era.
Ryan is an authority builder for the AI-driven search era. After a decade spent pioneering the content systems that turned MACkite into a global retail powerhouse, he synthesized the Character Profile Framework, a technical model designed to bridge the gap between business intent and algorithmic recommendation.
Drawing on the concept of expansionary business, Ryan’s work at Rygo Labs focuses on eliminating the “Trust Tax” of extractive marketing.
As a competitive athlete on the GKA World Tour, he brings the same physics-based discipline to digital ecosystems: if the alignment is off, the system collapses.
He doesn’t build for clicks. He builds for Predictive Continuity, ensuring that when Google and AI agents search for an authority to recommend, your entity is the only logical choice.
He’s also a globally recognized kiteboarder as of 2026 he's now an Eleveight kiteboarding team rider. His marketing career began in video, where he built the largest retail-based SEO and YouTube program in watersports with MACkite. When he’s not leading GEO campaigns or consulting teams, you can find him in the gym or competing on the KPLxGKA world tour.