A Branding Lesson - Why “SEO Grok” Became “SEO Dunn”
What “grok” meant to me, what it meant to everyone else, and why clarity won
If you have been here from the early days, you might have noticed a subtle change in your inbox.
What used to be “SEO Grok” is now “SEO Dunn.”
This was not the result of a massive rebrand project with agencies, storyboards, and a six‑figure budget. It was much simpler and a little humbling.
It was me, an SEO with nearly three decades of experience, proving that even seasoned marketers can still sprint ahead with an idea without fully thinking through how it lands with real people.
The problem with “Grok” (and my blind spot)
I have owned SEOGrok.com for around 15 years. I have always loved the word “grok” from Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. To “grok” something is to understand it so thoroughly that you almost merge with it.
To me, that perfectly describes how good SEO works:
You deeply understand the business
You deeply understand the search landscape
Then you connect the dots so clearly that the strategy feels obvious in hindsight
So when I started this Substack a couple of months ago, “SEO Grok” felt like finally putting that long‑held domain and idea to work.
Yes, I was fully aware that Elon Musk’s “Grok” AI already existed.
I just dismissed it.
I thought:
“It is a pretty bad AI tool.”
“Most of my audience will not be using it.”
“The overlap will be minimal.”
In other words, I assumed the dictionary definition of “grok” would dominate and that “his” Grok would be a small, forgettable blip.
That was the mistake.
Because what started trickling in was feedback like:
“Is this related to that Grok AI thing?”
“I had no idea that was what grok really meant!”
So instead of “SEO Grok” evoking deep understanding and hard‑won expertise, for many people it evoked:
Confusion
AI tool fatigue
Or simply “not for me”
That is a branding problem.
Why “SEO Dunn” works better
Once I accepted that “Grok” came with baggage I did not want, the solution was straightforward.
Go back to basics.
What am I actually trying to do here?
Teach SEO in a way a smart non‑technical reader can understand
Share what I have learned watching Google evolve
Help people avoid painful, expensive SEO mistakes
Keep everything grounded in real‑world business outcomes
“SEO Dunn” might not have the sci‑fi cleverness of “SEO Grok,” but it does three important things better.
It is instantly clear.
If you see “SEO Dunn” in your inbox, you do not need a glossary or a Heinlein reference.
SEO is in the name.
My name is in the name.
That clarity matters more than cleverness.
It supports a simple promise.
A line like “Discover how SEO is Dunn right” is playful, but it also gets to the heart of what I want this publication to be: an example of what careful, principled, long‑game SEO looks like.
It raises the bar for me.
When your name is the brand, every piece of content is a direct reflection on you. That is a healthy kind of pressure to be accurate, practical, and honest.
The marketing lesson hiding in this rebrand
There is a bigger lesson here that goes beyond my specific naming saga.
It is this:
You can know the market very well and still underestimate associations in people’s minds.
In my head, the logic went like this:
“Grok” is a classic tech/sci‑fi term I love
Elon’s Grok is a weak AI product my audience will not care about
Therefore, conflict risk is minimal
In reality:
Many people now associate “Grok” primarily with Elon’s AI because they had no idea it was a real word
Some have AI fatigue and are actively avoiding anything that smells like another tool
A portion of readers hesitated or ignored the newsletter because the name created instant uncertainty
A few takeaways you can apply to your own brand or product:
You do not control the dominant association with a word.
It does not matter if you have a richer, older, or more elegant meaning in mind. The market’s first association wins.“But my audience is savvy” is not a strategy.
I told myself that my readers are marketers, business owners, and tech‑comfortable people who would “get it.” Some did. Enough did not, and I shouldn’t have expected people to have to.
Shared names with big brands are rarely a fair fight.
If a major platform or personality is using a term loudly and frequently, you will always be in their shadow, whether you like it or not.
Sentiment matters as much as semantics.
Even if people intellectually understand that your “grok” is different from “that Grok AI,” the emotional reaction may still be “ugh, more AI stuff” before they even read your byline.
What is not changing
While the name on the masthead has changed, the mission of this Substack has not budged.
Here is what you can continue to expect from SEO Dunn:
Plain‑language explanations of SEO.
Whether we are talking about crawling, Core Web Vitals, internal linking, TTFB, or structured data, the priority is always: explain it so a smart business owner can follow along without needing a technical handbook.
Practical, step‑by‑step guidance.
Checklists, frameworks, examples, and “do this first, then this” breakdowns. Not hand‑wavy “just create great content” advice.
Real‑world stories and scars.
After many years of watching algorithm updates, penalties, recoveries, and quiet wins, there is no shortage of real examples. I will keep sharing those so you can borrow what works and sidestep what hurts.
A focus on business outcomes, not just rankings.
Rankings and traffic are means, not ends. We will keep talking about leads, sales, defensible visibility, and long‑term resilience instead of chasing vanity metrics.
Moving forward
So yes:
I launched this Substack as SEO Grok after Elon’s Grok already existed.
I underestimated how strong that association would be.
And I overestimated how much my preferred meaning of “grok” would carry the day.
That is on me.
But if there is any upside to having a slightly embarrassing branding story, it is that it makes for a useful lesson I can share with you:
Even experienced marketers still make calls based on what they love, not what their audience will immediately understand.
If you have been here since the SEO Grok days, thank you for sticking around through the name change. If you are new and only know this as SEO Dunn, welcome. You are exactly who I am writing for:
Curious, practical people who want SEO explained clearly
Readers who prefer tested strategy over shiny hacks
Business owners and marketers who care more about results than buzzwords
The name has changed.
The goal is the same.
To show you how SEO is Dunn right.