"SEO's New King of the Grind": Pollo AI Founder Abiao on How to Do SEO, Influencer Marketing, and Paid Ads

In the venture capital world of AI, there are a few exceptionally low-profile founders whose products have reached annual revenues of millions of dollars or more, yet they almost never share publicly. Abiao, this week's guest on Crossroads, is one of them.

Abiao is the founder of AI productivity tool Hix AI and AI video tool Pollo AI. Both products rank in the first tier of Chinese companies going global — whether measured by user base, revenue, or product experience.

In a recent article, Abiao was called "the new king of Google SEO." He and his team wield sophisticated SEO techniques and execute with decisive precision. Pollo AI went from zero to 4 million monthly visits in just a few months.

It's a rare opportunity: in this episode, Abiao shares publicly for the first time his three-pronged marketing approach (SEO, influencer marketing, paid advertising), along with the story of his entrepreneurial choices and the trade-offs of building for global markets.

🎪 Comment section giveaway: Leave a comment on this episode's Xiaoyuzhou page. We'll randomly select 5 winners for Hix AI Pro memberships and 5 winners for Pollo AI Pro memberships, with winners notified in one week.

🚥 Part 1: Abiao and Pollo AI

01:50 Rapid-fire Q&A: get to know Abiao in one minute

02:26 Hear how the founder pitches his own product, Pollo AI

05:09 Why build Pollo AI?

09:02 How to choose your first market for going global?

44:48 Does Pollo AI have a moat?

🚥 Part 2: On Marketing

10:48 How did Pollo AI go from 0 to 4 million monthly visits?

13:33 Called the new king of SEO — what did you get right?

14:55 One key SEO innovation

17:16 How to compete for "big keywords"?

18:13 Can you use AI to write blog posts?

20:23 How much to spend on backlinks?

22:48 How to identify SEO experts?

24:46 One SEO common sense that most people overlook

25:20 What's the difference between good SEO practitioners and top-tier ones?

26:17 Classic SEO learning resources: Ahrefs, Authority Hacker, Backlinko, Semrush

28:10 What have you learned about influencer marketing?

28:30 Two key points for winning over influencers

30:24 Koji shares how Tangping Island won over influencers through product innovation

32:08 How to calculate influencer ROI?

38:30 What have you learned about paid advertising?

🚥 Part 3: On Entrepreneurship

32:28 Does Pollo AI's success come more from product or marketing?

33:21 What have you learned about timing your startup?

35:12 Should entrepreneurs stay focused?

36:55 "I don't have a goal for entrepreneurship. It is my life. If I weren't building a company, I'd have nothing to do."

37:36 My idol is Lei Jun

39:56 What's the key to entrepreneurial success?

43:27 How to find new startup ideas?

46:44 "Don't fish for dead fish in entrepreneurship"

54:21 The most critical decision in five years of entrepreneurship?

54:35 The biggest change in yourself after five years of entrepreneurship?

56:41 The best decision you made in the past year?

57:09 What has influenced you most deeply?

🚥 Part 4: On the AI Video Industry and Going Global

51:10 Which mature AI video product do you most admire?

52:10 Which next-generation AI video product do you most admire?

52:51 Which hyped AI video product is overvalued?

61:28 The most interesting moment in ten years of building for global markets?

01:02:24 How can founders without "global DNA" succeed at going global?

🚥 Final Question:

01:01:17 Why does Abiao's company have a fixed 20-minute collective break in the afternoon, in addition to the lunch break?

Subscribe to the "Crossroads" podcast 🚦 We follow the industry transformations and entrepreneurial opportunities brought by the new wave of AI technology. Crossroads is Steve Jobs' metaphor for Apple — standing at the intersection of technology and liberal arts, where great products are born. AI is transforming every industry. We seek out, interview, and bring together a new generation of AI founders and proactive actors in the AI era. Together with them, we explore and embrace the new changes and new possibilities.

👦🏻 Host Koji: Co-founder of The Fair and Tangping Island. I believe technology, especially AI, will fundamentally transform society and empower humanity. Welcome to chat with me, bounce ideas, and connect on what's next. Koji's Jike, Koji's website

👧🏻 Host Ronghui: Works at a tech VC, former Silicon Valley correspondent for Yicai Weekly. Ronghui's Jike

🎄 This podcast is supported by The Fair's Sound Forest Podcast Program.