Why this matters
Search isn't one channel anymore. It's Google's ten blue links, and it's the AI answer that shows up before them, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Mode. Most agencies still optimize for the first and treat the second as a checkbox. We build for both, because your buyers are already using both.
One caveat we tell every client up front: roughly 58% of Google Search Console impressions land in Google's anonymized query bucket, which means any AI Mode or AI Overview tracking method, ours included, is working from a partial picture, not a complete one. We'd rather tell you that than sell you a dashboard that pretends otherwise.
What we actually do
> Technical foundation
- ▶Core Web Vitals, crawl, indexation, and log-file review
- ▶Schema implementation: Article, LocalBusiness, HowTo, Review, FAQPage, BreadcrumbList, mapped to what's actually missing on your site, not a blanket install
- ▶Site architecture and internal linking built around topic authority, not arbitrary silos
> Classic SEO
- ▶Keyword strategy mapped to funnel stage and buyer intent
- ▶Content briefs with citation density, named-entity coverage, and BLUF structure built in, so what we hand your team (or write ourselves) is built to rank and to get lifted into AI answers, not rewritten later
- ▶Backlink strategy grounded in relevance, not volume
> AEO, answer engine optimization
- ▶Content structured for direct-answer extraction: sourced stat in the first 40 to 60 words, section-level findings before methodology, schema-ready FAQ blocks
- ▶AI Mode and AI Overview visibility tracking using GSC query-pattern methods (conversational query isolation, follow-up detection, rank-tracker probe filtering), with the anonymized-pool caveat always disclosed in reporting
- ▶Ongoing monitoring for algorithm updates that specifically target AI-generated or templated content patterns, not just generic core update alerts
Why we're careful about this
We've seen what happens when AEO is done wrong up close: templated location pages, AI-generated content with no differentiation beyond a city name swapped in, published fast and at volume. That pattern got flagged under Google's spam policies and wiped out rankings during 2026's core updates, not because AI content is inherently penalized, but because doorway-page patterns are, and always have been. We build content programs that can survive an update, because we've watched one that couldn't.
> Read the breakdown: Google's August 2026 spam update_Linta Roofing
Ranked keywords grew from 2,231 to 3,842 in nine months, page-one keywords up 196% and top-3 positions up 286%.
> READ THE CASE STUDY_Our approach
Audit
Full technical crawl, competitor gap analysis, and a review of what's currently showing up (or not) in AI answers for your money keywords.
Map
Keywords and topics mapped to funnel stage, search intent, and where AI answer engines are already pulling from for your category.
Build
Content and technical fixes shipped against sourced briefs. No thin location pages, no AI-generated filler, every page earns its place.
Track
Monthly reporting on rankings, AI citation visibility (with the caveats stated plainly), and what's compounding vs. what needs a refresh.
Common questions
How is this different from what most agencies call "AI SEO"?
Most of what's marketed as AEO right now is unverified vendor hype layered on top of normal SEO. We build off documented cases, what actually triggered Google's spam enforcement, what studies like Ahrefs' citation research actually prove versus what gets amplified, not speculation.
How do you measure AI citations?
Through GSC query-pattern analysis, not a black-box dashboard. And we'll tell you plainly where the data runs out, see the anonymized-pool note above.
Do you write the content or just the strategy?
Both, depending on the engagement. We write in-house or hand fully-built briefs to your team. Either way, the brief carries the same standard: sourced claims, no invented stats, no filler.
What if my site already got hit by a core update?
That's a diagnostic conversation before it's anything else. We audit first to find out if it's a content pattern issue, a technical issue, or both, then build the recovery plan around the actual cause.