It’s Not About Just Ranking
Search results are no longer what they used to be. Google's layout has shifted. Paid ads and local map listings dominate the top. And now, AI Overviews are taking center stage — often scraping what it views as credible content, summarizing it, and giving users an answer without ever visiting your site.
According to the Pew Research Center:
- Only 8% of users who see an AI Overview click any links at all
- Just 1% click the source citation
- 66% don't click a link to visit a site
Google has recently challenged these finding claiming Pew Research has flawed methods because the sample size used is too small. However, they didn't acknowledge the legal action publishers are taking over AI Overviews.
Content publishers have initiated both lawsuits and antitrust complaints against the use of AI Overviews, asserting these features harm their ability to generate revenue by diverting traffic and leveraging their content without adequate compensation or attribution.
If this sample size is too small to be conclusive - why all the lawsuits?
The bottom line. This underscores the never ending shifts in tactics as things evolve. It means traditional SEO strategies that target informational searches are becoming less effective to get click-through — because the traffic is being intercepted before it ever reaches your site.
What SEO Tactics Still Works?
To actually drive sales, focus on buyer-intent keywords and local targeting — so your business shows up when people are ready to act, not just browse. AI Overviews typically happen on informational searches.
To that end, the focus still involves:
- On-page Optimization – optimizing individual web pages to improve their rankings.
- Off-page Optimization - involves activities conducted outside of the website to improve its visibility and reputation on the internet via social media channels.
- Conversion Optimization – By understanding what your prospect value via the Strategic Blueprint sessions, enables us to craft compelling information and offers without your industry jargon which prompts the visitor to take a desired action. This could be sign up for events, newsletter, fill out a form to be contacted, download information in exchange for contact information etc,.
- Technical SEO - focuses on optimizing the technical elements of a website to improve its crawlability, indexability, and overall performance in rankings.
One fundamental aspect is ensuring that search engine bots can effectively crawl and index your website's content. This involves optimizing factors such as website speed, mobile-friendliness, and site structure.
This is strategy-first SEO that supports your sales process. So you can see SEO (ranking on a keyword) alone isn't enough.
Getting found in search is just one piece of the puzzle. It only matters if your site is designed to convert that visibility into action. That’s why our SEO work is always connected to:
- Design & UX: A confusing or slow site will turn visitors away — no matter how high you rank.
- Local Geomarketing: Your listings, maps, and local reputation matter just as much as your on-page content.
If you’re just paying for SEO without aligning the above mentioned elements, you're leaving money — and opportunity — on the table.
Strategy-Led SEO, Tailored to You
Our process is grounded in research, not assumptions. Every SEO engagement begins with a discovery phase that includes:
- A review of your business. Where your website and online efforts can create efficiencies, value aligned with customer and free up staff to focus on core, billable tasks. This includes a deep-dive audit of your website’s technical foundation and current performance
- An indepth understanding of each customer segment.
- A market and competitor gap analysis (including who’s winning local or regional traffic — and why)
- An evaluation of your current conversion flows and content structure
- Market context: seasonal patterns, local buying behavior, and opportunities to stand out
This approach ensures you’re not just doing “SEO activity,” but investing in SEO strategy that maps to measurable outcomes.
What You Won't Get Here
If you're looking for cheap link-building, generic blog posts, or a once-a-year SEO work — we’re not the right fit.
We also don’t believe in playing second fiddle to another agency offering “SEO-lite” add-ons while we do the heavy lifting behind the scenes. Typically, businesses not considering a redesign, but just want SEO, don't fully realize how the website and underlying code impacts this endeavor. That’s a recipe for confusion, redundancy, and diluted results.
What you will get is a strategic partner who understands the full funnel — from visibility to conversion to follow-up. Search Engine Optimization and Geomarketing are at the top of the funnel.
What Does SEO Investment Look Like?
Since all web design solutions are semi-custom or fully custom, we don’t list packages or publish pricing. No two sites are designed, are the same size, scope and SEO strategies. But we are competitively priced to value. And if a business elects to pay quarterly, semi-annually or annually, they can realize anywhere from a 5%-15% savings over paying SEO monthly.
Business owners need to view this as a long-game. The digital landscape is constantly changing due to search engine algorithms. Analogues to the stock market, its about trends over time that yield the ROI.
The most notable shift for the foreseeable future is the rise of AI Overviews. While it's still important to build brand awareness with unique authoritative content, relying solely on SEO to demonstrate this and protect your visibility is no longer enough. These goals can, and should be, pursued across multiple platforms.
Think holistically. Don't view SEO in a vacuum. AI is pulling from a wide range of sources to generate responses. And while being cited as a source is commendable, it's far from guaranteed — especially if your content echoes what's already out there without offering fresh insight or a distinct point of view.
These types of changes underscore the vigilance required for the endeavor. You may not have the time for that, but we make the time on your behalf.
SEO Clarity = Conversion
Tired of the frustration that comes with your organic search results falling short? You have the skills and expertise — now it’s time to make the connection.
So get the clarity that leads you to conversion. Have a strategy, structure and a purpose driven solution based on data, facts that define the tactics to get you there.
Ready to connect with the people already searching for what you offer? Let’s start with a no obligation call — and see where strategic SEO can take you.