If you have to create demand, you've got a serious uphill battle because people may not even know how to search for the solution that you may have.
You have to get out of your own head and get into the head of the person that's actually searching for you that you're trying to attract.
What the goal now is to show up in the AI results with a citation that then somebody can click on to go deeper and then get to your website or to your business.
All right, hello everyone and welcome to the Marketing Guides for Small Business podcast. I'm Paul Barthel from Changescape Web, and today I'm I'm joined by co-host Ken Tucker, also from Changescape Web, Ian Cantle from Outsource Marketing, and Jeff Steck from Tolarica Marketing Systems. And today we're talking about AI and why great content in the age of AI search is no longer enough. Going to go deep, a little deeper into this. And even though Google might still dominate search, AI is changing the way you and your content is found. And yes, Google is the dominant player in search, but even with Google, the Google had its own, has its own search algorithms in the plural sense. And that used to be for a long time, even when they first started introducing Gemini, there was a wall, if you would, that was separating them. And now that distinction between search and what Google pulls from Gemini to deliver search results is blurring. That distinction is going away. So even though Google dominates search, Google is using its Gemini data to deliver search results, and that's, that's important. So content quality still matters, but it no longer determines if your content gets seen. So AI hasn't reduced the importance of content, but it has shifted where and how value is created and realized. So, Ken, I'll start with you. I kind of dovetailed into this. So is great content still enough to rank and win visibility in AI-driven search?
Yeah, not anymore. Like you said, you know, you got to have great content because it's basically necessary but not sufficient to rank. So you got to have the great content, but then there's a lot of other things that you have to do, and that great content has to have certain elements that have to be accounted for in the eyes of all of the engines that are looking for content to help you show up in searches based on whatever platform it is. So, you know, that's going to include the AI search environments, you know, even Google AI Overviews, but also ChatGPT, Perplexity, or other platforms. Really, You've got to have content that's findable first. And so you have to make sure that you add things like schema markup. You have to make sure that the content structure, entity structure of the core topics is clear. The information has to be well structured with the proper H1, H2, H3 tags. You have to have content that's valuable for other websites to mention you and send authority signals back to you based on that content. So it's really not, is the content good? It's, is the content easy to extract, verify, and connect the known entities and cite confidently from whatever platform is delivering the search engine results or the AI chat results, for example? FAQs are incredibly important now. So you have to make sure that whenever you write an article, you also have to have a set of FAQs that are added to that. Content structure now is probably typically more along the lines of, for most businesses, 2,000 words. You know, when you look at the average business website, I mean, you've got service pages, you've got location pages, you've got blog posts, you know, you've got landing pages. Well, landing pages typically aren't indexed for search, but blogs, the whole purpose for writing blogs is to get your expertise and authority out there in a structured way so that people can find it, cite it, And then the engines can either recommend or refer you. So you have to really think about that in a different way. There are a lot of tools that are available to help you kind of bake that stuff in, but they have to be driven in the correct direction with the right prompting to be able to build that content. You know, you can write a fantastic blog post and it can be the absolute best and most eloquent answer on that topic. But if you don't structure your content for answer engine optimization and for certain of the classic search engine optimization, which is still important, it's just simply not going to be findable. And, and, you know, the big thing, Paul, I think you talked about in a previous episode is, you know, that, that content sometimes now, instead of going on your website, it may be much more important to be put on high authority third-party websites that are going to be giving you those brand mentions and getting citations back to your business. Even if you don't get a full-blown inbound link, although you frequently can. when you publish and distribute content across the web. The secret sauce right now that too many people just have no clue about is this content distribution strategy across a large variety of authority sites. So again, look, to make it simple, Field of Dreams, if you build it, they will come. No, no, they won't. Not in this day and age. It doesn't work that way. Just because you have a beautiful website, just because you have a fantastic answer to, you know, an issue or a problem through the blog post that you write, and maybe it is the very best possible piece of content, if you don't get it out there and let everything else— look, it's called the web for a reason, right? And the web has become even more webby Now with AI. So, so yeah.
Yeah. And the whole third-party brand mentions, it's more important than ever because first of all, that's how the LLMs are going to find you. And second of all, if anyone can put content on their website and Facebook page and say good things about themselves, but if you can get positive brand mentions from authoritative third-party sites, that does a lot more to build trust and authority than putting stuff on your own website. I'm not saying don't put content on your website. I'm saying that that's simply not enough anymore.
So, Paul, you mentioned the term LLMs. Just make sure we define that for people.
Large language models is what it means. And that Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok.
You know what was interesting about the Field of Dreams? Was, was that people didn't even know about it. They just felt compelled to go to it. So if you want to leave your business to the feelings of people just happening to know about your business, then by all means build a website that has no searchability to it and no visibility to it and see if that works. Because we certainly see that as marketing consultants and agencies where people have tried that, not for those reasons. They weren't trying to just—
Yeah.
compel people to know about their business, but they had no way of feeding the search engines and Google, you know, this is who we are and this is how to find us, right?
Yeah. Well, you know, and it also reminds me of, you know, in our previous episode, we were talking about, you know, if you have to create demand for the product or service that you're offering, You've got a serious uphill battle because people may not even know how to search for the solution that you may have. And it may be a great eloquent solution. But again, if there's no search volume associated with what you've put together, that's going to make it even more difficult.
I've shared the anecdote before that where I've had a couple of clients who have their own branded terms for the services they offer, and they don't want to use the general terms. So I've seen this with a CPA. I saw this with a software company that was doing certain solutions, and they think that people will just magically know to even search for their term, right? But nobody knows that term. You have, you have to, you have to get out of your own head and get into the head of the person that's actually searching for you that you're trying to attract.
It's pretty hard to become Kleenex or Xerox or something like that.
And reviews. Reviews are— can't stress the importance of reviews because that's basically third-party content. So Ian, what actually beats great content in AI search today? If great content itself isn't enough, what's better?
Yeah, so you do need great content. Like, I don't think any of us are saying you shouldn't have great content. It's that you You need to combine great content with signals. You need retrieval signals and authority ecosystems that these systems are looking for so that when you do build it, they will come. So, you know, AI systems love content that's easy to parse. Ken talked a little bit about this, about clear headings, FAQs, schema markup, concise explanations, proper entity relationships. That can be the end— your business as an entity, that can be your products or services entities. And that can be you and your people, authorities in the business as entities. So all of, all of those things need to be done. You know, you can think of it this way, that Google used to rank pages and AI now extracts answers. It's, it's just, you always have to think about what, what is going to resonate and be relevant to what the searcher is looking for. And so now AI search is giving the quick answer and then basically follow-up questions, right? So You know, where, where this is super popular is in general questions. So, you know, who's the King of England? Who's the President of the US?
Right?
Like all of these things, AI will give you an immediate answer. Hopefully it's correct. And then if you want to dig it, it will offer other suggestions, right? But from a business standpoint, you're, you're not the King of England. You're not the President of the United States. So most people, for most small business services and products, are, are not going to know your brand. So they, They may ask general questions. Like, think of it like a, you know, if you're a roofer or a dentist or, you know, a remodeler, people will probably ask things like if they've already decided that they wanna do a remodeling or they know they have to go to the dentist to fix something or the roof needs fixing, they're probably going to look for a roofer in their area, a dentist in their area. They might look for the specific solution to a problem they're looking for and then they might have AI results that are more relevant. But what they're looking for specifically is the business, right? So, so that's where all of these things become really important. So from an entity authority standpoint, the AI systems want to understand, you know, information about entities. And again, these are businesses, people, brands, services, locations. And also your business needs to have consistent information. We used to talk a lot about this for directory citations, and those are becoming even more important again, all over again. And, you know, some of those are your Google Business Profile for sure, reviews, industry directories, podcasts, social profiles, news mentions, YouTube, LinkedIn, local citations. Like all of these things are really, really important from an AI search standpoint because you're trying to create signals that you are the authority in this space and that these links are very valuable. I'd also say distributed presence. So you need to have a presence where people are looking for your type of service. So things that are becoming more common, especially related to more general questions, but I do see specific questions related to local companies now showing up on Reddit, Quora. Facebook's always been there, right? Even I've heard this from some of the young people in my life, just that, you know, TikTok is even a place where they will search for local businesses. Again, if that's not your audience that you're trying to attract, don't put all your eggs into that basket. Forums, news sources, industry publications, these are all important because in fact they have growing importance, whereas, you know, probably about 5 years ago we saw this diminish and now it's exploding again. And then the last thing I would say is experience-based content. So how-to, right? How-to content has been really important on YouTube for years, but it's becoming important for AI searches as well because people are searching for that kind of stuff. So, you know, Ken, Ken and Paul, you guys have used the example of, you know, how do I set my Carrier thermostat XYG143, you know, for, for winter or something like that? And the, the HVAC company that's close to home that shares that kind of information on their website, on YouTube, on other channels is going to get greater visibility. Case studies, we've talked about real customer stories, firsthand expertise, unique insights, right? Like you, you can't outsource all of your content creation to AI because you bring something special to it that none of your competitors can talk about. And that's your unique insights and experience and authority and expertise. And so don't always outsource all of this to AI. I see a lot of small businesses trying that because it's super easy. And your local knowledge, you, you alone have very precise local knowledge, you and your team. So don't give that up. You know, the businesses that get all of this kind of stuff right along with their content are the ones that are going to win, especially if you, you're in a competitive environment where your competition isn't doing this.
Yeah. And because the way AI parses content has changed the way your content needs to be structured. But we're coming up on time. So Jeff, how should local businesses adapt their SEO and marketing strategy for AI search?
Yeah, this is a really interesting question. The first part of the answer is don't stop doing what you've been doing for SEO, right? That's still important. But then there's the extra, you know, 30% more that you need to do to show up in AI search. And one way to think about it is you're not going to show up on the search engine results page anymore with a blue link. I mean, you might, and great. What the goal now is to show up in the AI results with a citation that then somebody can click on to go deeper and then get to your website or to your business. So you kind of shift your thinking from, you know, how do I get discovered, how do I show up in the, the search, the so-called click economy, to showing up now in the citation economy. You want to be a cited source. And all those things that Ian talked about, all the, you know, show your expertise, the authority, the trustworthiness, They're all going to factor into that. And then all the technical stuff you do to get found on AI comes into play. So build an AI-readable website. I think this was mentioned already and on some of our previous podcasts, you know, schema markup is becoming more important. I think, Ken, you hit it earlier, FAQ sections in websites are becoming much more important. Almost every page now needs to have FAQs on that, you know, 100 FAQs, but maybe, you know, 5 or 6. And then be very specific in what you talk about, how you talk about it, and You know, the, the answers that you give and the credibility that you can convey. Um, the technical stuff still matters. That's why I said don't stop doing the things that you do for SEO. But then also think about, as Ian was talking, the signals, the multi-platform authority comes into play, all of the things referring back and forth to each other. And this is not new to any of us who have been talking about the duct tape marketing philosophy where you're building a marketing system. It's not one thing, it's all the things.
Yeah.
things working together. Ken's been hammering on the, the omnichannel drum for, for years. This is not new. It's just where we do it and how we do it in the attention that we're trying to get from the, the machines. So that multi-platform authority, the social medias, the Google Business Profiles, the local directories Ian mentioned, all come into play. Getting mentions from other industry sites. I mean, that's, that's really the holy grail. Get other people talking about you. And that'll, that'll help. And then the reviews, reputation, that all feeds into the EEAT. The experience content, you know, people are looking for experiences, and also experiences tend to answer questions. So that comes in great. But think in terms of answers and, you know, feeding those engines that are looking for who to cite for the authoritative answer to a question. And we're not just chasing rankings anymore by stuffing keywords into, uh, into posts. Um, it's a very different, uh, strategic framework to operate out of when you're thinking about how to do these things. Like I said, don't stop doing SEO. All the stuff that mattered before still matters, but think now in terms of all the stuff we add to it or do with it that builds a complete package.
All right. Anyone want to add anything to that?
Yeah. Um, you know, I've worked with small businesses. You guys have too. You know, I mean, I've done it for over 20 years, and I know a lot of small businesses don't really like to brag, you know. And the idea of the company that's cited, you know, as the expertise, as the expert, you know, kind of flies into the face of a lot of the personalities of people who start businesses in the first place. They just, you know, they like to do the job and they like to have satisfied happy customers, but they don't like to brag about themselves. There always will be people who love to brag about themselves, don't get me wrong.
But nobody likes those people though.
Yeah, the, the— but the shift in what we've seen over the last 18 months, and especially the last 6 months, is you have to. And, and, and you need to have somebody who is that expert guide that can help drive this forward for you, because chances are This is going to be a demand that you don't have anybody on your team who's prepared to be able to take on. It's not enough to post on just social media and hope that, you know, the 10 people who read your Facebook posts are going to find you and decide to hire you anymore. That ship has sailed a very long time ago. And so, you know, it's It's going to be a challenge for a lot of people. But you're going to have to embrace this new way that the world has changed. If you don't, you're going to be left behind. And sadly, I think you're going to be crushed.
You know, I come across this and actually my tendency is similar to what you were talking about, Ken, where, you know, you want to be a person that is humble or has humility.
You're Canadian.
I guess, but I think people all over the world get that, you know, there is an aspect that is appealing in being humble to some degree. But I think when you're— when we're talking about business, like, I've worked enough in large corporations, and I think you guys have too, large organizations where, like, you have to come to the conclusion that nobody else will love your business as much as you do. Nobody else will talk positively as much about your business as you do. Like, you have to be the greatest ambassador for your business because nobody else is going to do it for you. Now, having said that, just what I think it was, Jeff, you shared how, you know, the only thing better than you talking about yourself is other people talking about you and your business, right? And so if you do it right, it doesn't mean you're coming off as pompous or proud. And being proud about your business is not a bad thing, right? Like you should be proud in what you've created and what your team is doing. So, you know, get out there and bang your drum and make sure you're, you're presenting your business in the best possible light. One other thing I wanted to mention too was just related to search. Like we've talked for years about dominating the Google search results page where you've, if, if there's local search ads, you should be there. If, if there's ads, you should be there. If there's maps, you should be there. If there's organic results, you should be there. Like, people should be able to search for your service and see you everywhere on Google. So that still is absolutely true. There's now the addition of AI overviews on there. And then there's the addition of other places that people are searching for you, right, on the other AI engines. And so you need to be everywhere and you need to be dominant to win the game.
Yeah, I just want to amplify something that you're saying. It's come up, you know, from a few people earlier, is this the, the notion of, you know, the humility. Oh, I, I don't want to be on camera. I don't want to be, you know, assertive. I don't want to, you know, tell people I'm an expert. There may be a little bit of imposter syndrome going on there, but no business owner, almost no business owner in the world goes into business because They're only meh about what they do. They don't think they have something to add to do it better, and they don't think they know something about what they're doing that they can explain to somebody else. If you're in business, you're a business owner, you've checked those boxes. You are the expert in a certain sense. You know better than somebody else what should happen, or you wouldn't have gotten into business. You'd be working for somebody else. Um, so just get over it. I mean, that's the the thing. It's, it's part of marketing, it's part of promoting your business, and the rest is just, you know, finding a way to make it resonate with your target audience and then using the, the right channels to put it out there. And right now, tying it back to our topic, you know, putting it out in a way that, um, the AIs will pick up on it is more important than ever.
Yeah, and that's— we're coming up on time. I think there's a good place to, to wrap up. But look, AI is driving changes In SEO, AEO, findability. Like, we haven't seen anything like this in a long time, and it's happening fast, and it's only going to accelerate and happen faster and faster. And you, you just, you cannot ignore it. I mean, if you're a small local business, you may have a little more time, but it's still going to hit you. So if you're not doing any of these things, or if you're lost or overwhelmed, reach out to any of us. We can help you. Thanks everyone for your insights on this topic. And Ian, you want to take us out?
Absolutely. Thanks for joining us today. And if you like this content, smash the subscribe button as hard as you possibly can repeatedly. Well, don't un-smash the subscribe button. You don't want to do that. So anyways, if you've enjoyed this episode, please Share it with others who can get value from it so that they can unlock their growth potential. And until next time, folks, keep calm and market on.
The AI Revolution: Why Great Content Isn't Enough for Search Visibility Anymore
The digital landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. For years, the mantra for online success was simple: create great content, and they will come. But with the rapid rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in search, this adage is no longer sufficient. The "Marketing Guides for Small Business" podcast, featuring Paul Barthel, Ken Tucker, Ian Cantle, and Jeff Steck, dives deep into this evolving reality, explaining why content quality alone won't guarantee visibility and what small businesses need to do to thrive in the age of AI-powered search.
The Shifting Sands of Search: From Blue Links to AI Citations
Google has long been the undisputed king of search, but AI-powered tools like Gemini are fundamentally changing how users discover information. The lines between traditional search engine results pages (SERPs) and AI-generated answers are blurring. While content quality remains a cornerstone, it no longer guarantees a prime spot in AI-driven search results.
"Great content is necessary but not sufficient for ranking," emphasizes one of the speakers. The new goal isn't just to appear in the traditional "blue links" but to be cited within AI-generated answers, driving users directly to your website. This marks a significant shift from the "click economy" to the "citation economy."
Beyond Quality: Making Your Content AI-Readable
For AI to find and trust your content, it needs to be more than just well-written. It must be structured for machine consumption. This involves several key elements:
- •Schema Markup: This structured data helps search engines and AI understand the context and relationships within your content.
- •Clear Content and Entity Structure: Organizing your content logically with clear headings (H1, H2, H3) makes it easier for AI to parse.
- •FAQs are Crucial: AI systems are designed to answer questions directly. Incorporating frequently asked questions within your articles provides readily available answers for AI to extract.
- •Valuable Enough for Citation: Your content needs to be so authoritative and well-researched that other websites and AI models feel confident citing it. This builds authority signals.
The traditional 2,000-word blog post, while still valuable for establishing expertise, needs to be optimized for AI. Landing pages, often not indexed for search, are less relevant in this new paradigm. Blogs, on the other hand, are crucial for findability, citation, and AI recommendation.
The "More Webby" Web: Distribution and Third-Party Authority
The era of "if you build it, they will come" is over. Even the most brilliant content will remain undiscovered if it's not actively distributed. The web is now "more webby," meaning AI is constantly crawling and connecting information.
- •Third-Party Brand Mentions: Positive mentions from authoritative third-party websites are incredibly valuable for Large Language Models (LLMs) like Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok. These mentions build trust and authority far more effectively than self-promotion.
- •Content Distribution Strategy: A robust strategy for distributing your content across high-authority websites is no longer optional; it's essential for visibility.
- •Reviews and Reputation: Reviews act as crucial third-party content that feeds into AI's assessment of your credibility and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
Understanding the Searcher's Mindset: Beyond Branded Terms
A common pitfall for small businesses is creating content solely around their branded terms. However, most users won't know your brand name. They'll be searching for solutions to their problems.
- •Embrace General Searches: Think like your potential customer. Instead of "Acme Widgets," they'll search for "best widget for home use" or "how to fix a leaky faucet." Your content needs to be discoverable through these general queries.
- •Entity Authority: AI systems need to understand who you are. This involves establishing your authority as an entity (business, brand, person, service, location) through consistent information across various platforms.
- •The Power of Local Knowledge: Don't underestimate the value of your unique local knowledge. This precise and valuable information is irreplaceable and crucial for AI to establish your authority in a specific geographic area.
Building Your AI Authority Ecosystem
To be found by AI, businesses need to cultivate an "authority ecosystem." This involves being present and consistent across a range of platforms:
- •Google Business Profile: Essential for local search and AI understanding of your business.
- •Industry Directories and Local Citations: Similar to traditional SEO, these signals help AI verify your existence and credibility.
- •Podcasts, Social Profiles, News Mentions, YouTube, LinkedIn: A diverse presence signals a robust and authoritative entity.
- •Forums, News Sources, and Industry Publications: Engaging in these spaces and having your content cited or mentioned builds significant authority.
- •Experience-Based Content: How-to guides, case studies, customer stories, and firsthand expertise are highly valued by AI for their practical insights.
Overcoming Reluctance: The "Bragging" Imperative
Many small business owners are naturally humble and dislike self-promotion. However, in the current AI-driven landscape, this reluctance can be detrimental.
- •Be Your Own Ambassador: No one will champion your business as passionately as you will. Positive self-promotion isn't pompous; it's a necessary part of marketing.
- •Embrace the Shift: The last 18-6 months have seen a significant shift where actively promoting your expertise and value is no longer optional.
- •AI Strategy Expertise: Small businesses may need expert guidance to navigate this new AI strategy landscape, as internal teams may not be equipped.
The Future is Now: Adapt or Be Left Behind
The AI revolution in search is not a distant future; it's happening now. Ignoring these changes is a recipe for being left behind. While traditional SEO practices remain important, an additional 30% effort is needed to optimize for AI search visibility.
By focusing on AI-readable content, a robust distribution strategy, building third-party authority, and understanding the searcher's perspective, small businesses can not only survive but thrive in this new era of digital discovery. It's time to embrace the "citation economy" and ensure your business is not just built, but also found.