Get found on Google.
And on ChatGPT. And Perplexity. And everywhere.
Traditional SEO gets you ranked. GEO gets you recommended by AI. 45% of consumers now use ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews to find local contractors, up from 6% just one year ago. That makes AI the third most-used discovery channel for local businesses, behind only Google and Facebook. Businesses that land the top AI recommendation convert those leads at 4.4 times the rate of traditional organic search. The problem: building AI citation visibility takes 4 to 6 months even when you execute perfectly. The contractors who start now own those recommendations. The ones who wait compete for what’s left.
Your customers are searching. They’re just not finding you.
Google’s map pack, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity. The places people search have multiplied. If you’re only optimizing for one, you’re invisible in the rest.
Search optimization for 2026 and beyond.
We combine traditional SEO with Generative Engine Optimization so you show up everywhere: Google, AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
Technical SEO foundation
Site speed, structured data, semantic HTML, and server rendering. The fundamentals that Google and AI engines both need to find and trust you. We also configure your robots.txt to allow GPTBot, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, and Google-Extended to crawl your site, and set up an llms.txt file (the 2026 standard for telling AI systems what your business does, who you serve, and which pages to prioritize for citations).
Local & map pack optimization
Google Business Profile signals account for 32% of map pack ranking weight. Reviews account for another 20%, and that share is rising year over year. Review recency now outweighs total count: a business with 80 reviews and a steady weekly flow outranks one with 200 reviews and nothing recent, per Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors report. We optimize your profile, build review velocity systems that generate a consistent weekly flow, clean up citations across 30+ directories, and own the “near me” results in your service area. One HVAC company went from 18 calls per month to 63 within 90 days after fixing their Google Maps setup and adding a consistent review process.
GEO: AI search optimization
Different AI platforms favor different content formats: ChatGPT ranks structured lists, Perplexity favors citation-backed claims, Gemini favors clear definitions. We structure your content to win across all three. Pages that open with a direct answer to their primary question are cited far more often than pages buried in keyword-heavy paragraphs. FAQ sections earn 2.8 times more AI citations than unstructured content. Structural formatting changes alone lift citation rates by 17.3%, independent of content quality. AI Overviews also prioritize recent content: a cost guide with 2023 pricing will not be cited when 2026 alternatives exist. We keep your key service pages updated with current pricing, technology, and local data so your content stays competitive in AI recommendations month over month.
SEO + GEO. One integrated service.
Everything you need to get found in traditional search and AI-generated answers.
On-page SEO
Title tags, meta descriptions, header structure, and keyword-optimized content for every service page.
Google Business Profile management
Your primary business category is the single most important GBP decision you will make, per Whitespark's 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors report: it determines which searches you are eligible to appear in before any other factor applies. We audit your category selection, optimize your listing, manage weekly posts, upload job photos, handle Q&A, respond to reviews, and maintain everything that drives map pack position. Businesses that respond to 80% or more of reviews see measurable ranking gains. Fresh photos uploaded two to three times per week correlate with 45% more direction requests and 31% more clicks. Weekly posting and photo updates are now top-five ranking factors for the map pack in 2026.
Structured data & schema
LocalBusiness, Service, FAQ, and Review schema markup. The structured data AI engines use to understand and cite your business. Schema markup improves LLM discoverability by 67%. Properly implemented LocalBusiness schema results in a 45% higher AI citation rate. Pages with full JSON-LD markup score 23 points higher on average in AI visibility benchmarks. FAQ schema specifically makes a page 2.8 times more likely to be cited in an AI-generated answer. Without schema, FAQ content is technically there but structurally invisible to most AI retrieval systems.
AI citation optimization
Content structured for extraction by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Copilot. Optimized pages earn 30-40% more citations in AI answers than unstructured competitors.
Ranking & citation tracking
Monitor your position in Google, the map pack, and AI-generated answers. See progress, not just promises.
Monthly performance reports
Clear reports showing traffic, rankings, AI citations, and, most importantly, leads generated from organic search.
Citation & NAP management
We build and clean up your business listings across 30+ directories: Google, Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing, and niche trade directories. Consistent name, address, and phone number across every source is how AI engines build confidence in your business and recommend you over competitors with conflicting data.
Included in your plan.
See which plans include SEO & GEO.
On-page SEO is included in Platform. Full SEO & GEO management starts at Growth.
Common questions.
What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
GEO is the practice of optimizing your content so AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews cite your business when customers ask questions. It’s the next evolution of SEO, and it’s already driving leads for home service businesses that adopted it early.
How is GEO different from traditional SEO?
SEO gets you ranked in Google search results. GEO gets you cited in AI-generated answers. AI search traffic grew over 1,200% in less than a year, and leads from AI sources convert at 27% compared to 2.1% from traditional organic search. Both channels matter. Neither replaces the other.
How long before I see SEO results?
Technical SEO improvements show within weeks. Local map pack improvements typically take 1–2 months. Full organic ranking gains build over 2–4 months. GEO citation improvements can appear in as little as 4–8 weeks because there is no domain authority waiting period for AI citations.
Is on-page SEO included in the Platform plan?
Yes. On-page SEO (title tags, meta descriptions, structured data) is included in every plan. Full SEO & GEO management starts at the Growth plan.
How do AI systems decide which local business to recommend?
Start with the scale of the problem: AI search recommends just 1.2% of local business locations, based on an analysis of 350,000-plus locations across 2,751 brands. In most metros, AI engines name one or two contractors from your entire city. AI engines use retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to answer local queries: they fan a customer’s question into multiple sub-queries, pull signals from your website, your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and your citation footprint, then synthesize a short recommendation. To build that recommendation, AI engines look for a specific trust stack: consistent NAP across all directories, structured content with clear direct answers, strong and recent reviews, verifiable credentials (license numbers, insurance, certifications), and a website AI crawlers can actually read. Critically, 62% of AI-generated local business recommendations cite review data as a primary factor. Consistent name, address, and phone number across 30 or more directories ranks as the third most important AI visibility factor overall. E-E-A-T signals, including verifiable credentials, license numbers, real project documentation, and named staff pages, are evaluated before any recommendation is made. Businesses with clear structured content, strong recent reviews, consistent citations, and verified expertise get named. Businesses with conflicting data, thin content, or no verifiable proof of work don’t.
What does structured data actually do for my ranking?
Structured data is markup added to your website that tells search engines and AI systems exactly what your business does, where you serve, what services you offer, and what customers say about you. Without it, Google and AI engines have to guess. With it, they know. Pages with full JSON-LD schema markup score 23 points higher on average in AI visibility benchmarks, regardless of industry. FAQ schema specifically makes a page 2.8 times more likely to be cited in an AI-generated answer. LocalBusiness schema with your service area, hours, and service list directly feeds the AI systems that recommend local contractors.
Do I need both SEO and GEO, or can I just focus on one?
You need both. Traditional SEO covers Google search results and the map pack, which still drive the majority of local leads. GEO covers AI-generated answers, which are growing at over 1,200% annually and convert at 13x the rate of traditional organic traffic. Running only one means leaving significant revenue on the table.
What’s the most important factor for ranking in the Google map pack?
Google Business Profile optimization is the single largest factor, accounting for roughly 32% of map pack ranking weight. Reviews account for about 20%, including volume, recency, and rating. Behavioral signals like calls, direction requests, and photo views make up another 9%. We optimize all of these, not just one.
What is NAP consistency and why does it matter for AI search?
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone. It means having identical business information on every directory, from Google and Yelp to Apple Maps, Bing, and niche trade sites. AI engines like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews verify local businesses by cross-referencing those sources. A single mismatch, even “St.” versus “Street,” creates conflicting signals that suppress both your map rankings and your AI citation rates at the same time. Citation signals account for 13% of AI search visibility, and three of the top five AI visibility factors are citation-related. Fixing NAP inconsistencies is one of the fastest ways to improve both traditional local SEO and AI recommendations simultaneously.
Should I have separate pages for each city I serve?
Yes. Location-specific pages consistently outperform generic “service area” listings in both map pack and organic results. An HVAC contractor who added individual city pages with localized copy and schema markup for each service area gained top-3 map positions across multiple cities. Each city page should cover your services in that area, reference local context, and include structured data specifying the service location. For a contractor serving 5 to 10 cities, dedicated city pages are among the highest-ROI on-page SEO investments available.
What is E-E-A-T and why does it matter for my home service website?
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. It is Google’s framework for evaluating whether a website is reliable enough to rank or cite in AI-generated answers. For home service contractors, E-E-A-T signals are concrete: your license number and state listed on the site, proof of insurance, real before-and-after project photos with specific details, named staff or owner pages, and trade certifications. Google’s March 2026 core update amplified E-E-A-T signals beyond all previous ranking factors. Sites demonstrating genuine first-hand experience through specific project details, real credentials, and verifiable outcomes now outrank comprehensive but generic information pages. A plumbing company that lists its master plumber’s license number, describes a specific job scope, and links to a verified Google review for that job has stronger E-E-A-T than a competitor with a polished template site and no verifiable proof of work. E-E-A-T also feeds AI recommendations: AI systems evaluate trust signals before deciding which local business to cite in an answer.
Do AI systems need permission to crawl my website?
Yes, and most contractor websites block them without knowing it. AI crawlers work like search engine bots: they need to be allowed in your robots.txt file before they can read your pages and include you in AI-generated answers. The four crawlers that matter most are GPTBot (OpenAI, powers ChatGPT), PerplexityBot (Perplexity AI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), and Google-Extended (Google AI Overviews). If your robots.txt blocks these agents, either through a “disallow all” rule or outdated default settings, you are invisible to the AI systems that use them. We audit your robots.txt during onboarding and configure it to allow the crawlers your GEO strategy depends on. This is one of the most commonly missed fixes in contractor SEO and one of the fastest to implement.
What is llms.txt and does my website need one?
An llms.txt file is a plain text file placed at yoursite.com/llms.txt that tells AI systems what your business does, who you serve, what questions you answer, and where to find your most important content. Think of it as a sitemap written for AI rather than search engines. It’s a 2026 standard, supported by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI tools that use it to prioritize which pages to read when building answers about local businesses. For a home service contractor, an llms.txt file can direct AI systems to your service pages, your FAQ content, your service area, and your credentials, all in plain language that speeds up citation and improves accuracy. Competitors without one are making AI systems guess which of their pages matter. We configure this file during setup for every client.
What is review velocity and how does it affect my map pack ranking?
Review velocity is the rate at which your business receives new reviews over time. In 2026, Google weights review recency more heavily than total count. Per Whitespark’s 2026 Local Search Ranking Factors report, a business with 80 reviews and a consistent weekly flow now outranks a competitor with 200 reviews and nothing posted in the past six months. Review signals account for roughly 20% of map pack ranking weight, up from 16% in 2023. What drives ranking is review velocity (new reviews coming in every week), review response rate (responding to 80% or more of reviews), and total review count. A single after-job text requesting a review, sent consistently, compounds into a measurable ranking advantage within 60 to 90 days. We build the automated follow-up systems that generate this weekly flow without adding anything to your workload.
Why do cost and pricing searches matter so much for AI search optimization?
97% of hybrid intent queries, the searches where someone asks for a recommendation and a price in the same query, now trigger a Google AI Overview before any website appears. For home service contractors, these are your highest-intent searches: “how much does HVAC replacement cost in [city],” “average cost of water heater installation near me,” or “cheapest licensed plumber in [city].” If you don’t have a page that answers the pricing question directly, with specific ranges, variables, and a clear call to action, a competitor who does gets cited in the AI Overview and you don’t. Pricing pages structured for AI extraction, with clear headers, specific numbers, and FAQ schema, are among the most valuable GEO assets a home service contractor can build.
What is Google AI Mode and how does it affect my home service business?
Google AI Mode is a fully conversational search experience that replaces the standard results page with an AI-generated answer for an expanding set of queries. It is distinct from Google AI Overviews, which appear as a summary block at the top of a regular search results page. In AI Mode, there are no traditional blue links at all: the AI builds an answer, names businesses it considers authoritative, and the homeowner calls from there without visiting any website. For home service contractors, AI Mode represents a new lead surface that bypasses your website entirely. Businesses cited in AI Mode recommendations do not need the homeowner to click through to their site. The optimization strategy is the same as for AI Overviews: structured content, consistent citations, strong reviews, verifiable credentials, and content Google considers authoritative enough to synthesize. But the stakes are higher because AI Mode is all or nothing. You are cited and recommended, or you do not exist in that result.
How long does it take to build AI citation visibility?
AI citation visibility takes 4 to 6 months to build even when you execute the strategy correctly from day one. This is slower than traditional local SEO, where a well-optimized Google Business Profile can produce map pack movement in 30 to 90 days. The slower timeline for AI citations reflects how AI systems build trust: they need to cross-reference your website, your reviews, your citation footprint, and your structured data across multiple sources before they confidently recommend you. Shortcutting any of these signals stalls the process. The practical implication for contractors is that every month you delay is a month your competitors are building authority you will have to displace later. A contractor who starts GEO optimization in May 2026 can expect meaningful AI citation visibility by Q4 2026. A contractor who waits until Q3 2026 to start is looking at 2027 before those citations compound into a reliable lead channel.
Do review keywords matter for AI recommendations, not just star ratings?
Yes, and this is one of the most commonly overlooked factors in local AI visibility. AI systems do not simply count your reviews and check your star rating. They read the text. A review that says “Mike arrived within two hours, diagnosed the issue immediately, and had our AC running before dinner” tells the AI that your business handles emergency HVAC calls quickly. A review that says “great service, five stars” tells it almost nothing. Keyword-rich reviews that mention your specific services, your response speed, your location, and the outcome of the job are significantly more valuable for AI recommendations than generic positive sentiment. This is why your review request strategy matters as much as your review volume. A prompt that asks customers to describe what was fixed and how quickly you arrived generates the kind of review text that AI systems extract and cite. Reviews that confirm relevance, not just popularity, are what move AI recommendations.