Advertise on podcast: The GEO Blueprint: AI Search

Is SEO dead—or is the way people find your business changing?In this episode of The GEO Blueprint, we explore the shift from traditional SEO to AI search, and what it means for marketers and founders trying to stay visible.The big question: what should your business do when customers turn to AI for answers?If you're navigating search engine optimization (SEO), generative engine optimization (GEO), or answer engine optimization (AEO), this conversation offers a starting point for thinking about what comes next.Subscribe to The GEO Blueprint for conversations about AI search, marketing, and brand visibility.What are you seeing in your business: fewer clicks, more AI referrals, or both? Share your experience in the comments.#SEO #AISearch #GEO

How do you get your brand recommended in AI search? Ross Hudgens, founder and CEO of Siege Media, joins George Vlasyev to break down generative engine optimization (GEO), AI SEO, and the content strategies that help brands show up in ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other AI search engines.We explore how third-party reviews, YouTube creators, affiliate publishers, and comparison articles influence AI recommendations—and how to measure whether that visibility turns into customers. Ross also shares examples from Siege Media’s work with Zapier and explains why AI visibility scores should be treated as a compass, not a GPS.📊 Track your brand’s AI search visibility with Peec AI:https://try.peec.ai/george-vlasyev-comDisclosure: This is an affiliate link. I may earn a commission if you sign up through it.In this episode:• How GEO changes the traditional SEO playbook• Finding commercial-intent prompts your customers might use• Why “best” lists and comparison pages matter for AI visibility• Choosing YouTube creators and publishers to partner with• Measuring AI traffic, attribution, and return on investment• Zapier’s approach to content, digital PR, and community• Common mistakes in AI prompt tracking and reporting• Using AI to improve content without losing your expertiseChapters:00:00 Meet Ross Hudgens, founder of Siege Media01:20 Why third-party mentions matter for AI search04:09 How to choose prompts to track05:27 What AI visibility scores actually tell you07:04 Building an AI search strategy09:27 Reddit’s role in AI recommendations11:10 Measuring AI search traffic and ROI14:18 Choosing creators and publishers19:11 Helping AI understand your YouTube content20:25 AI tools, content quality, and originality27:43 Zapier case study: content, comparisons, and digital PR34:47 Will AI replace SaaS tools?38:35 Prompt tracking mistakes and misleading metrics41:55 Who will win the AI search race?45:30 Improving a YouTube channel’s AI visibility50:16 Ross’s book on generative engine optimizationSubscribe to The GEO Blueprint: AI Search for conversations about generative engine optimization, answer engine optimization (AEO), and helping your business get discovered through AI.

In this episode of The GEO Blueprint, Michał Suski, co-founder of Surfer SEO, breaks down Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and how brands can rank inside AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. Learn why writing for AI requires a different mindset than writing for humans, how the token economy is shifting content strategy, why traditional link building metrics fail in AI search, and how to build a clear brand centroid to capture AI citations. 📌 Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:49 - Who is Michal and what does he do at Surfer? 03:02 - Writing for AI is easier 05:05 - 38% of AI citations come from the first 100 words 05:39 - GEO vs SEO — where they overlap and where they split 09:49 - Are there SEO practices that are actively hurting brands in AI search? 12:31 - How do you win in AI search — the 3 elements 15:07 - How to choose which third party sites to get published on 17:33 - Can a small company compete in AI search against a big brand? 20:24 - Does content freshness affect AI citation frequency? 22:41 - Source surplus — Wikipedia and Healthline as AI infrastructure 25:28 - Zero AI visibility — the one tactical advice 30:43 - Centroid — what AI knows about you and how to fix inconsistency 36:39 - Does strategy differ across ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Mode and Claude? 41:35 - What is uniquely valuable about the human mind? 43:59 - Execution is cheap now — ideas are valued more 46:41 - How to force AI to hallucinate and get original ideas 48:17 - How Michal uses AI in his own work — data analysis and repurposing 50:32 - Vibe coded his entire personal website with Claude 53:30 - LLM of choice — Claude Cowork for deep work, ChatGPT for coloring pages 54:18 - Outro Optimize for the Token Economy: AI search engines prioritize direct, concise answers. Data shows that 38% of citations pulled by AI come directly from the first 100 words of a page. PageRank ≠ Citation Frequency: High domain authority and traditional link-building metrics do not strongly correlate with how frequently an AI retrieves your domain as a source. Fix Your Brand Centroid: AI search models crawl your entire digital footprint—including social profiles, YouTube descriptions, websites, and schema markup—to understand who you are. Maintaining message consistency across these touchpoints builds a strong brand centroid. Leverage Third-Party Distribution: Placing brand mentions across frequently cited third-party sites helps act as your "sales team" inside AI retrieval engines. Surfer SEO: https://surferseo.comMichał Suski on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michal-suski/💡 Core Takeaways & GEO Strategies🔗 Connect & Resources#GEO #SEO #AISearch #SurferSEO #GenerativeEngineOptimization #ChatGPT #Perplexity #GoogleAIOverviews #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing

Tye DeGrange—founder and CEO of Round Barn Labs—joins me to break down how partner-led growth and AI search are transforming digital marketing strategy. As traditional ad channels get noisier and search algorithms evolve with AI, building sustainable customer acquisition requires a shift toward collaborative, technology-driven channels. Tye shares actionable insights on how to integrate AI tools into daily operations, leverage partner ecosystems, and keep your growth engine competitive. Whether you're building a growth strategy from scratch or scaling an existing team, this conversation offers a clear blueprint for navigating the intersection of human partnerships and AI tools. --- 📌 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN THIS EPISODE: • How partner-led growth is replacing traditional acquisition models • Practical integrations for AI in daily marketing operations and planning • How Generative Engine Optimization and AI search impact modern growth strategy • Key mental shifts leaders must make to stay competitive as AI tools evolve • How to blend tech automation with high-trust human partnerships ---🔗 CONNECT WITH TYE DEGRANGE & ROUND BARN LABS: 🌐 Website: https://www.roundbarnlabs.com/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyedegrange/ 🔗 CONNECT WITH GEORGE: 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgevlasyev #GenerativeEngineOptimization #GEOSearch #AISearch #PartnerLedGrowth #GrowthMarketing #TyeDeGrange #RoundBarnLabs #GEOBlueprints #MarketingStrategy #AIMarketing

Is traditional SEO dead? In this episode of the Geo Blueprint, host George sits down with Ruan Marinho (founder of Develomark) to uncover how AI search, Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), and Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) are changing local search forever. Discover how users are shifting from traditional Google searches to asking LLMs like ChatGPT, Grok, and Claude for business recommendations—and how your business can optimize its digital footprint to get cited by AI engines. Ruan breaks down his exact agency workflows, how to build an LLM data layer, attribution strategies for ChatGPT conversions, and why LinkedIn is secretly AI’s favorite content engine. 🚀 Ready to scale your search visibility across Google and AI search engines?Try Semrush today free for 14 days (exclusive extended trial) to discover keywords, track performance, and power up your content strategy: https://semrush.sjv.io/Gboe0B The Shift from SEO to AEO/GEO: Why local business discovery is moving from search engines to answer engines. Winning AI Visibility: The exact workflow using categories, topics, and prompt targeting rather than old-school keyword stuffing. LLM Attribution: 3 practical ways to track phone calls and form submissions coming directly from ChatGPT. Agentic Commerce & Protocols: How AI agents will transact with each other using new protocols from Stripe, Coinbase, and Cloudflare. The LinkedIn AI Advantage: Why posting on LinkedIn indexes faster in LLMs than almost any other social platform. 00:00 - Intro00:11 - Who is Ruan and what does Develomark do?02:32 - How has AI changed discovery for local businesses?04:01 - The workflow to help local businesses win AI visibility05:55 - What content to produce and how to distribute it07:06 - Why you can't go after just the category — topic and prompt strategy07:45 - There is no keyword strategy — only billboards in the LLM09:37 - What local businesses don't know about AI that's already working for them10:44 - How to attribute conversions to ChatGPT — 3 methods11:51 - The 3-question pitch that sells GEO to any local business13:34 - Biggest opportunity most companies are missing right now14:28 - How to build a transcript-first culture and data layer for AI15:38 - What LLM do you use and why?16:59 - ChatGPT study — how real people actually find local services18:04 - Will there be one LLM winner or will it stay scattered?19:49 - IP and data as the competitive moat — the Mark Cuban argument21:19 - How people search differently in ChatGPT vs Google22:16 - Agents will transact with each other — Stripe, Coinbase, Cloudflare protocols23:25 - What agents won't be doing for us anytime soon24:43 - What is uniquely human — the most honest answer26:43 - Zuckerberg's social network for agents idea30:11 - Children growing up with AI memory from birth30:50 - AI matchmaking for life partners — the business idea33:59 - Agentic commerce — Rolex vs toothpaste vs luxury36:12 - Human experiences will get stronger as AI grows38:10 - 1000+ clients — the Buddhist marketing principle39:54 - Best advice for a founder trying to get found in AI40:58 - LinkedIn is AI's favorite platform — strategy explained42:51 - Social trust is the most important currency in business44:05 - People are more interesting than AI45:29 - AI will have consciousness and rights — the philosophical take47:01 - Will humans ever choose AI over humans?48:00 - Outro Follow Ruan Marinho on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruanmarinho/ Learn more about Develomark: https://www.develomark.com/ Follow George Vlasyev on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgevlasyev/ #SEO #AISearch #AEO #GEO #DigitalMarketing #GenerativeEngineOptimization #AnswerEngineOptimization #ChatGPT #LocalSEO #Podcast

Traditional SEO is changing. In the AI-driven search era, users aren't just clicking blue links anymore—they're asking ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity for direct answers. If your brand isn't showing up when AI recommends "the best" in your category, you're missing out on the fastest-growing channel in digital discovery. Tyler Calder, CMO of PartnerStack, breaks down exactly how brands can turn AI search and trusted networks into a real revenue engine. ✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days: https://semrush.sjv.io/6kXENb In this episode of The GEO Blueprint Podcast, we sit down with Tyler Calder, CMO of PartnerStack, to unpack the transition from SEO to GEO, why the fundamental truths of B2B marketing remain the same, and how to harness your partner ecosystem to win visibility across LLMs. Tyler also shares his firsthand experience managing a $46M+ marketing budget, how he realized his previous skepticism about ICP data was a mistake, and the precise workflows PartnerStack uses to automate personalized marketing at scale. Key Topics Covered: SEO vs. GEO — Is It Actually Different? Why Tyler believes generative engine optimization is simply "good SEO" at its core, and why trying to trick or manipulate LLMs is a dangerous game that could get your business penalized overnight. The Power of Third-Party Validation: Why what you say about your brand doesn't matter to AI unless trusted third parties, partners, and networks are actively agreeing with you. Partner-Led Growth (PLG): Moving past isolated definitions of "partners" to build an ecosystem that drives revenue across marketing, sales, and customer success. Lessons from a $46 Million Budget: How massive budgets fundamentally change an organization, why speed of experimentation is your greatest unfair advantage, and how to make data-backed marketing decisions. The $1.1M Churn Wake-Up Call: The hard lesson that forced Tyler to completely shift his mind on the importance of ICPs—and how PartnerStack built a 52-signal system to target only "Tier A" accounts. Smart Workflows Over Hype: How to leverage tools like Clay and Webflow to build 500 personalized landing pages in 10 minutes, and why point-solution SaaS tools are in trouble in the AI era. Connect with Tyler: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylercalder/ Website: https://partnerstack.com/ The GEO Blueprint Podcast explores how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI, LLM-powered search, and shifting digital ecosystems. Subscribe to Substack: https://georgevlasyev.substack.com/ Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:11 - What is PartnerStack and why does it matter? 02:48 - How will AI change B2B marketing over the next 3 years? 04:53 - What is partner-led growth and why is it important now? 08:18 - Human connection vs programmatic — the lesson that changed Tyler's thinking 11:54 - Managing a $46M marketing budget — the biggest lesson 16:00 - How does PartnerStack fit into the AI visibility ecosystem? 18:18 - GEO vs SEO — not as different as people think 21:09 - Less than 20% of sites are doing what they know they need to do 26:55 - How a SaaS founder finds their first partners 29:57 - The biggest marketing belief Tyler completely reversed — ICP 33:09 - Churned more than we sold — the quarter that changed everything 36:12 - How PartnerStack is integrating AI into marketing workflows 41:05 - 500 personalized landing pages in 10 minutes with Clay and Webflow 42:15 - Vibe coding — building things you could never build before 43:34 - "Wouldn't it be cool" sessions — now you can do all 50 ideas 45:33 - AI deepfakes and cybersecurity — Warren Buffett's wake-up call 47:30 - Outro #GEO #AISearch #SEO #GenerativeEngineOptimization #PartnerStack #PartnerLedGrowth #AIVisibility #LLM #B2BMarketing #DigitalMarketing #ArtificialIntelligence #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint #SaaS #MarketingBudget #Workflows

Traditional SEO is changing. In the AI-driven search era, users aren't just clicking blue links anymore—they're asking ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude for direct answers. If your brand isn't showing up when AI recommends "the best" in your category, you're missing out on the fastest-growing channel in digital discovery. Chirag Kulkarni, founder of Taco.co, breaks down exactly how brands can turn AI search into a real revenue engine. ✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days https://semrush.sjv.io/dyDJGk In this episode of The GEO Blueprint Podcast, we sit down with Chirag Kulkarni, founder of Taco.co, to unpack how AI decides which brands deserve authority, why "content made for agents" is mostly a trap, and how one healthcare client grew from $10-15K to $240K a month in search revenue. Chirag also opens up about landing his first SEO client from Neil Patel at 16 years old, and why the future of marketing belongs to humans who can direct AI, not replace themselves with it. Key Topics Covered: The "Most Popular Kid in School" Test: Why one person saying your brand is great doesn't move the needle with AI — and what actually signals authority to an LLM. Forward Deployed Marketing: The Palantir-inspired model Chirag is betting on, where marketers bring AI expertise directly into a company rather than selling generic agency work that AI is already commoditizing. Reverse-Engineering Prompts from Search Intent: Since there's no keyword volume data for prompts yet, Chirag's playbook for figuring out what to target anyway — and the H1/H2 fix any brand can make this week. Content for Agents Doesn't Work (Yet): Why microsites and content built purely to be scraped by bots tend to cannibalize your real site and quietly tank Google/Bing performance. The Expedia and Healthcare Case Studies: How search compounds like an investment — including a healthcare client's 20x revenue jump in under two years. Are We in an AI Bubble? Chirag's take, plus the story of a European coffee company whose sales are spiking because people are too scared of being replaced by AI to leave the office. Connect with Chirag: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chiragkulkarni/ Website: https://taco.co/ The GEO Blueprint Podcast explores how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI, LLM-powered search, and shifting digital ecosystems. Subscribe to Substack: https://georgevlasyev.substack.com/ 00:00 - Intro01:04 - Who is Chirag and the Taco.co story03:36 - GEO vs SEO — fundamentally the same or different?06:00 - The "most popular kid in school" analogy for AI visibility07:59 - How will AI change marketing over the next 3 years?09:46 - What is uniquely valuable about humans that AI can't replace?11:46 - Agents and forward deployed marketing — what's changing15:05 - What signals does AI use to decide who is an authority?16:45 - Will there be one dominant LLM or many?18:19 - Who wins in AI search — big brands or smaller specialists?20:19 - How do you attribute revenue to AI search?23:49 - Is prompt tracking even reliable, or just hype?27:28 - What's your take on ads in AI?31:04 - Are we in an AI bubble?34:33 - Coffee sales are up because people fear AI will replace them36:48 - Most successful client results — Expedia and 20x healthcare growth39:06 - The one thing every brand can fix this week for AI visibility41:29 - Content made for agents — does it actually exist?47:35 - What does work even look like in the future with AI doing more?49:51 - Middle of funnel content — where LLMs actually shine51:52 - How he got his first SEO retainer from Neil Patel at 1653:18 - Being 21 in a room full of executives twice his age57:31 - Reinventing yourself — adaptability over raw skill58:50 - What is the one thing AI cannot replace in marketing?59:41 - Is AI making us lazy?1:00:37 - Outro #GEO #AISearch #SEO #GenerativeEngineOptimization #Taco #AIVisibility #LLM #DigitalMarketing #ForwardDeployedMarketing #B2BMarketing #ArtificialIntelligence

Traditional SEO is changing. In the AI-driven search era, users aren't just clicking blue links anymore—they're asking conversational engines like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini for direct answers. If your brand isn’t showing up in third-party citations across authoritative news sites, your business is effectively missing out on the future of digital discovery. Noah Greenberg has the exact distribution playbook to help you reverse-engineer Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and dramatically scale your brand's AI visibility. ✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days https://semrush.sjv.io/X4rGk3 In this episode of The GEO Blueprint Podcast, we sit down with Noah Greenberg, CEO of Stacker, to look inside how LLMs scrape the web, choose which brands to reference, and process authority. Noah breaks down why earned media is the single biggest driver for AI visibility, how to turn your brand's owned insights into unmissable original data, and how bootstrapped founders can dominate distribution in a saturated market. The Blueprint of Modern Syndication: How brands can transition from self-promotional lists into genuine newsroom-grade content that thousands of authoritative publishers want to run for free. Decoding the 239% AI Citation Spike: What it practically means to map your content across a massive digital surface area to drastically shift the probabilities of an LLM recommending your business. The Wild West of AI Search: Why the lack of direct guidelines from OpenAI leaves the field wide open for independent research, experimentation, and major visibility wins. The CMO's Order of Priority: A strategic, realistic advice guide for marketing leaders on establishing a baseline, playing the long game, and testing earned media vectors. What AI Cites (And What It Ignores): Why standard "common knowledge" content gets zero credit from conversational models, and how original data or custom surveys unlock automated citations. The Saturated Business Trap: Why modern AI tools like vibe coding have made launching a startup effortlessly easy—but scaling distribution harder than ever before. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noahg/ Website: https://stacker.com/ 00:00 - Intro 01:03 - How Stacker works — publishers get content free, brands pay 04:29 - 239% more AI citations — what that actually means for GEO 10:36 - Bigger news sites = more likely AI cites you 11:46 - CMO advice — GEO priority list in order 15:13 - How Stacker directly helps brands with AI visibility 16:57 - Why Noah posts on LinkedIn every day 18:52 - Should founders create content on LinkedIn? 20:36 - Fulfilling demand vs creating demand — the YouTube lesson 22:09 - Think of your LinkedIn as a mini media company 23:28 - Make money in 6 months or it's over — what that forced 26:54 - BuzzFeed and Vice — what they did wrong 28:44 - How Noah started and built Stacker over 9 years 30:49 - What content AI actually cites — and what it never cites 34:23 - Original content is the thread across everything in AI search 35:59 - Has AI made it easier or harder to start a business? 38:24 - How founders can win distribution in this new age 41:46 - Should every company hire journalists and economists? 43:39 - Why Noah hired a full-time head of insights 44:00 - PESO model — owned, earned, paid, shared explained 46:01 - Biggest content mistake Noah has made 47:18 - People hate AI for what they're passionate about 49:32 - What's your LLM of choice? 51:03 - Will there be one AI winner or will it stay scattered? 52:12 - What's your take on ads in AI? 53:57 - What I should have asked you — top of mind on GEO 56:07 - Outro #GEO #AISearch #SEO #GenerativeEngineOptimization #Stacker #AIVisibility #LLM #DigitalMarketing #ContentDistribution #EarnedMedia #B2BMarketing #ArtificialIntelligence #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint #Entrepreneurship

Traditional SEO is changing. In the AI-driven search era, users aren't just clicking links anymore—they're asking conversational engines for synthesized answers. If your brand isn’t showing up directly in LLM citations, your business is effectively invisible. Mehmet Alp Aysan has the playbook to reverse-engineer generative engine optimization (GEO) and win the future of digital discovery. ✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days: https://semrush.sjv.io/QY0DvY In this episode, George Vlasyev sits down with Mehmet Alp Aysan, Co-Founder of Cognizo and former Search Reliability Engineer for Microsoft Copilot. Alp breaks down how to track your brand's presence across language models, why the probabilistic nature of LLMs is a massive opportunity for smaller specialists, and how to build a cohesive narrative that AI agents actually trust. Key Topics Covered: Inside Microsoft Copilot: What working on tech giant infrastructure teaches you about the hidden, ever-changing business metrics driving AI search algorithms. The Failure of Programmatic Spam: Why flooding your website with thousands of low-quality AI blogs is unsustainable and will ultimately get your brand penalized. Demystifying LLM "Temperature": A simple, clear breakdown of the probabilistic math behind why AI models roll the dice to pick different words and links. Scaling AI Visibility 30x: The step-by-step methodology behind how Opel successfully dominated niche topics day-over-day using highly authoritative, original content. Marketing to Agents, Not Humans: Preparing for a zero-click world where conversational assistants make the ultimate buying decisions for consumers. Results as a Service (RaaS): Why the entire digital ecosystem is shifting away from traditional SaaS apps and into automated outcome delivery. Connect with Mehmet Alp Aysan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alp-aysan/ Website: https://www.cognizo.ai/ Subscribe to Substack: https://georgevlasyev.substack.com/ The GEO Blueprint Podcast explores how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI, LLM-powered search, and shifting digital ecosystems. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:10 - GEO vs SEO — what's the difference and where do they overlap? 02:51 - 5.5 years building AI search at Microsoft — what that taught him 05:51 - The biggest myths about AI visibility he keeps hearing on LinkedIn 07:03 - What is original content in the age of AI? 10:14 - Opel grew AI visibility 30x — here's exactly what they did 11:54 - How does Cognizo actually track AI visibility? 18:09 - The biggest opportunity in marketing most companies are completely missing 19:54 - Can a small company compete against HubSpot in AI search? 23:04 - How will AI fundamentally change marketing in the next 3 years? 26:53 - SaaS is becoming RaaS — results as a service 31:14 - Brand has zero AI visibility — what's the very first step? 32:49 - 73% of LinkedIn citations come from long-form articles — not posts 34:13 - Why narrative and community are the foundation of AI visibility 35:37 - What actually happens when you type a question into AI search? 37:57 - How do you deal with the probabilistic nature of AI when tracking visibility? 40:18 - AI intimacy and what it means for brand marketing 42:38 - What does AI search look like in 2 years? 43:53 - What does "building a narrative" actually mean in practice? 45:09 - First party vs third party — what's the right ratio? 47:08 - Which AI engine are you betting on in 2026? 48:48 - Will there be one AI winner or will it stay scattered? 54:46 - How do you use AI in your own work? 56:37 - What is the one thing AI cannot do for a marketing team? 58:32 - Is AI making us lazier? 1:00:37 - What is uniquely human that AI will never replicate? 1:01:11 - Outro #GEO #AISearch #SEO #GenerativeEngineOptimization #Cognizo #AIFirst #LLM #DigitalMarketing #B2BSaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint #Entrepreneurship

Ranking #1 on Google used to be the ultimate SEO milestone. In the AI-driven search era, users aren't even visiting traditional websites anymore—they're asking Gemini and Claude for the answers. ✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days: https://semrush.sjv.io/QY0DvYIn this episode, George Vlasyev sits down with Vadi Efe, Founder of Busylike, an AI-first marketing agency brand activation company helping brands create digital media strategies, content production, and campaign execution. Vadi breaks down how to run systematic prompt tracking across language models, why "utility marketing" is the future of monetization inside ChatGPT, and how smaller specialist brands can outcompete massive budgets by capturing targeted niches.Key Topics Covered:Reverse-Engineering LLM Rankings: How to programmatically track hundreds of user prompts across models to figure out exactly when and where your brand is cited.The Architecture of Model Memory: The operational roadmap to establishing your brand as a foundational authority so AI models intuitively recommend you across millions of independent user conversations.The Death of the Traditional Keyword: Why the shift from four-word queries to 23-word natural conversations requires hyper-specific, in-depth content layers to capture high-converting intent.Winning with Limited Budgets: How smaller specialists can exploit hidden gaps in authority ecosystems to dominate niches before multi-million dollar corporate ad spending takes over.The Reality of Generative Content: Why regurgitating standard information fails over the long term, and how to orchestrate AI tools using proprietary expert data to scale unique output safely.The Dawn of Utility Marketing: Why future ad placements inside conversational AI interfaces must deliver active, precise utility to the user to maintain system trust and drive high ROI.Dominating High-Authority Domains: Maximizing visibility on core LLM training vectors like Reddit and YouTube through genuine human-to-human interaction, transcription alignment, and video optimization.The Ultimate Human Edge: The distinct creative elements, emotional dynamics, and real-world experiences that software architectures will never genuinely replicate.---Connect with Vadi Efe:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vadiefe/Website: https://www.busylike.com/Subscribe to Substack: https://georgevlasyev.substack.com/The GEO Blueprint Podcast explores how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI, LLM-powered search, and shifting digital ecosystems.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:04 - What does Busylike do?02:06 - How AI visibility, media strategy and creative production are connected?04:16 - Are AI visibility tools reliable or Fugazi?06:25 - How GEO changes brand discovery vs traditional SEO and paid media?10:16 - How can brands use AI insights to improve messaging and positioning?12:03 - Your brand isn't mentioned in AI at all — what do you do?14:11 - Big brands vs small specialists — who wins in AI search?16:21 - Is AI-generated content a viable long-term strategy?19:10 - Model memory — how to build AI authority in your niche20:46 - Will ads inside AI conversations be sustainable?24:52 - Reddit as an AI visibility strategy26:41 - What can AI never replace in creative production?27:40 - YouTube content strategy for brands in the AI age31:14 - Built and sold two companies — biggest lessons from exits33:13 - How will AI change humanity?36:40 - How will AI change education for our children?39:10 - Replace yourself with AI before someone else does40:00 - Best advice for a founder building an AI company right now41:33 - Agents — use cases and how they change how businesses run43:04 - Will there be one AI winner or will it stay scattered?44:37 - Local language AI — the Turkish token problem47:41 - What's your LLM of choice?49:48 - Voice search and ubiquitous computing53:01 - Outro#GEO #AISearch #SEO

Ranking #1 on Google used to be the ultimate SEO milestone. In the AI-driven search era, users aren't even visiting traditional websites anymore—they're asking Gemini and Claude for the answers. If your brand isn’t showing up directly in LLM citations, your business is effectively invisible. Arjun Mahadevan has the playbook to reverse engineer AI search engine optimization and win the future of digital discovery. ✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days: https://semrush.sjv.io/E0R5rQ In this episode, George Vlasyev sits down with Arjun Mahadevan, Founder & CEO of Doola, a platform helping global founders form US companies, handle taxes, and manage bookkeeping. Arjun breaks down how Doola became the #1 recommended LLC platform on Google Gemini, the mechanics of Claude’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), and why marketing leaders need to prepare for a world where their primary customers are AI agents, not humans. Reverse-Engineering LLM Rankings: How to track AI search citations across models to figure out exactly what content (Reddit, blogs, YouTube) is driving AI recommendations. The Massive AI Attribution Disconnect: Why traditional tracking fails to capture the 25%+ of users who discover brands via LLMs before navigating via a direct, branded search. Dominating a Hyper-Specific Niche: Why building a structural moat in a specialized category like "LLC for non-US residents" outperforms chasing broad, commoditized keywords. The Model Context Protocol (MCP) Revolution: How universal plug-ins are turning websites from onboarding funnels into pure social proof surfaces as transactions move directly inside chat interfaces. The Rise of Agentic Commerce: Preparing your business operations for a future where autonomously prompting AI agents buy software and execute business services instead of human users. The "Google Maps" Cognitive Effect: The alarming research showing how outsourcing critical thinking to automated platforms shrinks human brain activity. The "Write-Your-Take-First" Protocol: A tactical framework of writing down your thesis before prompting an AI to prevent models from simply mirroring back predictable pattern guesses. Steven Bartlett’s Creative Moat: Why creative writing and swimming against the lazy AI tide will become the ultimate differentiator for future business leaders. Earning the Right to Play: Overcoming the "dull, dreary grind" of early-stage operations and using strategic hiring to transition your daily work from a chore into a game. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mahadevanarjun/ Website: https://www.doola.com/ Subscribe to Substack: https://georgevlasyev.substack.com/ The Geo Blueprint Podcast explores how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI, LLM-powered search, and shifting digital ecosystems. 00:00 - Intro 01:03 - Who is Arjun and how did he get his first customer via Twitter DM? 03:16 - Doola was #1 on Gemini this morning — how do you reverse engineer that? 07:48 - Why LLC for non-US residents instead of the broader LLC market? 09:41 - Should my friend from Netherlands even get a US LLC? 12:16 - Doola's MCP with Claude — where is the internet heading? 16:26 - Will your future customer be a human or an AI agent? 20:24 - What will be uniquely valuable about humans in the AI age? 24:18 - Be the one who replaces yourself with AI 26:11 - Write your take before you prompt 27:00 - Steven Bartlett on why creative writing becomes more important 29:40 - What should every new founder know before the fun parts? 32:25 - When work feels like play, you win 33:52 - Outro #GEO #AISearch #SEO #GenerativeEngineOptimization #Doola #ClaudeMCP #LLM #DigitalMarketing #B2BSaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint #Entrepreneurship

Ranking #1 on Google used to be the ultimate SEO milestone. In the AI-driven search era, it’s just table stakes. If your brand isn’t visible across the entire web ecosystem—from ChatGPT and Perplexity to Reddit and YouTube—you’re effectively invisible. Michael King has the playbook to fix it.✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days: https://semrush.sjv.io/E0RBPeIn this episode, George Vlasyev sits down with Michael King, Founder & CEO of iPullRank and leading expert on technical SEO and Relevance Engineering. As one of the sharpest technical minds in search, Mike breaks down the breakdown of traditional rankings, the reality of Google's "AI Mode," and why winning generative visibility requires a radical shift toward an omni-media footprint.Key Topics Covered:The ranking-citation gap: Why top-ranking Google pages are missing from AI search summaries and why the traditional search playbook is failing.Retrieval vs. Ranking: How AI engines evaluate content through factual density and information extraction over classic domain authority.The Omni-Media framework: Why your brand must live on Reddit, YouTube, TikTok, and third-party review surfaces to survive the "click collapse."Decoding "AI Mode": Inside the mechanics of modern generative information retrieval and how it manipulates content on the other side.The Google API leaks reality check: Why public search guidance often conflicts with internal engineering documentation and what it reveals about algorithm signals.The Query Fan-Out method: How to uncover exactly how Google interprets entire topic clusters using advanced reasoning extraction tools.Entity-First strategy: Shifting your focus from rigid keyword optimization to structured entity relationships that AI datasets can cleanly crawl.Structuring for extraction: Why structured atomic content blocks and clean formatting beat long-form prose when AI models retrieve answers.The fallacy of "just create great content": Why surface-level writing fails the AI validation layer and what you should actually publish.Relevance Engineering:Transforming traditional SEO into an AI-driven discipline that focuses on contextual validation across the wider web.---Connect with Michael King:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelkingphilly/Website: https://ipullrank.com/Subscribe to Substack: https://georgevlasyev.substack.com/The Geo Blueprint Podcast explores how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI, LLM-powered search, and shifting digital ecosystems.---Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:48 - Is AI search fundamentally different from SEO?02:42 - Social consensus — why your message needs to be everywhere06:25 - Does a traditional SEO team even exist in 5 years?11:09 - Relevance engineering — not SEO. What does that mean?16:14 - Original content in AI search — the shoes cut in half18:19 - What will be the content moat? There won't be one.26:19 - What is chunking and why does it matter?28:50 - Page speed is an eligibility gate, not a ranking factor30:29 - AI is making us stupider — the research behind it32:57 - CMO advice — traffic is collapsing, here's what to do34:12 - Does Google rank still correlate with AI citations?35:40 - AI visibility tools — accuracy vs precision40:41 - The marketing engineer — what is this new role?41:48 - Vibe coding — he no longer writes code42:47 - Will there be one AI winner?46:53 - Black hat in AI search — there are no guidelines48:08 - Will creative writing come back in the AI age?52:16 - What's coming in the next 12 months?55:21 - AI, propaganda and the filter bubble56:30 - AI and education — the future of personalized learning58:42 - Outro#GEO #AISearch #SEO #GenerativeEngineOptimization #iPullRank #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #B2BSaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint

AI search sends less traffic than traditional search, but the traffic it sends is highly qualified. Patrick Stox has the data to prove it.✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days: https://semrush.sjv.io/xJro6kIn this episode, George Vlasyev sits down with Patrick Stox, Product Developer and Technical SEO Expert at Ahrefs, an industry-leading SEO platform that recently studied 75,000 brands to understand what drives visibility in ChatGPT. Patrick is one of the clearest and most grounded voices in the space on what actually works in the AI-driven search age, how to navigate the "click collapse," and what is quietly changing for brands that haven’t made the shift yet.Key Topics Covered:* The reality of the click collapse: Why AI search traffic is plummeting by over 50% but sending more qualified conversions * The freshness vs. relevance debate: Why pages with zero Google traffic are being cited thousands of times by AI * The breakdown of Google's "Web Guide": What it is, why it beats standard AI modes, and how it handles clickable links * Why attribution is "messy and difficult" right now — and the manual workarounds brands are using to track LLM impact * Personalization and memory: Why two people typing the exact same prompt will get 100% different results * The truth about AI agents in commerce: Will consumers actually trust AI assistants with their credit cards? * How Google is fighting back: The hiring of anti-scraping engineers and the blocking of traditional SEO rank tracking tools * Walled gardens and paywalls: Why established publishers are shifting toward data licensing and subscription models * Information Gain Framework: Why your content needs a mix of AI efficiency and unique human insights to be valued * How Ahrefs built 100 free AI writing tools to drive 20 million visits per month as a massive lead-gen funnel * The 30-minute CMO audit: Why marketing leaders need to "take a breath" amidst the AI bubble and focus on long-term strategy * Why SEO is transforming into GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and why brand reputation and product quality matter more than ever Connect with Patrick Stox:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickstoxWebsite: https://ahrefs.comSubscribe to Substack: https://georgevlasyev.substack.com/The Geo Blueprint Podcast explores how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI, LLM-powered search, and shifting digital ecosystems.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:56 - Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands — what actually drives AI visibility?02:53 - Click collapse — traffic plummeting but conversions aren't03:56 - Attribution in AI search — how do brands track the invisible?06:23 - Agents for commerce — are we actually ready?08:43 - What is the most important AI search metric right now?11:46 - What does the future of the web look like?12:34 - Web Guide vs AI Mode — which will win?15:15 - Google is blocking SEO tools past position 30 — here's why16:57 - Should publishers go behind paywalls to protect from AI crawlers?19:22 - Junior SEO jobs — should you change careers?20:39 - Is it SEO or GEO — and why does that distinction matter?24:11 - What is uniquely human in the age of AI?31:52 - Ahrefs built 100 free AI tools — 20 million visits per month32:54 - What jobs are actually safe from AI?36:45 - CMO advice for the next 6-12 months39:50 - Vibe coding — hundreds of apps built43:44 - AI generic content vs original — what should you actually publish?46:26 - Are we in an AI bubble?50:46 - Outro#GEO #AISearch #AEO #SEO #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #B2BSaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint #Ahrefs

AI search sends less traffic than Google, but the traffic it sends converts at a higher rate. Jason Patel has the data to prove it.✅ Win AI visibility — try Semrush free for 14 days: https://semrush.sjv.io/MK2yvqIn this episode, George Vlasyev sits down with Jason Patel, founder of OpenForge, an AI search analytics platform that helps brands track and win visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and every major answer engine. Jason built and sold his first company on the back of SEO, and now he is one of the clearest voices in the space on what actually works in the AEO age and what is quietly killing brands that have not made the shift yet.Key Topics Covered:- Why the entire internet experience is becoming personalized and what that means for how brands show up in AI search- Why you cannot measure AI search visibility with exact attribution yet — and the workaround that actually works right now- The new AI search metrics that matter: AI mentions, citations, share of AI voice, and prompt coverage- Why asking the same prompt over and over again is currently the most accurate way to track your visibility in answer engines- Why mid-funnel and commercial content is where the real opportunity is — and why top-of-funnel content is becoming increasingly dangerous to rely on- The information gain framework: why the only content AI will consistently cite is content it cannot create on its own- Why AI search traffic converts at a higher rate than traditional search traffic despite lower volume- How to win visibility differently on ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity — and why Perplexity has the largest magnitude of difference from all other platforms- Why there is no golden ratio between first-party and third-party citations and how to find what actually tracks for your specific market- The 30-minute CMO audit: where to start when your traffic is flat or declining- Why structured data and schema are no longer just important — they are mission critical for AI search- Why SEO is not dead but is transforming into something bigger, more lucrative, and more holistic- What people are getting most wrong about AEO and GEO right now- Why the AI age will create more jobs than it destroys — and why human connection becomes more valuable, not lessConnect with Jason:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pateljasonWebsite: https://www.openforge.ai/Connect with George:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgevlasyevSubscribe to Substack: https://georgevlasyev.substack.com/Download The GEO Blueprint Guide: https://thegeoblueprint.com/The GEO Blueprint Podcast is hosted by George Vlasyev — exploring how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI and LLM-powered search.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:52 - How Is AI Changing Search & Marketing?02:37 - Can You Measure Visibility in AI Search?05:22 - Which AI Search Metrics Actually Matter?08:06 - How Do You Track AI Search If AI Hallucinates?09:25 - Will AI Analytics Kill AI SEO Tools?11:23 - Why Mid-Funnel Content Beats Top-Funnel Content15:07 - What Kind of Content AI Can't Replace17:32 - Are AI Agents the Future of Commerce?19:10 - How Do Brands Win on ChatGPT, Gemini & Claude?27:02 - Do First-Party or Third-Party Citations Matter More?30:24 - What Should CMOs Do About Declining Traffic?38:33 - What's the First Thing Every Company Should Do for AI Search?42:41 - What People Are Getting Wrong About AI Search, AEO or GEO?46:18 - Will AI Replace White-Collar Jobs?50:04 - Why Human Connection Matters More in the AI Era?55:04 - Where Can People Find Jason Patel?#GEO #AISearch #AEO #SEO #ContentMarketing #DigitalMarketing #B2BSaaS #ArtificialIntelligence #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint

Only 1% of website traffic comes from LLMs right now and Patrick Reinhart has the 3 billion session study from Conductor to prove it.In this episode, George Vlasyev sits down with Patrick Reinhart, VP of Professional Services at Conductor, where he has spent nearly 11 years helping enterprise brands navigate the intersection of SEO, data, and now AI search. With 23 years in the industry, Patrick leads strategic consulting for some of the world's largest organizations and runs Conductor's monthly 3030 webinar series. He brings one of the most data-grounded perspectives on GEO, brand visibility in LLMs, and what search professionals actually need to do right now.Key Topics Covered:- Conductor's benchmarks study covering 3 billion sessions and 54 million prompts — and what the 1% LLM referral traffic number really means- Why Conductor is shifting from SaaS to data as a service and what that signals for the future of software- What Google values vs. what LLMs value after two years of side-by-side tracking- Why backlinks matter in traditional search but brand sentiment is the authority signal in AI search- The attribution problem in AI search and why a rise in direct traffic is your best proxy right now- AI commerce agents: where they will work (flights, subscriptions) and where they won't (anything above a comfort-price threshold)- The gamification of AI search and why a human in the loop is the real line between sustainable and black hat- Why the SEO vs. GEO debate is mostly pointless and what search professionals should actually own- Why your brand is a mathematical entity in AI and what that means for sentiment, share of voice, and visibility- Google Personal Intelligence, Gemini pulling citations from Gmail, and what hyper-personalization does to the search journey- AI overview coverage swinging from 23% to 47% back to 34% and what the volatility actually signals- Why ads in AI chat are fundamentally not conducive to the experience — and what the early test results are showing- Direct CMO advice for right now: reset expectations, fix the process, and stop treating traffic as a success metricConnect with Patrick:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickreinhart/Website: https://www.conductor.com/Download The GEO Blueprint Guide: https://thegeoblueprint.com/The GEO Blueprint Podcast is hosted by George Vlasyev — exploring how brands can win visibility in the age of generative AI and LLM-powered search.Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:36 - Who is Patrick and what does Conductor do?02:30 - Conductor is shifting from SaaS to data as a service — what does that mean?04:45 - What will be the moat of software companies moving forward?06:08 - Conductor's study — 3 billion sessions, 54 million prompts, only 1% traffic from LLMs11:33 - What Google values vs what LLMs value — 2 years of tracking15:43 - The attribution problem in AI search20:02 - What's your take on agents for commerce?22:52 - Gamification of AI search — what companies should NOT do26:57 - Is it SEO or GEO — why does that debate matter?32:43 - Demographics, AI adoption, and why your audience determines your strategy38:21 - Your brand is a mathematical entity in AI39:17 - Google personal intelligence — the data behemoth finally unlocks46:22 - AI overview coverage went from 23% to 47% back to 34% — what that tells us52:12 - Hot take — ads in AI55:12 - CMO advice for right now58:38 - Outro#GEO #AISearch #SEO #GenerativeEngineOptimization #DigitalMarketing #B2BSaaS #LLMOptimization #ContentMarketing #SearchMarketing #GEOBlueprint