Perry Steward

Helping B2B SaaS scale revenue with SEO/GEO

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

Not too long ago I was posting how we had hit the 30K monthly organic visitor mark for a client. Today I'm sharing that for the same client 100K+

SEO takes time. We started this project 12 months ago and now we're seeing COMPOUNDING effects of all the work we put in.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

Ahrefs studied 75k brands.

Factors that correlate with appearing in AI Overviews:

Branded web mentions: 0.664
Branded Anchors: 0.527
Number of site pages: 0.17

Publishing more content ranks last (Oops to AI slop)

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

Most cited content type in AI answers?

Listicles. 21.9%.
Your homepage? 5.3%.

Wix Studio analysed AI citations by content type.

The "best X software" roundups you've been ignoring are where AI builds its recommendation lists.

Being on your own site isn't enough.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

AI Overviews don’t just reduce clicks.

They change when the click happens.

Buyers are doing more research inside Google before they visit your site.

So fewer clicks can still mean higher intent.That’s the bit most SEO reports miss.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

If you haven't looked into query fan-out yet, now's the time.

AI doesn't run one search. It runs multiple (across subtopics and sources) then builds one answer.

Which means you're not competing for a keyword anymore.

You're competing across every angle AI decides matters.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

Your brand can be recommended in Google AI and still get no click.

That does not mean the mention had no value.

It means AI visibility and attribution are drifting apart.

https://t.co/Zqt6eBtQ19

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

AI cites pages that are certified FRESH.

Google AIO cites pages published ~1,432 days ago on average.

But last updated just 1,067 days ago.
Every platform shows the same gap.

Publishing and walking away isn't a strategy anymore.

Does this seem high or low?

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

After reviewing 100's of sites.
Most common issues:

- No structured data
- Headings used for styling
- Missing meta titles/descriptions
- Noindex left on from dev (oops)
- 3000px images in 800px containers
- Broken links, dead pages
- Inconsistent messaging across off-page

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

AI can help you write better.

But 100 articles a month with AI just means 100 forgettable pages competing with everyone else doing the same thing.

The brands showing up in AI answers aren't publishing more.

They're being mentioned more.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

Everyone figuring out what AI search means for their strategy is doing you a favour.

Less competition. Same placements.

Our clients on average are up +20% Organic Conversions QoQ - how are you performing?

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

Ahrefs found only 38% of URLs cited in AI answers actually rank in the top 10 for that query.

What moves the needle: clear brand entity, repeat mentions across trusted third-party sources, extractable formats.

More content won't fix this. Presence will.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

Stop tracking just organic positions.

SEO asks "Where do we rank?" AI asks "Where are we mentioned, cited & recommended?"

Ahrefs: only ~38% of URLs cited by AI come from the SERP top 10.

New KPIs: citation frequency, fan-out / subtopic coverage, recommendation share.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

Backlinks still matter.

But only 38% of URLs cited in AI answers rank in the top 10 for that query.

AI recommendations are built from brand mentions, third-party citations, and source coverage - not just link graphs.

Start tracking your mention footprint.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

You can rank #1 and still not be recommended by AI.

These systems use fan‑out queries and stitch evidence from many sources.

They prefer brands that recur across third‑party listicles, videos and docs. Ranking helps, but recommendations follow corroborated, brand mentions

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

You’re not just trying to rank a page.

You’re trying to be the brand that keeps showing up wherever your buyers research.

If you want to design an AI visibility strategy around mentions, DM me and I’ll walk you through how I’d approach it.

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

AI doesn’t pick the best website.

It picks the most *mentioned* brands - 85% of brand discovery comes from third-party sources (https://t.co/ml63z04fVV).

Here’s why that changes how you think about SEO. 👇

[Perry Steward @PerrySteward]

The playbook now:

- Protect your technical + on-site SEO
- Map the domains AI leans on in your space
- Use PR, partnerships, guest posts, and community engagement to earn mentions there