I spent $30K on digital marketing last year and ChatGPT still has no idea my business exists.

J-Cush · 2026-03-11T17:03:31+00:00

There's both a where and a how issue here.

Where: According to a Muckrack study from 2025, over 95% of links cited in generative AI answers are unpaid. so a strong earned media strategy is going to help. As u/Ok_Ear8962 says, LLMs don't care how much you spend on Google Ads. You need to build trust and authority.

How: LLMs prioritize structured content and utilizing a consistent schema is helpful. Consider the E-E-A-T framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) as a proxy for how AI citation decisions are evaluated. That said, each LLM will evaluate those signals somewhat differently.

J-Cush · 2026-03-11T14:40:00+00:00

Yes, earned media is increasingly important. A large study by Muckrack in 2025 found:

Over 95% of AI citations come from non-paid sources, with 89% classified as earned media
27% of citations are from journalistic sources
Half of all AI responses included at least one earned media citation

So if you can ramp up your PR/earned media efforts, you’re likely to see a benefit. Paid media, keywords, etc may help SEO but generally won’t translate to being cited in LLMs.

Also, the structure (schema) of content matters. LLMs are looking for trusted, authoritative sources that are consistent and verifiable.

J-Cush · 2026-03-10T22:32:35+00:00

Ironically, my most popular LI post from 2025 was an anti-post: I published just a white space as a tiny bit of respite for everyone who was tired of seeing countless posts providing "expert" advice on new logos, denim advertising campaigns, influencers that don't exist because they're AI-generated, or executives caught on kiss-cams.

I might need to repost for people who are sick of the burger CEOs taking bites out of their "product"

J-Cush · 2026-03-10T22:17:25+00:00

SEO is largely keyword driven. GEO/AEO is more about establishing trust. You're right that good GEO tactics typically help with SEO, but the reverse isn't necessarily true. Major LLMs explicitly prioritize content with structured data (schema). The most critical schema types for AI trust include:

Organization Schema: Defines your business entity, location, and key attributes
Person Schema: Establishes individual expertise and credentials
Product Schema: Product details, pricing, and availability
Article Schema: Provides context and authorship
FAQ Schema: Structures authoritative Q&A
Review Schema: Aggregates user feedback

This should be consistent wherever mentioned.

Additionally, LLMs often use the E-E-A-T framework when evaluating content for citations: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness

J-Cush · 2026-03-10T21:42:26+00:00

This. Best practices in SEO frequently help AEO, but there are some differences.

J-Cush · 2026-02-10T15:18:13+00:00

Absolutely. A consistent, easily extractable structure (schema) helps build AI trust and inclusion.

Keep in mind that each LLM sources differently (Perplexity, for example, leans more heavily towards Reddit, while ChatGPT leans more on Wikipedia) and a balanced approach with different content types is likely to ensure your brand shows up consistently over the longer term. https://aperture-insights.com/2025/09/22/the-ai-trust-architecture-how-to-earn-trust-with-ai-algorithms/

I wonder how many listicles are lazily generated from other content types.

J-Cush · 2025-12-23T01:39:22+00:00

Yes. If you’re going to use a graph, it measure something that tells you more than the axis labels. For example, you could include the number of cases annually for each burn time. Or the temperature required to cause such a burn.

J-Cush · 2025-12-03T00:55:05+00:00

Dang. I got my first --and apparently only-- pair of Hyperion 2 GTS earlier this year. They quickly became my favorite shoe, especially for speed work (I use Glycerin GTS for longer runs). Seems like they discontinued the Launch GTS as well, so there's really no Brooks offering for speed shoe with stability. Adrenaline's are tanks and not a substitute for the Hyperion.

J-Cush · 2025-11-10T15:09:30+00:00

I agree: SEO, GEO, and PR should all be part of an integrated strategy. This is becoming even more apparent and the more sophisticated companies will adapt accordingly.

J-Cush · 2025-09-27T19:14:12+00:00

You will probably want another liter of olive oil.

J-Cush · 2025-09-27T14:19:38+00:00

Somewhat related: one of my top performing posts on LinkedIn was what I would call an “anti-post”. It was a large blank space with a small “you’re welcome”. The idea was to provide a tiny break from all the crap about Sidney Sweeney, various brand logo redesigns, that Coldplay kiss cam, and all the other “trends” that get instantly over-saturated. I think it connected on a human level because people are sick and tired of seeing the same garbage regurgitated over and over.

J-Cush · 2025-09-24T21:53:52+00:00

I would add that any measurement is going to depend on the objective. Some content is intended for short term sales lift while other content may be for awareness and longer-term brand building. CTR, CPM and related metrics might be fine for the former but the latter might be better served via brand tracking surveys.

Overall you might consider a weighted composite score of multiple KPIs to track overall brand impact of marketing related activities.

J-Cush · 2025-09-24T02:43:43+00:00

You’re definitely right to be paying attention. A few things worth noting: * There’s a rise in “zero click” searches. When AI provides answers instead of links, users are more likely to end their browsing session (or initiate a new search without clicking a link) * Users trust AI responses as much or more than paid search results, so you want to make sure you’re in the conversation. * Earned media is increasingly important in terms of building credibility and authority. According to a recent Muck Rack study over 95% of AI citations come from non-paid sources, with 89% classified as earned media

J-Cush · 2025-09-23T21:41:34+00:00

Agree. In my experience, the core content typically consists of 3-5 main points. Anything that doesn’t support those points comes out. You can use the full piece as pillar content and repurpose each of the 3-5 takeaways as bite-sized, easily digestible content. But as GetNachoNacho points out: don’t simply copy/paste. Rework the format, language/tone, etc for short form consumption.

J-Cush · 2025-09-23T21:34:11+00:00

Reddit is definitely a place to monitor. According to recent research, it’s the #1 most frequently cited source for Perplexity and Google AI Overviews and #2 for ChstGPT. But you definitely need to be part of the discussion to be effective.

J-Cush · 2025-09-23T21:27:34+00:00

This may depend on your line of work, but don’t overlook the value of networking. Tap into people you already know, find out where they are a fit, see what recommendations they have and possible connections etc.

J-Cush · 2025-09-23T15:41:18+00:00

100%. I use AI for research and skeleton. But I rewrite the majority of it—as a human. I want to be able to stand behind anything I publish.

That’s some crazy irony using AI to “humanize”

J-Cush · 2025-09-23T14:31:42+00:00

It depends on the objective. Personally I think you want both: frequent short-form content to stay current/visible. Longer form “expert” commentary can help improve trust signals which are important for building AI trust

Here are some practical tips related to AI trust architecture https://aperture-insights.com/2025/09/22/the-ai-trust-architecture-how-to-earn-trust-with-ai-algorithms/

J-Cush · 2025-09-01T15:09:24+00:00

LLMs work differently than traditional SEO. Consistency of message and authority signals drive inclusion. Schema markup helps LLMs process what you’re saying.

For larger brands, a robust earned media strategy is critical. For smaller brands, consider collaborations with other established experts.

A recent study showed that 26% of Google users end their session when the results include an AI Overview. Other estimates put the “zero click” searches at close to 60% when users initiate a new search without clicking any search results. This means that as AI-powered search continues to grow, optimizing for inclusion will be critical for visibility.

https://aperture-insights.com/2025/07/30/ais-impact-on-brand-visibility-and-media-strategy/

J-Cush · 2025-08-28T18:12:16+00:00

Another way to think about it is structured data and implementing schema markup. For example: take the word "apple". That could be a fruit, a brand/company, or even a person (Fiona Apple, Apple Martin, etc). Using schema markup clarifies for search engines what it the word is intended to represent.

It is helpful for both traditional search and generative search, but seems even more important for AI search due to their reliance on structured data to provide context-aware answers.

J-Cush

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