How often do you use AI to answer questions?
If you’re like most people, probably more often than you realize.
Your prospects? They’re doing the same thing.
They’re turning to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and other bots for answers.
The question is: Is your firm showing up in AI conversations?
If not, how can you be the one who shows up in AI searches when your prospects have questions?
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If showing up in AI search hasn’t been on your radar, it should be.
Ahrefs recently ran a study that found only 38% of AI overview citations came from pages ranking in Google’s top 10.
Why does that matter?
It means that traditional SEO doesn’t automatically equate to AI visibility.
But you know what can increase your visibility in AI search? Social media.
Semrush recently ran a study of its own that analyzed 80,000 LinkedIn URLs cited in AI search. At a high level, LinkedIn is one of the most cited domains across all AI models, right behind Reddit.
That’s great news for you if LinkedIn is your primary platform of focus (or if you want to start posting on LinkedIn). According to the study, LinkedIn content can directly shape how AI explains your brand. Essentially, it mirrors the meaning of the content.
It also found that educational content is cited most often.
What does this mean for you? It means that you should focus on creating and posting original content (not just resharing posts).
You’ll benefit from possibly showing up in AI search, but you’ll also benefit from gaining positive attention from the algorithm. Platforms really prioritize original content.
Now, here’s another thing that Semrush’s study found: AI citations reward relevance and consistency more than virality.
In other words, you don’t need to go viral to start showing up in these searches. Moderate engagement (about 15-25 reactions) is the average of what these cited posts in AI search results had.
The study also found that 75% of cited authors post frequently.
What does frequently mean? About five posts in four weeks. That equates to about one post a week, which is very doable.
About half had over 2,000 followers. I know some of you are thinking, “Hey, that sounds like a lot of followers.” But that kind of following is very achievable over time.
One other thing: the account you post on matters.
Semrush’s study found that Perplexity favored company accounts. ChatGPT and Google AI mode favored people.
If you want to show up on Perplexity, post from your company account. Other AI chats may follow this lead, so if you want to futureproof your firm, post on both your company and personal accounts.
Now, you know the importance of AI search and social media. But what if you already have website content and SEO has been working for you?
You don’t want to lose your progress just because people are going to AI.
Here’s the good news: you can restructure your site to show up in AI search.
Whether you already have content or you’re building out a content plan and want to show up in AI search from the start, here’s a blueprint you can follow to improve your visibility.
The first thing I want you to think about is your content’s usefulness. Are you adding a lot of fluff to your intros and the body of your content?
For example, instead of saying, “Hey, managing cash flow is useful for every company,” say, “A cash flow forecast does A, B, C.”
Be direct and answer-oriented. Get straight to the point from the get-go and ditch the fluff content.
Next, I want you to turn your H2 headers into real buyer questions.
This might look like:
You want to have very specific questions. That’s what’s going to help your content show up in these LLMs.
It’s common for accounting firms (and other service businesses) to have one long service page.
But if your goal is to show up in AI search, you want to start building your content around multiple pages instead.
Each of these pages should answer a very specific question.
So, maybe you have the following pages:
I want you to start thinking about all of the questions you get. You could even do some research around what people are actually searching for to figure out which questions to answer and create pages around.
If you already have a lot of content on your site, try going back to it and updating. Refresh your old posts to make it easier for AI search engines to pull it in and utilize it.
And something else, if you already have a lot of content, is to go back to it and just update it. So rather than taking these suggestions I’m sharing with you and using them to create new content from scratch, go back through your old content and update it so that it’s easier for these AI search engines to actually pull it in and utilize it.
More people are using AI search to find answers to their questions. If you want to futureproof your firm and grow online, you need to show up in these conversations.
A little reformatting and re-imagining of your content can go a long way in boosting your visibility. But the real magic happens when you combine that with a social media strategy.
AI search is becoming a primary way prospects find answers online. If your firm isn’t visible in these searches, you could miss out on potential clients.
Social media, especially LinkedIn, is frequently cited in AI searches. By posting original, educational content, you can enhance your firm’s presence in AI conversations.
Focus on creating original, educational content that answers specific questions. This approach is more likely to be cited by AI models.
Aim for about one post a week. Consistency is key, and moderate engagement is sufficient to improve your visibility in AI search.
Make your content direct and useful, turn headers into specific buyer questions, and create multiple pages addressing different topics instead of one long page.
Yes, refreshing old content can improve its relevance and make it easier for AI search engines to utilize, helping you maintain visibility.