WebFX

As WebFX-U quickly approaches, we want to highlight another FX-U-attendee-turned-FXer. Today's story features Patelin, a project manager here at WebFX. Check out the article for her journey to WebFX. Not familiar with FX-U? Here are the basics: ➡️ FX-U is our free *in-person* event for college students who want to learn more about working in digital marketing (and at WebFX). ➡️ It's held at our HQ in Harrisburg. ➡️ The upcoming session is on Oct. 13, 2026 from 1 - 3:30 p.m. Register on our website to save your spot! ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eCi4MKtg All majors welcome!

Search visibility is crucial for getting in front of the people most likely to buy. But "search visibility" is no longer limited to "search engines." AI has changed the way many people research and gather new information, which creates a whole new opportunity for you to get in front of your audience. An SEO strategy that doesn't account for both AI and organic search is potentially missing out on a high-converting segment of your audience. We say "high-converting" because AI-driven visitors take action at a rate 1.2x higher than that of organic search. Want to capture more conversions from both organic search and AI visitors? Our team can help. We've dropped a link to contact us in the comments. Hope to hear from you soon!

Google tested 13 LLMs to understand why models get things wrong. Is it that AI models never learned the facts, or that they struggle to recall them? The study revealed a recall issue. Gemini-3-Pro and GPT-5 models, specifically, had stored nearly all of what they were trained on, but could only reliably pull up the correct answer about 30% of the time. One reason, according to researchers: reversal curse. Say a business writes "Company A offers same-day plumbing in Harrisburg." An AI can easily store that, but when someone asks "Who offers same-day plumbing in Harrisburg?" it can fail to connect the dots, even though it has the right answer. This matters because more and more people are asking AI tools directly about businesses. If a model can't retrieve your key facts, you're basically invisible to your AI-using audience. You don't need to overhaul all of your content, though. We share some advice for adapting to this research on our blog. Find the link in the comments to learn more.

Still considering your options for outsourcing your GEO? Knowing what success looks like can help! This article highlights 7 key signs that tell you an agency is hitting their mark.

Yes, it's true. And we're not afraid to say it. 📣 You need to get your SEO in order to ensure you appear in AI responses. There. We said it. A solid SEO foundation will set you up for success when you launch your AI SEO strategy. And how do you evaluate your current SEO strategy? With an audit. Our free SEO checker can help! Pop your URL into the tool and you'll get a report full of helpful tips. You're one giant leap closer to dominating the organic and AI search results. Grab the SEO checker link in the comments! 🔗

What's it like attending WebFX-U? We asked FXers who previously attended a session to share their experiences. Today's FX-U story features Julian, a revenue marketing account manager here at WebFX. Over the next few weeks, we'll share more FX-U alumni stories so you have a full picture of what's in store when you attend. ➡️ What is WebFX-U? It's our free *in-person* event for college students who want to learn more about working in digital marketing (and at WebFX). ➡️ Where is WebFX-U? At our HQ in Harrisburg! ➡️ When is WebFX-U? Oct. 13, 2026 from 1 - 3:30 p.m. Register today to save your spot! ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eCi4MKtg You don't need to be a marketing major to join us. Just bring your curiosity!

Have you checked out Google's AI search guidelines? It's a must-read if you want the inside scoop on how to optimize for AI search in the Google ecosystem. Right now, let's focus on one of the myths busted in the guidelines. 🚩 LLMS.txt If you aren't familiar, it's a plain text file that's meant to serve a somewhat similar purpose as robots.txt. While the guidelines mention that LLMS.txt doesn't necessarily harm your visibility, and may possibly help with non-Google tools, Google confirmed its systems don't use these files to find or rank content. So, what can help you improve your AI visibility? ✅ Abby, an SEO expert at WebFX, has some advice: “One of the biggest things that actually helps improve AI visibility is ensuring your page matches the user’s search intent. Take a look at the AI Overviews and AI search result answers for your topic or target keyword to get an idea of what users want to know, and then make sure your page covers those same questions and topics, especially in the first paragraph of your page. While things like inserting schema markup can definitely help, the actual content on your page plays the biggest part in your visibility.” We cover more of the myths, and everything else in Google's guidelines, on our website. Head to the comments for the link!

Local SEO matters now more than ever. Take a look at the insights Natalie shared in her blog post on SEO.com.

"How do I outsource generative engine optimization (GEO)?" 👆 That's a question we're hearing more often. 👇 But there's another question you should answer first. "Do I need to outsource GEO, or can I handle it on my own?" The answer to that last question depends on a number of factors, like the resources you have at hand, your team's expertise, and your availability. Here are a few telltale signs it's time to bring in outside help: First, your SEO rankings are strong but AI tools don't mention you. You may have high-quality content, but the issue goes deeper. Content structure and brand authority may need a refresh, but an audit can tell you more. Second, your team is producing plenty of great content but isn't familiar with how AI systems select and cite sources. While there's overlap between SEO and GEO, AI visibility requires an additional layer of expertise for success. Third, you're creating more and more content with the intent of appearing in AI responses, but you're still not seeing citations. This could mean the content isn't fully optimized for LLMs, no matter how much of it you publish. Of course, you'll want to make sure the partner you choose doesn't just slap a "GEO" label onto traditional SEO services and call it a day. When you're selecting a partner, you'll want someone who knows how to develop clear content with genuine topical depth around the queries you care about most, and a strategy that integrates SEO and GEO (instead of framing it as one vs. the other). You don't want a stack of inauthentic mentions, or edits of your existing pages made to sound more machine-friendly. If you're deciding whether to hire an agency for your GEO, our guide on outsourcing your strategy can help. Give it a read on our website (linked in the comments).

AI platforms can impact your website in a major way with seemingly small changes to their UI. One such change includes OpenAI grouping sources inside of a three-dot menu at the bottom of ChatGPT's responses, rather than providing an individual button. The sources still exist, and still feed the LLM's responses, but their visibility lives behind an extra click. While the adjustment may not be permanent, and could just be a test, this speaks to the importance of citation resilience. AI evolves at lightning speed, and change is bound to happen. This means your strategy needs to be ready for interface decisions you aren't a part of, and it's not limited to ChatGPT. The path to success requires you to: ⚡ Diversify your tracking ⚡ Stop treating any single platform’s interface as a stable channel ⚡ Build proof that doesn’t depend on the click However, if you've noticed a drop in AI traffic, don't immediately blame it on the platform. Do what Sarah, one of our SEO experts, suggests. 👇 “If you see a sudden drop in AI referral traffic, dig into your analytics first (GA4 has a dedicated AI Assistant channel for this) before assuming it’s from this UI change. In GA4, for example, check to see if the drop is coming from a specific source (like ChatGPT) or landing page and how that shift compares to the previous period and year.” Want more insights on how to build an AI optimization strategy that adapts to the latest changes? You'll have to visit our blog for more details. Link in the comments! 😉