Classic SEO Run my Audit
Search Everywhere Optimization for IT & tech

Win the AI shortlist.

Classic SEO helps IT, SaaS, cybersecurity, and software companies become the named, cited choice across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and AI-assisted buyer research. AI search visibility, built on the real search foundations that still drive revenue.

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Sample AI Shortlist Audit 4 engines
Buyer asks AI"Best software development company for a fintech MVP?"

"Commonly recommended: Praxent, ScienceSoft, and Netguru, based on verified directory reviews and fintech case studies…" Not mentioned your company is absent

2 / 30
Mentioned in buyer prompts
0 / 12
Recommended in top 3
1 / 9
Cited sources you control
61%
Brand description accuracy
The engines and tools we work across
ChatGPT Claude Perplexity Gemini Grok Ahrefs Semrush Similarweb Google Analytics Google Search Console Looker Studio
The shift

Your buyers stopped scrolling. They started asking.

B2B buyers research with AI before they ever reach your site. The numbers are not subtle.

51%
of B2B software buyers start research with an AI chatbot more often than Google.
G2, 2026 (n=1,076)
69%
chose a different vendor than planned, based on AI guidance.
G2, 2026
1%
of people click a link inside an AI summary.
Pew Research, 2025
34.5%
lower click-through for the top result once an AI Overview appears.
Ahrefs (300k keywords)
So whatRanking on Google still matters, but ranking alone no longer puts you on the list. If AI does not name you, you are not in the conversation, and you never meet the buyer who chose someone else.
How the shortlist gets decided

AI does not invent its answer. It assembles it.

Every recommendation runs through five layers, built from sources AI already trusts. Each one is winnable.

01Buyer prompt
02AI answer
03Cited sources
04Vendor shortlist
05Sales call
ADirectories. Clutch, G2, GoodFirms, DesignRush. Structured, verified data AI parses with confidence.
BListicles. The "best of" articles AI ingests as if they were editorial. The largest source of named recommendations.
CAuthority. Reviews, third-party mentions, and content clear enough for AI to quote. The proof that turns "mentioned" into "recommended."
So whatWe engineer your presence in the exact directories, listicles, and sources AI pulls from, so the shortlist ends with your name on it.
The method

Five pillars. One outcome: you get named.

Classic SEO discipline, pointed at where buyers actually look now.

01 / Search foundation

Search foundation

Technical SEO, crawlability, indexation, speed, internal links, and structured content. The groundwork AI and Google both reward.

02 / Entity clarity

Entity clarity

We make your company, services, people, and proof unmistakable to machines, so AI knows exactly who you are.

03 / Evidence architecture

Evidence architecture

Case studies, comparisons, methodology and answer pages: the material AI quotes when it recommends a vendor.

04 / Citation authority

Citation authority

Placement in the directories, reviews, and publications AI cites. Not link counting. The sources that decide the list.

05 / AI visibility tracking

AI visibility tracking

We monitor your presence across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI, run each buyer prompt repeatedly, and report what is real, never a single screenshot.

Explore the services
The product

Start by finding out where you stand.

Most agencies sell you activity. We start with a diagnostic that answers one question: when your buyer asks AI who to hire, are you named?

01 Buyer prompt map

The exact questions your buyers ask AI before they contact anyone.

02 AI visibility matrix

Where you appear, where you are absent, and where competitors win.

03 Recommendation rate

How often AI actively recommends you, not just mentions you.

04 Citation sources

The specific pages and third-party sources AI uses to justify its answers.

05 Accuracy issues

Where AI gets your services, location, or positioning wrong.

06 90-day action plan

The pages to build, sources to earn, and fixes to make, in priority order.

Measured, not promised. We run every prompt multiple times across engines, because AI answers vary run to run. A single screenshot is not a measurement. A pattern is.

Run my AI Shortlist Audit
A marketing lead reviewing search and AI analytics
Who we are

A search team for the AI era.

We are search specialists who have spent years getting IT and tech companies found, now pointed at the engines buyers actually use. No outsourced churn, no rank-report theatre. Just the work that earns a citation.

More about Classic SEO
Real demand

Your buyers are already asking AI these questions.

Live monthly search demand for the category. The agencies that answer these get cited. The rest stay invisible.

Qwhat is generative engine optimization720/mo
Qgenerative engine optimization services480/mo
Qgenerative engine optimization agency260/mo
Qanswer engine optimization vs generative engine optimization50/mo
Qbest answer engine optimization for AI-focused tech90/mo
Qhow to do generative engine optimization50/mo
Source: AnswerThePublic, US, Jun 2026. The core term "generative engine optimization" clusters to ~1,300 searches/mo and is rising.
Who it's for

Built for technical buyers, and the companies that sell to them.

SaaS & software

Products whose buyers compare options in AI before they ever book a demo.

Software & product dev

Build and MVP firms competing on directory and listicle citations.

Cybersecurity

Vendors who need to be the trusted, cited name when buyers ask AI to compare.

Managed IT & IT services

Providers whose buyers ask AI which partner fits a company their size.

Pricing

Clear pricing. Start small, scale when it works.

AI Shortlist Snapshot
Free
A free check of 3 buyer prompts, 2 competitors, and 2 AI surfaces. Enough to see where you stand.
Get my free Snapshot
Start here
AI Shortlist Audit
From $750 USD
The full diagnostic and 90-day plan. Credited back against your first month if you start a retainer.
Run my Audit
Foundation
$3,000 USD/mo
Search foundation, entity clarity, baseline AI tracking, and AI-ready content.
Talk to us
Growth
$6,000 USD/mo
Adds citation PR, comparison pages, deeper content, and biweekly strategy.
Talk to us
Authority
$10,000+ USD/mo
Category ownership, competitive prompt monitoring, senior strategy, and custom reporting.
Talk to us
Results

Real search results, verified.

Live organic numbers from sites we run search for, verifiable in Ahrefs today. AI visibility is built on these same foundations.

Sixteen months of organic search growth for an anonymized client, from Google Search Console
Real client growth · 14 months in Google Search Console · 616K clicks, 15.2M impressions · client anonymized
Healthcare publishing

Medical & clinical publisher

Healthcare information platform
  • 94,900+ organic visits / month
  • 16,586 keywords ranked, 5,358 in the top 3
  • DR 79 domain rating
Source: Ahrefs, Jun 2026 · client anonymized
IT & managed hosting

Managed hosting provider

Web hosting & infrastructure
  • 10,200+ organic visits / month
  • DR 55 domain rating
  • On-vertical: a global IT / hosting brand
Source: Ahrefs, Jun 2026 · client anonymized
More IT & tech engagements
CybersecuritySoftware / IT servicesAI securityB2B industrialHealth-tech
See all case studies
The name

Why "Classic SEO" still works.

Search changed. Trust did not. AI does not recommend a brand because it published more blog posts. It recommends the brand with clear structure, consistent proof, authoritative mentions, and sources it can cite. That is classic SEO at its best. Not keyword stuffing. Not rank reports. Not "guaranteed number one."

The classic work was always about becoming the trusted result. Now the result is an answer, and we make sure it is you.

Questions

The honest answers.

Is SEO dead?+
No. Search moved, it did not disappear. Google still drives buying traffic, and AI engines lean on the same foundations: crawlable content, clear entities, and trusted sources. The work that wins both is the work we do.
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?+
GEO is the practice of getting your brand cited and recommended inside AI-generated answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews). It builds on SEO rather than replacing it: clear entities, structured content, and authoritative sources AI can quote. Read the full guide.
What is the difference between SEO, GEO, and AEO?+
SEO optimizes for search rankings. GEO (generative engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization) optimize to be cited and recommended inside AI answers. They are siblings built on the same foundations. We do all of it under one roof. See the breakdown.
How do you measure AI visibility?+
We track how often AI names and recommends you across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI, run each buyer prompt multiple times, and report mention rate and recommendation rate over time. We never present a single screenshot as a result, because AI answers vary between runs.
How fast does this work?+
The audit is immediate. Visibility gains typically build over the first few months as new pages get indexed, sources get earned, and AI re-crawls your presence. We report progress monthly against the plan.
Do you only work with tech companies?+
Yes. We focus on IT, SaaS, cybersecurity, and software, because winning AI search depends on knowing how a specific buyer asks and what proof a specific category needs.
Find out where you stand

Is AI recommending you, or your competitor?

Run your AI Shortlist Audit and see exactly where you stand, what AI says about you, and the plan to get named.

Run my AI Shortlist Audit See a sample report