DEV Community: Sterling

How to Choose the Best SEO Agency for Small & Mid-Sized Businesses

Sterling — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 08:05:54 +0000

For a small or mid-sized business, choosing an SEO agency is not simply about finding someone who can improve keyword rankings.

The search landscape has changed.

Businesses now need to be visible across traditional search results, AI-generated answers, conversational search, local discovery, and other emerging search experiences. Google continues to develop AI Overviews and AI Mode, while Bing has introduced tools that show publishers when their content is cited in AI-generated answers.

That makes the choice of SEO partner more important—and slightly more complicated.

The right agency should understand your business, search intent, technical foundation, content strategy, and increasingly, how your website can become a useful source for AI-powered search.

So, what should businesses actually look for?

Start With Your Business Goals, Not an Agency's Package

Before comparing agencies, define what you want SEO to achieve.

For one business, the priority may be generating qualified leads. For another, it could be increasing ecommerce revenue, improving local visibility, building brand awareness, or entering a new market.

An agency should be able to connect SEO activities to those business objectives.

Be cautious when an agency immediately presents a list of deliverables without first understanding your:

Target customers

Products or services

Geographic markets

Sales cycle

Existing organic visibility

Main competitors

Website limitations

Conversion goals

SEO works best when it is treated as a business growth channel rather than a standalone traffic exercise.

Look for Strong Technical SEO Fundamentals

AI search does not make technical SEO irrelevant.

Your website still needs to be accessible, crawlable, indexable, logically structured, and technically clear.

Google's current documentation continues to provide guidance around search appearance, structured data, crawling, indexing, and AI features. Structured data, for example, can help Google understand information contained on a page.

A capable SEO agency should therefore be comfortable reviewing areas such as:

Website Architecture

Important pages should be logically connected and easy for users and search engines to discover.

Indexation

An agency should understand which pages should be indexed, which should not, and why.

Internal Linking

Internal links should help users and search systems understand relationships between important pages and topics.

Technical Issues

Depending on the website, this can include:

Canonicalization

Redirects

Duplicate URLs

XML sitemaps

Robots directives

Core Web Vitals

Mobile usability

JavaScript rendering

Structured data

International SEO

The agency should explain technical problems in business-friendly language rather than simply sending you a long list of errors.

Evaluate How the Agency Approaches Content

Publishing dozens of articles every month is not necessarily a strong SEO strategy.

For a small or mid-sized business, content should have a clear purpose.

A good agency should be able to explain:

Who is this content for?

What search intent does it address?

What business problem does it solve?

How does it connect to your products or services?

What makes the content useful beyond repeating information already available elsewhere?

This becomes even more important as AI-powered search increasingly retrieves and summarizes information from multiple sources.

Microsoft's current guidance around AI search emphasizes content that is structured, verifiable, applicable, fresh, and clear enough to be used as grounding information.

That does not mean writing content specifically to "sound like AI."

It means creating information that is genuinely useful and easy to interpret.

Ask Whether They Understand AEO

Traditional SEO focuses heavily on search visibility.

Answer Engine Optimization, or AEO, adds another consideration: Can your content clearly answer the questions people are asking?

This can influence how an agency approaches content.

Instead of targeting only:

"SEO agency for small business"

the strategy may also consider questions such as:

What does an SEO agency do for a small business?

How much SEO does a small business need?

What should a small business look for in an SEO agency?

How can a local business improve its visibility in search?

The objective isn't to fill pages with questions.

It is to organize useful information around genuine customer intent.

A good AEO strategy should fit naturally into your broader content architecture.

Ask How They Approach GEO and AI Search Visibility

GEO—Generative Engine Optimization—extends the visibility conversation into AI-powered search experiences.

This is an area where businesses should ask specific questions rather than accepting vague promises about "ranking in ChatGPT."

AI search visibility can involve whether a website's information is retrieved, referenced, or cited within AI-generated responses. Bing's AI Performance reporting, for example, now provides publishers with information about citations, cited pages, and grounding queries across supported AI experiences.

Bing has also expanded its AI visibility reporting with concepts such as intents, topics, citation share, and comparison features.

This means an agency should be thinking about more than traditional keyword positions.

A practical GEO strategy may examine:

Which topics the business is associated with

Whether important information is clearly presented

Whether pages provide evidence and useful context

How entities, services, and products are described

Whether important content is discoverable

Which pages receive AI citations where measurement is available

How brand visibility changes across AI search experiences

There is no universal formula that guarantees inclusion in an AI-generated answer. An agency that promises one should be approached carefully.

Check How They Measure SEO Success

One of the easiest ways to identify a weak SEO approach is to ask:

"What will you report to me every month?"

A useful report should connect activity to outcomes.

Depending on the business, relevant metrics can include:

Organic clicks

Organic impressions

Search visibility

Important keyword trends

Landing-page performance

Qualified leads

Ecommerce conversions

Conversion rate

Local visibility

Content performance

Technical improvements

AI visibility or citation signals where reliable data is available

AI search also creates a measurement challenge because a user may encounter a brand inside an AI-generated answer without immediately clicking through to the website.

Microsoft has specifically described this shift toward measuring impressions, AI-answer placement, citations, and other visibility signals alongside traditional conversion metrics.

The key is not to replace traditional SEO metrics with AI metrics.

It is to understand both.

Look for an Agency That Can Explain Its Recommendations

You should not need to be an SEO expert to understand what your agency is doing.

If an agency recommends changing a page title, improving internal links, consolidating pages, creating new content, or adding structured data, it should be able to explain the reasoning.

For example:

Weak explanation:
"We need 20 new backlinks this month."

Better explanation:
"These pages are relevant to commercially important topics but currently have limited authority signals. We are prioritizing relevant sources and measuring whether the target pages gain visibility and qualified traffic."

The difference is transparency.

Good SEO involves testing, analysis, prioritization, and adjustment—not simply completing a monthly checklist.

Avoid Agencies That Rely on Guaranteed Rankings

Search engines change.

Competitors change.

User behavior changes.

AI search changes.

That makes guarantees such as "first position in Google in 30 days" particularly problematic.

A professional agency can establish targets, identify opportunities, explain its methodology, and report progress.

It cannot control Google's or another search engine's ranking systems.

The same principle applies to AI search.

No agency can legitimately guarantee that a particular page will always be cited by an AI system.

Instead, the focus should be on improving the underlying signals that make the information discoverable, relevant, understandable, and useful.

Consider Whether the Agency Understands Your Industry

SEO strategy should reflect the business.

A local service company, SaaS company, ecommerce store, healthcare organization, and B2B manufacturer may all require very different approaches.

Ask an agency how it would approach your specific situation.

For example, an ecommerce company may need stronger attention to:

Category architecture → Product pages → Technical SEO → Merchant information → Content → Internal linking → Conversion optimization

A SaaS company may need:

Product positioning → Problem-based content → Comparison pages → Use cases → Technical SEO → Thought leadership → AI visibility

A local business may need:

Location relevance → Business information → Local content → Reviews → Local authority → Service pages → AI/local discovery

The important thing is not whether an agency uses a particular template.

It is whether the strategy reflects your customers and business model.

SEO, AEO and GEO Should Work Together

A common mistake is treating SEO, AEO, and GEO as completely separate marketing campaigns.

They are better understood as connected layers.

SEO helps establish the technical and content foundation.

AEO focuses on making information useful and answer-ready.

GEO considers how that information participates in generative and AI-powered discovery.

For example, a service page can be technically optimized for search, structured around customer intent, supported by useful explanatory content, and written clearly enough that AI systems can understand the company's offering.

That is more practical than creating three disconnected versions of the same strategy.

What SterlingWeb Looks At

At SterlingWeb, the approach to modern search visibility combines SEO, AEO, and GEO rather than treating them as isolated activities.

The starting point is still the fundamentals: technical health, search intent, useful content, site architecture, internal linking, and relevant authority.

From there, the strategy can expand into answer-focused content and AI search visibility.

The objective is to help businesses build a search presence that is useful across changing discovery environments—not to chase every new AI feature as soon as it appears.

That distinction matters.

Search technology will continue to change, but businesses will continue to need clear information, strong websites, relevant content, and credible expertise.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring an SEO Agency

Before signing a contract, ask:

What is your approach to technical SEO?

You should receive a clear explanation of how the agency identifies and prioritizes technical issues.

How do you choose keywords and topics?

Look for an explanation based on search intent, business value, competition, and customer needs—not just search volume.

How do you approach AEO and GEO?

The agency should be able to explain how it approaches answer visibility and AI-powered search without making unrealistic promises.

How will you measure results?

Ask which metrics will be reported and how they connect to your actual business objectives.

How often will the strategy change?

SEO should be responsive to data. An agency should be willing to refine its approach when evidence shows that something is not working.

Who will actually work on my account?

Understand whether your work will be handled by experienced specialists, a dedicated team, freelancers, or a combination.

The Right SEO Agency Should Be a Strategic Partner

For small and mid-sized businesses, SEO is often an investment that needs to produce meaningful business value.

That makes communication and strategic thinking just as important as technical expertise.

The right agency should help you understand:

What needs to change.

Why it needs to change.

What the business should expect.

How progress will be measured.

And increasingly:

How your website can remain visible as search becomes more conversational and AI-powered.

Takeaway

Choosing an SEO agency is no longer just about finding someone who can improve keyword rankings.

Look for a partner that understands SEO fundamentals, search intent, AEO, GEO, technical performance, content quality, measurement, and your actual business goals.

A strong SEO strategy should be built to adapt—not just to the search landscape today, but to the way people are increasingly discovering and evaluating information.

Looking to strengthen your SEO, AEO, and GEO strategy? Connect with SterlingWeb to explore a search visibility approach built around your business goals.

Google AI Overviews Optimization: How to Get Your Business Into the Answers, Not Just the Rankings

Sterling — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:49:03 +0000

Google Search is changing fast.

For years, businesses focused on one question:

“How do I rank #1 on Google?”

Today, there is another question marketers need to ask:

“How do I get my website mentioned in Google AI Overviews?”

AI Overviews can provide users with an AI-generated summary directly in Google Search, supported by links to relevant web sources. Google’s current guidance makes an important point: traditional SEO best practices still matter for AI-powered Search because these features rely on Google’s core Search ranking and quality systems.

So, Google AI Overviews optimization isn't about finding a secret “AI ranking trick.”

It's about making your website easy to understand, useful, trustworthy, technically accessible, and genuinely valuable.

What Is Google AI Overviews Optimization?

Google AI Overviews optimization is the process of improving your website and content so it has a better chance of being surfaced as a relevant source within Google's AI-powered Search experiences.

Think of traditional search like this:

User → Google → Search Results → Website

AI-powered search increasingly looks more like:

User → Question → AI-generated answer → Supporting sources → Website

That changes how businesses should approach content.

Instead of optimizing only for:

“What keyword should I rank for?”

you should also ask:

“What questions does my audience need answered, and can my website provide the clearest, most useful source?”

Why AI Overviews Matter for Businesses

Imagine someone searches:

“What is the best Shopify development agency

for a complex Shopify Plus migration?”

Instead of seeing only ten blue links, the user may receive an AI-generated overview that summarizes the topic and points to supporting sources.

That creates a new opportunity.

Your brand doesn't necessarily need to be the first traditional result for every query to become part of the conversation.

But it does need to be relevant enough, useful enough, and discoverable enough to be considered as a source.

Google's guidance specifically emphasizes creating valuable, unique, non-commodity content and continuing to follow established SEO fundamentals.

7 Strategies for Google AI Overviews Optimization

Stop Writing for Keywords Alone

Keywords still matter.

But keyword-first content can easily become repetitive.

Instead of creating an article simply because a keyword has search volume, identify the question behind the search.

For example:

Keyword:
“Shopify migration agency”

Better content approach:
“What's the safest way to migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify without losing SEO traffic?”

Now you're addressing a real business problem.

Create content around:

Questions
Comparisons
How-to searches
Buying decisions
Problems
Industry-specific scenarios
“Best” and “vs.” queries
Pricing and implementation questions

The goal is simple:

Answer the question better than generic content already does.

Create Original, Non-Commodity Content

This is becoming increasingly important.

If ten websites publish essentially the same article:

“10 Benefits of SEO for Your Business”

there isn't much unique information for a search system to work with.

Instead, provide something that demonstrates actual experience.

For example:

❌ Generic:

“Technical SEO improves website performance.”

✅ Useful:

“After auditing 50 ecommerce websites, we found these three technical SEO issues were repeatedly limiting organic visibility.”

The second version gives readers something new.

Consider publishing:

Original research
Industry surveys
Case studies
First-hand experiences
Expert opinions
Data analysis
Screenshots
Experiments
Before-and-after examples
Detailed implementation guides

Google's 2026 guidance specifically highlights the value of unique, interesting, non-commodity content for generative AI search experiences.

Structure Content So Google Can Understand It

Great content isn't enough if your website is difficult for search engines to understand.

Make your pages easy to interpret.

Use:

Clear H1s

Tell Google and users exactly what the page is about.

Descriptive H2s

Break complex topics into logical sections.

Short answers

Give direct answers before expanding on the subject.

Lists and tables

Use structured formats when they genuinely improve readability.

Relevant internal links

Connect related topics across your website.

Descriptive titles and metadata

Make the page's purpose immediately clear.

This isn't about creating content specifically “for AI.”

It's about creating content that is clear for users and machines.

Build Topic Authority Instead of Publishing Random Articles

One article rarely establishes expertise.

Imagine your business provides AI SEO services.

Instead of publishing 50 unrelated SEO articles, build a topical ecosystem:

AI SEO

→ What is AI SEO?

→ AI SEO vs traditional SEO

→ How AI search works

→ Google AI Overviews optimization

→ ChatGPT SEO

→ Generative Engine Optimization

→ AI search visibility audit

→ Measuring AI search visibility

→ AI SEO case studies

This creates stronger topical coverage.

Your website becomes a resource, not just a collection of blog posts.

Strengthen Your Technical SEO Foundation

Here's an important point:

AI search doesn't eliminate technical SEO.

Google explicitly states that its generative AI Search features rely on core Search ranking and quality systems, meaning established SEO practices remain relevant.

So make sure Google can:

Crawl your important pages
Index your content
Understand your site structure
Access important resources
Follow internal links
Identify canonical URLs
Process structured data correctly
Render your pages properly
Access mobile content
Understand page relationships

Also monitor your website through Google Search Console.

Google has continued expanding Search Console's visibility into how content performs across Search and other Google surfaces.

Make Your Brand's Expertise Obvious

Here's where many businesses miss an opportunity.

Your website may say:

“We are a leading digital marketing agency.”

But that statement doesn't demonstrate expertise.

Show it.

Add:

Author bios
Expert credentials
Client case studies
Results
Industry experience
Original insights
Customer testimonials
Company information
Relevant third-party mentions
Detailed service information

The question isn't:

“Can we claim we're experts?”

It's:

“Can someone looking at our website understand why we're experts?”

Think Beyond Your Website

Your website isn't your entire digital identity.

Google Search can surface content from different platforms, and Google has also introduced broader Search Console support for social and video platform properties.

That means your broader digital presence matters.

Build a consistent presence across relevant:

LinkedIn
YouTube
Industry publications
Business profiles
Reviews
Podcasts
Expert interviews
Communities
Social platforms

Your objective should be to create a strong, consistent brand footprint across the web.

What Google AI Overviews Optimization Is NOT

There are plenty of exaggerated claims around AI search.

Let's clear up a few.

❌ There is no guaranteed “AI Overview ranking hack.”

No legitimate tactic guarantees that Google will cite your page.

❌ You don't need to abandon traditional SEO.

Google's own documentation says SEO best practices remain relevant to generative AI Search features.

❌ More AI-generated content isn't automatically better.

Publishing hundreds of generic pages doesn't create expertise.

❌ Keyword stuffing won't make you an AI source.

AI-powered Search still depends on Google's broader Search systems.

❌ llms.txt isn't a magic Google ranking factor.

Google clarified in June 2026 that llms.txt isn't needed for Google Search and doesn't positively or negatively affect Search visibility or rankings.

A Practical Google AI Overviews Optimization Checklist

Before publishing important content, ask:

Content

☐ Does this answer a real customer question?

☐ Is the information original or genuinely useful?

☐ Does it demonstrate expertise?

☐ Does it provide specific examples?

SEO

☐ Is the page crawlable and indexable?

☐ Is the title descriptive?

☐ Is the heading structure logical?

☐ Are internal links relevant?

☐ Is the content easy to understand?

Authority

☐ Is the author or expert identifiable?

☐ Does the company have credible online references?

☐ Are customer reviews and case studies available?

User experience

☐ Can users quickly find the answer?

☐ Is the page readable on mobile?

☐ Does the content provide value beyond a basic AI-generated summary?

The Future of SEO Isn't “SEO vs AI”

This is the biggest misconception.

The future isn't:

Traditional SEO ❌

versus

AI SEO ✅

It's more like:

Technical SEO + Helpful Content + Authority + User Intent + AI Search Visibility

Google's latest guidance reinforces this: optimizing for generative AI features is still fundamentally connected to optimizing for Search itself.

So don't throw away your SEO strategy.

Upgrade it.

Final Thought: Don't Just Rank. Become the Source.

The search landscape is moving from:

“Which page ranks first?”

toward increasingly conversational experiences where users ask complex questions and receive synthesized answers.

That means businesses need to think differently.

Don't ask only:

“How can I rank this page?”

Start asking:

“If Google had to explain this topic to my potential customer, would my website be a source worth using?”

If the answer is yes, you're moving in the right direction.

Google AI Overviews optimization

isn't about chasing an algorithm.

It's about building a website that deserves to be found, understood, trusted, and referenced.

And that is where the future of search visibility is heading.

ChatGPT SEO Services vs Traditional SEO: What's the Difference and Which Delivers Better Results?

Sterling — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 11:48:23 +0000

Search has evolved dramatically over the past few years. While traditional search engines like Google continue to play a crucial role in driving website traffic, AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT are changing how people discover businesses, products, and services. Instead of clicking through multiple search results, users now ask conversational questions and expect direct, personalized answers.

This shift has given rise to ChatGPT SEO Services—a modern optimization approach designed to improve a brand's visibility within AI-generated responses. While traditional SEO remains essential, businesses that want to stay competitive must understand how ChatGPT SEO differs and why combining both strategies delivers the strongest long-term results.

What Are ChatGPT SEO Services?

ChatGPT SEO Services are specialized optimization strategies that help businesses become discoverable and recommendable within AI-powered search experiences. Rather than focusing solely on rankings in traditional search engine results pages (SERPs), these services improve how AI systems understand, trust, and reference your brand.

A successful ChatGPT SEO strategy includes:

AI-friendly content creation
Entity optimization
Structured data implementation
Technical SEO improvements
Knowledge Graph optimization
Brand authority building
Semantic search optimization
Topical authority development

The goal is simple: make your business one of the trusted sources AI platforms use when answering user questions.

What Is Traditional SEO?

Traditional SEO focuses on improving a website's visibility in search engines like Google and Bing. It aims to increase rankings for relevant keywords, attract organic traffic, and improve conversions.

Traditional SEO typically includes:

Keyword research
On-page optimization
Link building
Technical SEO
Meta tags
Content marketing
Internal linking
Local SEO
Page speed optimization

While these practices remain valuable, they were designed for a search environment built around lists of web pages rather than AI-generated answers.

ChatGPT SEO vs Traditional SEO
Traditional SEO ChatGPT SEO Services
Focuses on ranking web pages in search results Focuses on becoming a trusted source in AI-generated answers
Optimizes keywords and metadata Optimizes entities, context, and semantic meaning
Measures rankings and organic traffic Measures AI visibility, brand mentions, and answer inclusion
Relies heavily on backlinks Balances authority, credibility, structured data, and expertise
Targets search engine algorithms Targets how AI systems understand and synthesize information
Optimizes individual pages Builds comprehensive topical authority across an entire website

Traditional SEO helps users find your website. ChatGPT SEO helps AI confidently recommend your business when users ask for solutions.

Why Traditional SEO Alone Is No Longer Enough

User behavior has shifted. Instead of searching for "best SEO agency," many people now ask:

Which company offers the best AI SEO services?
Who specializes in ChatGPT SEO?
What agency can help improve AI search visibility?
How can I optimize my website for AI search?

AI assistants evaluate information, compare sources, and generate concise recommendations. If your website isn't optimized for these systems, you may lose visibility even if you rank well in traditional search results.

Businesses that rely only on keyword rankings risk missing high-intent customers who are already making purchasing decisions through AI platforms.

How ChatGPT Evaluates Websites

Unlike traditional search engines that primarily rank pages, ChatGPT assesses whether information is reliable, comprehensive, and useful.

Important ranking signals include:

Topical Authority

Publishing multiple in-depth articles around a subject demonstrates expertise and helps AI understand your niche.

Entity Recognition

AI identifies brands, people, organizations, products, and services as entities. Consistent business information and structured data improve recognition.

Content Quality

Well-researched, original, and comprehensive content performs better than thin or repetitive articles.

Structured Data

Schema markup provides machine-readable context about your organization, services, products, FAQs, and articles.

Technical Website Performance

Fast-loading, mobile-friendly, secure websites with logical architecture are easier for search engines and AI systems to crawl and understand.

Brand Authority

Mentions from reputable websites, industry publications, customer reviews, and expert contributions strengthen trust.

Benefits of ChatGPT SEO Services

Businesses investing in ChatGPT SEO Services can achieve:

Greater visibility in AI-generated answers.
Higher-quality leads from users with strong purchase intent.
Increased brand authority.
Better user trust.
Improved content quality.
Stronger topical relevance.
Long-term competitive advantage.
Better synergy with traditional SEO efforts.

As AI search continues to grow, these benefits become increasingly valuable.

Where Traditional SEO Still Matters

Despite the rise of AI, traditional SEO remains the foundation of online visibility.

It continues to drive:

Organic website traffic.
Local search visibility.
E-commerce product discovery.
Brand awareness.
Technical website performance.
Crawlability and indexing.

Without strong traditional SEO, AI platforms may have less reliable information to understand and reference your website.

The Best Strategy: Combine ChatGPT SEO with Traditional SEO

The most successful businesses do not choose one approach over the other—they integrate both.

A modern digital strategy should include:

Comprehensive keyword research.
AI-focused content optimization.
Entity-based SEO.
Structured data implementation.
Fast and accessible website performance.
Internal linking between related topics.
Digital PR and authoritative backlinks.
Consistent business information across the web.
Regular content updates based on user intent.

Together, these efforts create a strong digital foundation that performs well in both traditional search engines and AI-powered search experiences.

Industries That Benefit Most

ChatGPT SEO Services are particularly valuable for:

Digital marketing agencies
WordPress development companies
Shopify agencies
SaaS businesses
Healthcare providers
Law firms
Financial consultants
Manufacturing companies
E-commerce brands
Educational institutions
Local service businesses

Any organization that relies on online lead generation can benefit from improving its AI search visibility.

Best Practices for ChatGPT SEO

To improve your chances of appearing in AI-generated answers:

Create original, helpful, and comprehensive content.
Build topical clusters around your services.
Use descriptive headings and clear structure.
Implement Organization, Service, Article, and FAQ schema.
Improve Core Web Vitals and mobile usability.
Earn high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites.
Publish case studies, research, and expert insights.
Keep important content accurate and regularly updated.
Strengthen your brand entity with consistent citations and digital PR.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are ChatGPT SEO Services?

ChatGPT SEO Services help businesses optimize their websites and digital presence so AI systems can understand, trust, and recommend them in conversational search results.

Is ChatGPT SEO replacing traditional SEO?

No. Traditional SEO remains essential for indexing, rankings, and organic traffic. ChatGPT SEO complements it by improving visibility within AI-generated responses.

Which businesses should invest in ChatGPT SEO?

Any business that wants to attract qualified online leads—including agencies, e-commerce brands, SaaS companies, healthcare providers, and professional service firms—can benefit from ChatGPT SEO.

How long does it take to see results?

Results depend on factors such as website authority, technical health, content quality, and competition. ChatGPT SEO is a long-term strategy that builds sustainable digital authority.

Conclusion

The future of search is no longer limited to search engine rankings. AI assistants like ChatGPT are becoming trusted advisors that help users discover products, compare services, and make purchasing decisions.

While traditional SEO remains the backbone of organic visibility, it is no longer sufficient on its own. Businesses that invest in ChatGPT SEO Services strengthen their ability to appear not only in search results but also in AI-generated recommendations.

The most effective digital marketing strategy combines technical SEO, high-quality content, structured data, entity optimization, and brand authority. By integrating traditional SEO with ChatGPT SEO, businesses can maximize visibility, build trust, and attract high-intent customers in the rapidly evolving AI search landscape.