“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
So wrote Benjamin Franklin to French scientist Jean-Baptiste Le Roy in 1789. You can add change to that list — especially when it comes to the internet.
Just 35 years ago, the World Wide Web didn't exist. Today, it is so deeply woven into our lives that it is difficult to imagine doing business without it.
And now, another major change is underway: AI is transforming the way people search for information.
How Will AI Change Search?
We're already seeing a dramatic shift in search habits.
Do a Google search today and, depending on the query, one of the first things you may see is an AI-generated overview summarizing the information it believes is most relevant to your question.
But Google isn't the only place this is happening. Increasingly, people are turning directly to large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Claude to find information, research products and services, compare options, and even make purchasing decisions.
Remember when Microsoft restricted filenames to just eight characters? Compared with what we can do today, that seems incredibly restrictive.
Traditional search was much the same. You entered a handful of keywords and hoped the search engine understood what you meant.
AI search changes that completely.
Instead of searching for “best HVAC company Phoenix,” someone can ask an AI search engine something much more specific:
“I'm looking for an HVAC company in Phoenix that has been in business for at least 10 years, works on older systems, has excellent customer reviews, and offers financing.”
That's a very different search experience — and it has significant implications for your business.
What Does This Mean for Your Business?
If your website isn't structured in a way that helps AI understand, verify, and trust your business and its content, you could become increasingly difficult to find.
And if AI doesn't recommend you, your potential customer may never visit your website in the first place.
No visibility means no visitors. No visitors means fewer opportunities to win new customers.
So, how do you get AI to trust your website?
There are three major strategies we recommend.
None is a magic bullet. None works particularly well in isolation. Together, however, they can create a much stronger foundation for AI search visibility.
And just like traditional SEO, there are no overnight fixes. You may see improvements relatively quickly, but earning visibility and authority takes time. Making a few changes today doesn't mean you'll suddenly appear in every relevant AI-generated answer tomorrow.
There's another important similarity between traditional SEO and AI search:
Content is still king.
Google never wanted to serve its users poor-quality content, and AI doesn't either. In fact, quality may be even more important now.
AI systems need useful, accurate, and credible information to draw from. Thin, duplicated, generic, or poorly researched content isn't going to help you stand out.
That's also one reason we're skeptical of many modern AI website builders. If the same AI is generating essentially the same content for you and your competitors, what makes your business different?
You need content that demonstrates genuine knowledge and gives your customers information they can't get from every other website.
With that in mind, here are three strategies to put to work.
Action 1: Create the Ultimate Pricing Page
First things first: to have an ultimate pricing page, you actually need a pricing page!
We see far too many websites that don't provide any pricing information at all.
From the customer's perspective, that's frustrating. If they can't get even a general idea of what something costs, they may simply move on to a competitor who makes that information easier to find.
Your pricing doesn't necessarily need to be complicated. Start by presenting it clearly and simply.
“But my pricing has too many variables!”
We hear this particularly often from trades and service businesses.
HVAC contractors, roofers, plumbers, and other specialists may have pricing that depends on dozens of factors. How can you possibly put that online?
You can — and you should.
There are tools that allow you to create sophisticated online estimators that take those variables into account.
The important distinction is that you're providing an estimate, not necessarily a formal quote.
And an estimate is still dramatically more useful to a potential customer than no information at all.
In fact, by the time someone has worked through your estimator and received an approximate price, you've already answered one of their biggest buying questions.
That's a powerful step toward turning a visitor into a customer.
An Ultimate Pricing Page Is More Than an Estimator
A really effective pricing page doesn't simply spit out a number.
Let's take an HVAC company as an example.
You know what SEER ratings mean. You understand efficiency, equipment options, system sizes and all the other variables that affect the price.
Your customers probably don't.
They may know that a higher SEER rating generally means greater efficiency, but they probably don't understand why it changes the price or whether they actually need it.
That's your opportunity.
Explain the variables.
Show customers why one option costs more than another. Explain what the differences mean for their home, their comfort, and their energy usage.
Use text and images — and, where appropriate, video.
Video is particularly useful for explaining complicated products and features in a way that's easy for customers to understand.
And there's another benefit: useful content gives visitors more reasons to stay on your website, explore your expertise, and build confidence in your business.
The ultimate pricing page isn't just about price.
It's about educating the customer so they can make an informed buying decision.
Action 2: Build a Review Hub
We all know reviews influence buying decisions.
Before choosing a business, customers often want to know what other people experienced. But today's customers are increasingly looking beyond a single review platform.
They may check Google, Facebook, Yelp, and other sources before deciding whether they trust a business.
So why make them hunt around for those reviews?
Bring them together.
We've been offering review collection and aggregation for years, and smart businesses have recognized the value of bringing their reviews together in one convenient place.
A good review system can also make the process of requesting reviews much easier. Instead of manually chasing customers, the system can help automate the process and make it simple for customers to leave feedback.
And there's another important part of reputation management that businesses sometimes overlook:
Respond to your reviews.
Good review? Respond.
Bad review? Respond.
Every review is an opportunity to demonstrate that you're listening, that you care about your customers, and that you're willing to engage with feedback.
A basic collection of reviews buried somewhere on your website isn't enough anymore.
Your online reputation deserves a more comprehensive approach.
Action 3: Create an Author By-Line Page
You may know this as an Author Bio page.
The concept isn't new, but the role it can play in today's search environment has evolved considerably.
An effective Author Byline page should be much more than a couple of sentences saying who wrote an article.
It should help demonstrate why that person is qualified to talk about the subject.
- Talk about their experience.
- How long have they worked in the industry?
- What qualifications do they hold?
- Have they received awards or industry recognition?
- What types of projects have they worked on?
- What problems have they solved?
- What unusual or creative solutions have they developed?
- And, importantly, what were the results?
These details help establish the expertise behind your content.
Consider the difference between an article about HVAC written by someone who completed a six-month introductory course and an article written by someone who has spent 15 years installing, repairing, and troubleshooting HVAC systems.
Both may be able to write an article.
But the person with 15 years of real-world experience has considerably more first-hand knowledge to draw upon.
That's the kind of expertise you want your website to demonstrate.
Your Author By-Line page helps connect your content with the real people and real experience behind your business.
And in an environment increasingly concerned with trust and credibility, that's important.
Bringing It All Together
These three strategies can significantly strengthen your website's foundation for AI search visibility:
- An Ultimate Pricing Page — give people useful, detailed information about what you offer and what it costs.
- A Review Hub — bring your customer feedback together and make reputation management easier.
- An Author Byline Page — demonstrate the experience and the authority to back up those articles.
However, it isn't enough on its own. Yes, it's a huge leap forward from what you already have, but there are other steps to be taken to be holistic. A thorough look at your content and its quality, and potential rewriting, is a must. If your site is getting a little stale, this is a great time to do a makeover. Ask us how we can do it for you... For free!
