Get Found on Google and AI Searches Without Spending a Dime
A normal week for me means getting at least one email from an SEO company saying there are gaps on my website. They ask if they can send me a “free” SEO report. (I’m sure they’re not wrong about gaps. I do most everything in this business of mine.
If their email address is a Gmail address and they have no website, I don’t reply. If they have a website-connected email address, I might reply and ask them to remove me from their list. While my website isn’t perfect, it seems to be working for me.
People have been finding me quite often through their conversations with an LLM. Some leads come from organic Google searches. All of this surprised me because it didn’t happen overnight.
I investigated what I was doing to contribute and learned quite a bit. I decided to share what I learned with you too. Here are my top six tips.
Use descriptive words and names as file names
Every image on my site has my name, “Chicago,” and what I do baked into the filename before it’s uploaded. Not IMG_4827.jpg. Search engines read and understand these words. Casual website visitors rarely see the filenames.
When I deliver client galleries, I do the same thing for them — their name, their business, their location, right there in the file. It’s a five-second habit that gives their SEO a boost before they’ve written a single word of copy.
Alt text and hidden captions aren’t optional
Every image gets alt text that describes what’s happening in the image. Alt text is not just keyword-stuffed shenanigans. However you’d describe a photo to a person who can’t see it is what you should write for the alt text.
I also write a caption for every image that says what I do for my clients. I’ll also often use their names and businesses in the caption to give them a little extra visibility. The caption is usually hidden on the page because, in most cases, a visible caption only adds clutter to a design. The caption is still in the code, and it’s still doing its job.
Search crawlers and AI bots read these captions and alt text. And unlike human memory, they never forget to share when the search is right.
Backlinks are Gold
While it’s never required, I ask clients to link back to my website, usually as a small credit in their site footer. I also link out to my clients’ websites whenever I can as well. (When your photos go up on your site, let me know! This is when you’ll see a blog post or two or a credit here and there on my website and in my newsletter.)
Backlinks are a bit like networking across the internet. Every link back becomes a vote of confidence in the eyes of a search engine. The votes add up.
I also cross-link my own blog posts to each other, and out to good outside resources when it makes sense. If you’re curious what that actually looks like in practice, I broke down more of my own DIY vs. hire-it-out logic here.
Blog
Blogs are text that’s constantly being updated. Fresh content signals to the bots that the website is active.
Blogs can also be hard to get started because people get caught up in feeling like they don’t have much to say. I always tell people that the text is more for the bots. Who knows how many humans will actually read this post? (If you do, send me a note!) I’m not worried about that number. This post is for you, all-might search engines. And if it helps a human along the way, even better.
I’ve had an easier time crafting ideas for what to write about since I realized my content comes from three places:
That’s it. I get ideas all the time since letting go of a huge content strategy.
If you blog, make it consistent. Rhythm also matters for visibility. It can be just once or twice a month. Completely doable.
Your voice is the differentiator
Don’t be perfect. Don’t be a template. That’s boring. It’s overdone. And you sound like everyone else. That’s when your brand’s presence becomes beige.
Be yourself. Let your knowledge and personality show through. What repels some will attract the people who want to work with you. (I really love the people who have found me more recently through their AI searches and become my clients.)
Search engines are getting better at rewarding content that sounds human. People can sniff out a form letter and a bot-written post from a mile away. (A few of my older blogs reek of this and are on my list to revise.)
Break up your text with visuals
Humans are visual. And most don’t take the time to read. Motion, photos, video — anything visual slows people down on your website. This pause matters for SEO and GEO. The longer someone stays on your page, the more it tells search engines you’ve got something useful that is causing people to linger. That extra time pushes you higher in search results.
Visuals also make people want to slow down and read your messaging. In this world, with so much on our plates, a wall of text feels like one more thing on the to-do list. The images and motion assets break up your content and draw them into your words.
Your images don’t necessarily need to be fancy. You can get by with phone photography if your business is newer and still in the scrappier stages. (And I’m happy to help you learn to take better photos in a phone-tography workshop.)
Or brand photos are worth the investment when you’re ready to elevate your presence. Beautiful, consistent imagery across your website helps you stand out as a trusted professional who knows what you’re doing. That can bring you higher-paying clients.
Take it a little bit at a time
Each item on this list takes only a little time. Each one will add up, bit by bit, as you climb toward the top. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect at any of it. You just have to start.
Need a hand?
Get in touch and let’s talk about what your site needs — photos, motion, or a little of both. I also have plenty of people in my network I trust to refer clients to for web design, brand design, copy, bookkeeping…you name it.