5 Ways to Boost Your SEO & Show Up in AI Search Results

Here's something worth paying attention to: people aren't just Googling things anymore. They're asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews questions like "Who's a good [service provider] near me?" or "How much should I expect to pay for [service]?"

If your business isn't set up to answer those questions clearly, you're basically invisible in a conversation that's happening whether you're part of it or not.

Before you jump into the five tactics below, it helps to know the two sides of traditional SEO. They still matter in 2026 — and they are the foundation AI tools use when they decide which businesses to mention.

Typical on-page SEO and off-page SEO

On-page SEO is everything you control on your own website so search engines and people can understand your pages. That includes keywords, title tags, meta descriptions, headings, useful content, internal links, image alt text, page speed, and a mobile-friendly design. If your pages are clear, fast, and actually answer the question, you give Google, and AI tools - something solid to work with. For a practical walkthrough, see our guide: Tips to Improve On-Page SEO.

Off-page SEO is everything that happens off your site but still tells the internet you are a real, trusted business. Think backlinks from other websites, listings in directories, reviews, mentions in local news, guest posts, social sharing, and community involvement. These signals build authority. One helpful local link often beats dozens of junk listings. For tactics you can use this month, see: Tips to Improve Off-Page SEO.

You need both. On-page work makes your site easy to understand. Off-page work makes other sites vouch for you. The five points below sit on top of that foundation and help you show up in regular Google results and in AI answers.

The good news? You don't need to overhaul everything overnight. Here are five things you can start doing today.

1. Get Your Local SEO Basics Locked In

Let's start with the easiest win: your Google Business Profile. Seriously, if you only do one thing on this list, do this one. This is where most "near me" searches turn into actual phone calls.

Quick To-Do List:

• Claim your Google Business Profile if you haven't already (yes, really - check today)
• Make sure your name, address, and phone number match exactly everywhere online
• Pick the right categories for your business
• List every area you actually serve
• Upload real photos regularly - your work, your team, your space
• Ask for reviews after every job. Every. Single. Time.
• Actually respond to your reviews - good, bad, or neutral
• Get listed on relevant directories (Yelp, industry sites, your local Chamber of Commerce)
• If you cover multiple towns, build a page for each one (e.g., "[Service] in [City]")

Try This Prompt:

"Write a short, friendly text message asking a customer to leave us a Google review after finishing a job. Keep it casual and under 300 characters."

Why bother: People searching "[service] near me" are ready to buy right now. This is the highest payoff for the least effort - no excuses here.

• Write down the 10 questions customers ask you the most before booking
• Make sure your service pages actually answer pricing, timeline, and "what happens next" questions
• Turn your headers into actual questions instead of boring labels
• Add an FAQ section to your top few pages
• Lead with the answer first, then explain - don't bury the good stuff
  

Try This Prompt:

"Give me 10 FAQ questions and answers for our [industry] business page. Cover pricing, timelines, and what customers should expect. Keep each answer under 75 words."

Why bother: AI tools are basically skimming the internet for the clearest, most direct answers to pull from. If your content reads like a straightforward FAQ, you've got a much better shot at being the answer someone sees.

Okay, this one's a little more technical, but stick with us — it's a big deal and most of your competitors are skipping it entirely.

Schema markup is basically a cheat sheet you hand to Google and AI tools. Your website makes sense to people. Schema makes the same facts make sense to machines: who you are, what you do, where you work, and how to reach you.Think of it like labeling boxes in a warehouse. Without labels, someone can still find stuff - it just takes longer and they guess more. Schema is the label.

The most important schema for a local business

If you only add one type, make it LocalBusiness — and use the most specific version that fits.

A plumber should not just say “local business.” They should say Plumber. An HVAC company should use HVACBusiness. A roofer: RoofingContractor. A dentist: Dentist. A law firm: LegalService or Attorney.

That specific type is the category. It tells search engines and AI, “this is not a restaurant or a salon - this is a [your trade] that serves this area.”

Put that on your homepage (and on each location page if you have more than one). Fill in the basics that already matter for local SEO:

• Business name
• Address
• Phone number
• Website
• Hours
• The area you actually serve

That last one is area served It matters a lot for service businesses. A lot of landscapers, plumbers, and HVAC companies don’t have a shop people walk into. They work at the customer’s house. Schema needs to say where you go, not just where the truck is parked.

If those name, address, and phone details don’t match your Google Business Profile, the cheat sheet and the public listing disagree. That does not help you.

What to add after that

Once the business itself is labeled, add schema that explains the work:

• Service schema on each core service page. This is how you say “we do lawn care,” “we do AC repair,” or “we do roof replacement,” and tie that work back to your business.
• Breadcrumbs across the site. That’s the little trail like Home > Services > Landscaping. It helps people and search engines understand how your pages fit together.
• FAQ schema only on pages that already have real questions and answers visible. Don’t mark up FAQs that nobody can see.

You do not need ten kinds of schema. A clean setup looks like this:

• LocalBusiness subtype on the homepage / location pages
• Service on each core service page, linked to that business
• Breadcrumbs sitewide
• FAQ only where real Q&A exists on the page

If you only implement one type for a local plumber, HVAC company, roofer, dentist, law firm, or landscaper, make it the correct LocalBusiness subtype with complete name, address, phone, and area served.

One more practical note: some website builders don’t have a category for every trade. Landscaper is a good example, as there isn’t a perfect “Landscaper” box. In that case, use the closest honest type (often HomeAndConstructionBusiness) and let Service schema spell out “Landscaping.” Don’t invent a type that doesn’t exist, and don’t pick something wrong like “Garden Store” unless you actually sell plants.

Quick To-Do List:

Try This Prompt:

"Create Service schema in JSON-LD for a [industry] business offering [list your top 2-3 services] in [city/region]."

Why bother: This is the kind of thing AI systems specifically look for to understand and trust your business info. It's an easy technical win most competitors haven't bothered with yet.

• Add the most specific LocalBusiness schema to your homepage
• Make sure the name, address, and phone match your Google Business Profile exactly
• List the cities or areas you actually serve
• Add Service schema to each main service page
• Add breadcrumbs so inner pages show a clear path back to Home
• Add FAQ schema only where the questions are visible on the page
• Only add review/rating schema if those reviews are actually on the page (it’s a compliance thing)
• Test an inner page with Google's Rich Results Test and Schema Markup Validator.
• Update it whenever your services, hours, or service area change

4. Show People You Actually Know Your Stuff

Google and AI models trained on Google's standards care a lot about whether you're credible. This matters even more if your service touches on cost, safety, or big decisions people don't take lightly.

Quick To-Do List:

• Share real case studies or project photos with actual details (not just "before/after" with no context)
• Add real bios to blog posts - name, credentials, a photo
• Try to get featured or linked by local news or industry sites
• Join relevant industry associations if you haven't
• Put your licenses, certifications, and insurance front and center on your site

Try This Prompt:

"Write a short, professional bio for our business owner, who has [X years] of experience and [certification/credential]. Keep it under 60 words and make it sound approachable."

Why bother: People (and AI) trust businesses that clearly know what they're doing. This is your chance to prove it without being braggy about it.

5. Write Guides People (and AI) Will Actually Want to Reference

Beyond your regular service pages, in-depth guides are what turn you into the go-to source - the kind of content AI tools pull from when answering bigger questions.

Quick To-Do List:

• Pick 3-5 topics your customers are always curious about (costs, comparisons, how-to's)
• Write clear, well-organized guides and use headers, lists, and tables to make it swimmable
• Get specific. Vague advice doesn't help anyone (or get cited)
• Refresh these guides at least twice a year
• Link back to your service pages from these guides

Try This Prompt:

"Write a detailed, easy-to-follow guide called 'The Complete Guide to [Topic]' with clear sections and a comparison table. Make it genuinely useful, not just fluff."  Click for a complete prompt.

Why bother: More people are asking AI chatbots for recommendations instead of just Googling. If you're the source that AI cites, you get direct traffic and instant credibility.

Short on Time? Start Here

If you can only do a few things right now, do these in this order:

1. Google Business Profile + reviews - fastest results, barely any cost
2. Schema markup - set it up once, benefit long-term
3. FAQ content - takes ongoing effort, but pays off big time

Feeling a little overwhelmed by all this? That's what we're here for. Reach out and we'll help you figure out exactly where to focus first.