Hi {{first_name}},
You may have heard that search engine optimization is dead.
That ranking on Google or Bing, etc. doesn’t matter any more. That the only thing that matters is being found in ChatGPT, Claude, and their AI buddies.
That’s nonsense.
And then the other side, you hear: AI answers are unreliable. Google is still king. Focus on what has always worked.
Let’s look at what is actually happening with SEO (search engine optimization), AI search, and how they actually work together.
Both camps are wrong. And both camps are right.
Which brings me to someone I want you to meet.
Her name is April. She runs a hair salon in Northampton. She has been in business twelve years.
She has a website. It loads fast, works on mobile, and ranks decently for searches like 'hair salon Northampton.' She has an Instagram profile she updates regularly. She gets bookings. She has clients who have been coming to her for years.
On paper, April is doing everything right.
But growth feels random. Some weeks she is fully booked. Other weeks she is chasing appointments. She cannot explain the difference and neither can her numbers.
Here is what makes April's situation interesting.
Clients tell her things that should be good news.
I found you on Google. I saw you on Maps. ChatGPT mentioned you. My friend sent me a list.
People are finding her. Just not in ways she can see, measure, or repeat.
She came to us thinking the problem was SEO. That if she could just rank better on Google, the inconsistency would go away.
We had to tell her something uncomfortable.
The problem is not her SEO. Her SEO is fine for the most part.
The problem is that the way people discover local businesses has changed, but many businesses are still playing by an old set of rules.
Ten years ago, discovery was simple. Someone needed a haircut. They typed "hair salon Northampton" into Google. They clicked a result. Done.
That journey still happens. But it is one of many now.
Some people open Google Maps and scroll through photos before they ever visit a website. Some ask ChatGPT for a recommendation and book whoever gets mentioned. Some watch a TikTok, see a transformation, and search the stylist's name directly. Some read a local best-of list curated by a blogger they trust. Some ask in a Facebook group and go with whoever gets the most enthusiastic replies.
Google is still a discovery engine. It is no longer the only one. We're seeing a divergence of search platforms. This is why Neil Patel said that SEO now stands for ‘Search Everywhere Optimization’.
April was optimising for one engine. Her clients were using six.
That is not an SEO problem. That is a discovery problem.
And it is the same problem facing almost every local business right now. Not just hair salons. Plumbers. Solicitors. Personal trainers. Accountants. Shopping Malls. If your clients can find you, choose you, and book you without ever clicking your website, you need to think beyond SEO.
Next week we are going to show you how we walked April through this process.
There is a framework for this. It has a name. And once you see it, you will not be able to unsee it.
See you next week!
Fungai
Your Owwtreach Guy
Grow with Owwtreach
www.owwtreach.com