I asked SEO experts what helps improve AI visibility. Here's what they said

Welcome to another edition of my bi-weekly newsletter!

This time, I’m sharing a few things I’ve been working on lately, including my new guide to AI search optimization, with real case studies and insights from SEO practitioners.

I’ll also give you an update on my collaboration with Wellows, an AI search visibility platform, and my upcoming AI SEO ebook. 🤩

And, as always, I’ve rounded up the biggest SEO updates from the past two weeks.

Let’s dive in!

I recently had a conversation with Kanishka, a content manager at beehiiv, my favorite newsletter platform, about the current state of SEO and what brands can actually do to improve their visibility in both traditional and AI search.

That conversation got me thinking that I wanted to hear from more people who actually work in SEO, SaaS, B2B, and more. So I reached out to other experts and asked what’s been working for them.

The strategies below come directly from people working in the industry and are based on their own experience.

I got some great responses, and a few really stood out to me.

Here's a quick summary with more expert insights in the post:👇

1️⃣ Scott Stockdale (SEO Manager at Avium) shared what they've implemented so that one of their clients saw a 98% increase in clicks since March 2026 after a site migration.

2️⃣ Bogdan Krupin (AI SEO Researcher at SE Ranking) explained that AI visibility comes down to three layers:
- How your brand positions itself
- How you’re recognized within your niche
- What the community says about you

All three need to match.

3️⃣ Omid Ghiam (Head of Growth at Gumloop) pointed out that the sites still growing both in organic and AI search are the ones that aren’t anonymous. They invest in established authors, original insights, and expertise.

Some exclusive and real-world examples from ecommerce and service companies are in the post as well:

I’ve also included what works for Behind Rankings. If you’re trying to figure out AI SEO in 2026, this is a good place to start. 😉

Every two weeks, I round up and share the biggest updates from the AI SEO world so you can stay on top of the latest changes and what's coming next. 👇

Starting September 15, 2026, Cloudflare will classify Googlebot and Bingbot as bots that both index for search and collect AI training data — meaning any site with "Block AI bots" or AI-training blocks enabled will also block Google's crawler. Site owners can opt out of the new classification before the deadline. One publisher has already reported Googlebot being blocked, though Cloudflare hasn't confirmed the cause.

Why it matters: If you use Cloudflare's AI-blocking settings, audit your configuration now or risk losing Google indexing entirely after September 15.

Claude has started embedding watermarks directly into generated content, including text.

Visually, everything will look clean and invisible to a user. But the main purpose seems to be helping third-party algorithms detect and mark AI-generated content.

This also means that if you write content and then ask Claude to polish it and improve grammar, your content will be marked as well.

For SEOs, this likely means Google and other search engines will have no problem identifying content generated with Claude.

Of course, other factors impact the performance, but for new sites or the ones heavily relying on AI- generated content, this could be another reason for a drop.

According to the latest study conducted by the SE Ranking team, ChatGPT ads appear for around 26% of commercial keywords, including « best » and « new » triggers.

Over 50k keywords have been analyzed across 20 different niches in the USA for two weeks.

The study also discovered that 1 in 7 ad placements appear for the wrong topic. Honestly, I thought this number should have been even higher since none of the ads I’ve experienced right after they launched them aligned with my search intent.

I guess this is just the beginning for ChatGPT and other LLMs, which changes the competitive landscape for anyone hoping organic mentions and citations would be enough.

👀 Have you checked your AI Performance report in Google Search Console yet?

If you didn’t have access to it before, check your account. Since yesterday, it looks like Google has rolled it out to everyone.

You can now see impressions from AI search results and get a better idea of how your site is showing up in Google’s AI experiences.

But… there’s still a lot missing. 😅

We still don’t know which prompts triggered those impressions or which pages were actually cited or mentioned.

So yes, it’s a step forward. But there’s definitely room for improvement.

August has been a busy month on social media. I’ve been showing up more consistently to support the Behind Rankings brand and build awareness around it.

My latest reel, literally the third one I’ve ever made (I’m not exactly an Instagram person 😅), reached 500+ people on Instagram and 300+ on Facebook.

It took me about two hours to make, but I’d say that’s still a pretty good brand-awareness opportunity.

So, I’m going to keep making reels where I share my AI SEO experience and review the tools I’m testing.

If you’re on Instagram, follow Behind Rankings to keep up with what I’m working on.

But there’s one thing I keep reminding myself: views don’t pay the bills. 😅 So while I’m happy to see those numbers grow, I need to keep my focus on what actually drives my business:

That’s why I’ve been talking to three brands about potential collaborations in August, including one I already work with as a client.

One of them is Wellows, an AI visibility platform for brands and agencies. I’m testing the platform now and will share my honest take on it soon. Stay tuned!

I’ve also announced that I’m working on a new AI SEO ebook: Practitioner’s Guide to AI Search and LLM Visibility.

The book brings together what I’ve learned so far: where AI SEO stands today, where I think it’s heading, how my website has changed as Google AI Overviews have become more prominent, and the strategies I use to improve AI search visibility for my own site and my clients.

It’s launching in October 2026, just in time for my birthday. 🎂

I’ll be sharing all the updates via email, so you’ll be the first to know.

So, why another ebook?

Creating a good book takes a lot of time. I know that from creating my SEO writing ebook. But my website’s performance around SEO books and related topics gave me a pretty good reason to do it again.

I started noticing that LLMs were citing my old SEO writing ebook, How to Hit the Google Front Page, and recommending it as a resource.

At the same time, my article about the best SEO books has continued to perform well in organic search despite the domain migration and all the Google changes.

For example, according to Semrush, the article currently ranks #4 in the US for “best SEO books” even though I last updated it in December 2025.

That made the opportunity pretty clear: people are already finding my content around SEO books, and there’s a chance to turn that existing interest into something more useful.

So, I’m all in on creating this new AI SEO ebook.

And if there’s a question about AI SEO that you really want answered, just reply to this email and send it my way. I’ll do my best to cover it in the book. 😉

For $9.99, my ebook shows you how to create content that aligns with Google's E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authority, Trust) and gets cited — your biggest edge in the AI era.

Inside, you'll learn:

If you want your content to perform over the long term, not just exist, this is for you.

That’s all for now!

Talk soon,
Victoria

P.S. To learn more, check my full collection of newsletters for free: Behind Rankings.