# Peacock Search

- Site: https://peacocksearch.com/

## Google AI Mode: what it is and what it means for your business

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/google-ai-mode/
- Published: 2026-10-26T09:00:00+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

Google AI Mode is a way of searching Google where you ask a question in your own
words, get an AI-written answer with links to websites, and carry on with follow-
up questions. Google announced it for UK users in a [post dated 28 July 2025](https://blog.google/company-news/inside-google/around-the-globe/google-europe/united-kingdom/ai-mode-search-uk/),
as a tab on the results page and in the Google app for Android and iOS. For a business,
what matters is that it works from Google’s normal search index: the pages it links
to must be indexed and able to show with a snippet, and there’s no special markup
to add.

## What is Google AI Mode?

Google calls AI Mode its most powerful AI search experience. Its [help page on AI Mode](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/16011537)
says it suits questions that would once have taken several searches, such as exploring
a new idea or comparing options. You can ask by typing, by voice, with a photo or
with a file such as a PDF. You can go straight to it at google.com/ai.

In the UK launch post, Google said early users were asking questions two or three
times the length of traditional searches. In a [June 2026 post on new controls for website owners](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/new-controls-website-owners/),
it said AI Mode had passed one billion monthly users.

## How AI Mode differs from AI Overviews

An AI Overview is an AI-written snapshot shown within the normal results. Google’s
[guide to AI features for site owners](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)
says it only shows when Google’s systems decide it adds something, so it often doesn’t
appear. AI Mode is a separate space you choose to enter, meant for questions that
need more exploring, reasoning or comparing, and you can keep the conversation going.
People can also move from an AI Overview into AI Mode to ask follow-ups.

Google says the two can use different models and techniques, so the same question
can bring different answers and links in each.

## How AI Mode builds an answer: query fan-out

AI Mode uses what Google calls query fan-out. It breaks your question into subtopics,
runs many searches at once on your behalf, then brings the results together into
one answer.

Google’s [guide to optimising for its AI features](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide),
updated on 10 July 2026, gives an example. A search for “how to fix a lawn that’s
full of weeds” might fan out into searches such as “best herbicides for lawns” and“
how to prevent weeds in lawn”. A local question such as “is there an electrician
in Leeds who can come out tonight?” has several parts in the same way, and each 
can become its own search.

The same guide says these features are rooted in Google’s core ranking and quality
systems, which fetch pages from the search index before the answer is written.

Google also warns against writing a separate page for every way a question might
be asked, fan-out searches included. Doing that mainly to sway rankings or AI answers
breaks its scaled content abuse policy.

## Where your website fits: the links in AI Mode

AI Mode answers come with links to the websites that support them. Google says fan-
out can let it show a wider and more varied set of links than a classic search. 
In a [15 October 2026 update to AI Mode and AI Overviews](https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/search/updates-ai-mode-overviews-explore-web/),
it announced more links inside the text of answers, shown higher up more often. 
Google will also test a section at the top of some answers for the one or two official
sites where you can get a particular task done.

AI Mode doesn’t always write an answer. Google’s UK post says that when it doesn’t
have high confidence in a response, you’ll see a set of web search results instead.

## What Google says a page needs

Google’s answer is shorter than most of the advice about AI search. The rules are
the same for AI Mode and AI Overviews, so this is also how to appear in AI Overviews.

### Indexed and eligible for a snippet

To be shown as a supporting link, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear 
in Google Search with a snippet, meeting Google’s normal technical requirements.
Google’s newer guide adds one condition: your site must be included in the Search
generative AI control in Search Console. That control reached every site on 31 August
2026 and is set to include by default, so it only matters if someone has switched
it off. Meeting all of this still doesn’t guarantee a page will be shown, Google
says.

### No special schema or files

Google says you don’t need new machine-readable files, AI text files such as llms.
txt, or special schema.org markup to appear in its AI features. Its guide also says
there’s no need to break content into small chunks or rewrite it for AI.

Structured data still helps a page qualify for rich results, and Google asks that
it match the visible text. The basics Google does list are familiar: allow crawling
in robots.txt and in any CDN or hosting settings, keep key content in text, and 
keep your Business Profile up to date.

### If you want less of your content shown

Snippet controls (nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet) and noindex limit what
Google shows from a page. The [Search generative AI control](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16908024)
goes further and takes a whole site, or one Search Console property within it, out
of AI Overviews, AI Mode and the AI features in Discover. Google says excluded sites
get no traffic or impressions from those features, and that the choice isn’t used
as a ranking signal for the rest of Search.

## How AI Mode traffic shows in Search Console

AI Mode visits are already in your Search Console data, mixed in with the rest. 
Google’s [help page on how clicks are counted](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7042828)
says a click on a link in AI Mode counts as a click, impressions follow the standard
rules, and position is worked out as on a normal results page. A follow-up question
counts as a new search. Google’s AI features guide adds that all of it sits in the
Performance report under the Web search type.

The clicks help page says an AI Overview takes one position, shared by every link
inside it.

Since 31 August 2026, every site can also use the [Generative AI performance report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/16984139),
though a site with too few AI impressions may see nothing yet. It shows how often
your pages appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode, by page, country, device and date.
For now it counts impressions, not clicks, and the help page gives no way to split
AI Mode from AI Overviews. We found no Google page that says how Google Analytics
labels AI Mode visits.

## What it means for a local service business

Google’s guide says AI answers can include information about local businesses, and
that a Google Business Profile can help your services show in AI answers as well
as the usual results. We’d treat your profile and service pages as the facts AI 
Mode has to work with, so they should agree on hours, services and areas.

AI Mode can also do legwork for customers. Its [help page on local availability and pricing](https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/17104441)
says it can research home services such as electricians, find appointment slots 
and check prices.

When a business has little information online, Google may phone it on the customer’s
behalf. That page lists the UK for restaurant bookings but names no countries for
the rest, so whether it calls UK trades today is unclear. If Google does call, your
[Business Profile settings](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7690269) 
let you turn automated calls for customer bookings and enquiries on or off.

## Three things to check this month

 1. **Your Search Console setting and key pages.** Under Settings, open Search generative
    AI and confirm your site is included, unless you chose otherwise. Then run your
    main service pages through URL Inspection to confirm they’re indexed and nobody
    has added a nosnippet tag.
 2. **The Generative AI performance report.** Note which pages appear and how their
    impressions move each month, and compare them with the clicks those pages get in
    the Performance report.
 3. **The facts AI Mode can find about you.** Check your Business Profile against your
    service pages and fix anything that doesn’t match. Then ask AI Mode a few of the
    longer questions your customers ask, and see which sites it links to. Answers can
    change with who is asking and when, so one check is a snapshot.

## Questions

### Is AI Mode available in the UK?

Yes. Google announced AI Mode for UK users in a post dated 28 July 2025, and its
help page lists the United Kingdom among the countries where it’s available.

### Do I need special markup to appear in AI Mode?

No. Google says there’s no special schema.org markup to add: a page has to be indexed
and eligible to show with a snippet, and your site has to stay included in Search
Console’s Search generative AI control, which is the default.

### Can I see AI Mode visits in Search Console?

Partly. Clicks from AI Mode are counted in the Performance report under the Web 
search type, mixed with other Google traffic, and the Generative AI performance 
report shows impressions from AI Mode and AI Overviews together.

### Can I keep my site out of AI Mode?

Yes. The Search generative AI control in Search Console takes a whole site out of
AI Overviews, AI Mode and Discover’s AI features, and Google says excluded sites
get no traffic or impressions from them.

## Beyond Google’s AI Mode

AI Mode is one of several AI tools people now ask. ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot
choose their sources in their own ways, and our Note on [what AI search optimisation involves](https://peacocksearch.com/what-is-ai-search-optimisation/)
covers them. Our [AI search visibility](https://peacocksearch.com/services/ai-search-visibility/)
work includes a monthly panel of AI prompt checks. To see where you stand in Google,
the map pack and AI answers, [ask for a free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit).

## How do I add my business to Google and get it verified?

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/how-to-add-your-business-to-google/
- Published: 2026-10-23T08:00:00+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

Create a free Business Profile at business.google.com/add, enter your details, then
verify it with one of the methods Google offers you. [Adding or claiming a profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=en-GB)
costs nothing, and Google says verification reviews take up to five working days.
Take care over your name, address and category as you go: change any of them later
and Google may ask you to verify again.

## How do I add my business to Google?

Google calls what you’re setting up a Business Profile, though many people call 
it a Google Business page. You need a Google Account, but there’s no separate Google
business account to create: an existing one works, or you can make one with your
work email. Use an account the business controls, because verifying makes it the
profile’s owner.

Check, too, that your business qualifies. Google’s [eligibility guidelines](https://support.google.com/business/answer/13763036?hl=en-GB)
say a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours,
at its premises or at theirs. Online-only businesses aren’t eligible, and nor is
one whose address is a PO box.

 1. **Look for an existing profile.** Search Google Maps for your business name and
    town.
 2. **Claim it if it’s unverified.** Select the business, then _Claim this business_
    and _Manage now_, and pick a verification option. If someone else has verified 
    it, see the ownership section below.
 3. **Add it if it isn’t there.** Go to business.google.com/add and select _Add your
    business to Google_.
 4. **Describe your business** by following the on-screen instructions.
 5. **Verify it** with one of the options shown.

## Choosing your name, address and category

Google’s [guidelines for representing your business](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en-GB)
set rules for all three, and a profile that breaks them can be suspended.

### Your business name

Use the name customers know you by, as it appears on your shopfront, website and
stationery. Google doesn’t permit extra information that isn’t part of that name,
such as a tagline, a town, a service, a phone number or opening hours, and says 
adding it could get the profile suspended. If your van says “Smith Plumbing”, the
profile should say “Smith Plumbing”, not “Smith Plumbing Leeds 24hr Emergency Plumber”.
A legal term such as Ltd can stay only if your signs, cards or invoices consistently
show it.

### Shopfront or service area

If customers come to premises with your name on a permanent sign, show your address.
If you travel to them, as a plumber or cleaner does, you’re a service-area business:
Google says to hide your address, including when you work from home, and list the
areas you serve instead. A business that does both, such as a garage offering roadside
repairs, is what Google calls a hybrid service-area business. It can show its address
and a service area if the premises are staffed during its hours.

You can list up to 20 [service areas](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481?hl=en-GB),
by town, city, postcode or other area, within about two hours’ drive of your base.
You can’t set a radius. An address you rent but don’t work from (a virtual office)
isn’t eligible. Keep to one profile for the business, not one for each town.

### Your primary category

Pick the most specific category that completes the sentence “This business is a…”.
Google’s own example is _Nail salon_ rather than _Salon_. If nothing fits, choose
a more general one. Google’s [help page on categories](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7249669?hl=en-GB)
says your categories affect your local ranking. Add more only for real departments
or services, use as few as you can, and never use them as keywords.

## How to verify your Google Business Profile

Verification proves to Google that you own or manage the business. Until it’s done
you can’t edit details such as your name or opening hours.

### Which methods you might be offered

You don’t choose. Google’s [verification help page](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7107242?hl=en-GB)
says the methods are set automatically and can’t be changed. They depend on your
business type, public information, region and opening hours, and some businesses
need more than one. The options include:

 * **Phone or text.** You must be able to answer the business number or receive 
   texts. An automated phone menu won’t get the code.
 * **Email**, to the address shown on the verification screen.
 * **Live video call** with Google support, during your opening hours.
 * **Video recording**, filmed and uploaded from your phone. Google recommends this
   method if you’re offered it.
 * **Postcard.** Most codes arrive within 14 days and expire after 30. While you
   wait, don’t edit your name, address or category, which stops the code working,
   or request a new code, which cancels the first.

Never share a code, even with someone who manages your profile. Google says it will
never ask you for one.

### Video verification

For a live video call you must be at the business during opening hours. Be ready
to show where you are (outside signs, a street sign or nearby businesses), the business
itself (products, branded equipment or tools) and that you run it (staff-only areas,
the till or your keys).

A [video recording](https://support.google.com/business/answer/14271705?hl=en-GB)
must be filmed live in one unedited take of at least 30 seconds. A shopfront needs
its name on a permanent sign that matches the profile. A service-area business shows
street signs or landmarks near its base (if you work from home, ones in your own
neighbourhood will do), its tools and proof that you run it, such as opening a branded
van.

### How long it takes

Once you’ve finished the steps, Google says verification reviews take up to five
working days, and on rare occasions longer. Some profiles are verified instantly,
for example when you’ve already verified your website in Search Console. If you’re
verified and still can’t find the profile, our note on [why your business isn’t showing on Google Maps](https://peacocksearch.com/why-is-my-business-not-on-google-maps/)
covers the next checks.

## If verification fails

If the _Get verified_ button reappears, Google couldn’t completely verify the business.
Try again, or use another method if more than one is shown. If a recorded video 
was rejected, _Review issues_ tells you what was missing for the next one.

Don’t start a second profile to get round it. Google allows one profile per business,
and [a profile it treats as a duplicate](https://support.google.com/business/answer/12756178?hl=en-GB)
won’t show on Search or Maps. If none of your methods works, Google suggests contacting
its support team.

## If someone else already owns the profile

If a former employee, past owner or supplier verified the profile, you can ask for
it. For a shopfront or hybrid business, Google’s [help page on requesting ownership](https://support.google.com/business/answer/4566671?hl=en-GB)
says to go to business.google.com/add, enter the business name and address and choose
your business. When Google says someone else may manage it, select _Request access_
and fill in the form.

The current owner has three days to respond. If they approve, you can manage the
profile. If they refuse, you can appeal or suggest an edit. If they don’t reply,
you may be able to claim it, though Google says that option isn’t always available.
Service-area businesses contact Google instead and ask for a transfer of ownership.

Whoever helps you later, keep ownership yourself and add them as managers. Google’s
[rules for authorised representatives](https://support.google.com/business/answer/13763036?hl=en-GB),
SEO agencies included, say they must never claim a profile without the owner’s consent
and must hand ownership over as soon as the owner asks.

## What to fill in once you’re verified

A business with complete and accurate information is more likely to show up in local
results, according to Google’s [advice on local ranking](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en-GB).
A separate [help page on editing your profile](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3039617?hl=en-GB)
covers each field. Start with these:

 * **Opening hours**, plus special hours for bank holidays.
 * **Phone number.** One the business controls, local rather than a call centre 
   line where you can, and never a premium-rate number.
 * **Website**, entered in full, starting https://.
 * **Description**, up to 750 characters on what you offer. No links, and Google
   says not to focus on promotions or prices.
 * **Photos**, including one of the outside, which Google says helps customers recognise
   you.
 * **Services and attributes**, such as parking or Wi-Fi, where they apply.

## Mistakes that lead to suspensions

Google may suspend a profile that doesn’t follow its guidelines. The setup mistakes
above are the ones we’d check first: a name padded with towns or services, a virtual
office or PO box address, a second profile and a profile claimed without the owner’s
consent.

If it happens, Google’s [help page on suspended profiles](https://support.google.com/business/answer/4569145?hl=en-GB)
says its appeals tool shows the reason. You can only submit an appeal once, so attach
evidence first, such as your business registration or a utility bill in the profile’s
name and address. Don’t create a new profile while you wait.

## Questions

### Does it cost anything to add my business to Google?

No. Google says you can add or claim your business at no charge.

### Can I choose how I verify?

No. Google decides which methods you’re offered, based on things like your business
type, region and opening hours.

### Can I list my business if I work from home?

Yes. If customers don’t come to you, set it up as a service-area business: Google
says to hide your address and list the areas you serve instead.

### How long does it take to get my business on Google?

Google says verification reviews take up to five working days once you’ve finished
the steps, and on rare occasions longer, plus the wait for a postcard code if that’s
your method. Some profiles are verified instantly, such as when the business’s website
is already verified in Search Console.

## When to get help

Adding and verifying a profile is work you can do yourself. Winning a place in the
map pack for the searches that bring in work usually takes longer, and that’s what
our [local SEO](https://peacocksearch.com/services/local-seo/) service is for. It
includes town-by-town map ranking checks, and every account, your Business Profile
included, stays in your name. To see where you stand now, [ask for a free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit).

## How does SEO work? A plain-English explanation

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/how-does-seo-work/
- Published: 2026-10-22T08:00:00+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

SEO works by helping search engines find and understand your pages, so they can 
show them to people searching for what you offer. Google Search runs in three stages:
it crawls the web to discover pages, indexes what it finds and serves results when
someone searches. SEO is the work of getting your important pages through each stage
and giving Google good reason to show them ahead of the alternatives.

Plenty of owners are sold SEO without anyone explaining it. So how does SEO work
at each stage, and what should a supplier be doing there? We’ve answered both from
Google’s own documentation.

## What is SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimisation. Google’s [SEO Starter Guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide)
describes it as helping search engines understand your content, and helping people
find your site and decide whether to visit it from a search engine. It deals with
the unpaid results, not the ads.

You’ll also hear “an SEO” used for the person or firm doing the work, as in the 
title of Google’s guide to hiring one, [“Do you need an SEO?”](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo)

## How Google Search works in three stages

Google’s [in-depth guide to how Search works](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/how-search-works)
splits it into crawling, indexing and serving search results, and notes that not
all pages make it through each stage. Keep two of its points in mind when you read
an SEO proposal. Google doesn’t accept payment to crawl a site more often or to 
rank it higher. And it doesn’t guarantee that it will crawl, index or serve any 
page, even one that follows Google’s own guidelines, the Search Essentials.

### Crawling

There’s no central list of every page on the web, so Google keeps looking for new
and updated ones. Its starter guide says the vast majority of the new pages Google
finds every day come through links. Google also reads sitemaps, which are files 
listing the pages you want found. A program called Googlebot then fetches the pages
it chooses to crawl (not every page Google finds) and renders them, much as your
browser does.

Common reasons Googlebot can’t reach a page, Google says, are server problems, network
issues and rules in the site’s robots.txt file that block it. This is where [technical SEO](https://peacocksearch.com/services/technical-seo/)
starts. A supplier should be able to tell you whether Google can reach your important
pages and, if it can’t, why not.

### Indexing

Next, Google tries to understand what each page is about, from its text, images 
and video. What it learns can then be stored in the Google index, a large database.
Google names three common reasons pages are left out of it: low-quality content,
a tag in the page’s code telling Google not to index it, and a site design that 
makes indexing difficult.

Search Console, Google’s tool for site owners, shows which of your pages are indexed
and why others aren’t. Any supplier should look there before recommending anything
else.

### Serving results

When someone searches, Google looks through its index for matching pages and returns
the ones it believes are the highest quality and most relevant. Relevance is decided
by hundreds of factors, which can include the searcher’s location, language and 
device. A page can be indexed and still not appear, for example because it isn’t
relevant to the search, its quality is low or a tag in the page’s code stops it 
being shown.

## What decides where a page ranks

Google’s [explanation of how it ranks results](https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/how-search-works/ranking-results/)
lists its key signals. They include the meaning of the search, the relevance of 
the content, its quality, its usability and the context of the search, such as where
you are and your settings. The weight given to each varies from one search to another.

Google’s ranking systems are designed to prioritise helpful, reliable information
created to benefit people, rather than content made to manipulate rankings, according
to its [guidance on helpful content](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content).
Google’s explanation of ranking also names one quality signal: whether other prominent
websites link to or refer to the content. Usability counts too. When other signals
are roughly equal, pages people find easier to use, such as mobile-friendly pages
that load quickly, may do better.

Some things don’t count, whatever a proposal claims. Google’s starter guide says
it doesn’t use the keywords meta tag, that content length alone doesn’t matter for
ranking and that E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness)
isn’t a ranking factor in itself. Keyword stuffing is against its spam policies.

## How does SEO work in practice?

Each stage points to a kind of work, and a proposal should say which kinds your 
site needs and in what order. Google’s hiring guide says that if you run a small
local business, you can probably do much of the work yourself. The same work applies
to Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode: its [guide to AI features](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)
says the usual SEO best practices apply, with no extra requirements.

### Technical fixes

Google’s [technical requirements](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/technical)
are short. To be eligible for indexing, a page must be accessible to Googlebot, 
must work (it has to return an HTTP 200, or “success”, code) and must have content
Google can index. Technical SEO checks those for every page that matters, then deals
with speed, mobile use, duplicate pages and anything that hides content from Google.

### Content

Google’s starter guide says that creating content people find compelling and useful
will likely influence your presence in search more than anything else it suggests.
Think about the words people might search for. For a service business, that usually
means a clear page for each main service, naming the places you work and written
in the words your customers use.

### Links and mentions

Links help Google find pages, and links from prominent sites are one of the signals
it uses to judge quality. The useful ones are earned, such as a local paper covering
your work. Buying or selling links for ranking purposes is [link spam under Google’s policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies),
and Google’s hiring guide adds that you should never have to link to an SEO from
your site.

### Local search

For searches with local intent, Google shows nearby businesses on Maps and in Search.
These results depend mainly on how relevant a business is to the search, how far
it is from the searcher and how well known it is, according to Google’s [advice on local ranking](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en-GB).
There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.

[Local SEO](https://peacocksearch.com/services/local-seo/) works on what you can
influence: a complete and accurate Google Business Profile, reviews, and the links
and mentions that make a business better known.

## Organic results and ads are separate

“Organic SEO” means the same as SEO: work on Google’s non-advertising results, which
the hiring guide notes are often called organic search. Google only sells ad space,
so [no one can buy better placement in organic results](https://www.google.com/search/howsearchworks/our-approach/ads-on-search/).
Its ads are always labelled “Sponsored” or “Ad” and shown apart from the search 
results. Advertising with Google has no effect on your site’s presence in its search
results, the hiring guide confirms, and it costs nothing to appear in organic results.

## What SEO can’t do

No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google, according to Google’s hiring guide,
which warns against anyone who claims a “special relationship” with Google or advertises
a “priority submit”. And not every change makes a noticeable difference, the starter
guide adds.

Nor can technical work make a weak page deserve a ranking. If a page doesn’t answer
the search better than the pages already there, the page itself has to improve. 
Honesty about this is a fair first test when [choosing an SEO agency or consultant](https://peacocksearch.com/seo-agency-or-consultant/).
Do they explain what they’ll change and why, or promise outcomes Google says nobody
can promise?

## How long before anything changes

Some changes might take effect in a few hours and others could take several months,
according to Google’s starter guide. It suggests allowing a few weeks before you
assess the effect. Fixes that unblock pages often show first, because Google sees
the fix as soon as it crawls those pages again. Rankings for competitive searches
take longer. We’ve written more on [how long SEO takes to work](https://peacocksearch.com/how-long-does-seo-take/).

## Where to start with your own site

 1. **Check Google can see you.** Search Google for _site:_ followed by your domain.
    If you see results pointing to your site, you’re in Google’s index.
 2. **Set up Search Console.** It shows how Google crawls, indexes and serves your 
    site, as Google’s [Search Console guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/monitor-debug/search-console-start)
    explains. Keep the account in your own name.
 3. **Check your Google Business Profile.** If you serve customers locally, Google 
    says complete and accurate details make a business more likely to show in local
    results.
 4. **Read any proposal against Google’s guidance.** The hiring guide suggests asking
    whether a supplier follows the Search Essentials and cites official Google documentation,
    and giving only read access to Search Console for an audit.
 5. **Decide what you want to win.** An SEO strategy is the written plan that sets 
    which searches matter most to your business, the order to go after them and what
    each one needs. Our [search strategy](https://peacocksearch.com/services/search-strategy/)
    work begins with this step.

If you’d rather someone did the work, our [SEO services](https://peacocksearch.com/services/seo/)
start from a written plan you approve before anything changes, with every account
kept in your name. To see where your own site stands on Google, Maps and AI answers,
[ask for a free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit). It 
names the three things to fix first.

## Questions

### Is SEO free?

Appearing in Google’s organic results costs nothing, and Google doesn’t accept payment
to rank sites. What costs money is the time it takes to fix, write and promote pages.

### What is an SEO?

An SEO is the person or firm who does search engine optimisation. Google’s own guide
to hiring one says a small local business can probably do much of the work itself.

### Can anyone guarantee a first-page ranking?

No. Google says no one can guarantee a #1 ranking, and it doesn’t guarantee it will
crawl, index or show any page, so treat a ranking guarantee as a warning sign.

### Do Google Ads help my SEO?

No. Google says advertising with it has no effect on your site’s presence in its
search results.

### Does SEO work for Google’s AI Overviews?

The same work applies: Google says the usual SEO best practices hold for AI Overviews
and AI Mode, with no extra requirements. To appear as a supporting link, a page 
has to be indexed and eligible to show in Search with a snippet.

## What is local SEO, and how does the map pack work?

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/what-is-local-seo/
- Published: 2026-10-21T08:00:00+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

Local SEO means getting a business found when people nearby search for what it offers,
in Google Maps and in the map pack of local businesses on Google Search. [Google’s guide to local ranking](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en-GB)
says those results are mainly based on how well a business matches the search, how
far it is from the searcher and how well known it is. The work happens on your Google
Business Profile, your website and what other people and websites say about you.

## What is local SEO, and how is it different from ordinary SEO?

Google’s [SEO Starter Guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide)
describes SEO as helping search engines understand your content, and helping people
find your site and decide whether to visit it. Ordinary SEO does that for web pages,
which compete for places in the list of links. Local SEO does it for searches where
the answer is a business near the searcher, such as “boiler repair Wakefield” or“
physio near me”. Those results are built from Google Business Profiles, and they
change with where the searcher is.

The two overlap. Google says it can pick up a business’s category from its website
and from mentions across the web, and that how well known a business is depends 
partly on links from other websites. A weak website holds back a good profile, and
a good website can’t rescue a profile that’s missing or wrong.

## Where local results appear: the Google map pack and Maps

### What the 3-pack is

Search Google for a service and a town, or a service and “near me”, and you’ll usually
see a map with a short list of businesses under it. SEO people call it the map pack
or local pack, or the Google 3-pack, since it usually lists three businesses. Each
listing comes from that business’s profile: its name, star rating, opening hours
and buttons to call, get directions or visit the website. Google’s ranking guide
calls them local results, and they show on Google Maps as well as Search.

### Why results change from street to street

Distance is measured from the person searching. Google says that if a searcher doesn’t
share their location, it uses what it knows about where they are. So two people 
typing the same words a few miles apart can see different businesses in the pack.
A search from your own desk shows roughly what customers near your base see. Seeing
the rest means running the same search from points across the towns you serve, which
is why our local SEO clients get town-by-town map ranking checks.

## How Google ranks local businesses: relevance, distance and prominence

[Google’s guide to local ranking](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en-GB)
names three main factors.

 * **Relevance** is how well a Business Profile matches what someone searched for.
   Businesses with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up.
 * **Distance** is how far each business is from the person searching. You can’t
   control where people search from, so the work goes into relevance and prominence.
 * **Prominence** is how well known a business is (the page’s summary calls it popularity).
   It’s partly based on how many websites link to the business and how many reviews
   it has, and more reviews and positive ratings can help.

The same page makes two more points. Verifying your profile tells Google you’re 
authorised to represent the business, which makes it more likely to show in results.
And there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, so be wary of anyone
who offers to sell you one.

## The three parts of local SEO

### Your Google Business Profile

Your profile is what appears in the pack, so it comes first, and Google says you
can [add or claim your business at no charge](https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=en-GB).
Google’s [guidelines for representing your business](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en-GB)
set the rules that matter most:

 * The name should be your real-world name, as it appears on your signs, website
   and stationery. Adding services or locations to it isn’t permitted and could 
   get the profile suspended.
 * There should be one profile per business.
 * Use the fewest categories it takes to describe your core business, and make them
   as specific as you can.
 * Your address, or your service area, should be accurate.

If you travel to customers and they don’t come to you, you’re a service-area business,
and Google says you should hide your address. You can then [list up to 20 service areas](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481?hl=en-GB)
by town, postcode or other area, rather than drawing a radius. The overall area 
shouldn’t stretch beyond about two hours’ drive from your base, though Google says
larger areas may suit some businesses.

If your profile isn’t appearing at all, our note on [why a business isn’t showing on Google Maps](https://peacocksearch.com/why-is-my-business-not-on-google-maps/)
works through the usual causes.

### Your website

Your website backs up what the profile says. The profile links to it, so someone
arriving from the map should land on a page that matches what they searched for.
For most service businesses we’d start with one page per main service that names
the towns you cover and shows the same business name, address and phone number as
the profile. The usual SEO groundwork still applies: pages Google can crawl and 
index, on a site that works on a phone.

### Your reputation: reviews, links and listings

Reviews are part of prominence. Ask every customer for a review when you finish 
their job, and reply to the reviews you get: Google says replies show you value 
feedback, and that positive reviews and helpful replies can help you stand out. 
Keep them genuine. [Google’s content policy](https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114?hl=en-GB)
bans paid or incentivised reviews and asking only your happiest customers, and in
the UK [fake reviews have been banned](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fake-reviews-and-sneaky-hidden-fees-banned-once-and-for-all)
under consumer law since 6 April 2025.

Links count too, because Google names them as part of prominence. For a local business
the useful ones usually come from real connections: a trade body, the local paper,
a supplier, a club you sponsor.

Listings are the third piece. Apple Maps has its own listings through [Apple Business](https://business.apple.com/),
Bing has Bing Places, and trade directories carry your details too. Google doesn’t
name matching listings as a ranking factor, but it does say it decides how to show
your address using information from other sources as well as your own. Some customers
search Apple Maps or Bing instead, and a wrong number there costs you the call.

## A local SEO strategy in five steps

This is the order we’d work in for most owner-run service businesses.

 1. **Claim and verify your profile.** It’s free, and a verified profile is more likely
    to show.
 2. **Get the facts right.** Your real-world name, the most specific category that 
    fits, opening hours, phone number, and your address or service areas.
 3. **Make the website agree.** Check each service page against the profile and fix
    anything that doesn’t match.
 4. **Build reviews and links steadily.** Ask every customer, reply to every review,
    and say yes to genuine local mentions.
 5. **Measure from where your customers are.** Check map positions town by town, and
    count calls and enquiries, not only rankings.

Steps one to three are quick. Reviews and links build slowly, so steps four and 
five carry on month after month. Our note on [how long SEO takes to work](https://peacocksearch.com/how-long-does-seo-take/)
explains what sets the pace.

## Does your business need local SEO?

If customers visit you, or you go to them, almost certainly yes. Google’s [eligibility guidelines](https://support.google.com/business/answer/13763036?hl=en-GB)
say a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours
to qualify for a Business Profile. That covers most clinics, trades, shops, salons,
solicitors and other local services. To check, search for what you do plus your 
town. If a map of businesses comes up, that’s the kind of search local SEO is for.

The same guidelines list online-only businesses as ineligible, so if you never meet
customers, ordinary SEO is where your effort belongs. If you have several branches,
each with its own staff (and, if you travel to customers, its own service area),
Google’s guidelines for representing your business allow a profile for each location.
And if you’re based in or around Leeds, our page on [SEO in Leeds](https://peacocksearch.com/seo-leeds/)
shows how the map pack changes across the city.

## How to tell local SEO is working

Your position in the pack changes with every search location, so rankings are only
part of the answer. These tell you more:

 * **Your profile’s Performance report.** For a verified profile, it shows views,
   the searches people used to find you, calls, direction requests and website clicks.
   [Google’s guide to the report](https://support.google.com/business/answer/9918094?hl=en-GB)
   says it counts Google Ads activity as well as unpaid results, so bear that in
   mind if you run ads.
 * **Map positions town by town**, checked from the same points each month, so you
   can see whether your reach is growing.
 * **Search Console**, for the searches and clicks your website gets.
 * **Enquiries**: the calls, forms and bookings that came from search. They’re what
   the work is for.

The profile, Search Console and enquiry figures should all come from accounts you
own. With Peacock Search, every account stays in your name, and the monthly report
fits on one page.

## Questions

### Is local SEO different from ordinary SEO?

It uses the same foundations, then adds your Google Business Profile, your reviews
and your listings on other sites. Google ranks local results on relevance, distance
and prominence.

### Can I pay Google to rank higher on Maps?

No. Ads can appear on Google Maps, but Google says there’s no way to request or 
pay for a better local ranking.

### Do I need an office or shop to do local SEO?

No. Google lets service-area businesses hide their address and list the areas they
serve, usually within about two hours’ drive of their base.

## Getting help with local SEO

Most local businesses don’t need everything at once. Getting the profile right comes
first, and the rest builds on it. Our [local SEO services](https://peacocksearch.com/services/local-seo/)
cover that work, starting from a written plan you approve. To see where you stand
today, [ask for a free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit).
It names the three things to fix first and commits you to nothing.

## How much does SEO cost in the UK? What drives the price

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/what-drives-the-cost-of-seo/
- Published: 2026-10-17T14:04:54+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

There’s no single price for SEO. The cost depends on how much work your site and
market need, and six things set that. Two businesses in the same town can need very
different amounts of work, so a fair price usually comes after someone has looked
at your site, not before. Even our fixed-price package starts with a free audit,
which says whether it fits.

This note gives no typical prices. SEO pricing in the UK varies too much between
markets and suppliers for a number to help. Instead, it shows you how to read any
quote.

## What you’re paying for

Google doesn’t sell places in its organic results: its [guidance on hiring an SEO](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo)
says it never accepts money to include or rank sites. What you pay for is time: 
finding what’s wrong, fixing it, writing pages and earning mentions. For one business,
SEO is a few technical fixes and a tidier Google Business Profile. For another, 
it’s a rebuilt site, dozens of new pages and months of digital PR. A package sold
without a look at the site can overcharge the first or short-change the second.

## The six things that set the cost of SEO

 1. **How much is broken.** Pages Google can’t index, slow pages or a muddled structure
    need fixing before anything else will hold.
 2. **Competition.** Being found in one small town usually takes less work than across
    a city, and less again than nationally.
 3. **Scope.** One service in one town is a smaller job than eight services across 
    four towns.
 4. **Content.** Every new page has to be researched, planned and written, and that
    time adds up.
 5. **Who makes the changes.** If your own team or developer carries out the fixes,
    you mostly pay for planning and checking.
 6. **Reporting and contact.** A one-page monthly report takes less time than weekly
    calls and long slide decks.

## What drives the cost of local SEO

Local SEO is the work of appearing on Google Maps and in the map pack, the short
list of businesses Google shows with a map in its results. The Business Profile 
is free, and Google says there’s [no way to pay for a better local ranking](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en-GB).
It bases local results mainly on relevance, distance and how well known a business
is, and says more reviews and positive ratings can help. Four things decide how 
much work there is.

 * **Business Profile work.** Verifying the profile, choosing categories, listing
   services and keeping hours and photos current. A neglected profile needs more
   than a complete one.
 * **Number of towns.** Map results depend on where the searcher is, so each town
   has its own results and often needs its own page. We check map rankings town 
   by town for local SEO clients, so each extra town adds work.
 * **Review volume.** A business with few reviews needs a steady way to ask real
   customers for them. Google bans paid or incentivised reviews, so there’s no shortcut
   to buy.
 * **Citations.** Your name, address and details on directories and other sites.
   If you’ve moved, rebranded or changed number, old listings have to be found and
   corrected.

## Audits, projects and monthly retainers

Most SEO work is sold as one of three things. An audit is a one-off review with 
a written list of what to fix. A project has a defined end, such as a site move 
or a set of new service pages. A retainer is ongoing monthly work against a plan.
Some suppliers bill by the hour or day instead. Be wary of any proposal that starts
with a long contract before anyone has looked at your site.

## What a fair SEO proposal should itemise

 * What will be done in the first month, specifically
 * What’s included each month after that, and what isn’t
 * Who does the work, and how much of it
 * Which tools and data the reports use, and who owns the accounts
 * The notice period, and what you keep if you leave
 * Any costs outside the fee, such as ad spend, writers or software

## How to compare SEO quotes

Compare what you get, not the totals. A cheaper quote that covers reporting only
isn’t cheaper than a dearer one that includes the fixes. A promise of a fixed number
of links or blog posts a month counts activity, not results. And a quote that never
mentions your own Search Console and Analytics asks you to trust the supplier’s 
numbers over yours.

Ask every supplier the questions Google suggests: what results do you expect, in
what timeframe, and how will you measure success? The same page says an audit should
give realistic estimates of improvement and of the work involved, and that no one
can guarantee first place on Google.

## When cheap SEO costs more

A very low price tends to mean very little work, or risky work such as bought links
or copied content. Google’s spam policies treat buying links for ranking as link
spam, and sites that break those policies may rank lower or drop out of the results.
Cleaning up means finding the links, getting them removed and, after a manual action,
asking Google to review the site. That can cost far more than the saving.

## Working with Peacock Search

Every engagement starts from a written plan you approve before anything changes.
Most are priced from that plan; [Local SEO essentials](https://peacocksearch.com/services/local-seo/),
for one town, has a fixed price of £450 a month. Ongoing work is a rolling month-
to-month agreement, and every account, from Search Console to your Business Profile,
stays in your name. [How our SEO service works](https://peacocksearch.com/services/seo/)
explains the rest.

To start with your own site, our [free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit)
names the three things to fix first, and asking for it commits you to nothing.

## SEO agency or freelance consultant: which suits your business?

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/seo-agency-or-consultant/
- Published: 2026-10-17T14:04:53+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

An SEO consultant is one specialist who works out what’s holding your site back,
writes the plan and often carries it out as well. An SEO agency does the same kinds
of work through a team of people. A freelance consultant suits a business that wants
to deal directly with the person doing the work. An agency suits work that needs
many hands at once. Neither is better in general. What matters is which one fits
the work you need done.

Peacock Search is a consultancy, so we have a side in this. The aim is to help you
choose well, even when the answer is an agency.

## What does an SEO consultant do?

Some consultants only advise and leave the changes to your team. Others make most
of them themselves: technical fixes, page briefs and rewrites, local listings and
the monthly report. Ask which kind you’re talking to.

Google’s [guide to hiring an SEO](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo)(
updated 5 June 2026) lists the services consultants and agencies provide. They include
a review of your site’s content or structure, technical advice on things such as
redirects and error pages, content development, keyword research, SEO training, 
knowledge of particular markets and optimising for generative AI.

The strength of a consultant is directness. The person who looked at your site is
the person who answers your questions, so you hear the reasoning first-hand.

## What does an SEO agency do?

An agency has a team, often including specialists for technical SEO, content and
links, and an account manager who coordinates them. Its strength is capacity. It
can produce a lot of content each month and keep the work moving when someone’s 
on holiday or off sick. Good agencies tell you who works on your account and how
much of their time it gets.

## When an agency is the better choice

 * You need a large volume of content every month
 * You run several brands, countries or languages in parallel
 * You want SEO, paid social, design and development from one supplier
 * The work can’t pause when one person is away

## When a freelance consultant is the better choice

 * You want to deal with the person doing the work
 * Your site needs focus and judgement more than volume
 * You’ve paid for SEO before and couldn’t tell what was being done
 * You have your own team and need a clear plan and an expert to check the work

There’s a third option. Google’s guide says that if you run a small local business,“
you can probably do much of the work yourself”, starting with its SEO starter guide.
If you’ve got the time, that’s a fair place to begin.

## Questions to ask an SEO agency or consultant

Google suggests interviewing any SEO before you hire, and its sample questions include
how they measure success and whether they’ll share every change they make to your
site, with the reasoning. We’d add these:

 1. **Who does the work?** Not who manages it. Who actually makes the changes?
 2. **Whose name are the accounts in?** Your Search Console, Analytics, Google Ads 
    and Business Profile should belong to you. In each one, the owner or administrator
    decides who else gets in, so a supplier can work as a user on your account rather
    than you being a guest on theirs.
 3. **What’s the notice period?** A long minimum term mainly protects the supplier.
    Ask how you leave and what you keep.
 4. **What does a monthly report look like?** Ask to see an example. If you can’t follow
    it, you won’t follow yours.
 5. **What happens in the first month?** A good answer names specific checks and a 
    written plan.
 6. **How do you build links?** If the answer involves paying for them, walk away. 
    [Google’s spam policies](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam)
    treat buying links for ranking purposes as link spam, and sites that break those
    policies may rank lower or not appear in results at all.
 7. **How will we both know it’s working?** The answer should start with your own Search
    Console and Analytics data and the enquiries you get, not rankings alone.

## Warning signs

Google’s guide puts the first one plainly: “No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on
Google.” It also tells you to be careful with any company that’s secretive or won’t
clearly explain what it intends to do. We’d add three more: contracts that run for
a year or more with no way out, accounts set up in the supplier’s name, and reports
that show rankings and nothing else.

If you’ve been burned before, or worry about lock-in, unreadable reports or traffic
that never becomes enquiries, these signs are where to look. A good agency and a
good consultant can both answer those worries plainly.

## Freelancer, consultant or consultancy?

The words overlap. A freelance SEO consultant and a one-person SEO consultancy often
work the same way. The label matters less than the answers to the questions above.

## Where Peacock Search fits

Peacock Search is a founder-led consultancy based in Leeds, working with businesses
across Leeds, York, Harrogate and Sheffield. The About page explains [how Peacock Search works and why it’s one consultant rather than an agency](https://peacocksearch.com/about/).

To answer our own questions: every account stays in your name, and the monthly report
fits on one page. Ongoing work is a rolling month-to-month agreement on one month’s
notice. And if your project fits the agency list above, you’ll be told so at the
start.

If you’d like to see the approach on your own site, [request a free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit).

## Why is my business not showing on Google Maps?

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/why-is-my-business-not-on-google-maps/
- Published: 2026-10-17T14:04:53+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

If your business isn’t showing on Google Maps, one of two things is happening. Either
something is wrong with the profile itself: it doesn’t exist, isn’t verified, has
been suspended or is a duplicate. Or the profile is live but loses out on the searches
you care about, which comes down to the three factors Google says mainly decide 
local results: relevance, distance and prominence. You can check most of this yourself,
and Google charges nothing to add or claim a Business Profile.

Start by searching Google Maps for your exact business name. If nothing comes up,
the profile itself needs fixing. If you appear for your name but not for searches
like “electrician near me”, the profile works and the issue is ranking.

## If your Business Profile isn’t showing even for your name

 1. **There’s no profile yet.** Search Maps for your phone number and address too. 
    If an unverified profile exists, you can claim it. If not, add one.
 2. **The profile isn’t verified.** Google says verifying tells it you’re authorised
    to represent the business, so it’s more likely to show up in search results. If
    the “Get verified” button is showing on your profile, verification isn’t finished.
 3. **The profile has been suspended.** Google may suspend profiles that don’t follow
    its guidelines. Its appeals tool shows the reason and lets you appeal.
 4. **There are duplicates.** Google allows one profile per business, and a profile
    it treats as a duplicate won’t show on Search or Maps. You can ask for a merge 
    through Google Maps, or remove a duplicate you created. Removal deletes its content,
    so pick the right one.
 5. **It’s new or recently changed.** Google says verification reviews take up to five
    working days, and edits usually take up to 10 minutes to review but can take up
    to 30 days. Wait before changing anything else.

## If you show for your name but not for your service

[Google’s guide to local ranking](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091?hl=en-GB)
names three factors.

 * **Relevance** is how well a profile matches the search. Google also says the 
   categories you choose affect your local ranking, and complete, accurate profiles
   are more likely to show up.
 * **Distance** is how far each business is from the person searching. If they don’t
   share where they are, Google uses what it knows about their location. You can’t
   change it, and it’s why you might come first on your own street but not two miles
   away.
 * **Prominence** is how well known a business is. It takes in how many websites
   link to you and how many reviews you have, and more reviews and positive ratings
   can help.

Google also says there’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking, so
be wary of anyone selling one.

## Check where you’re searching from

Before you change anything, make sure the problem is real. A search from your own
office mostly tells you how you rank on your own doorstep. Ask someone across town
to search, or use a grid tool, which runs the same search from many points across
an area. If you show well near your base and fade further out, the profile probably
isn’t broken. That’s distance and prominence at work.

## How to rank higher on Google Maps

 1. Choose the most specific primary category for your core business (Google’s example:“
    Nail salon”, not “Salon”), and add others only for real departments or services,
    not one for every product or service you offer. Bear in mind that changing categories
    can mean verifying again.
 2. Fill in the rest of the profile truthfully: services, description, opening hours,
    photos and the areas you serve.
 3. Keep your name, address and phone number the same everywhere: your website, Bing
    Places, Apple Business, Yell and your trade directories. Google doesn’t name this
    as a factor. We do it because a customer who finds two phone numbers may ring neither.
 4. Give each main service its own page on your website, naming the towns you work 
    in, so people arriving from the map find what they searched for.

## How to get more Google reviews

Ask every customer once the job is done, and send them the review link Google gives
you by text or email. Don’t press people while they’re with you, and don’t tell 
them what to write. Reply to every review, good or bad, briefly and politely.

Google’s rules ban paid or rewarded reviews, reviews from staff or family, and asking
only the customers you know are happy. Google removes fake and incentivised reviews,
and can stop a profile getting new reviews for a set period or show customers a 
warning that fake reviews were removed.

## What not to do

Don’t add keywords or town names to your business name. [Google’s guidelines for representing your business](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en-GB)
say the name should reflect your real-world name, and adding service or location
details isn’t permitted and could get the profile suspended.

Don’t use a virtual office. Google says an address you rent but don’t operate from
isn’t eligible. If customers don’t come to you, Google says to hide your address
and list up to 20 areas you serve, within about two hours’ drive.

And don’t create a profile for every town. Google’s guidelines call for one profile
per business, with a service area covering the places you work.

## When to get help

If your profile is verified, complete and in the right category, you’ve done what
relevance asks. What’s left is distance, which you can’t move, and prominence, which
takes steady work. That needs a plan rather than a quick fix. Our [local SEO service](https://peacocksearch.com/services/local-seo/)
covers that work and includes town-by-town map ranking checks. To see where you 
stand first, ask Peacock Search for a [free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit).
It covers Google, Maps and AI answers, and arrives in writing within five working
days.

## What is GEO, or AI search optimisation?

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/what-is-ai-search-optimisation/
- Published: 2026-10-17T14:04:52+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

GEO, short for generative engine optimisation, is the work of making a business 
easy for AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot and
Google’s AI Overviews to find and quote. This GEO is about AI search, not geography.
In practice it means letting their crawlers in, saying plainly who you are and what
you do, answering your buyers’ questions on your own pages, and being described 
the same way on other sites.

The same work goes by other names: AI search optimisation, answer engine optimisation(
AEO) and LLM SEO. The term GEO comes from a research paper first published in November
2023. The names differ but the goal doesn’t: when someone asks an assistant a question
your business can answer, your business is part of the answer.

## Why AI answers matter to your business

For years, search meant a list of links, and the job was to be near the top. That
list is still there, but Google now adds an AI Overview to some searches, and ChatGPT,
Perplexity and Copilot can search the web and reply in a few paragraphs with links
to their sources. If your business isn’t one of those sources, the answer has sent
the reader somewhere else, even if you rank well in the links below it.

## How AI assistants find and choose sources

Each assistant can search the web before it answers, and each does it in its own
way.

 * ChatGPT uses its own crawler, OAI-SearchBot, and sometimes other search providers.
   [OpenAI says sites that block OAI-SearchBot won’t be shown in ChatGPT search answers](https://developers.openai.com/api/docs/bots),
   though they can still appear as navigational links.
 * Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode link only to pages that are in Google’s index
   and eligible to show with a snippet. Gemini can also draw on Google’s search 
   index when it answers.
 * Copilot runs on Bing’s search index.
 * Perplexity runs its own crawler, PerplexityBot.

None of them publishes a formula for which sources it names. OpenAI says ChatGPT
ranks results on several factors meant to surface relevant, reliable information,
and that placement isn’t guaranteed. Microsoft says Copilot breaks pages into smaller
pieces, judges each for authority and relevance, and often builds its answer from
several sources. Perplexity says it gathers information from authoritative sources
and numbers its citations. [Google says the usual SEO best practices still apply to its AI features](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features),
with no special optimisation needed.

## What the work involves

 1. **Crawler access.** Ask whoever runs your website to check that robots.txt, your
    firewall and your CDN let in the crawlers that matter: OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot,
    Bingbot and Googlebot. Google and OpenAI both point site owners to hosting and 
    CDN settings, not just robots.txt, and some security services now block certain
    AI crawlers by default. GPTBot, which OpenAI uses for model training, is a separate
    setting: you can block it and still allow OAI-SearchBot.
 2. **Clear facts.** State your name, what you do, where you work and who runs the 
    business in plain sentences, the same way on your site and on every profile. Structured
    data can repeat them for machines. Google says its AI features need no special 
    schema and Microsoft says schema helps AI systems understand a page, so we add 
    it where it matches the page.
 3. **Answer-first pages.** Phrase headings as the questions your buyers ask, and answer
    each one in the first two or three sentences, so each answer still makes sense 
    if lifted out on its own. Important content belongs on the page as text, which 
    Google lists among the basics.
 4. **Bing as well as Google.** Because Copilot answers from Bing’s index, verify your
    site in Bing Webmaster Tools and submit your sitemap there too. Since February 
    2026, Bing Webmaster Tools has also had an AI Performance report showing how often
    Copilot and Bing’s AI summaries cite your pages.
 5. **Mentions elsewhere.** The assistants search the whole web, not just your site,
    so directories, trade press, local news and forums can all shape what they say 
    about you. We check how they describe the business and correct what we can.

## How it differs from SEO

Mostly it doesn’t. Google says so for its own AI features, and Microsoft calls crawlability,
metadata, internal linking and backlinks essential for AI search too. The differences
are in emphasis. GEO cares more about plain, quotable facts than keywords, more 
about consistency across the web than any single page, and it needs its own measure,
because a ranking report can’t tell you whether ChatGPT named you.

## How to check where you stand

Write down ten questions your buyers might ask an assistant. Include obvious ones,
such as “best accountant in Harrogate” or “who can fix a leaking flat roof in Leeds”,
and some specific ones about your service. Ask each in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity,
Copilot and Google, and note whether you were named, who was named instead, and 
which pages were cited.

Then repeat it every month. One check is a snapshot. Answers differ between assistants,
and Google says even its AI Overviews and AI Mode can show different responses and
links. A record over several months shows whether the work is landing. Visits from
ChatGPT links carry utm_source=chatgpt.com, so your analytics can pick them out.

## What it can’t do

Nobody can guarantee a place in an AI answer. The assistants choose their own sources,
and both OpenAI and Google say a page’s appearance isn’t guaranteed. Be wary of 
anyone who promises it. What can be done is to make your business the easiest one
to cite, and to measure honestly whether that’s working.

Clients of Peacock Search’s [AI search visibility service](https://peacocksearch.com/services/ai-search-visibility/)
get a monthly panel of AI prompt checks, and the [free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit)
covers AI answers as well as Google and Maps.

## How long does SEO take to work?

- Link: https://peacocksearch.com/how-long-does-seo-take/
- Published: 2026-10-17T14:04:51+00:00
- Author: Peacock Search

Anything from a few hours to several months, according to Google. Its [SEO Starter Guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide)
says: “Some changes might take effect in a few hours, others could take several 
months.” It also suggests waiting a few weeks before judging whether a change has
helped. Nobody can promise you a date for rankings. Where your site falls in that
range, or past it, depends on what’s broken, who you compete with and how quickly
changes reach the site.

## What Google says about how long SEO takes

Until June 2026, Google’s page on hiring an SEO said results typically took four
months to a year from the time you began making changes. Google updated the page
on 5 June 2026 and dropped that line. The current [guidance on hiring an SEO](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/do-i-need-seo)
gives no figure. It lists questions to ask before you hire, including “What kind
of results do you expect to see, and in what timeframe?” It says an SEO audit should
give you realistic estimates of improvement and of the work involved. And it warns:“
No one can guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.”

We agree. An honest answer depends on your site, so it should be an estimate with
reasons from someone who’s looked at it.

## What can show before rankings move

Some work removes a problem rather than building something new, so it can show sooner:

 * **Technical fixes.** If important pages were blocked from Google, left out of
   its index or broken on phones, Google only sees the fix when it crawls those 
   pages again. Google’s guidance on recrawling says crawling “can take anywhere
   from a few days to a few weeks”.
 * **Google Business Profile changes.** Google’s advice on local ranking says businesses
   with complete and accurate information are more likely to show up in local results.
   A missing category or the wrong opening hours is quick to correct. Where you 
   then appear in the map pack is still Google’s call.
 * **Conversion fixes.** A form that fails on a phone, or a page that hides your
   phone number, costs enquiries from visits you already get. Fixing it doesn’t 
   wait on Google at all.
 * **Paid search.** Ads can run once Google has reviewed and approved them, so a
   plan often uses them while the slower work builds. Google says buying its ads
   has no effect on your organic results, so ads sit beside SEO rather than speeding
   it up.

## Why rankings take longer

To rank for a competitive search, a page has to overtake the pages already there,
and those pages have often had longer to earn links and mentions. A new page has
to be found, crawled and indexed before it can rank, and Google says it doesn’t 
guarantee to crawl, index or show any page.

## What sets the pace for your site

 1. **How much is broken.** If good pages are blocked or missing from the index, fixing
    that lets Google see what was already there.
 2. **Who you compete with.** A plumber in a market town and a law firm in a city centre
    face very different results pages.
 3. **What the site already has.** Google finds new pages partly by following links
    from pages it already knows, so links from other sites give it more ways in. A 
    new domain with nothing pointing at it starts from zero. For the map pack, Google
    also weighs how well known a business is, partly from how many websites link to
    it and how many reviews it has.
 4. **How fast changes ship.** A plan that sits in a developer’s queue moves at the
    queue’s pace, not the plan’s.
 5. **Whether the page deserves to rank.** Google says its ranking systems are designed
    to prioritise helpful, reliable information made for people. A thin page may never
    rank well, however long you wait.

## How to tell SEO is working before rankings move

Rankings are a narrow, often slow measure. Your own Search Console and Analytics
can show progress in other ways:

 * **Impressions.** Search Console counts an impression when someone sees a link
   to your site in Google’s results. A page has to be seen before it can be clicked,
   so impressions can rise before clicks do.
 * **Indexed pages.** The Page indexing report shows how many of your URLs Google
   has crawled and indexed, and why others were left out.
 * **New queries.** The Performance report lists the searches your site appears 
   for, so new ones show Google matching your pages to more searches.
 * **Map pack positions**, checked town by town, if local search matters to you.
 * **Enquiries** from organic search, counted properly: the measure that pays for
   everything else.

A report should show these in plain English, from accounts you own. With Peacock
Search, every account stays in your name. If your report only lists rankings, ask
for the rest.

## When to ask questions

Be concerned if there’s no written plan, if the reports don’t use your own Search
Console and Analytics, or if nobody can show you what’s changed in those accounts
since the work began. None of those means SEO can’t work for you, but each means
the work needs a closer look.

## Why we put the fast work first

A plan that starts with only the slow work asks you to pay on trust for a long time.
In our [SEO services](https://peacocksearch.com/services/seo/), the fixes that don’t
wait on rankings go first, and the slower work, such as new pages and earned links,
builds behind them. You don’t have to take the slower work on trust either. Our 
monthly report fits on one page, and ongoing work is a rolling month-to-month agreement
on one month’s notice.

To see where your own site stands, [ask for a free visibility audit](https://peacocksearch.com/contact/#audit).