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EDriven Concepts: Posting Bogus Reviews to Manage Reputation and Counteract Mounting Negativity

Last Updated: September 7, 2011

As a business owner, reputation management is an integral part of maintaining a positive image for your company, especially when it comes to your Internet presence. Given the immense number of online business directories and consumer complaint forums, it’s fairly easy for anyone to post reviews of your business for public viewing. Unfortunately, this means that if any of your past customers has had a poor experience with your business, there’s a strong possibility that they’ll utilize the resources at their disposal to post a complaint online.
One company in particular that is struggling with the issue of customer complaints is EDriven Concepts. Recently, however, it has made efforts to compensate for this negativity. If you’re a business owner looking for a way to counteract customer complaints online, take note of EDriven Concepts’ strategy and avoid it.
Why EDriven Concepts Needs to Manage Its Reputation
Lately, EDriven Concepts has seen a mounting pile of negative reviews all over the web. They have been accused of scamming business owners through deceptive sales calls and fraudulent information, and are now tasked with having to manage their reputation in order to keep these negative reviews from surfacing on Google’s search results pages. Some of those negative reviews can be found here:

The user reviews on Scambook, ComplaintWire, and Brownbook all detail the same scenario:

  1. A business owner receives a call from a representative of EDriven Concepts posing as whichever SEO company that business was currently working with.
  2. The sales rep from EDriven Concepts refers to a previous conversation with the business owner that never actually took place, thus confusing the business owner.
  3. The sales rep requests the business owner’s credit card information but never states his/her true identity.
  4. The sales rep hangs up when pushed by the business owner to reveal his/her identity.

In the Yelp review, a different individual also writes about an experience that she had with EDriven Concepts, wherein she was contacted by a sales rep who was pretending to be from her current advertising agency. They finally revealed their true identity when she asked for her specific account manager, but this was after they had already asked for her credit card information on three separate occasions.
[If you’d like to listen to audio samples of similar phone calls between EDriven Concepts and existing Prospect Genius clients, check out our previous blog post.]
As you can see, these kinds of reviews can be rather damning to a company’s reputation. That’s why it’s important to counteract any negativity surrounding your business with an effective reputation management strategy. This is not, however, what EDriven Concepts has done.
How EDriven Concepts Is Attempting to Manage Its Reputation
While you don’t have the power to permanently delete user comments and reviews on sites that are not your own, there are ways to neutralize them. A very simple way of doing this is to post an even greater number of positive reviews, so that the negative ones will be drowned out.
EDriven Concepts has begun an attempt to push the negative reviews down the search engine rankings by writing and duplicating their own positive reviews. We’ve been following their attempts at reputation management for a few weeks, and their strategy has piqued our interest because their efforts illustrate a clear pattern:

  1. They write a fictional yet lengthy testimonial on behalf of a nonexistent company.
  2. They create fake accounts on various blog sites.
  3. Using these fake accounts, they post the same testimonial in multiple locations.

Below, you’ll see a sampling of different testimonials created by EDriven Concepts that are intended to quash negative reviews that are all over the Internet. While they have succeeded in diluting the volume of complaints against them with a handful of fictitious blog posts, the deceptive nature of these posts is wholly transparent to any casual reader. Sadly, this practice won’t get them far.
We’ll continue to update this post as we find more examples.
First group of false testimonials: “is edriven concepts a scam”

This set of blog posts by EDriven Concepts contains identical reviews from a company called “Apex Plumbing.” The posts detail the experience of “Leroy Gonzales,” an alleged plumber from Dallas, TX, and are given the title, “is edriven concepts a scam,” (that’s not a typo—no punctuation or capitalization are included in the original posts). Right off the bat, there are several elements that stand out as red flags:

  1. A comprehensive search of the White Pages and other Internet directories showed zero results for a Leroy Gonzales or Apex Plumbing in the Dallas area.
  2. The titular question, “Is EDriven Concepts a scam?” is never addressed nor answered.
  3. The team at EDriven Concepts is leveraging a common search term (“is edriven concepts a scam”) by using it as the post’s title with the sole purpose of directing curious readers to a fabricated story.
  4. The fact that the phrase, “is edriven concepts a scam,” is a popular search term tells you that they already have a reputation for scamming clients.

By the time you get to the third sentence of the review, you already know that the premise is completely false.
Second group of false reviews: “As a small business owner I set out to do due diligence…”

The reviews in this group are all identical, with slightly revised titles, under the pretense of a “small business owner” seeking a “quality SEO company.” However, none of the review’s contents coincide with that alleged reality. There are several holes in this review’s logic—for example:

  1. It is 584 words long. Your first thought should be, “What kind of ‘small business owner’ has the time or motivation to write a nearly 600-word review for another company?”
  2. If it were a legitimate customer review, it would be a short paragraph on a popular consumer directory like Yelp, Brownbook, Manta, Hotfrog, etc. Instead, these are standalone blog accounts that are named after EDriven Concepts and contain only one lengthy post.
  3. The review is filled with detailed personal histories of EDriven Concepts personnel. Why would an ordinary client be privy to this kind of information?
  4. It’s fair to say that no average “small business owner” would be familiar with programs like PHP, JavaScript, HTML5, etc., much less identify a team with expertise in those fields.
  5. The company remains anonymous throughout the entire review. If the EDriven Concepts program worked so well, why isn’t there a link to the business’s website? Why isn’t there a name for referral? Why isn’t there any evidence of the program’s efficacy?

Given the combination of blatantly promotional language and zero specificity regarding the actual job performed for this anonymous client, the average reader can easily conclude that this is a fictional review written by EDriven Concepts themselves.
Third group of false reviews: “Is Edriven Concepts Fraudulent? Let’s find out!”

These are more examples of fake user accounts containing a total of one blog post each. After reading the post in its entirety, you can discount its validity quite easily, as it:

  1. Describes the process of SEO but never offers an answer to the question in the title
  2. Offers no statistics, links, or evidence whatsoever to support the legitimacy of EDriven Concepts
  3. Is written by an “Ezra Finch” who has no profile information, credentials, or authority on the subject

Anyone who has done an hour’s worth of research online can write about what constitutes good SEO practices. However, the fact that this author writes only in vague terms and never offers a direct response to the question in the title reveals that this is yet another blog post designed to misdirect users searching for an actual answer to this question.
Throughout all of these attempts at fabricating and duplicating reviews, EDriven Concepts only serves to exemplify the dishonesty that they are accused of. As a business owner, you can still learn from their mistakes. The only way to manage your company’s reputation effectively and honestly is to provide a valuable service and encourage satisfied customers to spread the word.

Stand Out From the Crowd With Pictures and Reviews

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

Pictures: Why Your Website May Be Dead in the Water Without Them

Online advertising has one goal, right? To get your website ranking as well as possible with search engines like Google and Bing.
However, using the right keywords, linking strategies, and off-page work to make your site rank highly isn’t always enough. That’s because the ultimate goal of Internet marketing is actually not just to make your site number 1 on Google or Yahoo! It’s to generate more business for your company. To do that, it’s PEOPLE who need to pick up the phone and call after clicking on your well-ranked website. If they don’t contact you, all you end up with is a highly placed website that does nothing at all to generate business or help your company succeed!
It’s hard to believe, but something as little as the right images can have a huge impact on whether or not people call after visiting your site. Pictures make folks feel more comfortable with your company and help put them at ease, which can be especially important if your business performs services that require you to enter customers’ homes or vehicles. And, ultimately, comfort with your business has a LOT to do with whether a prospective customer picks your company or goes with a competitor.
Don’t just take our word for it: here’s a great example. Safelite, the national auto glass company, is now e-mailing each customer a photo of the actual technician who will be coming to work on their vehicle. Obviously, Safelite understands this puts their clients at ease and makes them more likely to use Safelite’s services rather than the competition’s.

Why Your OWN Pictures Matter

The simple truth is that not all images are created equal. Your own photos of your own team at work are, quite frankly, worth a lot more than stock photos of some model posing as a plumber, roofer, or other professional.
That’s because there are loads of duplicate stock photos out there. Everyone has seen that gal or this guy on numerous sites… And people aren’t dumb. They begin to recognize these pictures and realize that the photos are of models and actors, not your actual employees. Then they may begin to subconsciously wonder why you aren’t willing to put images of your actual staff on your site… In short, having your own photos of your employees performing services will get you more phone calls than stock photos will. Hands down.
You’ve probably seen images like some of these highly over-used pictures below:

Yup: they’re all stock art (from istockphoto.com). If you’re honest with yourself, it’s pretty easy to tell that these people aren’t your actual staff. While stock photos are better than having an imageless website, they don’t provide the same benefits as real photos of you or your team doing the work that you do.

Reviews: Why Your Website May Be Dead in the Water Without Them

Your company has hundreds of competitors: You probably already know this, because if you’re the only game in town, then there’s no use spending money on advertising… But since the make-believe world in which your business has no competition doesn’t exist, you need to make your company stand out from the crowd. Putting pictures of you and your team on your website is a great way to differentiate yourself from the other guys, and so is having sufficient customer reviews available.
Remember: it’s important not to just have reviews on your site, but it’s vital to keep those testimonials current. That way, prospective customers can see that your company not only did a great job for a client back in 1999 but that you’re also providing great service today and into the future.
New reviews can be posted in a number of places from Google Maps to your website. Here’s why you need to put your reviews in a variety of different locations online:

  • Google Maps: Adding reviews to your listing will help you get better placement in Google Maps.
  • Facebook: The better your Facebook popularity, the better your site will perform on Bing.
  • Your website: Reviews play a big role in converting site visitors into paying customers, so don’t forget to make sure your glowing testimonials make it onto your website as well. If you’re a PG customer, just send your new reviews to our team, and we’ll make sure to keep your microsite up to date.

Top 10 Things That Really Matter for Local SEO (And 3 That Don’t)

Last Updated: July 23, 2025

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If you’re running a business you don’t have time to waste chasing every shiny SEO trick or listening to smooth-talking salespeople promising “AI magic” overnight. The truth is, local SEO boils down to a handful of proven moves that actually bring customers through the door.

This post cuts through the fluff and gets real about what actually matters in 2025, especially with AI and voice search shaking things up. We’ll tell you what to focus on, what you can skip, and how to grab some quick wins even if you’re juggling a dozen jobs and no extra hours in the day.

Top 10 Local SEO Factors Ranked by Impact (with AI Optimization Insights)

1. Google Business Profile (GBP) Optimization (Including Proper Business Categories)
This is your digital storefront. If your GBP isn’t dialed in, you’re basically invisible. Fill it out fully, pick the right business categories, add some photos, and update it now and then. No fancy tricks, just the basics done right. AI assistants love pulling info from here, so if you want your business to pop up when someone says, “Hey Siri, find a plumber nearby,” this is your bread and butter.

A word of caution though: Don’t get aggressive here. Do not stuff keywords where they don’t belong and do not make multiple listings unless you actually have multiple places where customers can walk in to see you. These tactics are terrific ways to get your listing suspended.

Quick win: Spend 20 minutes today to claim or update your profile. It pays off.

No Time? Not to worry, we can help you with this through our GBP Optimization service.

2. Consistent Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) Across the Web
If Google finds different addresses or phone numbers all over the place, it gets confused and so do your customers. Make sure your business info matches exactly everywhere. That means your website, Google, Facebook, and all directories need to display the exact same spelling of your name and address and all use the same phone number. Stop messing around with sketchy citation sites and link-farming schemes, they won’t save you.

Quick win: Take 10 minutes to do this advanced search: “YOUR COMPANY NAME -5555 CITY STATE” Of course, swap in your actual company name, city, and state. The “-5555” is the last 4 digits of the one phone number that should be out there for your business. The minus in front of it tells Google to show you only places where your company name appears without your correct phone number. Now you have a list of citations to start fixing.

3. Online Reviews and Reputation Management
Reviews aren’t just for bragging rights, they’re your credibility on the line. Get good reviews, respond to them, and keep customers coming back. It’s not rocket science but it takes hustle. AI-powered assistants also scan reviews before recommending you. It’s very important, especially for AI optimization, that you get keywords into your reviews and review replies. You really want your customers to mention the services performed and the city & state where the work was done. You can also make sure to include these things in your replies.

Quick win: Spend 5 minutes replying to your customer reviews on Google Maps. Make sure you include the service performed, city & state, in each one. Remember to be polite, appreciative, and friendly, even if the review was not 5-stars.

4. Distance From Searcher
Google lists local businesses who are nearest to the searcher first, no surprise here. This one’s mostly out of your hands but knowing it means you can’t just rely on SEO alone. Get out in your community, hand out cards, and build local connections. And heads up, if some smooth talker tries to sell you a “magic bean” that cancels out distance? They’re full of nonsense. Don’t waste your time or money.

Quick win: Start working on adding content to your site that combines your city & state with your services, just like in #6 below. That one task addresses both of these issues. The more you do, the more you extend your reach.

5. Backlinks from Local and Authoritative Sources
A backlink is just a link to your site that lives on someone else’s site. Think of them as online word-of-mouth. Links from trusted local sites or industry groups make Google trust you more. Forget buying cheap links and using paid link-farms, they’ll get you nowhere fast and may end up getting you a penalty.

Quick win: In about 15 minutes, you can first, do a search for your phone number in quotes: “555-555-5555” See what comes up. Then, if you don’t see Yelp, Apple Maps, Bing, etc. then pick one directory and make a new listing. Be sure to include your website so you get that coveted backlink.

No Time? Directory listings are time-consuming, which is why most people outsource them. Our Directory Dominator service is here if you ever need it.

6. Localized Website Content (Including Voice Search Optimization)
Write like you’re talking to your neighbors. Include your city and neighborhood names naturally, and answer the common questions customers ask, especially ones they might speak aloud to their phone. Voice search is booming, so ditch the robot talk. You can also add pages to your site for every combination of service and city. For example, separate pages for “house rewiring in Dallas TX” and “house rewiring in Fort Worth TX” can help you to stretch your reach as far as possible.

Quick win: Spend 10 minutes (preferably each day) writing a super simple blog post. All you need is a “before” picture, an “after” picture, and 2 sentences. Just write what you did and where and post the pictures. This way, you start building a lot of pages with localized content. If you write more, you’ll get more power from your efforts, but just doing something, is helpful.

7. Website Performance (Mobile-Friendliness and Page Load Speed)
If your site loads like molasses on a cold day, people bounce and Google notices. Most searches happen on phones, so make sure your site looks good and works fast on mobile. Just keep in mind that this is basically a bar you have to get over, but there’s no bonus points for how far you surpass it. You just need to make sure your load times are good enough to pass muster. There’s no bonus prize for the fastest-loading site.

Quick win: Find the largest images on your site (by file size, not by resolution.) Use an online converter tool to convert that image into Google’s preferred .webp format. Bonus points if you can manage to get the file size under 100 KB without making it look low-res/grainy.

8. Behavioral Signals (User Engagement)
Google and AI keep track of how people interact with your listing, clicks, calls, time on site. The more positive action, the better your chances. Make sure your menus are clearly displayed and sensibly laid out. Don’t make users go 4 layers into an expanding menu to find what they need, and don’t make them hunt for your contact information.

Quick win: Spend 5 minutes looking at your site’s navigation. If you have items that are buried more than one layer deep, it’s too much. Try to flatten it. You don’t want users to have to expand out multiple items to find what they need. Your best and most-competitive services should be very easy to find. Same goes for your contact information…do not bury it because people will give up and move on to your competitor.

9. Social Media Engagement
This isn’t a direct ranking factor but it’s a good way to build brand awareness and reach younger customers. Don’t get distracted by complicated platforms, pick one or two and keep it simple. Better to be good at one or two than bad at 5.

Quick win: Remember those blog posts you started doing in #6 above? Use those to create posts on social media. It’ll cost you another 2-3 minutes, but now you get fresh content going out to your favorite social media channel which can be very helpful.

10. Structured Data Markup (Schema.org)
If you’ve got the time (or someone to help,) adding structured data helps search engines understand your business better and show richer info in results. It’s technical but useful. At least get proper markup on your address and phone number. These are critical data points so you want to be sure that search engines and AI’s can find and understand these bits of info.

Quick win: Here’s a template for some JSON markup you can put on your site. Just put this into the header section and swap out the values to match your business data. This should be a very, very basic task for a “web guy” or your tech-savvy teenager. Here’s the template.

Honorable Mentions

  • Age of Domain
    Older domains sometimes carry more trust but have minimal direct impact compared to other factors. If you’ve got a domain you’ve been using for a long time, make sure you keep control of it. If you have to start over with a new domain, it’s going to be painful. If you don’t have the user name and password for the site where the domain was registered, you need to figure out who does and what sort of safeguards you have (or can put) in place.

  • Citation Quantity
    Fewer, consistent, and accurate citations in reputable directories matter more than lots of inconsistent listings. Putting a link in a plumbing directory to your car detailing business is not going to help much. In fact, it might hurt you. Focus your limited time on the big, important directories first.

  • Geo-Targeted Advertising
    Paid local ads can boost visibility but don’t affect organic rankings directly. This can be a place you can get quick wins, but it’s not directly related to your local SEO and AI optimization efforts.

3 Things People Think Matter, But Don’t (Or Don’t Anymore)

  1. Keyword Stuffing in Your Business Name
    Adding keywords like “Best Plumber” to your business name might seem like a shortcut but Google sees this as spammy and can penalize you. Stick with your real business name to stay natural and trustworthy.

  2. Quantity Over Quality in Citations
    Citations are just mentions of your business information on other people’s websites. Having dozens of business listings isn’t useful if the info isn’t consistent or if the sites aren’t reputable. Focus on a smaller number of accurate, high-quality citations.

  3. Exact Match Domain Names (EMDs)
    Having a website address that exactly matches a keyword used to help rankings a lot. Now Google cares more about useful content and a good user experience than about your domain name so focus on strengthening your brand, rather than keyword stuffing your domain.

Real Talk: The Other Stuff Nobody Tells You

Running a local business is tough. Slow-paying clients, flaky vendors, and tight cash flow can mess with your marketing plans. If you can’t pay for fancy tools or agencies right now, don’t sweat it. Nail the basics first, the ones above. They don’t require a big budget, just some grit and consistency.

Also, watch out for silver-tongued sales reps promising quick “AI optimization” or “voice search hacks.” There’s no magic button. Local search and AI are BOTH all about the fundamentals done right.

Final Thoughts

Local SEO doesn’t have to be rocket science or a full-time job. Focus on these proven steps, keep it real, and don’t get distracted by the noise. Whether you’re juggling 12-hour days or flying solo, small efforts in the right places bring big results over time. Ready to get your local SEO working for you? Start with your Google Business Profile today and take it from there.

 

Local SEO FAQs


Google Business Profile (GBP) optimization involves fully completing your business profile, selecting appropriate business categories, adding photos, and keeping the information updated. This enhances visibility in local search results and voice search queries.


Consistent NAP information across all online platforms ensures that search engines can accurately associate your business with its location, improving local search rankings and user trust.


Online reviews serve as social proof and influence both user decisions and search engine rankings. Encouraging customers to leave reviews and responding to them appropriately can enhance your business’s credibility and visibility.


Proximity to the searcher is a significant factor in local search rankings. Businesses closer to the searcher’s location are more likely to appear in local search results.


A mobile-friendly website ensures a positive user experience on smartphones and tablets, which is essential as mobile searches for local businesses continue to rise.


Avoid practices such as keyword stuffing, purchasing backlinks, and using fake addresses or multiple listings for the same business, as these can lead to penalties and reduced visibility.

We’re Not Playing The “Top 10” Game Anymore, Thanks To AI

Last Updated: June 20, 2025

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Imagine Mrs. Johnson’s basement was flooding. She grabbed her phone and said, “Hey ChatGPT, find me a plumber.” She didn’t get a list of ten plumbers or a page of links. She got one name. The AI decided who was “best” and that’s what it delivered. Was it you? If not, you’re missing jobs you used to land, because the way customers find you is changing fast.

For 20 years we’ve been playing the “Top 10 Game” where being on Google’s first page was the goal. It meant calls, customers, and cash flow. But now, AI tools like ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, and smart home devices are taking over. They don’t show ten options and let you pick. They might show you a few options, or they might just give you one single option. If you’re not at the very top, you’re out of the picture. Here’s why this matters and how to make sure you’re the one customers find.

The Future Is Closer Than You Think

In less than 2 years, asking your device for recommendations (like Mrs. Johnson did) will be the norm. It won’t just be your phone either. These questions will be asked of home assistants like Alexa, sure, but you’ll start seeing AI infused into everything. You might soon be asking your smart fridge, “Who’s the best plumber in town?” or “Find me an electrician.” These devices are already here, and they’re getting smarter every day. They don’t give long lists of options. Instead, they give you between 1 and 5 names, based on reviews, relevance, and trust signals.

Want To See The Future Present?

We asked ChatGPT and Grok to provide a plumber for a leaking toilet. The MOST we got was 5 options. Sometimes we got just one single option.

“Hey ChatGPT, find me a plumber in St Louis MO to fix a leaking toilet”

need a plumber prompt 1 - chatgpt
ChatGPT – 3 Results
need a plumber prompt 1 - grok
Grok – 5 Results

“Help, I have a leaking toilet. Who should I call to fix it? I’m in St Louis MO.”

need a plumber prompt 2 - chatgpt
ChatGPT – 3 Results
need a plumber prompt 2 - grok
Grok – 5 Results

“Help! I need a plumber to fix this leaking toilet NOW! Give me the number to the best plumber in St Louis MO.”

need a plumber prompt 3 - chatgpt
ChatGPT – 2.5 Results
need a plumber prompt 3 - grok
Grok – 2 Results

But that’s just the beginning. Within the next 2–5 years, talking to robots in your home will be totally normal. Seriously! We already have robo-taxis cruising around cities, and soon we’ll see compact, task-specific robots doing real household chores like folding laundry, scrubbing bathrooms, and tidying up. These won’t just be cleaning machines; they’ll be smart, connected, AI-powered assistants roaming from room to room. And with an AI in every corner of the house, traditional search engines? Yeah… those days are numbered.

Still skeptical? This isn’t sci-fi. It’s already happening:

  • TidyBot is a robot that can pick up items, sort laundry, and clean up based on voice commands. Watch it work
  • Neo by Redwood AI is a humanoid robot that can do housework without human control. See it in action

 

How AI Is Changing the Game

AI isn’t just replacing Google, it’s making the game tougher. As we explained in our blog on AI vs. Google, Google has spent decades figuring out what makes a business trustworthy and helpful. AI uses that same info (reviews, website quality, local listings, etc.) but narrows it down to the absolute best. When someone asks, “Who’s the best plumber in town?” AI doesn’t list every decent option. It picks the cream of the crop based on:

  • Customer reviews and ratings
  • A clear, mobile-friendly, easy to navigate, up-to-date website
  • Local signals like your Google Business Profile and directory listings

If you haven’t updated your online presence in a couple of years, you’re likely slipping out of that top spot. And as more people turn to AI for recommendations, being “good enough” won’t cut it anymore.

Don’t Get Left Behind

The shift to AI is already happening, and waiting to act could mean losing customers to the handful of pros who get it. The “top 10” game is dead. The “top 3” game is here, and the “top 1” game is right around the corner. You don’t need to be a tech wizard to stay ahead… just take a few smart steps now.

The fastest, easiest way to get started is our AI Quick Start product. It’s turnkey, efficient, simple, and affordable. It’s designed specifically for busy pros like you. We handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on what you do best: fixing problems and keeping customers happy.

Want more details? Check out our simple guide to getting AI-ready for additional steps you can take today, all on your own.

Act Now. It’s Your Business on the Line

When Mrs. Johnson’s basement floods or Mr. Brown’s AC quits, their phones, fridges, or even their home robots will pick one pro to call. Make sure it’s you. Don’t wait! Jump over to our AI Quick Start and take the first step today to keep those jobs coming.

AI‑Driven Search & Local Visibility FAQs


AI-powered assistants (like ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, and smart home devices) don’t display lists of ten links anymore—they prioritize delivering just the best single result, based on trust signals like reviews, website quality, and local listings. That makes ranking in the traditional top 10 insufficient.


In tests, ChatGPT and Grok returned only 1–3 recommendations (sometimes up to five), unlike Google which traditionally shows a top‑10 list. Users searching for services like plumbers often got just one or two suggestions.


AI recommendation systems evaluate customer reviews and ratings, website performance and quality, Google Business Profile strength, and consistency across directory listings—and then pick only the most trusted business.


Within about 2 years, asking AI-powered devices—from smartphones to home assistants—to recommend services is expected to be mainstream, and in 2–5 more years, AI-enabled robots could make this even more common.


Ensure top-tier visibility signals: excellent client reviews, a responsive and up‑to‑date website, consistent Google Business Profile data, and directory listings. Optimizing for AI systems can start with solutions like Prospect Genius’ AI Optimization Quick Start.


AI Optimization Quick Start is a turnkey, cost-effective package that strengthens your digital foundation—analytics, website updates, and business listings—to improve your chances of being the top AI-powered recommendation.

10 Easy Ways To Prepare For AI Dominance In A Post-Search World

Last Updated: June 5, 2025

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The way people find local businesses is changing fast. We’re moving away from traditional search engines like Google and toward AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini. These platforms are gaining users at a rapid pace, and taking huge chunks of traffic away from search. If you’re still relying on search to reach new customers, you’re targeting a rapidly-shrinking audience.

AI tools aren’t just smarter, they’re faster, more convenient, and often more helpful than search ever was. That’s why more people are turning to them to ask questions, get recommendations, and even find local service providers. And here’s the key: these tools are already deciding which businesses to recommend… and which ones to ignore.

That’s why businesses like yours need to act now. If you wait until the pain sets in, it’ll be too late, and you can’t just “buy your way in” like you can with PPC ads. Even worse, these AI models don’t refresh daily, weekly, or even monthly. It’s common for AIs to be a year or two behind in their knowledge because retraining can cost millions of dollars. That means new information (like your website), may not be included for many months, or even years.

Here are 10 easy actions you can take today to help AI recognize your business and recommend you to future customers.

1. Ask for Better Reviews

Not just more reviews, but better ones. Ask your happy customers to be specific:

  • “They quickly and professionally installed a new water heater in San Marcos, TX” (pure gold!)
  • “Good plumber” (mostly unhelpful)

The first one has a specific service, uses some great adjectives (quick & professional), and includes the city and state. That’s the trifecta! The more detail, the easier it is for AI (and customers) to understand exactly what you do and where you do it. If you have to offer a discount or reward for a review, do it. If you have to offer a better reward for the RIGHT keywords in the review…do that too. Be upfront and tell the customer why. They’ll appreciate the candor and think you’re smart for being on top of the AI trend.

2. Get More Reviews

Gone are the days of skating by with 10 reviews. ChatGPT, the most lenient in this category, says that it expects small local businesses to have at least 50 now. Grok wants 100+. If you have fewer than this, the AIs will likely pass you over in favor of a business with a larger sample set of reviews.

Ask every happy customer. Offer a discount or small gift card if needed. Just start getting those numbers up!

If you need some ideas on how to get more reviews, check out these posts we did on that subject:

  1. Reviews: Why you MUST get them and tips for getting more of them
  2. Looking to Get More Google Reviews? Here’s Our Strategy
  3. How to Get More Customer Reviews Just by Asking for Them

3. Reply to Reviews (Professionally)

AI tools (and real humans) pay attention to how you respond to reviews — especially the bad ones.

  • Thank people for positive reviews.
  • Stay calm and professional with negative ones.
  • Never argue or blame the customer.

Good responses show you’re responsible and trustworthy. Believe it or not, these are two traits AI is programmed to value.

Struggling with this? Don’t worry, most people do, but we help customers with this every day. Just reach out and we’ll be glad to help you.

4. Create Pages for Each Service You Offer

You’ve heard us harp on this for years: make a page for each service. Now it’s not just for Google, it’s for the AI too.

Rather than just saying that you offer “plumbing services,” break out each one into separate pages like:

  1. Toilet repair
  2. Faucet installation
  3. Water heater installations

AI can’t recommend you for a service if it doesn’t know you offer it. As smart as AI is, it still needs to be told exactly what you do.

5. List All Services Clearly

If you’re not ready to build out separate service pages, at least make sure all your individual services are listed in one spot. That means, for example, you will list “water heater installation” and “water heater repair” as separate items. Make this list exhaustive. While this is not a very helpful SEO practice, it can give you at least some benefit in the AI optimization realm.

6. Clearly State Your Hours And Whether You Offer Emergency Services

This one’s big and often missed. If you’ll respond to a call 24/7 and offer emergency services, say it clearly and prominently on your website. Why? Because when someone tells an AI, “I need an emergency plumber near me,” you’ll only show up if that term is on your site. Similarly, if it’s 8pm and someone asks for a plumber, being marked as open for business until 9pm gives you a chance to be in the running for that query.

7. Make Your Contact Info Prominent

Make sure your phone number, email, and business address are easy to find. Put them:

  • In the header and footer
  • On a Contact page
  • On your service pages

AI tools can’t recommend you if they can’t figure out how customers will reach you.

8. Show Off Your Experience

Have you been in business for 10, 20, 30 years? Say it! A long track record builds trust. AIs (and customers) are more likely to recommend companies that seem stable, experienced, and reliable.

9. Win Some Awards (And Display The Ones You Already Have)

You don’t need a Nobel Prize, just something to signal credibility:

  • A local “Best Of” award
  • Chamber of Commerce recognition
  • A trade association shoutout
  • HomeAdvisor, Angi, BBB, or Thumbtack awards

These third-party mentions tell the AI you’re reputable and that makes you more recommendable. Even if your awards are a few years old, get the graphic and put it on your site with a couple sentences about it. This will tell the AIs that you are winning awards and will give you credibility.

10. Get Listed in the Right Directories

AI pulls a lot of its info from business directories. Of course more is better than fewer, but make sure your info is listed (and consistent) on the ones below, specifically, because the AIs are using these when they formulate opinions about your business.

  1. Google Maps / Google Business Profile
  2. Yelp
  3. BBB (Better Business Bureau)
  4. Thumbtack
  5. Nextdoor
  6. Houzz
  7. Angi

These listings also give you more chances to collect reviews, which as you know, is critical.

Final Thoughts

As we discussed last week, AI is changing how customers find businesses. Unfortunately, while it’s making things easier for the consumer, it’s making things quite a bit harder for businesses. You’ve got to continue doing everything you’ve been doing for search engines, but now you have more to do and fewer chances to show up in the results. Sometimes, just one…But with a few smart moves, you can stay ahead and make sure your company shows up when someone’s asking an AI for help.

And if you ever need help with any of this (websites, reviews, directories) we’re just a message away.

AI Optimization FAQs


Small businesses can prepare for AI dominance by implementing strategies such as obtaining detailed customer reviews, creating dedicated service pages, listing all services clearly, stating business hours and emergency services, and ensuring contact information is prominent. These actions help AI tools recognize and recommend their businesses to potential customers.


Detailed customer reviews provide AI systems with specific information about the services offered, quality of service, and location. Reviews that mention specific services, adjectives describing the service quality, and geographic details help AI tools understand and recommend the business accurately.


AI tools like ChatGPT expect small local businesses to have at least 50 reviews, while others like Grok prefer 100 or more. Having a substantial number of reviews increases the likelihood of being recommended by AI systems.


Creating dedicated pages for each service offered allows AI tools to identify and understand the specific services a business provides. This clarity increases the chances of the business being recommended for relevant queries.


Clearly stating business hours and availability of emergency services ensures that AI tools can accurately match the business with user queries that specify time-sensitive needs, such as ’emergency plumber near me.’

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