Hey Reader,
Inside this week’s newsletter you'll find:
- Brilliant work from our members on AI Overviews, e-commerce, Reddit as an AI visibility lever, and SEO tips for 2026.
- Breaking down AI SEO myths with Dawn Anderson
- Kicking off our new series on AI prompt tracking.
- WTSFest updates (+ Portland pups 🐶) & community moments 💗
Thank you to this week's WTSNewsletter sponsors: Profound, Microsoft Advertising & Search n' Stuff
Let's get started!
Brilliant work by our brilliant members
1) Amanda Natividad - Best Practices Are Meaningless Without Audience Research
2) Clara Soteras & MJ Cachón - Impact of AI Overviews on Spanish Publishers
3) Dena Warren - Future-Proofing E-Commerce for AI Search [Video Podcast]
4) Jojo Furnival - Reddit Is No Longer Just a Nerd Forum. It's an AI Visibility Lever
5) Meghan Pahinui & Chima Mmeje - Top SEO Tips For 2026 [Whiteboard Friday]
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For future editions, if you’d like to recommend any articles (and yes, you can totally recommend your own work!), fill out this form:
[TODAY!!] An inside look at AEO Agents
[Headline Sponsor: Profound]
Every marketing team knows they need to show up in AI Search.
The real challenge?
Turning insight into action that creates visibility, without stretching already busy teams.
In this live session, you’ll get a BTS look at how leading marketing teams are using Profound Agents to identify AI Search opportunities, prioritise what matters, and execute at scale.
From surfacing gaps to automating workflows across your marketing stack, these agents are designed to move you from analysis to measurable impact.
🗓 Wednesday, March 4, 2026
⏰ 10AM PST | 1PM EST | 6PM GMT
If AI visibility is part of your plan this year, this is one you won’t want to miss.
Share your message with 8,000+ WTSers -
Transparent pricing & details starting at £500
Our latest WTSKnowledge
Adapted into a WTSKnowledge from Dawn's WTSFest London talk!
A critical breakdown by Dawn Anderson, debunking the misinformation circulating in AI SEO and why most "new" GEO tactics are either misunderstood or already standard practice.
Learn how to:
- Recognise why chunking content isn't the job of SEOs (& what it actually does in preprocessing)
- Understand what "information gain" really means beyond a single Google patent interpretation
- See through the LLMs.txt hype & why major search engines don't support it (yet)
- Distinguish between semantic structuring (decades-old best practice) & artificial chunking for bots
- Think critically about short-term AI hacks that won't survive algorithmic evolution
With SEO myths spreading faster than ever in the AI era, the opportunity isn't chasing trends - it's clear thinking, rigorous research & fundamentals that actually work.
👉 Dawn’s full WTSFest talk (& 9 others) now available on demand
The AI Search Playbook you've been waiting for!
[Spotlight Sponsor: Microsoft Advertising]
AI search doesn't have to feel overwhelming and the latest guide our WTSPartner, Microsoft Advertising, shows you how to make it less so.
Microsoft's AI Search Demystified: A Practical Guide for Marketers is a clear, actionable blueprint for showing up in today's AI-driven discovery landscape.
It breaks down how LLMs, grounding, and AI search actually surface brands, and what you need to do to show up both organically and through paid placements.
What's inside:
- How AI search actually works and what it means for your brand
- Practical advice from WTSers: Aleyda Solís, Crystal Carter, and Lily Ray on evolving from SEO to GEO
- How to create structured, AI-readable content that stands out in conversational search
- Strategies covering everything from semantic clarity to Performance Max and Copilot
If you've been waiting for a resource that cuts through the noise on AI search, this is it.
Share your message with 8,000+ WTSers -
Transparent pricing & details starting at £500
[TODAY!!] Slack AMA with Tory Gray & Patrick Hathaway
Agency-side Technical SEO can feel like spinning plates in a storm. Just as you get a handle on scopes, stakeholders, & site issues - AI reshapes the landscape again.
We're here to help!
🗓️ TODAY, head to WTS Slack's #seo-technical channel to chat with:
💬 How it works
- Post your questions in #seo-technical anytime on March 4th
- From 4-5pm GMT | 11-12pm EST | 8-9am PST, Tory & Patrick jump in with their advice!
JavaScript headaches, crawl budget nightmares, a tricky migration, staying ahead in an AI-driven world - whatever's on your plate, bring it.
Don't sit on your questions. Today only. See you in Slack 👇
Join us at Search 'n Stuff London Conference 2026!
[WTSPartner Feature: Search n' Stuff]
This June, the search community comes together at one of London's most iconic venues, and we couldn't be more excited to be part of it!
Search 'n Stuff London Conference 2026 is coming up fast:
- 📅 26 June 2026
- 📍 Emirates Stadium, London
- 🎟️ Tickets available now & are selling fast
The lineup spans global perspectives and tactical insight, with speakers including WTSers: Aleyda Solís, Ayisha Yousef, Chima Mmeje, Helen Politt, Lazarina Stoy, Lily Ray, Navah Hopkins and our very own founder, Areej AbuAlitaking the stage.
Expect sessions covering:
- SEO and AI in 2026
- Performance marketing and search systems
- Forward-looking thinking you can actually apply
Whether you're looking to deepen your skills, get ahead of AI's impact on search, or find your people - THIS is the day for it.
🎟️ Use code WTS30 for 30% off.
We hope to see you in London! 🙌
Year-long partnerships with 12,000+ WTSers & 60,000+ social followers - Transparent pricing & details here
Portland pups at WTSFest! 🐶
We’re so pleased to welcome Paws For Love Therapy Dogs, Inc. as a Community Partner for WTSFest Portland 2026.
A volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Oregon, Paws For Love has been certifying therapy teams since 1999 and supporting communities across Portland, Salem, McMinnville, and surrounding areas.
Their mission is simple: bring comfort, connection, and a little extra joy wherever it’s needed.
They'll be joining us at the after party, so if you’ve been thinking about joining us in May, we’d love to welcome you (and introduce you to a few very good pups) 🐾
Your WTSFest conference countdowns
We'd love to see YOU at one of our upcoming full-day marketing events!
⏳ 64 days - Portland on May 7th, 2026
🎟️ 80% sold out!
⏳ 211 days - Philadelphia on October 1st, 2026
🎟️ 10 early bird tix ($399) before standard tix ($499)
⏳ 380 days - London on March 19th, 2027
🎟️ 19 super early bird tix (£299) before early bird tix (£399)
Use our Dear Boss template to request budget to attend!
Our latest WTSInterview
Meet Isaline Muelhauser!
Based in beautiful Lausanne, Switzerland, Isaline Muelhauser is an SEO Consultant specialising in SEO localisation for the Swiss French speaking Market.
When she is not working for her consulting firm, she volunteers at SEOnerdSwitzerland.
Off keyboard, you will see her outdoors.
[WTSNewsletter Series] The new customer journey:
Setting up AI prompt tracking for AI search visibility
Series Author: Shannon Vize
Shannon is the Sr. Content Marketing Manager at Conductor. She has 10+ years of experience in content and SEO. She believes all content—from long-form articles to social copy—is an opportunity to educate, connect, and inspire. (And she’s loved em dashes long before AI co-opted them.)
About the 4-part series
AI visibility is more complex to track than traditional search, because rather than just tracking individual keyword searches and associated rankings, you’re tracking full conversations, intents, and citations.
Set up your tracking right, and you’ll see where AI is recommending you versus your competitors, and where content gaps are holding you back. Set it up wrong, and it becomes impossible to get an accurate picture of your brand’s AI visibility. That’s why AI prompt tracking matters.
In this series I’ll talk you through how to set up AI visibility monitoring in order to maximise insights, and drive performance.
Please note: These strategies work best when you have a dedicated AI visibility or AEO platform to handle the data.
Part 1: Two Approaches to Measuring AI Visibility
AI search tracking is about mirroring the customer journey. Most brands utilise one, or both of these approaches:
- Top-down (topic-led)
- Bottom-up (data-led)
1. The top-down approach (topic-led)
Here you’re zooming out to define the broad topics that represent your core content pillars or product lines (so your tracking reflects the parts of the business you want AI visibility for).
- The strategy: Track a topic like answer engine optimization, instead of a prompt like, What’s the difference between AEO and GEO.
- The mix: Aim for 75% unbranded and 25% branded prompts. You likely already own your brand space; the opportunity is in unbranded conversations.
- The framework: Layer your topics with specific personas (e.g., IT leader) and intents (e.g., comparison, pricing) to see where you win across the funnel.
2. The bottom-up approach (data-led)
This approach uses existing technical signals to tell you what to track. Instead of guessing the topics, you’re following the bots.
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Analyze log files: Identify which AI user agents are crawling your site. If a model reads a page but doesn’t cite it, that’s a visibility gap.
- Identify referral mismatches: If one of your product pages gets high bot activity but zero referral traffic from answer engines, it’s being read but not recommended.
- The goal: Use these signals to prioritise pages where you have relevance but few citations.
Which one should you pick?
Both approaches work, but they solve different problems, and so many brands use both.
A topic-led, top-down strategy gives you a broad understanding of how AI models see your product, service, or business category.
A data-led, bottom-up strategy allows you to diagnose underperformance and find quick wins.
Next week: In part 2, I’ll explain how to ensure your AI prompt tracking is scalable and reliable.
Plus, you can tune in TODAY (March 4th) for a Search Engine Journal webinar, where Conductor’s Sr. SEO Strategy Director, Nick Gallagher, will be giving more do’s and dont’s of AI prompt tracking, and answering your questions in real time.
If you've made it this far, thank YOU!
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- Areej, Erin, & Himee
