Getting found is now three jobs, not one.
Search engines still send the traffic. But answer engines lift your content into the box above the results, and generative engines — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews — increasingly answer the question without sending anyone anywhere. Being invisible in that third layer is the quiet risk most businesses have not priced yet.
The three layers
SEO — Search Engine Optimization
The foundation, and still where most of the traffic is. Technical audits for crawlability and indexing, site speed, information architecture, keyword research mapped page by page, on-page optimisation, and Google Search Console and GA4 configured so you can actually see what is happening.
AEO — Answer Engine Optimization
Structuring pages so a machine can lift a clean answer: question-form headings with the answer stated in the first two sentences, structured data that labels what the machine is reading, and content shaped into the lists, tables, and definitions that extract cleanly.
GEO — Generative Engine Optimization
Getting cited inside AI assistants. An llms.txt file, strict entity consistency across your site and schema, explicitly stated facts rather than implied ones, Google Business Profile and entity alignment, and AI crawlers — GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, OAI-SearchBot — explicitly permitted in robots.txt. Most sites silently block the crawlers they most need.
Entry point
AI Search Visibility Audit & Setup — from $299
A fixed-scope way to find out where you stand before committing to anything ongoing. Full technical crawl, AI crawler access check, structured data audit and implementation, an llms.txt file written for your business, entity consistency review, and a written report with the fixes prioritised. Three-day delivery. No obligation to continue.
Selected work
Where this work has been done.
Case studies that lean on this pillar. Each one links to the live site.
Life Sciences / Market Research
An independent biopharma research firm, restructured around eight therapeutic areas.
Independent market intelligence for pharmaceutical and biotech decision-makers, serving 19 of the top 20 pharma and biotech companies.
Wealth Management / Growth Capital
A growth capital firm that had to read as a partner, not private equity.
Backed by Charlesbank Capital Partners, Rise invests in and partners with independent RIA firms — with a portfolio including Grimes and Company, OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners, and Cyndeo Wealth Partners.
Life Sciences / Consulting & SaaS
A consultancy and a software company on one site, without either one hiding the other.
Life science consulting and SaaS for commercial compliance and data management, serving biotech startups through Fortune 10 pharmaceutical companies. Since acquired by Zensar Technologies.
Recent builds
A few of these, live.
Every one of these shipped and is running today.
Questions
Common questions.
What is the difference between SEO, AEO, and GEO?
SEO gets you ranked in a list of results. AEO gets your answer into the box above those results — featured snippets, voice answers, and People Also Ask. GEO gets you cited inside an AI assistant’s response when someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity a question your business answers. They share a technical foundation but optimise for three different surfaces, and a site can do well at one while being invisible in the others.
How long does SEO take to work?
Technical fixes — indexing problems, speed, broken structure — can show up in weeks. Competitive keyword movement realistically takes three to six months, and anyone promising faster is either lying or targeting terms nobody searches. AI citation visibility often moves faster than traditional rankings, because far fewer sites have done the work.
Do you offer ongoing SEO management?
Yes — this is the core of the service. Monthly retainers cover continuing technical maintenance, content strategy and optimisation, tracking across both search and AI surfaces, and monthly reporting on what moved. Retainers are month-to-month. No annual lock-in.
Is my site blocking AI crawlers?
Quite possibly, and most site owners have no idea. Many WordPress security plugins and default robots.txt files block GPTBot and similar agents by default, which removes you from AI answers entirely. It is the first thing I check, and it is a five-minute fix once you know.
What does an AI Search Visibility Audit include?
It is a fixed-scope starting point: a full technical crawl, AI crawler access check, structured data audit and implementation, an llms.txt file written for your business, entity consistency review, and a written report of what is blocking you with the fixes prioritised. It starts at $299 with three-day delivery, and it works as a standalone piece — there is no obligation to continue into a retainer.
Want a straight answer about your situation?
Describe what is happening and I’ll tell you what I would actually do about it — including when the answer is that you do not need me.