Your clients are not searching the way they used to. And if your website is still built for the old rules — you are invisible in the new ones. TIMESTAMPS: [0:00] — Someone booked a call with me from ChatGPT. Here is what that means for your business. [1:30] — The Google problem: why clicking and backing out is exhausting your clients [3:00] — What SEO is and why it still matters (but is no longer enough) [6:30] — What AIO is and the one line that explains the difference [8:30] — The 12% stat: why 88% of websites are invisible to AI right now [10:00] — The three things your website needs for AI to recommend you [13:00] — The villain: the business owner who keeps saying 'I'll do it later' [15:00] — What it actually looks like when it's working [16:30] — Your 3-minute self-audit: do this before the episode ends IN THIS EPISODE YOU'LL DISCOVER: What SEO is and why it still matters in 2026 What AIO (AI Optimization) is and how it is completely different from SEO Why 88% of small business websites are invisible to AI search right now — and how to check if yours is one of them The three things your website must have for ChatGPT and Perplexity to recommend you A 3-minute self-audit you can do tonight to see exactly where you stand ABOUT THIS EPISODE: The way your clients find you has changed. They are not Googling and clicking through ten links anymore. They are having conversations with AI — and AI is recommending someone. In this episode, Bella breaks down the difference between SEO and AIO, explains why 88% of small business websites are invisible to AI tools right now, and walks through exactly what you need to fix it. No tech degree required. This is strategy, not software. A NOTE ON THE STATS IN THIS EPISODE: Every statistic Bella cites has a source link in the show notes below, along with who funded the study and what their potential bias is. Bella believes you deserve to fact-check her. Click any link and see for yourself. RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED: Magai — All the major AI models in one place — 30% off for 3 months Website Sessions with Bella — 6 focused sessions to rewrite your website for AI search The Jumpers Mastermind — Where Bella works with business owners on AI, hiring, marketing, and more Eight Oh Two 2026 AI Search Study — The 37% stat — who did it and their bias (self-funded marketing agency) Seer Interactive ChatGPT Conversion Study — The conversion rate data — one B2B client, 6 months Schema.org Structured Data — The 12.4% stat source — neutral standards body, no commercial bias Xponent21 AI Overviews Analysis — The 60% Google AI Overview stat Search Engine Land AI Referral Traffic — The 527% growth stat — owned by Semrush, editorial independent CONNECT WITH BELLA: Website Sessions with Bella The Jumpers Mastermind Subscribe to Bella in Your Business Bella's Website Find Bella on Instagram and Facebook — search Bella Vasta FAQ SECTION: What is the difference between SEO and AIO? SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of structuring your website so Google ranks it in search results. AIO (AI Optimization) is structuring your website so AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews can read, understand, and recommend you. SEO gets you found. AIO makes you the answer. Both matter in 2026 — but most small business websites have only been built for one of them. What is AIO and why does it matter for small business owners? AIO stands for AI Optimization — also called AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) or GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) depending on who you ask. The industry has not settled on one term yet. What they all mean is the same thing: structuring your website content so AI tools can read it, trust it, and recommend your business when someone asks for help with the problem you solve. As more people use ChatGPT and Perplexity to find services, businesses that are not optimized for AI are losing referrals they never even know about. How do I know if my website is visible to AI? Open ChatGPT or Perplexity. Do not search your business name — search the problem your ideal client has, the way they would actually type it. If your business does not come up, that is your answer. Other signals: your website has not been updated in over a year, you do not have a blog, your homepage is vague about who you serve and how, and your site does not use structured data (schema markup). All of these reduce how findable you are to AI tools. What is schema markup and do I need it? Schema markup is code you add to your website that tells AI systems exactly what your business does, who you serve, what questions you answer, and why you are credible. Without it, AI has to guess — and AI would rather recommend someone it does not have to guess about. As of 2025, only about 12% of websites use any structured data at all. That means the businesses who add it now have a significant early advantage in AI search visibility. Does my website need a blog for AI search? Yes. A blog is one of the highest-value things on your website for AI visibility. AI tools favor content that is specific, answers real questions, and has been published recently. A blank or outdated blog page gives AI very little to work with. You do not need to publish every day — consistent, specific, question-answering content matters more than volume. If you have not posted in over six months, that is your most urgent gap. Full Episode Transcript Someone booked a call with me recently and I asked what I always ask. How did you hear about me? And she said, chat GPT, not Google, not Instagram, not like I saw you on my feed or I was on your email list or I listened to your podcast, podcast, what you're listening to right now It was chat GPT. She had been mid conversation trying to figure out a problem and was asking what top consultants could help her with the problem. And chat GPT told her me. and proceeded to explain more than just my name, but the reasons why. That conversation stopped me cold because what I realized is what if my website had not been set up the right way? That conversation would have ended with someone else's name. And then I started thinking of you and your website and whether AI even knows you exist. Welcome back to another episode of Bella in Your Business. My name is Bella Vasta. I've been doing this podcast since 2014 for you, my small business, pet sitting business, dog walking business, dog grooming business, dog training business, all of you, since 2014. Your clients are not searching the way that they used to. And if your website is still built the old way, then You are invisible in the new way. And so today we're going to talk about SEO, AIO. There's a couple of different forms of that, AEO. And there's a couple others, but for the sake of the show and today, March 20, 26, I'm going to call it AIO. And what to do in the next 90 days will determine whether your business is findable or just existing. OK, I want you to think about the last time you Googled something for your business. So you typed it in, then 10 blue links came back. You clicked one, it wasn't quite right, so you hit back. Then you clicked another one and shoot, it was an ad. Clicked back, you scrolled, you got distracted, you got overwhelmed, and then you gave up. That's what your clients are doing when they Google you. Or the problem that you solve, or the service that you offer. They're clicking, they're backing out, and they're clicking, and they're backing out, exhausted. Because before they have even found you, they're just overwhelmed. Now think about what it feels like to have a conversation with Chachi BT when you're trying to figure something out. It's different, right? It like listens to your whole situation. You feel heard. It asks follow up questions sometimes and it gives you one clear answer instead of 10 options that you have to sort through yourself. And when it says you should go talk to this person, you go because it felt like advice, not advertising. All right. Before I give you some numbers, I want to be upfront about something. A lot of statistics in marketing worlds are produced by companies that have a financial interest before believing in them. All right. So for every stat in this episode, I have put the source in the show notes. You want to go to JumpConsulting.net, click on podcast and you could find that so you can know who did the study, who paid for it, what their potential bias is. And I want you to go fact check me, like not because I'm hiding anything, but because A business owner who makes decisions based off of bad data is worse off than a business decision being made, like no business decision being made at all. And so here's what the research says with full context. A marketing agency called 802 surveyed 500 people who have already used AI tools. 37 % they say that they now start their searches with AI instead of Google. And here's what I want you to know. 802 sells AI search strategy services. So they do have a financial interest in what you're carrying about with this number. I'm telling you that because you deserve to know, but the finding really does line up with what I'm watching in my own business and what I hear from all the other experts that I follow. Okay. So take it with context and decide for yourself. But here's the question that I want you to sit with while you're reading this right now. Someone's having a conversation with AI. about the exact problem you solve. my gosh, I wanna go to Las Vegas this weekend and shoot, I need a dog walker. Who do you know near me, okay? It doesn't show a list of links unless you pick. It reads the website behind the scenes. It reads it and it crawls it for your structure, your content, your copy, the unique value proposition that you have. And it decides whether you're credible enough to
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