First Place Positioning

04/13/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 "𝗔𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗮 𝗦𝗘𝗢." 🚫

If someone has pitched you a voice search package or a directory blast that promises to get you into Siri and Alexa, you were being sold a scam.

Here is what is actually happening in 2026.

Voice assistants and AI chatbots do not have their own private index. They pull from the same local data most businesses already have sitting there, broken. Wrong hours. Missing categories. Thin service pages. A Google Business Profile nobody has touched in two years. A homepage that tries to say everything and ends up saying nothing.

And the numbers are brutal.

📊 Google local pack shows about 36% of eligible businesses
📊 Gemini recommends around 11%
📊 ChatGPT recommends about 1.2%

AI compresses the whole decision. It picks one answer. Often two. Rarely three. If your data is messy or your reviews are weak, you are not in the conversation.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀:

✅ Fix Google Business Profile and Apple Business Connect first
✅ Add specific service categories with real descriptions
✅ Build separate service pages and city pages instead of one fat homepage
✅ Answer conversational questions directly on the page
✅ Get your ratings to 4.5 or higher with steady review flow
✅ Use LocalBusiness and FAQPage schema correctly

This is the work that gets you recommended when someone asks their phone, "Who is the best 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 near me?"

First Place Positioning has been doing local SEO since 1998. No hype, no buzzwords, no fake packages. Just the work that moves rankings and brings in calls.

Read the full 2026 Authority Report here:
https://firstplacepositioning.com/voice-ai-optimization-local-businesses/

Or call Gregg directly at (610) 768-0357.

Learn what actually helps local businesses get found in Siri, Alexa, Google, and AI answers, and what voice search hype to ignore in 2026.

03/05/2026

✨ The provided text reports on the February 2026 Discover Core Update, a historic milestone as Google’s first major algorithm overhaul designed exclusively for its personalized content feed. This update took three weeks to finalize and signals a strategic shift by separating Discover’s evaluation from traditional web search rankings.

Google’s primary objectives include promoting high-quality local news, rewarding topical expertise, and aggressively penalizing clickbait or sensationalist headlines. The sources emphasize the economic gravity of this change, noting that Discover has recently overtaken traditional search to become the dominant traffic source for global news publishers.

This transition requires a new optimization approach for digital creators, as the platform now dictates the financial viability of many modern media organizations. While currently limited to English-speaking users in the United States, the update serves as a global blueprint for how artificial intelligence and personalized feeds will redefine future online visibility. ✨

02/23/2026

02/17/2026

Google: Allowing Opting Out Of AI Overviews Is A Huge Engineering Project

A few weeks ago, we reported Google was exploring ways to allow sites to opt out of showing up in Google's AI features, like AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google's Sulina Connal said at the FT Strategies News in the Digital Age conference that this is a "huge engineering project."

A few weeks ago, we reported Google was exploring ways to allow sites to opt out of showing up in Google's AI features, like AI Mode and AI Overviews. Google’s Sulina Connal said at the FT Strategies News in the Digital Age conference that this is a "huge engineering project."

02/09/2026

Atari 800 update.

02/09/2026

Be seen first, online, everywhere, by your target market. Inquire within.

12/29/2025

Google's John Mueller Calls Some SEO Content - Digital Mulch

Google's John Mueller posted one of his one-liners, where he called some forms of SEO content as "digital mulch." He wrote, "And let's be honest'"most of that SEO content is just digital mulch. (...) If your blog exists solely to rank, it's living on borrowed time."

Google's John Mueller posted one of his one-liners, where he called some forms of SEO content as "digital mulch." He wrote, "And let’s be honest—most of that SEO content is just digital mulch. (...) If your blog exists solely to rank, it’s living on borrowed time."

12/10/2025

🔄 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱. 𝗛𝗮𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗞𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗨𝗽?

For years, winning at SEO meant one thing: 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸 #𝟭 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲'𝘀 "𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀."

You optimized, added keywords to your pages, chased backlinks, and played the algorithm game.

And it worked... 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄: Google's AI Overviews are live. ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI tools are answering questions 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 instead of sending users to websites.

The old playbook? It's becoming obsolete.

📚 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗹𝗱 𝗪𝗮𝘆 (𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆)

Your goal was to get your website's "book" on the top shelf where everyone could see it.

✅ Write content matching exact keyword phrases
✅ Build as many backlinks as possible
✅ Hope Google's algorithm ranked you above competitors

This approach still matters, but it's no longer enough on its own.

🔮 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗪𝗮𝘆: 𝗔𝗜 𝗚𝗘𝗢 (𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘁 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗢𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗹𝗲)

Today's AI systems don't just list websites. They 𝘴𝘺𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘴 from multiple sources and present them directly to users.

Your new goal? Become the cited source in those AI-generated answers.

When someone asks an AI assistant a question in your field, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗬𝗢𝗨𝗥 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘄.

🏛️ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯 𝗣𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗜 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁

To get cited by AI systems, your business needs three things working together:

🔸 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 (𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗚𝗮𝗶𝗻): Share insights competitors don't have. Original data, real case studies, and genuine expertise stand out to AI systems looking for fresh perspectives.

🔸 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁 (𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀): Build your presence across authoritative sites. The more places AI can verify your expertise, the more likely it is to trust and cite you.

🔸 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀): Format your content so AI systems can easily understand and extract your expertise. Schema markup, clear organization, and retrieval-ready answers help AI find what it needs.

💡 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿

In the old model, backlinks were the "currency" that showed search engines you were trustworthy.

In the AI model, 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 are the new currency.

AI needs to recognize WHO you are (your entity) and see you mentioned in authoritative places. The more AI systems "know" your business exists and what you're an expert in, the more likely they are to cite you.

📈 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀

If your website isn't optimized for AI retrieval, you're invisible to a growing segment of your potential customers.

Think about it: when a homeowner asks an AI assistant "What should I look for in a roofer?" or a business owner asks "How do I choose an accountant?", whose expertise gets quoted?

The businesses showing up in those AI answers are capturing leads their competitors never even see.

🎯 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗪𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀

With 25+ years of SEO expertise, we've adapted our strategies to address this shift head-on.

Our AI-powered SEO approach covers:

✅ 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: On-page optimization, Local SEO, and retrieval-ready LLM-SEO that gets you cited
✅ 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁: Blogs and landing pages that rank AND get quoted by AI systems
✅ 𝗦𝗘𝗢 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 & 𝗥𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗽: AI-powered audits with prioritized growth plans
✅ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Daily keyword tracking, weekly reporting, and technical upkeep

We help local and regional service businesses, plus established solo professionals, dominate Google Search, Local Maps, AND AI results for the high-intent searches that actually bring in clients.

🚀 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲'𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗨𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗯𝘀.

The businesses that adapt first will capture market share while competitors are still playing the old game.

Ready to see where your business stands and what it would take to get your expertise cited by AI?

📞 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 (𝟲𝟭𝟬) 𝟳𝟲𝟴-𝟬𝟯𝟱𝟳 for a free 15-minute AI SEO conversation.

Or visit https://firstplacepositioning.com/ to request a written plan with three quick wins to increase your AI citations and revenue.

No sales pitch. Just a clear, prioritized plan to help you win in both traditional search AND the new AI landscape.

Your competitors are figuring this out. The question is whether you'll lead or follow. ⬇️

Improve visibility across search, maps, social, and AI results with AI marketing, SEO, and content systems built for businesses. Call (610) 768-0357.

11/10/2025

Google: SEO Advice On Using Two Different TLDs For Your Company

Google's John Mueller responded with SEO advice on how a company can use two different TLDs for its company. The company wants to use the .co.uk for normal search and web traffic but .digital as a TLD for some of its marketing campaigns.

Google's John Mueller responded with SEO advice on how a company can use two different TLDs for its company. The company wants to use the .co.uk for normal search and web traffic but .digital as a TLD for some of its marketing campaigns.

10/31/2025

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 B𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 O𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 T𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 T𝗵𝗲𝘆 H𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗘𝗢 P𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺

But what they really have is a 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗮𝗽.
Buyers can’t find them where decisions are made: 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵, 𝗠𝗮𝗽𝘀, and 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝗔𝗜 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀.

That’s what we fix at 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.

We help small and midsize businesses capture the exact moments buyers search for what they sell and convert that visibility into real clients, calls, and revenue.

Because your website shouldn’t be a brochure. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝟮𝟰/𝟳. Built with search intent, AI optimization, and measurable ROI in mind.

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲:

✅ Audit what’s holding you back: speed, structure, or keyword gaps.
✅ Engineer AI-ready SEO so your content gets cited in generative search results.
✅ Turn every web page and blog into an inbound lead magnet.

One recent client 𝗷𝘂𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝟮 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟬𝟬 just by aligning pages with AI retrieval-ready answers and Google’s new ranking signals.

That’s the kind of growth we deliver. Predictable and data-driven, not guesswork.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗲𝘁:

🏆 𝟮𝟰+ 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗘𝗢 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, WordPress/Elementor builds that convert, AI-powered keyword research that finds real buyer intent, and experienced insights.

📈 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸, and 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 source so you can see progress in numbers.

🎯 𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹, 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜-𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 all in one integrated system designed to help you outrank larger competitors without the agency overhead.

𝗪𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 “𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤.”

Our clients include contractors, medical professionals, tech startups, and local service businesses who needed 𝗼𝗻𝗲 thing: 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸.

Want your site to start working as hard as you do?

📞 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 (𝟲𝟭𝟬) 𝟳𝟲𝟴-𝟬𝟯𝟱𝟳 or 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁 https://firstplacepositioning.com.

𝘚𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘚𝘌𝘖 + 𝘈𝘐 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.

We’ll review your top pages, show three quick wins to increase AI citations, and map a real plan for growth.

𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘢, 𝘗𝘈, 𝘵𝘰 𝘖𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.

Accelerate growth and online visibility across Google Search, Maps, AI Overviews, LLMs, and social media with First Place Positioning. (610) 768-0357.

09/05/2025

EU Fines Google $3.5 Billion; Must Divest Part Of Ad-Tech Business

The European Union has fined Google $3.5 billion, 2.95 billion euro, for breaking its competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services. Part of this ruling also says Google is required to divest part of its ad-tech business.

The European Union has fined Google $3.5 billion, 2.95 billion euro, for breaking its competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services. Part of this ruling also says Google is required to divest part of its ad-tech business.

08/27/2025

Survey: Only 4% Of Searchers Don't Click From Google AI Overviews

A new survey from NP Digital says that only 4% of the 1,000 people surveyed said they do not click from the Google AI Overviews. 13.3% of people surveyed said they do click every single time within an AI Overview, 30.5% said they often click, 41.5% said they sometimes click and 10.3% said they rarely click through.

A new survey from NP Digital says that only 4% of the 1,000 people surveyed said they do not click from the Google AI Overviews. 13.3% of people surveyed said they do click every single time within an AI Overview, 30.5% said they often click, 41.5% said they sometimes click and 10.3% said they rarel...