Ann Smarty

Checking our clients' digital PR campaigns we did 6+ months ago, I am seeing them become the top cited sources for LLMs, even for pretty huge sites. There's, of course, a lot into that (apart from the fact that LLMs do love citing stats): ✅ Solid organic findability (direct correlation with citability. PR projects that didn't end up ranking well in Google are not cited that well) ✅ Strategic (and ethical) seeding on Reddit I've seen many studies that LLMs seem to "trust" sources that regularly publish authority-driving content (original research, whitepapers, etc). Whether it is because they are like people (original research makes people believe a site is kind of a big deal) or because of all other signals (mainly, organic search visibility), but it surely works! Bottom line: If you want to get cited by LLMs, invest in original research in your niche!

Reddit Pro's Trends section is a handy tool for organic search optimization, says @seosmarty. "SEO Wins from Reddit Pro." practicalecommerce.com/seo-wins-from-… #seo #ecommerce @Reddit

I just published Reddit for AI Visibility: What Are the Success Metrics? medium.com/p/reddit-for-a…

More 0-traffic visibility for Reddit :)))

@lilyraynyc Still seeing "Dive deeper in AI mode" on desktop. On mobile Google app: It sends me straight to AI Mode when I click "Show more" Same in Safari Still cannot get over how annoying it is. Even I do not realize this happened, even though I knew it might lol. Such a confusing UX

AI Overviews are no longer forcing me into AI Mode on desktop or mobile today when I hit “show more.” Anyone else?

@inspiredtaste That citation mystery has always been flawed for sure. Like, why would it even go into trouble to find more citations if I specifically ask about yours?

@seosmarty 💯% Here's a personalized example we just recorded. Google knew we were the creators of Inspired Taste yet the AI output uses our brand name on a recipe with tons of errors and we aren't cited at all! Our real recipe makes a broth completely from scratch! x.com/inspiredtaste/…

I feel like too little attention is paid to this "ungrounded citations" thing... If I were that journalist, I would dig deeper into how come citations listed as SOURCES of the answer can be ungrounded. If you start digging into this, the whole thing of giving instant ungrounded answers feels flawed to its core, especially given the scale ("~50% of Gemini citations are ungrounded")

@CyrusShepard Such a good job with this one!

@seosmarty Thank you, Ann!

An excellent analysis of websites showing steady growth over 12 months from @CyrusShepard The key takeaways make so much sense! Most winning sites have one or two of these features (the more, the better chances!): 1️⃣ It often offers a unique product or service (even if you are a publisher!). 2️⃣ It helps the user do something: buy, download, search, or book (sorry, affiliates!). 3️⃣ It stays within a niche topic of expertise, and it does it well (been a thing since at least helpful content, and now makes even more sense for LLMs!). 4️⃣ It owns proprietary assets that are difficult to replicate: datasets, products, images, and UGC (This is our core digital PR strategy over at @smartyMktg !) 5️⃣ It becomes a destination site by positioning and promoting its own brand (growing branded search impression number + variety is one of the key success metrics for both Digital PR and Reddit marketing!). Full study -> signal.zyppy.com/p/winning-goog… All these make so much sense for GEO too, so SEO and GEO, once again, are very much aligned! If you sell something unique, produce original content (studies), let users complete what they need on your site, become a brand that is associated with your topic => You are visible in LLMs!

Yes, we've been talking about reverse citations since Google's Gen Experience in the labs... I was under the impression this was changing, though. ChatGPT seems to genuinely sync answers from citations in most cases. I thought Gemini was doing the same. This is the first reminder in many months that reverse citing is still a huge thing (those cited URLs are not even checked by AI: They include what "seems" relevant to their generated context. What could go wrong?

seems like the answer is structural and sh*tty. what's mostly happening (especially with gemini 3) is parametric override where the model has the answer in training data and generates from that, then attaches topically-related URLs as citations. the citation isn't really sourcing the answer, it's decoration the model thinks looks plausible the NYT data shows this directly. gemini 3 got more accurate AND more ungrounded simultaneously lol, which only makes sense if it's leaning more on parametric and treating retrieval as a citation-attachment step rather than a sourcing step the messed up part is that this isn't broken. it's the system working as designed. publishers have been treating "we got cited" as "we were the source." those used to be the same thing and they're decoupling

RT @PracticalEcomm: A site that ranks poorly on traditional search engines has little chance of being discovered by LLMs. "SEO Tactics for GenAI Visibility." Via @seosmarty. practicalecommerce.com/seo-tactics-fo… #seo #geo

SEO vs GEO: Is There Even a Rivalry? x.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Watching a well-established journalist at a HIGHLY trusted publication apparently grabbing whole paragraphs from ChatGPT (and leaving its UTMs) is the saddest thing :( As a result: 😨 The cited URL is not even the original study (ChatGPT is notorious for mis-attributing sources) 😤 The credibility of this reporting is questionable because obviously the reporter didn't even check the source (it's a poor quality syndication of the original study). So GUEST WHAT? Now our job as a data-driven digital PR agency is not only creating great assets that get cited by top publications but also TRACKING the ongoing citations and brand mentions to ensure these studies are properly attributed to our clients, and not some crappy syndications. Because... before you know it, ChatGPT will eat this too as, again, this publication is one of the highest-authority ones in its niche. Before you know it, the source of the data will be unfindable :(

SEO vs "GEO" / AEO: Stop Choosing Sides! open.substack.com/pub/annsmarty/…

Stole this into my subreddit: reddit.com/r/AISearchAnal…

Looking for Reddit AMA hosts and LIVE broadcast guests! Any topics that have to do with SEO for AI / GEO! We want to feature you!!! forms.gle/wXpNr5VueGQKiy…

Quite well-expected given the models use search to find citations... The question is, do these sites get AI bots' visits in their log files, or does ChatGPT simply grab the URL from search without actually reading it? :) Reddit discussion: reddit.com/r/SEO_for_AI/c…

Google's "Ask Maps": Small businesses' opportunity to get found I was playing with the Google Maps app today to get a feel of the new AI "Ask Maps" feature, and as a user, it was a very satisfying experience. Things that took hours of research, like planning weekend adventures or discovering new places to visit, now take a second. For local businesses, here's your quick to-do list to get found by this feature: ✅ On your site: DESCRIBE EVERYTHING IN MUCH DETAIL. For example, for restaurants: create a very detailed menu. Describe everything, from ingredients to different options based on allergies or food preferences. Mention the best choices for special occasions and name those occasions (from co-workers' get-togethers to romantic dinners). You know your audience best: What they like and why. Read your own business reviews if you need more ideas. ✅Elsewhere: Market each of your events (tours, concerts, happy hours, lectures, etc.) as much as you can. I see maps pulling from local event sites, from Facebook events, from the Business Profile "Updates" section. Create a list of where your next event can be listed, and go through the list every time. ✅On your Google Business Profile listing, use every field you can. Get as factual and descriptive as you can. Everything that applies to your business should be labeled. ✅On your site, social media, and on your Google Business Profile (Updates): Start from "use cases". What is your place good for? Create a separate article / post / update describing it. For example, "Are you looking for romantic ideas for a weekend in [CITY / TOWN NAME]"? I see "Ask Maps" more as an opportunity for small local businesses to compete for visibility with slow big businesses that are viewed as the "default" destination for local entertainment. It's your opportunity to get found!

Not the hardest platform to control (game?) the sentiment on. So it is good news for most businesses

@glenngabe Not the hardest platform to control (game?) the sentiment on. So it is good news for most businesses

Truspilot.com seems... trusted by Google. :) Massive gains with the December 2025 broad core update. I'm seeing this when analyzing a client's situation btw. They are everywhere when checking important queries for that client...