Cliff Tillery, Digital Marketing Consultant at Make It Loud Web Design, has spent 22 years building an SEO agency, and in this episode, he breaks down how he’s evolving his service offerings as AI reshapes search behavior. He shares how he’s building custom data-driven research studies for clients, like storm damage reports for roofers and CPR survival statistics for first responder training companies, that double as lead magnets and authority-building content.

Cliff explains the difference between optimizing for Google versus optimizing for AI visibility, focusing on the idea of brand entity and how AI pulls data points from press releases, reviews, and other digital assets across the internet to define a business. He also shares his approach to vibe coding internal tools, including an app he built called Henry that automates alt tags, meta descriptions, and schema markup, cutting page production from 15 a day down to over 100 in two days.

The conversation covers the shift away from city-targeted landing pages, why AI content scores well on graders but still needs heavy editing, and why he believes the SEO industry needs to move from a vendor mindset to a partner mindset, especially as 45 percent of consumers turn to AI to search for local businesses while still converting at low rates compared to direct Google traffic.

Cliff also unpacks why he no longer trusts visibility score as a core metric after issues with his rank tracking tool, and what KPIs actually matter now: form fills, phone calls, and Google Business Profile engagement.

If you are an SEO professional, agency owner, or business owner trying to understand how AI search is changing client acquisition and reporting, this conversation is full of practical takeaways.

Takeaways:

  1. Custom research studies like storm reports can double as lead magnets and authority content
  2. AI defines brand entity using data across the internet, not just your website
  3. Vibe coded internal tools cut landing page production from 15 to 100 in two days
  4. 45 percent of consumers now use AI to search for local businesses
  5. AI traffic converts at under 1 percent compared to direct Google traffic
  6. City targeted landing pages are far less effective than they once were
  7. Agencies should shift from a vendor mindset to becoming a true partner
  8. Form fills, phone calls, and Google Business Profile data matter more than visibility scores