How to know your SEO and AEO are actually working
Published January 13, 2027 · Kyle Fredette, Seacoast Cited
Publishing content and hoping is not a strategy. The only way to know SEO and AEO are working is to track three things together: where you rank, how visitors actually move through your site, and whether AI engines name you. Here is how that comes together into one funnel instead of three disconnected reports.
What should I actually be looking at in Google Analytics?
Where visitors land, how many reach your contact form or phone number, and which pages they came from. Traffic alone tells you almost nothing. The funnel from visit to lead is the number that actually matters.
Why track LinkedIn if my customers are homeowners?
LinkedIn is not where most homeowners are, but it is where referral partners, realtors, and other business owners are, and it reinforces the same content instead of writing something new for every channel.
How often should I check Semrush?
Monthly is enough for most local businesses. Rankings move slowly, and checking daily just creates noise. A monthly check against your tracked keyword list shows the real trend without the daily wobble.
| Tool | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Semrush | Where you rank for tracked keywords, and what is worth targeting next |
| Google Analytics | How visitors move from a page to your contact form or phone |
| Reach with referral partners and other business owners | |
| Manual AI engine checks | Whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot actually name you |
Want this tracked and reported for you every month?
Contact UsFrequently asked questions
What should I actually be looking at in Google Analytics?
Where visitors land, how many reach your contact form or phone number, and which pages they came from. Traffic alone tells you almost nothing. The funnel from visit to lead is the number that actually matters.
Why track LinkedIn if my customers are homeowners?
LinkedIn is not where most homeowners are, but it is where referral partners, realtors, and other business owners are, and it reinforces the same content instead of writing something new for every channel.
How often should I check Semrush?
Monthly is enough for most local businesses. Rankings move slowly, and checking daily just creates noise. A monthly check against your tracked keyword list shows the real trend without the daily wobble.
What does Seacoast Cited actually report?
Where your tracked keywords rank, what your funnel looks like in Analytics, and where the AI engines place you, all in one plain-language report every month, not a dashboard you have to interpret yourself.