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Why Citing Experts Supports Your Own Organization Being Cited

Since we’ve already detailed in a recent blog post the reasons why you want your organization to be cited (when it comes to being found online), we won’t revisit that extensively here. We will say that being cited by a search engine or search tool, i.e., having them serve up a link to your organization’s website vs. just mentioning your name in relevant search results is a very positive thing. But, as we’ve also shared in the past, in order to increase the probability of that happening, your organization needs to demonstrate to search engines (both AI and traditional search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo) that you are credible and trustworthy.

What’s An Easy Way To Show Search Engines You’re Credible?

There’s a very easy way to show search engines you’re credible and that’s citing other organizations in your website content, i.e., mentioning and sharing links to experts in your field, or on whatever topic you are addressing in a particular section of your website. You can also ask experts to write a “guest blog post” for your site, or partner with a fellow expert on a blog post.

Citing experts on your website demonstrates to search engines:

  • Your organization makes and takes the time to follow and learn from experts
  • Your organization is not too self-serving, i.e., only focused on your needs and self-promotion vs. wanting to provide valuable information to your readers/target audiences, even if it means sharing information about other organizations
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How Do I Know What Experts To Cite?

One of the easiest and best ways to figure out who to cite on your website is to use LinkedIn’s search tool to enter search terms/keywords related to the topic for which you want to identify experts. You’ll likely want to select “posts,” “people,” or “services” by clicking on those buttons to generate lists to review after you’ve entered the keywords in the main search tool on the left top of your LinkedIn homepage.

Review the bios and posts of some of the individuals LinkedIn has served up to you, and begin following those that interest you. Their posts will start appearing in your newsfeed. You’ll soon see/learn which individuals resonate with you and whose websites you want to share on your website in appropriate places. And, keep in mind, you don’t have to share links to their website on your website, you can also share links to their LinkedIn profiles, as we’ve done below.

Here’s Some Of The SEO/AEO/GEO Experts We Like To Follow On LinkedIn

Kristine Schachinger

John McAlpin

Mike Friedman

Erik Marsh

Neil Patel

Eli Schwartz

The above individuals are just a handful of those we follow on LinkedIn because there’s so many experts, like us, who regularly create and share content about search engine optimization (SEO), answer engine/AI engine optimization (AEO), and generative engine optimization (GEO).

Need Help Identifying Which Experts You Should Follow On LinkedIn?

Reach out today to our Greater-Boston digital marketing agency for a complimentary discussion about your marketing challenges and opportunities.

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Do I Need To Keep Adding New Content To My Website To Continue To Be Found Online?

The answer to the above question is pretty straightforward, and in most cases, “yes.” Given that we are in the day and age where individuals are using what’s known as answer engines — think ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude — more and more for both business and personal purposes, if an organization wants to continue to be found online, it DOES need to regularly produce and publish new content. Unless your site is one that is only meant to provide very static information and credibility to people who already know or have found your organization, your organization will need to do the following to support your organization’s name being mentioned or a link to your organization being served up by answer engines in response to relevant prompts.

This image is a print screen of what it looks like when you go into a WordPress website to add a new post and says "Add new Post" at the top and "enter title here."

What Types Of Content Do I Need To Create If I Want To Be Found In Answer Engine Results?

  • Blog posts or questions that reside within a website FAQ (frequently asked questions) page that answer questions that your organization regularly gets asked by prospective clients and existing clients
  • Blog posts or questions that reside within a website FAQ page that answer questions that keyword research and answer research indicates your target audiences are asking answer engines/searching on
  • Blog posts that speak to topics that are “tangential” to the particular products and services you offer, but that are important ones for your target audiences. For example, you might offer seniors in-home care, but write and publish some blog posts about senior fraud, aging in place/aging at home, and exercises for seniors. You get the picture!

Even if you’ve already published such content, target audiences’ questions and needs change/evolve, and both from a marketing standpoint and a search-engine standpoint, you need to demonstrate that you are staying current/relevant/up-to-date. It’s not good to have clients or prospective clients visit your site and see that you haven’t put up any new content in many months and/or content is outdated — it looks like you’re not minding your shop, and if you aren’t, what else might you neglect? And, search engines are more likely to serve up new, fresh content than content that is old and dated.

In sum, a static site will NOT help your organization be found online by target audiences, given how individuals gather information these days. Sure, it’s time-consuming, but regularly producing and posting new content answering questions and providing information that benefit your target audiences needs to be an ongoing marketing activity. As we’ve always said, “SEO (search engine optimization) is NOT a one-and-done exercise.

Need Help Figuring Out What To Blog About And How Frequently?

Reach out today to schedule a complimentary discussion with our digital marketing agency about your blog strategy!

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The Marketing & Sales Downfall of Focusing Too Much On Appearing In Answer Engines (AI Search)

I’ve attended a decent number of webinars about AI search and how to get your organization’s name or a link back to your website (citation) to be shared by an answer engine in response to a topic-relevant user’s prompt. To-date I’ve heard the following list of key tactics mentioned related to how to get your organization’s name or page served up by answer engines like ChatGPT:

This is a very brightly colored image with question marks of different colors in the background and then the words, where, what, when, why, how, and who in brightly colored captions bubbles -- yellow, blue, pink, red, green, and orange.

What Types Of Organizations Benefit The Most From Appearing In Answer Engines/AI Search Engines?

For bigger brands who offer services and products throughout the whole U.S., or even the world, it makes great sense to want your organization’s name and links back to your website to appear in answer engine results related to relevant-topic searches. But for organizations who only offer services or products locally, i.e., in one city or town, in one state, or in one region (such as New England), there will likely be far less value to your organization to your organization from being found on answer engines than there would be for a national or international organization. Why? Because many individuals entering prompts into an answer engine just want their question answered. They aren’t looking to buy a product or pay for a service. And, the answer engines are more concerned about serving up content that easily/readily answers the question, regardless of the geography of the content producer or of the individual who is looking to get their question asked or answered. Unless, of course, the searcher/prompter includes their geography in the prompt, such as a prompt like “who’s the best digital marketing agency in Braintree MA.”

The Big Mistake That Organizations Who Need To Rank Locally Are Making Related To AI Search

Let’s face it, smaller, local organizations have far smaller budgets than a national brand like Progressive Insurance. They also have far smaller marketing teams. When they put the majority of their marketing dollars and energy into producing content that will be found in AI tools like Perplexity, Claude, and ChatGPT, they are missing out on other opportunities which might better help them be found locally, since, as we shared above, many individuals to whom their website content or name will be served up by answer engines won’t be in their geography.

What Are Some Marketing Tactics That Help Organizations Be Found Locally?

  • Nextdoor Business Profile and Advertising – you can’t get more local than that!
  • Google Search Ads – where you’ve selected a geography appropriate for your business
  • Display Advertising – Google, Meta (Facebook/Instagram), other social media advertising – again, where you’ve selected a geography appropriate for your business
  • Publicity in Local Newspapers and/or on Local Media websites
  • Community Event Participation and Sponsorships – in communities your organization serves
  • Social Media Strategy and Posting – like with AI/answer engine search – you can reach local individuals and businesses who follow you this way, but there’s always some “waste,” where you are reaching individuals who can/will never become a client or customer because of geography or for other reasons
  • Optimizing Your Google My Business Profile — this is your best opportunity to be found locally and have your organization served up for “near me” terms
  • Writing a guest blog post for another local organization who serves your geography and/or requesting a backlink from their website to your website

Why You Need To Diversify Your Marketing Efforts

Check out our blog post on why it’s particularly important right now to diversify your marketing efforts and reach out today to schedule a complimentary discussion of your organization’s particular marketing challenges and opportunities in the time of AI!

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AI Tool Use In 2026: Up, Up, and Away!

If you think AI tool use to get immediate answers to questions is slowing down, think again!

We’ve gathered information from a number of AI, AEO, GEO, and SEO experts and their research indicates it’s full steam ahead as far as U.S. citizens using AI to easily access the information they need by entering a “prompt” into the AI tool in-question.

And, individuals aren’t just using AI to complete a “search.” They are using it to be more productive, learn new skills, and get administrative work and other more complex work done!

Why Is AI Tool Usage Up?

AI tool usage continues to grow, because as these experts explain in the various articles cited below, not only are people using popular large-language-model answer engines (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Perplexity on their laptop and desktop computers, they are using AI capabilities embedded in mobile apps, or mobile apps whose key purpose is to serve as an AI tool (mobile versions of LLMs/answer engines like ChatGPT) to find solutions to problems or immediately gather the information they want and need.

Search Engine Land: AI assistants now equal 56% of global search engine volume: Study

Wonder Tools: The Best AI Mobile Apps

Five Percent: AI Is Much Bigger Than You Think

In addition, as mentioned at the top of our blog, use of AI tools to complete tasks and be more productive is expanding exponentially, as these AI experts explain.

IT Pro: Global Demand For This One AI Role Has Skyrocketed

Capital Logix: Generative AI’s Explosive Growth

Forbes: How AI Is Changing Work

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Where Can I Get Updates About Use Of AI Tools?

We plan to keep adding links to helpful article from experts as we identify them, so return here for ongoing AI tool usage updates.

Need Help Related To Your Organization Being Found In AI Search Results Or Understanding How AI Tools Can Make Your Team More Productive?

Reach out today to schedule a complimentary discussion about AI tool use to be more productive, or about how to have your organization mentioned or cited in AI search engines, like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity.