Xponent21’s AI SEO Case Study — Engineering the Top Spot in AI Search

In mid-2024, our agency Xponent21 faced a surprising kind of identity crisis. We had pulled off something big – launching Richmond Water, a sustainable hydration brand that became a local sensation. The project got press coverage and community buzz; Richmond Water was a growing brand on social media, at events, and with partners throughout the community. Yet the team behind it – Xponent21 – remained largely in the shadows. Clients and peers recognized the outcome of our work (Richmond’s enthusiasm for locally sourced water) but not the source (our agency’s strategy and execution). In short, Richmond Water was famous, but we weren’t. We weren’t yet seen as the team that could help others win visibility in a big way.

This realization revealed an obscurity gap: despite our successes for clients (and even our own initiatives like Richmond Water), our brand lacked authoritative presence in the wider digital marketing world. We decided it was time to change that. If we wanted to be known as the go-to experts in driving visibility, we had to prove it publicly – by doing for ourselves what we do for clients. The plan was simple in concept: demonstrate our expertise by dominating a new, highly credible arena of search where few others had yet ventured. We chose the emerging frontier of AI-driven search results as our proving ground. In August 2024, exactly one year ago, we made the pivotal decision: we would transform Xponent21 from a behind-the-scenes player into a visible authority – by seizing the top spot in AI search for ourselves.

Listen to this AI SEO case study on our Cosmic Rankings podcast: From Obscurity to Authority: How Xponent21 Dominated AI Search

An AI SEO Case Study That Became a Proven Framework

We approached this challenge as an experiment. Yes, we had years of experience in UX, CRO, SEO, and content marketing – all the traditional building blocks of digital strategy. But this was different. The rise of AI-powered search (generative answers on platforms like Perplexity, new Google AI overviews, ChatGPT, etc.) meant the rules of content discovery were changing fast. We couldn’t rely on slow, incremental SEO tactics; we needed to move quickly and innovate our approach to content. Our hunch was that many of the principles we knew (answering user intent, building authority, structuring content) would still apply – but we’d have to supercharge them to stand out in the AI age.

So, instead of a modest blogging schedule, we went all-in. We shifted from a few posts per month to a rapid-fire, cluster-based content system. This meant publishing a constellation of interrelated articles, guides, FAQs, and resources all centered on AI search optimization. Every piece was crafted with intentional AI signals in mind. We incorporated rich FAQ sections, explicit question-and-answer formats, and schema markup to make our content easily digestible to AI engines. We weren’t just writing for human readers; we were structuring information for consumption by language models and AI summarizers. The goal was to become the source that these AI tools love to cite and present.

Crucially, we treated speed as a feature, not a risk. In the span of days, we created a flagship long-form article, several supporting posts, a glossary of AI SEO terms, and more – a depth and breadth of content that normally might take months. This was our strategic experiment: could a boutique agency punch above its weight by saturating a niche (AI SEO) with the best, most AI-optimized content available? We didn’t know for sure how it would work, but we had enough confidence in our strategy to make the investment. And as it turns out, the experiment was a massive success – one that would soon evolve from a one-time project into a repeatable framework.

Our 14-Step AI SEO Framework Was Born Out of Practice, Not Theory

By late September 2024, about six weeks into our experiment, we had seen enough results to realize we were onto something big. We began meticulously documenting everything we did: from how we researched AI query patterns, to how we structured headlines for AI parsing, to how we leveraged multimedia and external platforms. This internal documentation on September 25, 2024 marked the birth of our “AI SEO Content Accelerator” – a 14-step framework for dominating AI search. Importantly, this framework wasn’t dreamt up in a conference room or copied from an SEO blog. It was born out of practice, not theory – a direct codification of tactics that we ourselves had road-tested and found effective in real time.

We didn’t start our journey with a predefined 14-step plan; that playbook emerged organically from the trial-and-error of our rapid campaign. For example, one step in the framework emphasizes using schema markup and structured data on content – a tactic we might have considered optional before, but in our experiment it proved critical for signaling AI algorithms. Another step focuses on publishing outside your own site (like on LinkedIn, YouTube, or Substack) to create a web of backlinks and context around your content – again, a method we discovered amplified our presence when AI models crawled the broader web for reliable sources. Each of the 14 steps was forged by what actually moved the needle during those intense weeks.

By Spring 2025, we had refined and formally published this framework as the AI SEO Content Accelerator methodology, so that our team (and even clients) could replicate the success systematically. But in the fall of 2024, it was still just our not-so-secret sauce – the recipe we were following and tweaking as we went. The key takeaway: we didn’t set out with a rigid plan; we built the plan by doing. Our experiment-turned-framework is a testament to the power of agile marketing – adapting quickly to what works and discarding what doesn’t in the face of new technology. It’s one thing to have theories about AI-driven SEO; it’s another to execute in the wild and build your playbook from actual wins. We did the latter, and it made all the difference.

(We’ll share more about what’s in the framework in a dedicated post, but suffice to say it covers everything from content architecture and on-page SEO for AI, to multimedia integration, to engagement signals – all the elements that got us cited by AI platforms.)

The Timeline That Changed Our Trajectory

To truly appreciate how this strategy propelled us from obscurity to authority, it helps to see the rapid succession of milestones we hit. In the span of a year, Xponent21 went from “unknown” in the AI search arena to arguably the reference point for AI SEO. Below is the timeline that charts this transformation – each date a pivot point in turning our experiment into an engine of growth:

• Aug 8, 2024 – Decision Day: We publicly committed to proving our AI SEO framework. This was the day we said, “Let’s put ourselves on the map via AI search.” We started planning a comprehensive AI SEO campaign – including an upcoming webinar – with the explicit intent to boost our visibility, rankings, and lead generation opportunities. This date set our project’s intent and put a ticking clock on our experiment.
• Aug 10, 2024 – Flagship Article Published: We released a flagship blog post titled “How to Optimize for AI Search”. This in-depth guide was the cornerstone of our content strategy – a pillar piece designed to rank and be referenced by AI-driven search results. We structured it carefully (clear sections, FAQs, how-tos) to make it core content for platforms like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Google’s new AI Overview snippets. Little did we know, this piece would soon become the #1 result for a high-value query.
• Aug 28, 2024 – Proof in 20 Days: On the morning of our scheduled AI SEO webinar, we discovered that our flagship article had reached #1 on Perplexity for the query “How to rank in AI search results.” In under three weeks, we went from zero presence to the top answer on a leading AI answer engine. This was a jaw-dropping validation of our experiment – we had become the example of AI search optimization success. It couldn’t have been timed better.
• Aug 28, 2024 – Live Webinar Launch: That same day, we hosted a live webinar on AI SEO strategy, which turned into a real-time case study of our win. We presented our approach and, with fresh data in hand, showed attendees how we’d just achieved the #1 Perplexity ranking. This webinar not only shared valuable insights but also launched our thought leadership in the AI SEO space. Attendees saw proof that our methods worked, and word began to spread.
• Sep 10, 2024 – Dominating AI SERPs: Within weeks of the webinar, our content had secured top citations in Google’s AI-generated search overviews and even in ChatGPT’s results. In Google’s new AI Snapshot (the generative answers at the top of search), our site was frequently the leading cited source, and ChatGPT (via its browsing or plugins) was referencing our insights. This confirmed that our early dominance wasn’t limited to one platform – we were leading across all major AI search surfaces. The experiment had officially graduated into a multi-platform success.
• Sep 25, 2024 – Framework Documentation: We compiled an internal report of everything that contributed to our wins – effectively writing down the steps and tactics that worked. This documentation was the first draft of our AI SEO Accelerator framework. It marked a turning point: our case study was now becoming a codified methodology. We recognized that if we could formalize this, we could repeat it and scale it. The experiment was no longer just an experiment; it was the prototype of a service offering.
• Oct 5, 2024 – “Cosmic Rankings” Series Launched: Riding the momentum, we started a content series on our blog (and newsletter) called Cosmic Rankings. The aim was to delve even deeper into AI SEO topics and push the conversation forward in our industry. By consistently publishing forward-thinking articles under this series, we shaped the discourse around AI-driven search and further cemented our authority. It also kept our site fresh with new insights, which AI love to see (fresh, novel content).
• Oct 15, 2024 – Local SEO Push (“Best SEO Agency in Richmond”): We didn’t forget our home base. We launched a targeted content cluster to rank for local queries like “best SEO agency in Richmond”. This involved publishing comparison pages, client success stories, and local industry insights – all interlinked to show our expertise in Richmond’s market. The result? We captured the Richmond SEO market online and reinforced our brand’s entity in Google’s eyes. Now, not only were we ranking in AI searches globally, but anyone searching locally could see we dominate our city too. This dual boost (global AI authority + local SEO dominance) strengthened our overall E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness).
• Late Oct 2024 – Multi-Channel Expansion: Around this time, we expanded into multimedia content. We began repurposing CEO Will Melton’s weekly radio show, America’s Healthiest City, into a podcast series, with Xponent21 as the sponsor. Every podcast episode’s show notes linked back to our site with optimized anchor text and “rich” links (deep links to relevant blog content). This move strengthened our credibility across channels – we were now present in audio (podcasts/radio) with backlinks and mentions reinforcing our authority. It also signaled to search engines and AI that our expertise was recognized in various formats, bolstering our E-E-A-T through consistent cross-media presence.
• Dec 1, 2024 – Glossary and FAQ Hub Published: To further bolster our content ecosystem, we published extensive glossary and FAQ libraries on AI SEO topics. We added structured data markup (like FAQ schema, HowTo schema, and our own organizational schema) to these pages. The effect was twofold: (1) It ensured that if someone (or some AI) asked a basic question about AI search or SEO, our site had a definitional answer ready. (2) The structured data increased our chances of being featured in rich results and of AI systems retrieving our content as authoritative snippets. By the end of 2024, our site had a deep well of structured, easily-parsed knowledge – exactly what generative AI systems look for when compiling answers.
• April 25, 2025 – Top of the AI Pyramid: By spring 2025, our efforts culminated in a crowning achievement: Xponent21 held the top result for “Top AI SEO Agency” in both Google’s AI overviews and Perplexity’s search results. In other words, if someone asked an AI who the leaders in AI-driven SEO were, we came out on top. This was a powerful validation that our strategy not only created short-term wins, but sustained category leadership. We had become the example of an AI-era SEO agency, right as this niche was exploding in importance.
• May 2025 – Explosive Growth Metrics: The numbers told their own story. By May, roughly a year from launch, we had accrued over 10.5 million impressions and 20.1 thousand total clicks from our search presence. This represented a 4,162% organic traffic growth since the project’s launch. What had started as a plan to get noticed had evolved into a flood of new visitors discovering our content. Those hundreds of hours invested into content were paying off in sheer visibility. (For context: we went from barely a few hundred organic clicks to tens of thousands, and from about 1,000 impressions a day to tens of thousands per day.)
• July 22, 2025 – Peak Traffic and AI Agents: On July 22, we hit a single-day high of 168,337 impressions – a number that would’ve been unimaginable a year prior. On that day (and frequently thereafter), more than 5% of our traffic came from AI search agents (like answers and referrals from Perplexity, Bing Chat, and other LLM-powered tools). This was particularly significant because that segment of traffic converted at one of the highest rates across all sources. In fact, by mid-2025 our AI-sourced traffic was outperforming every other acquisition channel in terms of engagement and lead quality. The experiment had not only driven quantity of traffic, but quality as well – bringing us highly informed visitors who often came ready to engage our services.

It’s worth noting that over the course of this journey, we produced over 100 pieces of content related to AI search and SEO. It was a massive content effort – executed systematically – and the timeline above highlights the most pivotal moments. Each milestone built on the last, creating a compounding effect. By taking swift, bold actions in August 2024, we set a flywheel in motion that dramatically changed our agency’s trajectory in less than a year.

The Flywheel of Content: One Ecosystem to Power All AI Channels

One of the secrets to our success was treating content not as isolated pieces, but as parts of a holistic ecosystem. We created a flywheel effect where each content format and channel reinforced the others, driving momentum that grew over time. Instead of a linear “publish and pray” approach, we engineered a system where, for example, a blog post could become a podcast topic, which could become a LinkedIn article, which would all cross-promote and drive authority back to our main site. Here’s how the pieces of our content ecosystem worked together:

Flagship Articles

We developed deep, structured articles that served as authoritative pillars on key topics (like our How to Optimize for AI Search guide). These long-form posts were meticulously formatted for AI readability – with clear headings, step-by-step sections, and embedded FAQs. They acted as the primary knowledge hubs that AI search tools would draw from. Each article was a potential “best answer on the internet” for its given topic.

Glossary & FAQs

Alongside our articles, we built out glossaries of terms (AI SEO jargon, concepts) and frequently asked questions pages. These bite-sized pieces of content answered specific questions directly, making it easy for an AI like ChatGPT or Google’s AI overview to grab a concise answer from our site. We enriched these with schema markup so that search engines knew exactly what each Q&A pair meant. This dramatically improved our chances of being cited in AI-generated answers.

Webinars and Videos

Our August 28, 2024 webinar was just the beginning. We continued to host webinars (and later, shorter video tutorials) on hot topics in AI and SEO. Each live session gave us a trove of content – the recording could be edited into a YouTube video, transcribed into a blog post, and summarized in a LinkedIn article. We embedded videos on our site for on-page engagement and dwell time, and of course, they lived on YouTube (with links back to our site). This multi-format approach meant whether someone preferred to read, watch, or listen, our content was accessible – and every format fed the other.

Podcast (Audio Content)

We launched the Xponent21 Podcast by repurposing CEO Will Melton’s radio show segments. This gave us weekly audio content without starting from scratch. Each podcast episode tackled themes related to digital strategy and AI, subtly reinforcing our expertise. Show notes and descriptions included links to relevant blog posts (using keyword-rich anchor text). Over time, this created backlinks from podcast platforms and built familiarity (“oh, I heard about Xponent21 on that podcast”). It broadened our reach into audio channels while supporting SEO with backlinks and branded mentions.

Social Media & Thought Leadership

We didn’t keep our insights confined to our own site. Key takeaways and impressive wins (like screenshots of our #1 Perplexity result or charts of our traffic growth) were shared on LinkedIn, Twitter, and industry forums. We crafted LinkedIn long-form posts that summarized our blog content (always linking back to the full article on our site). We engaged in conversations on Reddit and SEO communities, dropping knowledge and occasionally citing our success. These external touchpoints amplified our credibility; when people saw our content referenced outside, it reinforced that Xponent21 was everywhere in the AI SEO discussion. Moreover, these activities often yielded additional backlinks and mentions that further boosted our search presence.

Structured Data & Technical SEO

Behind the scenes, we treated technical SEO as a first-class priority. This included implementing schema markup for articles, how-to steps, FAQs, organization info, and author profiles. We wanted to hand-deliver context to Google’s crawlers and AI algorithms about who we are and what our content covers. Additionally, we optimized for page experience (fast load times, mobile-friendly design) knowing that user experience signals feed into search algorithms. By getting our technical ducks in a row, we ensured nothing would prevent our great content from being discovered and trusted by AI systems.

Cross-Promotion and Backlink Strategy

Each content piece cross-linked to others in a logical way – the glossary terms linked to the articles where those concepts were applied; blog posts linked out to our case studies or service pages where relevant. We weren’t shy about referencing our own content because it created a web of relevancy. Externally, whenever we published on third-party platforms (guest posts, LinkedIn, Medium, etc.), we strategically linked back to our cornerstone content or homepage. And as noted, our podcast sponsorships and community involvement all included links or shout-outs that enhanced our backlink profile. This wasn’t about link spamming – it was contextual linking that signaled to Google and others that we are the source for these topics. Over time, those signals accumulated and created a moat around our leadership position.

By mid-2025, this flywheel of content was fully spinning. A new idea might start as a LinkedIn post that gained traction, which then prompted a deeper blog article, which we’d discuss on the podcast, which we’d then summarize in a webinar – each step feeding the next. This integrated ecosystem not only boosted our SEO; it built brand recall. People encountering us in one channel would often see us again in another, with consistent messaging, which built trust and familiarity. In the age of AI-driven search, having this strong multi-channel presence turned out to be a competitive advantage – it’s part of how the AI (and users) decide we’re authoritative. We weren’t just answering one-off questions; we were building an entire knowledge hub around a subject, and that made us unavoidable in the best way possible.

Performance: The Metrics That Made It Clear

Ultimately, the success of our initiative can be measured in the outcomes – and the numbers were beyond even our expectations. Here are the key performance metrics that illustrate what our AI-focused content strategy achieved:

Astronomical Traffic Growth: Our organic traffic grew 4,162% year-over-year. To put that in perspective, we went from near obscurity to having millions of impressions. In total, from launch to May 2025, we recorded over 10.5 million search impressions and 20,100 clicks coming to our content. The hockey-stick growth was evident – from a baseline of roughly 200–300 clicks per month before, we leapt to thousands of clicks per month. The sheer volume of people now finding us through search engines (and AI assistants) exploded.

Dominating Search Visibility

We saw daily impression counts that used to be monthly totals. By July 2025, on peak days, our content was appearing 168,000+ times per day in search results (largely thanks to being featured in AI-generated answers and rich results). We went from averaging ~1,000 impressions a day (pre-project) to tens of thousands. This indicates that for a huge swath of queries in our niche, we were being shown as a result. Our share of voice in anything related to AI search or AI SEO became dominant.

AI Referral Traffic – Small Slice, Big Impact

About 5% of our total traffic now comes directly from AI-driven search agents (e.g., users clicking from a Perplexity answer, or from the “AI overview” box on Google, or from a ChatGPT with browsing linking to us). That may sound like a small slice, but consider that a year ago it was 0%. And more importantly, that 5% tends to be highly qualified traffic. We found that visitors arriving via AI recommendations convert at higher rates and engage more deeply than typical organic visitors.

It makes sense – if an AI has essentially vetted our content and suggested us, the user already trusts that we’re a top authority. So when they land on our site, they’re primed to find value, and often they do (leading them to contact us or consume more content). In fact, this AI-sourced traffic became one of our highest-converting channels, outperforming paid ads and social in terms of lead generation.

Lead Generation and Pipeline

The end goal was never just traffic; it was business growth. And the project delivered. By mid-2025, our website was generating daily sales-qualified leads (SQLs) – something that previously only happened a few times a month. These were inbound inquiries from CEOs, CMOs, and business owners who had encountered our content (often via an AI answer or Google search) and reached out because they needed help with their own visibility. Our content was not only informing them – it was impressing them. We built a multimillion-dollar pipeline off the back of this organic traction. At any given time, we now have a roster of qualified prospects in discussion, purely from inbound interest.

The value of the opportunities also climbed; by positioning ourselves as the experts in a cutting-edge domain, we attracted companies with significant marketing budgets and big challenges to solve. In short, the metrics made one thing clear: the effort was absolutely worth it. We didn’t just get traffic for vanity’s sake – we got the right audience, at scale, and that is converting into tangible revenue.

To sum it up, the numbers validated our strategy from both a marketing and business perspective. We gained massive visibility (impressions, rankings, citations) and translated that into meaningful engagement (clicks, time on site) and ultimately conversions (leads and clients). It’s a virtuous cycle too – the more business wins we achieve, the more case studies and content we can produce, which further feeds our content engine. This is the beauty of the AI SEO Accelerator approach: it creates a self-reinforcing loop of content -> visibility -> trust -> traffic -> leads -> and back to more content.

Lessons Learned: What Marketers and CMOs Need to Know

Our journey wasn’t just a one-off success; it provided insight into the new rules of search and content marketing in the AI era. Here are some of the core lessons we believe every marketer and CMO should take to heart from our experience:

Generative AI Doesn’t Reward Tricks – It Rewards Completeness, Clarity, and Trust

The age of gaming algorithms with keyword stuffing or backlink schemes is fading. AI-driven search engines aim to give the best, most comprehensive answer to users. We found that by focusing on comprehensive coverage of a topic (and updating content to keep it fresh), we naturally rose to the top. Clarity in writing (concise answers, well-structured info) helped the AI understand and trust our content. And our consistent presence across channels built the kind of digital trust signal that you can’t fake. In short, being genuinely helpful and authoritative beats clever SEO hacks, especially in AI-generated results.

Structured Content + Multimedia + Expertise = Modern SEO Excellence

The formula for succeeding in AI search isn’t a mystery – it’s an integration of best practices. Structured content (using headings, schema markup, FAQs) provides the scaffolding for AI to grab your info. Multimedia (videos, audio, interactive content) engages users and earns you visibility on diverse platforms (plus, as a bonus, multimedia can often be parsed by AI too, or at least boost time-on-page). And subject matter expertise – your unique insights, original research, or niche knowledge – is what sets you apart from generic info.

AI models are trained on the entire internet; they tend to regurgitate the average opinion. If you offer something novel or deeply expert, the AI will latch onto your content as a fresh source. Our advice: invest in quality and uniqueness at the intersection of these three elements. That’s the sweet spot for AI-era SEO.

“Be the Best Answer on the Internet” Is the New Bar

In the past, SEOs talked about “page 1 rankings.” Now, it’s about position zero in a conversational answer. We learned that you must strive to literally be the best answer a user (or AI) could find. That means if someone asks, “How do I rank in AI search?” our content doesn’t just rank – it fulfills the query completely. This mindset – aiming to be the single best resource on a very specific question or topic – forces you to elevate quality.

It paid off for us: when the internet (via AI) was asked for the best SEO agency for AI search, the internet answered Xponent21. We engineered that outcome. Others can too: it requires a shift in approach from chasing visibility to chasing value creation. If you create the most value on a topic, the rankings follow. In an AI-driven world, good enough content gets glossed over; only the best gets picked. So aim high – we did, and it worked.

What’s Next for Xponent21

Our journey to the top of AI search was just the beginning. It proved what’s possible, and now we’re doubling down to help others and continue innovating. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s on the horizon for Xponent21 as we build on this momentum:

AI SEO Performance Platform

We’re building the ultimate AI SEO performance platform — a unified system for brands and agencies to dominate in AI-driven search. For brands, it’s your command center to manage your entire AI SEO strategy: identify content gaps, uncover high-impact opportunities, and generate a clear roadmap to competitive success.

For agencies, it’s a growth engine — automate client evaluations, generate complete content catalogs, plan and prioritize future services, and track agency business performance in one place. Combining our proven AI SEO framework with automation, the platform delivers the insights and tools you need to accelerate authority, close competitive gaps, and secure top placement in AI search results.

Certification Program for AI SEO Leadership

Education has always been part of our DNA (hence the webinars, podcasts, etc.). Now we plan to formalize it with a certification program. We’re in the final phases of editing our AI SEO Blueprint training course for marketing professionals to become certified in our AI SEO Accelerator methodology. From content creators to CMOs, anyone can learn the principles and tactics that we used, complete with up-to-date best practices and live case studies. Our vision is to create a community of certified “AI SEO leaders” who can carry this approach into organizations worldwide – establishing a new standard for search excellence in the AI age.

Scaling Our System for High-Growth Brands

While we initially applied our framework to our own agency and a few early clients, we’re now gearing up to roll it out to more brands, especially those in competitive industries that are ripe for an AI-focused strategy. We’re enhancing our internal team and processes to take on bigger projects where we implement the full AI SEO Accelerator for companies that want to dominate their niche. This means more content production capability, refined analytics to pinpoint AI-driven traffic gains, and possibly even AI-driven content generation assistance (always human-guided for quality).

Our aim is to replicate the success we had – explosive growth, industry authority – for clients who have the ambition to be number one in their space. In doing so, we continue to evolve the framework itself, keeping us at the cutting edge of what works in search.

In short, Xponent21 is not resting on its laurels. We pioneered a way to win in AI search; now we’re packaging that knowledge, scaling it, and offering it to others. The landscape of search will keep changing (with new AI updates from Google, OpenAI, etc.), and we plan to remain at the forefront of innovation, guiding our clients and community through whatever comes next.

Conclusion: The Internet Didn’t Hand Us Authority—We Took It

The story of our rise in AI search is ultimately about proactivity and leadership. We saw an opportunity that no one was going after and decided to seize it. What started as a bold case study – “can we rank ourselves #1 in this new AI-driven search space?” – became the playbook that defines our agency’s value. We didn’t wait for the industry to acknowledge us; we went out and earned that recognition through results.

Along the way, we didn’t just teach others how to show up in AI search – we showed up first. We became the proof of concept for our own theories. This is how to dominate AI search: with equal parts strategy, execution, and willingness to do what others haven’t done yet.

At the end of the day, the internet (and the AI that scans it) didn’t simply grant us authority. We took it. We took it by being faster, more comprehensive, and more committed to actual quality than anyone else in our niche. And now that we have it, we intend to keep it – and help others achieve the same. This is what it looks like to lead in the new era of search.

We hope our journey inspires you to close your own obscurity gaps – to become the best answer in your corner of the internet. If we could go from relatively unknown to the top of the AI search game in a year, imagine what you can do with the right strategy and determination. The playbook is here now, and we’re happy to share it. After all, the future of search isn’t waiting for anyone – so let’s go out and build the future together, one top-ranked answer at a time.

For further reading, check out these articles from our AI SEO experts:

• Trust, Not Tricks: The Human Science Behind AI Search
• First-Mover Advantage in AI SEO: The Key to Dominating Generative Search
• Why Most Digital Marketing Agencies Are Behind on AI SEO

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Will Melton

President & CEO at Xponent21

Will Melton, CEO of Xponent21 and consultant to global companies, brings nearly 20 years of leadership in technology and marketing. He is the founder of AI Ready RVA and Richmond Water, podcast host for Channel RVA, and serves on several charitable boards in Richmond, VA. Recognized as one of the world’s top experts on AI SEO, Will has pioneered strategies that have achieved top citations across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, making him a global authority on the future of search.

Latest posts by Will Melton (see all)

• The Alphabet Soup of SEO: What AEO, AIO, GEO, and AISEO Mean for Your Strategy - August 23, 2025
• What It’s Like When Your Business Ranks at the Top of AI Search Results - August 17, 2025
• Xponent21’s AI SEO Case Study — Engineering the Top Spot in AI Search - August 9, 2025