SEO & GEO for Metro Detroit Small Businesses
Getting found is no longer only about ranking on Google — it is about being the business AI search engines name when someone asks. We do both: local SEO that puts you in the map pack, and generative-engine optimization (GEO) that gets you cited in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews.
Search is splitting in two — and most SMBs are invisible on both
For years, being found meant ranking on the first page of Google. That still matters, but a growing share of searches now end inside an AI answer — a Google AI Overview, ChatGPT, or Perplexity — that names a few businesses and never shows the ten blue links. Most small businesses are optimized for neither: buried on page two of classic search and invisible to the AI engines that increasingly decide who gets recommended. Winning now means doing both jobs — earning classic rankings and giving AI engines the clear, structured, consistent information they need to cite you.
What's included
Local SEO & Google Business Profile
Optimizing your Google Business Profile, local citations, and location pages so you show up in the map pack for searches near you — the highest-intent local real estate there is.
On-page & technical SEO
Titles, headings, internal links, site speed, and crawlability fixed so each page is built to rank for the terms your customers actually search.
Content that earns rankings
Service and location pages and helpful articles targeting real buyer intent — the kind of content that ranks in Google and gets pulled into AI answers.
Structured data & schema
Organization, service, FAQ, and review markup so both Google and AI engines can cleanly understand what you do, where, and for whom.
GEO — generative engine optimization
Making your business the answer AI engines cite: clear factual content, consistent entity information across the web, and the FAQ and structured data AI answers are built from.
Tracking & reporting
Search Console, rankings, and lead tracking set up so you can watch impressions, clicks, and calls move — not just a monthly PDF of vanity metrics.
Why Applied Agency AI
We are Michigan-based operators who have worked inside the industries we serve. We do not sell software platforms or write strategy decks. We build automations that connect the tools you already use, ship in weeks not months, and are measured by outcomes — hours recaptured, leads converted, processes that used to require a person and now run overnight.
Every engagement starts with the $297 AI Readiness Audit: a one-week, fixed-price assessment that tells you exactly where AI fits your operation and what the ROI looks like before you commit to anything larger.
How we deliver it
AI Readiness Audit
$297One week, fixed price. A written report mapping your highest-ROI automation opportunities with specific tool recommendations and a 7-day action plan.
Book the auditFractional CAIO
RetainerOngoing AI leadership — strategy, shipped automations, and team training — without a $250K full-time hire. Most clients start with the audit first.
See how it worksThe Laboratory
From $19Courses, templates, and live implementation cohorts for business owners who want to build AI capability in-house.
Browse resourcesCommon questions
What is GEO (generative engine optimization)?
GEO is optimizing your online presence so AI answer engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google's AI Overviews — cite your business when they answer a relevant question. Where SEO earns you a ranking, GEO earns you a mention inside the AI answer. It relies on structured data, clear factual content, FAQ markup, and consistent information about your business across the web.
What is the difference between SEO and GEO?
SEO gets you ranked in classic search results — the links a person scrolls through. GEO gets you named inside an AI-generated answer, where there are no links to scroll, just a short list of recommended businesses. They overlap heavily and reinforce each other, which is why we run them together rather than as separate services.
How long does SEO take to work?
Local SEO improvements — Google Business Profile, citations, on-page fixes — can move within weeks. Competitive organic rankings usually take a few months, because they depend on authority and backlinks that build over time. We are direct about which wins are fast and which are a longer play, and we start with the fast ones.
Do you handle Google Business Profile and local SEO?
Yes. For a local small business, the Google Business Profile and the map pack are often the single highest-return channel — ahead of classic organic search. We optimize the profile, build consistent local citations, and manage reviews as a core part of the work.
How do you measure results?
We set up Google Search Console and lead tracking so you can see the metrics that matter — impressions, clicks, map-pack visibility, and actual calls and form fills — rather than a report of rankings that never turn into customers.
Ready to find out what's worth automating?
Start with the $297 AI Readiness Audit — a one-week, fixed-scope assessment that maps your highest-ROI automation opportunities and delivers a written implementation plan before you commit to anything larger.
Take the free assessmentLet's talk about what's possible for your business
A 30-minute conversation on where simple changes could make the biggest difference.
Connect Locally
Metro Detroit, MIAvailable for local workshops & strategy sessions.