What does Growwdigitaly do?

Growwdigitaly is an SEO, content and AI strategy consultancy run by Shweta Gupta. We help brands get found on Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini through SEO, content strategy, social media content and AI tools and workflows.

Shweta Gupta is a UK-based SEO and content strategist with 5+ years of experience. She is the founder of Growwdigitaly, an AirOps Content Engineering Champion, and a mentor at Women in Tech SEO and WomenWise. She has helped 20+ brands across travel, beauty, healthcare, SaaS and B2B enterprise.

How can I work with Growwdigitaly?

You can book a free consultation via the contact page at growwdigitaly.com/contact-us/ or email shweta.uk05@gmail.com. Consultations are available Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm UK time.

Does Growwdigitaly work with international clients?

Yes. Growwdigitaly is UK-based but works with clients worldwide across travel, beauty, aesthetics, healthcare, SaaS and B2B enterprise.

What results has Growwdigitaly delivered?

Key results include growing a healthcare brand's Domain Authority from 15 to 28 in 6 months with LLM visibility, building a community of 10,000 followers in 6 months with zero paid media, and reducing a B2B SaaS brand's content production time from 15 days to 15 minutes using AI workflows.

Is SEO better than paid ads for a small business?

Neither is universally better. SEO delivers stronger long-term ROI and traffic you keep after you stop spending, while paid ads deliver speed and precise targeting. For a small business, the right choice depends on whether you need leads now (paid) or want lower-cost, compounding visibility (SEO).

Should I do SEO or PPC first?

Most new small businesses should start with PPC (paid ads) and build SEO at the same time. Paid gives you leads and conversion data from day one, which SEO can't match for speed. As your rankings grow, shift budget from paid into SEO so your cost per lead falls over time.

How much should a small business spend on SEO vs paid ads?

A practical starting point is roughly 70% paid and 30% SEO for a new business, moving towards 30% paid and 70% SEO as you mature. The right split depends on your margins, how fast you need leads, and how competitive your keywords are. Adjust it with data, not gut feel.

Is SEO cheaper than paid ads?

Over the long term, usually yes. SEO has higher upfront effort but the cost per lead drops as pages rank, and traffic continues without ongoing spend. Paid ads have lower setup effort but the cost never stops, and often rises as you scale. In the short term, a small paid budget can be cheaper than a full SEO programme.

Can I run SEO and Google Ads at the same time?

Yes, and for most small businesses you should. Running both lets you use paid data to find converting keywords, then rank for them organically to cut costs. Appearing in both paid and organic results also increases trust and your share of the search page.

How long does SEO take compared to paid ads?

Paid ads can deliver traffic within hours of launching a campaign. SEO typically takes 3 to 6 months to build meaningful organic traffic, and longer in competitive industries. That timeline gap is the main reason new businesses often start with paid while SEO builds in the background.

What does on-page SEO include?

On-page SEO includes your content quality and relevance, title tags, meta descriptions, URL structure, heading hierarchy (H1 to H3), image optimisation (filenames, alt text, compression), internal linking, schema markup, page speed, mobile-friendliness, and Core Web Vitals. In short, everything you can optimise directly on the page itself.

How do I do on-page SEO step by step?

Start with search intent, then map one primary keyword per page. Write a click-worthy title tag and meta description, set a clean URL, and structure the page with one H1 and logical H2s. Answer the main question in the first 100 words, build genuine depth, optimise images, add internal links, apply schema, and pass Core Web Vitals. Work through it in that order.

How long does on-page SEO take to show results?

For most pages, expect to see movement in 3 to 6 months, though quick wins on existing pages that already get impressions can show up faster, sometimes within weeks. Timing depends on your site's authority, competition for the keyword, and how big the gap was between your page and the intent. New sites take longer than established ones.

Is on-page SEO better than off-page SEO?

Neither is better; they do different jobs. On-page SEO makes your page worthy of ranking and easy to understand. Off-page SEO builds the authority and trust that helps it compete. Start with on-page because it is in your control and makes off-page work more effective, then build authority over time.

Can I do on-page SEO myself without technical skills?

Yes, mostly. The highest-impact steps (intent, titles, headings, answering the question, internal links) need clear thinking, not code. The technical layer like schema and Core Web Vitals can need a plugin or a developer, but your CMS settings and an SEO plugin handle a lot of it. You do not need to be a developer to make a real difference.

What tools do I need for an on-page SEO checklist?

You can start with free tools: Google Search Console (the queries you already rank for), Google PageSpeed Insights (Core Web Vitals), and your CMS's SEO plugin for titles and meta. Paid tools like Semrush or Ahrefs add keyword and competitor depth, but they are not essential to get the fundamentals right.

How long does it take to get cited by ChatGPT?

There is no fixed number, but in my own experiment it took six months of consistent work across all four phases before I started appearing by name in AI-generated answers. Anyone promising results in weeks is not describing a real workflow.

Do I need to be active on Reddit and Quora to get cited by AI models?

Not exclusively, but it helps enormously. AI models weigh up multiple sources before citing someone, and forums are where real, unfiltered conversation happens. My Quora activity, despite a tiny following, was cited as a source in at least one of my results.

What is the difference between AEO and GEO?

AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is about writing content that directly and clearly answers a specific question. GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the broader practice of structuring your entire content and platform presence so AI models can find, trust and cite you. AEO is largely about the sentence. GEO is about the ecosystem around it.

Can a small business realistically get cited by AI models, or is this only for big brands?

It is realistic for small businesses and solo founders. My own experiment was a business of one, with a two-follower Reddit profile, and it worked. What matters is consistency and genuine expertise, not budget or team size.

Do citations from ChatGPT and Perplexity actually bring in customers?

They build trust and visibility at the exact moment someone is asking the question your business answers, which is a stronger position than a generic ad. Visibility at the point of genuine intent is valuable by any honest measure.

Can I do local SEO myself, or do I need an agency?

You can absolutely start it yourself. Claiming your Google Business Profile, fixing your NAP, and asking for reviews are all free and within reach of any business owner. You might want help later for content, technical fixes, or competitive markets, but the foundations are genuinely DIY.

Do I need a website for local SEO?

Not to start, but you should have one. A Google Business Profile alone can get you into the map pack, which is huge. But a website is where local visibility turns into trust, where people check you out before they call. The two work together.

The core actions are free: your Google Business Profile, NAP consistency, and review requests cost nothing but time. Costs come in when you invest in content, tools, or expert help. Compared to paid ads, local SEO has no ongoing per-click cost, which is what makes it so valuable for small budgets.

How do I rank in the Google map pack (the top three)?

Focus on relevance, distance, and prominence. Complete your profile fully, keep your details consistent everywhere, gather steady, recent reviews, and add locally relevant content. There is no shortcut and no guaranteed slot, because Google weighs competition and proximity, but these levers move you up reliably.

Does local SEO work without a physical shopfront?

Yes. Service-area businesses (plumbers, mobile groomers, consultants) can set their service areas in Google Business Profile instead of showing an address. You still get local visibility, you just present your coverage differently.

Will AI search make local SEO pointless?

No, but it changes it. AI tools still pull from the same trusted signals: your profile, reviews, and clear content. If anything, being well-organised and well-reviewed matters more now, because AI rewards businesses it can confidently understand and recommend.

What was the most overhyped topic at Brighton SEO 2026?

AI was named the most overhyped topic by around 80% of respondents. Not because it does not matter, but because the conversations were repetitive and rarely went deep enough with real data or honest failure-sharing.

Which track was most valuable at Brighton SEO 2026?

AI and Search was the most valued track at 32%, followed by Technical SEO at 25%. The Paid Media track was also highlighted as a strong performer by several attendees.

Would you attend Brighton SEO again?

99% of respondents said they would attend Brighton SEO again. Not one person said no, even those who had genuine criticisms about repetition or sales-pitch talks.

Search Everywhere Optimisation: Get Found Beyond Google

Your rankings have not moved. Your phone has stopped ringing anyway.

If that sounds like your last six months, nothing has gone wrong with your website. What has changed is where your customers are asking the question. Some of them are still typing “hairdresser near me” into Google. Others are asking ChatGPT which physio in Leeds is worth booking, watching a YouTube video before choosing a builder, or reading a Reddit thread about your competitor.

Search Everywhere Optimisation is the response to that. It means making sure your business can be found wherever the question gets asked, not just on the one search engine you have been optimising for. And for a small local business, it is far more manageable than it sounds.

Key Takeaways

Search Everywhere Optimisation means being findable wherever your customers ask their question: Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Maps, YouTube, Reddit and social platforms.
It does not replace SEO. GEO and AEO sit on top of SEO, and AI models still need a well-structured website before they will trust you.
There are two layers, and confusing them is what makes this feel impossible. Being listed everywhere is a one-off job. Being active costs you every week, so pick two or three places.
ChatGPT’s web search runs on Bing’s index, not Google’s, which makes a claimed Bing Places listing one of the highest-value hours a local business can spend.
You can check whether AI recommends you in five minutes by asking a clean-slate model the question your customer would ask.
In my own experiment it took six months, and the Reddit profile picked up as a source had two followers.

What is Search Everywhere Optimisation, and why it changes how local customers find you

Search Everywhere Optimisation is the practice of building your visibility across every platform where your customers actually search, rather than optimising for Google alone. That includes AI assistants, Maps, YouTube, social platforms and forums. The goal is not to rank in one place. It is to be found, trusted and recommended wherever the question comes up.

I want to be honest about the name, because it does sound like industry jargon invented to sell something. It is not a rebrand of SEO, and anyone telling you SEO is finished is either confused or selling you the replacement.

What it really is, is an admission. Ranking on Google was never the goal. Being found, trusted and recommended was always the goal. Google just used to be the only place that happened, and it is not anymore.

In short: Search Everywhere Optimisation is not a new discipline replacing SEO. It is the recognition that your customers now ask their questions in several places, and your visibility needs to follow them there.

I have written separately about how SEO and GEO work together for small business visibility. The short version: you cannot skip the first to get to the second.

Why your Google rankings haven’t moved but your phone has stopped ringing

Two things happened at once. Google started answering more questions on the results page itself, so fewer people click through to any website. And a slice of your customers stopped starting at Google altogether. Your position did not change. The value of that position did.

The click erosion is measurable. Ahrefs re-ran its click-through study across 300,000 keywords using December 2025 Search Console data and found a 58% drop in click-through rate for the top-ranking page when an AI Overview sits above it. BrightEdge’s tracking puts AI Overviews on roughly 48% of the queries it monitors, up from 30% a year earlier. So you can hold position one and still watch your traffic fall, because position one now sits below a box that answers the question for free.

Behaviour is shifting underneath that too. A Gartner survey of US consumers found 51% saying generative AI had changed the way they research things.

Now the correction, because this is where most articles overstate the case and frighten people into bad decisions.

For local service queries, Google Maps and local organic listings are still the main way customers find you. AI assistants are an additional front, not a replacement one. Your Google Business Profile has not become less important. It has become more important, and I will explain why in a moment.

Search Everywhere Optimisation in practice: be listed everywhere, be active in a few places

Search Everywhere Optimisation describes where your customers search, not where you have to publish. Those are two different jobs. Being listed everywhere is a one-off setup you barely touch again. Being active in conversation costs you time every week, so you choose two or three places and do them properly.

This is the bit that makes people give up, and I understand why. Every article on this topic hands you fifteen platforms and calls it a strategy. You run a business. You cannot post on fifteen platforms, and nobody can.

The listings you set up once and barely touch again

This layer is genuinely everywhere, and it costs you an afternoon rather than a lifestyle.

Google Business Profile, claimed, verified and filled in completely
Bing Places for Business, claimed and verified
Apple Business Connect
Facebook page with correct business details
Your relevant trade or industry directories

The same business name, address, phone number and service description on every single one. No content, no posting schedule, no creativity required. Review it twice a year and move on.

The two or three places worth your time every week

My rule: pick the platform where your customers already ask about your category, and one where the result can be shown rather than described. For a salon, usually Instagram and Google reviews, because the work is visual and the proof is social. For a physio clinic, more likely YouTube and a useful blog, because people want to understand the problem before they book. For a builder, often Facebook local groups and Google, because that is where recommendations get asked for.

Two done well beats eight abandoned. Dormant accounts do not just waste your time, they make you look less established than you are. I have covered how to choose in which social media platforms your small business should actually use.

How ChatGPT decides which local business to recommend, and how to get yours in the running

AI models recommend businesses whose details agree everywhere they look. They pull from search indexes, business listings, review platforms and the wider web, then favour the businesses that appear complete, consistent and independently talked about. It is less about clever content than about being unambiguous.

Why your Bing listing matters more than you think

ChatGPT’s web search runs on Bing’s index, not Google’s. Most UK small businesses have never given Bing a second thought, which makes a claimed and completed Bing Places listing one of the few uncontested advantages left. Microsoft’s announcement of the new Bing Places for Business is explicit about deeper integration with Bing Maps and Copilot, and keeping your details current is what keeps you eligible for AI-generated answers.

You claim it at bing.com/forbusiness. It takes about twenty minutes, and I cannot think of a better twenty minutes for a local business right now.

Why your name, address and phone number must match everywhere

If your salon is “Bloom Hair” on Google, “Bloom Hair Studio” on Facebook and “Bloom Hair & Beauty Ltd” on an old directory, a model checking three sources sees three businesses, or one it cannot verify. Small inconsistencies read as instability. Pick one version of your details and make every listing match.

The profile and structure basics that make you machine-readable

Fill in your categories, services, opening hours, photos and attributes. An empty profile is invisible to a system that weighs completeness heavily. On your own site, add LocalBusiness schema so your name, address, phone, category and service area are stated in a form machines read without guessing. Standard search engine optimisation work, pointed at a new audience.

Reviews count across platforms too, not only Google. Yelp, Facebook and trade directories all feed the picture.

How to check whether ChatGPT and Perplexity recommend your business, in five minutes

Open a fresh chat in ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google AI Mode, one with no memory of you and no history of you talking to it. Ask the question your ideal customer would ask. Then read whose names come back. That is your baseline, and it costs you nothing.

The question needs to sound like a customer, not a business owner. Not “is Bloom Hair good”, which just prompts the model to look you up. Something like “who does the best balayage in Sheffield” or “which physio in Bristol is good for running injuries”.

Write down who appears. Run it again in a fortnight. That is your measurement, and it is more useful than most of the reports people pay for.

In short: you do not need a tool to find out whether AI recommends your business. Ask a clean-slate model the question your customer would ask, and see who it names.

I have written the full four-phase version of this workflow, including exactly how I tested it, in how to get cited by ChatGPT.

Check if LLM Models names you

What six months of Search Everywhere Optimisation did for a one-person business

I had done a version of this before, for a healthcare client. I ran their on-page, technical and off-page SEO and their domain authority went from 15 to 28 in six months. But the part that mattered was not the technical work. It was that I read forums to understand how their audience actually talked about their concerns, in their words rather than the brand’s, then built the content from those conversations. I contributed on Reddit, Medium and Quora alongside it. Within those six months, the brand started appearing in LLM-generated answers.

Exciting, and also easy to be sceptical about. One client, one niche, one set of circumstances.

So I ran the whole thing on myself, in public, for anyone to check.

Six months in, I asked a clean-slate AI for UK people working at the intersection of SEO, content and AI. I came back first. Perplexity put me at number 20 on a list of over a hundred sources. Google’s AI Mode opened a section with “Leading this selection is Shweta Gupta, founder of GrowwDigitaly.” I read that line three times.

Here is the unglamorous part, because it is the part that matters to you. My Reddit profile, one of the places I was consistently answering real questions, has two followers. It still got picked up as a source.

You are not chasing followers. You are chasing consistency, in a few of the right places.

The mistakes that keep local businesses invisible in AI answers

Pausing SEO because someone said it was dead. AI answers are built on the same signals SEO has always cared about. Stopping the foundation work is the fastest way to disappear from both.
Keyword-stuffing your Google Business Profile name. “Bloom Hair Best Salon Sheffield” is against Google’s guidelines and has got a lot of profiles suspended. A suspended profile is total local invisibility.
Opening eight accounts and maintaining two. Dormant profiles with three posts from 2024 undercut your credibility.
Letting your business details drift. An old phone number on a directory you forgot about is a quiet, ongoing tax on your visibility.
Publishing bulk AI content and hoping it counts as presence. It does not, and it carries its own risks, covered in is AI generated content safe for SEO.
Treating an AI mention as the finish line. Being named starts a customer’s research. What they find next still has to be good.

Where to start this week if you only have an hour

In this order.

Google your own business name and note every listing that has your details wrong. Fix the worst one.
Claim your Bing Places listing. Twenty minutes, and almost nobody in your area has done it.
Fill in every empty field on your Google Business Profile. Categories, services, hours, photos.
Open a fresh AI chat and ask the question your customer would ask. Write down who appears.
Pick your two platforms. Not five. Two.

That is your first hour. The rest is repetition, which is genuinely the hard part, and I am not going to pretend otherwise.

Frequently Asked Questions

My phone has stopped ringing but my Google ranking has not changed. What is going on?

Your position held, but the value of that position dropped. Google now answers many questions on the results page with an AI Overview, so fewer people click any link at all. On top of that, some customers are starting in ChatGPT or on social platforms instead. Nothing broke on your site. The route to you changed.

How do I check whether ChatGPT actually recommends my business to people?

Open a brand new chat with no history of your previous conversations, and ask the question a customer would ask, phrased like a customer. “Who does the best balayage in Sheffield”, not “tell me about my salon”. Read the names that come back, and repeat every couple of weeks.

I run a two-person salon. Do I really need to be on TikTok, Reddit and YouTube as well?

No. You need to be listed everywhere, which is a one-off afternoon of claiming and correcting your business details. You need to be active in two or three places, chosen because your customers are already there. For most salons that is Instagram and Google reviews. Adding TikTok, Reddit and YouTube on top is how you end up doing all of it badly.

Can a one-person business get recommended by ChatGPT, or is this only for chains with budgets?

It is realistic for a business of one. I tested it on myself, a solo consultancy, and the Reddit profile cited as a source had two followers. The models weigh consistency and genuine expertise showing up in more than one place, not follower counts or budget.

How long before I show up in AI search results and get an actual enquiry?

Mine took six months of consistent work before I appeared by name in AI answers. Not six weeks. The listings work pays off faster, because it is fixing something broken rather than building something new. Anyone promising AI visibility in a month has not run the experiment.

Everyone told me SEO is dead. Should I stop paying for it?

No, and this is the most expensive advice going round right now. AI models still favour technically sound, well-structured, genuinely useful websites when deciding who to cite. Stopping your SEO removes the foundation AI visibility is built on. What should change is where that work is pointed, not whether you do it.

If your customers are asking and your name is not coming up

You did not do anything wrong. You built a business, you got found on Google, and then the question moved somewhere you were not looking.

The fix is not glamorous. Claim the listings, make your details agree, pick two places and turn up in them properly, then check every fortnight whether anything has shifted. Six months, honestly. No templates, no secret sauce.

If you have a website and a Google Business Profile and you are still not showing up when someone asks the question your business exists to answer, that is exactly the gap I work in. Get in touch through growwdigitaly.com and let’s find out what your version of this looks like.

Shweta Gupta

Shweta Gupta is a UK-based marketer specialising in SEO, content strategy, and AI-assisted marketing workflows. She has experience across SEO, paid media, content optimisation, website management, and digital marketing across various industries.

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Search Everywhere Optimisation: How Local Businesses Get Found When Customers Stop Using Google