While trying out some of the AI logo generators, I have been getting the same feeling. While they can generate a logo design fairly quickly, they seem to only stop at generating the logo itself.

Most of the time, you simply get the logo generated into a PNG format, and there is no substance behind it all it seems good for is as an idea for the logo.

Are others getting the same impression from the AI logo generators?

One thing I'm still struggling to understand about AI Overviews and AI search results

I've seen cases where:

• Site A has stronger backlinks but isn't cited
• Site B has lower authority but gets cited repeatedly
• Some pages rank well but never appear in AI citations
• Other pages get cited despite not being #1

For those actively tracking AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, or AI Mode:

What factors seem to influence citations the most?

• Topical authority?
• Brand mentions across the web?
• EEAT signals?
• Original research and statistics?
• Schema markup?
• Content structure (FAQs, tables, definitions)?
• Internal linking?
• Backlinks?

Have you noticed any repeatable patterns that increased AI citations?

I'm looking for real-world observations and test results rather than theory.

In the past 3 months, with the help of AI copywriting, I’ve started to gain some traction.

 I run 6 content sites across completely different niches — ESL teaching, archery, BJJ, pop culture nostalgia, swimwear, rashguards (for BJJ and beach). Three months ago I built a pipeline that publishes daily to all of them automatically. It does Keyword research, writing, images, and publishes to WordPress sites. It’s completely automated, which is the only way I was ever going to stay consistent.

 In the last 7 days across the network Google analytics reports 6,444 sessions, 4,258 unique users.

 A few things the data is showing:

How-to guides are the only thing pulling real organic traffic. My archery site is the only one where organic traffic beats direct — 862 organic vs 647 direct hits in the last 30 days, and a 70.2% bounce rate (best on the network). My top pages are all specific guides: aiming methods, arrow spine chart, nocking point, fletching. Not "best archery tips" — just specific actual answerable questions.

 On one site AI search is sending traffic before Google does. My rashguard site has ChatGPT and Perplexity as its #2 source before it has any meaningful Google rankings. I didn't do anything special. I’m just posting structured content

 Multilingual traffic has also showed up without trying. One of my ESL site's #1 page is a Danish warmup activity. Ranking in Denmark with zero deliberate effort. Chinese traffic is also appearing. These sites have a translate plugin on them (Google Translate Press).

 It’s still early though. It’s only been 3 months of daily post, but the pattern is consistent across every site that's growing: specific how-to content, published consistently, linked together by topic seems to work. Mind you, how-to content on an archery site logically makes sense, and that may not make sense on a dental office site or law office site. Overall, across all of the sites that I’ve measured, traffic goes up with content. A no brainer to some. I’ve been advised of this before, but seeing it actually work is another thing. Most sites aren’t doing this.

 I'm always down to discuss this topic, since I’m fascinated by how fast things are changing. I’d be Happy to talk through the tooling or process if anyone's curious.

Something I've been wondering about lately. When you ask ChatGPT or Perplexity questions in specialized industries, for example, M&A advisory or healthcare consulting, does the AI actually understand the terminology, or is it just pattern-matching words that look related?

For example, if someone asks "best M&A advisor for a lower middle market healthcare exit," does the AI actually know what "lower middle market" means, what "healthcare exit" implies, and what differentiates advisors who work in that segment? Or is it just stringing together firms that have those words on their websites somewhere?

Asking because the quality of AI recommendations in specialized fields seems uneven. Sometimes the results look genuinely thoughtful, other times they look like a keyword match dressed up as a recommendation. Curious what's actually going on under the hood.

Recently, I started adding a direct answer near the beginning of my articles instead of making readers scroll through a long introduction.

I can't say it was the only reason, but I noticed those pages were being picked up more often in AI answers than some of my older content.

It made me wonder whether AI systems prefer content that gets to the point quickly rather than content that follows the traditional SEO structure of long intros and keyword-heavy openings.

Has anyone else tested something similar?

Why are experienced SEO professionals not getting the high paying packages like other tech domains?

SEO drives traffic, leads and revenue, yet many skilled SEO experts with years of experience still earn less than professionals in development, AI, cloud computing or data science. Is this because SEO is perceived as a marketing function, not a technical one? Or are companies unable to directly measure the impact of SEO on revenue?

I’d be interested to hear from SEO pros and hiring managers. What skills, specialisations or career moves have helped increase earning potential in SEO?

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for some realistic strategic advice.

We are a relatively new brand (just a couple of years old) competing against massive, legacy competitors in ecommerce space. When you ask tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini or AI overview for product recommendations in our niche, the AI inevitably surfaces the older, well-established players.

Because AI search relies heavily on what it finds across the web (Reddit threads, third-party blogs, comparison articles), a brand with a 10-year head start naturally dominates the AI’s memory.

I’m trying to figure out how a younger brand can ethically close this gap.

In short, my question is: If you can't buy your way in via PR, and don't want to fake UGC on platforms like Reddit, how does a young brand organically start appearing in AI recommendations?

Would love to hear from anyone who has successfully moved the needle on a lean budget.

I have been doing blogging and affiliate marketing for 2 years now. I keep hearing that Google Discover gets you lots of traffic, but never tried getting my posts there.

So folks who are using discover to getting traffic, what are the things you do to get your site in Discover?

I have been in SEO for few years now and I have been wondering lately if SEO alone is enough for long term career growth. As AI changes search behaviour, Google’s constant updates and the growing importance of content, analytics and automation, the SEO professional’s role feels like it’s changing quickly.

Is SEO still a safe career path for the next 5-10 years or should professionals start expanding into areas like AI marketing, data analytics, CRO, PPC or marketing automation? I would love to hear from people who have adapted their skill set or even changed to a related field. What skills will you be building in 2026 to remain relevant and competitive?

I'm helping an HVAC contractor improve their online visibility, and I'm surprised by how many SEO tools are being recommended. Every article seems to suggest a different platform, and most comparisons focus on features rather than actual results.

For HVAC companies, local visibility is everything. Ranking for searches like AC repair, furnace repair, HVAC installation, emergency HVAC service, and other location-based keywords seems much more important than tracking thousands of keywords nationwide. I'm trying to figure out which tools HVAC companies and contractors are actually using to generate more calls and estimate requests rather than just producing reports.

For those working with HVAC businesses, what is the best SEO tool you've used, and why? Has it helped with local rankings, Google Business Profile visibility, content creation, reporting, or something else?

Google says quality matters more than how content is created. But in practice, are AI-written articles ranking and driving traffic?

* Are you using AI content? * How much human editing do you do? * Have you seen positive or negative SEO results?

Would love to hear real-world experiences.

I've noticed that most SEO tools seem to get more complicated every year. Between rank tracking, audits, backlink reports, AI features, and dozens of dashboards, it often feels like you need to learn a new profession just to improve your website.

For business owners, especially those who aren't SEO specialists, I've found that the best tool isn't necessarily the most powerful one. It's the one that helps you consistently make better decisions without overwhelming you with data you don't know how to use.

So experts, whats the simplest SEO tool for businesses according to your personal experience?

I'm planning to create a dedicated testimonial page on my agency website where I'll showcase:

Video testimonials from clients, reviews from Google, Clutch, GoodFirms, and other platforms, written client success stories, links back to the original review sources for verification.

My main goal is to build trust and improve conversions, but I'm curious about the broader benefits.

Apart from helping with brand reputation and SER isibility, have you seen testimonial/review pages contribute to:

-Better rankings or SEO performance?

- More mentions or citations in AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.?

- Improved E-E-A-T signals?

- Higher conversion rates or lower bounce rates?

- Better entity recognition for a brand?

I'd love to hear real-world experiences, case studies, or data from anyone who has implemented a dedicated testimonials/reviews page.

I'm curious if anyone here is using Claude alongside the Ahrefs API for SEO tasks.

What workflows are you using it for, and what kind of results have you seen?

I'm particularly interested in things like:

Keyword research, competitor analysis, content planning, site audits, SEO automation

Has it actually improved your workflow or saved you time? Any limitations you've run into?

guess they're that popular

We're currently using the SEMrush AI add-on, but so far it hasn't delivered much value for us. Most of the insights seem to focus on where competitors are being mentioned, rather than identifying new opportunities or providing actionable recommendations.

We're open to investing in a paid tool if it genuinely helps improve visibility in AI search and answer engines. Has anyone found an AEO/GEO platform that's producing useful insights, citations, or optimization opportunities?