SEO · FAQ
SEO questions, answered.
The questions business owners actually ask before investing in search — what SEO and AEO are, how long it takes, whether anyone can promise #1, how AI answer engines fit in, and what it costs. Short, honest answers, no hype.
SEO & AEO basics
What is SEO?
SEO (search engine optimization) is the work of making your website easier for search engines like Google to find, understand, and rank, so the right people discover you when they search. It covers the words on your pages, the technical health of your site, and the signals that tell search engines your business is trustworthy — all aimed at earning visits you don't have to pay for per click.
What is AEO (answer engine optimization), and what's the difference from SEO?
AEO (answer engine optimization) is making your content easy for AI answer engines — like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews — to quote and cite when they answer a question. The difference is the target: traditional SEO aims to rank a link in a list of blue links, while AEO aims to get your actual words pulled into the answer itself. They overlap heavily — clear, well-structured, trustworthy content helps with both — but AEO leans harder on direct, quotable answers and clean structure.
What is technical SEO?
Technical SEO is the under-the-hood work that lets search engines crawl, render, and index your site without tripping over problems. It covers things like site speed, mobile usability, clean URLs, working links, an XML sitemap, structured data, and making sure pages aren't accidentally blocked. None of it shows up on the page, but if it's broken, even great content can struggle to rank.
What's included in SEO services?
It depends on what your site needs, but most engagements start with an audit and then cover a mix of technical fixes, on-page optimization, content, and structure for AI search. That usually means cleaning up technical issues, improving titles and page content around the terms your customers actually search, adding structured data, tightening site architecture and internal links, and making your pages quotable for AI answer engines. We scope the specific work together based on what will move the needle for your site.
Expectations & AI search
How long does SEO take to work?
Usually a few months — SEO compounds slowly, so it's not an overnight switch. Technical fixes can help within weeks, but ranking and content gains typically build over three to six months and keep compounding after that. How fast you see movement depends on your competition, your starting point, and how much content already exists. Anyone promising instant results is selling something I wouldn't.
Can you guarantee #1 rankings on Google?
No — and nobody credible can. Google's ranking system is controlled by Google, not by me, and it weighs hundreds of signals that shift constantly, so any guarantee of a specific position is a red flag. What I can do is the work that reliably improves your odds: fixing what's broken, sharpening your content, and building the signals that earn rankings over time. I'll be honest about what's realistic for your market instead of promising a number I can't control.
Is SEO still worth it now that people use AI like ChatGPT?
Yes, and arguably more than before — AI tools pull their answers from the same web that SEO helps you show up on. When ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google's AI Overviews answer a question, they cite and summarize real pages, so the clearer and more authoritative your content is, the more likely you are to be the source they use. The work shifts a little toward being directly quotable, but the foundation is the same: good content, clean technical health, and trust.
How do I get my business cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews?
Write clear, factual content that answers real questions directly, and make it easy for AI to read and trust. In practice that means leading with a direct answer to each question, using clean structure and headings, adding structured data so machines understand your pages, keeping your facts consistent across the web, and building genuine authority through real expertise and mentions elsewhere. There's no trick or guarantee — AI engines decide what to cite — but quotable, trustworthy content is what gets pulled into answers.
Is SEO worth it for a small business?
Often yes, because it earns visits you don't pay for per click, and a small, focused site can compete on the specific terms its customers search. You don't need to outrank giant national brands — you need to show up for the niche, local, or buying-intent searches that actually bring you customers. It takes patience and it isn't free, but for many small businesses it's one of the better long-term returns on a marketing dollar, especially paired with showing up in AI answers.
Cost & getting started
How much do SEO services cost?
Every engagement is project-priced and scoped together up front, so there are no open-ended retainers or surprise invoices and no long lock-in. What you pay depends on the state of your site and how much work will actually move the needle, which we figure out together before anything starts. And the promise is simple: if I don't deliver, you don't pay.
Do you offer a free SEO audit?
Yes — I offer a free SEO audit so you can see what's working, what's broken, and what's worth doing before you spend anything. It's an honest look at your site's technical health, content, and AI-search readiness, with no obligation to hire me afterward. If the audit shows SEO isn't your best next move, I'll tell you that too.
How is this different from a cheap monthly SEO package?
Cheap monthly packages usually sell a fixed bundle of busywork — a set number of links or blog posts — whether or not it helps your site, and they lock you into an ongoing retainer. I scope the work to what your site actually needs, price it per project with no long lock-in, and focus on changes that move the needle instead of filling a monthly checklist. You also work directly with me, not a junior account manager running a template.
How do I get started?
Start with the free SEO audit — send me your website and I'll take an honest look at where you stand. From there we'll scope the specific work that's worth doing, price it as a project with no long lock-in, and get moving. The fastest way in is to email luke@crewsive.com with your site.
Still have a question?
Tell me your website and what you're trying to rank for. I'll take an honest look and tell you straight whether SEO is your best next move — and what I'd actually do first if it is.
or email luke@crewsive.com
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