The Cited Digital Blog
The rules of search changed. Read the playbook.
Plain-English guides on Answer Engine Optimization, written by Connor Whitlock.
Every post is published under CC BY 4.0 — quote, cite, or republish freely with attribution.
Updated regularly. Last new post: .
How Long Does AEO Take to Work? Realistic Timelines
Schema fixes: 2–4 weeks. Content fixes: 4–12 weeks. E-E-A-T compounds over months. Week-by-week pattern from 1,168 audits.
FAQ Schema: The 10-Minute Fix That Gets You Into AI Answers
The single highest-leverage piece of structured data you can add. 89% of sites are missing it. Step-by-step guide with paste-ready JSON-LD.
How to Audit Your Own Website for AI Search Readiness
9-step DIY checklist. About 45 minutes, no tools required beyond your browser. Same checklist we use as the foundation of every paid audit.
What is E-E-A-T and Why AI Search Engines Care About It
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — the four-letter framework AI uses to pick which sites to cite. What each letter means in 2026 and how to signal each.
Why Your Google Traffic Dropped (And It's Not What You Think)
Your plumbing company got 40 calls a month from Google last year. Now it's 22. You haven't changed anything. Your website looks the same. So what broke?
Why Your Competitors Show Up in AI Search and You Don't
This isn't a coincidence. And it's not over.
AEO vs SEO: Why Your Business Needs Both in 2026
For 20 years, SEO meant one thing: rank higher on Google. Write for the algorithm. Build links. Win page one. You still need to do that.
Is Google AI Citing Your Business? Here's How to Check
Your Google traffic dropped last quarter. You're not alone—and AI might be why.
Why AI Search Engines Ignore Your Business (And How Schema Fixes It)
Your Google traffic dropped 23% last quarter. You're not alone. But here's what most business owners don't know: Google isn't your only problem anymore.
5 Schema Markup Fixes That Get You Cited by AI Search
For a plumber, it looks something like this (simplified):
Why Your #1 Google Ranking Doesn't Get You Customers Anymore
Your Google traffic dropped 30% last year. You're still on page one. Something's broken, and it's not your fault.
What Is AEO and Why Your Business Needs It Now
Your Google traffic is dropping. Your competitors are getting calls you used to get. Here's why: the search engine game just changed.
Why Your Website Traffic Dropped in 2026 (And How to Fix It)
Your Google traffic tanked. You're not alone. Thousands of local businesses watched their website visitors drop 30-60% this year, and they have no idea why.
5 Signs Google's AI Is Ignoring Your Website
Your rankings look fine but traffic is dropping. Here are 5 specific signals that AI search engines are skipping your content — and what to do about each one.
Schema Markup for AI Search: The 5-Minute Fix Most Businesses Skip
Schema markup is one of the fastest ways to boost your AEO score. Here's what it is, why it matters for AI search, and how to add it in minutes.
What Is AEO and Why Your SEO Agency Isn't Talking About It
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the biggest shift in search since Google launched. Here's what changed, why it matters, and what your business should do about it.
Run a Free Audit First
See your score, find your issues, then come back and read what matters most.
Where to start, by what you're trying to learn
The blog covers AEO from three angles: diagnosis (figuring out where you stand), fixes (specific changes you can ship), and strategy (the bigger picture of how AI search is rewriting the rules).
If you're starting from zero
Read these three in order:
- What Is AEO and Why Your Business Needs It Now — definitions and stakes
- AEO vs SEO: Why Your Business Needs Both in 2026 — how they differ
- How to Audit Your Own Website for AI Search Readiness — diagnose your site in 45 minutes
If you're ready to fix things
The two highest-leverage fixes:
- FAQ Schema: The 10-Minute Fix That Gets You Into AI Answers — paste-ready JSON-LD
- 5 Schema Markup Fixes That Get You Cited by AI Search — broader schema beyond FAQ
If you want the bigger picture
- The 2026 State of AEO: 1,168 Sites Across 11 Industries — original research from our audit corpus
- What is E-E-A-T and Why AI Search Engines Care About It — the framework
- Why Your #1 Google Ranking Doesn't Get You Customers Anymore — what changed
Frequently asked questions about the blog
Who writes these posts?
Connor Whitlock, the founder of Cited Digital. No ghostwriters, no offshore content mills, no AI-generated filler. Every post is written by the same person running the audit engine and the customer email — so the methodology and the writing stay in sync.
How often do new posts go up?
About 1-2 deep posts per week, plus periodic updates to existing posts as AI search engines change behavior. The "Last updated" date on each post tracks revision history.
Can I cite or republish these posts?
Yes — every post is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote, cite, or republish freely with attribution to Connor Whitlock and a link to the original. Particularly welcome: industry publications and SEO blogs citing our research findings.
Do you write sponsored content?
No. Cited Digital doesn't accept sponsorships, paid placements, or affiliate arrangements. Recommendations on this blog are based on what we actually see in our 1,168-site audit corpus, not on partnerships.
Where do I subscribe?
Subscribe to new post alerts by emailing contact@citeddigital.co with subject "Subscribe blog." We send 1 email per new post — no marketing sequences, no upsells, no unsubscribe games.
Can I suggest a topic?
Please. Email via the contact page with a question you've struggled to find a clear answer to. The questions we keep getting from customers are usually our best post topics.
Do you have an RSS feed?
Coming soon. For now, the simplest signal is the blog index itself — newest posts at the top, with publication dates.