Episode Details

“SEO is dead.” “Google is finished.” “AI is taking over search.”

If you’ve spent any time online recently, you’ve probably seen at least one of those headlines. In this solo episode, Sarah cuts through the noise and gives you a clear, practical answer to what’s actually changing and, more importantly, what it means for your holiday cottage, glamping site, Airbnb or boutique accommodation business.

It’s true that the way people search is shifting.

More people are asking ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity full conversational questions instead of typing keywords into Google and Google itself is leaning more heavily on AI-generated answers at the top of results.

But Sarah’s take is refreshingly grounded: this isn’t a reason to scrap your SEO strategy. It’s a reason to understand a few important shifts.

First up, GEO: Generative Engine Optimisation - the new term everyone’s suddenly using. Sarah explains why she thinks treating it as a brand new discipline is slightly misleading and why hosts who’ve already invested in good onsite SEO are further ahead than they realise. The shift isn’t really about new tactics.

It’s a change in the question you’re answering: traditional SEO asks ‘how do I get found?’, while GEO asks ‘how do I become the answer?’

Sarah also makes a compelling case for one specific page that most accommodation websites massively underuse: the FAQ page. AI tools love question-and-answer content, and so do guests, which means every question you’re repeatedly asked by email, phone or in reviews is potential website content. From hot tub privacy to dog policies to mobile signal, she explains why hiding ‘obvious’ information is one of the most common mistakes hosts make and why it’s costing them visibility.

Finally, Sarah tackles the question everyone actually wants answered: how do you get ChatGPT or Google’s AI results to recommend your business?

There’s no magic formula, but there are clear, practical patterns and the good news for independent hosts is that the things AI tools are looking for (local knowledge, personality, genuine expertise) are exactly the things big chains struggle to compete with.

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Key Takeaways:

• SEO and GEO aren’t opposing strategies — if you’ve already built strong onsite SEO, you’re much closer to being AI-ready than you think. The fundamentals of helpful, accurate, well-structured information haven’t changed.
• The shift in mindset matters more than any specific tactic: stop asking ‘how do I get found?’ and start asking ‘how do I become the answer?’ — which means answering real guest questions instead of stuffing keywords.
• Roughly 15% of Google searches every day have never been searched before. People are asking full, conversational questions — your content needs to sound like a helpful host, not a keyword checklist.
• A genuinely useful FAQ page is becoming one of the most valuable pages on your website. Mine your guest emails, phone enquiries and reviews for repeated questions, and don’t be afraid to answer the ‘obvious’ ones.
• Consistency builds AI trust. Your business name, location and contact details should match exactly across your website, Google Business Profile, social media and directory listings.
• Independent hosts have a natural advantage here — local knowledge, personality and genuine expertise are exactly what AI systems are learning to favour, and exactly what big chains find hardest to replicate.

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