SEO & GEO Case Study: Combining SEO and GEO strategy increased AI visibility for an iconic landmark

Introduction

The client operates an iconic elevated rail line connecting a major downtown core to a landmark cultural and entertainment district. As travelers increasingly turn to ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, and Copilot to plan trips, the client needed to show up not just in traditional search results, but inside the AI-generated answers shaping visitor decisions.

Problem

Baseline visibility in AI-generated answers was low, and qualitative AI narratives increasingly framed the ride as a “paid shortcut” of questionable value, a perception that put the brand at risk of losing cost-sensitive riders to walking, buses, or rideshare. At the same time, the site needed technical fixes (an intrusive alert banner, hidden placeholder text, thin homepage content) and a stronger content engine to keep organic traffic growing.

Solution

Lodestar Marketing Group built a combined SEO + GEO program: resolving technical site-health issues, strengthening the FAQ and core landing pages to directly answer the trip-planning questions AI assistants field most often, and publishing new SEO/GEO-optimized blog content (two posts per month) targeting long-tail, scenario-based queries like “fastest way from downtown to the Space Needle.” Progress was tracked monthly across AI visibility, sentiment, and share-of-voice metrics alongside standard organic KPIs.

Results

• Website session growth: 32% increase in one quarter.
• AI Visibility Score: 10-point increase in one quarter.

Conclusion

Within one quarter, the client’s AI Visibility Score rose 10 points, brand mentions in AI answers grew 20.7%, and the FAQ page (rebuilt as part of the strategy) became the single largest driver of AI citations, responsible for over a quarter of all citations. The brand now leads share of voice on ChatGPT at 29%, ahead of a major rideshare competitor, with 90% favorable sentiment across AI platforms, roughly double comparable transit peers. Meanwhile, website sessions grew 32% and engagement rate improved from 57.2% to 60.8%.

Lodestar Marketing Group is dedicated to finding effective solutions for all our clients to help them reach their marketing goals, for both search engines and the AI models increasingly standing in for them.

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