What our own website looked like before we tested AI search visibility
Before we changed anything, piercreative.com.au held 46 ranking positions across 23 search terms in Australia, with an estimated 4 visits a month from search, according to Semrush on 27 October 2026. We are testing whether structured data, answer-first pages and an Insights section change that, and we will publish the results, including any losses.
- Baseline: 46 ranking positions across 23 search terms, about 4 estimated search visits a month.
- Best position is 4. Six terms sit on page two, at positions 11 to 14.
- The service pages ranked for nothing in the top 100. Landing pages carried the rankings.
- Search Console and analytics data are not part of this baseline.
What does AI search visibility mean?
We use AI search visibility to mean how often, and how accurately, AI assistants and AI search features mention or cite your business when someone asks a question you could answer.
What did our website look like before we changed anything?
| Measure | Baseline (Semrush, Australia, 27 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|
| Ranking positions in Google’s top 100 | 46, across 23 distinct search terms |
| Estimated search visits a month | 4 (a Semrush estimate) |
| Best position | 4, for “digital marketing mornington peninsula” |
| Terms on page two (positions 11 to 14) | 6 |
| Pages carrying the rankings | Six landing pages and four main pages (Home, About, Work, Contact) |
| Service pages ranking in the top 100 | None |
The site also holds 40 live landing pages in its CMS. Several of them target the same terms, so the same search can show up against more than one of our own pages.
What did we change?
By 27 October 2026 we had rewritten the titles and descriptions on seven core pages, added LocalBusiness, Service and FAQ structured data, removed a conflicting offer from the Websites page and built this Insights section.
Is anyone buying through AI search?
Gartner’s March 2026 Sales Survey found that 45% of B2B buyers used AI during a recent purchase. The survey covered 646 buyers, fielded in August and September 2025. It measures B2B buying, so it tells us little about someone searching for a plumber, and we do not treat it as evidence about our own audience.
How will we measure it?
We will re-pull the Semrush rankings monthly and record changes in positions, search terms and estimated visits. Search Console and analytics data are not part of this baseline. We will report AI referral traffic as its own line once analytics is connected, and we will report losses as readily as gains.
How long until we know?
Our working expectation is three to six months before a new section of a site shows meaningful movement, and longer on a site with little history. We will publish an update after four weeks and keep the baseline above unchanged for comparison.
Questions about this test
Does structured data guarantee AI citations?
No. We have no evidence that it does, which is part of what we are testing.
Why test on your own website?
We can report the numbers, including the unflattering ones, without needing a client’s permission.
Sources and references
- Semrush, Organic Research report for piercreative.com.au, Australia database, pulled 27 Oct 2026.
- Gartner, Sales Survey, March 2026 (646 buyers, fielded Aug to Sep 2025), as recorded in PIER’s Proof Points file. Primary source link to be added.