Answers
Straight answers for contractors.
What SEO, AEO and GEO actually mean, how AI tools decide who to name, what a website costs and who owns it, and how ads and reviews work — no jargon, no promises nobody can keep.
9 answers
Getting found on Google and in AI answers
What is GEO (generative engine optimization)?
GEO is the work of getting your business named inside AI-generated answers — ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Those tools answer a question like “who’s a good roofer near me?” by reading the web and summarizing it. GEO makes sure what they read about you is complete, consistent and easy to quote: your site states plainly what you do, where you do it and why you’re credible; your listings agree with it everywhere; and real reviews back it up.
What is AEO (answer engine optimization)?
AEO is structuring your content so search engines and voice assistants can lift a direct answer from it — the short answer that appears before any links, or that Siri reads out loud.
In practice it means clear questions with clear answers on your pages, structured data that labels your business details, and accurate listings on Google, Bing and Apple Maps.
How are SEO, AEO and GEO different?
SEO gets your pages into Google’s search results. AEO gets your business into the direct answers above them. GEO gets you named inside AI-written answers.
For a contractor they’re one body of work — the same site, the same listings, the same reviews — so AxisSites runs them as one service instead of selling three.
How do I get my business to show up in ChatGPT?
Make it easy for ChatGPT to find, read and trust you: a fast site that states your services, service area and credentials in plain words; a complete Bing Places listing, because ChatGPT’s search leans on Bing; and consistent details and real reviews across the web.
Nobody can guarantee what an AI will say. What we can do is build what it reads — then check every month, with a fixed list of the questions your customers ask, whether it names you.
Where do AI tools get their information about local businesses?
From the same places a careful customer would look: your own website, your Google Business Profile, Bing Places and Apple Maps, review sites and directories, and anywhere else your business is mentioned.
When those sources agree — same name, phone, services and towns — AI tools can describe you with confidence. When they disagree or are empty, they tend to name someone else.
Can you guarantee I’ll rank first on Google or show up in AI answers?
No — and be careful with anyone who does. Rankings and AI answers depend on things nobody controls, and they change by person, place and day.
We promise the work and the report: what we changed, what moved, and whether Google and the AI tools named you for the jobs you want.
How do you measure AI visibility?
With a fixed list of about ten questions your customers actually ask — “best concrete contractor in Palmetto FL,” for example — run every month in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers, several times each, because answers vary.
For each one we record whether you were named, whether what the AI said about you was right, and which sites it cited. The list stays fixed, so the trend means something — and wrong facts get traced to their source and fixed.
Do I need a website if I have a Google listing?
Yes. The listing is how people find you on the map; the website is where they decide to call — and it’s the page AI tools read to learn what you actually do.
The two do different jobs. Running one without the other is why so many contractors’ websites never bring in work.
How long until search work shows results?
It varies, and we won’t pretend otherwise. Fixes to a Google listing can show up within weeks; new service and town pages usually take months to earn their place.
Every month you get a plain-English report of what we changed and what moved, so you never have to take it on faith.
6 answers
Websites
How much does a contractor website cost?
An AxisSites build — the Axis Growth System — starts at $3,997, one-time, scoped from your free Axis Scan™.
That includes the custom site, copywriting, lead-capture forms, the local visibility foundation, your Google listing cleanup, Bing and Apple Maps listings, and Search Console setup. Monthly plans are optional.
How long does a website take?
Live in 21 days from the day I have your logo, photos and details. If I miss it, I take 20% off.
Bigger builds — a store, a booking system, a client portal — get their date agreed in writing before I start, and the same rule applies.
Do I actually own the website?
Yes. 100%. The site, the domain, the content and the accounts are in your name from day one.
Monthly plans are optional, and if you leave, you keep every bit of it and it keeps working.
Can you redesign my existing website?
Yes — most projects are redesigns. The free Axis Scan™ shows what’s underperforming; we keep what works and rebuild what’s costing you leads.
When a site moves, we redirect the old addresses so the search results you already have keep working.
What if I don’t have project photos?
Even a handful of job-site photos from your phone makes a real difference, and we’ll help you make the most of them.
Where a page needs an image you don’t have, we use licensed stock for atmosphere — never presented as your own work.
Do you write the copy?
Yes. Copywriting is included in every build — written in your voice, reviewed by you before anything goes live.
5 answers
Marketing
Do you run Google Ads and Local Services Ads?
Yes — that’s the Lead Engine plan: Google’s Local Services Ads, Google Ads aimed at the jobs you want most, missed-call text-back, call and form tracking, cost per booked job, and seasonal emails to past customers — on top of everything in the Growth Partnership.
Each ad lands on a page built for that exact job, not your homepage.
Who pays for the ads?
You do, directly to Google — never through us. Every account is in your name and on your card, and if you leave, you keep all of it.
What’s the minimum ad budget?
Ad budgets start at $1,000 a month, on top of the plan. Below that, a month doesn’t produce enough leads to learn from.
Will you run ads for my competitors too?
No. For ads, we work with one company per trade per town. We’re not going to bid against our own client.
How do you get more Google reviews?
By asking every customer after the job, with a simple routine — and replying to every review. We never offer anything in exchange for a review and never pick who gets asked. Google prohibits both, and it can get a listing suspended.
5 answers
Working with AxisSites
What is the Axis Scan™?
A free, automated review of your website that scores seven things that drive leads: lead generation, local visibility, customer trust, conversion potential, mobile experience, speed and website structure.
It takes about 30 seconds. You get an instant preview, and the full report is free once you add your name and email.
Do you manage my Google listing?
Yes. During the build we clean it up: categories, services, service area, hours, website link and photos. With the Growth Partnership we keep it right — categories, services, hours and real job photos — reply to every review, and send review requests after every job.
We use manager access, never ownership: the profile stays yours, and we never need your password. We do not promise any ranking or map position.
Is there a contract?
No mandatory retainer. The monthly plans are month-to-month — the Growth Partnership cancels any month, Lead Engine with 30 days’ notice.
Where is AxisSites based, and who do you work with?
AxisSites is based in Melbourne, Florida, and works with contractors and local service businesses across Florida and beyond — including a landscaping company in Camden County, New Jersey.
Who actually does the work?
Will, the founder. You deal with the person building your site, not an account manager — and the site is built with modern tools that let one person ship work that used to take a team.
Last reviewed September 26, 2026 · Written by Will S., founder of AxisSites
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The free Axis Scan™ answers the one that matters most: where is your website losing leads right now?
Rather talk it through? Book a free strategy call or call (689) 399-8933.