Homepage Traffic is Up 10.7%: Unpacking the AI Effect w/ Drew Page & Ross Hudgens

Ross Hudgens and Drew Page sit down to unpack Siege Media’s latest study on the surprising shift in search behavior caused by AI-powered experiences and large language models (LLMs). The headline? Homepage traffic is up 10.7%—despite a decline in overall site wide clicks. They dive into the impact of branded search, the difference between B2B and B2C performance, and why your homepage might now be your most important conversion asset. From SEO’s evolving KPIs to strategies for retargeting and improving click-through rates, this conversation is a reality check—and a game plan—for marketers navigating the AI-dominated SERP. **Plus:** Siege Media’s own numbers, conversion math that makes sense of the doom-and-gloom, and actionable advice to build a brand that stands out in zero-click search results. Show Notes 0:08 – The optimism vs. pessimism spectrum in AI-driven search 0:42 – Why Ross launched this study in the first place 1:04 – From impressions up, clicks down—what triggered the deeper investigation 1:24 – Should SEO start valuing impressions like PR does? 1:51 – Why homepage clicks matter more than ever 2:29 – Branded search as the silent traffic driver 2:49 – What Siege saw across consumer & fintech sites 3:19 – Homepage impressions up 54%, site wide clicks down 4.8% 4:03 – Why that might be good news: homepage conversion rates 5:05 – B2C trends: more impressions, mixed click behavior 6:07 – B2B trends: homepage clicks up 15%, better revenue alignment 8:19 – Average position declines but branded queries still driving visits 9:36 – Seeing real value in brand mentions from ChatGPT, Perplexity, etc. 10:16 – Siege’s internal data: 30% homepage traffic lift, no pipeline drop 12:20 – Conversion math: homepage 3%, sitewide 1% 13:25 – The net positive: more conversions despite fewer visits 14:06 – Why you should optimize your homepage now 14:58 – Brand building, storytelling, and digital PR 15:46 – Homepage CTR and pricing page visibility wins 16:37 – Retargeting strategies for branded homepage traffic 17:00 – If you didn’t build a brand, this won’t help 17:44 – Aligning SEO with PPC to defend the SERP 18:25 – Communicating the impact to leadership 19:12 – Content quality still wins, even in LLMs 19:35 – Creating a brand health dashboard 20:22 – Final thoughts: conversion is the key metric, not traffic Show Links Full Study: https://www.siegemedia.com/strategy/ai-homepage-traffic-increase Subscribe today for weekly tips: https://bit.ly/3dBM61f Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/content-and-conversation-seo-tips-from-siege-media/id1289467174 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kiaFGXO5UcT2qXVRuXjsM Listen on Google: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9jT3NjUkdLeA Follow Siege on Twitter: http://twitter.com/siegemedia Follow Ross on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rosshudgens Directed by Cara Brown: https://twitter.com/cararbrown Email Ross: [email protected] #seo | #contentmarketing

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