Q1 2026 Search Report

New research: How 177 brands show up in AI vs. traditional search.

Read the Report
Our Approach to Search

One program for traditional and AI search.

Showing up in one place while going dark in the other means missing half the conversation. Every activity we run supports visibility in traditional rankings and AI systems, so you can reach your buyers wherever they search.

See Our Approach
best enterprise seo agency Best SEO Agencies 2026 – Clutch clutch.co › top-seo-companies Ranked by verified reviews and client results… Top Enterprise SEO Firms | Forbes Advisor forbes.com › best-enterprise-seo Our picks for agencies delivering real ROI… Victorious | 5× Agency of the Year victorious.com › enterprise-seo Award-winning SEO for ambitious brands… #3 TRADITIONAL SEARCH Scroll links to find your brand VS AI OVERVIEW Who are the best enterprise SEO agencies? Based on industry recognition and client outcomes, these agencies are most cited for enterprise SEO in 2026: Victorious — 5× Agency of the Year Strongest for AI + traditional search visibility Agency B — Technical SEO focus Agency C — Content-led approach Agency D — E-commerce specialist Sources: clutch.co · g2.com · forbes.com Ask a follow-up… AI SEARCH Your brand named in the answer
Founded in 2013

An integrated approach to search speaks for itself.

13

Years of search-only focus

5x

Search Agency of the Year

1,050

Brands served

15.3B

Search impressions

Aggregate data across Victorious client campaigns - Updated quarterly
Delta Dental
Salesforce
Groupon
How Has Search Changed?

Your buyers are making shortlists before they reach your website.

More than two-thirds of searches now end without a click*.

When an AI Overview appears on the page, click-through drops by more than half on top of that. Your buyer isn't working through a list of links anymore. They're asking AI a question, getting brand recommendations, and arriving at your site (if they arrive at all), with a decision mostly made. Whether your brand is on that shortlist depends on signals that have nothing to do with where you rank in Google.

* Sparktoro: "In 2026, Less than One Third of Google Searches Still Send a Click"

Traditional Search

AI Search

Awareness
Search TOFU topics
Visit multiple websites
Ask a question
Consideration
Search comparisons
Visit shortlisted sites
Presented with options
Decision
Check pricing & reviews
Receives recommendation
Purchase
Purchase (eventually)
Enters ready to buy
3 fewer steps: shortlist and trust form inside AI
>68%
of searches end without a click.SparkToro / SimilarWeb, 2026
>50%
additional drop in CTR when an AI Overview appears.

If you're still measuring search purely by clicks to your site, you're missing an increasingly important part of the journey where buyers are already making decisions.

Client Results
"What sets this team apart is their fearless approach to transparency and their forward-looking technical expertise. Transitioning our strategy into AEO was incredibly impressive. They didn't just keep our rankings stable. They future-proofed Robinson & Henry by ensuring our attorneys are the ones being cited by AI search engines. They don't just follow the current SEO playbook. They are actively writing the one for 2026."

Bill Henry, President, Robinson & Henry, P.C.

AI is changing how buyers discover brands.

One integrated strategy makes sure you show up whether they search Google or ask AI.

Our Approach

Four functions that work across both surfaces.

We don't believe you have to choose between traditional rankings and AI visibility. The work that earns a Google ranking and the work that gets you named in an AI answer share the same foundation, which is why our four service functions are built to compound authority across both surfaces simultaneously.

Inclusion

Technical SEO

Search engines and AI platforms need to understand your site before they can surface it. We handle the infrastructure that makes that possible.

Targeting

Keyword Research

We map what your buyers search on Google and what they ask AI platforms, because the phrasing often differs more than people expect. That gap is where visibility gets lost.


Retrieval

Content Strategy

Ranking for your primary keyword with thin coverage across adjacent topics leaves you nearly invisible in AI results. We build content programs that cover the full range of questions buyers in your category actually ask. 

Authority

Link Building

Authority compounds through consistency. We earn links and branded mentions against a four-level quality standard, with a zero-penalty track record across 500+ engagements.

AI Visibility

AEO is in our DNA.

Solid search authority was always multidimensional. The same entity clarity that helps Google understand who you are helps AI systems associate your brand with the right topics. And the same third-party coverage that builds your backlink profile creates the branded web mentions that these systems use to verify you're a real player in your category. 

WHAT OUR RESEARCH SHOWS

Domain authority has zero correlation with AI visibility.

We wanted to know whether the metric our industry has relied on for years predicts anything useful about AI visibility. Across 177 brands and over 100,000 AI prompt responses, we discovered that the correlation between domain authority and AI citation rate was essentially zero. Zilch. Nada. None.

What doesn't predict it

Domain authority. Backlink counts. Keyword rankings.

These metrics were built to approximate brand authority. The approximation broke down when AI search arrived. Ranking can hide shallow authority. AI search cannot.

What actually does

Branded web mentions. Topic coverage depth. Content third parties trust.

How often your brand name appears alongside category topics in content you don't own: articles, reviews, comparisons, industry reports. The brands with the deepest third-party presence earn the most AI citations.

Two signals to track, measured separately

Mention Rate

Does AI know who you are?

Your brand name appears in AI responses when someone asks about your category.

Mentioned but not cited means AI knows you exist but doesn't trust your content. Content depth and authority problem.

Citation Rate

Does AI trust your content?

AI links to pages on your site as a source when building answers.

Cited but not mentioned means AI is using your content without giving you credit. Third-party presence problem.

First-Party Research

What 100,000 AI responses taught us.

Since May 2025, our team has been running controlled experiments across AI search platforms to understand what signals drive brand mentions and citations in AI-generated answers. Our research covers the full range of surfaces where your buyers form opinions, from AI Overviews and AI Mode to the major AI platforms reshaping how decisions get made.

Read Our Quarterly Report
9 in 10

brands in our study had zero AI mentions in their category in Q1 2026. The window to build meaningful AI presence before your category gets competitive is still open.

73%

of AI-cited content passages contain no hyperlinks. Clean, uninterrupted prose is what AI systems extract and attribute as sources.

AI Overview and AI Mode are different systems

Only 30 to 35 percent of citations overlap between them. They retrieve content independently and need to be measured and optimized separately.

Recent Examples of Our Clients' AEO Results

See Where You Stand

Ask AI what your buyers are asking. See who it names.

Open any AI platform. Type the question your best buyer asks when they're shortlisting vendors and read the response. If your brand isn't named, you know why you're here.

Try it now
"What are the best [your category] companies for [your buyer type]?"
"Who should I consider for [your core service]?"
"Which [your category] vendors have the best results for [your industry]?"

If you're not on the shortlist, book a call. We'll show you exactly what it would take to get there.

Be the first answer your audience finds no matter where they search.

Search behavior is changing, and so should your strategy. Benefit from an integrated approach to search that compounds value across traditional and emerging search surfaces. 

Ready to increase your brand authority?

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Award-winning strategies, exceptional results.

Real companies. Real gains.

D
Dave McVeigh
VP of Marketing,
Tivian
We were in a very complex situation amidst an acquisition between two companies that had been around for a while. Still, Victorious has been able to come up with a strategy to streamline the new company and get the most out of the pre-existing SEO rankings.
H
Hamilton Kiah
Digital Media Strategist,
FastSpring
We’ve developed a strong, collaborative partnership. We’ve worked with other agencies before, and people can get ahead of themselves. We drink, eat, and sleep this all day, and we understand our business. Victorious has been considerate of that fact. They adjusted their strategy to our niche market.
T
Tabitha Tagne
Digital Marketing Manager,
KIOSK Information Systems
We have been very impressed with their ever growing knowledge and keeping up with changing technology so that we can rely on them!