How SEO Expert Khara Wolf Is Helping Local Businesses Thrive in the Age of AI

For Denver-based SEO strategist Khara Wolf, visibility isn’t just about ranking higher on Google — it’s about helping small businesses understand what really drives results. As the founder of a fast-growing Squarespace SEO consultancy, Khara is passionate about taking the mystery out of search and empowering local entrepreneurs to use it as a tool for real growth. Now, she’s helping business owners prepare for the next frontier: AI-driven search. In this conversation, she breaks down what’s changing, what still works, and how smart local strategy can turn clicks into customers.

Khara is a content partner.  Content partners help Voyage in so many ways from spreading the word about the work we do, to sponsoring our mission and collaborating with us on content like this.  We hope you enjoy our conversation with Khara.

Hi Khara, thank you so much for joining us again. Your expertise is so relevant to our audience. You specialize in SEO for service providers and local businesses, especially those using Squarespace. What are some of the most common mistakes you see small businesses in Denver making when it comes to SEO?

The biggest mistake most local businesses in Denver (and across the world) make is they either don’t use local SEO as a strategy because it feels overwhelming or expensive, or they chase after it just because they think they “should”.

SEO is an incredible marketing strategy that can bring in a ton of revenue. However, it depends on how competitive your local area is, and how high your profit margines are. It’s a great fit for some, and not for others. This is where small business in Denver tend to miss the mark.

For example, an acupuncturist making $100 per session in a local area where there are dozens of other acupuncturists, will need to pay for monthly services to rank. It will take a long time to make their investment back, so a referral-based strategy might be a better way to start. However, for an acupuncturist in a local area with only 2-3 competitors, a one-time foundational service could go a long way and be enough to bring them leads!

Another example would be a commercial plumber. Even in a crowded market, because they stand to make thousands of dollars on just one call, they can make their investment back in just 2-3 calls. With a high profit margin like that, monthly SEO is a great financial investment.

Additionally, for businesses that rely on local foot traffic such as restaurants, local SEO is not optional, it’s critical. Optimizing for search queries such as “near me” is often the lifeblood of how people find their physical location. If their local SEO strategy doesn’t exist, or isn’t implemented properly, this can cost them a ton of business and revenue.

Local SEO can feel overwhelming for many small business owners. What are the key steps they should focus on first to start getting found by nearby customers on Google?

The “map pack” gets 50% of the traffic. A Google My Business profile is the best place to start, and it’s easy.

Be sure to fully fill out your profile and get regular reviews. This is one of the biggest things you can do as a local business, and I can’t believe how often I work with companies who either haven’t created a profile, haven’t fully filled it out, or aren’t asking their clients and customers for regular reviews.

Be sure to use keywords in the services section, FAQs, and description, but not in your name. It is against GMB’s guidelines to use a keyword in your profile name, unless it is legally part of your business name.

Be sure to implement consistent NAP (name, address, phone number). To do this, make sure your business name, physical address, and phone number match your Google My Business profile and are clearly located in the footer of your website and on all your local service pages. Also make sure they match exactly across any additional directories such as Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Clutch, and more.

AI and AIO (AI Optimization) are changing how people search and how businesses show up online. How do you see these tools reshaping the future of SEO?

Looking for products, services, or information on AI search engines (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Mode) isn’t just the future of online search – this is already becoming the go-to method.

Traditional Google search still exists, but for the first time in a long time, it is no longer above 90% market share. This means our websites are now getting traffic from a variety of sources, including AI traffic, and this will only continue to increase.

Because this is already happening, if you aren’t optimizing your website for AI or implementing an AI strategy, you are already behind your competitors who are. It won’t be long before businesses that jump on this opportunity get ahead and will be the ones thriving in the present, and future, of online search.

What can local businesses start doing right now to prepare for AI-driven search so they stay visible and competitive as the technology evolves?

The most important thing you can do right now is to do an AI visibility audit. See if you are ranking in AI search!

You can do this manually by choosing your AI platform of choice, ChatGPT for example, and searching some “phrases” your audience might be looking for. If you are local, it might be something like “plumbing services for a broken pipe Denver”.

Phrases typed into AI tend to be a little longer and a little more conversational. Try several of these types of queries.

Do you show up? Who does? What are they doing that you aren’t?

Next, audit your brand. Ask ChatGPT, “what do you know about [my brand]”?

Are you happy with the way AI is interpreting your business and brand? If it’s not accurate, look at the “sources” and start making changes to your website, online profiles, etc.

These are some initial steps you can take to see how your local business stacks up against the rest.

If you don’t show up, work with an SEO specialist that also offers AIO services. Traditional SEO is still about 80% of what gets you ranking in AI, but there is a bit more involved that is specific to the evolving platforms.

You’ve helped a lot of service providers improve their visibility online. Can you share a success story or example of how the right SEO strategy made a real difference for a local client?

My favorite success story is a company I worked with recently – a construction company in LA. They were specifically targeting local customers, and their services have a high profit margin.

We began a monthly Squarespace SEO retainer service and focused on both on-page optimization (strategy and design updates) and technical optimization. After only 2 months into the service, they saw a dramatic increase in clicks, they started ranking for service-based keywords (money-making keywords), and they had a 95% increase in button clicks and a 25% increase in form submissions.

For me, the biggest marker of success is an increase in clicks and conversions. General impressions, charts and checklists, or a technical score of 100% doesn’t mean anything if you aren’t making more money – leads turn into clients, which turn into profit and revenue. This is why we do SEO/AIO!

At the time of this interview, I’m still building some AIO case studies (as this is new and changing daily), but I can tell you, my own website is now getting as many leads from AI search engines as it is from Google, maybe even more!

Links to connect with Khara:

• Website: https://www.websitesbykhara.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kharawolf/