Happy Tuesday! Before we dive in, a quick note: way back in Issue #001 I promised you "the three things your website needs to say if you want AI tools to recommend you."
Then I got distracted by systems and slop and townspeople and things. This week, we deliver.
Also, Maine summer is almost here. Let's talk about that too.
☀️ THE FORECAST
AI traffic just hit a new record. And it converts better than anything else.
Adobe released new data this month covering the first quarter of 2026, and there's one number that should be on every small business owner's radar right now.
393%
Year-over-year growth in website traffic coming from AI sources. That's not a projection. That's Q1 2026 data.
And it gets better. Once someone arrives at your website from an AI tool, they convert 42% better than visitors from paid search or email. They spend 48% longer on the site. They browse more pages.
Translation: people who find a business through AI are more ready to buy than almost anyone else on the internet right now.
So the question has officially stopped being "does AI search matter?" It's now: "Does my business show up when AI is doing the looking?"
This week's Yolk is entirely about that question.
🍳 THE YOLK
The 3 Things Your Website Needs to Say to Get Found by AI
Quick context before we get into it. When someone asks ChatGPT or Perplexity or Google's AI Mode for a recommendation, the AI isn't running a fresh Google search. It's pulling from everything it's absorbed, plus what it can verify in real time. And it's looking for patterns. Clear, consistent, credible patterns.
If your website is vague, outdated, or buried in buzzwords? The AI shrugs and names whoever made it easier. Here's what it needs to find.
Thing 01
Who you are, what you do, and where you do it. Explicitly.
This sounds obvious. It is not.
Most small business websites hint at this stuff instead of saying it. "We help businesses thrive." Okay. Doing what? For who? Where?
AI cannot read between the lines. It needs your business spelled out the way you'd say it to a stranger at a networking event.
"I'm Heather. I run Brightside Creative, a marketing agency in Augusta, Maine. We help small businesses grow through video marketing, SEO, and AI search optimization."
That's it. That's what your homepage needs to say. In the first paragraph. Plainly.
Thing 02
The questions your customers are actually asking.
This is the biggest missed opportunity in small business websites right now.
Most websites are written for Google bots from 2019. Keyword-stuffed, stilted, weird. "Premier hospitality experience in the Midcoast region." Nobody talks like that.
AI tools respond to natural language. Conversational questions. "Best inn on the Maine coast." "Who does video marketing for small businesses in Augusta." "How do I get my restaurant to show up on ChatGPT."
Your website needs to answer those questions in words people actually use. Write a FAQ. Write a blog post. Write an About page that sounds like you wrote it, because you did.
The websites AI recommends are the ones that clearly answer what people are actually asking.
Thing 03
Proof from somewhere other than your own mouth.
AI cross-checks you. Before recommending a business, it looks for corroboration. Google reviews. Mentions in local publications. Consistent information across directories. Social profiles that match your website.
If the only place your business story lives is your own website, the AI has nothing to verify it against. And when it can't verify, it doesn't recommend.
The fix isn't complicated. Claim your Google Business Profile. Fill it out completely. Ask for reviews consistently. Get mentioned somewhere that isn't your own website, even once.
Three things. That's the whole list.
If your website clearly says who you are, answers the real questions customers are asking, and has proof scattered around the internet that you're who you say you are... you are already ahead of most small businesses in your area.
Go check.
✨ SUNNY SIDE SHORTCUTS
The 2-Minute Visibility TestDo This First
Open ChatGPT. Type: "What's the best [your business type] in [your town or region]?" See what comes back. If it's not you, look closely at whoever it IS and check their website. That's your research assignment.
Do This First
Fix Your Google Business Profile Description
Most people fill this out once and forget it exists. Your GBP description is AI-readable, and most are basically useless. Google your business, find your listing, click Edit Profile. Update the description like you're answering a customer question, not filling out a government form.
Paste your About page into ChatGPT. Then ask:
"If someone asked you who this business is and what they do, what would you say?"
The gap between that answer and what you actually want people to know? That's your rewrite priority list.
Best Prompt
💭 WHAT I'M COOKING
Maine summer is coming. Is your marketing ready to work without you?
Maine in summer is a whole different energy.
If you run a business here, you know exactly what I mean. The shoulder season ends, the visitors show up, and suddenly everyone needs everything at once. It's beautiful and completely unhinged.
I've been thinking a lot lately about what it means to build something that doesn't fall apart the second you step away from it. Not because I'm going anywhere. But a baby is arriving soon, and the busy season is arriving at approximately the same time, which is a fun scheduling situation I highly recommend to no one.
The whole reason I'm obsessed with systems, and visibility, and content that keeps working after you hit publish... is this: I don't have the luxury of being in front of a screen all day. Neither do most of the business owners I work with.
A website that's clear, a Google profile that's complete, and a newsletter that goes out every Tuesday morning keeps doing its job whether I'm at my desk or not.
That's the whole point of this issue, honestly. Do the work once. Set it up right. Let it run.
Now if someone can teach that trick to the two-year-old, we'll really be in business.
See you on the sunny side,
Heather ☀️