David Haas has spent near 30 years in advertising and marketing. He’ll inform you the final 12 months has been not like any of those earlier than.
David’s area of interest is growth-stage tech and healthcare firms. They’re organizations with a finances to speculate however no in-house search engine marketing staff or devoted content material operate. His job is to make them obtain as a lot success as firms with extra sources.
“An answer like Semrush One is an unimaginable benefit for these firms—usually, they will not have sufficient sources and experience in-house.”
AI reply engines have opened a brand new alternative for smaller manufacturers to be found by. And David has constructed a repeatable framework that these manufacturers can use to excel.
Here is how he did it for Frenos, an operational know-how cybersecurity firm—going from near-zero search presence to rising market visibility in below six months.
The ‘Basis Up’ Framework
When David Haas sits down with a brand new consumer, the dialog about technique virtually at all times leads to the identical place: It’s a must to construct the bottom earlier than you construct the remainder of the tower.
Progress-stage groups are sometimes tempted to leap straight to AI visibility—it feels quicker, newer, extra thrilling. However David is aware of that with no stable search engine marketing basis, any AI visibility features are fragile. Construct each layers intentionally, in sequence, they usually begin to reinforce one another.
“I have a tendency to sit down down and speak technique, and it at all times appears to gravitate towards constructing a stable search engine marketing basis first, after which constructing the AI plan on prime of that. As soon as you have gotten that and constructed out your content material and backlink methods, all of it simply builds on itself.”
The consequence?
Frenos went from near-zero search visibility on Google in July 2025 to a rating of 18.32% in January 2026—outpacing a number of rivals in a distinct segment, extremely technical market.
That is additionally mirrored in how the model seems in Google’s AI Overviews, with general visibility steadily rising over time.
Let’s go over the precise workflow David constructed to assist Frenos develop their search presence.
Step 1: Set up an search engine marketing Baseline First
David’s first transfer was to measure efficiency and determine alternatives based mostly on actual search information.
He began with the Keyword Magic Tool and the Keyword Overview Tool to search out buyer-intent queries that decision-makers have been truly looking out.
Chasing high-volume phrases sounds interesting, nevertheless it hardly ever pays off for a corporation with out a lot current authority. For Frenos, David dominated out broad phrases like “ot cybersecurity.” As a result of it’s too aggressive and affords too little upside.
As a substitute, David focuses on buyer-intent queries, low-to-moderate problem phrases, and technical searches related to OT cybersecurity decision-makers
Then, he units up Position Tracking to ascertain the place the model stands in opposition to its direct rivals throughout key search phrases.
Step 2: Measure the AI Visibility Baseline
Whereas establishing an search engine marketing baseline, David additionally opens the AI Visibility Toolkit to grasp the place the model stands in AI-generated solutions.
It’s a separate image from remoted search rankings and, more and more, the one which issues to consumers. In reality, our latest survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers discovered that 50% have made a purchase order after utilizing AI throughout analysis, throughout classes and value factors.
David checks the AI Visibility rating first. For Frenos—as with virtually each small model he works with—it got here again round 14.
“It is an amazing place to begin. It type of provides individuals a way of: Am I exhibiting up lots? Am I exhibiting up a little bit?”
Then, he makes use of the Competitor Research instrument to see how rivals’ AI visibility scores and immediate mentions examine. It tells him precisely the place the consumer stands and the place there are gaps price going after.
David additionally cross-references AI alternatives uncovered through the AI Visibility Toolkit with guide group analysis—studying boards the place actual consumers ask actual questions—to get a fuller image.
“Semrush is supplying you with a really particular set of prompts, that are good, however group analysis is an augmentative means to take a look at an even bigger image and create content material that’s actually going to resonate.”
Every web page that comes out of this course of is constructed to do two issues directly:
- Rank in conventional search
- Be retrievable by AI reply engines
Meaning clear construction, direct solutions, and content material that is genuinely helpful—written for an individual who simply requested a query in ChatGPT.
“You will see them transfer from not being talked about to being talked about in every week or two weeks. Which is wild.”
Step 3: Construct Topical Authority with Pillar Pages and Cluster Content material
As soon as the search-optimized pages are stay, David builds out a pillar-and-cluster structure across the subjects that matter most to the consumer.
For Frenos, that meant complete pillar pages on subjects like OT penetration testing and industrial cybersecurity testing. Content material geared toward consumers who’re researching an issue however aren’t but prepared to purchase.
Cluster content material then went deeper on every theme: particular use circumstances, technical FAQs, and subject-matter experience that steadily launched Frenos as a reputable voice.
All content material in a cluster hyperlinks collectively intentionally—cluster items again to pillars. And the pillar pages additionally reference credible exterior sources.
The impact over time was that Frenos began rating not only for particular person key phrases however throughout complete subject areas. As a result of the location had constructed authority round these subjects.
Step 4: Deal with Key phrase and Immediate Analysis as an Ongoing Loop
The ultimate ingredient in David’s framework is iteration. As content material goes stay and efficiency information begins coming in, the technique will get smarter.
He watches for content material climbing towards web page one on Google, gaining traction on long-tail queries, and recognizing gaps the place rivals are susceptible.
David returns to the Keyword Magic Tool and Visibility Overview commonly, utilizing stay efficiency alerts to determine what to write down subsequent and what to chop.
“search engine marketing accelerates when information informs technique—and technique guides content material.”
Why the Framework Works
Fashionable consumers do not simply sort key phrases into Google. They ask full questions in ChatGPT. They learn Reddit threads earlier than they ever go to a vendor web site. They get solutions from AI Overviews earlier than clicking something.
In accordance with our recent research, most consumers use AI and search collectively. About 33% begin with engines like google, then swap to AI to summarize or examine. One other 26% do the other. Solely 8% do not use them collectively in any respect.
David’s framework displays that actuality, bringing search engine marketing and AEO collectively as a part of the identical search visibility image throughout the channels the place selections occur.
3 Comments