Public experiment log · Eric Strate
Best SEO Expert: Search and AI Experiment Records
This log preserves the dated observations, saved AI-answer excerpts and methodology previously published on the Best SEO Expert page. These are historical records; moving them here does not turn them into new tests. References to “this page” in the records mean the original /best-seo-expert/ URL.
Read the Best SEO Expert and Best AEO Expert hiring guide →
Observations last reviewed October 25, 2026. Records reorganized October 28, 2026. No new performance results are claimed in this update.
What the SEO and AEO Experiments Show So Far
This page briefly gained Google Search visibility for broad SEO expert searches. Then its impressions nearly disappeared. I’m publishing the drop, too.
Here is the actual Google Search Console Web search data for this exact page. These are impressions and clicks in Google Search, not AI citations, recommendations or sales leads.
| Period | Impressions | Clicks | Impressions per day | Average position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 7–19, 2026 13 days, initial visibility | 1,235 | 1 | 95.0 | 41.3 |
| October 9–23, 2026 15 days, after the decline | 26 | 0 | 1.7 | 24.1 |
How to read this: Impressions per day fell approximately 98%. The date ranges are unequal, so I normalized impressions by the number of days. The later average position is not evidence of a ranking recovery: only a small, different mix of queries still generated impressions. The windows are snapshots, not a controlled experiment.
For the exact query “seo expert”, this page received 717 impressions between September 7 and 19, but none between October 9 and 23. The initial exposure produced one Google click. Early impressions were an interesting signal, not a flood of customers.
There was an initial sharp decline around September 20, a temporary rebound between late September and October 7, and another drop from October 8 onward. Google’s September 2026 spam update ran from September 24 to October 8. The dates overlap, but this does not prove an algorithmic penalty or establish what caused the change.
Was the page deindexed? No. In my October 25 Search Console URL Inspection check, Google reported “Submitted and indexed,” indexing allowed, a successful mobile crawl last recorded on October 16, and the correct Google-selected canonical URL. That is a dated status check, not a live ranking test.
Separate AI-answer baseline: September 26
In the three selected September 26 AI-answer responses below, this page was not cited and Eric Strate was not recommended. That is a finding worth publishing, but it is a small sample of monitored prompts, not evidence that the page can never appear in AI answers. These results are separate from the Google Search Console table above.
| Collected | Question and platform | Observed outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Best SEO Expert ChatGPT Search ZeroRank platform label | No citation of this page. No recommendation of Eric Strate. Inspect saved record | |
| Best SEO Expert ChatGPT ZeroRank platform label | No citation of this page. No recommendation of Eric Strate. Inspect saved record | |
| Best independent SEO consultant ChatGPT Search ZeroRank platform label | No citation of this page. No recommendation of Eric Strate. Inspect saved record |
The two Best SEO Expert rows are responses to the same question under different ZeroRank platform labels. They are not two different buyer questions. The recorded model versions and private retrieval queries are unavailable.
Best SEO Expert · ChatGPT Search · September 26, 2026
Collected: . Test location: United States. Record: a50dc65c-108a-4afd-9fc9-aac334da926e.
Exact prompt: Best SEO Expert
There isn’t one universally “best” SEO expert—the right choice depends on whether you need technical SEO, content, local SEO, enterprise SEO, or AI-search/GEO. Current 2026 sources highlight several established specialists. Some names worth considering: * Rand Fishkin — SEO strategy, search research, and SEO tools. * Aleyda Solis — international and technical SEO; founder of Orainti. * Neil Patel — SEO analytics, content marketing, and education. * Marie Haynes — Google algorithm updates and search quality. * Cyrus Shepard — technical SEO and AI/search research. * Lily Ray — SEO, search quality, and enterprise-level organic search. If you mean “Who is the best SEO expert to hire for my business?”, tell me your business type, website, target country/city, and monthly SEO budget, and I can research suitable experts/agencies and compare their current credentials and pricing.
Source URLs listed in the saved response:
- firstpagesage.com/seo-blog/best-seo-consultants/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- searchbloom.com/strategy/best-seo-consultants/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- lawrencehitches.com/most-awarded-seo-professionals/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- ahrefs.com/blog/seo-expert/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- ahrefsevolve.com/speakers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- rankshift.ai/blog/who-are-the-best-seo-consultants-globally/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Publisher transcription of a stored ZeroRank response, reviewed September 29, 2026. These links record the response’s source list; listing a source is not an endorsement. Only the opening answer excerpt is reproduced here.
Best SEO Expert · ChatGPT · September 26, 2026
Collected: . Test location: United States. Record: 8e60cf56-7ef4-4dab-a95a-f55cd981e1f0.
Exact prompt: Best SEO Expert
If you mean “Who are the best SEO experts to hire or follow in 2026?”, there isn’t one objectively best person—the right expert depends heavily on your SEO problem and industry. Current 2026 lists highlight several different specialists. Some prominent names include: * Rand Fishkin — SEO strategy, search research, and SEO tools; founder of SparkToro. * Aleyda Solis — international and technical SEO; founder of Orainti. * Neil Patel — SEO education, analytics, content marketing, and broader digital marketing. * Marie Haynes — Google algorithm updates, SEO quality, and AI search. * Cyrus Shepard — SEO strategy and AI/search research. * Barry Schwartz — Google/search-industry news and algorithm coverage. * Patrick Stox — technical SEO. If you’re looking to hire an SEO expert, tell me your website/business, country, monthly budget, and whether you need local SEO, e-commerce SEO, technical SEO, or AI/GEO, and I can research current options and narrow it down.
Source URLs listed in the saved response:
- ahrefsevolve.com/speakers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- rankshift.ai/blog/who-are-the-best-seo-consultants-globally/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- ahrefs.com/blog/seo-expert/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- firstpagesage.com/seo-blog/best-seo-consultants/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- searchbloom.com/strategy/best-seo-consultants/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- authorityspecialist.com/lists/resources/best-seo-experts?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- seoawards.org/news/2026-winners-announced/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Publisher transcription of a stored ZeroRank response, reviewed September 29, 2026. These links record the response’s source list; listing a source is not an endorsement. Only the opening answer excerpt is reproduced here.
Best independent SEO consultant · ChatGPT Search · September 26, 2026
Collected: . Test location: United States. Record: c3288f7d-fed8-4c0d-b0f5-c7590bcc8153.
Exact prompt: Best independent SEO consultant
If you mean “Who are some of the strongest independent (non-agency) SEO consultants I could hire?”, a few worth investigating are: If you mean “Who are some of the strongest independent (non-agency) SEO consultants I could hire?”, a few worth investigating are: * — International/multilingual SEO and enterprise strategy; frequently cited for global SEO expertise. * — Particularly relevant for SaaS/technology and growth-oriented SEO; previously worked with Shopify, Atlassian and G2. * — Known for SEO diagnostics, Google updates and traffic-recovery work. * — Independent technical SEO consultant with 17+ years of experience and 1,500+ clients according to his site. * — Strong fit for technical SEO, SEO strategy and complex sites; reports 15+ years of experience. * — Technical SEO specialist focused on complex crawl, indexation and site-architecture problems. * — Independent search consultant with experience dating back to 1996, covering SEO, technical search and paid search. There isn’t a defensible single “best” independent consultant—the right person depends heavily on whether you need local SEO, technical SEO, e-commerce, SaaS, international SEO, content, or recovery from a traffic drop. If you tell me your website/business type, country, and approximate monthly SEO budget, I can narrow this to 3–5 consultants who specifically fit your situation, including current rates/availability where publicly available.
Source URLs listed in the saved response:
- thestacc.com/best/seo-consultants/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- kurtlwood.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- searchmarketingconsultants.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- aleydasolis.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- mariehaynes.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- alphaserp.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- kevin-indig.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- michaelcottam.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Publisher transcription of a stored ZeroRank response, reviewed September 29, 2026. These links record the response’s source list; listing a source is not an endorsement. Only the opening answer excerpt is reproduced here.
The excerpt above repeats its opening line and leaves several names blank. I have preserved those quirks rather than guessing the missing names.
How This Experiment Is Measured
The questions are written without Eric Strate’s name, domain or WARP. For each observation, the record retains the exact question, platform label, collection time, answer excerpt and cited source URLs. The test checks citation of this exact page and recommendation of Eric Strate separately. Future records should include unsuccessful outcomes as well as successful ones.
September 29, 2026 methodology update: I revised the WARP structure and added findings, hiring evidence and clearer headings together. Because content and structure changed at the same time, a later citation difference cannot establish that WARP caused it. A protocol test would require repeated fixed questions and a suitable comparison.
October 25, 2026 Google Search update: The table above comes from Search Console Web search performance filtered to this exact URL, with finalized observations through October 23. Dates follow Pacific time. The two windows have different lengths, so the comparison uses impressions per day. Query reports can omit private or low-volume terms. Search Console does not by itself establish whether competition, algorithm changes, changing queries or my own revisions caused the decline.
This is an observational publishing experiment. It does not measure all ChatGPT conversations, buyer demand or revenue. Traditional search rankings are recorded separately from AI citation observations.
The supporting sections focus on verifying consultant claims, evaluating a best SEO ranking and checking what evidence an AI SEO consultant should provide.
What Counts as a Citation, Recommendation or Lead?
A citation identifies a source used in an answer. A recommendation presents a provider as an option. A recorded visit requires separate analytics evidence. A qualified inquiry requires an actual prospective customer and a relevant need. None of these outcomes automatically establishes the next one.