When companies invest time and money to appear among Google’s first search results, there’s often no guarantee greater visibility will bring in more paying customers.
This is crucial because the businesses that struggle to snag these top-ranking spots can then struggle to generate sales. As a result, executives often question why their marketing performance isn’t reflected in their revenue.
A global study, involving nearly 4,000 B2B buyers, shows 95% of winning vendors were already on customers’ initial shortlists, according to 6sense's 2025 B2B Buyer Experience Report.
We spoke with Higher Visibility Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Adam Heitzman, on the DesignRush Podcast. During the talk, Heitzman let us in on why strong search rankings can leave businesses struggling to win customers and how executives can identify where potential sales are lost.
"You can rank number one and still have a message that sounds like everyone else, or attract people looking for information when what you really need is people that are ready to buy,” Heitzman says.
With more than 15 years of experience in SEO and digital marketing, Heitzman highlights the three key factors that influence whether search visibility translates into business results:
- Competitive differentiation: How relevant experience and credible proof influence purchasing decisions
- AI brand representation: Why inaccurate information can undermine a company's position during buyer research
- Commercial accountability: How to assess the contribution of organic search to qualified leads and revenue
Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen on Spotify.
Who Is Adam Heitzman?
Adam Heitzman is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at HigherVisibility, a Memphis-based digital marketing agency established in 2009. He has more than 15 years of experience in SEO and digital strategy, helping businesses connect their online visibility with revenue growth.
Establish Your Credibility Before Buyers Make Their Choice
To earn a prospective customer's trust, companies must show that their expertise can address that customer's specific business needs.
Heitzman illustrates this through two agencies competing for a client with 20 business locations.
One promotes award-winning SEO services and the other demonstrates experience managing inconsistent lead generation and performance reporting across multiple locations.
For the client, the second agency offers a clearer picture of how its expertise applies to the company's operational challenges.
"You look for proof. Have they solved a similar problem to businesses similar to us? Do their clients describe the kind of experience that you want?" Heitzman says.
Relevant case studies and documented results can help to establish whether an agency has the experience to deliver. This is crucial for executives who are evaluating service providers.
It becomes particularly important when companies struggle to distinguish themselves from their competitors who are offering similar services.
When your messaging is generic, it can leave prospective buyers uncertain about a provider’s expertise, a concern that was also examined in a recent article on B2B visibility in AI search.
How Does AI Represent Your Business
When buyers use AI assistants to research a company, outdated information can influence how they judge its credibility and capabilities.
Heitzman says HigherVisibility checks how platforms such as ChatGPT and Gemini describe clients, sometimes finding information that is several years out of date.
"Seven, eight years ago, they somehow sourced that information from somewhere that may no longer be accurate to the business,” Heitzman says.
An old review or business profile could misrepresent a company's current services, potentially costing it consideration from qualified buyers.
To address this, Heitzman's team traces the information to its source and identifies which business profiles or website descriptions need updating.
Maintaining consistent company details across trusted platforms is also an important part of earning recommendations in AI search.
"If an AI tool lists your company alongside nine others, that might create awareness, but it doesn't necessarily give that buyer a reason to choose you,” Heitzman says.
Trace Marketing Performance Back to Revenue
When website traffic increases without a corresponding rise in sales, business leaders need to identify where potential customers are being lost before approving additional SEO spending.
"I first want to understand whether or not we need more qualified demand, or whether we are failing to convert the demand that we already have,” Heitzman says.
Heitzman recommends examining visitors' purchasing intent and how effectively sales teams handle inquiries. If there is poor lead qualification or delayed responses that can result in missed opportunities.
AI search complicates performance tracking even further. A customer may discover a company through ChatGPT and later visit its website directly, leaving traditional analytics unable to trace the initial interaction.
If you’re assessing SEO return on investment, qualified opportunities and customer acquisition provide a clearer picture of whether marketing spending is paying off.
What Happens After Buyers Find You?
When there are strong Google rankings that can bring a company into consideration, understanding why prospects ultimately choose a competitor does require looking at the decisions behind each lost sale.
“The best feedback is often from prospects. Okay, what made you reach out to us? Okay, if we lose a deal, why did you end up choosing them over us? Gathering actual real customer feedback is oftentimes the most impactful thing that you can get.”
Heitzman explores these questions further in the full episode, including:
- Why customer feedback can reveal what actually influenced buyers to choose a competitor.
- How AI agents could change the way that people discover and evaluate companies.
- Which performance indicators help executives assess their SEO investment
Don't miss the full convo! Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen on Spotify.
