EP. 126  ·  April 2026

Search Everywhere Optimization for Contractors

Wes Towers spent 20+ years helping builders get found online. Then the entire game changed. ChatGPT started recommending contractors. Google started surfacing AI Overviews before the first organic result. The builders who understood what shifted are winning. The ones still optimizing for 2019 Google are invisible.

48:00
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EP. 126
Search Everywhere Optimization for Contractors
48:00
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Episode Overview

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Your competitor is getting recommended by ChatGPT. Right now. While you're reading this. Wes Towers — Founder of Uplift 360 with 20+ years helping builders — breaks down Search Everywhere Optimization: the shift from "rank on Google" to "show up everywhere AI searches." In this episode, you'll learn how Google AI Overviews are rewarding novelty, how to test your own AI visibility with HubSpot's free grader, why AI-generated images might actually hurt your rankings, and the StoryBrand framework that turns contractor websites into conversion machines. One move. You'll know it by the end.

Table of Contents
  • 0:00 Why AI search should keep you up at night
  • 1:12 The shift to AI Overviews — what changed and why
  • 3:45 How Google rewards novelty in 2025
  • 6:30 HubSpot AI Grader — live demo walkthrough
  • 9:15 The $140K project story
  • 12:40 Show Don't Tell — proof over promises
  • 16:20 Squarespace vs Wix vs Custom — the verdict
  • 19:45 Why AI-generated images might hurt your ranking
  • 22:30 StoryBrand for builders — hero positioning
  • 25:10 ONE move to rank on AI search today
  • 27:45 How to find Wes and get started
What We Cover

6 Topics That Will Change How You Use AI

🤖
Why ChatGPT Is Already Sending Leads to Your Competitor
Most contractors don't know their AI search visibility score. They assume if they rank on Google, they're covered. They're not. Wes runs the HubSpot AI Grader live and shows exactly why the rules changed — and what happens to contractors who don't adapt. The shift from "rank on Google" to "show up everywhere AI searches" isn't coming. It already happened.
🌐
Search Everywhere Optimization — The New Playbook
Google. AI Overviews. ChatGPT. Perplexity. Each platform pulls from different signals. Wes's Search Everywhere Optimization framework maps exactly what each platform rewards — and the surprising overlap that lets contractors win all of them with a single content strategy. Traditional SEO covered one platform. SEO+ covers the entire discovery ecosystem.
🆕
How Google AI Overviews Are Rewarding Novelty
Google's AI Overviews don't just surface high-authority sites — they surface fresh, original perspectives. That's a massive opportunity for builders willing to document what they actually know. Wes explains exactly what "novelty" means in Google's current ranking system, why it rewards trade expertise over generic content, and why most contractor sites are accidentally invisible.
🖼️
Why AI-Generated Images Might Be Killing Your Rankings
The shortcut that backfires: flooding your site with AI-generated photos of job sites, teams, and projects. Wes breaks down the evidence that Google is identifying synthetic imagery and discounting it — and why authentic project photos are a ranking signal that no AI tool can replicate. The "show don't tell" principle for contractors who want proof over promises.
📖
StoryBrand for Builders — Making the Client the Hero
Most contractor websites are about the contractor. The crew, the certifications, the years in business. Donald Miller's StoryBrand framework flips this: the client is the hero. You're the guide. Wes is StoryBrand certified and shows builders exactly how to restructure a homepage so it converts — and why the $140K project case study began with getting this message right.
⚡
ONE Move to Show Up on AI Search Today
Wes ends with the single highest-leverage action a contractor can take right now. Not a 6-month content plan. Not a website rebuild. One move — available today — that signals authority to AI search platforms and starts moving the needle. The contractors who act on this in the next 90 days will be the ones ChatGPT recommends six months from now.
Your Host's Guest
Wes Towers headshot
Wes Towers
Founder
Uplift 360
20+ Years Helping Builders
Search Everywhere Optimization
StoryBrand Certified
Uplift 360 Founder
Get Connected →
Why Wes?
01
Uplift 360 Founder
Built Uplift 360 over 20+ years specifically to help builders and contractors win online — from basic websites to full AI search optimization.
02
Search Everywhere Optimization (SEO+)
Coined the "Search Everywhere Optimization" framework: ensuring contractors show up across Google, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews — not just traditional search.
03
StoryBrand Certified
Uses the StoryBrand framework to transform builder websites from brochures into clarity-first conversion machines that position the client as hero.
04
$140K Project Case Study
Documented a case where optimized search presence directly generated a $140,000 project inquiry — showing the ROI of being visible in the right places.
Featured & Trusted By
Uplift 360
HubSpot
StoryBrand
Google
Perplexity
Topics & Timestamps

Episode Highlights & Insights

Featured Methodology
Search Everywhere Optimization
The framework Wes Towers teaches service businesses to win 6x more clients with story-driven content.
Guest Resource
HubSpot AI Search Grader (Free)
Access the resource →
Episode Duration
48:00
Dense, no-filler conversation covering the full framework from concept to execution.
01
0:00
Why AI search should keep you up at night
02
1:12
The shift to AI Overviews — what changed and why
03
3:45
How Google rewards novelty in 2025
04
6:30
HubSpot AI Grader — live demo walkthrough
05
9:15
The $140K project story
06
12:40
Show Don't Tell — proof over promises
07
16:20
Squarespace vs Wix vs Custom — the verdict
08
19:45
Why AI-generated images might hurt your ranking
09
22:30
StoryBrand for builders — hero positioning
10
25:10
ONE move to rank on AI search today
11
27:45
How to find Wes and get started
Your competitor is getting recommended by ChatGPT right now. The question isn't whether AI search is happening — it's whether you're showing up in it or they are.
— Wes Towers, Uplift 360
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Is ChatGPT Recommending Your Competitor?

Use the free HubSpot AI Grader to find out where you stand — then use Wes's Search Everywhere Optimization checklist to close the gap.

Check Your AI Score →
  • Free AI Visibility Score
  • Search Everywhere Checklist
  • StoryBrand Builder Template
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