The Studio CEO: Business Coaching For Yoga & Pilates Teachers & Studio Owners

AEO: The New SEO? Why Your Studio Traffic Dropped in 2025 | Studio CEO Podcast

• Jackie Murphy • Episode 45

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Have you noticed your website traffic dropping even though you're still doing SEO? You're not alone, and it's not your fault. In this episode, Jackie Murphy breaks down the massive shift that happened in 2024-2025: the rise of AI search tools and why traditional SEO alone isn't enough anymore.

You'll learn:

  • Why more than 50% of Google searches now end without a single click
  • How AI Overviews are hiding your website even if you rank on page one
  • What AEO (AI Engine Optimization) is and why it matters for studio owners
  • How to test if AI tools can even see your business
  • Three simple steps to start optimizing for AI search this week

This episode is pure problem awareness—no overwhelm, no complicated tech talk. Just clarity on what changed and what to do about it.

Listen now to stop losing visibility and start showing up where your ideal clients are actually searching.


What You'll Learn in This Episode

[00:00] Intro: The Traffic Drop Nobody's Talking About

  • Why studio owners everywhere are watching their website traffic plummet
  • The panicked message from a client doing "everything right"
  • What changed in 2024-2025 that shifted the entire search landscape

[03:00] Why This Matters More Than You Think

  • The rise of zero-click searches on Google
  • How AI Overviews are replacing traditional search results
  • Why people are bypassing Google entirely for ChatGPT and Perplexity

[07:00] What Changed: The Rise of AI Search

  • How search results looked in 2019 vs. 2025
  • What Google AI Overviews are and why they're killing your traffic
  • How ChatGPT and Perplexity are recommending businesses without showing traditional search results

[13:00] What Is AEO and How It Works

  • The difference between SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and AEO (AI Engine Optimization)
  • The 6 signals AI tools use to decide who to recommend
  • Why clarity and structure matter more than keywords

[17:00] What This Means for You and Where to Start

  • How to test your AI visibility in under 5 minutes
  • Three actionable steps you can take this week
  • Why you don't have to rebuild your website—just modernize how it communicates


Key Takeaways

✅ Zero-click searches now make up more than 50% of all Google searches—people get their answer from AI Overviews and never click your site

✅ Traditional SEO isn't dead, but it's no longer enough. You need AEO (AI Engine Optimization) to stay visible.

✅ AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are replacing Google for millions of people. If you're not in their recommendations, you're invisible.

✅ You can test your visibility right now by asking ChatGPT or Perplexity about studios in your area and seeing if you show up.

✅ Three quick wins this week: Test your visibility, add structure to your content, and implement schema markup on your website.


About the Studio CEO Podcast

The Studio CEO Podcast helps yoga, Pilates, barre, and boutique fitness studio owners build sustai

Work with Jackie Murphy


SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to the Studio CEO, the only podcast that empowers yoga and Pilates teachers and studio owners to step confidently into their role as CEO. If you are ready to show up with passion, take your business seriously, and scale to new heights without burning out, you are in the right place. I'm your host, Jackie Murphy, an award-winning certified business coach with over 12 years of experience inside the yoga industry. I have seen firsthand what it takes to build a profitable and scalable business. Join me as we dive into strategies, insights, and real-world advice that will help you grow your revenue, build a thriving team, and create a business that serves you as much as you serve your students. It's time to embrace your inner CEO and make more money without working more. This is just the beginning. Hello and welcome back to the Studio CEO Podcast. I am your coach, Jackie Murphy. Today I am recording with a wireless mic, so it may sound a little different, and I'm on the floor of an Airbnb. I have spent the last week traveling for work. I spent the first part of the week visiting a client in Fredericksburg, Virginia. She has two Pilates studios there, and so I went up to make sure that the in-studio marketing, her team, we did an upward feedback survey, was all running smoothly. It was such a fun visit. And then from there, I went to Tampa, Florida to go meet my business coach and all of her other private clients, which was just so incredible. And that's part of where today's podcast came from. I'll tell you that in a minute. But then I got home and we are having the baseboards of our house painted. We have two little boys who have been quite rough with those baseboards. Maybe some moms out there feel me on that. And we thought we were going to be able to live and work in the house while they were doing it, and it just was a complete mess. Um, beds were unusable. And in hindsight, we probably should have figured that out. We last minute rented an Airbnb, and so now we are here and we are gonna make it work. And one thing that I'm just so grateful for is one, the flexibility that a business does give you, and also the ability for us to be like, you know what, we can pivot and we can make this week easier for ourselves because of our businesses, because of what we have created. So we're on the floor today. Welcome in Tampa, Florida, talking to other entrepreneurs, all different business types. I was talking to an owner of a marketing agency, and we were specifically talking about AI in business and how to integrate it and how to use it. And the conversation that followed was something I was like, oh my gosh, I have to talk to my audience about this because no one, as of what I have seen, is telling people about this right now. And today we're gonna be diving into AEO. Is it the new SEO? I don't know. But it is probably why your traffic, organic search engine optimization traffic on Google might have dropped in 2025. Now, I'm going to tell you all about what this is and what you need to know so that you can still be getting that organic traffic coming into your studio, into your business. And I'm also going to tell you that I'm going to be teaching a workshop in December to my clients inside of the studio CEO program with step-by-step what they can do to implement AEO. So just know that if you've been on the fence about joining the studio CEO program, there's never been a better time. This is something that you can join the workshop in December and then start to put into your business so that traffic in 2026 stays where you want it to stay. But I want to tell you that this was on my radar even before this last weekend because I have a client who has been going back and forth with me about her search engine optimization traffic dropping. And I don't just have one client whose SEO traffic has dropped. You may have seen this yourself. Maybe you're getting less visits, maybe you're getting less clicks, but you still have all the keywords on your site. And you've done everything to rank well on Google, meaning that you come up on the first page of results. And here's what I want you all to know: you are not doing anything wrong. You're doing everything right for what worked really well in 2019. But fast forward to 2025, and the internet has changed more in the last 18 months than it did in the last decade. So if you have seen your numbers drop lately, maybe your website visits are down, maybe your inquiries are slow, you are not alone, you're not doing anything wrong, your business isn't suddenly not working, you just don't know the new rules of visibility. And because you're busy running your business, running your studio, teaching classes, posting on social media, hiring, when something massive shifts under the surface, like how people actually search and find businesses like yours, how are you supposed to know about it, right? This is why this podcast is created so that it's easier for you to know what is important in this industry. So we're gonna talk about what really has happened, why your SEO traffic probably has dropped, even though you're doing all the right things, and how to start fixing it. By the end of this episode, you're gonna understand why the game has changed and what you can do to make sure your studio is still discoverable in the new AI-driven search world. Plus, you'll be invited to join the studio CEO where we're doing a full workshop on how to actually step by step integrate this into your business. So before we get into the techie part of this, which don't tune out, you can understand this. I promise you, it's easier than you think. Let's talk about why this actually matters in real human terms, because I think talking AI, I easily can be like, oh my gosh, I am so aware that I don't know much about how AI works. And so I can start to feel a little bit overwhelmed or out of place or out of context. I get it, and I don't want that for you. It's easy to understand, to understand enough, right? You don't need to be the expert in AI. You're the expert in what you offer your students, but you need to know enough. So here's a short version. People are still using Google, but the way that they use it has completely changed. When you go back a few years and you think about it, someone would Google Yoga Studios near me, Yoga Studios Charleston, for example. They would scroll through 10 blue links, they would click on a few websites, compare some class schedules, maybe head over to your Instagram to see how active you are. And that's how you got traffic because people clicked on you showing up on the first page of Google. But now they type that same phrase into Google, and instead of a list, they're going to see a giant box at the top of Google called an AI overview. And in my experience, this is even before you see sponsored Google ads. It's a summary. It's basically Google's own mini blog post written by AI. It pulls information from across the web and gives the answer right there on the search page. So instead of clicking to your site, people are reading the summary and then you move on. Now that I'm saying this out loud, you have probably already done this as someone on Google. You typed a question into Google, you saw the AI overview, got what you needed to get, and then you're moving on with your life without even clicking to any website at all. This is what's called a zero-click search. And more than half of all Google searches now end without a single click. So that is half of all Google searches ending without a single click. So even if you're ranking on page one and all your SEO is right and all your keywords are there, you're blogging, you may not be getting any of the traffic that you used to. You are technically still visible, but you're not actually being seen in the answer that Google is giving. At the same time, millions of people are bypassing Google completely. And I would say it depends on your audience, but I would assume the younger generations are bypassing Google more. They're asking chat GPT, they're asking perplexity, they're asking Claude for information. They're saying things to chat, like, what are a good uh Pilates studio near me for prenatal classes? Which yoga studios in Charleston are best for beginners? I'm visiting town, where should I go take class? These AI tools answer the question right away. They're not gonna show 10 links or 10 websites. They're gonna recommend a few places. If your studio isn't in that AI answer or your business isn't in that AI answer, you're not even going to show up or exist to that person. They'll never Google you, they'll never scroll, they'll never find you. So I want you to test this out right now. Go to Chat GPT, go to Claude and type in best yoga studios in Charleston or your city. You can also type in best yoga retreats to take in 2026 and see what answers come up. I recently did this in the Charlotte airport as I was traveling home and I searched on Google the top yoga studios in Charlotte. I grew up in Charlotte. So I'm from Charlotte, I know the yoga studios, so I like knew what answers would come up. But then I put it into Chat GPT and asked the same question, and it was a completely different list. So you genuinely may not be showing up for these people. So you're gonna go into Chat GPT and you're gonna type in what a potential client or student would type in, and you'll just see, do I show up? Am I relevant? Am I am I showing up to AI? Because the way people search has changed, and because the way the results being displayed have changed, it's not because SEO has stopped working, but that is why your traffic is dropping everywhere. So if you're only focusing on traditional SEO, you're optimizing for a search behavior that's fading away, and you're not gonna show up. So now you know why this matters. Let's look at actually what changed behind the scenes. So for about 20 years, SEO, search engine optimization, was the holy grail of online marketing. And I would say that most businesses have a basic understanding of SEO. You have your keywords, you use them in your headers, you build backlinks, linking to other sites or blog posts, you're posting consistent blogs and you're waiting for Google to essentially be like, this website is viable, it's active, this is an expert, they know what they're talking about. And Google rewards you with visibility. That system worked beautifully. But then when Google introduced AI overviews, open AI turned into ChatGPT, into a personal search engine, and perplexity AI exploded as the first real answer engine. That means people are no longer searching for websites, they're searching for answers. And that seems so basic, but once you start to change how you're thinking about your people searching, you will get this. So AI tools are not ranking pages the way that Google ranked pages for them to get on the first page. They are reading, understanding, and summarizing your information. So, what I want you to understand is that when you type in best yoga studios in Charleston, Google AI overview is not going to give you a list of studios. It's gonna say the best yoga studios in Charleston include this studio, known for super expert instructors, or this studio, which is great for beginners, or this studio because it's got an awesome community and offers a lot of classes. Like it's going to give the answers right there, complete, confident, and right at the top. So the reality is most people are not gonna go past that. They're gonna trust that summary, they're gonna read it, make a decision, and move on. So even if even if you're link one, page one, your link might now be under the AI box, under sponsored ads, and then show up. And people are very short on attention, so they really won't scroll that far. So the new landscape is Google AI overviews. It's Chat GPT and perplexity generating answers, and people are acting conversationally, not typing keywords. How I understand this, and I hope this will be helpful for you, is that when I interact with ChatGPT, I talk to it like it's a person, essentially. I say, hey, I need this, this is what I'm looking for, this is what I need. I don't just say keywords. I don't type in short phrases or sentences the way that I used to talk to Google. Honestly, the way I remember being trained to use Google in school, like that will tell you how old I am and what's going on. But there was a way to like, this is how you search well in Google. And it was keywords, it was short phrases, it was clicking on links, making sure they were verified, they were good sources, and it was really going through the information. Now we're doing less keywords and we're doing more conversation because it's more intelligent. You don't have to break it down as much, you don't have to do as much back end research, although you still should. But I want you to think about this. Your students are now going to be asking questions. So your website needs to have answers. Write that down. This is the biggest difference in like how people are actually talking to it. They're interacting conversationally, they are asking questions, and your website needs to have answers that the AI can understand. There's quick ways to do that, easy ways to do that, so that you can be the answer. So you're going to have to understand what is called AEO, answer engine optimization. What is AEO? So SEO is optimizing your website so Google can rank it. AEO is optimizing your content so AI tools can use it as the answer. SEO cared about algorithms and rankings, and AEO cares about clarity, structure, and trust. So really, let's just like hone this in. When we were working on SEO, you'd probably be thinking, how do I get my page to rank for Yoga Studio in Charleston keyword? The AEO mindset is how can I make it easy for AI to recognize my studio as the best answer for people looking for yoga in Charleston? That is a big difference. It's not how do I put these keywords and rank, it's how do I become the answer to the questions people are asking so that I can show up. So AI tools decide what to show based on signals like clear, direct answers. Your contents, your blogs, they should answer a question in the first few sentences. You are gonna use structured formatting using headings, short paragraphs, and bullet points so AI can scan it easily. You're gonna add in lots of trust signals showing expertise, experience, authority, and trust. Think lots of testimonials, your credentials, your instructor's credentials. We're gonna talk those up way more than we ever have. You're gonna have schema markup, behind the scenes code that labels your pages as a business, your FAQ section, or any blog post so that AI knows what it's looking at. And that's what we're gonna teach in the workshop, you guys. You have to have fresh content, update your site regularly. You're gonna want to show up everywhere with new relevant information. And you're gonna want to have citations and backlinks. So when any other site links to you, AI is gonna see you as more credible. So as we go through that list, there is some crossover with SEO. There's just a few quick things that you can do differently to start becoming the answer in AEO. So, what does this all mean for you? I hope you haven't tuned out. You've got this, you guys. If your traffic has dropped, it's not because you're failing at marketing, it's because literally the way we use the internet has changed and we're just changing with it. We're updating and we're adapting as it changes. You don't need to rebuild your site, you don't need to drastically change everything. You don't even need to go out and hire an AEO expert. This is something that you can do yourself, but you do need to modernize how your site communicates. So, what you're going to do now is one, we already talked about it, test your visibility, open chat GBT or perplexity or Claude or whatever you use, and ask it a question. Who are the best yoga teachers in Chicago? Or what's the best uh Pilates teacher training to take? Do you show up? If not, now you know why your traffic is down. Then you are going to restructure or add more structure in so that each content section on your website is answering a question. So this is changing the way that you talk on your website. Then you're gonna join the studio CEO so that I can talk you through step by step how to add AEO into your plan for organic marketing so that you can drive up visibility in 2026. And if you do that, y'all, you're gonna be ahead of so many businesses. Because I can't tell you how many people at this uh event, networking event I was at, were like, what are you talking about? I've never heard of that. I don't know how to do that. And if that was a room full of really successful entrepreneurs, I want you to really imagine that this isn't something that the average quote-unquote yoga or Pilates business is implementing quite yet. So I want you to be one of the first so you could be on the leading edge. If you're inside of the studio CEO program, we're gonna dive deep into this in an upcoming workshop. You already have an SEO workshop in there. We're just gonna layer this on because it's not that AEO is replacing SEO, it's just that SEO on its on its own doesn't do what it used to do. So now AEO is going to complement your SEO and vice versa. Because this isn't really optional. We want you to get the best organic traffic. We want you to get ranked with SEO, and we want you to get chosen as the answer for AEO. Y'all ready? The first thing you need to do right now is just go ask your AI about your business, about your service, your location, what you do, and answer are you visible or invisible? And if you're invisible, don't panic at all. We'll know exactly what to do inside that workshop in December. I'll talk you through step by step what you can do. All right, my friends, I'll see you inside the studio CEO program. The week that this podcast airs, if you're listening to this late, I'm so sorry. Doesn't apply. The week that this podcast airs, we are running a discount on the studio CEO program. You can get a full year of business coaching strategy support so that you can learn how to get more leads in your business, convert at least 30% or higher of those leads, deliver well, manage your time. You can get that for$200 off. And if you do the monthly payment, it's only$94 a month. And I can't promise you this, but what I can tell you is that what you learn inside of the studio, the studio CEO program, it will most likely help you get a new member per month. And that would make the cost of it worth it. So click the link below. Make sure you don't miss out on the discount happening this week only. And I will see you inside the program. We're gonna dive into AEO workshop in December, and we're gonna make sure that you are visible because I know you're really, really good at what you do. We just need to make sure that you get seen. Talk to you in the next episode.