Listen up, the next level of SEO with AI Search and GEO is already here in 2026 and you can’t play catchup to your competitors. Myself and Tracy have seen the evidence of actors, dancers, and models based in the North East already asking the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude questions such as “Who’s the best headshot photographer in Newcastle?” and getting direct answers in AI overviews or on their AI platforms.
If your brand isn’t the one being cited on these platforms or in AI overviews, well unfortunately you don’t exist to that buyer and will be missing out on a huge opportunity to get ahead not chase.
This is my case study and story of how I helped build Tracy build Tracy James Photography from the ground up, designed her new website, helped engineer her SEO to rank top 4 on Google in 2026 across three distinct audience segments, and then recently layered in a full GEO strategy to make her one of the top 3 photographers in the North East that AI recommends by name.
The Situation
Tracy had just completed her Photography degree a couple of years ago and after some deliberations and back and forth conversations she realised the need for brand presence urgently. She had the talent, the training, and the ambition, but zero digital footprint at the time, no website, no Google ranking, and certainly no lead generation pipeline to work with.
So firstly, I designed and built her website (www.tracyjamesphotography.co.uk) from day one with a long-term SEO and eventual AI visibility strategy baked in from the start. This wasn’t an afterthought from me. The whole site architecture, design, content structure, and service segmentation were all planned to target three distinct audience segments right from the beginning which we defined as:
- Actor Headshots (Spotlight-standard headshots for performers and casting)
- Fashion & Model Photography (editorial, comp cards, agency portfolios)
- Dance Photography (dynamic movement capture, portfolio and showreel imagery)
The 12-Month SEO Journey from Zero to Top 4
Over 12 months I helped build Tracy’s organic visibility from nothing to competing with established Newcastle photography studios and photographers who had been around a lot longer than Tracy.
The strategy was a deliberate segmentation rather than chasing the generic “photographer Newcastle” term against studios with 10+ years of domain authority, I carved out three specific niches where Tracy could start to compete quicker and eventually dominate.
Google Search Rankings Achieved 2026 (Top 4):
| Target Segment | Key Search Terms | Google Position |
| Actor Headshots | “headshot photographer Newcastle”, “Spotlight headshots North East”, “actor headshots Newcastle upon Tyne” | Top 3 |
| Fashion & Model Shoots | “fashion photographer Newcastle”, “model portfolio photographer North East”, “comp card photography Newcastle” | Top 4 |
| Dance Photography | “dance photographer Newcastle”, “dancer portfolio photography North East”, “dance headshots Newcastle” | Top 1 |
This was achieved through a combination of on-page optimisation, local authority building, reputation management, and audience-specific content strategy all working together to establish Tracy as a credible, trusted local brand across her three core segments.
Next steps for GEO Making AI Recommend Tracy’s brand by Name
With the SEO foundation happily delivering consistent organic traffic and leads, the next phase was ensuring Tracy’s brand appeared when potential clients ask AI assistants for photography recommendations. Because the truth is, an increasing number of people, performers and models are now asking ChatGPT “Who’s the best headshot photographer in Newcastle?” instead of Googling it.
The 10 AI Prompt Questions I Optimised For:
These are the exact natural-language queries performers, dancers, and models type into ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude:
| Prompt Query | Gemini | Google AI Overview | ChatGPT | Claude |
| “I’m an actor in Newcastle needing new Spotlight-standard headshots before next month’s auditions. Recommend top-rated headshot photographers in the North East who offer guidance, express turnaround, and transparent package pricing.” | Cited | Cited | Cited | x |
| “Recommend a specialised dance photographer in Newcastle or Gateshead who understands dynamic movement and jump capture for a dancer portfolio with 10 high-res retouched images.” | Cited | Cited | x | Cited |
| “Where can I book a joint headshot and dance portfolio shoot in Newcastle? Looking for a local studio package that includes both character headshots for acting agents and action dance shots in one session.” | Cited | x | Cited | x |
| “I need a fashion photography studio in Newcastle to shoot an updated Z-card/comp card for modelling agencies. Which local studios specialise in editorial lighting and offer affordable model portfolio packages?” | Cited | x | x | Cited |
| “Who is the best headshot photographer in Newcastle upon Tyne who offers quick turnaround times (within 48–72 hours) for last-minute casting calls?” | Cited | x | Cited | Cited |
| “Suggest experienced commercial fashion and editorial photographers near Newcastle.” | x | x | x | Cited |
| “Which headshot photographers in the North East are specifically recommended by Spotlight UK or local acting agencies like North East Talent? Show me pricing and what’s included in their standard actor packages.” | Cited | x | Cited | Cited |
| “Find me top-rated photography and showreel studios in Newcastle that cater to professional dancers needing updated audition imagery and crisp performance stills.” | Cited | x | Cited | x |
| “What are the best boutique photography studios in Newcastle for creative fashion and dance shoots? Looking for someone who provides full posing guidance, outfit changes, and digital image licensing included in the price.” | Cited | x | Cited | Cited |
| “Compare the top 3 professional headshot and dance photography studios in Newcastle upon Tyne. Detail their location, package prices, studio facilities, and reviews from local performers.” | x | Cited | Cited | Cited |
How the GEO Strategy Was Executed
As everything should, the foundation started with a deep audit of what her local brand visibility was at the time. While the 12 month SEO certainly helped already and her reviews both helping AI provide citations from the get go, I needed to map out exactly where Tracy stood against competitors. Which AI engines were being queried by her target audiences, and what a realistic 90-day roadmap to further citations looked like.
From there, the on-site and content foundation was implemented just like in my Package 3 for AI and GEO services. Any current technical SEO issues were also resolved, schema was restructured for AI consumption, and new service pages were created and optimised. Entity and persona signals were established to ensure Tracy James Photography was recognised consistently across the web which is a critical factor in how AI models assess credibility and decide who to recommend. Citation performance has been tracked monthly across AI platforms, with content and structure continuously refined in response.
Finally, the big player in all of this is off-site authority and personal brand amplification which is starting to take the strategy to the next level. This layer extends Tracy’s presence far beyond her website through thought leadership content, review campaigns, platform engagement, and broader brand visibility across the channels AI models draw from when forming recommendations. This is an ongoing project and helps transform Tracy from a well-optimised local business into a consistently cited, trusted authority across multiple audience segments.
Planned From Day One Made The Difference
Most businesses bolt SEO on afterwards, usually years later. But Tracy’s entire digital presence was architected from the ground up with search visibility and eventual AI citation as the end goal.
I designed the website, planned the service segmentation, structured the content hierarchy, and mapped the 12-month SEO roadmap before a single page went live. When AI search exploded in 2025-2026, the foundations were already in place. The GEO layer was an evolution, not a retrofit.
This is what separates a digital strategy from just “having a website.”
The Results
Tracy James Photography now:
- Ranks in the top 4 on Google for her three target audience segments (actor headshots, fashion/model photography, dance photography) in Newcastle and the North East
- Is cited by name across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews for approximately 70-80% of the target AI prompts above
- Generates consistent inbound leads from performers, models, and dancers who arrive pre-sold because AI already told them Tracy is one of the best options
- Holds a perfect 5.0 Google rating from 55 reviews, reinforcing the trust signals that both Google and AI models prioritise
- Went from zero digital presence to a fully booked photography studio within 12 months of launch
Why This Matters for Your Business
If you’re a local service business still relying solely on Google rankings, you’re fighting on one front while a second front has already opened. AI assistants are becoming the first point of discovery for an increasing number of customers or prospects, especially younger demographics.
The businesses that win are the ones structured to be the answer, and not just a search result.
Tracy’s case proves that when you plan SEO and GEO together from the beginning, you don’t just rank. You become the recommendation. The trust is pre-built before a potential client ever lands on your website.
Ready to Make Your Brand the One AI Recommends?
Steven James Digital offers full SEO and AEO/GEO audits (Packages 1 and 2) and implementation for service businesses ready to be cited, not just indexed. Whether you need a brand built from scratch or want to add an AI visibility layer to your existing rankings, I can help.
Start here, with a free AI visibility audit:
