Session 3.9 · Get Found / Search

People already looking for you

Here is what makes this route special, and a little magical. Every other route in this whole section, you were the one reaching out, to your network, to a room, to a partner. This one flips entirely. Here, they reach out to you, because they are already out there searching, right this minute, for exactly what you do. Somebody is typing best honeymoon advisor into Google as we speak. The only question that matters is whether they find you, or whether they find someone else. Today we make sure it is you.

SEO, in plain language

Let me strip all the jargon off this, because SEO scares people for no reason. SEO is just this: figure out the exact words your people type when they are looking, and make sure your website says those words, clearly. That is most of it. Someone types best honeymoon advisor in Austin, or family trip to Italy with kids. Those phrases are pure gold, because the person typing them is ready, they have intent. And here is the Vanity Trap angle: a thousand followers who will never book are worth less than one person searching that phrase tonight. So write for the searcher, not for some imaginary algorithm.

Google Business Profile and directories

Now the single highest-return thing that most advisors somehow never do: set up your Google Business Profile. It is completely free, and it is what shows up when someone searches your name or your service nearby, your reviews, your link, your details, right there. Then get yourself listed in the directories that matter for travel and for your niche. These listings are what make you look real and findable the instant someone goes looking. Claim them, fill them out completely, do not leave fields blank, and keep them current. The step-by-step, click-by-click setup is waiting for you in the Specialty Library.

Pinterest and YouTube are search, too

Remember what we said back in 3.4, that Pinterest is not really social, it is a search engine? Same with YouTube, and here is a stat that surprises people, YouTube is the second most used search engine in the entire world, right behind Google itself. People go to both and type in exactly what they want, and unlike a social post that vanishes in hours, your content there can keep surfacing for months or even years. For travel that is a perfect fit, because people search for trip ideas constantly. One pin, one video, answering one real question, keeps working for you long after you made it. That is evergreen search, working while you sleep.

SEO meets AEO

And here is what is changing fast, so you stay ahead of it. People do not only search Google anymore. They ask AI. They ask ChatGPT, they ask Perplexity, they read the AI answer sitting on top of the Google results. That is AEO, answer engine optimization, and it just means making sure you are the source the AI names when somebody asks it for a travel advisor. The good news is you do not need a whole new skill set, because AEO rewards the exact same things good SEO does: clear, helpful, specific content that genuinely answers the question. So write to be the answer, and you will show up whether they search the old way or the brand-new way.

They will check you out

Now here is the part almost everyone misses, and it ties this whole section together. Search is not only how strangers find you cold. It is how everyone vets you. Think about it. After someone refers you, after you meet at an event, after a partner mentions your name, what is the very next thing that person does? They look you up. They pull up your Google Business Profile, they glance at your socials, they check your LinkedIn. Which means every single route you have built feeds right into this one moment. So make absolutely sure that when they look, what they find is consistent, current, and makes them think, yes, this person is a pro. You can do everything else right and lose them on a stale, empty profile.

Searcher to subscriber

And one last thing, because getting found is only half the win. A visitor who finds you, reads one thing, and leaves is gone, and you may never even know they came by. So the rule is the same as it has been this whole section: turn the searcher into a subscriber. Every page they land on should offer your magnet and give them a clear reason to join your list. They came looking for an answer, so give them a genuinely great one, and then invite them to stay. Found, then captured, then yours. That is the whole point.

Put your Second Mate to work

Real jobs, not just rewriting: it does the keyword research, writes your Google Business Profile and directory copy, and drafts clear pages built to be found, and to be the answer. Copy-paste prompts in the library, How to Prompt Your Second Mate.

This is a session where your Second Mate genuinely saves you hours. Ask it to do your keyword research, the real phrases your people type, sorted by intent. Have it write your Google Business Profile description and your directory listings. And have it draft web pages that answer your top keywords clearly enough that both Google and the AI answer engines would happily cite you. You provide the truth and your voice; it provides the legwork and the first draft.

Your first brick: three keywords, one profile

Here is your work, and we do it together. Write the three phrases your people actually type when they are ready to plan. Claim and completely fill out your Google Business Profile, honestly the highest-return hour you will spend in this whole program. And make sure every page they could land on offers the magnet and a way onto your list. Three keywords, one profile, one capture. That is a real search presence started.

Want a hand with this part?

And if SEO still feels like a foreign language, or you have never touched your Google Business Profile, or you have no idea what shows up when someone Googles you, this is exactly what we are here for. Three doors. Bring your keywords to Professor Hours and we will sharpen them live. Book a one-on-one and we will set up your profile and audit your whole search presence together. Or hire us and we will build it out for you. You do not have to crack search alone.

Into 3.10

So now people can find you when they go looking, and you look like a pro when they check. There is one route left in this section, and it is the only one you pay for directly. Used carefully, it can put you in front of exactly the right people, fast. Next, the last route, paying to reach the right people.