AI Search: How to Measure Success in the Age of Zero-Clicks w/Mike Witham and Blake Nielson @ 97th Floor

Organic traffic is down. Click-through rates are dropping. And every marketer is panicking about whether their SEO strategy is dead. Mike Witham and Blake Nielson from 97th Floor's AI Task Force are here to set the record straight: 80% of what worked in SEO still works for AI search—but that 20% difference is critical.

In this tactical breakdown, Mike and Blake share what they're seeing across dozens of client accounts as they test, measure, and optimize for the new reality of AI-powered search. Spoiler: if you're still only measuring organic traffic, you're missing the entire story.

Key takeaways for marketers:

• The new KPI framework: Why impression data, brand mentions, and citations matter more than organic traffic now—and how to track them in Google Search Console
• The follow-up search strategy: How to identify and measure the branded queries that happen after someone reads about you in an AI overview (and why this is your new conversion path)
• Topic clusters 2.0: Why the old hub-and-spoke model isn't enough—you need cohesive messaging across product pages, blog posts, comparison pages, AND social profiles for LLMs to validate your authority

Resources: 

- Request a free AI Search Audit: https://97thfloor.com/ai-audit/ 

- Connect with Mike Witham on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-o-witham/ 

- Connect with Blake Nielson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/blakejnielson/ 

- Connect with Paxton on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paxtongray/ 

- Looking for an agency that'll be worth the investment? 97th Floor creates custom, audience-first campaigns that drive pipeline and conversions. Get started here: https://97thfloor.com/lets-talk/. 

About Mike Witham: Mike Witham is the Head of Search at 97th Floor, where he has spent the past seven years leading SEO strategy and performance for enterprise and high-growth brands. Based in Lehi, UT, he specializes in building data-driven search campaigns that achieve bottom-line results for clients. With his ability to create holistic, full-funnel marketing campaigns, Mike helps teams turn organic search into a highly profitable, revenue-driving channel.

About Blake Nielson: Blake Nielson is the Head of Accounts at 97th Floor, where he partners with enterprise and high-growth brands to turn organic search into a measurable revenue channel. With deep expertise in SEO and AI search, he helps clients translate complex shifts in the search landscape into clear business strategy. Blake specializes in building strong client relationships, aligning teams around growth goals, and making sure every campaign ties back to bottom-line results.

Timestamps:

1:13 - AI search vs. SEO

5:22 - Measuring impact in the AI age

10:47 - Follow-up searches & Search Console

16:05 - Rethinking topic clusters

23:31 - Offsite strategy: Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn

30:18 - Hot takes & schema markup experiment