Google is still central to how businesses are discovered. But international buyers now search, compare and make shortlists across AI tools, industry sources and other platforms. Being visible on Google alone no longer tells the whole story.
Andy Gee | Founder & CEO, Onlyseo
Imagine a business owner in Dubai preparing to establish a European operation in Cyprus. A few years ago, their first step might have been to Google “Cyprus company formation services”, open several websites and start making enquiries.
Today, that same buyer might ask ChatGPT: “We are a UAE company opening an office in Cyprus. Which firms can help with incorporation, accounting, payroll and VAT, and work with us in English? Who would you recommend?”
The assistant may recommend a handful of firms, drawing on information from websites and other sources. If your company is not among them, you may never know the opportunity existed. No enquiry arrives. No proposal is rejected. The potential customer simply moves on.
That is what makes this change in search so important for international businesses. You cannot compete for customers who never discover you.
The Search Journey No Longer Happens in One Place
For years, search visibility was largely a question of where your website appeared on Google. A buyer typed in a few keywords, opened the results and compared providers. Google remains essential, but the buying journey is no longer confined to one search engine.
People still use Google Search and Maps. They also ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity for advice, watch YouTube reviews, research companies on LinkedIn, discover products on Instagram and TikTok, consult industry publications and check specialist directories. Depending on the product or service, they may use several of these before contacting anyone.
The questions themselves are changing. “Accountant Cyprus” gives a search engine very little context. “I run a UK software company setting up in Cyprus and need an English-speaking adviser familiar with EU VAT, payroll and cross-border reporting” tells an AI assistant exactly what the buyer values.
For a company seeking overseas customers, that distinction matters. Your business needs to answer the real questions people ask, not simply repeat broad keywords on a page.
I call this wider approach Search Everywhere Optimization. It does not mean abandoning traditional SEO. It means recognising that Google is one important part of a much bigger discovery journey.
The Shortlist Can Form Before You Get a Click
At a recent keynote, I illustrated the change with something deliberately simple: buying a pair of shoes. I asked ChatGPT to recommend black walking shoes with good cushioning, under €120, delivered to Cyprus. In that one demonstration, it consulted ten websites and recommended products from just two retailers.
That was a single example, not a prediction of how every AI answer works. But it showed the commercial reality clearly: the customer received a shortlist without browsing all the businesses that might have been able to help.
The same pattern can apply when someone is choosing a legal adviser, technology partner, logistics provider or corporate services firm. The value of the opportunity may be much greater, but a company can still be overlooked before its sales team knows a buyer is in the market.
I describe this as the Phantom Funnel, with four stages:
Ask. A customer describes a need, often including country, language, budget, regulatory requirements and sector experience. Your job is to make those details clear in your content.
Shortlist. Search platforms, AI tools and independent sources surface companies worth considering. Your website matters, but so do credible articles, reviews, relevant directories and industry mentions.
Check. The buyer looks for reassurance. Can you demonstrate experience in their market? Are your services, people and contact details easy to verify? Do independent sources support what you say?
Choose. The buyer decides whom to contact. Clear service descriptions, relevant proof and an easy path to an enquiry help turn consideration into a commercial opportunity.
This funnel existed before AI, but more of it can now happen without a visit to your website. That is why rankings and traffic alone cannot describe the whole buying journey.
International Visibility Takes More Than Translation
Consider a Cyprus-based company targeting the UK, the UAE and Germany. It might offer the same core service in each market, but its potential customers will not necessarily search in the same way or care about the same things.
A UK buyer might want proof of regulatory knowledge. A procurement team in Germany might look for certifications and delivery capacity. A UAE business owner might place more emphasis on international experience, local partnerships or English-language support. These are examples, not assumptions about every buyer, but they show why changing the country name on a landing page is rarely enough.
Start with the customers you actually want to win. What are they trying to solve? Which questions do they ask before buying? What information would give them confidence to choose a provider in another country?
Build clear pages for your priority services and markets. Explain who the service is for, what is included, the locations you genuinely serve and what makes your experience relevant. Make the website technically accessible and easy to navigate so both search systems and people can understand it.
Your Reputation Cannot Live on Your Website Alone
A company can describe itself as an expert, but international buyers often look for evidence beyond the company’s own claims. Search platforms and AI assistants may also encounter a brand through independent articles, industry websites, reputable links, directories and customer feedback.
This is why digital PR, relevant third-party mentions and trustworthy backlinks matter. A useful industry analysis, original research or a well-documented project can give publications a reason to reference your business. Genuine reviews and accurate listings help buyers verify that the company is who it says it is.
The objective is not to manufacture recommendations or appear on every website. It is to make real expertise visible in the places that your target customers use and trust.
Measure Opportunities, Not Just Rankings
Higher rankings and more traffic can be positive signals, but an international growth strategy should ultimately be judged by the quality of the opportunities it creates. Track enquiries from priority markets, the services people ask about and whether those enquiries progress into commercial conversations.
It is also worth reviewing which competitors appear in relevant AI answers and which sources support those answers. Treat this as directional research rather than a fixed league table. Recommendations can change by wording, platform, location and timing, and not every valuable interaction produces a trackable click.
Test Your Visibility Before Entering a New Market
Pick one service and one country you want to grow in. Write three questions that a serious prospective customer might ask. Include the details they would genuinely care about, such as budget, sector, language, location or specialist requirements.
Try those questions on Google and a few AI platforms. Note which businesses appear, why they seem credible and which third-party sources are mentioned. Then look up your own company. Is its information accurate? Does it clearly communicate the markets and services you want to be known for?
One answer does not prove how visible a business is. But if your company is missing repeatedly, or the information is weak or outdated, you have found a useful place to start.
International growth has always depended on being known and trusted in new markets. What has changed is where those first impressions form. Customers are searching everywhere. Make sure your business is part of the conversation before the shortlist is complete.
02 / CBG EXPERT FEATURE | SUGGESTED HALF-PAGE PRINT EXCERPT
The International Clients You Never Knew You Lost
Andy Gee | Founder & CEO, Onlyseo
Imagine a business owner in Dubai choosing a Cyprus-based adviser. Not long ago, they might have Googled a few keywords and compared websites. Today, they might ask ChatGPT to recommend firms with specific experience, language skills and services.
The answer could contain a shortlist before the buyer visits a single company website. If your business is missing, you may never even know that opportunity existed.
Google remains essential, but customers now search across AI platforms, industry publications, directories and other sources too. I call this shift Search Everywhere Optimization.
For international businesses, it means answering the questions buyers ask in each market, making your expertise easy to verify and building a reputation that exists beyond your own website.
Before customers choose you, they need to know you exist. The full article explores what this changing journey means for businesses trying to grow across borders.
EDITORIAL PRODUCTION NOTE (NOT FOR PRINT): Please add a QR code linking to the full article on the CBG platform.
03 / SILVER SPONSOR FEATURE | ONE-PAGE EDITORIAL COPY
Your competitors are appearing in AI answers. Are you?
Search now happens beyond Google. Onlyseo helps brands stay visible everywhere.
Not long ago, when someone needed a product or service, their first instinct was to Google it.
Google remains an essential part of that journey. But today, customers are searching in more places than ever. They’re asking ChatGPT for recommendations, discovering brands on Instagram and TikTok, watching YouTube reviews and comparing businesses across different platforms.
Search is no longer happening in just one place. And businesses need to adapt.
For companies, this creates both a challenge and an opportunity. Being highly ranked on Google is still valuable, but what happens when potential customers turn to AI or another platform and your competitors are recommended instead?
This shift is at the heart of Onlyseo’s approach.
Led by founder and CEO Andy Gee, Onlyseo is a specialist search agency helping businesses strengthen their visibility across the platforms their customers use.
Having worked with more than 400 companies and helped generate over €23 million in client revenue, the agency is redefining its approach to SEO around one concept: Search Everywhere Optimization.
From Search Engines to Search Everywhere
Traditional SEO focused primarily on improving a website’s visibility in search engines. Today, that is only part of the picture.
Onlyseo combines international, national and local SEO with technical optimisation, content strategy and Google Maps visibility. Its services also extend to Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), helping businesses strengthen their presence in AI-generated answers and recommendations.
But search visibility doesn’t depend on a company’s website alone.
Digital PR, authoritative backlinks, third-party mentions and online reputation all contribute to how a business is discovered, understood and trusted across different platforms.
Rather than treating these as separate activities, Onlyseo brings them together under one integrated search strategy.
More Visibility. More Opportunities. More Growth.
The objective isn’t simply to rank for more keywords or attract more visitors. It’s to reach potential customers wherever they are researching, comparing and making purchasing decisions.
For an international business, that could mean reaching buyers in new markets. For a local company, it might mean appearing when someone searches Google Maps. For another, it could mean becoming one of the businesses recommended when a potential customer asks ChatGPT for advice.
Onlyseo develops strategies around these opportunities, with paid search and conversion rate optimisation complementing organic visibility where appropriate to turn interest into enquiries and revenue.
As Andy Gee explains:
“SEO used to stand for Search Engine Optimization. Today, we see it as Search Everywhere Optimization. Because customers no longer search in just one place, businesses need to be visible wherever they’re looking.”
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