SEO company for US businesses that want to be the answer

Google's guidance for the AI answer at the top of its results asks for nothing beyond good SEO, so a US engagement starts with your rankings. On a Saturday, a facilities manager in Columbus searches Google for commercial HVAC repair and reads that answer before any link.

More than 20 years in, the funnel changed shape

In 2004 I was doing SEO for a skincare company in Sacramento, and the job was links and keywords. Then people-search at national scale, where the lesson was structure. For years the funnel held its shape: a question, ten blue links, a choice. Now the buyer asks an AI assistant and it answers instead of listing. Either it knows your business or it doesn't.

357%

In June 2025, growth in AI platform referrals to the web's top 1,000 sites since June 2024

1.13 billion visits in June 2025. Google Search over the same month: 191 billion.

Similarweb, July 2025

Hayden Bond, Founder

Six in ten US adults say they've read the AI answer above the links

The links in that AI answer come from pages already in Google's search results, so a page Google has skipped can't be one of them. We find the pages Google skipped and fix what's keeping them out.

60%
of US adults say they ever read the AI summaries at the top of search results

Pew Research Center, survey of US adults, Feb 17 to 23, 2026.

SEO and AI search services in the United States

Plate Lunch Collective is an AI SEO agency that gets brands named when buyers ask, in search, on social, and in AI. SEO, AI search and social search for a US business start from your metro, your category and how far your buyers search.

  • AI SEO / GEO

    Your business is not showing up when someone asks an AI assistant for a recommendation in your category.

    AI SEO / GEO
  • Entity SEO

    Your name, address and hours differ across Google, Yelp and the national directories, so buyers in your metro see three versions of you.

    Entity SEO
  • AI Search Game Plan

    You'd like to see where you stand in Google and AI answers first, with a plan you can act on yourself.

    AI Search Game Plan
  • Answer Engine Optimization

    A buyer in your metro asks Google a question about your trade and reads an AI answer that quotes a competitor.

    AEO
  • Citation-Ready Content

    You know your trade, but national directories and review sites answer your buyers' questions and your site doesn't.

    Citation-ready content
  • Social Search Optimization

    Many buyers look up businesses like yours on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, and the names they find there are your competitors'.

    Social search

What do the AI assistants say about you?

Tell us about the business, and the first conversation starts from the answer. We'll come back within one business day.

Work with us

Industries we serve in the United States

A winery in Napa and a job shop in Ohio need very different things from Google and from ChatGPT. How far a buyer will travel, and which sites they trust, sets the SEO and AI search plan for every industry below, with social built in.

  • Hospitality

    Hotels in Scottsdale, boutique properties in Charleston, resorts in Park City.

    Hospitality
  • Tourism

    Adventure outfitters in Moab, whale watching in Monterey, guided tours in Savannah.

    Tourism
  • Agritourism

    Wineries in Napa and Willamette Valley, farm stays in Vermont, u-pick in the Central Valley.

    Agritourism
  • Aviation

    Regional carriers, flight schools in Phoenix and Daytona Beach, charter operators.

    Aviation
  • Transportation

    Shuttle services, luxury ground transport, rental agencies in airport markets.

    Transportation
  • Agribusiness

    Specialty produce in the Central Valley, ranches in Montana, organic operations in the Pacific Northwest.

    Agribusiness
  • SaaS

    Software companies in Austin, San Francisco, New York, and distributed teams nationwide.

    SaaS
  • Skincare

    DTC skincare brands in Los Angeles, clean beauty in Portland, clinical lines in New Jersey.

    Skincare
  • Manufacturing

    Job shops across the Midwest, contract manufacturers in Ohio and Michigan, fabricators and coaters in Texas.

    Manufacturing
  • Creators

    Content creators in Los Angeles, food creators in New York, lifestyle creators in Nashville.

    Creators
  • Dating

    Dating apps and matchmaking services in Los Angeles, Austin, New York and Miami.

    Dating
  • Local Business

    Restaurants, retail, trades and services in metros and mid-market cities from Sacramento to Charlotte.

    Local Business
  • E-Commerce

    DTC brands shipping nationwide from fulfillment hubs in Ohio, Texas, and Nevada.

    E-Commerce
  • Surf, Fitness & Lifestyle

    Surf brands in Southern California, fitness studios in Miami, outdoor brands in Colorado.

    Surf, Fitness & Lifestyle

All industries

Questions US businesses ask

Do I need to be in Hawaii to work with Plate Lunch Collective?

No. Plate Lunch Collective is headquartered in Hawaii and works with US businesses nationwide. We work remotely, because the work happens on your site, your listings and the places your buyers search, and none of it needs us down the street. The founder spent seven years working in Canada before Hawaii and has delivered for clients across time zones throughout.

How does AI search differ for a business in a competitive US metro versus a smaller market?

In a competitive metro there are lots of businesses for any question, and the AI assistant has more options to choose from. In a smaller market there are fewer, which means it's easier to get named but it costs more to be left out: there are only a few names for the AI assistant to recommend, and if yours isn't one of them, people notice who is.

Can you work with a business that has locations in multiple states?

Yes. For a group in Austin, Nashville and Denver, we start with the city that has the most to gain and roll the work out from there, one location at a time. Each city gets its own listing, a page with something true about that place, and a steady way to earn reviews. One headquarters address for every location hides the other cities, so we never set it up that way.

You're in Hawaii and we're in Ohio. Do you know our market?

Not the way a local does, and we don't pretend to. What we bring is the method and more than 20 years of US work, a Sacramento skincare company first and then national accounts. The AI Search Game Plan reads your market the way Google and the AI assistants show it, and your team supplies what only a local knows: which directories matter, which publications your buyers read, which competitors are the ones to watch. Familiarity buys a faster start. The read comes from the data.

How does Plate Lunch Collective handle the difference between national and local search intent?

A SaaS company going after a category search needs to be a brand people already know across the country, with reviews, comparisons and coverage in the trade sites its buyers read. A restaurant going after a neighborhood search needs to be known at that address, with a strong map listing, local reviews and local mentions. When a business plays at both levels, we build for both and keep the national and local pages from competing with each other.

What would $1,500 a month get one location in one US metro?

In one metro, ongoing work starts at $1,500 a month and begins on Google, with your map listing, your reviews and the service pages people search for. Compare that with what one steady account is worth to you, say the facilities manager in Columbus who searches for commercial HVAC repair on a Saturday. Your call count since we started is how we're judged. If you want a look across your metro before anything ongoing, the AI Search Game Plan starts at $1,500.

AI Search Game Plan

How do you handle local SEO for a business that serves one metro?

Identity first. One name, one address, one phone number, one set of hours, matching on the site, the Google Business Profile and the directories that count in that metro. Many local sites we open have two or three versions, and we fix that first. Then pages for the places the business really serves, each with something true and specific on it; a Mesa page that is a Tempe page with the city swapped gets filtered. Reviews get a process. We run all of it as one project, because the work that puts a business in Google's map results is the same work that gets an AI assistant to name it when someone in that metro asks.

How does the engagement work?

We plan the work 90 days at a time, starting each cycle with whatever will help most in your metro, or in each metro if you have several, and then doing it. For most businesses here that's a listing and reviews for every location, plus pages that answer what local buyers ask. Every quarter we show you your leads, calls and sales beside the counts from when the first cycle began. Ongoing work starts at $1,500 a month.

Find out where your US business stands

Your metro comes first: before we talk, we see how an AI assistant answers a buyer who asks for your category, and which businesses it names. An AI Search Game Plan takes that look across your whole metro, on Google and in AI answers.