How a top identity verification and KYC provider drove a 608% increase in AI conversions through high-intent SEO and GEO

The company needed to capture technical buyers increasingly using LLMs to research identity infrastructure solutions. The goal was to establish a strong foundation for turning AI visibility into revenue by capturing high-intent demand and expanding the organic footprint for highly competitive fraud prevention keywords. The project targeted a 10% quarterly conversion increase and a 20% boost in keyword visibility across high-priority clusters.

  • Confidential at client request

  • Identity infrastructure and fraud prevention software

  • San Francisco, CA, US

  • 10 months

Services provided:

  • Organic search scaling
  • Generative engine optimization (GEO)
  • Bottom-of-funnel content strategy
Pea case study

About the client

A top identity verification and KYC provider, the company powers identity infrastructure and fraud prevention for businesses like LinkedIn, OpenAI and Square. They provide technical solutions for verifying users and securing digital identity across various industries, focusing on building trusted infrastructure for a digital-first world.

The company operates in a highly competitive space, contending with established market leaders to secure visibility among technical decision-makers. Their platform is designed to be flexible and robust, catering to complex identity needs that require deep technical authority.

Winning the AI search era

“Productive Shop didn’t just optimize us for traditional search; they future-proofed our entire digital presence. By securing a 608% increase in AI conversions and a massive 358% surge in LLM traffic, they ensured we’re the trusted source when technical buyers use tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity. Productive Shop’s deep understanding of generative engine optimization truly moves the needle on revenue.”

VP of Marketing

Performance

  • +608%

    Increase in <b>AI conversions</b>, from <b>13 to 92</b>

  • +358.8%

    Growth in <b>LLM traffic</b>, from 1,322 to 6,065 sessions

  • +235%

    Increase in <b>keyword visibility</b>, from 7.87% to 26.37%

  • +51.4%

    Growth in <b>top 10 keywords</b>, from 1,161 to 1,918 rankings

Challenge

Capturing AI-driven buyer intent

Technical buyers have shifted their research habits toward large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Perplexity. The company needed a strategy to ensure its solutions were cited as the primary trusted source within these AI search results.

Competitive visibility gap

At the project’s start, the company’s visibility in high-priority keyword clusters was only 7.87%, lagging behind market leaders. They needed to bridge this gap to compete for “must-win” industry terms.

External algorithm volatility

During the engagement, a significant Google Core Algorithm Update in August 2025 created industry-wide volatility, temporarily impacting traffic and requiring an agile strategic response to stabilize and recover conversions.

Two women discussing AI-driven buyer intent

Solutions

Generative engine optimization (GEO)

Productive Shop implemented GEO best practices to structure content for AI Overviews snippets. By directly answering complex identity queries, we secured 693 keywords in AI Overviews, a 1,550% increase that turned into a lead generation engine.

High-intent bottom-of-funnel focus

The strategy prioritized transactional keywords targeting users ready to take action. We focused on optimizing blog content and building entity-rich topic clusters — such as KYC and driver’s license verification — to strengthen topical authority.

Generative engine optimization

Results

Outperforming the competition

Through strategic search optimization, Productive Shop successfully multiplied the number of core focus keywords ranking in the top 3 positions by 5x, increasing the total from 16 in February 2025 to 80 in December 2025.

“Must-win” keyword dominance

  • 65%

    Top 3 rankings:

    increase in top-3 positions in the general website ranking trend (from 402 to 661 keywords in top-3 positions)

  • 757

    Top 10 growth:

    new first-page rankings, widening the organic footprint by 51%

  • 19.4%

    Non-branded growth:

    increase in non-branded keywords, ensuring the company reaches buyers who aren’t yet searching for them by name