What works.
What gets cited.
What earns.
How a solo publisher stays visible now that search is going AI-first — getting cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews, not just ranked on page one. SEO, AI Search·GEO, social, paid, and owned audience, tested across a real portfolio of sites and written up the way I'd actually want to read it.
Five channels. One playbook each.
Every post on RankingHacks fits into one of these channels. The thesis: a solo publisher in 2026 should pick three of these well, not all five poorly.
- Channel
AI Search · GEO
The lead channel now: getting cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google's AI Overviews when ranking #1 stops sending the click.
Read the playbook → - Channel
SEO
Search rankings that still pay in 2026 — schema, internal links, content depth.
Read the playbook → - Channel
Social
Pinterest, Facebook, and the long tail of social referral.
Read the playbook → - Channel
Paid
PPC and paid social for affiliates who actually have margin.
Read the playbook → - Channel
Owned Audience
Newsletter, video, and podcast — audiences that subscribe, not strangers who land.
Read the playbook →