Measuring What You Can't Click - Analytics for AI Driven Discovery in Local Experiences

Presented to the Cultural Marketing Group with Experience Grand Rapids

Search didn’t die. Clicks did. Google search volume is as strong as ever, but in June 2026 only 40% of searches ended with a click to a site outside Google, a record low. Add AI answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, and a growing share of individuals researching experiences, things to do, and solutions to their needs without ever landing on your website. Your brand could be winning in AI results and your dashboard would never show it.

This session unpacks the measurement problem that so many brands are facing and what to do about it.

What actually changed, and what didn’t. Search is still where people research. The purchase happens somewhere else, and the research step is increasingly a no-click step.
Why AI ranking tools can’t deliver what they promise. Ask an AI the same question 100 times and you’ll get a different list almost every time. Ranking position in AI isn’t a meaningful metric. Visibility percentage is.
Mentioned vs. cited. Your product almost always shows up in the answer. The question is whether AI is pulling from your site or from a retailer listing, a forum thread or a YouTube video you didn’t make.
A six-dimension readiness assessment that brands, e-commerce sellers and local businesses can score themselves against: discovery awareness, information accuracy, brand representation, technical readiness, measurement evolution and stakeholder communication.
The clicks that still happen. How to segment higher-intent AI referral traffic in GA4 and connect it to real-world signals like quote requests and inquiries, to marketplace sales and the phone ringing.
Three actions to run this week and how to explain all of it to your boss, your sales team or the owner before someone asks why traffic is down.

Presented by Jason Dodge, founder of BlackTruck Media + Marketing, a Michigan-based search and AI visibility agency trusted by brands to improve how they show up when and where customers are looking for them. Specializing in technical SEO, paid media, data analytics and generative AI search. Connect with Jason on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dodgejd

Transcript

1. Measuring What You Can’t Click Analytics for AI-Driven Discovery Jason Dodge BlackTruck Media + Marketing Resources: bit.ly/exgr26
2. How many of you pulled up your analytics dashboard recently…
3. …and felt good about what you saw?
4. The problem might not be your marketing. The problem might be your dashboard.
5. WHY I’M HERE Search guy first Stewardship Last year: How AI is changing search. This year: How do we know it’s working.
6. 01 What Actually Changed
7. Search didn’t die.
8. Share of US desktop activity, June 2026 9.5% Traditional search 2.9% E-commerce AI tools 1.3% AI tools are growing fast. Still a fraction of where people spend their time. Source: Datos State of Search Q3 2026 Desktop,
9. 92%+ ~125 Google’s share of desktop search. Its user base grew this year. Searches per Google user per month. Grew 20% this summer. People aren’t searching less. Source: Datos State of Search Q3 2026
10. But.
11. Where a Google search ends, July vs. September 2026 July 2026 40% 46% September 2026 Click to a non-Google site Paid click (1%) 18% 14% Stays on Google July was the lowest share of clicks to non-Google sites September was the highest. Source: Datos State of Search Q3 2026, US desktop 25% 16% 23% 15% No click at all Searches again
12. 40% 46% July 2026 September 2026 The lowest The highest of Google searches ended with a click to a non-Google site.
13. What people search for changed in one year NA VIGATIONAL INFORMA TIONAL C OMMERCIAL Typing in a brand or site you already know Asking a question, researching a problem Comparing products before a purchase from 16% from 62% from 16% Down Up Up 17% 64% 18% Fewer people typing in a brand they know. More people asking research questions that produce AI Overviews. Source: Datos/SparkToro State of Search Q2 2026,
14. <1% of searches show purchase intent. Search is where buyers research. What about the purchase?
15. Where does the clicks go after a Google search? 1 2 3 YouTube Reddit / UGC Wikipedia Things to do videos. Visitor Vlogs. Virtual Tours r/grandrapids. “Is it worth it?” threads. Rainy-day lists. Where AI gets your hours, history and collects insights. Not present on these? You could be invisible where visitors actually land.
16. “ People didn't stop searching for what it is you and I do... the platforms have changed.
17. If your measurement only captures clicks, you’re measuring a shrinking slice of the pie. The pie isn’t shrinking. Your slice is.
18. 02 The Measurement Problem
19. $100M+ spent every year on AI tracking tools.
20. Ask ChatGPT 100 times. How many different answers do you get?
21. AI answers are not consistent <1 in 100 <1 in 1,000 chance of the same list of brands in any two answers to the same question chance of the same list in the same order 0.081 2,961 average similarity across 142 prompts with the same intent. People never ask the same way twice. runs of 12 prompts by 600 volunteers across ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Source: BlackTruck participated SparkToro user response study.
22. Stay skeptical. “Ranking position in AI” is not relevant.
23. Shall we test the theory?
24. So is tracking completely useless?
25. No.
26. Visibility Percentage How often your brand appears across many runs of a search is a statistically meaningful signal.
27. “Our brand appears in X% of relevant AI searches" That’s the metric.
29. 03 Mentioned vs. Cited
30. The experience almost always shows up.
32. The question is: who gets credit?
33. Visibility The experience or brand is mentioned in the answer. The brand gets seen ≠ Authority Your site is cited as the source. Someone else gets the credit
34. Four Questions to Ask 1 Is my brand showing up? 2 Is my content being cited? 3 Is the information accurate? 4 Am I shaping the narrative?
35. 04 The Assessment
36. Score yourself honestly. Most land between 0 and 1. 0 1 2 3 Not on our radar Aware but not acting Early steps Active and building Scan to score along six dimensions. https:/bit.ly/exgr26
37. 1 Discovery Awareness Do you know how people are finding your brand or experience in AI results? YOUR SCORE: 0 1 2 3 bit.ly/exgr26
38. 2 Information Accuracy Is what AI says about your brand or services actually correct? YOUR SCORE: 0 1 2 3 bit.ly/exgr26
39. 3 Brand Representation Does the AI version of your brand match your positioning? YOUR SCORE: 0 1 2 3 bit.ly/exgr26
40. 4 Technical Readiness Is your website set up to be the source AI pulls from? YOUR SCORE: 0 1 2 3 bit.ly/exgr26
41. 5 Measurement Evolution Are you tracking signals beyond website sessions? YOUR SCORE: 0 1 2 3 bit.ly/exgr26
42. 6 Stakeholder Communication Can you explain what’s happening to your boss, your development team or the owner? YOUR SCORE: 0 1 2 3 bit.ly/exgr26
43. 05 The Click That Does Happen
44. If the pool of clicks is shrinking, the clicks that still arrive are higher intent. They saw the AI answer. They could have stopped. They clicked anyway.
45. Start with what you already have Signals you already have Segments to build in GA4 • Search Console impressions vs. • AI platform referral traffic clicks • Branded search volume trends • Direct visit growth • Google Business Profile views, calls, directions • Branded vs. non-branded organic • Landing pages that trigger AI Overviews • Engagement depth, not volume
47. Step-by-step GA4 setup for AI referral tracking Channel group regex, segment definitions and the landing page report. bit.ly/exgr26
48. Beyond the website: real-world sales signals Brands & Mfg E-commerce Shops & installers • Dealer and • Marketplace sales • Phone calls from distributor portal vs. direct search engagement • Conversion rate by • Direction requests • Quote requests vs. AI referral source • Review velocity branded search • Amazon is where the • Where-to-buy and click lands dealer locator traffic Website traffic was always a proxy.
49. Three layers. One story. 1 2 3 AI Visibility On-Site Behavior Real-World Impact Before the click. Visibility percentage, citation frequency, accuracy. What arriving traffic does. Segments, engagement depth, conversion actions. New patrons. New Memberships. Revenue. Memberships sold, groups booked, the phone ringing is the outcome.
50. Same data. Different story. STORY ON E “Our website traffic is down 15%.” STORY TWO “Our brand appeared in 78% of AI answers for our category this quarter, up from 55%. Branded search grew 12%.”
51. 06 What to Do This Week
52. Your score 0 to 5 Starting line 6 to 10 Building awareness 11 to 14 Gaining ground 15 to 18 Leading the shift You’re not alone. You know where to focus now. You’re asking the right questions. Make it consistent. You have early processes. Connect them to your reporting. You’re ahead of most. Keep refining and share.
53. 1 Run an audit. 15 queries. Three platforms. One hour.
54. 2 Start a baseline. Quarterly snapshots in a spreadsheet are fine.
56. 3 Have the conversation. Don’t wait until someone asks why traffic is down.
57. That’s not just better measurement. That’s better marketing.
59. Trusted by brands to improve their visibility online. 17+ From traditional search to AI-driven discovery, we help brands show up where their audience is looking today and tomorrow. Years in Business Focused Expertise. Deeper Questions. Performance We're not a full-service agency, and that's by design. As search evolves and Google, Bing, Meta, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, TikTok between noise and signal is growing. generative AI reshapes how people find and engage with brands, the gap We go deep where it matters, asking the questions that connect your marketing strategy to the conversations happening in the boardroom. The result is Discoverability Paid Media + SEO/GEO + Analytics bit.ly/exgr26 marketing aligned with where your organization is actually going. CL IENTS & PAR TNERS
60. Let’s connect. Jason Dodge jason@blacktruckmedia.com blacktruckmedia.com @dodgejd bit.ly/exgr26