Case Studies → Building Trust With AI Search

Building Trust With AI Search

From Google to ChatGPT: How Safelincs became the fire safety brand trusted by both people and AI

Executive Summary

Safelincs, the UK’s leading supplier of fire safety equipment and training, has long been regarded with trust, reliability, and life-saving expertise amongst businesses and their peers. As digital behaviour evolved and AI-driven search began reshaping how consumers and professionals discover information, Safelincs recognised the need to adapt.

Over a 12-month partnership with eComOne, Safelincs embarked on an ambitious strategy to strengthen its digital visibility across both traditional search engines and emerging AI platforms.

The result: an SEO success story.  One that extends beyond Google rankings into recognition by AI systems themselves. SafeLincs is now not only appearing in search results but being cited as a trusted authority within Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot.

Highlights:

  • AI Citations: Over 2,000 citations in Google AI Overview (+1,100 in 6 months), 225 in ChatGPT, 51 in Gemini, and 48 in Copilot.
  • Search Visibility: 38.7M impressions (+5.9M) across six months.
  • Organic Clicks: 417K in the last six months (vs 499K prior), reflecting increased visibility but lower CTR as AI features reshape SERPs.
  • Average Position: Improved from 15.9 to 15.3 across tracked keywords.

Founded in 2000, Safelincs has grown from a small online retailer to the UK’s most trusted provider of fire safety solutions. The company offers a comprehensive range of products, from fire extinguishers and alarms to training materials and compliance resources, and serves businesses, organisations, and households nationwide.

Beyond products, Safelincs has built its reputation on education and transparency, empowering customers to make informed safety decisions.

However, with the rise of AI-driven search interfaces, the company saw an emerging challenge: maintaining and extending its hard-earned authority in a world where algorithms, not just users, now “read” and interpret brand expertise.

Despite strong domain authority, Safelincs faced three key challenges:

  • AI disruption: Search behaviours shifting towards Google AI Overview and LLM platforms.

  • Competition from generic publishers: Government websites and large media organisations often dominated visibility.

Content opportunity: Legacy content lacked AI-friendly structures such as tables, bullet points, and Q&A headers.

  1. Increase SafeLincs’ visibility in both Google SERPs and AI responses.
  2. Ensure authoritative content (e.g., fire extinguisher guides, fire exit rules) was surfaced in LLM citations.
  3. Support conversions through clear, trustworthy, and actionable SEO content.

Data & Discovery

We began with a full AI-readiness audit, reviewing SafeLincs’ existing content through both SEO and LLM lenses. Using custom tools, we benchmarked competitor visibility in AI Overview and ChatGPT responses.

Strategy Development

We implemented an Authoritative Expertise Optimisation (AEO) framework – a next-generation SEO approach built to align with how both Google and AI models interpret, extract, and attribute content.

Execution

Content Re-Engineering: Re-structured legacy pages to make them easier for AI systems to read and cite,  including comparison tables, succinct Q&A sections, and bullet-point answers.

AI-Friendly Formatting: Integrated schema markup, semantic HTML, and concise meta summaries to support both human readers and LLM comprehension.

Backlink Building: Secured links from trusted directories, industry associations, and partner sites to reinforce Safelincs’ digital authority.

Performance Iteration: Monitored AI citation data and Search Console metrics weekly, adapting in real time to maximise presence.

Innovation

Safelincs became one of the first UK brands to actively track AI citations as a performance KPI, redefining what SEO success means in an era where “search” now includes conversations with AI.

Innovation

  • Pioneered AI citation tracking as a success KPI alongside traditional SEO metrics.

  • Treated AI Overviews as a new “SERP feature” to win, making SafeLincs one of the first fire safety providers consistently cited by LLMs.

Safelincs partnered with eComOne for our forward-thinking approach to SEO in the AI era. With proven results in competitive industries, we were able to blend traditional SEO expertise with cutting-edge AI readiness strategies, ensuring Safelincs stayed ahead of the curve.

Alex Spooner, Account Manager at eComOne

“Optimising for AI search is no longer optional. SafeLincs proves that if you create structured, authoritative content, providing the content that expertly answers  both Google and LLMs will recognise you as the go-to brand.”

  • AI Visibility:

    • Google AI Overview: 2,000+ citations, +1.1K in last 6 months.

    • ChatGPT: 225 citations, +225.

    • Gemini: 51 citations (new).

    • Copilot: 48 citations (new).

  • SEO Performance (last 6 months vs previous):

    • Impressions: +5.9M (38.7M vs 32.8M).

    • Clicks: 417K vs 499K (reflecting broader reach but CTR impact).

    • CTR: 1.1% vs 1.5%.

    • Avg. Position: 15.3 vs 15.9 (improved).

These results prove SafeLincs’ expertise is not just visible on Google, but also recognised by AI as a trusted knowledge source.

Building on this AI-driven visibility, we are now working with Safelincs on:

  • Expanding AEO content into video and interactive formats.
  • Strengthening presence in international SERPs and AI platforms.

Deepening authority through PR and thought-leadership content in fire safety.

Facing the same challenges? Let's have a chat!

Heinnie Haynes

Find out more →

32.9%

Revenue growth

Rimmer Bros

Find out more →

21.1%

Increased in Organic Revenue

Waldeck Consulting

Find out more →

220%

Increase In Conversions

To top