AI SEO & GEO · Client case study

Marylou SobelInterior Design

A legacy in design.A new presence in AI search.

How a Woollahra design studio with over 40 years of experience became a first recommendation in Google’s AI answers.

  • Interior design
  • Woollahra, Sydney
  • February – May 2026
Bundarra Penthouse by Marylou Sobel Interior Design, featuring a sunlit living room and layered luxury furnishings Featured case study
Marylou Sobel Interior Design Bundarra Penthouse
AI mentions
16
+14.3% month on month
AI citations
60
+7.1% month on month
Lighthouse score
100
Performance / SEO / Accessibility
Keywords tracked
627
+4.3% month on month
The client & the challenge

Exceptional interiors. An equally strong digital presence.

Led by award-winning designer Marylou Sobel, this boutique Woollahra studio specialises in heritage home restorations, luxury apartment styling and high-end residential transformations.

The engagement began with a full technical foundation rebuild, followed by an editorial program and GEO positioning for visibility in both organic search and AI-generated answers.

Woollahra, Sydney February – May 2026

What made the difference

AI SEO & GEO. A strategy that compounds.

A perfect technical foundation. A sustained editorial program. Content built to earn citations, not just rankings.

Each layer supports the next — connecting the studio’s expertise to the searches and AI answers that matter.

Result: Google’s AI recommends Marylou first.

  • Technical foundation The foundation

    A full technical rebuild. Perfect 100/100/100 Lighthouse scores, maintained across three months.

  • Weekly editorial program The content

    Heritage design, luxury interiors and design philosophy. Articles now carry approximately 36% of organic traffic.

  • AI SEO & GEO positioning The visibility

    Citations earned across Google AI Overview, AI Mode and Gemini simultaneously.

  • Three content territories The authority

    Federation-style heritage architecture, luxury Sydney interiors and design philosophy.

The results

Real visibility. Measured impact.

From first-position commercial rankings to AI citations, the studio’s search presence is growing across every layer.

  • Organic search 537

    Monthly organic visits

    Up 11% from the start of the engagement.

  • Commercial rankings 4 of 5

    Top terms at Position 1

    Four of the five tracked top commercial terms now lead Google.

  • AI discovery 34

    Individual pages cited

    Across ChatGPT, Google AI Overview, AI Mode and Gemini.

  • Referring domains 252

    Websites linking to the studio

    727 individual backlinks to marylousobel.com.au.

  • “Interior designers sydney”: Position 7 and rising
  • 1,300 monthly searches for that term
  • 100/100/100 Lighthouse scores
The journey

Three months. A stronger search footprint.

From rebuilding the foundation to appearing in AI answers, here’s how the engagement progressed.

  • Technical SEO
  • Editorial content
  • GEO positioning

  1. February 2026 Month 1

    Build the foundation.

    A full technical rebuild. The site jumped +34 positions into “interior designers” results, AI visibility increased 30.3%, and organic clicks reached 550.

  2. March 2026 Month 2

    Become part of the answer.

    Visibility in Google AI Overview and Gemini for comparison, cost and “best interior designer” searches. Impressions reached 37,000+ per month.

  3. May 2026 Month 3

    Let the results compound.

    4 of 5 top commercial terms at Position 1. 16 AI mentions, 60 citations and 627 keywords tracked — with the footprint still growing.

The search presence

One search. Three places to be seen.

For “interior designer woollahra sydney” and “interior designer sydney”, the studio appeared in all three areas of Google’s results simultaneously.

  • 01 · The AI answer

    Recommended first.

    Google’s AI recommends Marylou Sobel first, highlighting over 40 years of experience and a bespoke, personalised approach.

  • 02 · The sources

    Trusted as a source.

    The Sources panel lists marylousobel.com.au among the top websites Google reads to build its answer.

  • 03 · Organic & local

    Visible beyond the answer.

    The website appears in top organic positions alongside the studio’s Google Maps local listing.

Search observations documented in the client case study · February – May 2026

What comes next

Turn recognition into greater authority.

The studio has been featured in Belle, Vogue Living, and House and Garden. None of those publications currently link back to its website.

  • Convert existing press into referring links

    The next opportunity: earn three to five dofollow links from existing press coverage.

  • Build towards the top five

    Strengthen the Authority Score and target a top-five position for “interior designers sydney”.

Your next chapter

Make your business the answer.

Let’s explore your visibility in Google and AI search.

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