Sometimes we build a digital strategy from nothing. Other times, we take an established brand and make it show up brighter and better. That's what happened with this Charlotte custom home builder and remodeler.
With a well-earned reputation for quality craftsmanship, they were no stranger to the spotlight. But the digital world had changed. AI-driven search engines were transforming how buyers research, evaluate, and choose who to work with. Legacy visibility was no longer enough.
Simonini Homes needed a modern digital strategy, one that would make them the trusted source for building and remodeling answers not just on Google, but across every platform where consumers now search.
With these goals in mind, they partnered with Builder Funnel. And the results redefined what visibility means in the AI era. Let's take a look at what we established this builder and remodeler during 2025, even as the algorithm and AI advanced daily.
LOOKING TO SURPASS YOUR COMPETITORS? LET'S TALK 🗓️Although Simonini Homes had a well-designed website and a recognizable name in the Charlotte market, they weren’t appearing in high-impact places like Google’s AI Overview or getting many referrals from LLMs. Their content was missing from platforms where buyers were increasingly turning for quick, trusted answers: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Bing Copilot. They also were not ranking as well as a company with their presence should be in traditional Google searches.
Competitors, many with less experience or credibility, were dominating those spaces.
Simonini Homes needed to turn their existing digital foundation into a modern machine for visibility, traffic, and trust. Builder Funnel was brought in to make that transformation real. Our goal was to help searchers discover this experienced builder and remodeler and give them the rankings a team with their knowledge deserved.
We used a two-part comprehensive digital strategy with two goals in mind: strengthen traditional SEO performance and engineer visibility across AI-generated content platforms.
We began by focusing on what made the Charlotte market unique. The Builder Funnel team knew that homeowners in this market were looking for insights about neighborhoods, schools, property costs, and community life. We met them there with content that mattered. What do luxury homes and grand-scale remodels have in common with the best steak houses and schools, as well as content about the cost of building homes? Turns out, everything.
Here are the key elements of our strategy.
We rebuilt and optimized core service pages for home remodeling, custom home building, and cost analysis. Using intent-driven keywords, internal linking, and structured data, these pages were designed to convert. This is a foundation of the Builder Funnel strategy, but in markets like Charlotte that are continuing to flourish, it's particularly helpful.
Charlotte-Based Research
We published highly relevant blog content tailored to local search behavior, such as:
Top school districts in Charlotte
Best neighborhoods for custom home builds
Cost to build a house in different parts of Charlotte
Homebuilding tips for families relocating to the area
Our team dug in to see what homeowners in Charlotte really wanted to know. We used data to help us weave in elements of building and design into these lifestyle blogs so that they could be listed correctly. The result? Homeowners in Charlotte continued to be exposed to Simonini Homes through this strategy.
AI Optimization (AIO)
All content was formatted to align with the latest standards for AI Overview and LLM platforms, featuring FAQs, bullet lists, clear headings, and a natural, conversational tone that appeals to both users and machines. Yes, the humans and the robots are looking for the same content.
Engaging Content
In an era of quick Chat GPT content pervading the internet, we've taken a step back and looked at what matters. Builder Funnel used skilled writers and digital specialists to create content that not only ranks but also engages. Not only is it more pleasant to read, but it also helps Simonini Homes rank higher than AI-generated content written only for SEO and AIO.
It sounds great on paper (on the screen), but how did this strategy really play out during 2025's tough year, as changes both in the economy and web search occurred regularly? During Q2, we leaned into AI-optimization, updating and refining our plays as quickly as the algorithm did. The result was impressive.
The team at Builder Funnel knew that we couldn't stop at Google. In fact, that was only the beginning. We optimized for the way people now search, which includes LLMs and AI overview now.
As we navigated the changing landscape, we also had to navigate how different sources allowed us to track our presence. We tracked direct referrals from AI platforms and campaigns. Initially, we had to check direct referrals and pull apart the data to find AI sources.
Here’s what the data showed from direct referrals for the past 7 months:
Out of 727 referral sessions, 14 were from ChatGPT
1 of those 14 resulted in a new contact
Out of 91 campaign-attributed sessions, all from AI:
84 were from ChatGPT
7 were from Perplexity
6 new contacts were generated from these sessions
Once our partner programs began to track AI-only referrals, we saw even more sessions come in, and they were already flagged. Here is the overall AI referral session breakdown for the past 7 months:
61 total sessions from AI platforms
58 from ChatGPT
2 from Bing Copilot
1 from Perplexity
3 new contacts resulted directly from these sessions
These numbers reflect what few agencies are doing today: measuring actual AI-generated referral traffic and contact conversions, not just impressions or rankings.
Here's a visual:
In just a few months, at a time when many websites failed to appear in any AIO and LLM search results, Simonini Homes continued to grow and receive qualified traffic, stronger engagement with core pages, and new lead inquiries tied directly to the optimized content strategy Builder Funnel implemented.
In 2025, getting organic traffic to your site means ranking in AI overview, and that's exactly what we did for Simonini Homes. On topics ranging from cost, culture, and everything in between, we made our client the go-to for homeowners searching on Google. Hey, we recognize that first name!
Being on Google isn’t enough. Today’s strategy must include AI, language models, and platforms that automatically surface content. These strategies can work together across platforms, but focusing on only one platform shortchanges the client and the results.
Understanding Charlotte’s homeowner mindset helped us create content that resonated and ranked. Because our team makes it a point to become an expert in every geographic area we serve, we're able to tailor content to Charlotte's culture.
By blending informative, structured, and personable writing with technical SEO, we built content that gets seen and shared. The human element can never go missing, even as we rank across all platforms. That's why our team of experts and professionals is key to each and every client's success.
Search engines reward real, full answers. So do users. Builder Funnel content was designed to do both. We use FAQs and helpful, engaging answers that homeowners are searching for. As searchers spread across platforms, so do we with insightful answers. You can think of us as the Wikipedia of custom home building and remodeling.
Builder Funnel's experience and ability to evolve with the times helped Simonini Homes grow from a trusted Charlotte brand into a dominant digital presence. Today, they are consistently cited in AI-generated content, own page-one rankings for key queries, and are better positioned than ever to attract and convert high-quality leads.
This is what modern visibility looks like. And this is just the beginning. If you're ready to show up where it matters, Builder Funnel is ready to help you get there. By pairing consistent principles with an understanding of the latest trends, we can continue to deliver results for our clients.
Ready to create the ultimate marketing and sales machine for your remodeling or custom home-building business? Book a call with us today! 👇