How Upwork Reinvented Organic Growth: The AEO Playbook

    AI isn't just changing search. It's killing the metrics you've relied on for a decade.

    This week, I sat down with Glen McMurry, Director of GEO, AEO & SEO at Upwork, who's leading one of the most dramatic transformations in organic marketing today.

    After Upwork's SEO traffic nosedived in March 2024 (sound familiar?), Glen had a choice: keep optimizing for a world that's not coming back, or rebuild from scratch.

    He chose the latter. Here's what he learned.

    This Week's Big Idea: The OmniSearch Score

    Stop tracking traffic. Start tracking visibility.

    Glen's team is pioneering something called an "OmniSearch Score," a weighted metric that measures brand presence across:

    • Reddit mentions and sentiment
    • TikTok visibility
    • YouTube Shorts performance
    • LLM citations and AI overview appearances
    • Traditional Google traffic (yes, still matters, just less)

    Why it matters: Your executive team still thinks in traffic and revenue. But when traffic is down 50% and not coming back, you need new metrics that show value or risk getting your budget cut.

    The OmniSearch Score bridges that gap. It quantifies brand visibility in a way leadership can understand, even when the old numbers are bleeding.

    Key Takeaways

    1. First-party data is your AEO cheat code

    Upwork's research institute publishes original workforce data. LLMs pull it in "almost instantaneously" and cite it regularly. Even startups can run customer surveys and publish unique insights.

    2. Refresh your top content every 3-6 months

    LLMs favor fresh content even more than Google did. Upwork updates their top 150-200 pages on a tiered schedule. Some refresh quarterly, others every 6 months. Not everything, just what's already working.

    3. Reddit is your new reputation battleground

    AI models pull Reddit threads into responses constantly. Upwork now:

    • Monitors Reddit conversations with AI agents
    • Fixes bugs that get amplified through LLM responses
    • Builds karma authentically before engaging (following the Sonos playbook)

    4. G2 and Trustpilot reviews = citations

    Third-party review sites show up in AI responses at "inordinate" rates. Upwork upgraded their accounts, partnered with lifecycle marketing to trigger review requests at peak satisfaction moments, and worked with customer service to fix bugs before soliciting reviews.

    5. PR is back (seriously)

    Unlinked brand mentions correlate highly with AI visibility. Upwork's SEO team is now partnering closely with PR—something Glen hasn't prioritized since 2010-2013.

    Try This Today

    Audit where your brand is being discussed outside Google.

    Spend 30 minutes searching for your brand on:

    • Reddit (what threads mention you?)
    • YouTube comments
    • TikTok
    • Review sites (G2, Trustpilot, Capterra)

    Take notes on:

    • Sentiment (positive/negative/neutral)
    • Common complaints or questions
    • Where you're completely absent

    This is your AEO baseline. You can't improve what you don't measure.

    Expert Spotlight

    Glen McMurry has been in SEO for 15 years, leading organic acquisition at PayPal and Bumble (where he delivered a 9x ROI program). At Upwork, he's pioneering the shift from traditional SEO to AEO—managing cross-functional teams across customer service, PR, lifecycle marketing, and product to rebuild organic growth from the ground up.

    His best quote from the episode: "This is fun again. For the first time in a long time, I found some joy here in learning other channels and tactics than I'm used to."

    Connect with Glen on LinkedIn

    Next Week

    We're diving into the transformative potential of AI in the workplace, emphasizing the need for companies to move beyond basic implementations and rethink their operational strategies. We'll highlight the importance of hiring individuals who understand the broader implications of AI and the necessity of creating a cohesive technology stack that addresses real business problems.

    Stay tuned for "What's Next for AI in Marketing & Employer Branding: Lessons from Silicon Valley's Top Minds" with José Cong.

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    Ready to scale your AEO strategy? Enrich Labs helps leading brands monitor and respond to conversations across Reddit, review sites, and social platforms with AI agents. See how companies like Upwork are using AI-powered listening to improve their brand reputation and LLM visibility. Learn more at enrichlabs.ai