Humanizing Your Digital Presence, with Wes Towers, Uplift360

In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping business landscapes across industries, Australian entrepreneur Wes Towers offers valuable insights on turning potential AI threats into opportunities. As the founder of Uplift360, a company specializing in websites and SEO for the construction trades, Towers received a business valuation three years ago that identified AI as a significant threat to his entire industry. Rather than viewing this assessment as a death sentence, he embraced it as a catalyst for transformation.

The transformation of search behavior represents one of the most significant shifts businesses must adapt to. Traditional keyword-based searches are giving way to conversational queries as people interact with AI tools like ChatGPT.

“We’re not just searching ‘plumber Melbourne,'” Towers explains. “We’re searching. I want a plumber who can fix a toilet that’s leaking.” This evolution has prompted Towers to rebrand SEO as “search everywhere optimization,” acknowledging people now search in full sentences across multiple platforms rather than just entering keywords into Google.

This shift toward conversational search is actually humanizing digital interactions. Instead of focusing solely on keyword placement, businesses must now consider the conversational aspects of their content. The old approach of researching popular keywords, targeting them, and tracking rankings in Google is becoming less effective as traffic patterns change and search behaviors evolve. Towers shared an anecdote about a client who discovered a customer had found their business through ChatGPT when searching for “the very best service offering in Australia” – something that traditional SEO metrics wouldn’t have captured.

For businesses looking to optimize for AI search, Towers emphasizes that quality content remains fundamental. Websites should be technically sound with fast loading times, but the message is paramount. Both your voice (how you say things) and your message (what you say) must be uniquely yours. Many businesses make the mistake of relying too heavily on AI-generated content, resulting in generic messaging that represents “just the average of what everybody else is saying.” As Towers puts it: “None of us wants to be average. We want to be exceptional in our field.”

The solution isn’t to avoid AI tools but to use them effectively as a starting point. Towers suggests developing a strong style guide that captures your unique language and perspective, then using AI to create a “first terrible draft” that you can refine with your unique insights, case studies, and storytelling. “You want to be the master of the AI, not the other way around,” he advises. This approach ensures that the ideas remain yours while the AI simply helps articulate and structure them more effectively.

For businesses concerned about appearing larger or more established than they are, Towers offers unexpected advice: embrace your size as an advantage. Small businesses have the benefit of direct founder involvement – customers deal with someone who genuinely cares because it’s their business. Rather than trying to mimic larger competitors, small businesses should identify and amplify what makes them unique. By niching down and becoming experts in specific areas, even small companies can attract significant clients who value specialized expertise over general capabilities.

When implementing a “search everywhere optimization” strategy, Towers recommends focusing on three key elements. First, make your website the foundation of your digital presence – it’s the one territory you fully control. Second, identify and focus on the platforms that best match your industry and brand (LinkedIn for B2B, Meta platforms for B2C). Finally, create compelling content that others want to share because it provides genuine value. Despite some predictions that websites will become obsolete, Towers firmly believes they will remain essential as “digital storefronts” where transactions occur.