GEO/AEO Strategy - Polar Explorer / icebreaker.fi
TL;DR
- AI recommendations do not come from your own site. They come from OUTSIDE it. Roughly 90 to 95 percent of the sources that AI engines cite are third parties (Reddit, "best of" lists, review sites, media). Your own site is necessary but not enough on its own.
- Reviews are the single biggest lever, not technical schema. Brands that collect and respond to reviews were mentioned in AI answers many times more often. PE already has this advantage (Google plus OTA reviews), and the job is to multiply it.
- Schema and llms.txt are overhyped. A large 2026 study found that schema markup did not raise AI citations. Google does not support llms.txt. Do the basics once, cheaply, but do not burn time on these.
- The content that works best is high fact density plus a listicle structure. Concrete numbers (ice thickness, price, duration, season) and numbered lists win AI citations. Marketing fluff gets filtered out.
- Only ChatGPT and Perplexity show you right now because the engines draw on different sources. Gemini can be reached on the Google side (Business Profile plus reviews), Perplexity through Reddit, Claude through honest in-depth content. Copilot comes from the same work as ChatGPT.
Starting point - a small but exceptionally valuable channel
Between January and June 2026, AI answer generators (the "AI Assistant" channel in GA4) brought little traffic, but that traffic converted exceptionally well. This is an unusually purchase-ready visitor: a person asks an AI for a recommendation, the AI names PE, and the visitor arrives already convinced.
26
Visits from AI
Measured volume (real figure higher, see measurement)
7.69 %
Conversion
~17x the site average
3.5 min
Engagement
~6x the average
What this means: 2 sales / €1,155 from such a small volume is a signal, not noise. Every additional visitor from this channel is exceptionally valuable, and AI directs them straight to you (commission ~2 to 3 percent versus OTA 20 to 30 percent). The goal: grow the volume and spread the visibility from ChatGPT and Perplexity to Gemini, Claude, and Copilot as well.
How LLMs choose what to recommend
Put simply: each engine pulls sources from the web and summarizes them. The differences come from which sources each one draws on. That is why you show up in only two engines right now. They happen to draw on the sources where PE already appears.
| Engine | What it draws on | What PE needs to do |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Bing index plus OpenAI search. Weights authority sources: media, Wikipedia, comparison sites | Media mentions plus a place on large "best of" lists. The hardest one for a challenger, it requires outside validation |
| Copilot | The same Bing index as ChatGPT | Bonus The same work as ChatGPT benefits this one automatically. Make sure you are indexed in Bing |
| Gemini | Google index plus Google Shopping plus Maps plus Google reviews | Get the Google Business Profile in order, collect Google reviews, keep prices and availability current. Favors brands that are "buyable now" |
| Perplexity | Google/Bing plus Reddit and forums heavily, weights freshness | Genuine Reddit and forum presence (r/travel, r/Finland, r/Lapland). The best channel for a challenger |
| Automated | Hybrid index, reads deep into documents, is skeptical and comparative | Honest, detailed content, including who PE does not suit. Favors the niche specialist. PE advantage: a Bay of Bothnia icebreaker is a clear niche |
Important measurement warning: An estimated 35 to 70 percent of AI traffic ends up in the "Direct" bucket in GA4, because the engines do not always pass source data. So the real AI volume is larger than the measured 26 visits. We fix this in the measurement section.
Action plan - 3 waves
The work is split into three waves. Effort: S = small M = medium L = large. Owner marked per row.
Wave A - quick wins, 0 to 30 days
| Action | Why / which engine | Effort | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| GA4: add a custom AI channel group plus regex (covers Perplexity/Copilot, which the native channel misses) | Measurement, otherwise we are flying blind | S | Automated |
| Google Business Profile plus maximizing Google reviews (respond to all of them) | Gemini plus Google AI Overviews. Reviews = the strongest citation signal | M | Marketing |
| Bing Webmaster Tools: make sure icebreaker.fi is in the Bing index | ChatGPT plus Copilot read Bing | S | Arik |
| A strong, visible FAQ block on the key pages (Bay of Bothnia, season, what you see, prices, cancellation) | All engines read the visible HTML directly | M | Arik |
| Manual baseline test: 10 prompts x 5 engines, record the current state | Measurement, a before/after comparison | S | Automated |
Wave B - 30 to 90 days
| Action | Why / which engine | Effort | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reddit and forum presence - genuine participation ("things to do Lapland winter" threads), real help, no spam | Perplexity (heavy Reddit weight) | M ongoing | Marketing |
| Listicle outreach: get onto other people's "best icebreaker cruises / best winter activities Finland" lists | ChatGPT, Copilot, AI Overviews | L | Marketing / PR |
| 2 to 3 of your own fact-dense comparison/list pages (see TOP10 strategy) | All engines, especially Perplexity for freshness | M | Arik |
| Basic schema once (TouristAttraction/Product plus FAQPage plus Organization plus reviews) | No direct citation lever, but helps Google/Gemini understand. Cheap | S | Dev plus Arik |
| Media mention: travel media or local paper, angle "Finland's floating icebreaker cruise" | ChatGPT (authority) | L | Marketing / PR |
Wave C - ongoing
- Monthly prompt test (the same 10 prompts x 5 engines) to record the change. No daily automation.
- Content freshness: update the season pages plus list pages every season. Perplexity weights freshness heavily.
- Continuous review collection plus responses on every platform (Google plus GYG plus Klook plus Viator).
- Reddit presence continues. A one-off spam burst does not work, long-term authenticity does.
Webflow implementation without Enterprise
Webflow's own Enterprise AEO gives you: (1) AI citation measurement, (2) an AI agent that suggests missing schema, (3) bulk publishing. All of this can be replaced by hand, cheaply or for free.
| What Enterprise gives | How to replace it by hand |
|---|---|
| AI citation measurement | A custom GA4 channel group plus a manual prompt test (free) |
| Schema agent | Write JSON-LD by hand and paste it into Webflow's Custom Code field (Project/Page Settings, "Before </body>"). Works on all paid plans |
| llms.txt support | Make the file by hand, but low priority (see myths) |
| Bulk recommendations | Automated audit plus fixes |
Concrete steps
- Schema for visible content:
Organization(PE's basic info),TouristAttractionorProduct/Offerper cruise,FAQPageon the key pages,BreadcrumbList. For CMS pages, dynamic JSON-LD whose fields come from Webflow CMS. Paste it into the page settings custom code field. - FAQ as real, visible HTML, not an accordion that hides the text from the code. The engines read the visible text, not hidden text.
- Speed / indexability: Webflow is already fast. Make sure the pages have no
noindex, the sitemap is open, and OTA widgets do not block content from the bot. - llms.txt: you can make it (Webflow supports it), but with zero expectations. Do not prioritize it.
Decision: Webflow Enterprise is not needed for AEO. Custom code plus GA4 plus a manual test covers everything that matters, for free.
TOP10 article strategy
Two fronts: your own pages so AI cites you, and other people's lists so AI names you when it reads them. The second one matters more.
A) Your own pages (your content, to be cited)
Topics that answer the real AI questions:
- "Best winter activities in Lapland / Northern Finland"
- "Best icebreaker cruise experiences"
- "Polar Explorer vs Arctic Explorer - which to choose"
- "What to wear on an icebreaker cruise"
- "Bay of Bothnia icebreaker cruise guide"
Structure that maximizes the citation:
- A direct answer in the first 40 to 60 words
- A statistic/fact every 150 to 200 words
- Source references
- A numbered list (the listicle wins citations)
- An FAQ block at the end
Fact density: water temperature, ice thickness, duration, price, season dates, capacity. Concrete numbers, no fluff.
B) Other people's lists (off-site, more important)
Run the prompts yourself ("best icebreaker cruises Finland 2026", "best things to do in Lapland winter") in ChatGPT / Gemini / Perplexity / Claude, see which pages they cite, then target outreach at those.
One fresh, well-built "best of" listicle on a travel site (even one with modest authority) brings more AI visibility than 20 generic guest posts.
Target the lists that AI already cites. That is the fastest route in.
Critical warning: Do NOT rank yourself #1 in your own listicle. Google cracked down on this in early 2026 and pages that put themselves at #1 lost significant visibility. Make a genuine comparison (different cruise types / destinations) where PE is honestly one option.
Measurement - light, monthly
No daily automation. A monthly check is enough, because the volume is small and the changes are slow.
- GA4 channel group: the native "AI Assistant" channel plus a custom channel group with a regex that covers Perplexity and Copilot. Place the AI channel above Referral (GA4 reads top to bottom).
chatgpt\.com|chat\.openai\.com|openai\.com|perplexity\.ai| claude\.ai|gemini\.google\.com|bard\.google\.com| copilot\.microsoft\.com|bing\.com/chat|deepseek\.com| grok\.com|meta\.ai|you\.com - GA4 free-form exploration: dimensions session source/medium plus landing page, metrics sessions/conversions/engagement, so you see which page collects the AI traffic.
- Manual prompt test once a month: the same 10 prompts x 5 engines, record whether PE is mentioned and from which source. This measures AI visibility (a different thing from AI traffic).
- Rise in branded search: track the search volume for "Polar Explorer" / "icebreaker cruise". AI visibility lifts branded search even when the click does not come directly.
- Tools (optional, paid): AthenaHQ (travel-specific), or the generic Otterly / Profound / Peec. Start with the free manual test before you pay for anything.
Risks and myths - what is NOT worth doing
Myth: schema raises AI citations. A 2026 study (~1,900 pages) found no effect on any platform. The engines read the visible HTML, not hidden data, during a real-time search. Do basic schema (it helps Google), but do not prioritize it as an AEO lever.
Myth: llms.txt brings AI visibility. Google does not support it, and most of the files that have been made get no bot requests at all. Make it if you want (it is cheap), but with zero expectations.
Myth: keyword and promo language works. AI actively filters out promotional content. Brands' sales-pitch pages produced zero citations in first-hand data.
Risk: ranking yourself #1 in listicles leads to a Google penalty (confirmed in early 2026).
Risk: Reddit spam leads to bans and a loss of reputation. Only genuine, long-term participation works.
OTA vs your own site
In AI itinerary plans, OTAs (Viator/GYG) show up strongly because AI cites them as sources. Still, do not give up your own site: your own optimized content can bring direct clicks whose commission is a fraction of the OTA's 20 to 30 percent. Because PE's direct AI conversion is 7.69 percent (17x the average), every direct AI click is exceptionally valuable. Recommendation: both. Keep the OTA listings strong (they show up for AI) and at the same time build your own citation value that also drives traffic directly.
Sources
Sources and reliability assessment (click)
- Ahrefs - Schema vs AI citations (~1,900 pages, May 2026) - the strongest empirical source for schema skepticism, large sample. Confirmed in Search Engine Journal. Reliable
- Search Engine Journal - Mueller: llms.txt does not help plus bot data - Google's official position plus 97 percent of files with 0 requests. Reliable
- AuthorityTech - Track AI traffic in GA4 (2026) - concrete GA4 setup plus regex plus referrer data (35 to 70 percent goes to Direct). Reliable
- Webflow - official AEO plus schema guide - confirms what Enterprise gives and that custom code works without it. Reliable
- arXiv / KDD 2024 GEO study - fact density plus quotations plus sources raise AI visibility by up to ~40 percent. Academic
- LBZ Advisory - per-engine mechanics (April 2026) - a useful mental model, based on academic data. Consultant blog - the "archetypes" are interpretations
- AthenaHQ - Tours & Experiences AI visibility - travel-specific (OTA dominance, direct vs aggregator). Tool vendor - figures are indicative
- Trustpilot review data (reviews = a strong citation signal) - the direction is confirmed from several sources. Originates from Trustpilot's own analysis (conflict of interest)
Biggest uncertainty: the per-engine "archetypes" are useful maps, not confirmed algorithms. The strongest data: (1) reviews > schema, (2) llms.txt does not work, (3) ~90 to 95 percent of sources are off-site, (4) Perplexity is Reddit-weighted, (5) GA4 misses a large share of AI traffic.
Polar Explorer Oy · internal