About Leighton Hendrick · SEO & AI Visibility Consultant
25 years of figuring out how
the right people find the right businesses.
The dot-com bust gave me
my marketing chops.
I started my marketing career during the dot-com bubble. Fast-paced is an understatement for what that era looked like. But it was the bust that actually gave me my footing.
When the bubble broke, the work got real. Technology companies that needed to prove they deserved to survive. B2C brands that had been around for 70-plus years and were suddenly trying to reach customers who had moved online. Entrepreneurs who had left the technology world and wanted to go in a completely different direction. Every one of them needed the same thing: help telling their story and finding new ways to get people to discover it.
That's still the work. The platforms have changed. The signals have changed. The fundamentals haven't.
"I realized I loved helping people tell their stories and figuring out new ways to get people to discover and listen to them."
In the years since, I've worked with startups, large enterprises, and individuals. The work is always the same: make sure the right people can find them and take advantage of everything they have to offer. The size of the company changes. The problem doesn't.
I've watched this city grow
from something small into
something you have to see to believe.
I've lived in Austin since the mid-90s. I've seen it go from a city most people outside Texas had never heard of to one that everyone seems to have an opinion about. I stay close to the original locals who remind me why I fell in love with this place in the first place. And I genuinely enjoy the energy and enthusiasm that newcomers bring.
That's actually a decent metaphor for how I think about marketing. What made something work ten years ago still matters. What's new right now also matters. The job is knowing which is which, and not letting the noise of either drown out the other.
Search isn't one channel anymore.
It never really was.
SEO in 1998 was about getting the technical structure right, understanding how people search, and building content that earns visibility over time. That's still true. What's changed is that buyers are now finding answers in ChatGPT and Perplexity and Google AI Mode before they ever land on a website.
If your brand isn't structured to show up there, it's not showing up in a meaningful part of the research process your buyers are going through.
The good news is that the work isn't two separate things. A well-structured site with good entity clarity and content designed to answer real questions will earn visibility in traditional search and in AI platforms. The signals just matter in more places now. That's the work I do.
"Anyone who tells you they have this completely figured out hasn't been paying close enough attention. Good strategy means adapting as things change, not locking in a playbook from six months ago."
Directly. Collaboratively.
Without an ego about it.
You hire me, you work with me. No account managers, no handoffs, no junior team running your account while a senior person takes the credit.
Deliverables built to be used
Audits come with implementation workbooks. Content plans come with briefs your team can act on the same day. Schema blocks are written out and complete. Every recommendation includes instructions clear enough for a developer to execute without needing you to translate.
Collaborative, not territorial
I work alongside design firms, development teams, in-house marketing teams, and other agencies all the time. My job is to make sure everyone's work holds up where it counts: in search results and AI platforms. When the site looks great and ranks well, that's a win for everyone involved.
Honest about scope
I don't have packages. Every engagement is scoped based on where you actually are. I'll tell you what kind of engagement I think makes sense and why. If I'm not the right fit for what you need, I'll say that too and point you somewhere useful.
A vetted network behind the work
Over 25 years I've built relationships with people I trust for brand strategy, positioning, research, and paid media. If the work calls for more than search and AI visibility, I can make those introductions. I've already done the vetting.
The right fit matters
more than a big client list.
I work best with people who want a strategic partner, not a vendor with a template. Here's who that usually looks like in practice.
Founders and marketing leaders
You are close to the business and you know what matters. You want someone who can get up to speed quickly, skip the hand-holding, and tell you what to prioritize and why. You don't want to manage the work. You want someone who manages it for you.
In-house marketing teams
You have good people who can execute. What you're missing is the technical depth and tool access to do a full SEO and AI visibility audit internally. I come in, do the diagnostic work, and hand your team something they can actually run with.
Agencies and referral partners
You've built a strong client relationship and now a need has come up that's outside your wheelhouse. I work under your brand, match your delivery standards, and keep the relationship exactly where it belongs: with you.
Teams in the middle of a major change
Rebrands, new builds, domain moves. These are the situations where good intentions and bad timing produce the most expensive problems. I've been brought in to clean up after the fact more times than I'd like. It's always easier before.
Sounds like a fit?
Let's find out.
Tell me what you're working on. No hard sell, no package pitch. Just a conversation.
Get in Touch