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Entity map

The people, concepts and methods this site is about, how they relate, and where each is evidenced. Generated from entitymap.json (EntityMap v1.0, generated 2026-11-05).

e_001 · PhysicalProduct

C-Level SEO

C-Level SEO is a simple guide to SEO and AI search for busy business leaders who are justifying, funding or evaluating search work. Cost. Value. Bullshit.

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Evidence

C-Level SEO is a simple guide to SEO and AI search for busy business leaders who are justifying, funding or evaluating search work. Cost. Value. Bullshit.

Get the C-Level SEO Book: Early Access and Free Chapter Guide, published by C-Level SEO

A plain explanation of who this book is for, what SEO is, and why it still matters now that buyers ask AI assistants as often as they type into a search box. The aim is not to turn you into an SEO. It is to give you enough to engage with your teams and partners confidently.

What is C-Level SEO? | C-Level SEO, Chapter 1, published by C-Level SEO
e_002 · Person

Grant Simmons

Author of C-Level SEO and creator of The MAPS Method. Author, speaker and SEO consultant with more than 25 years in search.

Same as: https://www.grantsimmons.com/

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  • AFFILIATED_WITH Simmonet Marketing

Evidence

Grant Simmons is a writer, author and marketer with more than 25 years in search. He has written hundreds of articles and presented hundreds of sessions on SEO, content, link-building, user experience and agency operations, and advises Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, mid-sized companies and enterprises.

About Grant Simmons, SEO Consultant to C-Level Folks, published by C-Level SEO
e_003 · Methodology

The MAPS Method

A marketing framework by Grant Simmons with four conditions: Meaning, Authority, Presence and Signals.

Same as: https://www.themapsmethod.com/

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Evidence

The MAPS Method is a marketing framework created by Grant Simmons for diagnosing and improving how a brand is understood, trusted, found and used by people, markets and machines. Its four conditions are Meaning, Authority, Presence and Signals.

The MAPS Method in C-Level SEO | Grant Simmons, published by C-Level SEO
e_004 · Concept

Search engine optimization

The practice of improving a website’s visibility and relevance in search engine results.

Same as: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

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Evidence

The core functions of a search engine (crawling, indexing and ranking), why Google is so good at this and where it fails, and how SEO ties in. Updated with the fourth step that now sits on top: generating an answer.

Google 101 | C-Level SEO, Chapter 3, published by C-Level SEO
e_005 · Concept

Generative engine optimization

Improving how a brand appears in AI-generated answers from systems such as Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and ChatGPT.

Same as: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_engine_optimization

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Evidence

How AI-generated answers (Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, ChatGPT, Gemini and others) affect visibility and clicks, how AI changes the SEO toolkit, when to use AI versus human expertise, and the questions to ask before you fund any of it. The short version: AI search shares most of its foundations with traditional SEO, and still needs buy-in and understanding from marketing leaders.

AI in search | C-Level SEO, Chapter 11, published by C-Level SEO
e_006 · Concept

AI Overviews

Google’s AI-generated summaries shown above traditional search results.

Same as: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_Overviews

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Evidence

AI is reshaping both the results your buyers see and the way SEO work gets done. What’s changed, what hasn’t, and where to put money. New chapter.

AI in search | C-Level SEO, Chapter 11, published by C-Level SEO
e_007 · Metric

SEO ROI

Return on SEO spend: (gain − cost) ÷ cost × 100.

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Evidence

The three components of SEO (architecture, content and links), how each contributes to visibility, and a clear way to evaluate the return. Clicks become views, leads or transactions depending on your model; by the end you can weigh the effort against the value it brings.

SEO ROI | C-Level SEO, Chapter 4, published by C-Level SEO
e_008 · Methodology

The 20-Minute C-Level SEO Check

A repeatable, non-technical process for an executive to assess a website’s search and AI visibility in 20 minutes.

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Evidence

A simple, repeatable process for assessing your own site. No technical expertise needed: a keen eye, a checklist and some free (and free-ish) tools. Useful today, and again at the next milestone your team or agency puts in front of you.

The 20-minute check | C-Level SEO, Chapter 5, published by C-Level SEO
e_009 · ProprietaryTerm

C-Level SEO Bullsh*t Detector

A list of common SEO and AI search myths, each with the truth and a question to ask when you hear it.

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Evidence

Many companies have been burned by agencies or freelancers leaning on old tactics. This chapter takes the most common myths and mistakes, explains the reality behind each, and gives you a simple question to ask when you hear one. Useful in partner selection, in weighing advice, and in spotting excuses.

Calling SEO bullshit | C-Level SEO, Chapter 12, published by C-Level SEO
e_010 · Concept

Link building

Acquiring links from other websites to your own, a signal of authority to search engines.

Same as: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_building

Relations

Evidence

The spectrum of link-building from white hat to black hat, with the grey in between. What makes a link worth having, which practices put the site at risk, and how to say no, justify, or filter the conversations you’ll have with your team, agency or partners.

Links & authority | C-Level SEO, Chapter 7, published by C-Level SEO
e_011 · Platform

Google Search

Google’s search engine, which crawls, indexes and ranks web content and now generates AI answers.

Same as: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Search

Evidence

You don’t need to understand a combustion engine to drive from A to B. Here’s how search, and now AI answers, actually work, in words that need no technical skills.

Google 101 | C-Level SEO, Chapter 3, published by C-Level SEO
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