How Signal + Solutions Work Together: From Diagnosis to Strategy

Reading time: 13 minutes

Surmado does not sell AI placements and cannot submit your site to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Meta AI, Grok, or DeepSeek. No one can. We test how these systems already talk about you and give you a plan to improve.

Surmado Signal diagnoses. Surmado Solutions prescribes. Together, they create a continuous improvement loop for AI visibility.

Most businesses approach AI optimization backwards. They start making changes without knowing what’s actually broken. Signal + Solutions work as a system: one tool shows you where you stand, the other shows you how to improve.

TLDR

Signal diagnoses where you stand across AI platforms. Presence Rate, Authority Score, competitive position. Solutions prescribes how to improve with a 30-day action plan tested through adversarial AI debate. Together they create a continuous loop: baseline Signal reveals you’re invisible, Solutions maps the fix, you implement for 30 days, re-run Signal to measure improvement. One moving company went from 0% to 28% Presence with $2,924 total investment and 1,542% ROI. Signal without Solutions is awareness without action. Solutions without Signal is strategy without feedback.

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The Core Workflow

Step 1: Surmado Signal Diagnosis (about 15 minutes, $25 or $50)

Signal runs a simulated customer research study across 7 AI platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek). We ask 50+ questions a real customer would ask when researching businesses in your industry.

What you get:

• Presence Rate: How often AI systems mention you unprompted (0-100%)
• Authority Score: How strongly AI positions you when mentioned (0-100)
• Category Share: Your % of total brand mentions in your market
• Ghost Influence: Features discussed without credit (lower is better)
• Competitive Landscape: 20-40 competitors ranked by AI visibility
• Intelligence Token: Your unique code (format: SIG-2025-10-XXXXX)

Example metrics (from a real moving company in Fort Worth):

Rank: #6 of 40 brands
Presence Rate: 0.0% (zero organic mentions)
Category Share: 4.6%
Authority Score: N/A (requires at least 1 organic mention)
Intelligence Token: SIG-2025-10-JZQQ7

What this means: AI systems know who you are (competitive recall exists) but don’t think to recommend you when customers ask relevant questions. You’re recognized but not discoverable.

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Step 2: Surmado Solutions Strategy (about 15 minutes, $50)

Take your Signal intelligence token and paste it into Solutions. Our AI board of directors (6 specialized AI personalities) analyzes your specific visibility gaps and debates strategic approaches.

What Solutions receives from Signal:

• Your exact Presence Rate and Authority Score
• Which competitors dominate organic mentions
• Specific customer queries where you’re invisible
• Platform variance (strong on ChatGPT, weak on Claude, etc.)
• Ghost Influence patterns (features discussed without attribution)

What Solutions provides:

• 30-day action plan with specific tactics (GBP optimization, FAQ content, review campaigns)
• Effort/cost estimates for each tactic (2 hours, $500-800 budget, etc.)
• Success metrics with pivot points (if X happens by Day 30, do Y)
• Platform-specific guidance (why you’re invisible on Claude but not ChatGPT)
• Real options analysis (financial modeling for investments if applicable)

Example recommendation (based on 0.0% Presence Rate):

Phase 1 (Week 1): Rewrite Google Business Profile to connect veteran workforce to service quality. Add 3 Q&A entries addressing “reliable teams” and “transparent pricing.” Time: 4 hours. Cost: $0.

Success metric: If Presence Rate reaches 5% by Day 30, double down with testimonial videos. If still 0%, pivot to schema markup implementation.

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Why This Workflow Works

Signal Without Solutions = Awareness Without Action

Knowing you’re at 0.0% Presence Rate is valuable. But what do you do about it? Most businesses waste months guessing:

• “Maybe we need more blog posts?” (Probably not. AI rarely crawls blogs for local businesses)
• “Should we hire a PR firm?” (Expensive, slow, uncertain ROI)
• “Let’s post more on social media?” (Doesn’t help AI discovery at all)

Solutions eliminates guessing by analyzing your specific gaps with your competitor context.

Solutions Without Signal = Strategy Without Feedback

Implementing tactics blindly means you don’t know what’s working. Did your 30-day GBP blitz increase Presence Rate from 0% to 15%? Or are you still at 0% and need to pivot?

Signal provides the feedback loop:

• Week 0: Baseline (0.0% Presence Rate)
• Week 4: Re-run Signal after implementing Phase 1 (now 12% Presence Rate ✓)
• Week 8: Re-run Signal after Phase 2 (now 28% Presence Rate ✓)
• Week 12: Validate sustained improvement (30% Presence Rate ✓)

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Real-World Example: Moving Company Case Study

Industry: Residential moving services Location: Dallas/Fort Worth Challenge: 100% veteran-staffed workforce but invisible in AI search

Signal Diagnosis (Initial)

Presence Rate: 0.0%
Authority Score: N/A (no organic mentions to score)
Rank: #6 of 40 brands
Category Share: 4.6%
Top Competitor: Two Men and a Truck (10.7% response rate)

Key Finding: When customers ask “which DFW movers have reliable, disciplined teams?”, AI recommends competitors. This happens despite this business having 100% veteran workforce and 7 consecutive industry awards.

The Paradox: Competitive recall exists (AI knows who they are when explicitly asked) but organic discovery fails (AI doesn’t recommend them unprompted).

Solutions Strategy

The Decision: 30-day Google Business Profile optimization over content marketing, AI chatbots, or schema markup.

Why GBP?

• ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini primarily use Google’s Knowledge Graph for local businesses
• Competitors (franchises) can’t update profiles without corporate approval. You can today
• Zero cost, 12 hours total time over 30 days
• Direct impact on the platforms where customers actually ask questions

The Plan:

1. Week 1: Rewrite GBP description connecting veteran workforce to “reliable teams” and “transparent pricing”
2. Weeks 2-3: Personal outreach to 50 past customers requesting review updates mentioning “veteran” and “discipline”
3. Week 4: Add 3 GBP Q&A entries answering exact customer queries from Signal report

Success Criteria:

• Day 30: Target 15% Presence Rate (from 0%)
• Day 60: Target 25% Presence Rate
• Pivot Point: If still <5% at Day 30, switch to schema markup Phase 2

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The Continuous Improvement Loop

Monthly Cadence (For Most Businesses)

Week 1: Run Signal → Identify gaps Week 2: Run Solutions → Get action plan Weeks 3-6: Implement Phase 1 tactics Week 7: Re-run Signal → Measure impact Week 8: Return to Solutions with new data → Refine strategy

Weekly Cadence (For Competitive Markets)

Signal subscribers receive Monday Intelligence Briefs showing:

• Competitor movement (did someone jump from 15% to 35% response rate?)
• Platform shifts (is Claude now mentioning you more than ChatGPT?)
• New brand entries (is a new competitor gaining traction?)
• Use case changes (are customers asking different questions?)

When to return to Solutions:

• Every 4-6 weeks for strategic check-ins
• When Signal shows unexpected competitor surges
• When Presence Rate plateaus despite tactics
• When entering new markets or launching new services

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Multi-Persona Reality

Critical insight: Your Signal report tests one customer persona.

Example moving company personas:

• Persona A: Family seeking reliable, disciplined movers → Rank #6, 0% Presence Rate
• Persona B: Budget-conscious college student → Rank #2, 45% Presence Rate (unknown until tested)
• Persona C: Corporate relocation manager → Rank #15, 12% Presence Rate (unknown)

What this means: You might dominate with budget customers but be invisible to families. And you won’t know without testing multiple personas.

Solutions implication: Different personas need different tactics. GBP optimization helps families (local search). Corporate blog content helps B2B. Schema markup helps price-conscious searchers.

Running Signal Pro with multiple personas ($50 per report) reveals blind spots across customer types.

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API and Automation

Both Signal and Solutions support API triggers and webhook delivery. Perfect for agencies running recurring client reports or developers building custom dashboards.

When to Use Each Tool

Start with Signal if:

• You’re unsure how AI systems see your business
• You want competitive intelligence (who ranks #1?)
• You need to justify AI optimization budget to stakeholders
• You’re planning a rebrand or messaging pivot
• Competitors seem to be getting more AI traffic than you

Start with Solutions if:

• You’re facing a specific strategic decision (pricing, expansion, new service)
• You have Signal data already and need an action plan
• You want board-level strategic analysis (not just AI tactics)
• You need financial modeling (NPV, real options analysis)

Use Both Together if:

• You want systematic AI visibility improvement (most businesses)
• You’re in a competitive market where AI discovery matters
• You value data-driven strategy over guesswork
• You want quarterly strategic check-ins as AI landscape evolves

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Common Questions

Q: Do I need to run Signal before Solutions?

Not required, but highly recommended. Solutions works with or without Signal data, but the intelligence token makes recommendations far more specific. Without Signal, Solutions provides generic best practices. With Signal, Solutions provides your playbook.

Q: How often should I run Signal?

• One-time: Establishes baseline, identifies major gaps
• Monthly: Tracks progress, validates tactics are working
• Weekly (Signal Pro): Catches competitive threats early, monitors platform shifts

Q: Can I use my Signal intelligence token multiple times?

Yes! Your token is valid for 90 days. Use it for:

• Initial Solutions strategy session
• Follow-up Solutions check-in after implementing tactics
• Multiple Solutions scenarios (e.g., “Should I invest in content vs paid ads?”)

Q: What if my Presence Rate doesn’t improve?

Solutions includes pivot points. clear triggers to change tactics. Example: “If Presence Rate <5% by Day 30, pivot from GBP focus to schema markup implementation.” This isn’t open-ended optimization; it’s a measured sprint with defined success criteria.

Q: Do other businesses need this workflow?

Local businesses (restaurants, services, retail): Signal + Solutions is critical. AI discovery increasingly drives local search.

E-commerce/DTC: Less critical unless AI shopping (ChatGPT Shopping, Perplexity Shopping) becomes major traffic source.

B2B/SaaS: Valuable for category leadership positioning. If AI recommends competitors when prospects research solutions, you’re losing deals before ever entering the sales process.

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Pricing & Bundles

Individual Tools:

• Signal: $25 one-time
• Solutions: $50 one-time
• Scan (SEO): $25 or $50 one-time

Complete Visibility Suite: $100 (Scan Pro + Signal + Solutions)

• Bundle savings: Get all three products for $100 instead of buying separately
• 7-day upgrade refund: Buy Signal standalone, upgrade to bundle within 7 days and we refund your $25

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Bottom Line

Signal shows you the problem. (You’re invisible when customers ask about “reliable teams”)

Solutions solves the problem. (Here’s your 30-day GBP blitz with pivot points)

Together, they create intelligence. (Measure → Act → Measure → Refine)

Most businesses optimize AI visibility blindly. You don’t have to.

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→ Related: Understanding Your Signal Report | Complete Visibility Suite: Which Tool When | AI Visibility vs Traditional SEO