AI search has transformed the way brands are found and evaluated online, and there is still much to learn as SEO evolves into GEO (generative engine optimization).
Though we can’t plan perfectly for the unknowable future, based on the runaway success of human resources provider, Paylocity, which ranked #1 in search results overnight, we can tell you what is working now.
Paylocity is a leading HR, payroll, and spend management technology provider that is driven by the truth: that in business, people should matter most. Since 1997, they have partnered with organizations to create workplaces that prioritize employee well-being, while helping their businesses thrive. Now, millions use its platform.
Their success as a major player in payroll and employee management systems is partially a result of their strong PR efforts and SEO. But recently, Michael Farr, Senior Marketing Manager of SEO at Paylocity, who also had a background in journalism, realized the company couldn’t climb much higher with their traditional methods that siloed PR from SEO, without adding something new to the mix.
Michael found himself in a position that many brands and SEOs (GEOs?) are currently facing, where high-quality backlinks from reputable publications were established through strong PR, but need to scale in order to compete in the evolving digital landscape.
Michael was wrestling with how broad brand media mentions could be amplified to foster greater brand trust and real, measurable results for both SEO and brand authority.
He knew that simply gaming the search algorithm wasn’t it.
Michael learned of Stacker’s earned media syndication platform and thought it could help Paylocity move beyond its current results to build the reach and trust they needed, while competitors were still scratching their heads.
But initially, the novelty of Stacker’s earned media solution made Michael’s colleagues in corporate marketing and PR cautious. Getting their buy-in took a while, Michael said, before their hesitations were overcome around brand safety and how Stacker could help boost their SEO.
Paylocity collaborated with Stacker’s editorial team to bridge the gaps between their PR and SEO functions to serve both purposes at once. They created and optimized stories for rankable keywords that were both engaging and expertly strategized for both traditional and AI-based search engines, aiming to increase their mentions in AI search while building their brand.
There was a wealth of existing first-party and survey data to use for the stories Paylocity and Stacker would shape. They replicated the process of a publication to write authentic, timely, and editorially sound stories that used Paylocity’s data only as a jumping-off point to cover the breadth and depth of their industry in a way that others couldn’t.
Using Stacker, their owned content was transformed into impactful editorial like How to help employees adapt to AI in the workforce which was easily syndicated to publishers on the Stacker Newswire, earning 354 placements. This earned media mechanism enabled Paylocity to reach new levels of trustworthiness online while achieving the reach necessary to engage new audiences nationwide.
Michael said it was easy to upload and send stories towards syndication, so was tracking with a self-serve reporting dashboard that updates details of pickup in real time.
What did he see? The strategy worked. Far quicker than he expected.
Strategic keywords where Paylocity ranked lower in search results sprang to the #1 position overnight. In only three months, their stories made waves across reputable publishers that directly contributed to Paylocity’s brand building, but hadn’t featured Paylocity before. Michael hadn’t expected to see results that quickly.
Those 1,015 total pickups and nearly 100,000 readers represented more than just visibility and buzz. Their plateau content had peaked their search results, which extended the shelf-life that old-school editorial or blogs couldn’t have created alone.
“The fact that I could go back to the corporate marketing and PR teams and show them real numbers—300 pickups here, 400 pickups there—was huge,” Michael said. With this proof of concept, he no longer needed to gain his colleagues’ trust. They saw how their brand’s trust was building with new audiences.
Paylocity realized that taking their content out of their owned platforms and into earned media arenas put them on the radar of many new people who needed HR solutions. But it also had lasting power online, which would live in the search results far longer than yesterday’s paper would.
Michael said, “We used to think getting one or two high-profile mentions in a quarter was a big win. The success and easy lift of working with Stacker made Paylocity realize that their larger brand goals to gain authentic brand mentions across trusted publications were within reach. “Now we’re seeing hundreds of mentions in places we’d never even considered before. It’s a whole new level of brand presence,” he said.
This new approach catalyzed a renewed relationship between PR and SEO, as they saw that the results were tangible and actually moved the needle in today’s AI search-dominated landscape. Michael says that now the teams are excited to ideate around a larger role of research-driven content in their marketing strategy.
“Stacker really feels like a cheat code,” said Michael. “It’s changed the conversation internally and helped us get on the same page about what digital brand building looks like in 2025.”