From zero visibility to competitive leadership in 4 weeks

The Challenge

An elite executive search company, Christian & Timbers, realized that its word-of-mouth reputation wasn’t enough to sustain growth. High-value clients now use AI-powered search and Q&A tools to find top recruiters (e.g. asking “Who are the best executive search firms for tech?”). 

Unfortunately, this firm’s name seldom appeared in those AI-generated answers, while larger rivals dominated the recommendations. The challenge was to modernize their digital presence and ensure they were visible when potential clients consult AI for recruitment solutions.

Compounding the issue, the firm had limited third-party validation across the places AI systems tend to trust most (credible reference sources, industry directories, and widely-cited pages) so they were easy to overlook.

The Solution

The firm adopted Meridian to bridge the gap between traditional reputation and AI-age visibility. Meridian analyzed the firm’s online presence and how AI assistants perceived it, revealing two key issues: the website lacked enough high-signal thought leadership for common C-suite hiring queries, and the firm was missing credibility signals in the third-party sources AI systems most often trust.

To turn this around, the team followed Meridian’s Content Opportunities by publishing targeted articles that answered high-intent executive hiring questions and updating core service pages with clearer positioning, keywords, and proof points. In parallel, Meridian surfaced high-impact off-page citation opportunities: authoritative industry pages and reference-style sources that disproportionately influence AI recommendations. The firm used these insights to earn placements and citations in the right external locations, giving AI assistants reliable, trusted sources to cite.

Meridian also highlighted technical improvements (fixing missing meta elements, improving site speed, and ensuring crawlers could index content effectively) so both on-site and off-site visibility signals reinforced each other.

The Outcome

Dramatic Visibility Growth: Mentions of the firm in generative search results increased from 0% to 12% on the topic “tech executive search firms,” as they became a top suggestion for relevant prompts.
Trust Signals Established: The firm began appearing on authoritative third-party pages that AI assistants frequently rely on, accelerating recommendations and improving consistency across AI platforms.
Thought Leadership Activated: New content started showing up as cited answers in AI results, positioning the firm as a credible authority and leveling the playing field with larger competitors.

For Christian & Timbers, Meridian unlocked a clear view of how they were represented (or overlooked) in AI-driven contexts and delivered a practical, high-leverage plan to fix it. By combining on-site improvements with targeted off-page citations, the firm didn’t just increase visibility—it made it easier for AI to recommend them with confidence.