Melbourne · StudioHawk · Q2 2026

Search is changing.
I help you stay visible.

SEO has evolved from keywords and backlinks into something more complex — AI Overviews, large language models, and generative search are reshaping how people find information. I work at the intersection of where SEO is and where it's going.

Tyler Waugh
Tyler Waugh
SEO & AI Search Specialist
StudioHawk · Melbourne, AU
4+
Years in SEO
50+
Clients helped
Avg. lift
SEO AI Search Technical SEO Generative Engine Optimisation Local SEO Google AI Overviews Content Strategy LLM Visibility UX & CX Entity Building Link Building Perplexity Core Web Vitals ChatGPT Citations SEO AI Search Technical SEO Generative Engine Optimisation Local SEO Google AI Overviews Content Strategy LLM Visibility UX & CX Entity Building Link Building Perplexity Core Web Vitals ChatGPT Citations
Worked with
Officeworks Envato SEEK REA Group Airtasker Culture Amp Canva
312%
Average organic traffic growth
50+
Clients worked with
4 yrs
Full-time in SEO & search
Top 3
Rankings consistently achieved

About

Four years in search. All of it watching it change.

I'm Tyler — an SEO and AI search specialist at StudioHawk in Melbourne. My work spans technical SEO, content strategy, local search, link building, and UX — with an increasing focus on how businesses stay visible as AI reshapes the discovery layer entirely.

Before StudioHawk, I ran an e-commerce store — which is where SEO stopped being abstract for me. When your livelihood depends on Google ranking your product pages, you learn fast. That commercial grounding shapes how I think about every engagement now.

Technical SEO Local SEO Content strategy Link building UX & CX AI Search / GEO Core Web Vitals
Tyler Waugh
"The interesting thing about this moment in search is that the fundamentals still matter — authority, relevance, technical health — but where answers surface has fundamentally shifted. Optimising for that shift is the work."
Tyler Waugh — StudioHawk
4+
Yrs in SEO
50+
Clients
Avg. lift
Top 3
Rankings

How search is evolving

From ten blue links
to AI-generated answers

Search hasn't broken — it's been rebuilt from the ground up. Understanding where we are on this timeline is the starting point for any serious SEO strategy in 2026.

2000 – 2015
Ten blue links
Keyword matching and PageRank. Rank well, get clicks. The era most SEO playbooks were written for.
2015 – 2021
SERP features
Featured snippets, local packs, People Also Ask. Google begins answering questions, not just listing pages.
2022 – 2023
AI enters search
ChatGPT launches. Bing AI, Bard follow. Users begin asking AI directly instead of querying Google.
Now — 2024 – 2026
AI Overviews & GEO
AI-generated answers appear above organic results. Being cited by AI models is the new page one.
2026 – 2027
Agentic search
AI agents browse, compare, and transact on a user's behalf. Source trust and structured data become critical.
2027 and beyond
Proactive discovery
Personalised AI surfaces content before a search is made. Brand authority and entity signals are the primary ranking layer.

Click any era to read more ↑

Services

Where I focus

Senior-level. Results-focused. No fluff.

01
AI Search & GEO

Structuring content and authority signals so AI systems — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews — cite and surface your business. Generative Engine Optimisation runs alongside traditional SEO, not instead of it.

GEOAI OverviewsLLM citationsEntity signals
02
Technical SEO

Audits, crawl optimisation, Core Web Vitals, structured data, and indexation. The foundations that let everything else compound — and increasingly important for AI crawlers, not just Googlebot.

AuditsCWVSchemaLog analysis
03
Local SEO

Visibility in your market — Google Business Profile, local citations, geo-targeted content, and local pack strategy. Local search is shifting into AI local results too, and the preparation for both overlaps significantly.

GBPCitationsLocal packGeo content
04
Content Strategy

Keyword research, topical authority mapping, and content briefs built to rank in Google and earn citations in AI-generated answers. The strategy for both is converging, and that's intentional.

ResearchBriefsTopical authority
05
Websites & CX

Fast, SEO-ready websites for local businesses — built on solid hosting with long-term performance in mind. I also audit on-site experience and conversion flows, because traffic without conversion is a leaky bucket.

Site buildsCROCXHosting
06
Link Building

Editorial outreach and digital PR that builds genuine domain authority. Inbound links and brand mentions across the web also serve as entity signals that AI systems use to assess credibility.

Digital PROutreachAuthority

Selected work

Case studies

All case studies →

From clients

In their words

"Working with Tyler from StudioHawk has been a game changer. He took the time to understand our brand, our goals, and the unique challenges of our niche. His SEO strategy was clear, targeted, and super effective — within just a few months, we started seeing a real boost in search rankings and traffic."

GR
Greg Redmond
Owner, Mystic Party Entertainment

"Cannot recommend Studiohawk highly enough! They are masters of the 'dark arts' of SEO and have made huge improvements to our results and just keep continuing to deliver."

AL
Adrienne Langley
Vaikobi

"We worked with Studiohawk and have just completed the work — we had a great experience and the results showed! I would definitely recommend SH for your business."

BA
Beth Appleton
Chief Marketing Officer, Fortress Games

"Thanks Tyler and team, it has been great working together!"

RR
Rodney Reinsma
Owner, Gold Coast Property Buyers

Writing

On search

All articles →

Get in touch

Happy to talk through where you're at

Whether you're thinking about your SEO strategy, AI search visibility, local presence, or a new website — I'm happy to have a conversation and point you in the right direction.

📍Melbourne, VIC — available remotely
I usually respond within a day. I'll be upfront if I'm not the right fit for what you need.

No obligation. Just a conversation.