Podcast Summary: The Best SEO Podcast: Defining the Future of Search with LLM Visibility™

Episode: LLM Traffic, Real Attribution, Real Results With Brie Anderson

Host: Matthew Bertram
Guest: Brie Anderson (Beast Analytics)
Date: October 20, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the fast-changing landscape of digital marketing, where SEO intersects with AI and large language models (LLMs). Host Matthew Bertram welcomes analytics expert Brie Anderson to explore the new challenges and opportunities arising from LLM-based search, discuss the intricacies of attribution in today’s omnichannel environment, and share actionable strategies for tracking, analytics, and reporting in the Google GA4 era. Listeners will benefit from in-depth discussion on how to measure and optimize “LLM traffic” and why proper tracking and reporting is more critical than ever as discoverability shifts away from traditional SERPs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rise of LLM Traffic and Its Unique Characteristics

• LLM Search is Early but Growing Rapidly

  • Matt sets the context: LLMs only account for about 8% of the search market yet, but are expanding fast and represent a new "land grab" for visibility.
    • “It’s the new frontier…where you can land grab what’s going on and position your entity.” (02:54)

• User Behavior in LLMs is Evolving

  • Brie shares her surprise at both the usage and quality of LLM-driven site visits, seeing unexpected high-value conversions from LLM referrals, even in verticals like high-ticket B2B and job boards.
    • “The people coming from these LLMs are like…it is quality traffic. …They spend time on the site, visit a couple pages and then might even in that first session, convert.” (07:40)

• LLMs Drive High-Intent, Ready-to-Convert Users

  • Brie notes that LLM traffic consistently shows better engagement and conversion metrics than typical organic or even featured snippet traffic.
    • “If people come from a featured snippet…it’s like, oh, they’re just like checking for the next sentence…But the traffic that I’m seeing coming to LLMs…these are people ready to make a decision.” (07:40)

2. Tracking LLM Traffic in GA4 & Attribution Challenges

• Attribution and Tracking Remain Complex and Evolving

  • LLM referrals are inconsistent, often requiring manual tracking and frequent rule updates as new models emerge.
    • “You kind of…still requires a lot of manual work, I think.” (12:43)
  • Many LLMs pass inconsistent UTMs, or generate odd referral records (e.g., “chatgpt.com”, “OpenAI.com”), so source/medium approaches and regular review are essential.

• The Imperative of Full-Funnel Attribution in a Fractured Landscape

  • Multi-touch, omni-channel attribution is more challenging than ever, with touchpoints now spanning from billboards and podcasts to AI answer engines and chatbots.
    • “The reality of it is we never had perfect data, and we will never have perfect data.” (16:26)
    • “What we’re doing is exactly right. That’s science…You have a hypothesis based on one variable…then we see if there’s an impact.” (19:05)

• GA4’s Advertising Section — The Hidden Goldmine

  • Brie gives practical advice for using GA4’s attribution paths reports (found under “Advertising”) to better understand user journeys, even for organic/SEO campaigns.
    • “Even if you work in SEO, you need to look at the advertising section of GA4. That’s where all your attribution data lives.” (62:23)

• Attribution Models Explained Simply

  • GA4 uses a cross-channel, data-driven, last non-direct click model, and its paths report shows how conversion “credit” is split across touchpoints.
    • “It assigns a percentage of the key event to each of the touch points…that’s based off of the interactions that were taken within the sessions.” (21:00)

3. Client Goals, KPIs & the Role of Analytics in Strategy

• Misalignment of Metrics vs. Business Outcomes

  • Many clients (and SEOs) confuse SERP rankings for leads or revenue, which can create misaligned expectations and reporting challenges.
    • “You have to be in alignment of what the actual goal is— you and the client.” (31:32)
    • “If we rank for those, we’ll get leads…Not guaranteed.” (32:32)
    • “CRO is different from SEO.” (34:58)
  • Educating clients on leads/conversions vs. rankings is critical, especially as organic traffic patterns shift with more zero-click and AI experiences.

• Essential Event/Goal Setup in GA4

  • For lead gen: focus on form fills, phone calls, and track critical pageviews.
  • For eCommerce: robust purchase tracking, add-to-carts, product page views.
    • “The basic setup should answer your business goal questions…for lead gen: form fills, emails, phone calls. For eCommerce: purchases, add-to-carts…” (47:02, summarized)

• The Missing Piece: The Tracking Plan

  • Many marketing strategies lack a formal tracking plan, resulting in poor measurement and accountability.
    • “Almost every single marketing plan is missing a tracking plan. What are the KPIs, how are we going to isolate this specific data…” (39:50)
  • Brie advocates requiring explicit, shared definitions for events, UTMs, conversion tracking, etc., across agency and client teams.

4. Reporting, Looker Studio, and the Pitfalls of Automation

• Automated Dashboards ≠ Reporting

  • Brie warns that dashboards (e.g., in Looker) can become “set and forget” crutches and do not replace real analysis or strategic recommendations.
    • “Automated reports are really just dashboards…Our responsibility…is to report on our services, what impact we’ve had, and what we’re doing next.” (56:33)
    • “If you see the same report every month…You’re not exploring it.” (57:23)

• Internal vs. Client-Facing Dashboards

  • Build complex, filterable dashboards for practitioners, but provide simple executive summaries and actionable insights for clients.
    • “The reports you’re making decisions on…that’s for you internally, not for the client to play with.” (59:56)
    • “The client just wants to know…the executive summary: what are you doing, what’s going on, tell me what I need to do.” (60:23)

5. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The new world of marketing is…no one has it all figured out yet.” – Matt Bertram (02:54)
• “I have found personally, we’ve landed multiple clients that said…the only reason I’m talking to you is you came up at the top of Perplexity.” – Matt Bertram (06:35)
• “The people coming from these LLMs…are quality traffic, ready to make a decision.” – Brie Anderson (07:40)
• “Every bit of data we have is directional data.” – Brie Anderson, quoting Dana DiTomaso (19:05)
• “Almost every marketing plan is missing a tracking plan.” – Brie Anderson (39:50)
• “If you see the same report every month…you’re not exploring it.” – Brie Anderson (57:23)
• “Even if you work in SEO, you need to look at the advertising section of GA4. That’s where all your attribution data lives.” – Brie Anderson (62:23)

Important Timestamps

• LLM user behavior & surprising growth: 03:28 – 07:40
• LLM traffic quality vs. Google traffic: 07:40 – 11:18
• Tracking LLM traffic in GA4: 11:18 – 13:29
• Complexity of attribution in omnichannel marketing: 13:29 – 19:05
• How GA4 attribution works: 19:05 – 23:28
• Session source vs. user source vs. data-driven model (GA4): 23:28 – 26:52
• GA4 vs. Universal Analytics, what’s changed: 26:52 – 31:32
• Aligning goals and KPIs with clients: 31:32 – 34:58
• The importance of tracking plans in strategy: 39:50 – 42:17
• Best-practice event/conversion setup in GA4: 47:02 – 50:26
• Multi-platform data, Looker/Google Data Studio: 50:26 – 56:31
• Reporting vs. dashboards (“explore your data!”): 56:31 – 59:56
• Quick GA4 unknown secrets: 62:04 – 62:55

Actionable Takeaways

For Practitioners:

• Regularly audit your GA4 setups, custom channel groupings, and attribution reporting.
• Educate clients on the distinction between rankings, traffic, leads, and the need for clear KPIs.
• Build a formal tracking plan into every marketing strategy, specifying what will be tracked and why.
• Use Looker Studio for internal analysis but summarize only critical insights for clients.

For Organizations:

• Embrace LLM discoverability/visibility as a key pillar of marketing.
• Understand that high-quality, intent-driven traffic may shift away from traditional search—be ready to measure and act accordingly.
• Get cross-functional teams aligned on goals and reporting standards from the outset.

Brie Anderson’s Final Pro Tips & Resources

Brie’s “Unknown Secrets” of GA4 (62:23):

1. Even if you’re focused on SEO, use the Advertising section in GA4 for better attribution data.
2. Double-check all session source mediums for payment processors showing up as referrals—it can break your attribution.
3. If you want to track it, you probably can, but find the right help!

Find Brie Anderson Online:

• LinkedIn: [Brie Anderson]
• Website: beastanalyticsco.com
• YouTube: Tutorials and deep dives
• New tool: ga4helper.com – helps audit and configure GA4 settings

Summary Verdict

This episode is a must-listen for marketers and agency pros navigating the new world where LLMs and AI-driven search challenge every assumption about discoverability, conversion, and reporting. Brie Anderson’s data-driven approach and real-world experience offer essential guidance to anyone seeking real attribution and results in a chaotic, multi-source marketing world.