# WCMO AI visibility audit

> WCMO (wcmo.uk) was named in 15% of 80 answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity to buyer questions that did not mention it (95% range 9–24%, September 2026). ChatGPT never named it. The site AI linked most instead: adrianlambert.co.uk (35 citations).

- Audited site: https://wcmo.uk
- Category: Marketing Consulting
- Sampled: 2026-09-30
- Audit by: Ivan Karaman (https://ivankaraman.com)
- Full report: https://ivankaraman.com/audit/consultants/wcmo.uk

## The numbers

- Unprompted mention rate: 15% of 80 answers (95% Wilson range 9–24%).
- Own site linked as a source: 7 of 80 answers.
- Sample quality: solid.

| Engine | Model | Named | Rate | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5.4-mini | 0 of 20 | 0% | 0–16% |
| Claude | claude-haiku-4.5 | 4 of 20 | 20% | 8–42% |
| Gemini | gemini-2.5-flash | 4 of 20 | 20% | 8–42% |
| Perplexity | sonar | 4 of 20 | 20% | 8–42% |

## The buyer questions asked

Each question was asked 4 times on every engine, with web search on. The business name was never in the question.

- "We keep generating leads that never turn into pipeline. Any fractional CMOs in the UK with Salesforce experience who could diagnose what's actually wrong before we spend more on ads?"
- "Is there a fractional CMO near Blackburn, England who works with founder-led B2B companies?"
- "How do I choose between a fractional marketing leader and hiring a full-time CMO for a small B2B company? Look for experts in the UK in the Blackpool/Leeds/Manchester area"
- "Who can help us build a demand generation strategy from scratch for a founder-led SaaS business? Need someone in the greater Manchester area."
- "Looking for a marketing consultant in Blackburn UK or nearby who can fix our go-to-market messaging before we scale sales."

## Who AI cited instead

| Site | Type | Times linked |
|---|---|---|
| linkedin.com | Community | 43 |
| adrianlambert.co.uk | Competitor | 35 |
| themarketingcentre.com | Competitor | 19 |
| demandgenix.uk | Competitor | 13 |
| fractional-csuite.com | Other source | 12 |
| twine.net | Other source | 12 |
| vcmo.uk | Other source | 12 |
| uk.linkedin.com | Community | 12 |
| hargreaves-marketing.co.uk | Other source | 12 |
| marketingconsultantlancashire.co.uk | Other source | 12 |
| clutch.co | Review site | 11 |
| mccrackenmarketing.co.uk | Other source | 10 |

- **Adrian Lambert**: Manchester and North West in the title, quantified pipeline, and a named seat on The Marketing Centre roster. That is the page shape engines cite when a founder asks who is near Blackburn or Manchester.
- **The Marketing Centre**: A regional directory of named fractional CMOs, including North West, which matches both Google and AI on the hire-versus-full-time prompt. WCMO is absent from the roster.
- **DemandGenix**: A Manchester demand-gen firm whose article diagnoses why MQLs fail to convert, with a step audit and a 30-minute diagnostic offer. It answers the stalled-lead prompt WCMO only narrates, which is why r/marketing scepticism of vague fractional titles does not hurt a page that defines the failure.

## Diagnosis

WCMO appears in 15% of unprompted AI responses (CI: 8.8% - 24.4%), securing just 7 direct citations out of 80 searches. The underlying issue is not a lack of expertise or track record, but an absence of structured answers on wcmo.uk.

Currently, Google and AI engines rely heavily on linkedin.com (43 citations) as the primary entity record for Salim Sayed and WCMO. Your own LinkedIn post acknowledges that fractional CMO is a title you use reluctantly for the algorithm, and buyers on r/marketing agree, calling it a new buzz word for part time CMO. 

Because buyers are skeptical of vague titles, they search for specific regional operators or specific stalled-lead pain points. Engines reward pages that answer these queries directly. Adrian Lambert captures 35 citations by naming a North West operator with quantified pipeline on The Marketing Centre (19 citations). DemandGenix (13 citations) captures the exact prompt WCMO's homepage narrates by explicitly diagnosing why MQLs fail to convert.

wcmo.uk currently lacks a dedicated diagnostic page for these stalled leads, alongside missing a sitemap, JSON-LD, and an llms.txt file. To shift citations from linkedin.com to your own domain, WCMO must publish a structured FAQ page that answers why B2B leads stall before pipeline, backing it up with your Salesforce and Virgin Media proof points to satisfy both AI and skeptical founders.

## Technical readiness

- AI crawlers can read the site: OK. No AI crawler is blocked in robots.txt.
- llms.txt: Missing. None yet. A plain summary of what you do, written for AI readers.
- Sitemap: Missing. No sitemap found. Crawlers have to guess which pages matter.
- Structured data (JSON-LD): Missing. No JSON-LD on the homepage.
- Homepage description: Weak. Empty. Search engines write their own snippet.
- agents.md: Note. Optional. Very few sites have one yet.

## What people say

- "The edtech market was new to Sal and he was always keen to learn and listen to those who had an educational background." (Rachel Smith recommendation, LinkedIn, https://uk.linkedin.com/in/samirsayed)
- "Sal has the ability to execute rapidly while also bringing forward-thinking, creative ideas to the table." (Sandra Milroy recommendation, LinkedIn, https://uk.linkedin.com/in/samirsayed)
- "Working alongside Sal on joint projects, one thing stands out above everything else: his ability to cut through what a founder thinks the problem is and identify what it actually is." (Jon Thor on WCMO credentials, https://wcmo.uk/credentials)
- "I feel the title is being recognised in the zeitgeist of Linkedin, but questions on the actual definition and interpretation are still up in the air." (Salim Sayed on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/samirsayed_fractional-cmos-is-a-title-a-lot-of-people-activity-7470474788545921024-pXpT)
- "Fractional is the lazy way out and nothing more than a freelancer/agency kind of work." (r/marketing, https://www.reddit.com/r/marketing/comments/1dvxto9/im_interviewing_a_fractional_cmo_what_separates)
- "new buzz word for part time CMO" (r/marketing, https://www.reddit.com/r/marketing/comments/1dvxto9/im_interviewing_a_fractional_cmo_what_separates)

## Questions and answers

**Do AI search engines recommend WCMO?**

In 80 answers from Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity to buyer questions from people looking for a fractional CMO consultancy for B2B founders (Sep 2026), WCMO was mentioned in 15% of them (95% confidence interval 9%–24%).

**Which AI engine mentions WCMO most?**

Gemini: 20% of 20 answers (CI 8%–42%). Claude: 20% of 20 answers (CI 8%–42%). Perplexity: 20% of 20 answers (CI 8%–42%). ChatGPT: 0% of 20 answers (CI 0%–16%).

**Which websites do AI engines cite when buyers look for a fractional CMO consultancy for B2B founders?**

Most cited instead of WCMO: linkedin.com, adrianlambert.co.uk, themarketingcentre.com, demandgenix.uk, fractional-csuite.com. WCMO's own site was cited in 7 of 80 answers.

**What do AI engines say about WCMO when asked by name?**

Asked directly about WCMO by name, the engines named it in 100% of answers (CI 89%–100%). This is a separate measure from unprompted discovery above.

**How was this AI visibility audit measured?**

Each buyer-intent prompt was asked 4 times on each engine with live web search; an answer counts as a mention when it names WCMO, and as a citation when it links the brand's own site. Rates carry 95% Wilson confidence intervals.

**Why do AI engines cite LinkedIn instead of WCMO's website?**

WCMO lacks a sitemap, JSON-LD entity markup, and an llms.txt file, forcing AI engines to rely on linkedin.com (43 citations) as the primary record for Sal Sayed.

**Who do AI engines recommend for North West fractional CMOs?**

AI engines heavily cite adrianlambert.co.uk (35 citations) and themarketingcentre.com (19 citations) because they provide named regional rosters with quantified pipeline data.

## Method

80 answers: 5 buyer questions × 4 samples × 4 engines, sampled through the engines' APIs with web search on (ChatGPT: gpt-5.4-mini, Claude: claude-haiku-4.5, Gemini: gemini-2.5-flash, Perplexity: sonar). A "mention" is the business named in the answer text; a "citation" is its own URL linked as a source. The two are counted separately. Rates carry 95% Wilson score confidence intervals. Reviewed by hand before publishing.

Source: https://ivankaraman.com/audit/consultants/wcmo.uk