Why Am I Not Getting Leads From the US? Start Here
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AEO for LatAm Team
The first cause to check is measurement. In one sample of 100 websites, 45 tracked no conversions in Google Analytics 4 (GA4), so those owners could not see leads from any channel [1]. The second cause is channel mix: Google organic search drove 96.5% of the conversions tracked across all channels in that sample over 12 months [1]. Neither study states the countries of its sites, so treat the numbers as a starting point for your own data [1][2].
Am I tracking US leads at all?
Tracking comes first because no channel can be judged without it. Marie Haynes analyzed 12 months of GA4 data from 100 randomly sampled websites, and 45 of them recorded no key events [1]. A key event is an action you mark as valuable, such as a demo request or a form submission.
AEO for LatAm’s recommendation: set up one key event for each way a buyer can contact you, then segment the report by country so US leads appear on their own line. The SEO Works report adds a caution: GA4 counts key events, not unique people, so conversion figures are upper bounds [2].
Which channels bring leads, and how much?
Google organic search brought most of the tracked leads in both studies. In the Haynes sample, Google organic produced 964 conversions against 36 from all AI chatbots combined, which is 27 times more [1]. ChatGPT sessions were 0.62% of Google organic sessions [1].
The SEO Works reached a similar result on a different sample of 95 GA4 properties between September 2025 and August 2026. “Organic search delivered 39 times more traffic than AI assistants,” its report states [2]. The sessions behind that ratio were 2,825,594 organic and 72,095 from AI assistants [2].
Do visitors from AI answers convert better?
Sometimes, and it depends on the business type. Haynes found a 13.8% conversion rate for ChatGPT visitors against 3.02% for Google organic, based on the 55 sites that tracked conversions [1]. The SEO Works found 7.18% for AI referrals against 6.08% for organic, a pooled ratio of 1.18 [2].
The business type changed the result. In the SEO Works data, the ratio was 1.21 for B2B services and 0.62 for B2B products, and AI traffic converted worse than organic on 23 of 63 sites [2]. The report does not state the region of its sample [2].
Do US buyers find me when they compare vendors?
Semrush tracked 400 commercial keywords in U.S. desktop results and found that AI Overviews, Google’s AI-written summaries above the results, appeared on 96.12% of “best X for Y” searches and over 82% of alternatives searches in August 2026 [3]. Reviews searches reached nearly 90% [3].
That study covers banking, ecommerce and software only, and it does not measure clicks [3]. AEO for LatAm’s recommendation: write an English page for each comparison your buyers run, and put the direct answer in the first paragraph.
What should I fix this month?
AEO for LatAm’s recommendation: work in this order, and finish each step before the next.
First week: define key events in GA4 and add a country segment for the United States.
Second week: list twenty searches a US buyer would type about your category, and record who appears for each in Google.
Third week: rewrite your five most relevant pages so the first paragraph answers the question.
Fourth week: compare US sessions and key events with the first week, and keep the notes.
Where do AI answers fit once these basics work?
AI answers are an additional path, and the data shows it growing from a small base. The SEO Works found AI referrals at about 2.29% of organic sessions from September 2025 to April 2026, 3.04% from May 2026 and 3.86% in August 2026, with the authors calling the four-month trend provisional [2]. Haynes reports that ChatGPT referral growth stopped in August 2025 and has declined since [1].
AEO for LatAm’s recommendation: build for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity after tracking and Google basics work, because the same answer-first pages serve both.
Frequently asked questions
What is a key event in GA4? A key event is an action you mark as valuable in Google Analytics 4, such as a demo request, a call click or a form submission. Haynes recommends defining what a conversion means for your business and tracking it before judging any channel [1]. Without key events, GA4 cannot report leads.
Is ChatGPT worth the effort if it sends so little traffic? In the Haynes sample, ChatGPT sessions were 0.62% of Google organic sessions, but those visitors converted at 13.8% on the 55 sites that tracked conversions [1]. AEO for LatAm’s recommendation: size the effort to your own GA4 numbers, and start with the pages that already serve Google.
Do these studies describe companies in Latin America? Neither study states the countries of its sites. Haynes does not state industries or countries, and the SEO Works does not state the region of its sample [1][2]. Use them as benchmarks for questions to ask, then confirm with your own data.
What is a “best X for Y” search? It is a query in which a buyer asks for the best product or provider of one kind for a specific need, such as “best invoicing software for freelancers.” Semrush found AI Overviews on 96.12% of these searches in its 400-keyword U.S. desktop panel in August 2026 [3].
Should I wait for more data before changing anything? No. Tracking and answer-first pages cost little, and both help every channel. The trend data is provisional, with the SEO Works describing its post-May 2026 window as only four months [2]. AEO for LatAm’s recommendation: act on tracking now and review the AI numbers every quarter.
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References
Marie Haynes. “GEO is a distraction.” Published October 21, 2026. Data: 12 months of GA4 data (exact dates not stated), 100 websites, over 145 million sessions; author calls it a small dataset. https://www.mariehaynes.com/geo-is-a-distraction/ (opened October 26, 2026).
The SEO Works. “How Much Traffic Do AI Assistants Actually Send, And Does It Convert Better?” Last modified October 14, 2026; no original publication date shown. Data: September 2025 to August 2026, 95 GA4 properties (63 used for conversion comparisons). https://www.seoworks.co.uk/downloads/ai-referral-traffic-benchmark/ (opened October 26, 2026).
Luke Harsel, with Nikola Manojlović. Semrush. “AI Overviews have nearly doubled across five commercial search modifiers.” Published October 21, 2026. Data: September 2025 to August 2026, U.S. desktop, 400 keywords. https://www.semrush.com/blog/ai-overviews-commercial-modifiers-study/ (opened October 26, 2026).