Clear Spark Digital Case Study
My work: Original survey, data-driven report, commentary, and article syndication.
Creating a Data-Driven Asset to Build Visibility and Credibility
About Clear Spark Digital
At Clear Spark Digital, I help founders and businesses become more visible and credible online, and a lot of that work centers on data-driven content and the coverage it earns.
This case study is different from the others on this site. Instead of showing the details of a client project, this one shows how I’m using the same process in my own business.
The Challenge
As a new business, Clear Spark Digital has no existing visibility or authority. Since these are the things I help clients with, I decided to follow the same approach with my own business. I ran my full process on Clear Spark Digital itself and built a data asset to earn real coverage and links, the same way I do for clients. This is a work in progress, but the early results are worth sharing.
The Solution
I followed the approach I use for client projects: build an original data asset worth citing, then promote it so the coverage and links follow.
The Original Survey
In April 2026, I surveyed 2,127 U.S. adults about how they use and trust AI search tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI search overviews. The survey covered details like how often people use AI, how much they trust AI answers, whether they verify what AI tells them, and whether they act on that information.
A few of the results from the survey stood out. About 68% of respondents trust AI search as much as or more than Google’s organic search results, and 78.5% said they’ve already made a real-life decision based on something an AI tool told them.
The Report and Stats Article
I created a detailed report (PDF) and a landing page to host it, then published a stats-based blog post covering the headline statistics. Those assets serve as references for journalists and bloggers when they need a stat on how people actually use AI search.
Promotion and Syndication
While passive mentions and links from relevant publications are the long-term goal, some initial effort promoting the study helps get things started. I distributed a press release about the survey results, which was picked up and published by more than 240 sites. I also wrote a commentary article and syndicated it through Stacker. That piece ran on 190 news websites, including MSN, AOL, Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, The Lexington Herald-Leader, and many others. So far, the syndicated article has been viewed by more than 23,000 people.
The Outcome
This project went live about a month ago, so it’s still early. But it’s already pulling in links from relevant sites, including Nadcab (DR 63), Google Rank Check (DR 50), Click Raven (DR 48), and PostEverywhere (DR 44).
Each of those links is a credibility signal, and the report is the kind of asset that keeps working long after the initial push. As more writers cover AI search and look for data to cite, the survey should continue to attract links and mentions.
If you’re looking to build your authority and visibility online, I’d love to talk about what that could look like for you. Get in touch to start the conversation.