AI SEO and its impact
How we search is continuously changing in the modern world. Gone are the days of simply competing for the top spot on Google using search engine optimisation. Instead, a new way to display information has taken over. AI search platforms, the latest development in technology, are a way of getting answers quick. They use artificial intelligence to sift through multiple sources of information, compiling together an answer based off the sites it deems most applicable.
Although this is how the search engine works currently, the AI search platforms continue to evolve. This means the way we search will continue to change.
Chat GPT: the AI top spot
Currently, Chat GPT is the biggest AI platform on the market, sitting in the top 5 of all website’s monthly visitors. This has been a huge change over the past years, with a shift on which websites people are using to search.
Although, many Chat GPT users will still incorporate Google into their searches. This has led to dark traffic. This means it is very difficult to track a user’s journey due to a cross over in sites.
AI SEO for your business
So, how does this effect you as a business? Well, how people are making purchasing decision has also altered with the introduction of AI. In fact, 80% make more than half of purchasing decisions using AI tools. This means not being part of the movement can consequently leave you behind.
Additionally, with the introduction of AI summaries, a big trend seen is the number of impressions increasing, whilst number of clicks going down. AI tools are giving the consumer everything they need without clicking, causing a 35% reduction in CTR. This emphasises the importance of creating content that will be referenced by AI, as often people won’t go any further.
To conclude, this has resulted in a compressed buyer journey. For example, in traditional SEO, the top, middle and bottom funnel queries had huge touch point to get to the decision-making stage. Now, AI has sped this up and that journey has become shorter. This therefore means we need to reframe the way we think. SEO was often about reaching all touch points, with vast amount of content. However, AI SEO is not about volume anymore, and the content we’re putting out needs a more strategic approach.
AI overviews: how to get noticed?
So, how to achieve these all-important AI overviews?
AI is looking for you to have brand stickiness. This is where your audience becomes familiar with your brand, associating your product/service within that industry. It also shows you are professionals in the sector, and tells AI you are informed and trusted.
How to get this reputation?
- Firstly, use tools such as SEMrush to find keywords where you rank on AI overviews
- Filter this to check keywords you don’t own on AI overviews
- Filter by top 10 positions
- Prioritise informational and commercial terms
- Start optimising your content for these keywords to influence AI overviews
- Track the number of AI overviews you’re showing up in after changes are made
- Maintain these with updated content based off the search terms
How is Chat GPT different to normal search engines?
Chat GPT takes information from across the internet, instead of what’s ranking on Google. You want to be seen as an authority brand in a certain topical area. Use various content to cover that topic in detail, in and off your website.
It’s also essential to include digital PR in your strategy. You need other websites talking about your business for AI to deem it authoritative.
Technical foundations such as site structure, crawlability for AI bots, and up to date information are all essential too. Making sure you have a schema in place, with no errors (such as 404) tells Chat GPT your website is well-maintained and technically reliable.
How to write content for AI SEO?
To continue, by clearly positioning your content in the industry, making sure it’s well written and easy to cite, makes it more likely to be referenced by AI. Describe your brand in one clear sentence and put this everywhere. To understand which prompts and keywords use and find what people are searching, use keyword research and customer persona data, found on search tools such as Google keyword planner or AnswerThePublic.
The overall content plan should be focused on building up a bank of material that serves your customers in someway and brings real benefits. If your content doesn’t align with this, AI might refuse to push your content as it doesn’t see it adding value. When deciding which content to push, and which needs to be removed, simply follow these rules:
- Remove or redirect content that doesn’t provide value.
- Keep and maintain by updating content that is performing well.
- Produce new content towards your key terms and overall goals.
Topics such as comparisons and alternatives are also favourited by AI, this could include pricing, reviews, awards, or FAQs. Look at some of our blogs to give you an idea of content that is useful for customers!
For you to cover a bigger surface in the topic, the content needs to mimic the range of searches users are making. This is where we can use the query fan out. The query fan out is a visual representation of how a single topic can have multiple searches that consist of various queries, showing the variations in users’ intentions, even if they are on the same topic.
So, by covering a range of answers and subtopics, similar to how AI finds it answers, you get the best chance of your business being seen.
An example of a query fan out from https://sem1.spyessentials.ai/blog/query-fan-out/
How digital PR, citations and reviews impact AI?
As mentioned, AI favours third-party websites that write about your business. To increase your presence online and gain these all-important references there are various methods you can use. These include requesting collaboration with journalists, encouraging customer reviews, writing industry focused blogs, pushing local directories, and referral links or influencers.
However, it is also important to ensure you’re targeting the right type of sites. When distinguishing which platforms to use it’s essential to look if they carry authority, are well structured, contain no broken links, relevant to your industry, used by your customers, and are continually updated with new content. Identifying these points can help you qualify potential third-party sites to use and give you a better chance of being referenced by AI.
Additionally, once you’ve decided on your chosen websites to target, use Chat GPT sources to identify the type of articles AI is likely to use. These are referenced under each answer the AI bot gives, showing the various sites it has taken its information from. To make it easier, the tool PECC AI can pull a list of all sources across various search queries. Using these we can predict what AI is looking for and types of content it’s interested in.
Level up your business
Overall, the world of AI is continuously growing and developing. Now more than ever, it’s important that we learn to understand how to optimise for the new technology, giving your business the best chance at being seen. We hope our insight into the world of AI SEO has given you some valuable understanding in ways you can alter your content and get a head start on your competitors.
Do AI SEO the right way
If you are looking to take your site to the next level with an agency that has experience producing content designed for AI SEO, Search Buddy is your answer. Contact us today at contact@search-buddy.com or call the office on 0113 467 5392 for more information.
