The use of AI in SEO is at an interesting crossroads. On one hand, everything from the layout of search engine results pages (SERPs) to the algorithms search engines use to determine their rankings has changed dramatically with the advent of AI.
On the other hand, on-page SEO best practices haven’t changed that much. The way we go about earning high search rankings is by-and-large the same as it was before AI. High-quality, authoritative, scannable content is still king – even more so after Google started penalizing sites that relied too much on low-quality AI-generated content.
AI’s changed how that work gets done, certainly. Generative AI has been a game changer for more mindless SEO tasks and even content creation. But the fundamentals of good SEO are the same whether you do your blogging with AI or not.
Producing good content that’s relevant to your audience’s needs and provides useful information will always be the best strategy. And that still demands a human touch.
There are a few big shifts in the overall search experience that are shaking up how marketers conceptualize and optimize their content, though. Let’s look at how search has changed and consider what that means for your SEO strategy.
How AI has Changed Search Results
AI has given search engines a powerful way to sift through search data, understand user intent, and serve results that are personalized to each user. It’s also paved the way for search engine results pages that look completely different than they did just a year earlier.
A sample Google SERP for “what is SEO?”
SERPs are now full of additional search features and visual elements that serve up a wide range of results. The first of which is the new AI Overview, which generates an approximate (very approximate, in some cases) response to your query based on the content that’s currently ranking for relevant keywords.
For a marketer, this isn’t a particularly welcome addition. Looking at the search page above: Imagine how the poor content creator who ranks #3 for this keyword feels. There used to be enough room in search results for the top 3-5 pages to show up before the user scrolled down, even with paid ads. Between the new AI Overview and the “People also ask” feature (also driven by AI), everybody but #1 and paid ads are getting shoved downward.
Even if you’re #1, there’s a chance that the AI overview will highlight other content, meaning other sites that rank beneath you will suddenly get a link at the top of the page.
With so many new widgets and features worked into search results pages, does that mean it’s not worth optimizing for SEO at all? Absolutely not. It’s more important to be on that first page than ever.
User patterns have remained pretty much the same as they’ve always been. The #1 result gets most of the clicks (~30%), with every result beneath them seeing a roughly 10-15% decrease in traffic from the result above them. Features like “People also ask” also drive traffic but generally at a much smaller rate than full organic search rankings.
With such a front-loaded and feature-rich first page, the basically true adage that “no one visits the second page of Google results” is now almost literally true. Roughly .5% of all search traffic visits the second page of search results, meaning any rankings in the 10 position or above don’t directly drive traffic at all. They’re still nice to have and can establish your site as an authority in other searches, but the overwhelming odds are against anyone ever finding your site through those keywords.
But that’s just the layout and UX of SERPs. There are a few other ways AI has shaken up how users search for and find content.
Improved User Intent Understanding
AI-powered algorithms, such as Google’s RankBrain and BERT, are built to comprehend the meaning behind search queries rather than just matching keywords. These systems analyze the context of words and phrases, enabling more accurate results that align with user intent. For instance, if someone searches for "best places to eat near me," AI recognizes the user’s location and preferences to serve up the most relevant results.
Personalization of Search Results
AI tracks user behavior and tailors results to the user’s preferences, even if those preferences weren’t explicitly stated in the query. This functionality might be limited in response based on privacy concerns in the future, but for the time being, AI is being used to actively curate search results for users.
Voice Search Optimization
With the rise of voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, AI is driving a shift toward conversational queries. These are often longer and more natural in tone than traditional text-based searches, prompting search engines to prioritize content optimized for natural language. What form these optimizations take is still taking shape – but it’s an emerging facet of SEO that’s ripe for experimentation.
Visual and Multimodal Search
AI also powers visual search tools like Google Lens and Pinterest Lens, which allow users to search using images rather than text. This requires marketers to optimize their images and multimedia content to rank effectively in visual search results. That means that, if you haven’t already, it’s definitely time to add descriptive alt-text to your images.
Content Quality Assessment
AI evaluates the quality of content by analyzing factors like readability, relevance, and engagement metrics. Low-quality or spammy content is penalized, while high-quality, informative pieces are rewarded.
Ironically, AI is good at spotting the work of other Large Language Learning Models to write content. Sites that are over-reliant on AI to write poor-quality content have already seen penalties in search.
How to Optimize Your Content for AI-Driven Search
Digital marketing experts are used to constant, large shifts in best practices. AI is just another change in how we do our best work. But when we look at what you should actually do to get the most out of your web content in the age of AI search, not much has changed.
1. Focus on User Intent
The fundamentals of SEO are still the same. Understand the types of questions and queries your audience is asking. Create content that answers those questions. Keyword research is still a critical part of the SEO process.
2. Create High-Quality Content
GPT-based AI writers are fine to use to generate ideas, but the human touch is still required. Even if you use AI, include a human editor in any content production to format your content with clear headings and concise paragraphs for better readability.
3. Experiment with Other Search Modalities
When doing keyword research, be on the lookout for long-tail keywords that read more like conversational phrases than search queries. It might be voice search users that are driving search volume to that phrase. It may be worth experimenting with content that’s built for voice search.
For visual image search, following best practices for media should be enough. Use high-quality, descriptive images and ensure they’re tagged with relevant alt text. And make sure your digital content is always optimized for speed and mobile use.
4. Use AI
SEMRush and Ahrefs both offer numerous AI tools that identify keyword opportunities. ChatGPT has an impressive data analysis toolset. AI content generators are getting more sophisticated, even if they do require human supervision.
For better or worse, AI tools are here to stay. They’re a powerful force multiplier in skilled hands. Just make sure you’re not getting away from the most important function of digital content: serving your audience.
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