The introduction of Google’s AI Overviews has sent shockwaves through the SEO world. Click-through rates are down, zero-click searches are up, and both are redefining how brands market themselves through Google.
However, it’s not just Google that’s changing; AI is transforming the entire search experience.
LLM-powered tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity are increasing in popularity at a rapid pace. That, combined with the increased prevalence of AI Overviews, means AI SEO is no longer optional; it’s mandatory.
Strong visibility is now tied to how well search engines understand your brand and content. Thanks to the advanced natural language processing that LLMs use, they’re able to fully parse the meaning behind user prompts and online content.
In other words, AI-powered search has evolved beyond keyword matching, DR scores, and URL retrieval.
We’re well aware of this, which is why we’ve rebuilt our SEO philosophy to include generative search. This guide will teach you:
- What matters most in AI search
- How AI SEO differs from traditional SEO
- Ways to adjust your link-building strategy to include LLM search visibility
- 3 tactics you can use to start optimizing for AI search today
Whether you’re a brand-new site owner or a seasoned SEO veteran, this guide will show you how to adapt to the AI-powered search landscape.
What AI SEO Means (and Doesn’t)
First, let’s clear something up. When we say AI SEO, we’re not talking about using AI tools to supplement your Google strategy.
When some marketers hear the phrase ‘AI SEO,’ they think of things like:
- Using ChatGPT to aid with keyword research and to draft original content
- Optimizing on-page content with tools like Clearscope and Surfer
- AI-powered plugins that automate internal linking and meta tag creation
Basically, they’re thinking of using AI tools to enhance their traditional SEO strategy (on Google and Bing), but that’s not the type of AI SEO we’re talking about.
Instead, we mean optimizing your website to appear in more AI Overviews and AI-generated summaries. The goal of AI SEO is to get popular AI search tools like Gemini (AI Overviews), Perplexity, and ChatGPT to cite your content and recommend your brand. The more these types of AI tools cite and recommend you, the more online visibility you’ll generate.
Research shows that appearing in AI Overviews and summaries improves brand recall and leads to things like direct brand searches down the line. While clicks don’t happen immediately like they do with regular SEO, brands are now discovering that the added visibility from AI citations positively impacts conversion rates and lead generation.
Here are a few examples:
- Booking.com used FAQ schema to increase their visibility in zero-click search results (like AI Overviews). As a result, they saw a 24% increase in brand searches despite lower click-through rates.
- Samsung discovered that 28% of their brand searches were from zero-click search results.
- A case study from Lewis & Gray revealed that a travel brand saw a 9% increase in conversion rates (despite a 3% dip in organic visits) after optimizing for AI Overviews.
We’re still in the infancy of AI-powered search, but these statistics provide evidence that improving visibility on LLM tools has tangible benefits.
The Top 3 Ways AI is Shaking Up the Search Landscape
Next, let’s look at the 3 main ways AI search tools are different from traditional search engines like Google.
They are:
- Semantic relevance instead of keyword matching
- Relevance and trust outweigh DR
- Mentions, structure, and context matter more than keyword targeting
Let’s take a closer look at each one.
#1: LLMs extract answers instead of URLs (semantic relevance)
As mentioned previously, LLMs are able to fully understand the meaning behind text, which is something classic search engines didn’t do. Now that Google has Gemini wired to its AI Overviews, even traditional Google Search is LLM-powered, meaning the keyword tricks of old won’t work anymore.
Instead of keyword matching and URL retrieval, LLMs look for semantic relevance above all else. That means AI search tools can cite content for user prompts that doesn’t even contain the same keywords. As long as the content is semantically relevant to the prompt, it’s fair game.
Let’s consider an example. Imagine a user types a prompt into ChatGPT that says, “How do I stop my basement from flooding during storms?”
Instead of browsing an index looking for content that contains the keywords ‘basement flooding,’ ‘stop water,’ and ‘storms,’ ChatGPT will find semantically relevant content.
Because of this, it might cite something like Basement Waterproofing Tips from This Old House. While it doesn’t contain any exact-match keywords, it comes from a trusted, topically relevant source (and is exactly the type of content the user needs).
For search marketing, this means the helpfulness and quality of your content are more important than exact-match keyword targeting. It’s also a good idea to start researching popular AI prompts in your field alongside SEO keywords.
#2: Relevance and trust outweigh DR
Next, you should know that your DR score doesn’t matter as much to LLMs as it does to traditional search algorithms.
However, the fact that LLM-powered search prioritizes topical alignment and contextual relevance over raw authority actually presents an advantage for smaller to medium-sized businesses.
On Google, legacy websites like Wikipedia, Mayo Clinic, and WebMD have such high DR scores that ranking for certain keywords (namely, extremely popular ones) becomes next to impossible. This makes it extremely difficult for newer, lesser-known brands to rank for common industry terms.
On an LLM-powered search tool, DR scores don’t carry as much clout since they favor topical alignment (i.e., how well your content addresses a prompt). As a result, LLMs may favor sites with niche expertise over generic high-DR sites.
Don’t get us wrong, we’re not saying that LLMs don’t consider authority when pulling information. They very much do, but it takes a different form than DR scores.
The main factors that build authority on LLMs are:
- Consistent topical depth (i.e., establishing topical authority through high-quality content that covers similar topics in great detail)
- Signals for authorship and expertise (use the Author schema property and include biographies showcasing your author’s credentials and experience).
- Factual accuracy and citations (i.e., brand mentions and backlinks)
If your website has niche topical authority and strong trust signals, it could have the potential to outperform high-DR pages that have weaker content.
#3: Mentions, structure, and context matter more than keywords
Evidence shows that brand mentions play a major role in how LLMs pull information online.
Research by Ahrefs found that the three most significant brand visibility factors on AI search tools are:
- Brand mentions
- Branded anchor text
- Brand search volume
Brand mentions are so important to LLMs because they establish authority and aid with entity recognition. A process called ‘named entity recognition’ (NER) is how LLMs are able to identify entities like companies, people, places, and things.
The more mentions you have across trusted online publications, the more AI search tools will associate your brand with relevant topics.
Also, LLMs can infer the context behind brand mentions, so they’ll be able to tell if other websites are:
- Mentioning you in a positive light
- Recommending your products and services
- Viewing you as an authority figure (by linking to your content and resources)
Branded anchors and brand search volume are both important for the same reasons. They let LLMs know that your brand is a trusted, high-quality resource worthy of citations, summaries, and recommendations.
How you structure your content will also impact your visibility on AI search tools, and it has to do with how they parse content.
LLMs split content into ‘chunks’ using schema markup, semantic HTML, headings, and lists. The more you cater to this structure (i.e., using semantic HTML, schemas, H1s, bulleted lists, etc.), the easier it will be for LLMs to understand your content.
In other words, it’ll be twice as easy for AI tools to connect the dots between who your brand is, why your content is relevant to (x) prompt, and why it should recommend your products and services (if applicable).
Lastly, context is all about getting your brand to appear in ‘all the right conversations.’ Ideally, you want your brand to get mentioned online in discussions related to your industry. If your brand consistently appears on trusted blogs and community forums like Reddit, LLMs will confidently associate you with relevant topics.
How to Adjust Your Link-Building Strategy
Okay, now let’s connect everything we’ve covered so far to building actual backlinks.
More importantly, what are the main ways you should adjust your link-building strategy to remain competitive in the age of AI search?
Let’s find out.
Build contextual links in topically aligned content
Remember how we said you want your brand to appear in the right conversations? Well, building contextual links is how you make that happen. By contextual links, we mean building backlinks on trusted, topically aligned websites.
That means engaging in tactics like:
- Guest posting on respected blogs and online publications in your niche
- Collaborating with experts and thought leaders (LLMs will associate you with those experts, which is a good thing)
- Choose well-structured pages (schema and semantic HTML) for your backlinks
Building links in this way will increase the chances that LLMs will connect your brand to relevant topics and ultimately, start citing you as a resource more often.
Earn editorial links and brand mentions
Since brand mentions matter so much to AI-powered search platforms, they’re now incredibly powerful for AI SEO.
Accordingly, you’ll want to earn brand mentions on trusted news websites and media outlets in your field. Editorial backlinks are the cream of the crop for both traditional and AI SEO, so you’ll enjoy the best of both worlds. As a bonus, these backlinks have the potential to generate valuable referral traffic.
The best way to earn editorial backlinks is to engage in digital PR, which brings us to our next point.
Use Digital PR to build brand signals across multiple trusted sources
Not only will digital PR campaigns earn you more brand mentions, but they’ll also build trust signals across multiple sources.
That’s because digital PR involves things like:
- Networking with journalists (like through HARO) to earn brand mentions and backlinks.
- Newsjacking trending stories to include your brand.
- Creating content like data-driven research, audience surveys, and case studies to attract links and mentions.
- Publishing long-form thought leadership pieces.
- Piggybacking off trending reports and engaging in co-branded studies (great for getting associated with other trusted brands).
As you can see, digital PR is a literal goldmine for AI SEO since it appeals to so many factors that LLMs value (mentions, relevant conversations, in-depth content that answers questions, etc.).
Final Takeaways: 3 Ways to Start Optimizing for AI Search Today
In short, AI SEO is not something any brand can afford to ignore any longer.
Even classic search engines like Google and Bing have been struck with the generative AI bug, so marketers must adapt if they want to remain competitive.
Here are 3 ways you can start optimizing your content for AI search right now:
- Make your content ‘readable’ to LLMs. The first step is to add semantic HTML and schema markup to your content so that it’s easy for AI tools to parse. Also, ensure your pages clearly state who you are, what you do, and why you’re qualified to do it (i.e., share your expertise and credentials).
- Start building high-quality brand mentions. It’s never too early to start networking with journalists to earn brand mentions. Sign up to platforms like HARO and Qwoted if you haven’t already.
- Publish authoritative, truly helpful content that covers all the angles. Topical authority matters to LLMs, so publish content clusters that cover every aspect of the topics that matter to your audience.
Cover these bases, and you’ll be well on your way to achieving better AI search visibility.
Do you need help building the types of backlinks you need for AI SEO?
Don’t wait to book a strategy call with our team to discover the perfect solution for your needs.