To Survive the AI Revolution, SEO Needs an Evolution

The quickest path from point A to point B is a straight line, right? Users type a query into Google and then click your website to get their answer. But AI has changed this assumption. AI-generated results are now displayed above the typical search results, without a blue link to be found, and many users aren’t going anywhere. Because guess what’s an even quicker path between two points than a straight line? A point that never goes anywhere. 

As Google and its competitors integrate AI, also called SGE (Search Generative Experience), websites that rely on organic search traffic are starting to take notice. Some are seeing declines between 25% and 50%, especially from informational queries. The culprit: zero-click searches. 

Indeed, zero-click searches are on the rise, as users make a query, see their results at the top of the page, and move on. What does this mean for your business and SEO in general? It means traditional strategies and expectations must evolve—and here are 4 actionable ways to do just that.

1 - When it Comes to Keywords, Context is King 

The days of keyword stuffing are (thankfully) over. AI prioritizes content that more fully answers a question contextually, instead of 1 to 1 matching. Perhaps paradoxically, AI prefers in-depth writing that integrates keywords more naturally, i.e. that sounds more human. 

So if you’re building out an outline for your SEO copywriter, instead of simply listing keywords, spend your time researching the topic to find out what users really want to know. Go that extra mile to find out what’s resonating with your audience right now.

Use social search, places like TikTok or Quora, to discover what users are truly interested in, and don’t be afraid of going deep or the occasional tangent. In other words: embrace the rabbit holes. That’s what the internet is there for. 

2 - Yes, Quality Content Actually Matters 

Wait, I thought AI was replacing writers?! Think again. Informative, well-structured, trustworthy analysis is actually more likely to be featured in AI-generated summaries. Human-centered thought leadership should be more and more of a priority. 

Go deeper than surface level. Offer a unique context or POV so users find visiting your website valuable. Gather personal quotes and tell engaging stories that no other source can tell. Layered, well-researched writing is simply more enticing for both human readers and AI alike. 

Ensuring your content reads as conversational and human can also prevent it from getting flagged by Google as potential spam. Google and AI are less likely to prioritize your content if it feels it is using abusive tactics to manipulate search results.

3 - Ok, They Get To Your Site, Now What?

AI favors websites with high-quality writing, but also ones with a user experience that is just as engaging. Metrics like bounce rate, time on page, and interaction rates are all evaluated by Google AI. The higher your website scores, the higher you will rank in search results. 

So, ensure your website is technically up-to-date and easy to navigate. But also make sure that your content and presentation are synergistic instead of at odds with one another.  

As you infuse depth and POV into your writing, how can your website elevate this storytelling? Video, imagery, and interactive elements—all can help encourage users to dive deeper, provided they are intuitive and contextual to the writing itself. Bells and whistles just for the sake of them are just as bad as keyword stuffing. AI is too smart for these tricks. 

The importance of user experience makes onsite monitoring tools like Hotjar and Microsoft Clarity even more essential. The more you know about how your users are interacting and reacting to your content, the better you can optimize your site for the AI generation. 

4 - A Zero (Click) Sum Game

Zero-click searches mean users are taking a direct flight from SERPs (search engine results pages) to the information they need. There is no longer a layover to your website. In order for your content to avoid being ignored as simply “flyover country,” here are some concrete steps you can take.

Traffic to your website should no longer be the only focus. Instead, you can work to ensure your content gets featured directly in AI search results. This includes optimizing your content with featured snippets, thought leadership discussion, and other “rich” results that AI might pull as an answer to a query. 

What are “rich” results? They involve that multi-layered, POV-infused storytelling that we discussed above. They are contextual, concise, and holistic. They both answer a question fully, but are engaging enough to instill further curiosity in a user to ask even more questions—the answers of which are on your site. 

Additionally, consider adding downloadable resources to your website and teasing them in your meta descriptions. Offering tools and shareable takeaways can entice users to make a layover to your site, because they feel like they’re getting some tangible in return. 

Evolution Never Stands Still

The exciting but also unnerving thing about evolving your capabilities is that this process must be ongoing. Google and other search engines are still experimenting and fine-tuning how AI works for their businesses, and we must constantly monitor changes so we can continue pushing forward.

As tools get smarter, our writing and strategies must get even smarter. This means taking that extra time to do the research, listen to our audiences, and ask the questions that competitors might be skipping. Just because consumers are using AI as a shortcut, doesn’t mean we can afford to take one, too.