How to Rank in AI Search Results: Best Strategies to Follow

Search engine optimization (SEO) has been around for ages. It required marketers and business owners to invest lots of time in optimizing their sites and content to appear high in search engine result pages (SERPs) because only the top results get the most clicks, which means traffic and potential sales.

As of 2024, most businesses are already putting regular effort into SEO. They leverage the top SEO software to target the most relevant keywords and get the most out of their optimization. And they receive tangible results. But the SEO industry doesn’t stand still.

Although just a few years ago, getting to the top positions in SEPRs was the number 1 purpose of SEO, things have changed since the introduction of AI-driven search. Artificial intelligence results appear above all the rest in SERPs, providing you with plenty of opportunities to get noticed. Read on to learn how to use this to your benefit with AI search SEO!

AI-Driven Search: Understanding the Difference

AI search results, also known as Overviews, is an innovative SERP feature introduced by Google that’s gradually becoming available to more users.

In a nutshell, this feature leverages special AI search algorithms that first analyze users’ queries, identify intent and context, and find matching results from all across the web. Then, the artificial intelligence provides a snapshot compiled from the key data from the top results to answer the user’s question. This overview contains links to original sources of information, encouraging users to delve deeper. Hence, being featured in such an overview can also give you greater visibility, similar to ranking high in SERPs.

AI Search SEO: Best Strategies for Getting Into Overviews

1. Let Quality and Relevance Come First

More sophisticated algorithms behind it imply that artificial intelligence will better understand user intent, preferences, and context to deliver more relevant AI search results. Respectively, to get featured in Overviews, you need to focus your content on users.

Prioritize quality and relevance by digging deeper into your audience’s interests and needs. And strive to solve their problems and answer questions thoroughly.

2. Get More Conversational

Natural language processing (NLP) is a pivotal branch of artificial intelligence that’s responsible for understanding human conversational language. In Overviews, this technology plays a crucial role in understanding users’ queries and the context behind them to deliver truly relevant results.

To get your content noticed and matched to your target audience’s queries, get more conversational. Use natural language in your copy that is similar to that used in a conversation. Also, integrate question-based keywords and provide clear but concise answers to them.

3. Implement Structured Data

Structured data allows bots to better understand your site and its content, classify it, and provide additional information about your pages in SERPs. Similarly, structured data is pivotal for AI website optimization as it can help AI to match your content to user queries more accurately.

Leverage schema.org or Google’s guidelines to implement schema markup and leverage the benefits of structured data.

4. Make E-E-A-T Your Core Principle

Google updated its content quality guidelines not so long ago and added an additional “E” to “E-A-T.” Now, this entire concept stands for:

• Experience
• Expertise
• Authoritativeness
• Trustworthiness

Since the update, Google’s algorithms (including AI) increasingly prioritize pages that meet the “E-E-A-T” standards. So, in order to get into Overviews, you need to make it your core principle by consistently delivering expert-level and original copy that brings value. Be sure to provide author credentials where needed and earn trust through quality backlinks.

5. Watch News and Trends

AI content optimization is still in its infancy. Although the Overviews feature is gradually becoming more accessible to people worldwide, it’s still developing, and we’ll need time to adjust to it completely. This brings us to the last and most important tip - keep an eye on artificial intelligence trends and related algorithm changes. The more informed you stay, the quicker you’ll be able to adjust your strategy to get greater results.

6. Make Ongoing Strategy Improvement a Must

Given its fluid and ever-changing nature, SEO has never been a one-off process, and AI SEO optimization is no exception. As the algorithms and the sites of your competitors change frequently, receiving and retaining positive results from your efforts is only possible if you continuously monitor and assess your performance, making strategic improvements in your approach.

Leverage analytical software to track empirical KPIs like organic traffic, engagement rate, keyword rankings, bounce rate, and others to find areas for improvement and refine your strategy in the long run.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence is a powerful technological advancement that’s reshaping many different industries, including SEO.

After the introduction of artificial intelligence Overviews in Google, businesses now need to rethink their tactics and embrace the rising AI search SEO to boost their visibility and stay competitive. After reading this guide, you have a list of practical tips that can help you get ahead and overshine the competition. Start using these tips now to be prepared for the future.

FAQ

How is AI search different from traditional search?

Like with regular queries, AI search algorithms are finely tuned to recognize a user’s intent and find the top results that perfectly satisfy it. The difference is that instead of receiving a list of the top results matching a given request, users receive a compelling answer to their question compiled from these results with artificial intelligence. A single overview can feature from 1 to 20 links to original sources, providing marketers, SEOs, and businesses ample opportunities for growing visibility.

Do keywords still matter in AI search?

Absolutely! It doesn’t matter if you want to appear high in SERPs or get featured in an AI overview. In both cases, keywords are used by Google bots to analyze a user’s intent and understand which content on the web matches it. Hence, keywords are the backbone of your visibility.

What content works best for AI-driven results?

There is no one specific type of copy that can or can’t get into an overview. The key to being featured is to create human-friendly content that’s tailored to a user’s intent, clear, well structured, and brings value. Additionally, it should answer your target audience’s question in as much detail as possible.