AI-Driven Search: Challenge or Opportunity?

Ads. Featured snippets. People Also Ask sections.

Now, SGE snapshots (renamed “AI Overviews” as of May 14, 2024). 

It’s only getting harder to land above the fold on SERPs. If that weren’t enough, many users are ditching traditional search engines altogether and turning to social media, chatbots and AI search engines for answers.

But don’t fret. This isn’t The Tortured Marketer’s Department.

The most opportunistic content marketers will make it out alive (and, in some cases, maybe even better off).

Today’s search environment actually has a silver lining.

The Bright Side of AI-Powered Search

AI search tools may “steal” traffic, but some can also be a source of it.

Platforms that cite their sources, like Google’s AI Overviews and Perplexity, are your best bet at earning back a portion of the traffic your website is bound to lose in the age of AI.

In fact, Google claims that AI Overviews actually bring more traffic to featured pages:

“With AI Overviews, people are visiting a greater diversity of websites for help with more complex questions. And we see that the links included in AI Overviews get more clicks than if the page had appeared as a traditional web listing for that query.”

Doubtful? I get it. The claims do have merit, though — at least for healthcare queries.

AI Overviews’ sources often don’t overlap with top organic results for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics. Since it can be nearly impossible to compete with the big players on SERPs (like Mayo Clinic), AI Overviews gives smaller sites a fairer shot at visibility.

AI referral traffic could become a potential goldmine for you — if you position for it.

AI Search Optimization 101

How can you tap into the opportunity for AI referral traffic?

By “speaking the language” of AI search tools so that they’ll read, trust, and cite your content. (Just like we’ve learned to do for traditional search engines.)

That language is changing every day, so it’s too early to say with certainty what AI likes. But here’s what we do know:

• Intent is everything: AI search tools focus on giving users the most relevant response. Focus on intent when creating content and make sure to completely serve the user’s needs.
• Depth matters: Follow-up questions are a big part of AI Overviews and the chatbot experience. Google has stated that AI Overviews will continue to improve its ability to answer complex, multi-step questions. Cover topics fully and answer relevant questions in your content.
• Content structure helps: It’s easier for AI search tools to read and understand your content when you break up information into chunks and lists. 
• Long-tails are a safe bet: Long-tail keywords match the shift we’re seeing in search behavior. Users are becoming accustomed to asking questions instead of typing in concise keywords. Create content accordingly.

This is only the beginning of what we’re learning at Aha Media about AI search. 

Read more about AI-focused SEO tactics and how to reverse-engineer your AI search strategy in 3 steps.

Our Content Strategy Team Lead, Ann Key, breaks it down in our latest blog on AI search optimization.

P.S. How have you shifted your search strategy to earn back the traffic you’re losing to AI? Let me know in the comments.