Hasn’t that been true since the August 2022 rollout of Google’s “Helpful Content” update? (Which was just three months before OpenAI’s ChatGPT launched to the public.) Isn’t good content user-centric and intent-driven anyway? Don’t Google’s introduction of AI Overviews factor into SEO best practices somehow?
If you’ve asked one or more of these questions, you’re in good company. We have answers.
Excellent content remains the north star
When in doubt, make killer content. Since August 2022, Google has (according to Google) placed much more value on metrics related to topical authority and engagement. These are things top marketers already prioritize: demonstrating expertise and increasing interaction.
We’ll talk about several tactics, but if you ever face a dilemma and need to make a judgement call choose whatever will make the content more authoritative and more engaging. Odds are that will serve you best in the long run — for SEO and for your broader marketing efforts — because it’s rooted in what your target audience wants.
Understanding Google’s AI Overviews
Google announced the public launch of its AI Overview (AIO) feature on May 14, 2024. An expected panic around zero-click searches ensued, but things have evolved dramatically since then. (“Zero-click” refers to queries in which users get their answer in the search results and do not need to click a link to satisfy their query.)
It’s important to have some context when thinking about AI search:
- AI is not new to search. Google has incorporated AI and machine learning (ML) into the search experience for the past 20 years (at least).
- Zero-click searches are not new to search. Google introduced featured snippets 21 years ago. A panic (similar to now) ensued then, too. Did SEO end in 2014? No, and it’s not going to end now. It’s just evolving.
- Zero-click searches are plateauing. In October 2022, a SemRush study found that 57% of mobile searches received no clicks. Nearly two years later in July 2024, a SparkToro study found that that 58.5% of searches received no clicks.
It’s also key to understand how AIOs have changed since May 2024. The first AI overviews provided succinct responses and included few, if any, sources. The backlash was immediate. Not only were they unreliable, they often provided potentially harmful responses (e.g. try rocks and glue on your pizza! ). Since then, Google has ramped up sourcing, and introduced a host of components — to the extent that in many cases, AIOs looks indistinguishable from the pre-AOI search engine results pages (SERPs). Ironic, isn’t it?
Optimizing content for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Andi, Waldo and more
Google’s AIOs are not the only AI-driven search results out there. Large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Andi and Waldo have surged in popularity over the past year. It’s not feasible (and likely impossible) to optimize for all of these at once. So, here’s how we approach content creation and optimization for AI-driven search:
1. Pay close attention to any algorithm and guideline updates from Google. Google dwarfs everything out there. While Google’s search market share has declined from 91.6% to 89.7% over the last year, the next- highest competitor number we’ve seen is 3% market share for ChatGPT, and we suspect that’s on the high end. While it’s an admittedly impressive jump, it’s nowhere near Google.
2. Make it easy for search engines. Use plenty of H2 subheadings throughout your content to help the algorithms easily identify the questions you’re answering. When possible, answer the question as simply as you can in the first sentence of each section. This increases your likelihood of owning a featured snippet or the AIO equivalent.
3. Be “citeable.” Proprietary data or information is SEO gold for two main reasons: It distinguishes your content, and it is far more likely to be shared and linked to. These “back-links” are strong authoritative signals to algorithms.
4. Include multiple formats for competitive topics. This is not new to SEO, but AIOs and Perplexity have already proven that users enjoy having a variety of formats in their search results. The more you can incorporate images, video and audio into your content, the more opportunities you have to appear in those results.
SEO will never stop changing
As always, SEO will continue to shift and evolve. The introduction of LLMs and the visible use of AI is just the next phase of this evolution. Don’t panic. Keep calm and query on.
Imprint’s AI Discovery Lab is obsessed with SEO in 2025 — are you up for a discussion? Please send us an email at imprint@imprintcontent.com or fill out the contact form here.
