AI adoption is increasing fast each year. While the use of this technology in everyday life was once considered a “futuristic concept,” now it’s a practical tool that most people have gotten used to.
One of the most impactful ways AI is being used now is to help improve online search. Search engines are fundamentally shifting how they work, with machine learning intelligence and natural language understanding (NLU) playing an increasingly important role in search accuracy.
But while this integration has proven to provide a lot of value for “users,” its value is a bit more questionable for businesses that have traditionally relied on keyword placements and SERP rankings to help increase their web traffic.
How Are Search Algorithms Being Impacted By AI?
Over the past couple of decades, online search has changed drastically. Search engines have now become much more accurate in the type of results they present to users and are minimizing the presence of unhelpful, spammy resources thanks to their regular algorithm improvements.
In earlier days, online search relied heavily on keyword matching based on how a user phrased their questions. Today, search engines have changed how they source this information. Using machine learning and NLU, they’re able to not only recognize what a user is looking for, but dig deeper to better understand their intent without simply trying to match a keyword or phrase with an online resource.
Google has been one of the biggest adopters of AI technology in their search algorithms. Back in 2015, they introduced RankBrain, which shifted how they ranked websites based on the type of content they provide. This was followed by the BERT update in 2019 and the Multitask Unified Model (MUM) in 2022.
Each update has added more sophisticated layers that improve the helpfulness of their search features. However, this has moved the SEO goalpost for many brands as a result.
Future-Proof AI-Focused SEO Strategies
While SEO efforts and the impact are still very relevant today, there are changes that AI has introduced when it comes to how brands can and should prioritize their digital marketing strategies.
Relying simply on traditional SEO tactics doesn’t move the needle anymore. It’s important for organizations to recognize how AI has changed where marketing teams should focus their attention and how. Below are some examples of these new priorities:
Developing Higher Quality Content
One of the biggest factors Google emphasizes is the importance of brands meeting E-E-A-T guidelines in their content development – Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google continues to use this metric to determine if the authors or brand responsible for new content actually have real-world experience, demonstrable skill, and a solid reputation in the topics they’re speaking about.
If you take a look at the top search results of various queries, you’ll likely see an ongoing trend. Most of the content that ranks the highest is highly precise, well-researched, and often provided by individuals with highly specialized, firsthand knowledge.
Since AI tools make it much easier to generate large amounts of generic content, Google’s E-E-A-T standard helps to separate this type of information with unique industry perspectives.
Thinking Closely About the User Experience
Most internet users rely on Google when looking for information because of the experience it provides. If the top results were constantly outdated, unhelpful, or on pages that loaded slowly, most people would simply stop using it.
This is why your site’s bounce rate and other engagement metrics have become so important. A high bounce rate is a major red flag to Google, and it signals that your content isn’t engaging enough for visitors or doesn’t solve their problems.
An important way to lower this rate and improve your search ranking is by refining your site’s structure, improving its navigation, and regularly evaluating its speed and reliability.
Following a Methodical Technical SEO Approach
Technical SEO has always been the foundation of a smart optimization strategy. While it may not always be the highest priority for marketing teams, it shouldn’t be skipped. Google wants to send its users to resources that are not only relevant but also provided on a website that is fast and easy to navigate. The best article in the world is useless if the page is clunky, broken, or frustrating to use.
Businesses should make sure that they’re focusing on things like site speed, mobile-friendliness, and technical performance. It’s also important to make use of structured data (often called schema markup) on a site to clearly label content types. This helps search engines understand what your page is about and makes it easier for them to index it correctly.
How the Future of SEO Is Changing
AI-powered search is already transforming SEO, and that evolution is only going to accelerate over the coming years. Here are a few key trends to watch as AI becomes even more integrated into search.
More Personalized Search Features
Search platforms are getting much better at understanding exactly what you’re looking for when you enter something into search. Most algorithms are already designed to use multiple data points to improve accuracy, such as your past search history, your location, and the sites you visit often.
AI is set to accelerate this trend dramatically. This will allow search engines to build a much deeper understanding of your personal preferences and behavior, while being able to provide results that are hyper-relevant and tailored just for you.
The Ongoing Use of Conversational AI
People are increasingly asking Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa for information, products, and services. The common technology that these solutions use is AI-driven speech recognition, which continues to get more advanced and accurate over time.
For marketers, this means adapting SEO strategies to capture longer, more descriptive keywords and using more conversational writing tones that mimic how people actually speak to each other.
Awareness of Zero-Click Trends
With new features like Google’s AI Overviews, you’re able to get quick answers to your questions directly on search results pages. This “zero-click” experience for users is a major shift and can significantly impact SEO.
The obvious downside is a drop in click-through rates for traditional website links. While this is a challenging development, the new goal for businesses should be to become a reliable source for those instant answers. If you can carve out a position of expertise so strong that Google uses your content for a featured snippet, it can increase your brand awareness and still support your organic search volume goals.
Modifying Your SEO Approach Moving Forward
Artificial intelligence is no longer a “future” concept – it’s a present-day reality. As the technology continues to evolve, the only viable option is to adapt your SEO approach to meet these new demands.
