It’s not been long since Google unveiled its new AI enhancements to the search engine’s vast capabilities. From circle to search and AI in ads, understanding and leveraging AI search is key in significantly enhancing your website’s SEO presence.

The top traffic source for all websites is organic search, and with less than 1% of searchers clicking on the second page of Google results, it’s crucial to get your pages optimised as ever to reach your all important audience.

Let’s explore how you can optimise your online content to align with Google’s AI search algorithms and improve your overall SEO strategy.

Show me exactly what I want

Google’s AI search is designed to understand and prioritise user intent. This is why developing a list of keywords is one of the first and most important steps in any search engine optimisation initiative. To make sure you align with this, focus on creating content that addresses the specific needs and queries of your target audience.

Conduct thorough keyword research to identify relevant search terms, and structure your content to provide valuable and informative answers to user queries. In fact, long-tail keywords make up the vast majority of all Google searches, so they’re more important than ever. Keywords that are roughly 10-15 words long get 1.76x more clicks than single-word terms. Use Google’s keyword planner and sites like Semrush to see what’s trending in your industry.

And remember the bunch of questions that appear in Google’s search results? Why not use them as talking points and answer them directly in your content. It might just so happen that Google links your page as the answer to that very question.

Is your data in order?

Implementing structured data markup helps search engines better understand the context of your content. One of its main benefits is to help make web pages more discoverable through search engines by potentially making them stand out from other listings.

This can result in rich snippets and enhanced search results, making your content more appealing to users. Schema.org provides a standardised vocabulary for structured data that can be easily understood by search engines.

And AI will thank you dearly. The largest benefit of structured data is how easily it can be used by machine learning. The specific and organised nature of structured data allows for easy manipulation and querying of that data.

Searching on desktop? What’s that?

People carry their smartphones everywhere. Google’s AI search places a strong emphasis on mobile-friendly websites and you’d hope so with 5.44 billion unique mobile phone users worldwide. Ensure your site is responsive in its design, providing a seamless experience across various devices and scaling to fit when necessary.

Mobile actually makes up 41% of all web traffic, so it’s important your pages are optimised when your customers come scrolling. The average web page takes 87.84% longer to load on mobile than on desktop, and page speed is a crucial factor in getting your content seen. Faster-loading pages contribute to a positive user experience, which in turn positively influences SEO rankings.

You can use Google’s free Mobile Friendly Tool to test if your website is working for mobile users. If the page that you test is mobile-friendly, the tool will return a positive result. If not, Google will suggest possible improvements and point out what changes you can make to improve the mobile experience.

‘Alexa, add to cart’

The rise of voice-activated devices has led to an increase in voice searches, in fact, 50% of consumers use voice search every day. Whilst queries asking if it’ll be sunny and local “near me” searches are the two most popular uses for voice search, people are using their smart speakers to purchase health and beauty, electronics, and household supplies.

Optimise your content for natural language queries, incorporating conversational phrases and addressing common questions related to your industry or niche. Consider creating FAQ sections to capture these voice-based queries effectively (again, shout-out to the Google questions section in search results)

Stay up to date

Google’s AI search rewards fresh and updated content. Regularly review and update your existing content to ensure its relevance and accuracy. This not only keeps your audience engaged but also signals to search engines that your site is actively maintained.

With the introduction of circle to search, think about adding more imagery and video to your sites armed with high-intent keywords. A Google survey even found that 90% of people are more likely to purchase from businesses that have photos included in their organic or local results.

Given that humans are inherently visual creatures, it’s hardly surprising that incorporating photos and videos on your website can capture attention and evoke emotions. This approach not only distinguishes your site in terms of SEO but also persuades your intended audience of the reasons to choose your website over competitors.

Taking the Backlink

Link building is a significant part of any SEO strategy. In a 13-month Semrush study, nearly all (92.3%) of the 100 top-ranking domains had at least one backlink. In the same study, over 50% of qualified sites without at least one backlink never reached the first page.

Pages with the highest number of total backlinks usually rank best in Google. Develop a robust backlink strategy by earning high-quality, authoritative links from reputable websites. Google’s AI search considers backlinks as a measure of a site’s credibility and relevance. The top result in Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than those in second to tenth place.

However, prioritise quality over quantity to avoid potential penalties. If you’re wondering what type of content to choose, a Backlinko study could help. Backlinko found that long-form content is ideal for backlink acquisition, with an average of 77.2% more links than short articles.

Review, review, review

Use analytics tools to monitor the performance of your website. Track key metrics such as organic traffic, bounce rates, and conversion rates. Analysing this data allows you to refine your SEO strategy based on what is working well and what may need improvement.

As Google continues to refine its AI search algorithms, staying ahead in the digital landscape requires a dynamic and adaptive SEO strategy. By aligning your efforts with the principles of user intent, quality content creation, and technical optimization, you can harness the power of Google’s AI search to significantly boost your SEO presence and improve your online visibility.

Get in touch today with an Arkenaut and we can help leverage your SEO presence and get you ranking on the number 1 page.