Optimizing website content for AI search is the hot topic right now, but how does one achieve it? The short answer is to focus on building your website content strategy on a firm foundation of SEO basics, including a content strategy centered around answer engine optimization (AEO).
Hiring a digital marketing agency like Rocks Digital with a team that focuses on building your brand through content, SEO and establishing consumer trust is a must.
Many industries are experiencing a major shift to artificial intelligence (AI). It should be no surprise that it’s taking over search engines as well. Search engines have generative AI answer engines (AE) built into their search functionality. How does a business ensure their website shows up in answer engine results?
Authoritative, Trustworthy Content Is at the Center of AI Search Results
Since 2016, when Google presented the search quality rater guidelines under the Expertise, Authority, Trustworthiness (EAT) framework, it became an important baseline for on-page SEO content elements. Then there was a significant update in 2022, when Expertise (EEAT) was added, giving more depth to weigh and value the information that brands and businesses provide.
You must work to catch the attention of potential clients, search engines and answer engines. Despite the hype, there’s not an additional big secret to businesses showing up in AIO search results or other AE results. We’ve learned that having a laser focus on the searcher’s intent while creating your content is the key to breaking through the noise and getting the results we all want. Here’s a few ways to do just that following Google’s guidelines.
Experience and Expertise (EE)
As a small local business, paying attention to what sets you apart from your competition in your content is vital. Whether you’re a local plumber, landscaping business, consulting agency or medical office, there’s a way that you stand out. Your expertise is what people are looking for when they search for answers online. Incorporate that experience into your content wherever you can, without being too heavy-handed with it.
For those with years in business, your experience, combined with your wisdom and good SEO practices, will lift up your website in organic, AI search and answer engine results. There’s no need to write in a sensational manner when your work speaks for itself.
Reminding readers of your time in business or how long your practices have served communities establishes your experience and expertise as valid. Reviews are also a great way for people and search engines to see this value.
Authority and Trustworthiness (AT)
When you know your business inside-out and share that knowledge with your internal team or digital marketing agency, that becomes the strength of your brand online. It establishes you as a source to be trusted. Consistent content writing on your website’s blog, Google Business Profile, and your social media shows AEs that you have fresh information relevant to what people are looking for, and pulls it for their answers.
This content needs to be aligned with your brand, so if you’re a lawncare company for example, posts about gardening and protecting your lawn makes sense. Content that aligns with the seasonal nature of the business (such as lawncare services being in higher demand in the spring & summer), should also be included in your plan. These are all chances for your business to be a source of good, quality content providing what your ideal customer is searching for.
When we talk about authority and trustworthiness, we’re talking about authenticity—real information that helps real people do what they need to do. So whether it’s a lawncare business or a doctor’s office, the services and information you provide online build your reputation in authority and trust.
Keep in mind, while these search quality guidelines come from Google, they are also effective on Bing. Many of the answer engines use Bing as their search partner (like ChatGPT, Co-Pilot and Perplexity).
AI Search Optimization Is SEO at the Core
As changes happen rapidly in how AI is impacting search results, still nothing beats having command of and implementing the core components of search engine optimization.
- Technical SEO
- On-Page SEO
- Off-Page SEO
- Content Strategy
We won’t bore you with too much technical jargon, but things like having a website with proper schema markup—a readable (even if complex) sitemap that’s able to be crawled by robots and indexed by search engines—is a must.
The content on that website needs to tell who you are, what services your business offers, and where you’re located. And this must be properly optimized for you to show up in all of the search results—generative AI search and otherwise.
Plus, let’s not forget that the value of having good, clean citations is beneficial as well.
These factors are all foundational for a website to rank in organic search, AI Overviews, answer engine results and so much more.
Get Help With AI Search Optimization Today
You don’t have to worry about the latest answer engine updates or content quality with Rocks Digital taking care of your SEO. Call us at (214) 989-7549 or request an SEO evaluation now.
