We recently looked at how AI is changing SEO and the way we search, for more information on said changes, read our blog. In this blog, we're sharing our top 10 ways marketeers should adapt their AI SEO strategy to keep up with these AI changes.
Here are several key areas to focus on when it comes to adapting to AI and the future of SEO.
1. Focus on user intent and experience
AI-Powered search: With search engines becoming better at understanding user intent, marketers must move away from just keyword stuffing and focus on providing content that answers user questions and provides real value. It’s not just about using specific keywords; it's about understanding why a user is searching and delivering comprehensive, relevant answers.
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Search engines, like Google, use AI to assess the credibility of content.
Experience - Looks at whether the creator has relevant life experience
Expertise - This considers whether the creator has relevant knowledge and skills
Authoritativeness - Is the creator considered a go-to source on this specific topic
Trustworthiness - This looks at how reliable, honest and accurate the content is
Marketers should ensure their content is well-researched, accurate, and comes from reputable sources to meet these evolving quality standards.
Mobile optimisation and speed: Search engines are prioritising mobile-first indexing. Marketers need to ensure that websites are mobile-optimised and load quickly to provide the best user experience.
2. Create high quality, conversational content
Natural Language Processing (NLP): As mentioned earlier, with AI understanding more natural, conversational language, marketers should optimise for long-tail keywords and conversational phrases. Focus on creating content that answers specific questions, think FAQ-style content or "How-to" guides, as users increasingly phrase their queries like they’re talking to a person.
Voice search optimisation: Voice search is becoming more prevalent, so it’s crucial to optimise content for spoken queries. This means focusing on more natural language, question-based keywords, and local search terms.
3. Prioritise featured snippets and direct answers with schema markup
Structured data and schema markup: To get featured in "position zero" (featured snippets), marketers should incorporate structured data, also known as ‘Schema markup’ into their content. This helps search engines extract and display direct answers, which can improve visibility.
Answer user questions: Create content that directly answers questions in clear, concise ways. Aim to provide "snackable" information that answers queries in short, easy-to-understand paragraphs, bullet points, or lists.
4. Optimise for visual search
Image and video SEO: AI-driven visual search is growing, so marketers should optimise images and videos by using relevant alt text, tags, and file names. Create rich, visual content, for example, infographics and videos, to increase the likelihood of being discovered in image and video searches.
Product Listings and E-commerce SEO: Marketers should ensure that product images are clear, well-tagged, and linked to their relevant pages. Visual search is becoming more important for e-commerce, so tools like Google Lens or Pinterest Lens can help users discover products based on images.
5. Leverage AI and automation tools
AI for content creation and optimisation: Use AI-driven tools to help identify trending topics, generate content ideas, and optimise for SEO. For instance, AI tools can analyse your content and recommend keywords, readability improvements, and content structuring to increase SEO performance.
AI for personalisation: As AI helps deliver more personalised experiences, marketers can use AI tools to create personalised content recommendations based on user behaviour, preferences, or past interactions.
6. Local SEO and hyperlocal targeting
AI and location-based search: AI can also help to improve local search accuracy, which means marketers must pay attention to local SEO practices. Ensure business information (e.g; NAP: Name, Address, Phone) is consistent across directories, optimise Google My Business listings, and leverage location-based keywords.
Optimise for "Near Me" searches: With the rise of mobile and voice search, "near me" searches are growing. Marketers should target local-specific long-tail keywords and create location-specific content to appear in these results.
7. Track user behaviour and metrics
AI and analytics: Use AI-powered analytics tools to gain deeper insights into how users interact with your site and content. Understanding metrics like bounce rate, average session duration, and click-through rate (CTR) will help you optimise content to improve engagement and rankings.
Content performance and AI optimisation: AI tools can also help assess which pieces of content perform best in terms of SEO and user engagement, allowing marketers to refine their content strategies over time.
8. Stay updated on search engine algorithm changes
AI algorithms are evolving: Whilst looking at AI and the future of SEO, it's important to consider how search engines are adapting too, Google’s search algorithm is becoming more AI-driven with updates like BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) and RankBrain. These updates focus on context and meaning, so marketers need to be agile in adapting to these changes, constantly refining content, and staying informed about the latest search engine trends.
9. Focus on core web vitals and technical SEO
Page experience update: Google has prioritised "page experience" signals, which include loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability. Marketers should optimise their site’s technical performance and ensure it meets Google's Core Web Vitals to maintain high search rankings.
AI and crawling: AI also helps search engines crawl and index websites more effectively. Ensure your website structure is clean, well organised, and easily crawlable by bots, this includes things like the proper use of sitemaps and no broken links.
10. Use AI for predictive search and trends
Predictive analytics: Marketers can use AI tools to predict search trends and consumer behavior. By analysing past data, AI can help marketers anticipate what users are likely to search for next, allowing for proactive content creation and optimisation.
To adapt their AI SEO strategies, marketers should focus on creating high quality, user-centric content, optimise for voice and visual search, utilise AI tools for better insights and automation, and prioritise a great user experience across all devices. By embracing AI, marketers can enhance their SEO efforts and stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
Not sure where to start with the adaption of your AI SEO strategy? Let us help support your business and digital marketing strategy through the fundamentals of SEO and ensure your website is optimised for 2025 and beyond. Discover more about our SEO expertise, or get in touch with us.
