When you think of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), the first thing that usually comes to mind is keywords. As they suggest, keywords have long been the key to successful SEO campaigns.
Google has suggested for years that human language is also a leading SEO factor. There has been little evidence to support that, but now it couldn’t be more obvious. AI summaries (Google calls them overviews) are now prioritized at the top of the page above Google ads and other search results. This apparent sabotage of its lucrative ad revenue is evidence Google expects to aggressively compete for AI leadership.
Traditional SEO, as it’s practiced today, optimizes website pages and other content to rank in search results. The path to that goal has been content that demonstrates relevance and authority.
That’s still valid, but the AI evolution takes a more humanized approach. We are moving away from keywords toward more comprehensive solutions that signal relevance.
Communicate Your Brand Strengths
The surest way to excel with AI-influenced SEO is by focusing on your brand distinction. It tells people why they should care about your business. A great brand stands in for people’s inability to accurately communicate what makes it special.
In a world where quality has risen to breathtaking levels, brand differentiation signals relevant qualities that people desire. Lululemon, Apple and Tesla are just a few brands that signal affluence, style and social attractiveness.
Let’s be clear about one thing. Before AI entered the picture, social media transformed SEO. It gave consumers a collective voice that’s more powerful than that of any brand.
Look to your customers for ways to communicate your distinctions. One of our practices at True Nature Marketing is independently interviewing our clients’ customers. They tend to be open and share the truth about their providers’ strengths and weaknesses.
Embedded in your customers’ social media comments are invaluable signals for shaping your brand marketing. As this trend unfolds, you can expect them to show up in AI-generated search results.
To better understand how this works, look at how Amazon product reviews have changed. You’ll now find one summary of all reviews, both positive and negative, at the top of the review section. Amazon is moving toward basic conversational language to communicate relevant signals that will speed up buying decisions.
Thus, your SEO efforts should take a similar approach to help AI platforms recommend your business solutions. My suggestion is to sit down with your team to discuss what your customers are saying.
Do they tell their friends your company is expensive but worth it? That’s not a bad signal to own for a residential company serving affluent customers. As AI continues to evolve, businesses will discover they have to meet customers where they are.
The upside of this shift is its potential to simplify your marketing. Getting it right will bring you closer to your customers. How they communicate your true brands strengths is what matters most.
<p>The post Communication Coach: How AI is transforming SEO and what you need to do about it first appeared on Landscape Management.</p>