Search has evolved. As well as using traditional search engines, people are using AI systems to compare, understand and suggest businesses. If your website isn’t included within the answers given to potential customers then you may be losing out. Visibility is about making sure your information can be found, understood, verified and referenced.
What is visibility?
Traditional search engine optimization helps you get your pages shown in search results. But with AI visibility you want to make sure your brand, services or expertise are being referred to within the AI powered answers. Answer engine optimization or generative engine optimization are other terms used here.
This doesn’t mean you should forget traditional SEO tactics. Search engines and AI powered experiences require your pages to be easily accessible, contain useful information and have a clean structure. You are not trying to trick your model into mentioning you. You want to make sure your business is relevant and easy to understand when people are asking questions within your area of expertise.
When looking into AI visibility optimization you should start by understanding how your brand is being described, what sources are being used and where there are gaps or out of date information.
AI visibility optimization
Answer Questions
AI often answer questions asked in a conversational manner. Think about what your potential customers are asking. What service should I use? How are they different to each other? What should I consider? Make sure you are answering these questions.
Make sure your pages are answering customer questions. Use simple language to explain technical terms. Include information that hasn’t been covered by your competitors. Include useful comparisons, unique research, expert explanations, examples and up-to-date data. Don’t publish multiple pages that are almost identical. This provides little value.
Structure your Pages
Having a good page structure will help you clearly communicate your main message. Use clear headings, short paragraphs, informative titles and answer any questions directly. Make sure you define any jargon and keep your services consistent throughout your website.
Your pages should be easy to access, crawlable, indexable, mobile friendly and include internal links to relevant topics. If you can include structured data this will help define what your page is about. However, just because you have some markup this doesn’t mean your page will be referenced by AI.
As Google state, it is still important to follow traditional SEO best practices. The best place to start is by including helpful unique content on your website that is technically accessible.
Build Credibility
Your brand won’t be the only source that an AI will come across. Make sure there are independent articles, trusted directories, industry sources and real conversations happening about your business. Having consistent information will help prevent confusion. If your descriptions are out of date, your services are inconsistent and there is incorrect information about your company this can cause issues.
Don’t try to force mentions. Instead, aim to get relevant mentions, provide useful expertise, update incorrect listings and add value where you can. Ensure you have credible mentions.
Track your Visibility
While having good rankings and website traffic is still useful, you may not always get a full picture. Try to track if your brand is being mentioned within relevant AI answers, what pages or sources are being referenced, if your descriptions are accurate and how your visibility is performing for key customer questions.
Be consistent with your testing. Ask a set of relevant questions across the AI platforms your audience are using. Record what answers you’re getting and what sources are being referenced. Be aware that the answers will vary depending on the prompt and platform. Combine this with analytics to get the best results. Look at your search performance, quality leads and conversions.
Remember, Google have some advice on using AI generated content responsibly. Make sure your content is accurate, high quality and relevant.
Long term Strategy
AI searches are constantly evolving. There is no ethical service that can guarantee your brand will come up in every answer. How visible you are will depend on the question, what sources are available, the platform and how the search is performed. Be wary of anyone promising guaranteed mentions.
A long term strategy includes good SEO, unique content, technical accessibility, credible sources and tracking. Most importantly, put your audience first. If your website is providing honest answers to questions and backed up with evidence then it will be more useful and easier for search systems to understand.
The future of finding information online is about being a credible source. If you invest in making your information clear, credible and constantly improving you’ll be in a better position. Make sure you are regularly checking key pages, updating examples as your services change and ensuring your public profiles are consistent with your website. Customers will build trust if the information is consistent over time.
