How AI is revolutionizing the future of search engines and SEO

When thinking of getting your company out there, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most helpful tools to get your business in top-lists. The strategy for B2B businesses is almost set in stone now – know your algorithms and make content that will get ranked highest by Google crawler bots. But now, with AI-powered chatbots stealing user search attention from Google and other search engines, will SEO work the same? Or is there a new challenge to stand out before AI as we did for google? Let’s discuss this. 

How brand search works with AI 

Let’s do a short experiment. Let’s imagine you are a B2B business founder looking for the best CRM tool for your business. Naturally, you would go to google and search “Best CRM tools”.

Here is what google gives you: 

Firstly, to get the best results you will need to cut through the noise of promoted pages, assuming that you want to choose websites that rank the highest organically.

Now, the companies you see are organically ranked on the top of the page by the keyword “CRM tool”. What influences this ranking is keyword relevance, content quality, site structure, on-page optimization and other strategies growth marketing agencies use to get your website visible right away.

Now, as a modernized tech user who appreciates the ease and functionality of AI, let’s ask ChatGPT the same question. 

As we can see, the list is different from the one in Google. Another point is that ChatGPT gave us a list of just 5 tools, while in Google you can easily scroll down and find the tools that are ranked lower than top 5. Here, unless you ask specifically for “top-100” or something, you will not even see these other tools. And then, when using Google, you will have to go to each tool’s website and see if they meet your expected characteristics.

In ChatGPT thought, you can immediately search for what you need. For example, let’s imagine you are a small business that needs CRM software and has a budget of $600/month.

By asking Google you get another long lust of websites, and news articles and need to keep researching yourself.

Ask the same question to ChatGPT, you boom – a customized list of 5 best tools that suit your specific criteria.

So, if we believe that more and more users will go to ChatGPT and other AI-powered chatbots for their queries, the question is – how to optimize your website so that your brand ends up in these 5-option lists?

What are the ranking factors  AI-powered chatbots use?  

Now, let’s try to think what ChatGPT and other AI take into account while ranking different brands. Let’s start by asking ChatGPT itself. The reply is pretty vague:

As a language model, ChatGPT is trained on a massive corpus of text data from various sources on the internet, including websites, articles, and social media posts. It’s  likely that the information and data that is most widely distributed and shared on the internet will have a greater influence on ChatGPT’s training data and therefore its results. This means that channels such as social media, content marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO) could all have an impact on ChatGPT’s results.

While it’s difficult to identify a single marketing channel that has the greatest impact on ChatGPT results, it’s safe to say that the wider distribution and visibility of information and data on the internet will generally have a greater influence on its training data and results.

Yes, that’s a possibility. If a website is ranking in the top 10 search results for a certain keyword, it is likely that the information on that website will be seen and processed by ChatGPT during its training, especially if the information is relevant and high-quality.

However, ranking in the top 10 of search results for a specific keyword is just one factor among many that can influence ChatGPT’s training data. Other factors include the frequency and context of the keyword in the training data, the quality and diversity of the training data, and the specific type of language model used.

By regularly creating and sharing high-quality content that is optimized for keywords related to a particular topic, and promoting that content through social media and other channels, you can increase the visibility of your content and make it more likely to be seen by a broader audience, including those who may be training language models like ChatGPT.

How to optimize your brand for AI rankings? 

There are several factors that will help maximize the impact on language model results, including:

Brand mentions together with your keyword 

This is pretty straightforward: if you are trying to rank high for a CRM tool, make sure there is plenty of content out here where your name and “CRM tool” stand next to each other.

Brand mentions frequency in SMM compared to competition 

The frequency of your brand mentions is extremely important, as the more you are mentioned, especially in social media, the more likely it is for AI to see you. It is crucial to measure such frequency compared to competitors. While Google rankings only took into account website data, ChatGPT gathers all information about your brand online. Social media, of course, is a big part here. And if you are more popular than your competitors, you are more likely to be mentioned. 

Marketplaces and reviews 

AI-powered chatbots rely highly on third-party reviews and independent rankings. So having great reviews on different platforms and being best-listed on the popular relevant marketplace should be your ultimate goal!

Content quality and uniqueness

As for regular SEO, having quality content is key. Now, when it is so easy to produce large amounts of content with ai-tools, unique ideas will be even more valuable and help your brand stand out, both for users and for AI. So, focus on real, human and insightful content, across all channels 

Context of the mentions

The context of your brand mention is really important too. If you wanna rank high for “PDF editor” keywords, make sure you are around this context. Also, ChatGPT values when a brand is diverse and mentioned in different contexts, meaning that it is widely applicable for its users. 

Social media presence 

By regularly creating and sharing high-quality content on social media platforms, you can increase the visibility and distribution of your information and make it more likely to be seen by a broader audience, including those who may be training language models.

Traditional SEO

By optimizing your content for search engines, you can increase its visibility and make it more likely to appear in search results for relevant keywords. This can increase the likelihood that the information will be seen and processed by language models like ChatGPT.

Influencer marketing & PR 

By partnering with influencers in your industry, you can increase the visibility and distribution of your content and make it more likely to be seen by a wider audience.

Paid advertising: 

By using paid advertising, such as search engine advertising (SEA) or social media advertising, you can increase the visibility of your content and make it more likely to be seen by a broader audience.

AI Optimization: The Evolving Landscape of SEO 

In conclusion, the world of SEO is constantly evolving, and as such, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices. Purely algorithmic SEO is no longer as effective as it once was, and must be combined with a focus on content marketing.

When it comes to optimizing for AI-powered chatbots versus Google, it’s important to note that social media mentions have a greater impact on AI rankings. As such, a comprehensive approach to AI optimization involves not only SEO, but also PR, influencer marketing, and SMM, as well as brand mentions within the appropriate context/industry.

Previously, PR activities did not have much of an impact on SEO. However, now PR and quality SMM are becoming the foundation of AI optimization, just as content marketing was the foundation of SEO. While paid campaigns have a lesser impact, they can still play a role in content distribution and making it go viral.

By taking a comprehensive approach to AI optimization that includes content marketing, PR, influencer marketing, and SMM, you can ensure that your brand is well-positioned to succeed in the ever-evolving world of SEO.

We at 42DM are always ready to help navigate SEO & AI sphere and make sure your website stands out. Let’s jump on a call to discuss your specific needs – book here.