Google AI Overviews reach 2 billion users every month, ChatGPT has 700 million weekly active users, and website traffic from AI search could surpass traffic from traditional search by 2028, according to Semrush.
That means building online visibility is no longer just about ranking in traditional Google search engine results pages (SERPs).
Between the rollout of Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode, and the widespread usage of LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT, getting your brand mentioned in AI responses is vital for securing online visibility.
How to appear in AI search results
Unsure how to appear in AI search? If you want to increase your visibility in LLM and AI assistant search results, we strongly recommend you:
Diversify content
Long gone are the days where AI search tools couldn’t read or understand anything other than written content.
Now, these heavily multimodal tools can analyse and interpret graphics, videos, tables, charts, and many other forms of data that dramatically improve the overall user experience.
As a result, rather than focusing all your resources on the creation of written content, such as ‘how-to’ guides and articles, we suggest exploring alternative content types, where relevant and appropriate.
This might mean repurposing existing written content into a video or publishing new attention-grabbing graphics on social media.
Charts and tables can be especially useful for displaying data in a way that’s clear, engaging, and genuinely helpful to online searchers.
If you’re unsure where to start, it’s often a good idea to speak to a content creator who can advise the best route forward in line with your digital marketing goals, the nature of your business, and your budget.
At Aqueous Digital, we can work with you to produce a wide range of content, including images, videos, and more.
Build E-E-A-T
In line with Google’s E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) framework, websites that demonstrate adherence to these guidelines are more likely to appear in AI responses.
That’s because even though E-E-A-T isn’t a direct ranking factor, it helps Google to reward content that meets these criteria – particularly for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics, like insurance, mortgages, and healthcare.
Subsequently, Google’s AI search tools, like AI Mode and AI Overviews, are more likely to surface content from and cite brands that demonstrate expertise, experience, authority, and trustworthiness.
This can be achieved in many ways, including:
- Creating unique, first-hand content
- Building topical depth, rather than breadth
- Share recent case studies (citing the problem, fix, and results)
- Showcasing relevant credentials and awards
- Encouraging and sharing verified customer reviews
- Earning high-quality backlinks and media coverage
Implement schema markup
Pages with well-implemented schema markup (machine readable code) are far more likely to achieve the best organic rankings and appear in Google’s AI Overviews, according to the results of Search Engine Land’s head-to-head schema experiment.
This is because structured data helps search engines and AI systems to more accurately interpret content, increasing the likelihood of this content being cited in Google’s AI Overview summaries as well as other generative AI responses, such as ChatGPT.
So, where you should start when implementing schema markup or other types of structured data? If you possess the required knowledge and experience, you can either work your way down this list yourself or ask an SEO agency, like Aqueous Digital, to handle the implementation of schema markup on your site.
Identify suitable pages
The first step is to review your site for pages without structured data and select evergreen pages that consistently attract readers, supporting long-term results, such as comprehensive ‘how to’ guides, FAQ pages, and case studies.
Implement structured data
Next, you’ll need to add the appropriate schema markup (usually JSON-LD) to the to your HTML of your selected pages, varying the format depending on the type of content.
Validate your markup
To ensure the code is error-free and has been implemented properly, we recommend testing the data using Google’s Rich Results Test or Schema Markup Validator.
Check with Google’s URL Inspection Tool
To make sure Google has located and indexed your structured data, check it with Google Search Console’s URL Inspection Tool.
Monitor performance
Finally, simply keep an eye on the edited page’s performance using Search Console performance reports which track impressions, clicks, and rich result visibility.
Update old content
AI search tools always want to provide users with the best answer.
And one of the easiest ways to ensure their answers are accurate is to favour newer, recently-updated content – rather than content that’s several years old.
Subsequently, updating old content – that might feature outdated statistics, broken links, or inaccurate information – should be a key cornerstone of all modern SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) strategies.
One way to find old content is by performing a content audit using Google Search Console. This tool can help you identify which pages are suffering from declining traffic, high bounce rates, and reduced keyword rankings.
Alongside using tools, we also recommend conducting a manual content review. Perhaps there’s been a lot of internal changes and your team now looks very different to your ‘About us’ or designated team page.
Or maybe a case study you created while working with a customer now needs updating following some more great results.
Updating these pages with more accurate information, helps to build trust and credibility.
Increase your AI visibility with Aqueous Digital
At Aqueous Digital, we know that most business owners are more focused on driving the company forward than optimising their website for SEO and AI visibility purposes. Regardless of whether you don’t have the time or in-house expertise, we can help.
Our team of digital marketing professionals will work with you to understand your marketing goals and then suggest the most effective strategy and package in line with your budget.
We’ll start by conducting a full website audit and identifying areas for improvement. From here, we’ll review which of our own marketing services (as well as any other services we don’t provide internally) are most likely to deliver the best results for your business.
For more information on how to appear in AI responses, please don’t hesitate to contact our knowledgeable team today!
You can either call us on 0800 285 1424, email your enquiry to hello@aqueous-digital.co.uk, or use our online contact form to arrange your free, no-obligation consultation.
