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In part three of Reload Media SEO lead Brodie Ranson’s series about AI’s implications on organic search and consumer behaviour, Ranson shares her three top tips for marketers to help them stay ahead of the game and deliver results for their clients.
There’s a lot of debate online and probably at your local pub about what to do with the continued advancements of AI in search. Some say ignore it and it might go away. But we say get on board or be left behind. If you’re one of the clever Australian brands boarding the AI train, here are a few SEO tactics to keep in mind to help you steam ahead.
- Master the art of AI overview optimisation
Tactic: Create content tailored to secure a feature in AI Overviews.
How: It’s key to remember that Google’s mission remains the same regardless of AI. They want to ”organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. AI Overviews don’t change that goal. Therefore the way we optimise our websites shouldn’t either, but there are a few key elements to double down on to secure those AI Overview features.
Continue creating high-quality, structured content that holds clear answers to questions users are searching for. Focus on answering those long tail queries or questions that start with “what”, “when”, “how”, or “why” as these are the searches that are more likely to feature in AI Overviews.
Example: A health and wellness brand could create a detailed FAQ to answer the question “What are natural remedies for stress”. By producing highly relevant content that answers a specific, high-intent question, they can increase their chances of not only ranking in the SERPs for this query but also appearing in the AI Overview feature.
Why it matters: AI Overviews are now positioned at the top of the SERPs, making them prime real estate. This also means that if you’re not featured, you could start to see a drop in CTR if users are getting their answers from the AI Overview, as they’re not scrolling down to the traditional organic results.
- Embrace modern SEO: GEO
Tactic: Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) means optimising your content for generative AI algorithms like ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, Claude, and others. It is essentially a modern take on SEO. The same practices apply but for a different type of search.
How: Integrate tools like Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to add schema to your website, ensuring your content is clearly organised for AI to interpret and summarise.
Example: An online retailer in Australia could optimise their site with Product schema to ensure AI can recognise the price, reviews, descriptions, variants and more.
Why it matters: The digital world is shifting away from traditional SEO and towards groundbreaking new tactics like GEO. The easier we can make it for AI to read and understand our content, the better chance we have of being featured by these AI algorithms.
- Learn from the US market and be prepared to pivot
Tactic: The United States often serves as a testing ground for Google’s major updates, providing valuable insights that we can learn from. Think of it like reading spoilers to a movie you’ve been waiting to be released in Australia. They might ruin the surprise, but they will help you prepare.
How: Use free tools like SEMrush Sensor to monitor the frequency of AI Overviews in the US to then compare the frequency for the Australian market. From these comparisons, we can start to make assumptions about where the AU market might end up, spotting potential challenges and opportunities along the way.
Example: Using SEMrush Sensor, we can see AI Overviews currently have a frequency of approximately 22 percent in the US, while Australia has a frequency of 35 percent at the time of writing this. We can monitor this data to spot trends and to understand if we should expect the frequency to drop off or increase over time and then pivot our tactics accordingly.
Why it matters: By observing how American brands adapt, Australian brands can anticipate shifts and implement best practices before updates reach our local market.
As you can see, these tactics are not new. AI advancements don’t mean abandoning traditional SEO. It means levelling up what we’re doing and tweaking how we do it to reach the same end goal. But will it always be this way? Stay tuned as we finally explore what 2025 might bring for AI and search, delving into emerging trends and technologies that Australian businesses should anticipate.
Brodie Ranson is the SEO lead at award-winning agency Reload Media.
Read part two of Ranson’s series about AI’s implications on organic search and consumer behaviour.
