Want to Show Up in AI Search? Start by Serving Your Readers
For years, SEO has often been treated like a game. If you could just send the right “signals,” use the right keywords, earn the right links, and hit the right technical benchmarks, you could win visibility. Unfortunately, that mindset has led to a lot of bloated, ineffective websites that don’t actually help visitors.
Now that large language models (LLMs) like Gemini and ChatGPT are indexing and interpreting web content, the game has changed, radically. These tools don’t just scan your site for keyword usage or backlinks. They read your content. And they’re remarkably good at judging whether the content is clear, accurate, complete, and helpful.
That means your best SEO strategy going forward is a simple one: focus on serving your audience.
AEO Starts with Value, Not Code
We talk a lot about AEO, AI Engine Optimization, the practice of making your site easier to understand and recommend by AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT. But the biggest misconception we see is that AEO is a technical exercise.
It’s not.
Yes, there are technical best practices that help LLMs and search engines properly index your site. Structured data, crawlability, page performance, all of these matter.
But they only matter after you’ve nailed the one thing that truly drives results: having content that fully and clearly answers the questions your audience is asking.
The Trap of “Technical First” SEO
Over the years, I’ve seen countless businesses invest heavily in technical SEO, XML sitemaps, schema, link sculpting, the works, while putting very little effort into the actual content on their site. Many of those sites never got the traction they hoped for.
Why? Because they forgot the purpose of SEO: to help people find what they’re looking for.
If your content is shallow, outdated, or generic, it won’t matter how perfectly optimized your metadata is. Neither Google nor Gemini will reward you. Worse, you’ll miss out on earning trust and engagement from the real humans visiting your site.
LLMs Are Better Judges Than Algorithms Ever Were
One of the most exciting developments in AI search is how well LLMs can interpret context and quality. When tools like ChatGPT or Gemini recommend your page, it’s because they’ve evaluated your content in a nuanced way.
They’re not just asking, “Does this page mention the right keyword?” They’re asking, “Is this a trustworthy, well-written, thorough response to the searcher’s question?”
If your content is the best answer, it’s far more likely to show up in AI-powered results, even if you haven’t ticked every last technical box.
Better visibility in AI Search doesn’t just boost traffic, it connects you with visitors who are actively seeking what you offer, which means higher conversion potential and better ROI.
Content First, Then Structure
To be clear: the technical elements of AEO still matter. You do need your site structured properly to help AI tools and search engines do their job. Some of the key technical basics include:
- Clear, structured headings
- Fast loading pages
- Mobile friendly design
- Internal linking that makes sense
- Proper schema markup
These are like the frame of a house. They support a great experience, but they’re not the experience itself.
Creating helpful, high-quality content is what fuels the engine. Doing the technical work is how you make sure the engine runs efficiently.
Trying to do the opposite is like building a beautiful car and forgetting to put any gas in it.
Want to Get Found in AI Search?
If you’re serious about showing up in AI-driven results, start by asking yourself a simple question: Is this the best piece of content available on the topic?
If the answer is no, start there.
If you’re working on your AEO strategy, or just trying to get better visibility in AI-powered search, we’d love to help. As a Google Premier Partner focused on ROI-driven marketing, we’ve created a straightforward AEO Checklist to guide you. Reach out via our contact page if you’d like a copy or want to chat.
