The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into search engine results pages has significant implications for website owners, marketers, and end-users. As we experience this shift, it’s important to ensure your website is ready to embrace the AI-oriented future so your content remains relevant and accessible by all users on the internet.
Websites that strategically optimize their content to align with AI algorithms and provide authoritative answers to long-tail search queries can benefit from increased visibility, and targeted organic traffic. Repair My Search has built this simple guide to practices that can improve your chances of being referenced by AI technologies like ChatGPT.
Search Engine Results Pages are Embracing AI Content
In 2023, all major search engines have announced changes to their SERPs to accommodate AI content. While traditional organic search results will still be available and relevant, it seems most search players will integrate AI “above the fold,” which is the first section of the search engine results page. For that reason, it is of clear importance that your website is AI-referencable.
Note that with this shift to AI content on SERPs, search engines are prioritizing user intent and providing quick, concise answers to queries (rather than links to websites where users may find that information). That means it’s of paramount importance that your website follows the instructions below so it may be the primary source of information provided in that “above the fold” AI search experience. This positioning may be a special importance if you have content relevant to popular long-tail search terms or if you’re working on an online reputation management effort.
How to Build an AI-Referencable Website
To increase the chances of your website being indexed and used for information by AI technologies like ChatGPT, there are several key steps you can take:
- High-quality content. Create comprehensive, informative, and well-researched content that covers relevant topics within your niche. Focus on providing clear value to users and becoming an authoritative source of information. In this light, quality backlinks are critical: if other reputable websites regularly reference yours, it is increasingly likely that your website will become the most trustworthy source for that information.
- Ensure you’ve deployed a structured data markup. Implement structured data markup such as Schema.org to provide clear signals to search engines and AI algorithms about the content and organization of your website. This helps AI technologies better understand and utilize your content.
- Semantic markup. Utilize semantic markup, such as HTML tags, to provide context and meaning to your content. By properly structuring your headings, subheadings, and paragraphs, you enable AI algorithms to better comprehend and reference your information.
Part of the great challenge in search engine visibility is continuously refining your content strategy to not only provide the most relevant information possible but also satisfy the requirements of our discovery tools—fortunately, this shift seems to be one with a simple request: quality content. By continuing to focus on the very same concepts that bring success in non-AI SERP ranking, you will find gains in AI-based SERP positioning as well.
Like any other change in search engine tools, it is important your website adapt to these changes and align with the evolving search engine algorithms so it can maintain relevance and visibility in an AI-driven landscape.
For more information about how AI can impact your online reputation management efforts, book a consultation with our online reputation management experts.
Andrew Chapin
Andrew Chapin is an early-stage business development professional whose work centers on the intersection of commerce and media especially in product discovery (formats, search engine optimization), new media, and advertising.
