Understanding and Navigating the Changing Landscape of Search and AI Overviews
This is a recap article of our recent webinar: AI, SEO & the Google Guessing Game: What B2B Marketers Need to Know Now
The Only Constant in SEO is Change
If you've been in the SEO space for any time, you know that change is the only constant. From the days of keyword stuffing and white text to today's AI overviews and answer engines, we continue to adapt as marketers to reach our best customers and prospects through content.
Don't have FOMO if you feel behind on AI and SEO changes. After attending several webinars and reading countless articles preparing for this session, here's the truth: you're going to be okay.
The Fundamental Shift: Search Engine to Answer Engine Optimization
We're experiencing a fundamental shift from search engine optimization to answer engine optimization. But here's the good news: if you've always been talking to your best prospects and answering their questions and pains, you're already ahead of the game.
Traditional SEO playbooks need updating, not replacing. SEO is not dead—it just continues to evolve.
Key Terms to Know
- TOFU/MOFU/BOFU - Top/Middle/Bottom of Funnel
- E-E-A-T - Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness
- GEO - Generative Engine Optimization
- AIO - AI Overviews in Search Results
- RAG - Retrieval Augmented Generation (like Perplexity)
- LLMO - Large Language Model Optimization (ChatGPT, Claude, etc.)
The Traffic Reality Check
If you haven't seen it already, you might see your organic traffic dropping 20% or more. Some research suggests by 2026, you might see organic traffic fall by 50%.
But here's what matters: traffic is just one measure. It's really about your conversions. SEO work is about getting the right traffic to your site, and there are many ways outside of organic search to drive visitors.
The Search Behavior Evolution
Then: Simple 2-5 keyword phrases like "CRM for small business"
Now: Longer, conversational queries like "What's the best CRM for a 10-person remote sales team?"
The average prompt has grown from 4 words to 23 words. Users want synthesized answers, not link lists. They're looking for solutions to problems and someone who can help them solve it. AI overviews are doing just that.
Who Wins in AI Search?
Searchers win. Google's job is to give people what they're looking for in as few searches as possible. AI agents like ChatGPT and Claude are answering questions more completely and doing research for users. The content they’re finding online comes from content that is already out there. Yes, it can be your content, too!
What AI engines are citing most:
- ChatGPT: Wikipedia (50%), Reddit (11.3%), Forbes (6.8%)
- AI Overviews: Reddit (21%), YouTube (18.8%), Quora (14.3%), LinkedIn (13%)
- Perplexity: Reddit (50%), YouTube (13.9%), Gartner (7%)
Key insight: Platform diversification is now critical for AI visibility. This means that just writing content for “Google” and putting it on your website alone is not enough. It should be repurposed and shared on social media (LinkedIn, YouTube) and many other places.
B2B-Specific Challenges and Opportunities with AI and SEO
The Challenges
- Complex buyer journeys - People don't buy million-dollar equipment or change core service providers based on one search
- Longer sales cycles - Harder to track leads from discovery to sale when it takes 6 months or longer for it to close
- Attribution difficulties - People find content through multiple channels. Is your sales team measuring where leads are coming from?
- Account-based strategies don't translate directly to AI optimization
The Opportunities
- Less competition in B2B AI search for early adopters
- Higher-value qualified traffic - Focus on ideal customer profiles to get the RIGHT people there
- Quality over quantity - Better leads, even if fewer visitors or “junk leads”. If traffic goes down, but leads stay consistent or quality goes up, that’s what you want!
What "Helpful Content" Really Means Now
Move beyond keywords to focus on quality and depth over word count. If you can answer a customer's question in a few sentences, do it. It doesn't need to be longer just to seem authoritative.
The New Content Framework
Problem Identification → Solution with Implementation Steps → Proof/Results → Clear Next Steps
Content That Wins Citations*
- Quotable, authoritative content with clear section headers
- Direct answers to common questions (FAQ sections)
- Expert interviews and case studies
- Comprehensive guides that serve entire buying committees
- Original research and industry insights
*Citations are links, references, etc. so you show up in a search result or AI overview
Building Brand Authority Beyond Your Website
Brand mentions are more impactful than traffic because they can result in direct inquiries. You want to be the brand mentioned repeatedly in AI answers.
Multi-Platform Strategy
- LinkedIn: Share expert insights and company thought leadership
- YouTube: Create explainer videos, facility tours, customer testimonials
- Industry Publications: Write guest articles and provide expert commentary
- Reddit: Participate authentically in industry discussions (where appropriate)
Content Types That Build Authority
- Original research reports
- Industry trend analyses
- Expert roundtables and interviews
- Comprehensive case studies
- Technical white papers
- Thought leadership content
- Webinars
Is Your Website AI Ready
Technical and Content Strategy Updates
Website Technical Audit Checklist for AI Readability
- Ensure crawlability by AI bots. Many security and some SEO plugins (talking WordPress) may block bot traffic
- Implement structured data markup and proper H-tag hierarchy
- Optimize for mobile and desktop (different user intents)
- Monitor Google Search Console for AI Overview traffic data
- Create LLM sitemaps (available in Yoast SEO and RankMath)
Website Content Strategy Refresh for AI Crawlers (and Visitors)
- Keep: Comprehensive, expert-level content
- Update: Generic content to be specific and actionable. Go back to pages, previous posts and enhance them.
- Create: FAQ sections on product/service pages. The more you answer on one page, the more content depth and authority you have for visitors (and search or AI crawlers)
- Expand: Successful content into comprehensive topic clusters (here’s a Reddit thread I found entertaining and informational on how to think about content pillars or clusters)
Immediate Action Items You Can Take Now for AI & SEO
This Month
- Audit your top 10 pages for AI-friendly formatting (proper H1s, H2s, clear structure)
- Add FAQ sections to product/service pages, not just a general FAQ page
- Create role-specific content for different stakeholders in the buying process. B2B purchase decisions are usually made by more than one person or role, who are they and what matters to them? Make sure it’s in your content.
Next 90 Days
- Platform expansion - Improve presence on LinkedIn, consider YouTube, explore Reddit
- Content clusters - Develop comprehensive topic coverage to dig deeper in content authority
- Expert interview series - Build original content that can't be replicated. Talk to customers, talk to vendors or suppliers, these things take time but they matter
- Account-based content - Map content to extended buyer journeys. We have a buyer journey webinar and several buyer journey templates available.
How Do You Measure Success in the New SEO Landscape
Focus on Quality Metrics
- Track brand mentions in AI responses
- Monitor conversion rates vs. traffic volume
- Measure revenue per visitor, not visitor count
- Assess lead quality improvements
Not sure how to measure all of these things? Ask us, we’d love to help!
Tools for Tracking
- Google Search Console for AI Overview impressions
- SEO tools (SEMrush, Ubersuggest, Search Atlas) starting to show AI data
- Incognito searches to see your brand in AI responses, and find out who else is there
The Bottom Line. SEO is not Dead
Don't stop “traditional SEO”. Strong Google rankings still correlate with AI mentions. Instead, build generative engine optimization (GEO) on top of solid SEO fundamentals.
The biggest mistake B2B companies make? Trying to be all things to all people instead of focusing on their ideal customers' specific questions and pain points. Talk TO them, not about your company.
Your sales and customer service teams are content gold. What questions are they getting? What pains are they hearing? Make sure this is reflected in your content strategy.
