Make Your Brand Sourced and a Top Result in AI Search: Practical Strategies for Marketers

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The AI Search Shift: What's on the Horizon

AI has the potential to disrupt online search, changing both results and user behavior. While the full impact is yet to be realized, forward-thinking marketers should be aware of these possible changes:

? Zero-click searches may become more common, where users get answers directly on the results page without visiting websites.

? Tools like Google's AI Overview, ChatGPT, and Perplexity could speed up this trend.

? Voice AI might make natural language searches more prevalent.

The potential impact could be significant:

? Gartner predicts a 25% drop in traditional search volume by 2026 as people rely more on AI.

? Insight Partners forecasts that organic search traffic will decline by 15-25% due to AI search.

Balancing AI Preparation with Human-Centric Marketing

As we consider these potential changes, remember that true marketing connects with people, not machines.

Our primary focus should always be on understanding our customers, meeting their needs, and upholding ethical practices.

Andy Crestodina notes some potential benefits of AI-powered searches:

? You don't see ads (for now.)

? You don't see pop-ups.

? You don't accept/decline cookies.

? You don't decline notifications.

? You don't have to scroll through SEO copy/paste.

? You don't get retargeted.

He demonstrated this in his search for a guacamole recipe using traditional search on the left and AI search on the right.

However, these changes bring new challenges for marketers. AI search results often reference their sources, making discoverability important.

If AI systems don't mention your content, you're less likely to get visitors. But when they do, and users click through, those visitors are often more valuable because your content specifically answered their question.

A Reminder of What Really Matters in Marketing

As AI reshapes search and marketing, let's not lose sight of our core purpose. This shift goes beyond SEO, potentially changing how users find information. While being discoverable in AI-assisted searches is important, our true success lies in creating genuine value for real people.

As we adapt, remember:

? Deeply understand your customers

? Meet their needs effectively

? Market where they actually pay attention

AI search is significant, but it's not everything. The market will likely reward those who balance AI's potential with preserving human values. After all, we're still in the business of connecting with real people and addressing their needs.

5 Key Strategies for AI Search Success

Here are some key areas you need to focus on:

1) Optimize for intent, not just keywords - Prioritize creating content that addresses your audiences questions and intent at different funnel stages, using natural language. Make your content so relevant that AI search can't ignore it and must serve it up or cite it in responses.

2) Invest in PR (Public Relations) - With AI search relying on trusted publications, local media, influencers, and review sites, having a strong presence in these areas is crucial. For those who think PR is a cost center, it's time to rethink its strategic value in building credibility.

3) Create Content in Various Formats - Don't limit yourself to text-based content. AI search will be able to understand and showcase content in multiple formats. Video, for example, is ideal for how-to, reviews, entertainment, and before-and-after searches.

4) Deliver Exceptional Website Experiences - If you earn a citation or attract a visitor, don't lose them due to poor UX. Personalize the experience and deliver what they want. Your traffic will be more qualified, so make it count.

5) Diversify Your Watering Holes (Where Your Customers Hang Out) - As search and ads become more competitive, costs could rise. Don't rely mostly on search. Explore channels like social media, communities, and marketplaces to connect with your audience.

We'll dig into the first strategy today.

Stay tuned for deeper dives into the others in future newsletters. Now, let's get practical.

Here's how to make sure that you have a better shot at your brand, products, and content showing up in AI search results:

Step 1: Identify Top Questions by Persona

? List questions that customers would ask for each stage of the buyer's journey.

? Think about different personas: decision-makers, influencers, ratifiers, users, and champions.

? Use the exact language your customers would use.

? Consider analyzing customer surveys, call scripts, reviews, and interview customer-facing groups to identify the questions and language.

You can also use AI to help. For example, customer reviews on online review platforms like G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights are excellent places to start. The AI conversation (prompt and response) below shows how I used customer reviews from an online review platform to infer user search inquiries.

Step 2: Complete the Question-Response Sheet

? Fill out the question-response sheets to track the responses from traditional Google search and AI search like Googles AI Overview, Perplexity, ChatGPT, and more.

Here's a search question-response template that you can use and modify as needed.

? For each question by persona, record the following for the different search methods:

- Search response to the question

- Whether your brand, product, or content was cited/ranked

- Competitors cited/ranked

- Media, communities, and influencers referenced

It can be time consuming to complete the template. One way to make it go faster is to use ChatHub (https://chathub.gg ) Big thanks to Isar Meitis for suggesting it.

ChatHub allows you to see responses for up to six AI assistants. So it cuts down the time in research. And it's cool to see the responses from each one.

Note that neither Isar nor I am affiliated with ChatHub.

Below are screenshots showing the responses for sample inquiries at the top, middle, and bottom of the funnel.

Make sure that you check the responses for inaccuracies or hallucinations like ensuring that the cited sources are legitimate.

Step 3: Analyze the Sheet

? Trend Spotting - Identify which AI platforms frequently reference your brand. It highlights the strengths of your current SEO and content strategy.

? Fill the Gaps - Pinpoint areas where your brand isn’t mentioned. These represent opportunities for targeted content creation.

? Competitor Insights - Observe which competitors are mentioned most and understand their strategies. Use this knowledge to differentiate your brand.

? Source Analysis - Identify trusted key media, communities, and influencers cited by AI. These are your potential content partners.

? Adjust to AI Preferences - Learn which content types or websites AI tools prefer, hopefully aligned to user preferences. Refine your strategy accordingly.

Know that you can use AI to help you analyze the sheets, identify key insights and takeaways, and suggest recommendations for key actions to consider.

Step 4: Take Action

? Optimize Content Strategy - Align your content plan with how people naturally ask questions. Update existing pieces and create new ones to fill gaps in your customers journey, using their words and intent.

As Andy Crestodina said:

Content marketing lets you connect with an audience even before they are looking for your services. It builds awareness and trust very early in the journey. And since a lot of AI prompting is about just finding answers, content marketing will be key to appearing in AI responses.

? Leverage Trusted Source - Team up with respected influencers and media to boost your brand's credibility in AI search results. Create content that AI is likely to use as a source.

? Enhance Website Experience - Improve your site's speed, ease of use, and content quality for both AI and human visitors. Use clear structure and make sure it works well on mobile.

? Monitor AI Search Performance - Regularly check how your brand shows up in AI search results. Use what you learn to improve your content and SEO tactics.

? Expand Digital Presence - Stay active on online platforms that your customers trust beyond your website. This helps customers and AI see your brand as more visible and credible.

Remember: While you're adapting to AI, your main goal is still to connect with real people.

Now that you have a few ideas to optimize for AI search, I'm eager to hear what you think. What do the AI assistants say about your brand? What surprised you? How do you stack up against competitors? How are you planning to better use PR?

Share your thoughts and let's learn from each other.

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