Is your site optimised for AI?

Some scary things. Some reassuring things

AI search is here to stay and brands need to get used to it – or they will suffer. Indeed, McKinsey predicts that by 2028, unprepared websites can expect a fall in traffic of between 20 and 50 per cent.

So how does a brand flourish in the era of zero-click search?

First, after the scary stuff, some reassuring statements. The key is ensuring your content is accessible to both robots and humans. Who’d have thought? If your site is easy to crawl, its main points are clearly signposted and its content is easy to understand, you’re on the right track. Much of what is required for accessibility is also great for AI search.

Second, a good deal of traditional good content practice – original views, well structured in plain English – still counts. Here are some of the main considerations.

How easy is it to access...

1. Your site?

Crawlers need to be able to navigate your site to index its content quickly and accurately. Features like content gating or complex scripts can make it difficult for them to reach important pages or key information.

Equally, clear structure and strong internal linking make it easy for crawlers to move through your site and understand your aims and offering. Additionally, the robots.txt file and your site map can provide direct instructions to crawlers on how to access the site.

2. Key information?

Your site’s structure is like an outline of your site – the main categories should appear in the top navigation bar, each with their own unique sub-categories. This “fanning out” – key pillars with unique supporting content – should make it easy for both crawlers and human visitors to find what they’re looking for, whether it’s information about you or a particular offering.

3. Your overall aim?

Your primary offerings, activities and aims should be apparent from the outset. Visitors (and crawlers) shouldn’t have to visit dozens pages to figure out what you do – it should be spelled out clearly when they access the site. If your site is clearly associated with something specific, it’ll have a better chance of appearing for queries around that area.

4. Your credentials?

We know you’re experts in your field, but other people (and robots) may not. Sharing information about who the author is and how they gained their experience on individual pages, as well as providing background on your business in a detailed “About” page, will demonstrate why they’re qualified to speak about the topics you cover – helping establish you as a trusted source.

Is your content...

1. Relevant to your offering and expertise?

Google’s time-honoured E-E-A-T (experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust) acronym still applies. Content that showcases your expertise and experience – providing unique explanations or information around your offering – will emphasise your authoritativeness in your sector and thus build trust. AI search and large language models (LLMs) are more likely to pull information from (and cite) trusted sources.

2. Easy to understand?

As in organic search, clear structures are essential to helping LLMs understand your content. Make sure you’re using the correct tags for headings and use schema markup where appropriate. Summarising the page’s content and including a table of contents can help make important information accessible quickly. Additionally, simple, well-written English is easier for AI search and LLMs to understand – and retrieve as answers, citing you.

3. Structured to provide answers?

Schema markup helps FAQs appear in answer boxes; simple structures and easy-to-read lists will help your content appear in AI searches and LLM output. For example, placing information in tables or bulleted lists can make comparisons and key information clear.

4. Mentioned on forum or answer sites?

LLMs may use discussions on sites such as Reddit or Quora to inform their answers. While gaining these mentions organically can be valuable, attempts to do so deliberately can be spotted and lead to overall negative repercussions. Mentions in lists on high-authority sources (such as news outlets or industry publications) also tend to appear in LLM citations. Depending on your business, these may be worth exploring. Consider what you stand for and do extraordinary things in the real world that get you noticed for good reasons.

And a word on brand recognition…

Being one of the five brands mentioned in an AI search answer is one thing, getting a click through is another – while AI will provide the relevant details, people may still go for the names they know. Building a reputable and recognisable brand remains important to search success, AI or otherwise.

Confused by why your brand is not being mentioned by the likes of ChatGPT? Want to know how to structure your website for AI bots and humans? Or just looking to futureproof your operation? Highbrook has launched an AI search audit service and consultancy. To find out more about how we can help, get in touch at info@hbrk.co.uk