In 2025 and for Accounting for AI Generative Search
The landscape of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) continues to evolve at a rapid pace. As we navigate through 2025, website owners , like myself, and digital marketers face the dual challenge of optimising for both traditional search results and the increasingly prominent AI generative search features. Google’s algorithms have become more sophisticated, and with the rise of AI Overviews and Similar Generation Experiences (SGE), the approach to SEO requires thoughtful adaptation.
Despite these technological advancements, optimising individual webpages remains a fundamental aspect of any successful digital strategy. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the key strategies to ensure your webpages rank well in traditional search results while also being selected as trusted sources for AI-generated answers.
Understanding the Shift: Google in 2025 and AI Generative Search
Google’s Continued Focus on User Intent and Quality
Google’s core mission hasn’t changed, it still aims to deliver the best answer for any query. Recent algorithm updates have doubled down on prioritising content that genuinely meets user intent rather than simply matching keywords. The concept of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) has become even more central to how Google evaluates content quality. Pages that demonstrate first-hand experience, genuine expertise, and trustworthiness continue to gain favor in search rankings.
The Rise of AI Generative Search and its Implications
AI Overviews and similar features now appear prominently at the top of many search results, providing direct answers and summarising information from multiple sources. This shift has significant implications for organic traffic, as users may find their answers without clicking through to any website.
This new reality has given rise to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), strategies specifically designed to increase the likelihood of your content being selected as a source for AI-generated responses. While traditional search volume might decrease for certain queries, new opportunities for visibility within AI-generated results have emerged. The goal is no longer just to rank high in search results but to become a cited source in AI-generated content.
Key Strategies for Optimising Webpages in 2025
Comprehensive Keyword Research for a Broader Understanding
Keyword research in 2025 goes far beyond tracking volume and competition metrics. The focus has shifted to understanding the nuance of user intent and conversational queries, the way people actually ask questions when interacting with search engines or AI assistants.
To optimise effectively:
- Utilise AI-powered tools to identify People Also Ask (PAA) questions and related subtopics
- Map the customer journey and identify questions at each stage
- Develop a thematic content strategy that addresses both core topics and broader related areas
- Consider long-tail, conversational keywords that reflect natural language queries
- Analyse the types of content currently ranking for your target keywords to understand Google’s interpretation of user intent
Remember that AI search systems are particularly good at understanding semantic relationships between topics. Building comprehensive content around thematic clusters helps establish your site as an authority in your field, making it more likely to be referenced in AI-generated responses.
Creating High-Quality, Comprehensive Content Designed to be a “Cited Source”
In 2025, the bar for content quality continues to rise. With AI generative search, your content needs to be worthy of citation, comprehensive, accurate, and uniquely valuable. Here’s how to create content that meets these standards:
- Focus on creating definitive resources that thoroughly address specific user queries
- Go beyond surface-level information, provide depth, insight, and unique perspectives
- Incorporate multiple content formats (text, video, infographics, interactive elements) to create a rich user experience
- Ensure factual accuracy and support claims with evidence, statistics, and credible sources
- Structure content logically with clear headings and subheadings (H1-Hn) to improve readability for both users and AI systems
- Answer specific questions directly and comprehensively within your content
- Include expert insights, case studies, or original research to demonstrate expertise and authority
The goal is to create content so valuable and comprehensive that AI systems would be remiss not to include it when generating responses on your topic.
Strategic On-Page SEO Fundamentals (Still Critical)
Despite the advancements in AI search, traditional on-page SEO remains essential. These elements help both conventional search algorithms and AI systems understand and categorise your content:
Optimised Title Tags: Include your primary keyword and accurately reflect the page’s content. Keep titles under 60 characters to ensure they display properly in search results.
Compelling Meta Descriptions: Write engaging descriptions (under 160 characters) that encourage click-throughs from traditional SERPs and accurately summarise content for potential AI snippets.
SEO-Friendly URLs: Use concise, descriptive URLs that include relevant keywords. Avoid parameter-heavy URLs when possible.
Keyword Integration in Content: Naturally incorporate target keywords and related terms within your body copy, focusing primarily on providing value to the reader. AI systems can recognise keyword stuffing, so aim for natural language that addresses user intent.
Image Optimisation: Use descriptive alt text for images, including relevant keywords, and optimise image file sizes for faster loading. AI systems are increasingly able to understand image content, making proper labeling important.
Internal and External Linking: Link to other relevant pages on your site to establish topical connections and to authoritative external resources to enhance credibility. This helps both traditional search algorithms and AI systems understand the relationships between concepts and evaluate your content’s authority.
Technical SEO for Discoverability by Both Google and AI
Technical SEO creates the foundation that allows both traditional search engines and AI systems to effectively crawl, understand, and index your content:
Sound Site Architecture: Ensure a logical, hierarchical structure that makes it easy for search engines to crawl and index your site. Limit the number of clicks needed to reach any page.
XML Sitemap: Implement and submit an XML sitemap to help search engines discover all your important pages more efficiently.
Robots.txt: Use this file to guide crawlers effectively, ensuring they can access important content while avoiding duplicate or irrelevant pages.
Mobile-Friendly Design: Ensure your website provides an excellent experience on mobile devices, as Google continues with mobile-first indexing.
Website Speed: Optimise for fast loading times by compressing images, leveraging browser caching, minimizing code, and using content delivery networks (CDNs).
Structured Data Markup (Schema.org): Implement structured data to help search engines understand the content on your pages. This is increasingly important for AI systems that use this information to extract and categorise content for generative responses.
Focusing on Thematic Content and Content Clustering
Content clustering has become a crucial strategy for demonstrating topical authority to both traditional search algorithms and AI systems:
- Develop comprehensive pillar pages that cover broad topics in depth
- Create supporting content that addresses specific aspects of the main topic in greater detail
- Link these pages together in a logical structure that helps users and search engines navigate related content
- Ensure that each cluster thoroughly covers a topic from multiple angles, answering all relevant user questions
This approach helps establish your site as an authority on specific topics, increasing the likelihood that your content will be referenced in AI-generated responses and rank well in traditional search results.
Monitoring and Adapting Your Strategy
SEO in 2025 requires vigilant monitoring and the ability to adapt quickly to changing trends:
- Utilise Google Search Console and Google Analytics to monitor your website’s performance, including indexation, traffic, and keyword rankings
- Pay attention to the performance of your pages in AI Overviews (as more data becomes available) and adapt your content strategy accordingly
- Regularly analyse search results for your target keywords to understand the types of content Google is prioritising in both traditional and AI formats
- Stay updated on the latest SEO trends and Google algorithm updates through industry publications, forums, and official Google communications
Consider implementing A/B testing for different content formats and structures to determine what works best for both traditional search results and AI-generated answers in your specific niche.
Conclusion
Optimising webpages for search engines in 2025 requires a holistic approach that addresses both traditional Google search and the evolving landscape of AI generative search. Success depends on creating high-quality, user-focused content that aims to be a trusted and comprehensive resource within your field.
By understanding user intent, building topical authority, and implementing solid on-page and technical SEO fundamentals, you can position your website to thrive in this dual search environment. Remember that SEO is a continuous process that requires ongoing learning and adaptation as search technologies continue to evolve.
The websites that will succeed in 2025 and beyond are those that focus not just on rankings, but on genuinely serving users with valuable, authoritative content that deserves to be cited, whether by humans or AI systems.