Google’s AI Powered Search is Here: How to Keep Your Business Visible

Here are a few tips on how you can make your content work for you even with in the era of AI powered search engine:

Types of questions your businesses should focus on answering

Focus on creating content that helps your customers, that should always be the priority, no matter what but now it’s more important than ever. And then check what ranks well on Google. But always go with what your prospects (the humans) want to know not what  you think Google wants.

Answer the questions people are likely to ask. You know your business best. Keep a list of questions and problems that arise during your workday.

Here are a few suggestions. Be short and to the point.

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Suggestion: Create one or more short videos, upload them to your YouTube channel then transcribe them, add them to your website as a blog post and also share them on your social media.
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1. Common Questions: Explain what your product or service does. For example, “What does this service include?” or “How does this product work?”
2. Problem-Solving Questions: Help solve problems like “How can I fix this issue?” or “What’s the best way to use this product?”
3. Buying Questions: Answer questions people might have before purchasing, such as “How much does it cost?” or “What’s different about this product?”
4. Local Questions: If your business serves a specific area, include questions like “Where are you located?” or “Do you deliver nearby?”
5. Unique Questions: Share what makes your business special, like “Why choose us?” or “What sets our service apart?”

Answering questions like these makes your content more helpful and engaging and that will attract more prospects and customers and keep you visible on Google and in general online.

Keep content simple and clear to help with search rankings

When your content is easy to “consume” to read or watch, it helps both people and Google.

Here’s why:

1. Helps Readers: We all want answers fast and easily understood. Simple and clear content, preferably addressing only one problem, does just that, gives us fast and easily understood answers without getting frustrated.
2. Helps Google Understand: Google’s AI scans your page to see if it’s useful. If the content is clear and formatted in a way that is easily read, it makes it easier for Google to figure out what your page is about.
3. Improves Engagement: When people stay on your site longer because it’s easy to read, Google sees that as a sign your page is helpful and ranks it higher.
4. Avoids Confusion: A common mistake I see is when a website is using a lot of complicated language, industry jargon that is not easily understood by those who are not in that industry. It confuses and frustrates visitors and they will leave your page quickly. Google takes this as a sign your content isn’t good enough. You might think you are showing the world how smart you are but this might backfire. Always, think about WHO you are talking to.

Example: If you are a psychologist your clients want to understand how you can help them. Don’t try to impress them with a lot of concepts and expressions that they would have to look up to understand. They will not take the time, they will go to the next website until they feel that somebody is “talking” their language. Use the KISS method. We all know what that is :).

By keeping your writing simple and straightforward, you’re more likely to get noticed by Google and appreciated by your audience.

How does Google decide if a page is helpful and useful enough to show in search results?

Google looks at several things to decide if your page is worth showing in search results:

1. Relevance: Does your content answer the question that was asked by the “searcher” or how much does it match the search words (keywords) people use in writing or by voice search?
2. Quality: Is your information well-written, accurate, detailed but simple enough to be easily understood?
3. Engagement: Do visitors stay on your page, scroll through, click on links and explore?
4. Freshness: Is your content updated regularly with new information or is it outdated and looks like nobody did an update in months or even years?
5. Mobile-Friendly Design: Does your site work well on phones and tablets?
   TIP: check every piece of content on mobile. You’d be surprised at what you see sometimes 🙂
6. Links: Do other trusted websites link to your page? This is what Off Page SEO is…linkbuilding, the way you (your business) get to be the popular kid in the highschool (my favorite analogy) If so, it shows Google that your page is reliable.

When Google sees that your website or webpage does all these things mentioned above, it’s more likely to rank it higher.

Why is it important to update content regularly?

Keeping your content fresh and updated is key to staying relevant on Google. Here’s why:

1. Accurate Information: Regular updates ensure your website has the most current details. Maybe you hired a new employee, or added a new product or service. Did you update your website? Most people do but some forget or don’t care. If you update your website regularly you are already ahead of some of your competition.
2. Better Rankings: Google notices the updates and often ranks updated pages higher. The reason is that Google wants to provide the best information possible to the person who is searching and knows that updates help with that.
3. Repeat Visitors: People are more likely to visit your website again and again if they know you keep adding useful information and answer questions that they have.
4. Stay Ahead of Competitors: If other businesses are updating their content and you’re not, they might rank higher than you…as I mentioned earlier.
5. New Trends: Covering trending topics that relate to your industry keeps your content relevant to what people are searching for and also puts you in a position of authority and trust.

Small changes, like updating facts, adding new products, or covering trending topics, can make a big difference. The key is to do it and do this consistently.

How can businesses make their content more engaging for visitors?

Engaging, helpful content keeps visitors on your site longer and that tells Google your webpage is helpful, that they have found something they are interested in.

Here’s how to make your content more engaging:

• Use pictures, videos, or charts to make information easier to understand.
• Break up text with headings and bullet points for easy reading. Use bold and different size text to emphasize importance.
• Tell stories or use examples to make your content relatable.
• Add a call-to-action, like “Contact us today!”, “Learn more here” or “Read more”.
• Use personality…I mean, don’t be bland, be YOU

When people enjoy your content, they’re more likely to stay, share, and return. There are always people who might not like your style but don’t focus on them, they are not your ideal audience anyway. Those who do like what you write and how you write it will stick around and prop you up :).

By focusing on clear, updated, and useful content, your businesses can stay visible in Google’s search results, even with the new AI changes.  Remember, AI is here to help, so if you provide good content on a consistent basis your business will continue to thrive and attract more customers and that will keep coming back.

Viola Olah Hutchinson

Digital marketer and owner of Effortless.Marketing

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