By Michael DiMarco, EGC’s SEO Manager, and Jonathan Baker What follows is an in-depth continuation of a blog posted last week. The focus: How AI Is Shaping the SEO Landscape in 2025 AI is transforming the SEO landscape. Where websites are concerned, this can mean significant changes. Everyone, from IT specialists to SEO managers, need to adapt to search as well as adjust to the increase of users’ expectations with web and search traffic. According to a study from AH Refs, websites are losing 34.5% of click-through rate (CTR). Since AI snippets began to appear, many websites have seen traffic decrease between 20% to 25%. Yet AI snippets are not new. It’s no surprise that Google implements them. Search engines (including Google) have always prioritized providing the most useful information for users as quickly as possible. Even with AI, the goal of a perfected user experience through information access has never changed. Only the ways by which they could do so have… How Featured Snippets Have Changed Search Here is a history of how the user experience for finding information via search and snippets has evolved. 2012 As early as 2012, knowledge panels would appear in search results. Quick, bite-size highlights of information regarding movies, celebrities, events, or other prominent and highly talked about items across the web. 2013 In 2013, Google introduced the primitive version of featured snippets, known as ‘quick answers.’ This feature provided quick pieces of information to users. Although the types of searches that provided these results were limited, a new way for people to get information in search was introduced. The sources that provided this information would often remain uncredited. 2014 In November of 2014, Amazon’s Alexa was launched. This was a convenient and mass-marketed voice assistant that introduced the rise of voice search optimization. It proved to be another method that could access data while further reducing the need for users to go to a search engine such as Google. 2015 In June of 2015, Google My Business—now known as Google Business Profile—provided a new method of getting quick access to location listings for stores and businesses. Users would no longer need to visit a website to learn about hours, address location, or other information, as everything was all visible, right in search results. Also in 2015, Google updated ‘quick answers’ to provide more robust information that included benefits such as quick steps and ‘how-to’ features. Users could see information laid out in an ordered list. 2016 This was around the time when users began referring to these answer boxes as ‘featured snippets.’ And in 2016, Google would introduce the most recent version of ‘answer boxes’ that we still see for queries today. This information was typically pulled from the top 10 results in organic search. By this point—between ads, answer boxes, map packs, and local listings—it wasn’t uncommon that users would need to scroll significantly across desktop and mobile to see the first organic result. 2017 In 2017, Google revamped how ‘featured snippets’ were displayed by updating its algorithm to include multiple featured snippets in a single query using a variety of sources. For example, a secondary answer box could provide additional information to explain the first answer box. Naturally, these have improved over time, but by and large, the functionality has remained essentially the same. But the method of pulling in information—and how accurately matched that information was to a user’s search—has improved substantially. Around this same time, Google introduced ‘people also ask.’ This option allowed users to see the most frequent questions related to a particular search query. As users clicked on certain questions, website sources appeared that highlighted the information—and more related questions would appear. Once again, this option was robust enough so that a user did not need to click through to a website for a more detailed explanation. 2019: The Rise of Zero-Click Search It should come as no surprise when Google continued to introduce new methods of obtaining faster, more relevant information that enabled users to click less (and less) on webpages. In 2014, there were approximately 43.9% of ‘zero-click’ searches conducted. It would take until 2019 when zero-click searches would finally cross above 50%. This meant that more-than-half of all searches on the web resulted in no clicks to a website. As updates increased to accommodate users, access to information became easier and easier. And the responses provided, and types of searches these results could yield, required further updates for appearing in a wider variety of searches. Simultaneously, ‘Ad clicks,’ which accounted for nearly 2% of all clicks, would double to about 4.14% In 2019, users performed zero-click searches approximately 50.3% of the time. This percentage would increase by almost 15% in 2020. 2020 Until Today By the end of 2020, 64.82% of web searches resulted in zero clicks to a website. And it is worth highlighting that this was the average across all devices. On mobile, specifically, which accounted for 66% of global searches, the number of zero click searches was as high as 77.22%, which meant that more than three-out-of-four searches would not lead to a website visit. In 2024, Google introduced ‘AI Answers’ into search results. These significantly changed how users could interact with the web, as they were able to provide information on much more specific searches and provide answers in significantly more detail. There were some unusual ‘bugs’ that occurred, such as Google’s AI Answers telling users to ‘eat rocks and glue,’ But these features were still in their infancy as to how they sourced information. The biggest change in relation to search, however, was how users were eventually able to take advantage of highly specific queries in a new way. Conversing with AI Tools such as ChatGPT or early versions of Google’s own Gemini allowed users to have in-depth conversations wherein a search did not just end at a results page. Instead, users could follow up with new questions, provide feedback, and have conversations that allowed personalization taken to a whole new level. And search engines needed to adapt by implementing similar features into their own results. With the rollout of ‘AI Answers’ in Google search, users can now have similar long-tail searches provide an answer via AI. Search engines encouraged this method of searching, as AI results would more commonly appear for queries that were 10 or more words. Google eventually refined the sourced information that AI results featured, and also allowed it to appear for more queries. As of 2025, studies have shown that AI results now appear for over 25% of searches. Google has also begun featuring a new ‘AI tab’ that is on par with their image and video tabs, which allows users to have direct conversations in the manner they would with a tool such as Gemini or ChatGPT—without needing to leave the search engine. Zero-Click Search in 2025 Currently, estimates show that over 75% of searches across all devices currently result in a zero-click search in 2025. Additionally, many websites are reporting a decrease of 20% or even 25% in organic website traffic, despite Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, claiming last year that features such as AI results would increase website visitors. (It is worth noting that during this interview, Pichai was unable to provide any specific data to support this claim. And most people in search wondered how increasing the availability of fast answers would improve website traffic when, historically, Google updates that provided more featured answers resulted in increased zero-click searches.) And when ‘Google search ads’ come into play, more questions and uncertainty towards the future of search arise. How is Google Addressing Possible Financial Loss? So, users no longer need to click on a search result. This brings into question how search engines like Google plan to adjust to account for any loss in ‘search ad’ revenue. Also worth noting is that users are skeptical about the accuracy of AI information, especially since over 85% of content is AI-generated. And it may raise eyebrows if Google were to prominently feature ad placements across an already skeptical AI answer. Yet, with the introduction of AI tools, Google opened a new stream of revenue. The cost to use the latest AI tools from Google—such as VEO 3 video generation—is $249.99 per month! Google has bundled several other features and benefits, such as YouTube premium, along with a massive 30TB of drive storage. But with access to new revenue streams, Google can afford a decline in income from Google search ad placements. And Google still has massive power, as both Google Search and YouTube are the two largest search engines. In 2025, YouTube will remain the second-largest search engine, with over 2.5 billion logged-in users each month and a staggering 1 billion plus hours of video content that is watched on the platform each day. How to Help Your Website Grow Organically As zero-click searches become more prevalent, what can you do to help your website? The first answer is by optimizing for ‘AI snippets,’ which means long-tail queries. These keywords and searches may have significantly lower search volume but have more potential to appear in these AI overviews. Building a Strong Content Strategy Creating a robust content strategy is also paramount. Since 2014, throughout every single Google update, the emphasis has been on E-E-A-T, which stands for ‘expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trust.’ These core ranking factors dive into the nature of the content written, but also features the sources that write them, among many other factors. Now, more than ever before, Google is focused on ensuring that its results remain accurate as a way to continue building users’ trust in AI-generated answers. You should therefore make sure your content is written by a credible source. Also, detailing that credibility is one of the first major steps to help Google associate your content with authority. Information, Please Even more important is having plenty of information available on a given topic. Building out a content library revolves around content pillars. And discussing semantic topics relating to those pillars sends signals to Google: You have expertise and experience within a given subject matter. As an analogy to real life: If you were able to tell an anecdote about a specific camera angle used in a movie, you would not considered a film scholar. But then, let’s say you were able to detail dozens of different camera-use techniques and how to use them effectively, along with examples of when they were used. Then, people would consider you to be knowledgeable and authoritative, possibly even a film director. A similar logic structure goes for search engines (such as Google) when determining the expertise of your website. Compound this content with a fleshed-out internal linking strategy, and Google will be able to make connections about the frequency and depth that you bring to a particular subject. Use Unique First-Party Information It is not enough to simply talk about a particular subject. Google is constantly seeking out unique information. If you are only able to share the same information that is available elsewhere, why should Google place your website over another? First-party research, anecdotal evidence, and personal experience are all major factors that are unique to you and your business. Leveraging these provides a content differentiator that can help your website stand out. Are you unable to get (or don’t have) this personalized experience? Become the most authoritative source by diving into more detail than other websites. Competitive research can help identify what websites are showing up for a particular search. Utilize their information and expand on it further. Dive into it a little deeper. Make connections between the websites that are ranking to provide a more robust and comprehensive answer than your competitors provide. Reach Users by More Than Just Search Search in 2025 is much more than just an organic website visit. According to Google: “Online users are 98% more likely to trust the recommendations of creators on YouTube compared to other social platforms. Increasingly, people are watching their favorite creators, sports and other content on their TVs — over 1 billion hours daily.” Brands trust content creators, so make sure that your product is featured front and center. Find collaborative opportunities to work with micro-influencers that are local to your business and within your niche. Smaller creators might even be willing to take on sponsorship opportunities by offering free products or samples in exchange for online exposure. If the creators are linking to your brand or website, this can also help get your business and website featured organically elsewhere on the web. Additional external links and referral clicks can help to establish some of those EEAT factors discussed earlier. Minimize AI-Written Content Content is in high demand. There is pressure to create as much content as possible, and as quickly as possible. It is expected, however, that 90% of content found on the web will be produced by AI by the year 2026. And these models continue to learn. As AI improves its ability to write in ways that sound natural and human-like, it’s becoming harder to tell the difference. (That’s kind of the point, though.) The more AI learns to pick up on little nuances in how we speak and write—like tone, rhythm, and even the way we casually phrase things—the more it blends in. It’s not just about grammar or sentence structure. It’s about sounding real; sounding human. And when that happens, you start to realize that the line between what’s written by a person and what’s written by a machine isn’t as clear as it used to be. You may not be able to tell this paragraph was written by AI. It was instructed to sound like the author’s own writing style. (The rest of the article is all written by a person!) The Cost of Repetition But this content comes at a cost—such as traffic that becomes more difficult to obtain, as covered earlier regarding the increase of zero-click searches. Since we know that AI can’t create anything new, it means that generating content with AI is just repeating the same information that exists elsewhere on the web. More repetitive content means that Google has no reason to show your website over competitors that may be outranking you in other areas, such as a higher domain authority or stronger core web vitals, as examples. If you choose to use AI to help with writing content, make sure to use it responsibly, such as by creating content outlines. Above all, do not generate the entire article through AI. Benefits of Human Authenticity The benefit here is that Google will likely reward you for the originality of handwritten content. A study found that after five months of publishing new content, human-generated content received 5.44 times more traffic than any AI-generated content per month. If your competitors are relying heavily on AI-generated content, it actually provides your business with a unique opportunity to take advantage of handwritten content that can stand out more from the crowd. Chances are that those competitors will end up with very similar pieces of information and very similar opinions. This means that your content is the choice that will gain the most interest. This is especially true since many of these platforms run on the same, or very similar, software. For example: One popular AI content writing tool, JasperAI, uses OpenAI’s GPT technology that powers ChatGPT. The models are tuned for different purposes, but they are all built around the same framework, thus adding to the similarity. Perplexity AI is another example that utilizes GPT-4 in its search functionality. In short, your human-written content has a strong opportunity to offer the uniqueness that search engines look for. This content ranks high in organic search, as well as AI-ranked snippets, providing you or your staff member are doing the writing. Build Authority with Authorship Among Google’s ranking signals of EEAT is authority. Building authority means creating highly credible content by someone who is in fact highly credible. Creating a bio page, for example, to explain why someone is a professional in their space on your own website is a perfect place to start. Featuring information about the years of experience. Results of successful projects. Positive testimonials from clients. These are excellent ways to establish an individual as a credible source of information. When blog content gets published (and links to this bio page), you begin to create a trusted source of information. Is your business able to use authorship from established names that may be available or cited in other places on the web? This may be leveraged to further enhance you as an authority. Target More Niche Subjects As AI becomes more commonly used, search, and the way users interact with it, continues to change drastically. These users seek out more personalized information that’s specific to their needs or wants. Think of a user who is trying to find information about an injury. They may start their search by explaining that they have knee pain. And they may narrow this down further by isolating the types of specific symptoms they are feeling. Users aren’t going to simply search for ‘pain in knee’ or ‘what causes knee pain.’ Instead, they will become comfortable with using search engines to describe the feeling of the pain. Or the location of it. Or when they experience pain. Even more likely, their search will be a combination of all three. Suddenly, a user’s search has changed from ‘knee pain’ to ‘burning sensation below the kneecap only when I run.’ When creating content in your niche, it is important to perform keyword research to find out specific types of searches that users are conducting. The search volume may be significantly lower, but as users try to make search more personal—and if you have the specific information they seek—you can increase your chances of appearing in both AI and organic results. If you can’t perform keyword research, use features like Google’s ‘autocomplete,’ which fills in expected searches based on what other people may be looking for. Or, you can try the ‘people also ask’ section of organic search results. Why Target Searches with Lower Volume? There is another benefit to targeting more niche searches as well. Once upon a time, it was funny to see how AI previously provided widely incorrect information. (Think of the ‘eating rocks’ example.) But AI platforms—whether Gemini, ChatGPT, or Copilot—all aim to be credible and trustworthy. As a result, these tools are prioritizing highly credible sources of information, which may include medical databases such as Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Health. Other sources may be government websites. Or, they may be websites to businesses that have existed for significantly longer periods of time. Where businesses are concerned, this means your competitors are now these massive databases as much as your flesh-and-blood rivals are. This means that organic positions are even harder to obtain, especially for ‘your money, your life’ types of searches. These are queries that have a direct impact on someone’s life. And AI takes getting this information correct very seriously. If you work in a medical, financial, or health and wellness business, for example, you may see these database results more frequently. And, they will be difficult to outrank solely based on the way that search engines prioritize them for providing a history of accurate and reliable data. Targeting more niche searches provides you with opportunities. These opportunities capitalize on meeting user demand in a more robust and informative way than these other sources do. It’s also worth mentioning that more niche searches often come with a higher conversion rate as well! Continue with SEO Best Practices This is the most important piece of advice: Don’t try to drastically change or force SEO into your content. Search engines are changing. Algorithms are getting better at recognizing valuable content. Despite this, the basic principles of SEO remain. As explained, the core tenants of a strong SEO strategy continue to be rooted in creating informative, helpful, and unique content. The delivery of this information to users may have changed. For many businesses, the informational searches that drove traffic can be found without ever clicking through to a website. In order to get featured in positions such as AI results, however, a strong content strategy, well-written content, and an optimized website are still paramount. Conclusion As zero-click searches become more prominent, impressions and brand awareness are becoming more important than clicks to a website. Making sure that you and your business are top-of-mind when someone thinks of a particular service that they need means they will know exactly who to call or consult. For those who do get to your website, utilizing heat mapping tools that analyze a user’s behavior helps ensure that their journey is as easy as possible. Do users have a good experience and interact with your website? Great! This means you are also sending positive signals to Google that highlights your content as useful. Factors such as user engagement, amount of time on page, and interactions still matter. The EGC Group can ensure your website is optimized in ways that matter! Our SEO team can help with the responsible partnership of AI and SEO-optimized content. We will also devise a strategy that partners with creative, social, and a paid search plan to target the right users at the correct stages to maximize conversions. Contact us to find out how.
