Competing with AI: SEO Strategies for the New Google – Brand Vision
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Google now blends AI answers, classic web results, and social-style perspectives. To keep winning, your plan must connect research & strategy, content SEO, website audit, and website development into one system that’s fast, understandable, and easy for Google to reuse. Below is a practical playbook for competing with AI—grounded in Google’s own documentation and current web standards.
AI answers now sit above classic results, and Google cites pages it trusts and understands. Here’s the fast plan for competing with AI with solid SEO Strategies for the New Google:
AI Overviews can appear above classic results, with citations to sources Google trusts and understands. “Perspectives” and other modules widen the surface area for credible, first-hand voices. Knowing where and how your topic is answered tells you what to build next—short, quotable blocks for AI; deeper guides for classic SERP; community angles for perspectives (The Keyword).
If you need a straightforward answer on how to compete with AI, it is all about creating content that competes with AI. AI Overviews favor pages that answer the question directly, with specific, verifiable details and clean structure. Use clear headings, one-sentence takeaways, short steps, and on-page citations to primary sources; Google’s guidance still centers on helpful, reliable, people-first content (Google Search Central).
Google understands topics as entities (people, places, products) tied together with relationships. Plan content hubs that cover the core entity and its subtopics, then use internal links and schema to show those connections. This improves disambiguation and eligibility for rich displays (Search Central structured data overview).
Before publishing more content SEO, remove technical friction. Check index coverage, canonicals, robots rules, and 404s in Search Console; then raise Core Web Vitals with image, script, and template fixes. INP ≤ 200 ms, LCP ≤ 2.5 s, CLS ≤ 0.1 are the “good” thresholds (Search Console, web.dev CWV).
Modern formats (WebP/AVIF), HTTP/2+ delivery, critical CSS, and lean JS are table stakes for the new Google. Use semantic HTML, proper headings, and ARIA only when needed so both users and crawlers parse your meaning quickly (web.dev performance, Search Central SEO starter guide).
Schema doesn’t guarantee rankings, but it helps AI and classic search understand your page and unlock rich results (logos, products, videos, FAQs, how-tos). Use only markup that reflects visible content and validate before release (Search Central structured data).
Google’s guidance emphasizes experience, expertise, and accountability. Show author names, bios, primary sourcing, last-updated dates, and contact or editorial policies—especially on YMYL topics. This helps both users and systems assess reliability (Search Central “Creating helpful content”).
Links still convey reputation, but manipulative tactics trigger spam systems. Focus on earning links from relevant coverage, partners, and useful tools; avoid paid placements that violate policy. Review Google’s spam policies before any outreach push (Search Central spam policies).
AI-assisted creation is allowed when it’s helpful and accurate; what fails is mass-produced, unreviewed, or unoriginal content. Use models for outlines, tables, and QA, but keep humans for research, claims, and examples. Google evaluates content by value, not production method (Search Central on AI content).
AI and users both love clear diagrams, step photos, and short explainers. Compress assets, add alt text and transcripts, and mark up videos for eligibility in video features. Fast, understandable media boosts both CWV and reuse in AI modules.
If you operate locally, complete and keep updating your Google Business Profile; relevance, distance, and prominence drive local visibility. For products, use high-quality images, price/availability, and Product schema to qualify for rich results.
Track impressions, clicks, and positions in Search Console; annotate when pages get cited in AI Overviews (you can often infer from traffic and query shifts). Pair SEO with business metrics—leads, sales, qualified demos—so wins survive algorithm chatter (Search Console).
What are the top SEO Strategies for the New Google?
Answer clearly, mark up content, speed up pages (INP/LCP/CLS), and prove credibility with authors and sources.
How do I start competing with AI today?
Create quotable answer boxes, add schema, compress images, and fix indexing issues in Search Console.
Where do content SEO and research & strategy fit?
Plan around topics/entities, then publish people-first guides with on-page citations and internal links.
What should a website Audit include now?
Index coverage, Core Web Vitals, structured data validation, internal links, and duplicate/canonical fixes.
How does website development impact SEO?
Efficient images/JS/CSS, semantic HTML, and stable layouts make pages faster and easier for Google to use.
Competing with AI isn’t a trick; it’s about building pages that are fast, credible, and easy to reuse. Tie research & strategy to content SEO, confirm the basics in a regular website audit, and keep website development lean and accessible. Do that, and you’ll show up in classic results—and give Google’s AI every reason to point back to you.
Disclosure: This list is intended as an informational resource and is based on independent research and publicly available information. It does not imply that these businesses are the absolute best in their category.
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Dana Nemirovsky is a senior copywriter and digital media analyst who uncovers how marketing, entertainment, technology, and cultural trends shape the way we live and consume. At Brand Vision Insights, Dana has authored in-depth features on major brand players, while also covering global economics, lifestyle trends, and digital culture. With a bachelor’s degree in Design and prior experience writing for a fashion magazine, Dana explores how media shapes consumer behaviour, highlighting shifts in marketing strategies and societal trends. Through her copywriting position, she utilizes her knowledge of how audiences engage with language to uncover patterns that inform broader marketing and cultural trends.
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