How to create an SEO strategy for AI search  Sifted
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Advertising has experienced many big shifts, and this moment is no different. One thing is clear: The future of advertising fueled by AI isn’t coming — it’s already here.
The role of advertising for businesses and the internet is as critical as ever. People come to Google to find answers to their questions, discover new things and find inspiration. Digital ads help connect people to businesses of all sizes along these journeys and enable publishers and creators to offer content for free.
To help marketers and businesses make the most of this moment, we’re reimagining the future of ads and shopping: Ads that don’t interrupt, but help customers discover a product or service. Content that features the perfect creative, appearing at just the right moment — even those moments that were hard to predict. Ads that remove the guesswork and drive measurable impact. And of course, ads that genuinely inspire.
Today at Google Marketing Live, we showed exactly how we’re building these kinds of next-gen AI-powered solutions for Search and YouTube — where discovery starts and decisions are made. Here’s a closer look at what’s coming and how we’re turning AI into action for our customers.
Capture even more opportunities in Search: We see over 5 trillion searches a year on Google and AI has opened new ways to explore with tools like Lens, AI Overviews and AI Mode, helping people discover information and act faster. Google Search is bringing generative AI to more people than any other product in the world. It’s going beyond information to intelligence. And as people search, ads help them take the next step. Today, we’re expanding ads in AI Overviews to desktop, and bringing ads to AI Mode to create new opportunities for our customers.
Turn creative visions into reality: Beautiful content is essential to spark inspiration, but often hard and time consuming to make. In the last two months, we’ve made incredible strides improving the quality of our creative tools powered by our leading video and image generation models, Veo and Imagen. Today, we announced these cutting-edge features will soon be available within Google Ads and Merchant Center so that marketers can easily build campaigns and watch their creative vision come instantly to life.
Find untapped potential with Google AI: The way consumers discover information and make decisions has changed — it’s no longer straightforward. To help marketers predict what is often unpredictable, we introduced AI Max for Search campaigns. Building on that, today we’re launching our biggest update to bidding in over a decade: Smart Bidding Exploration. It pursues less obvious and potentially high-performing searches, giving advertisers the chance to appear in more of the moments where people are researching and discovering information on Search.
Work smarter with new agentic capabilities: These are exciting changes, but we also know that adopting the right AI tools can feel daunting, particularly to smaller businesses. To help with these transitions, we are unveiling new agentic capabilities, which give marketers the power of their very own Google AI so they can adapt and succeed with less effort.
As always, we’ll partner with our customers as we roll out these products so they can take part in every opportunity across Search and YouTube. As we move AI in advertising from potential into practical, actionable solutions, we’re here to help marketers and businesses succeed. Read more below.
Vidhya Srinivasan
More opportunities for your business on Google Search
AI in Search is unlocking new ways for people to ask whatever’s on their mind; and new brand opportunities in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
4 new ways Google AI powers creativity
Discover how Google's AI tools can help businesses reach customers and grow with compelling visual content — at scale.
Drive peak campaign performance with new agentic capabilities
We’re launching agentic capabilities for marketers to drive greater performance, reduce workloads and build best-in-class campaigns.
Get more from your ads with the latest AI measurement tools.
See our latest updates to help advertisers strengthen their modern measurement toolkit and first-party data strategies.
Expand your universe of conversions with Smart Bidding Exploration.
Learn more about the new AI-powered Smart Bidding Exploration — our biggest update to bidding in over a decade.
Unlock next-level performance with AI Max for Search campaigns
Introducing AI Max for Search campaigns, bringing the latest and best of Google AI to help you boost performance.
Four new ways we’re helping marketers improve data strategies and app
Now you can strengthen your App campaign measurement and boost performance with a streamlined data setup.
Channel performance and more reporting coming to Performance Max
An overview of the latest reporting features, including channel performance reporting, coming to Performance Max.
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Large AI Overviews on SERPs are affecting visibility and causing a dramatic decrease in traffic.
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Large AI Overviews on SERPs are affecting visibility and causing a dramatic decrease in traffic.
Prepare your website for 2025 with tips on optimizing performance, security, and user experience. Stay ahead in the digital landscape.
This post was sponsored by Bluehost. The opinions expressed in this article are the sponsor’s own.
Is my website ready for 2025’s tech and SEO changes?
How can I keep my site fast, secure, and user-friendly?
What makes a hosting provider future-proof?
In 2025, the extent to which you adapt to emerging technologies, changing user expectations, and evolving search engine algorithms will determine if you’ll thrive or struggle to stay relevant.
Staying ahead of emerging trends is essential for maintaining a fast, secure, and user-friendly website.
Optimizing performance, strengthening security measures, and enhancing user experience will be key factors in staying competitive.
The first step to ensuring your website remains resilient and future-ready is choosing a reliable hosting provider with scalable infrastructure and built-in optimization tools.
Artificial intelligence has transformed how websites interact with visitors, making online experiences more personalized, engaging, and efficient.
AI-driven personalization allows websites to deliver tailored content and product recommendations based on user behavior, preferences, and past interactions to create an intuitive experience.
The result? Visitors remain engaged, increasing conversions.
Chatbots and AI-powered customer support are also becoming essential for websites looking to provide instant, 24/7 assistance.
These tools answer common questions, guide users through a website, and even process transactions, reducing the need for human intervention while improving response times.
And they’re gaining in popularity.
71% of businesses in a recent survey either already have a chatbot integrated into their sites and customer service processes or plan to get one in the near future.
And they’re reaping the benefits of this technology; 24% of businesses with a chatbot already installed report excellent ROI.
AI is also revolutionizing content creation and website design.
Based on user data, automated tools can generate blog posts, optimize layouts, and suggest design improvements.
This streamlines website management, making it easier for you to maintain a professional and visually appealing online presence.
For example, many hosting providers now include AI-powered website builders, offering tools that assist with design and customization. These features, such as responsive templates and automated suggestions, can make building and optimizing a website more efficient.
Voice search is becoming a major factor in how users interact with the web, with more people relying on smart speakers, mobile assistants, and voice-activated search to find information.
To put this into perspective, ChatGPT from OpenAI reportedly holds 60% of the generative AI market, performing more than one billion searches daily. If just 1% of those are via its voice search, that equates to 10 million voice searches every day on ChatGPT alone.
Reports estimate 20.5% of people globally use voice search daily. And these numbers are increasing.
You need to adapt by optimizing for conversational SEO and natural language queries, which tend to be longer and more specific, making long-tail keywords and question-based content more important than ever.
To stay ahead, websites should structure content in a way that mimics natural conversation:
If this is an upgrade that makes sense for your industry, be sure that your host supports SEO-friendly themes and plugins that help websites rank for voice queries.
Google continues to refine its ranking algorithms, with Core Web Vitals playing a critical role in determining search visibility.
These performance metrics, Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), measure how quickly a page loads, how responsive it is, and how stable its layout appears to users.
Websites that meet these benchmarks not only rank higher in search results but also provide a better overall user experience.
One study found that pages ranking in the top spots in the SERPs were 10% more likely to pass CWV scores than URLs in position 9.
As part of the prioritization of performance, mobile-first approach remains essential; Google prioritizes sites that are fast and responsive on smartphones and tablets.
Ensuring faster load times through optimized images, efficient coding, and proper caching techniques can make a significant impact on search rankings.
Structured data, on the other hand, helps search engines better understand a website’s content, improving the chances of appearing in rich snippets and voice search results.
With mobile devices accounting for the majority of web traffic, mobile optimization remains a top priority in 2025.
Google’s mobile-first indexing means that search engines primarily evaluate the mobile version of a site when determining rankings.
A website that isn’t optimized for mobile results in overall poor performance, lower search rankings, and a frustrating user experience.
To keep up, many websites are adopting:
Best practices for a seamless mobile experience include responsive design, fast-loading pages, and touch-friendly navigation.
Optimizing images, minimizing pop-ups, and using mobile-friendly fonts and buttons can also greatly enhance usability.
Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated.
You must take proactive measures to protect your websites from attacks, data breaches, and unauthorized access.
Implementing strong security protocols not only safeguards sensitive information but also builds trust with visitors.
Key security measures include:
Beyond technical defenses, compliance with evolving privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA is essential.
You must be transparent about how they collect, store, and process user data, providing clear consent options and maintaining privacy policies that align with current regulations.
Every website, server, and data center requires energy to function, contributing to global carbon emissions.
Optimizing websites through lighter code, efficient caching, and reduced server load also plays a role in minimizing environmental impact.
Choosing a hosting provider that values sustainability is an important step toward a greener web.
For example, Bluehost has taken steps to improve energy efficiency, ensuring that website owners can maintain high-performance sites while supporting environmentally friendly initiatives.
AI tools can assist in creating blog posts, product descriptions, and videos with minimal manual input, helping businesses maintain a steady content flow efficiently.
Beyond static content, interactive features like quizzes, calculators, and AR are becoming key for user engagement.
These elements encourage participation, increasing time on site and improving conversions.
To integrate interactive features smoothly, a hosting provider that supports interactive plugins and flexible tools can help keep websites engaging and competitive.
Blockchain is emerging as a tool for web hosting and cybersecurity, enhancing data security, decentralization, and content authenticity.
Unlike traditional hosting, decentralized networks distribute website data across multiple nodes, reducing risks like downtime, censorship, and cyberattacks. Blockchain-powered domains also add security by making ownership harder to manipulate.
Beyond hosting, blockchain improves data verification by storing information in a tamper-proof ledger, benefiting ecommerce, digital identity verification, and intellectual property protection.
No matter how advanced a website is, it’s only as strong as the hosting infrastructure behind it. In 2025, website performance and uptime will remain critical factors for success, impacting everything from user experience to search engine rankings and business revenue.
Scalable hosting solutions play a crucial role in handling traffic spikes, ensuring that websites remain accessible during high-demand periods.
Whether it’s an ecommerce store experiencing a surge in holiday traffic or a viral blog post drawing in thousands of visitors, having a hosting plan that adapts to these changes is essential.
Reliable hosting providers help mitigate these challenges by offering scalable infrastructure, 100% SLA uptime guarantees, and built-in performance optimizations to keep websites running smoothly.
Features like VPS and dedicated hosting provide additional resources for growing businesses, ensuring that increased traffic doesn’t compromise speed or stability. Investing in a hosting solution that prioritizes reliability and scalability helps safeguard a website’s long-term success.
The digital landscape is changing fast, and staying ahead is essential to staying competitive.
From AI-driven personalization to enhanced security and sustainable hosting, adapting to new trends ensures your site remains fast, secure, and engaging. Investing in performance and user experience isn’t optional, it’s the key to long-term success.
Whether launching a new site or optimizing an existing one, the right hosting provider makes all the difference.
Bluehost offers reliable, high-performance hosting with built-in security, scalability, and guaranteed uptime, so your website is ready for the future.
Get started today and build a website designed to thrive.
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Featured Image: Image by Bluehost. Used with permission.
Bluehost is a top-rated web hosting provider that offers reliable and affordable website hosting plans with easy-to-use tools. With 24/7 …
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Blog > Semrush Demo: Master This SEO Tool for Maximum Visibility
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Semrush is a fantastic tool for beginner digital marketers and experienced consultants alike. To get the most of it, you need to know how to use its extensive list of optimization features.
Mastering Semrush is easier than you think. This quick walkthrough guide will help you get started using key Semrush features in 5 to 10 minutes.
Tip: Activate a free Semrush trial now to follow along with this guide—I’ve included GIFs so you’ll know exactly what to look for in your own Semrush account!
Explore competitors’ website traffic stats, discover growth points, and expand your market share.
Looking for a video overview? This Semrush demo video shows you the tools you’ll have at your disposal:

As a daily user, I can answer some of the questions that I often get asked when people sign up for Semrush for the first time.
I’ve been conducting SEO content and writing optimized content for over 15 years, and yes: I think Semrush is worth paying for.
First off, the data you get is more plentiful and accurate than you’ll find using most free tools.
And in my opinion, the ease of generating SEO content templates and audit reports is worth its weight in gold. I’m able to keep up with a high volume of SEO and content work easily thanks to the integration between keyword research tools and content templates—not to mention report automation.
And now, Semrush is how you can get access to Exploding Topics. Available as an add-on application, Exploding Topics lets you see detailed trend forecast data in addition to Semrush’s traditional SEO keyword metrics. I regularly use Exploding Topics in conjunction with Semrush keyword reports to develop new content ideas and clusters for myself and my clients.
Semrush pricing starts at $117.33 per month for a Pro plan (when billed annually). Check out the full pricing information for Semrush.
You can add on Exploding Topics Pro for as little as $39 per month, too.
If you’re not able to afford a Semrush plan right now, you can still use Semrush for free to do things like basic keyword research.
You probably don’t need a Semrush coupon code. We’ve got information about the best Semrush discount.
Yes! You can snag a seven-day free trial to give Semrush a try and see if it meets your needs. I suggest starting a free seven-day Exploding Topics trial at the same time to see how the two tools work together.
Yes! There’s a super helpful Getting Started guide.
I also wrote a beginner’s guide on how to use Semrush for keyword research.
The foundation of any effective SEO strategy is good competitor analysis data. I’ve used a variety of SEO tools to analyze my competitors’ online presence over the years, and Semrush is one of the easiest (and most accurate). You can use Semrush to:

Once you identify your biggest competitors, it’s easy to learn what keywords they are and aren’t ranking for.
Plug your domain and those of several competitors into our Keyword Gap tool to quickly generate a sortable list of keywords complete with graphs, search metrics, and related terms.

Once you’ve identified your top competitors, you can further drill down into specific keywords using tools like the Semrush Keyword Overview.
Every report shows you search volume, keyword difficulty, intent, pay-per-click (PPC) ad metrics and more.
Semrush makes it easy to see how difficult it will be for your domain to rank on a given term using the Keyword Magic Tool. If you’ve ever used another keyword research tool (like Ahrefs or SE Ranking) before, you’ll likely be familiar with the Keyword Magic Tool interface.

Your Semrush account also gives you access to our keyword rank tracking tool—and our Keyword Strategy Builder that takes your keyword research one step further.
The Keyword Strategy Builder turns any keyword list into a complete content strategy, with terms organized by topic. When you find a content cluster you like, you can turn it into a writer-ready brief with just a few clicks. Doing this manually used to take me hours; now, it takes just minutes.

Use trending keywords to create content your audience craves.
Semrush isn’t just for keyword research. You can also build an effective link building strategy using the tools included with your account.
To start, use the Backlink Analytics tool to see all the sites linking to you or a competitor—and ascertain whether the links are low or high quality. (If you’re concerned about the health of your own backlinks on an ongoing basis, the Backlink Audit makes it easy to keep an eye on things.)
From there, you can use the Link Building tool to find new, high-quality link sources. It includes contact information for thousands of backlink sources, along with tools to keep your outreach organized.

You’ll increase your chances of great backlinks if you have a library of high-quality, linkable content on your site. Semrush can help with this too.
Whether you choose to write about a topic developed using the Keyword Strategy Builder or something else, you can easily generate a list of important semantic keywords and other suggestions using the SEO Content Template tool. Simply enter a topic and let the report generate—it just takes a few minutes.
As you write, you’ll get immediate feedback about how you’re using the suggested target keywords, article readability, and tone of voice. All you have to do is type!
It even works in Google Docs via a free extension!

If you want all of your content marketing and link building efforts to work, though, you need to make sure that your site is sound from a technical perspective.
You don’t need extensive technical SEO expertise to benefit from the Semrush Site Audit tool, either. Every element in the audit report is clearly labeled, and there are helpful tooltips along the way to explain what each actionable item means—and why it’s important.

You can set your auditing workflow on repeat, too, with easy report automation. The Semrush report builder is fully customizable, and you can even integrate data from other SEO tools and services like Google Analytics.
Semrush is the most comprehensive marketing platform on the planet. It provides everything you need in one place.
The best way to see if Semrush is right for your business is to try it right now – for free!
Use real-time topic data to create content that resonates and brings results.
Exploding Topics is owned by Semrush. Our mission is to provide accurate data and expert insights on emerging trends. Unless otherwise noted, this page’s content was written by either an employee or a paid contractor of Semrush Inc.
Use real-time topic data to create content that resonates and brings results.
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Emily Gertenbach
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Emily is a freelance content writer at Exploding Topics. A former news correspondent, she has over 15 years' experience creati… Read more
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