Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is like a sum of parts, or many pieces of a puzzle.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO is the process of improving the visibility and relevance of your website on search engines like Google and Bing. It's not a one-time project, but an ongoing effort of monitoring, tweaking and testing.

What is SEO? Read our full article breaking it down.

AI search is still search

Google often answers a question with an AI Overview at the top of the page, or a conversational answer in AI Mode. Does that make SEO obsolete? Google's own answer, in its official guidance, is no: its AI features draw on the same search index and ranking systems as regular results. If your page doesn't rank and isn't eligible for a normal search snippet, it won't be cited in an AI answer either.

What has changed is the payoff. Fewer people click through on informational searches, so being the page that gets cited, and being the brand people search for by name, matters more than ever.

In this post, we'll share three not-so-secret secrets that drive SEO results:

  • Keyword and topic research
  • People-first content
  • Earning links and mentions

Keyword and topic research

Keyword research is the process of finding the words and phrases your audience uses to search for information, products or services in your industry. It helps you understand what your potential customers need, and where the competition and opportunities are.

Keyword research helps you:

  • Identify the topics that are relevant and valuable to your audience
  • Create content that matches what searchers actually want
  • Use the language your customers use in titles, headings and copy
  • Track the performance of your content over time

Tools that help:

Look at each keyword through four lenses:

  • Search volume: how often it's searched
  • Difficulty: how hard it is to rank against existing pages
  • Relevance: how closely it matches what you sell
  • Intent: whether the searcher wants to learn, compare or buy

Our opportunity filter

Big keyword lists feel productive. They aren't. Here's the filter we use with clients:

  1. Start with your competitors. Pull the keywords they already rank for, and benchmark their organic traffic.
  2. Keep what's relevant. Would a potential customer search this when looking for what you sell?
  3. Keep difficulty at 20 or under (on a 1 to 100 scale). Anything higher is a long fight for most sites.
  4. Keep volume at 100 or more searches a month.
  5. Remove competitor brand names. Ranking for someone else's name rarely converts.

On a recent client project, that filter took 9,155 keywords down to 238 opportunities, and 21 priority targets. That's a plan you can actually execute.

Think in topics, not single keywords

You may have heard of "LSI keywords." Google has said it doesn't use latent semantic indexing, so drop that idea. What does work is covering a topic completely. When someone asks Google's AI a question, it runs several related searches behind the scenes to build its answer. Pages that answer the main question and the natural follow-ups are the ones that get found.

Practical ways to do this:

  • Long-tail keywords: specific phrases of three or more words, which are less competitive (e.g., "B2B PPC agency for SaaS" vs. "PPC").
  • Question keywords: who, what, why and how questions your buyers ask. Check Google's "People also ask" box for ideas.
  • Related subtopics: list the follow-up questions a buyer would have next, and answer them on the same page or in linked pages.

People-first content

Content creation is the process of producing original, useful content for your website. Google rewards content written to help people, not content written to game rankings, and that's even more true in AI search.

Good content helps you:

  • Provide real value to your audience
  • Show your expertise and authority in your industry
  • Build trust and credibility
  • Generate leads and conversions

Tips that work:

  • Use a clear, descriptive title that includes your main topic.
  • Answer the question early, then go deeper.
  • Use headings and subheadings so readers (and search engines) can scan.
  • Break up text with lists, tables, images and video.
  • Keep paragraphs and sentences short, in an active, conversational voice.
  • Show first-hand experience. Google's quality guidelines emphasize experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust (E-E-A-T). Real examples, data and opinions from people who do the work are hard to copy.
  • Add what AI can't. Original research, case studies and point-of-view content are what get cited. Rewording what's already on page one isn't.
  • Use AI carefully. AI writing tools are fine for drafts, but mass-producing thin pages can violate Google's spam policies. Edit, fact-check and add your own expertise.
  • Link to related pages on your site, cite sources, and end with a clear call to action.

Structure every page the same way

Pick one target keyword. Pick the page it belongs on. Then make sure the keyword appears in:

  • The URL
  • The title tag
  • The H1 heading (word it a little differently from the title to pick up a second variation)
  • At least one H2 heading
  • At least one image's alt text
  • The first or second sentence of the first paragraph

Two more technical checks:

  • Depth over word count. For one client's target terms, the top-ranking pages ran 1,100 to 1,700+ words. Use that as a benchmark for how thoroughly to answer, not a number to hit. Google doesn't reward length. It rewards complete answers.
  • Light visuals. Images and video help, but heavy files slow your page down. Use WebP for images, Lottie for animations, and lazy loading for anything below the fold.

Earning links and mentions

Links from other reputable websites are still a strong signal of trust. Brand mentions and reviews across the web also help AI systems recognize who you are.

Links and mentions help you:

  • Build authority and trust
  • Drive referral traffic
  • Get discovered by new audiences

How to earn them:

  • Create link-worthy assets: original data, tools, templates and in-depth guides that others want to reference.
  • Skyscraper technique: find popular content in your niche, create a genuinely better version, and let the people who linked to the original know.
  • Broken link building: find broken links on relevant sites and suggest your content as a replacement.
  • Resource pages: ask to be included on industry resource lists where your content truly fits.
  • PR and podcasts: expert commentary, interviews and guest appearances earn mentions and links naturally.
  • A word on guest posting: writing for respected industry publications is great for visibility, but guest posts done mainly to build links can break Google's spam policies. Focus on the audience, not the link.

How to measure SEO now

Don't be surprised if impressions grow while clicks flatten. That's often AI Overviews answering the question on the page. Track each target keyword's position in Google Search Console, plus rankings and clicks, but also branded searches, leads from organic traffic, and whether you're being cited in AI answers for your key topics.

Promote every new page

Don't publish and wait. Share new pages in your email, on LinkedIn and from related pages on your site. Early visits and internal links help new pages get discovered faster.

Want the full method, including AEO and GEO? Read SEO, AEO and GEO: The Organic Playbook I Use With Clients.

Ready to get started with SEO?

SEO is not a secret, but a science and an art that takes research, creativity and experimentation. Apply these three not-so-secret secrets and you'll be in a stronger position in classic and AI-powered search.

If you need help with your SEO strategy, book a strategy call.