Just last week, I again watched as my neighbor spent two hours washing, detailing, and meticulously waxing his vintage Chevy Corvette. That routine got me thinking: I don't believe I've ever seen him pop the hood and work on its engine.
Then it struck me. Isn't that how so many businesses and B2B marketers approach SEO?
You'll spend countless dollars and hours to make a website absolutely perfect for traditional search engines. Heck, much of my own time over the past 10 years has revolved around things like keyword density, alt tags, internal linking, meta tags, and schema.
Unfortunately, all of those focus on cosmetic changes, not substance. Not authority, not trustworthiness—the very things AI-powered search tools, like ChatGPT, now look at.
Luckily, you can make the shift from traditional SEO tactics to something more useful: artificial intelligence search optimization.
I'll walk you through what you need to know.
Sorry, But Today's Internet Requires More Than Traditional SEO
When I think of traditional SEO, here's what it mainly focuses on optimizing:
- Sourcing and targeting the "right" keywords
- Strategic placement of those keywords
- Metadata
- Alt tags
- Relevant internal and external links
- Relevant and authoritative backlinks
- Page performance
These are all still important, but AI has shifted the dynamic. No longer can you only focus on those cosmetic details to gain an advantage.
To help you understand the differences, I've put their core focuses side by side:
B2B marketers must adapt optimization strategies and embrace a culture of building true domain authority with trust. I don't think you should totally abandon the more "cosmetic" focus of traditional SEO, but you should simply spend less time optimizing for only visibility.
Think Digital Credit Score: AI Search Is About Trust
The best way to view AI search optimization is to think of it as a digital credit score. In the financial sector, banking institutions evaluate the "creditworthiness" of a person interested in a loan based on various elements, such as account age, payment history, credit utilization, and so on.
I've found that AI search engines focus on similar areas; but, instead of seeing whether a person can afford a car, they're figuring out whether a website's content should be shown in its AI responses.
I've discovered that—much like with credit—authority and trust are the factors that mean the most for AI search engines. Below, I've outlined how to build that authority and trust to boost your "digital credit score."
1. Let AI crawlers into your home
The first step of establishing a solid relationship with AI search engines is to let them search your websites. Similar to making your website indexable, you want to give AI crawlers access to your content.
Follow these steps to do so:
- Update XML sitemaps to allow AI crawlers.
- Change your robots.txt file to allow crawlers, too.
Here's what you can add to your robots.txt file to allow specific AI crawlers:
User-agent: Bingbot
Allow: /
Or...
User-agent: GPTBot
Allow: /
It's like letting credit bureaus view your past financial habits. It's possible to block access, but then you're never building authority.
2. Write your history on expert content
Here's the word to focus on: history. You're writing a history for every website you optimize for AI search. I like to build that history with expertise, essentially showing AI search engines that I've put in the work to maintain a content schedule of quality over quantity.
Here's how I recommend building that history of expertise:
- Avoid giving theoretical advice; instead, provide actionable examples that people can implement.
- Focus on issues faced by your audience; don't try too hard to stretch into other niches.
- Publish consistently; doing so builds reliability and trust.
- Spend time developing in-depth resources discussing common industry issues.
- Incorporate real-world case studies, relevant research, and credible data to strengthen arguments.
AI search engines are becoming increasingly skilled at detecting genuine expertise. So, it's risky to pump out eight shallow articles that don't add much value to the Internet. You're better off spending time on three or four expertly crafted pieces with credible citations.
3. Grow your network of authority
What's the point of a credit score? In my eyes, it's usually a way for financial institutions to vouch for you as a loan applicant. It puts some authority on your side. Similarly, reputable sources linking to your content build authority with AI engines. As does the act of citing reputable sources within your content.
Take these steps to build a network of authority:
- Guest-post on related, respected industry publications.
- Create partnerships with related businesses.
- Collaborate and engage with industry leaders in your content (think interviews and case studies).
- Seek citations in research papers, academic texts, and trade magazines.
- Say "yes" to research collaborations within your industry.
It's about participation. It's a lot less transactional than just trading backlinks. You're finding genuine partnerships and building on each other's expertise so you both become trusted voices.
4. Make factual claims and verify them with citations
Inaccurate financial records can lead to lower credit scores; accuracy and verification also matter greatly to AI search engines.
Here's how to strengthen accuracy and verification efforts for AI search engines:
- Provide accurate and credible citations for stats, research, and claims.
- Give several perspectives when talking about complex issues.
- Tell readers when you lack knowledge about a particular area.
- Avoid linking to secondary sources; go for original sources.
- If new evidence comes to light, update your content.
I highly recommend making claims to get noticed by AI search engines. You must, however, back up those claims with multiple, credible sources. That's because AI systems corroborate evidence before delivering responses to users.
Moving Forward With Your Plan for AI Search Authority
The introduction of AI search engines demands more. It's a long-term process of building your digital reputation. I suggest starting with an audit of your current SEO strategies and the ways you can connect with AI crawlers for visibility.
After that:
- Find your true expertise areas and start building expert resources for those.
- Have a consistent publishing calendar.
- Mingle with other industry experts and make content with them.
- Maintain rigorous habits of fact-checking and citation.
Remember, this is your website's digital credit score. It may take time for ChatGPT and other AI search modules to take notice, but the rewards of being a trustworthy voice in your industry will pay out big time.
