Adaptation is a crucial component of all long-term marketing strategies. Customer tastes change, new trends start to emerge, and more advanced technologies may mean that business development strategies are no longer as efficient as they could be.
When it comes to building a digital brand presence, SEO is another factor that’s constantly evolving. Tactics that used to be effective when trying to rank web pages higher on Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) have either been polished or replaced altogether.
The introduction of AI technologies, specifically, has evolved how search engines operate, leaving marketing specialists with the challenge of “reinventing the wheel” when it comes to making tactical, traffic-improving changes to their site structure. But as Google continues to change how its algorithms work when combined with these new technologies, it can be difficult for businesses to keep pace.
Below, we’ll outline how AI technology has continued to improve and evolve Google’s algorithms, along with practical steps for adapting SEO strategies in response.
How AI technology is impacting Google search algorithms
Anyone who has been conducting various SEO activities over the last 10-20 years has seen significant shifts in how Google has served content to its users. From the original inception of online search algorithms to the fast and highly intuitive nature of today’s AI-powered search engines, there have been significant strides in both the accuracy and effectiveness of how users can find the information they need.
Google has been a leader in pioneering AI technology for many years now. In 2015, it introduced RankBrain to enhance its page ranking system, validating the accuracy and helpfulness of content while filtering out spam sites.
It followed this trend with the release of BERT in 2019 and MUM in 2022, both designed to add even more processing power to its algorithm, allowing it to incorporate higher compute resources to improve the scope of AI-driven website crawlers and their site indexing power.
The engine that has driven the improvement of search algorithms over the past few years is Natural Language Processing (NLP). This feature enables search algorithms to understand better what a user is looking for, rather than simply scanning for keyword matches. This feature, in addition to machine learning capabilities, helps to tie together search intent and the associated type of topics or subtopics.
By following this more thorough approach to gaining a deeper understanding of searches, it helps Google’s search engine locate information that’s more likely to provide value to users. This minimizes the time they have to spend trying new search prompts or scrolling through pages of results to find what they’re looking for, greatly improving their overall experience.
How to adapt your SEO efforts to AI-driven algorithm shifts
With AI technology redefining the importance of SEO and the types of tactics that matter most for rankings, it’s essential to adapt your search engine marketing (SEM) approach to keep it relevant. While AI shifts have not significantly impacted all traditional SEO processes, some processes have become much more dynamic.
Below are some practical strategies you can apply to make sure your SEO efforts remain effective:
How to adapt your SEO efforts in response to algorithm changes:
- Focus on content quality, not keyword placement
Content development and improvement have always been a critical component of SEO. In the past, keyword density and strategic placement were the primary drivers of SERP rankings, leading many businesses to focus too heavily on words and phrases, rather than substance.
Today, these ratios have become much more balanced, if not flipped entirely. Although keywords still play a role in modern SEO strategies, AI-powered search algorithms prioritize content quality.
This shift has become evident with Google’s release of its E-E-A-T framework. Algorithms now evaluate site content based on four key metrics:
* Experience
* Expertise
* Authoritativeness
* Trustworthiness
Each of these elements sifts through repetitive or unhelpful content online and instead prioritize sites that co - Don’t neglect your technical SEO efforts
Google’s search engine crawlers’ goal is: “improving the user experience.”
The quality of content is a big part of this objective, but it’s not the only element search algorithms look for. The speed at which a user can access and navigate a site, plus its accessibility and whether it’s mobile-friendly, impact whether pages rank well in SERPs.
An important step to ensure all of these factors line up is to never forget about the importance of conducting technical SEO.
You can provide a smoother, more engaging experience for site visitors by:
1. Ensuring your site uses structured data
2. Cleaning up website code
3. Minimizing image loading times
4. Running regular performance tests for both desktop and mobile users - Prioritize multimodal content experiences
When you think of all the different ways to present content online, avoid getting into the habit of always creating long lines of text when covering each topic. Most people today prefer visual learning to lengthy content.
Multimodal content elements are another factor that can go into your SEO efforts. Google rewards website developers who take the time to incorporate images, videos, and other interactive site features that add value to their users.
As you work to improve the readability of your content and incorporate various media elements, don’t forget to optimize them appropriately. This includes adding ALT text to files and images so search engine crawlers know what they pertain to, or even adding transcripts to your videos.
What the future of AI will bring to SEO initiatives
There are still uncertainties regarding how AI technologies will impact SEO strategies. However, some trends point to the future of AI-driven SEO. These include:
- More Personalized Search Outcomes: Google regularly leverages the language processing capabilities of advanced AI technologies to better understand what users are really looking for when they enter new search queries (beyond keyword choices and phrases). It leverages factors such as the user’s location, past search history, and online behaviors.
- Increased Use of Conversational AI: Most people have become accustomed to using voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, or Google Gemini in and outside of their homes. This is creating newer priorities for search engine marketing teams to ensure their SEO initiatives take into consideration conversational AI elements. Part of this process involved using longer-tail keywords and writing content the way a human reader speaks and digests new information.
- Zero-Click Searches: AI Overviews and other AI-driven search results provided by Google and AI chatbots have led to an increase in zero-click searches. This means that after entering a search query, the user no longer needs to navigate through different SERP links to find what they need. This is presenting new challenges to website owners who are starting to see declines in their organic search traffic due to the user experience improvements.
Start adapting your SEO approach
AI technology has become a valuable asset for search engines like Google that want to help users improve their overall search experiences. However, when marketing a business website, ensure your SEO approach takes algorithm shifts that AI has created into account.
By following the practical strategies discussed and staying aware of new SEO changes as they emerge, you’ll ensure that you adapt your marketing approach effectively and continue to attract more qualified web traffic to your site.
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