How do you adapt your SEO strategy due to the introduction of Google’s AI Overviews

 

Author: Ryan Walsh

Date: 09/05/2025

Subject: How Google’s AI Overviews are changing SEO

 

Introduction

Okay, so for the last decade, sure, there’s been a ton of Google algorithm updates and adjustments.

Businesses have had to have had to have a good and long look at how good or spammy their backlink profiles are (Google Panda).

Companies globally have examined each page to see whether it is content-thin or not. Are there any duplication issues?

But now there’s something new to contend with, something completely different, powered by AI, which is resulting in zero clicks.

Now, we can either cross our arms and say, “I don’t like this”, or, as marketing companies, we can adapt and embrace.

Well, we don’t have much choice, so let’s embrace it and show you exactly how to do just that.

 

What are Google AI Overviews, and why does it matter?

So, in short, we all lead busy lives.

Google AI overviews will help people save time in their everyday lives.

How?

Well, you can ask it a question, instead of having to wade through and read tons of text to get an answer. Google will answer it precisely, as soon as you can blink, by presenting an answer at the top of the page.

What ingredients do I need for a chicken korma?

Bang, there it is in front of you.

Rather than having to read a few websites that give you the instructions you want, it answers the question, and you don’t need to leave Google.

Plus, businesses may be trying to sell you a monthly subscription for meal kits to be thrown at your front door every week!

So that’s the crucial part, it removes the selling aspect.

A Google AI Overview answers the shopper’s question directly in the SERP.

So, we must adapt, as “there has been a disturbance in the force”.

Businesses globally may have seen in there Google Search Console accounts a decrease in clicks. This may well be confimed in your Google

Analytics, because, well Google is answering people in the results, and your blog post on how to make a chicken korma is now not needed as much.

 

Rise in zero-click searches.

So, the whole point of zero-click searches is that someone obtains a quick answer they can obtain an answer to that question in Google’s results. Therefore, they don’t need to click on a website.

Great for the customer, but not so great for businesses.

Why is it not so great for businesses?

Because the shopper is not landing on a website to find an answer, you can’t try to push a product or service in front of their face.

 

 

Embrace and don’t cry about it.

So Google is now answering more questions in the SERP, resulting in fewer clicks for some businesses.

So, as business owners, we can sit and cry, perhaps into a giant tub of ice cream that we are now getting fewer clicks, or we can embrace it.

How do you embrace it?

Content marketing has to be superior, better, and more engaging than ever. People within your company need to emerge and stand out as industry-leading experts, cementing your position as a thought leader. Thus improving your Google EEAT score.

So, it’s not simple; it’s not a walk in the park. Do you know what we think? We are going to see some SEO agencies crumble and can’t adapt.

However, we will adapt.

So the strong among us and the ones with the “eye of the tiger”, will adapt, and try and get those clicks increasing once again, let’s explain how to do that.

 

Cut the rubbish

Gone are the days of rubbish content marketing. If you’re sitting down on a wet Monday morning to write another thousand words because your boss says so, don’t bother; it won’t work.

Consolidate your time, don’t churn out rubbish content marketing

Gone are the days of opening up an Excel document your boss has sent you, writing 1,000 words about “why your dog needs organic shampoo in their life”, then wandering over to the coffee machine for a well-deserved break.

Content marketing must be superior:

So, let’s break it down:

 

Google EEAT

All content marketing must now have a Google EEAT score that is through the roof.

Now here’s the thing, to our knowledge, there’s no “score” for Google EEAT

It’s instead something that’s baked into Google’s algorithm; it’s measured, we know what’s important, but you can’t put a score on it, you have to improve it, make sense? Good.

So, first things first, ensure that you’re showing experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness in every piece of content marketing you write.

You need to be a superstar.

The right next thing is, you can’t afford to be Joe Bloggs anymore.

You need to be you, just a more well-known version of you.

So, content marketing should be linked to your LinkedIn, write a bit about yourself at the bottom, get your face on the website, and stand out as being, well, you.

Then, two things happen, and people start to learn you’re a superstar.

Next, Google builds up a picture of you, what you’re good at, and trusts you as an author, because you’re a superstar.

Don’t write rubbish

Just don’t do it, it’s a waste of time.

Quit your SEO agency job

Yeah, you may have to…

Let’s face it: some SEO companies are stuck in medieval times.

 

Prehistoric

 

Dinosaur SEO consultants.

They may have a fancy website and job titles, such as “senior, executive, boss, manager of all things inbound link related,” but here’s the thing: Is there heart in it?

Is there heart in the job?

Or do they have a fancy job title, sitting in front of a branded water bottle?

Well, there’s plenty of them.

So, don’t be one of them, for Google EEAT to work, you need to put your heart into it, and by that we mean you have to have a reason to get up in the morning and promote that brand or product.

If you don’t, Google’s algorithm will feel that your just another face, in front of a branded water bottle, that is waiting for your next pay check. So just quit, life’s too short.
Find an agency that cares.

 

 

The bees’ knees

Go the extra mile, research, make people laugh, offer advice, and slap on-page SEO factors, like titles, meta descriptions, alt text, and all that stuff, on the page.

If you’re good at what you do, they will find you.

“Build it, they will come”

Field of Dreams, remember that, what a good film that was.

There’s an SEO lesson within that film, “build it and they will come”.

Create the best content marketing you can, be the best, aim to be the best, and try your best.

However when you build it right, you will be found.

Google may serve you as more Google AI Overviews answers, and you get mentioned more.

More people who want to research the product or service will come to you.

Build it; they will come.

 

Fact checked, be accurate.

So, we all know about semantic SEO, right, and Google’s Knowledge Graph.

Well, Google’s just clever (said that in Will Ferrell’s voice), it is just brilliant.

We all know that, but there’s a knowledge graph, and Google uses this to check dates, facts and relevant statistics with what you’re writing about (semantic seo).

The point is to make sure your content marketing is on point and accurate and uses up-to-date statistics, as Google uses the semantic web and Google Knowledge Graph to check the accuracy of written work.

Be an expert, and make the experts in your company shine

Picture this: there’s a man called Dereck in your company.

 

 

Hi, Derek.

He’s a nice guy, chats when making coffee, holds open doors, and is lovely.

But Dereck is an expert, let’s say, in watchmaking. Derek’s been with you for 40 years, is about to retire, does not like social media, and doesn’t spend much time surfing the web.

So, is Dereck no good in this new era of AI and SEO?

Well, that’s where you are wrong, my friends.

Dereck is what you need, tell him to stop making chat near the coffee machine, put down his frozen ground coffee and make his way to the marketing office. Dereck is needed more than ever now.

You sell watches. Dereck has 40 years of watch-making experience. Google now uses EEAT more than ever.

Who has more knowledge about watchmaking than Dereck? Well, no one we know.

So, start writing guides, such as “ Which watch movement is considered the best in the world”- and Dereck is the expert, he now sits in the marketing office, with his frozen ground coffee, he is here to help.

Thanks, Dereck, you superhero.

Be conversational, not robotic.

Have you spoken to people at parties that have bored you?

Met people who bore you?

Yep, slowly but surely, you make a move, anywhere, but in the kitchen, to get away from someone droning on about, say, golf.
So, think about your content marketing in the same way. How are you going to get attention, how will you retain attention, and how will you emerge as an authority on that subject?

The advice needs to be good, but it needs to be engaging and conversational.

It needs to be of good quality.

So, imagine yourself at that party, the person is chatty, lively, funny, helpful and engaging.

Suddenly, you don’t want to go anywhere, nowhere; this person’s a laugh, let’s stay here, next to the nibbles at the party.

So think of your website as a bit like having a real-life conversation; make it engaging, funny, witty, and helpful.

 

Traditional search doesn’t seem to be going anywhere (well, for now at least)

So, before we think AI is taking over the world, it might one day, but for now, it’s just starting to edge into our everyday lives.

We can’t lose sight of the fact that there are still billions of people using organic search to find businesses.

Sure, Google’s AI Overviews result in more zero-click searches, but we can still gain customers through organic search engine optimisation.

There’s even a greater opportunity now to stand out as a thought leader (bring out Dereck) who may appear in even more Google AI

Overview answers. Therefore, you may get listed as a source, resulting in more traffic.

However, that is hard; no one should underestimate how hard that will be. However, in the long run, businesses in this industry must work hard to improve their businesses. Google EEAT is now more critical than ever.

Come to us:

We are an SEO agency based in sunny Cardiff (at the time of writing). We want to work with you to see how we can help you drum up more business. As this article illustrates and sets out, AI is making a greater contribution to how shoppers find businesses and get their queries answered.

Therefore, it’s of paramount importance that you partner with leading and well-known SEO agencies. This is where Walsh and Partners can help you. We can help drive more traffic to your website.