Global digital marketing strategists are recommending an integrated approach to search engine optimization (SEO) and artificial intelligence (AI) visibility to streamline content creation and media buying efforts.
This unified strategy seeks to optimize content for both traditional Google rankings and citations by AI platforms, acknowledging the significant overlap in how digital visibility is achieved across these channels.
Approximately 75 percent of results generated by ChatGPT’s ‘Thinking mode’ originate from Google, underscoring the continuing relevance of SEO for content to be discoverable by AI, according to data cited by Getfluence. Christian Desert, CEO of Getfluence, emphasized the need for a single article to be designed for ranking on Google and for citation by AI.
Research indicates that brand mentions and brand-named anchor texts are strongly correlated with visibility in AI Overviews. Furthermore, an article that ranks for a primary query and at least one sub-query is 2.6 times more likely to be cited in AI Overviews, Kevin Indig of Growth Memo reported.
Many organizations currently manage netlinking and AI visibility through separate teams and tools, leading to duplicated efforts and increased costs, according to industry observers. Companies like Getfluence propose an integrated methodology to address these inefficiencies.
Discoverability through links remains important for AI crawlers, similar to traditional search engines. Tests by Oxylabs and Meteoria showed that GPTBot did not follow URLs found exclusively in sitemaps, unlike Googlebot, which continues to follow such links.
While varying levels of openness to AI crawlers exist, around 19.4 percent of French press sites block GPTBot, yet only 4.8 percent block OAI-SearchBot, according to data from Oncrawl and Ahrefs. This indicates a selective approach by publishers regarding which AI agents can access their content.
Experts from organizations including Resoneo, Search Engine Land, and Abondance have contributed to the growing consensus on integrating these digital strategies.
Source: Abondance
