Google’s Martin Splitt and Nikola Todorovic, Director of Software Engineering at Google Search, recently discussed how AI is changing Google and SEO. Todorovic encouraged SEOs and businesses to leverage AI to analyze data, study competition, and improve their ability to deliver value.
AI and the Web ecosystem
Google’s Martin Splitt asked a question that many SEOs and online businesses have in mind regarding what they should do for AI features like AI Mode and AI Previews. Both Splitt and Todorovic said there are opportunities, particularly with the use of AI in a narrow setting.
Martin asked:
“But one thing we hear from the ecosystem at just about every event we do and it’s everywhere is: how can we make sure that with AI capabilities now being part of research, the ecosystem continues to thrive.
And I think it’s an interesting challenge, but there are also a lot of opportunities with the capabilities of AI these days. And I know that at Google we are doing our best to continue this journey alongside the ecosystem.
But how do you see it from your point of view? What are we doing to ensure the ecosystem thrives with these new features? »
The question asked was specifically about what Google can do to ensure the web ecosystem thrives, but the answer was not about what Google can do, but rather what SEOs and businesses can do.
Todorovic acknowledged that this is a concern he is also aware of, but he also said there is no “magic wand,” meaning there is no simple solution or roadmap, and he suggested that focusing on value creation is a key way to adapt to new AI search capabilities.
He replied:
“That’s clearly one of the key questions and we see them a lot on social media as well. And I don’t think there’s a magic wand that can clearly give guidance.
Okay, what do I do now? For example, what would SEO experts do now in the new system?My kind of guiding principle or what I see here is that site owners need to continue to make sure that their products, that their websites, that their platforms are providing value to the user. Because at the end of the day, if you provide particular value, users will continue to come to you and they will also continue to come to you through Google.
On the surface, this seems like “content is king” or “be awesome” type advice, but I think it would be missing a deeper point. First, there are only so many things a Googler engineer can say directly. But they can say a lot of things indirectly, and I think that’s what Todorovic is doing here.
For example, if Google’s systems reward sites that users are actively searching for, then “providing value” is the kind of thing that will ring alarm bells in this type of algorithm, where external user-generated signals play a role in Google’s ranking of sites. I think it would be a mistake to view the advice to “provide value” as a platitude. Knowing what we know about Google’s external signals, the advice to provide value makes a lot of sense.
Todorovic continued his response:
“So… for example, you sell something, you have a product or a platform, you have subscriptions, et cetera. … if you provide value to your customers, they will continue to come to you.
In the AI-centric or AI-oriented system,… this type of value delivery continues. …if you don’t provide value, no one will buy your newspaper or book or no one will listen to the radio or podcast.
Master the use of AI to deliver value
Todorovic then acknowledged that as an employee at Google, he also faced the question of whether AI would take away his job, just as online businesses worry about whether AI will replace them or make their businesses obsolete.
His answer is to adapt to AI and use it in a way that increases your value as an employee or as an online business.
Todorovic explained:
“So I think everyone, including all of us, has a lot of questions… Like, is AI going to take our jobs, etc. I think we all need to keep thinking, how can we provide value on top of all of that? And in many cases, it’s about mastering AI tools and being able to use them in the best way possible.
So that’s one of my recommendations to all SEO professionals, site owners and the entire ecosystem, to continue to provide value, but not neglect new technology and make sure you use it in the best possible way for you.
Now, obviously, I don’t think we would recommend that the best possible way is to just multiply all the content and just generate it because you know, it’s cheap and easy… that’s not going to provide a ton of value.
But if you’re using it to improve your grammar, to improve the style a little, make it more interesting, etc., I don’t think it’s a bad use of technology. But there are many ways, okay. Maybe AI can help you better understand your data. Perhaps AI can also help you understand the competition better. So this is clearly something we can advise.
My AI Prompt Example for SEO
One way to use AI for SEO is to have AI perform a reverse knowledge search on your web page content. A reverse knowledge search occurs when an algorithm examines content to extract questions that the web page is likely to answer. If you run this prompt to review your web page, it will tell you which search queries your web page is likely to answer.
For example, I recently wrote an article about how Google uses clicks as part of the ranking process.
I uploaded a copy of the completed article to ChatGPT with the following prompt:
“Analyze the document and extract a list of questions that are directly and completely answered by complete sentences in the text. Include questions only if the document contains a complete sentence or contiguous sentences that are clearly answered. Do not include any questions that are only partially answered, implicitly, or by inference.
For each question, make sure it is a clear and concise restatement of the exact information present. This is a reverse question generation task: only use content already in the document.
For each question, also include the exact sentences from the document that answer it. Only generate questions that have a complete and direct answer in the form of one or more complete sentences in the document.
The first question ChatGPT says my article answers is: “What clicks are considered in the context of ranking signals?”
The following is a screenshot of ChatGPT’s response where it shows the question my article answers and a snippet of text from the article that answers that question.
Screenshot of ChatGPT response
The query ranks #1 in Google
I then took this question and typed it into Google and it ranks #1 for this question in the organic part of the search results.
Screenshot of my article ranked #1 in Google
Query ranks #1 in Bing
I then asked the same question in Bing and my webpage content ranks in (1) Featured Snippets, (2) Bing News, and (3) at the top of Bing’s organic listing.
Screenshot of Bing #1 Ranking
I did not use AI to create the article or to optimize it. I just wrote it based on all the different things I know about clicks and Google algorithms, using a list of topics I wanted to cover. I’ve been doing SEO for over 26 years, so I don’t really need an AI to tell me how to optimize a web page, it’s second nature to me.
But I used AI to check grammar.
The reverse knowledge prompt is something anyone can use to test if their content is focused on the right topics, to check if the content is off-topic, or to understand what the web page is actually about so you can clean it up if it’s not what you were hoping for.
This is not a way to reverse engineer search engines. It’s a way to reverse search for knowledge in your content with AI to see what it’s really about.
Hidden Gem Tips
I went to Google’s Search Central Live last year and was talking to a lawyer who was at the show. He asked me what was the important thing to do for a better ranking. Part of this is spreading word of mouth so that potential clients think of the law firm’s brand name when they need their specific service.
After the break we went back into the auditorium and Danny Sullivan started talking about how sites should try to be brands. I looked at the guy I had just talked to and he raised an eyebrow in return.
Advice for delivering value is a hidden gem type of advice, in my expert opinion.
Listen to the Search Off The Record podcast here:
How AI is Changing Google Search and SEO
Featured image by Shutterstock/dee Karen
