SEO / Search Engine Optimization

What is SEO / Search Engine Optimization?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, the practice of improving a website’s visibility in search engines. Since Google is the dominant player, many associate SEO with ranking higher on Google.

However, search is evolving with AI-powered engines and chatbots like Claude.ai, Microsoft Copilot, and ChatGPT. These tools provide direct answers instead of just showing links, meaning SEO is now also about being referenced in AI-generated results.

Alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo and Ecosia (which follow Bing SEO guidelines) are growing, but Google remains the most influential platform. Privacy-focused options like Brave Search and Presearch are also emerging, some aiming to use open-source ranking mechanisms.

In the US, Amazon SEO is gaining importance as more product searches happen on Amazon than on Google. However, since Google still dominates in most regions, this page focuses on Google SEO and AI-driven search trends.

SEO = User Experience

One of the biggest misconceptions in marketing communication is that SEO and user experience (UX) are opposites. In reality, Google’s current and future SEO guidelines are deeply rooted in user experience. If you prioritize usability, you are already improving your SEO in many cases. Now, AI search adds another layer to this. Search engines and AI models prioritize well-structured, clear, and authoritative content that is easy to extract and present as an answer. Below are some examples of the overlap between SEO best practices, UX best practices, and AI best practices.

SEO Best Practices

Each page should have one main topic. The H1 heading should clearly reflect this topic
The main topic should ideally appear at the beginning (left) of the H1
The H1 should also be included in the title tag

UX & AI Optimization

Users want to immediately see if a page matches what they are looking for, so it is helpful if the H1 clearly states the topic
Western users read from left to right and scan text rather than reading every word. If the main topic appears at the beginning of the H1, it improves readability
When scanning search results, users focus on headlines. A well-matched H1 and title tag help them quickly determine if a page contains the information they need

How to Use SEO Effectively?

Website technical setup

Ensure your website is technically sound so it does not get penalized for technical issues.

Website security

This has been a ranking factor since 2014, so make sure your SSL certificate and security headers are properly set up.

Website health

Keep your website healthy by avoiding issues like broken links and unnecessary redirects.

Topic research is key

Search engines prioritize understanding relevant topics and user intent, so identify popular subjects and how people naturally phrase their search queries.

Competition vs traffic potential

Targeting low-competition keywords can be a good strategy if your site is not yet well-established.

Targeting high-competition, high-traffic keywords can bring significant traffic, but if you do not rank in the top three, the actual traffic may be minimal.

Focus on relevancy

A cleaning company could have the best SEO, but it will never rank for real estate listings because the content is not relevant. Define the core topics that matter to your business and structure your site around them. Avoid straying too far from your core, as this can reduce your overall relevance for your main topics.

How to improve your SEO?

Crawl your website with tools like Screaming Frog to check for broken links, redirects, and indexing issues
Use Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools to monitor site performance and receive SEO improvement suggestions
Conduct keyword research with tools like Google Keyword Planner (part of Google Ads) or Ubersuggest to identify search trends
Optimize website speed using Google’s PageSpeed Insights, as site speed is an important ranking factor
Use structured data (schema markup) to help AI search engines understand your content better
Write in a conversational style to improve visibility in AI-driven chatbots
Optimize for featured snippets with clear, well-structured answers

By combining traditional SEO techniques, AI search optimization, and content structuring, you can increase visibility not only in Google but also in AI-powered search engines and chatbots.

Want to learn more?

SEO / Search Engine Optimization is a broad topic with endless possibilities. If you would like advice or need help implementing it in your organisation, feel free to reach out via the form below
or call +31 651378397.