For as long as people have been turning to internet search engines for answers to their questions, search engine optimization (SEO) has been an important part of any business’ marketing strategy. For industrial suppliers, having strong SEO can help connect you with buyers who are looking for the products and services your company offers. SEO remains a crucial component of the marketing playbook, but the increasing use of AI platforms for search and discovery is transforming the landscape.
This article outlines how to ensure you aren’t getting left behind in the age of AI search. The good news is that if you already have a strong SEO foundation, you’re right on course.
Don’t Throw the SEO Rulebook Out the Window
AI platforms have dominated the news cycle since OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022. People are increasingly turning to AI for a variety of tasks — including internet search — and the task of optimizing content for AI is constantly evolving. When it comes to ranking on AI search, there is no definitive answer, or even a consensus on what to call the strategy. If you search for articles about optimizing content for AI search, you’ll see references to answer engine optimization (AEO), artificial intelligence engine optimization (AIEO), generative engine optimization (GEO), and even ChatGPT SEO. For the purposes of this article, we’ll keep it clear and simple by referring to it as “optimizing for AI search.”
The goal of optimizing for AI search is the same as the goal of SEO — having your company be the answer to the questions potential customers are asking online, regardless of what platform they are using to search.
“Any AI platform (Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Bing Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.) is basically just a giant — but smart — summarizer/regurgitator of information,” said Manuel Alban, senior manager of SEM production at Thomas. “Most likely, the source of their information is from a variety of sources that target the query that the AI user is looking for. And the LLM platforms are trying to ensure that they're pulling information from credible brands that users can trust.”
To earn a reputation as a credible and trustworthy brand, Alban suggests companies focus on one of the cornerstones of SEO: the E-E-A-T rule.
E-E-A-T is part of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, which identify high-quality content as content that demonstrates:
- Experience: Does the content creator have firsthand experience in the area they are writing or talking about?
- Expertise: Is the content creator an expert? What are their qualifications or credentials?
- Authoritativeness: What authority do the content creator and the website or company have?
- Trustworthiness: How accurate, honest, safe, and reliable is the content and the webpage?
“If you stick to that E-E-A-T rule — if you're truly sticking to providing the most value for your potential visitors — that's how you're not just going to thrive in SEO or [AI optimization], but in all things digital marketing and as a business,” Alban said.
Build Trust and Showcase What Makes Your Brand Stand Out
Ironically, part of the strategy for optimizing for AI search is cutting through the noise of AI slop with valuable content that centers people and expertise. By building up trust around your brand, you can potentially boost how the algorithm ranks your content and engage with customers in a way that elevates your brand’s esteem.
Here are three key strategies for building trust in your brand:
- Engage with customers. Get your brand’s name out there on multiple channels, such as social media, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and industry events, including conferences, to build overall brand authority.
- Put people front and center. Highlight the members of your team and the skills and knowledge that are unique to each of them.
- Showcase expertise. Buyers are often searching for information that will help them make a decision. Being a trustworthy source of knowledge — and backing up the expertise behind it — can make your brand stand out. Creating unique, data-rich assets, such as eBooks, case studies, and reports, can help boost your brand’s credibility and search engine rankings.
By putting in the work to build trust in your brand and following the foundational rules of SEO, you can ensure your company won’t fall behind in the age of AI search. With more than 125 years of experience connecting industrial buyers and suppliers, Thomas can help you craft a marketing strategy that keeps pace with technology and connects you with customers. Learn how Thomas can build a marketing strategy tailored to your unique needs.
