How to Rank Higher on Google + AI Search: Tips from the Experts

Ranking higher on Google involves creating helpful, high-quality content, optimizing pages for search intent, and earning authoritative backlinks. These SEO best practices also improve your visibility in AI-powered search experiences.

Looking to increase organic traffic, brand awareness, and revenue? Ranking higher in search results is one of the most effective ways to make that happen.

But as users increasingly turn to AI-powered search experiences (like AI Overviews and chatbots like ChatGPT), search engine optimization (SERP) has become more complex.

Ranking today isn’t just about appearing in traditional search results, it also includes being cited across AI-powered search experiences.

Fortunately, the same SEO fundamentals that help you rank in Google also improve your visibility across AI-powered search.

In this guide, we’ll outline all the essential steps you need to know to rank higher on Google — and increase your chances of being surfaced in AI search results.

How to rank higher on Google and AI search

To rank higher on Google and AI search, you need high-quality, valuable content, in addition to off-site, on-site, and technical SEO strategies.

We’ve broken the process down into 17 actionable steps:

1. Conduct an SEO audit

An SEO audit is the process of assessing the health of a website’s structure, content, and code. An SEO audit is important to find and fix errors, discover new ranking opportunities, and improve your site’s overall performance.

At HawkSEM, we’ve passed our Core Web Vitals assessment. This uncovers what your real users are experiencing in SEO terms.

While the scope of an SEO audit varies, it typically covers:

• Keyword research
• Backlink profile
• Core Web Vitals
• Indexing and crawl issues
• Site architecture
• Page speed
• Duplicate content

Some of these issues can be checked manually. But it’s best practice to use SEO audit tools, such as Google Search Console, Semrush, Google PageSpeed Insights, and ScreamingFrog.

2. Target the right keywords

Keyword research is the process of identifying the search terms your target audience uses to find businesses like yours.

Focus on keywords that are relevant to your content, match search intent, and have a realistic level of competition for your website.

Tools like Ahrefs, Semrush, and Google Keyword Planner can help you evaluate search volume, keyword difficulty, and ranking opportunities.

When determining which keywords to target, consider:

• Search volume – Search volume is the number of searches a keyword has over a 30-day timeframe. A higher search volume indicates a higher traffic potential. That said, don’t neglect lower search volume keywords. Google revealed that 15% of all search queries have never been searched before.
• Search intent – People ask questions on search engines and AI search for different reasons. Usually, they want to learn more about a topic, or they want to make a purchase. Search intent is the reason behind the query. So choose keywords that you can create content for that match what searchers want.
• Search difficulty – Search difficulty, or SEO difficulty, describes how competitive a keyword is in organic search. If you enter a keyword and all the sites on the first page have a domain authority of 70 or more, that’s a difficult keyword. Ranking with a 30+ domain authority site would be a significant achievement. Choose keywords that aren’t too difficult to rank for depending on your website’s authority.

3. Analyze the SERPs

A SERP analysis involves checking what type of content is already ranking for your target keywords on the Google search results.

By studying the top results, you can identify search intent, content gaps, and opportunities to create a stronger page.

When analyzing the top-ranking pages, look at:

• Search intent – Are users looking for information, comparisons, products, or services?
• Content depth and format – How comprehensive is the content? Does it use videos, images, FAQs, or other rich media?
• Keyword targeting – Which primary and related keywords are covered?
• Backlink profile – How many quality backlinks does each page have, and where do they come from?
• Website authority – How authoritative are the ranking websites compared to yours?
• On-page optimization – Review title tags, headings, internal links, and meta descriptions for optimization ideas.

4. Target long-tail keywords

Long-tail keywords are longer, very specific search terms that attract more high-intent audiences. They’re an excellent addition to any SEO strategy because they’re typically low competition and target pre-qualified traffic.

Operations Manager Carly Hill shares an example.

Her team building brand, Virtual Holiday Party, targeted the long-tail keyword “Virtual Christmas Party Ideas.” As a result, their content ranked in the top five on Google and drove more targeted traffic.

“Selecting less competitive keywords that are based around more specific and unique searches significantly improves a website’s ranking on Google,” explains Hill.

Further reading: Short-Tail vs. Long-Tail Keywords: Key Differences (+ When to Use Each)</a

5. Include information gain in your content

To rank higher in the SERPs, your content needs to go beyond what already exists.

Google favors pages that add information gain, meaning they introduce new value, insights, or perspectives not found in competing results.

To add information gain to your content

• Original insights or POVs that go beyond summarizing existing content
• Subject matter expert (SME) insights or quotes that add credibility and original perspectives
• Original data or research, such as surveys or internal performance insights
• Practical assets like checklists, templates, worksheets, or step-by-step guides
• Visual elements like charts, infographics, or annotated screenshots that clarify complex ideas
• Expanded subtopics that competitors overlook or underdevelop
• Real-world examples or case studies to ground concepts in execution

6. Create E-E-A-T content

“E-E-A-T” stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Although it’s not a direct ranking factor, E-E-A-T influences how Google evaluates content quality and is a component of Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines.

E-E-A-T helps Google evaluate the trustworthiness of content by assessing if it comes from someone with real, credible experience.

To incorporate E-E-A-T and improve rankings, focus on clearly signaling credibility throughout your page:

• Demonstrate firsthand experience
• Include SME input or bylines
• Cite credible sources and link to authoritative references where relevant
• Build author credibility with bios, credentials, or relevant experience
• Use real examples or case studies
• Keep content accurate and up to date

7. Use semantic keywords and related entities

Semantic keywords and entities are words and phrases that help search engines better understand the context of your content.

These include related terms, subtopics, and concepts that naturally appear in high-ranking content for your target keyword.

Using semantic variations helps Google connect your page to broader topical relevance, rather than relying on exact-match keywords alone.

To find related terms and entities for your website, use:

• Google SERP – features like “People Also Ask” and “Related Searches”
• Top-ranking competitor pages – look for recurring subtopics and phrasing patterns
• SEO tools – SurferSEO or Clearscope offer topic modeling and entity suggestions
• Search intent expansion – consider what users would want to know before or after the main query

Once you identify your semantic keywords, integrate them naturally into your content.

The goal isn’t keyword stuffing, but topical depth.

8. BLUF your introductions

BLUF stands for “Bottom Line Up Front.” When you BLUF your intros, you hit the main point first before expanding on it later.

In content marketing, this technique helps the reader get an answer immediately before expanding on the topic research.

To BLUF successfully, craft the gist of the section or post and place it at the top.

9. Add helpful visuals

Original, high-quality images can improve your keyword rank and citations by AI search engines. Images help the reader assimilate content better, especially if it’s long-form content. So, break up chunks of text with:

• Charts
• Infographics
• Explainer graphics
• Annotated screenshots

To further enhance the impact of your visuals, implement image SEO.

This involves adding descriptive filenames, alt text, and appropriately sized images to help search engines understand your visuals while improving page speed and accessibility.

10. Implement on-page SEO

On-page SEO refers to all optimizations made directly on a webpage to improve its visibility and relevance in search results.

It helps search engines understand your content and improves how users experience it in the SERPs.

Key on-page SEO elements include:

• Title tags
• Meta descriptions
• Headers (H1–H3)
• URL structure
• Internal linking
• Keywords and topical relevance
• Page speed and Core Web Vitals
• Schema markup

11: Create a web of internal links

Internal linking is the process of adding links to web pages that lead to relevant pages on the same website.

This strategy keeps searchers on your site to reduce bounce rate, demonstrates topical authority, and helps search engines and AI systems better understand how topics on your website relate to one another.

In general, your anchor text should describe the page you’re linking to. The Google algorithm accepts exact-match anchor texts for internal links, so use them as you like.

Further reading: How Does Internal Linking Help SEO? (How-To + 12 Best Practices)

12: Build backlinks

Backlinks (or “inbound links”) are links to your site from other websites. When they come from authoritative, relevant websites, backlinks remain one of the strongest off-page SEO signals.

The process of acquiring backlinks, however, can be slow-going.

Here are the best ways to earn high-quality links:

• Create sharable content – Content that is comprehensive, niche, and valuable continues to be one of the most effective ways to get other sites to link to yours.
• Leverage unlinked brand mentions – Find mentions of your brand that don’t include a link, and request that the site owner add one.
• Engage in broken link building – Identify broken links on relevant sites and suggest your content as a replacement.
• Create a resource page – This strategy involves creating a page on your website that lists other websites and resources that are relevant to your industry. The goal is to get other websites to link to your resource page, which can improve your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
• Respond to journalist queries – Contribute expert insights to reporter requests and industry platforms to earn authoritative backlinks.

We recommend MentionMatch, Qwoted, and Featured.

13: Refresh content that’s already ranking

Pages ranking on page one or two of the SERPs often have the most opportunity for quick gains. Updating and improving these pages can boost rankings faster than creating new content from scratch.

Use a tool like Ahrefs to identify these pages that are ranking but underperforming.

Then update the content, adding new images or videos, expanding related topics, adding SME insights, adding internal links, updating or adding new statistics, or changing the title and meta description.

14. Optimize for AI search

Google’s AI Overviews, AI chatbots, and AI assistants are changing the way content is discovered — and how users search altogether.

Now, AI-powered search experiences increasingly surface content directly in search results.

To improve your chances of being cited, leverage generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO).

This strategy focuses on creating accurate, well-structured content that answers questions clearly, demonstrates expertise, and includes original insights or data.

Strong E-E-A-T signals, descriptive headings, FAQs, and concise answers also make your content easier for AI systems to understand and reference.

Further reading: GEO in Marketing: What It Is, How It Works + How to Get Cited

15. Optimize your site structure

Your site structure helps search engines understand how your pages are organized and which content is most important.

A clear, logical hierarchy also improves crawlability and user navigation, both of which can support stronger rankings.

Start by making your most important pages easy to access from the main navigation — your primary pages should be linked in the header so both users and search engines can find them quickly.

Also group related content into clear categories and subfolders. A strong structure typically includes:

• Clear top-level navigation for priority pages
• Logical category groupings for related content
• Internal linking between related pages
• Consistent URL structures that reflect hierarchy

Sitemaps also play a role in site structure by helping search engines discover and index your pages. These can be XML files submitted to search engines or publicly accessible HTML pages.

16. Monitor your results

Implement proper SEO tracking and monitor the results of your SEO campaigns to determine what’s working and what isn’t.

There are several ways to track your SEO results, including:

• Google SERPs – Google your target keyword to see your current position in the SERPs in incognito mode.
• Google Analytics – Google Analytics is a free tool that allows you to track various data related to your website traffic, including the number of visitors, the pages they visit, and where they come from.
• Search Console – Search Console is another free tool from Google that tracks your website’s performance in Google Search. You can see how many people click on your website’s links in search results, and identify the keywords people use to find your website.
• Rank tracking tools – There are different rank tracking tools available, which show how your website is ranking for specific keywords in Google Search. Some include SE Ranking, Pro Rank Tracker, and Moz.

Tracking your SEO results ensures your SEO campaigns are effective and that you’re getting the most out of your investment.

17. Invest in local SEO (if applicable)

Local SEO is a digital marketing strategy that involves gaining visibility on local search results. Whether you own a big or small business, local SEO is ideal for businesses that want to rank for location-specific keywords.

To improve local rankings, focus on optimizing for location-specific keywords and building a strong local presence.

This includes:

• Creating and optimizing a Google Business Profile
• Including local keywords on key pages (city, region, service area)
• Ensuring consistent business information (name, address, phone number) across listings

A Google Business Profile is particularly important for local visibility, as it allows your business to appear in Google Maps and local search results.

You can also link directly to your website, helping drive qualified traffic from users actively searching for your services.

Further reading: Local SEO: What It Is and How to Do It Right (Expert Tips)

How long does it take to rank on Google?

Ranking on Google takes between six to twelve months, but can be faster depending on the competition and quality of the content.

Since SEO is a longer process relative to paid search to get ranked, you want to ensure your strategy is sound prior to rolling it out.

HawkSEM co-founder and CEO Sam Yadegar explains, “The last thing you want is to put a lot of effort into content creation and wait 3 to 12-plus months only to realize the strategy was off and the results aren’t there.”

The takeaway

Ranking higher on Google isn’t about finding one trick — it’s about consistently publishing helpful content, creating an excellent user experience, and maintaining a technically sound website.

As search evolves with AI, those fundamentals remain the strongest long-term strategy.

Whether it’s ranking higher on Google, enhancing your PPC, or carrying out your content marketing campaign, the team at HawkSEM is ready to help you turn your goals into reality.

Request a free consultation to get started with your SEO strategy.

This article has been updated and was originally published in August 2024.