Wondering how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can impact your website’s visibility in search results? We put together some basic information to help you understand how AI affects Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and a few tips on how to make it work for your practice.
What is AI search and how is it different than searching without AI?
The quality of AI search results is only as good as the data it is trained on! AI Search uses an AI model to scour the web for information, then summarizes findings from multiple sources to deliver easily digestible and personalized search results. Those results usually appear on the same search page as traditional search results; however, some search engines such as Google's "AI Overview" and ChatGPT, will also separate them in a dedicated section.
What does this mean to me as a veterinary professional and small business owner?
Clients searching for a local veterinarian might ask use AI Search, “What are the best veterinarians in my area?” There are several things you can do to ensure that AI includes YOUR practice in the search results. Feel free to reach out to the eVetSites team for help implementing these tips!
How to optimize SEO for AI
Include high quality content: Making sure your practice location and the communities you provide services to are listed will make AI Search engines more likely to reference your practice. This is particularly impactful when users ask specific questions like “Who is the best dentist for dogs in my area?” or “Which vet practices near me handle emergencies?”
Keep your business listings updated: The AI search frequently looks for your Google Business Profile & Reviews, Yelp, Social Media platforms, Apple Maps, and more. Having your current practice details listed in online directories provides essential information for AI to reference.
Use text-based content: AI search prioritizes the text on pages much more than media such as images and videos. Keeping website content concise and organized makes the AI search engines more likely to reference your content.
Prioritize Human-Made Content: AI values expert insight, so try not to rely on AI-generated text for the main content of your website.
Personalize your SEO: AI Search will be more likely to pick your practice out from a group if there is something unique to your practice that we can reference on your website. This could be a rare service you provide, or even specific neighborhoods that are located nearby. Speak with our SEO team for help identifying your unique qualities!
The Risks of Relying on AI Overviews For SEO
Some users will shy away from AI search, so its crucial to continue optimizing your traditional SEO also.
AI search engines/overviews are only as accurate as the data they reference. For example, when a client searches for “the best veterinary clinic in my area”, the AI overview will often show websites that have “the best” written on their website's page content, but aren’t truly “the best” in a meaningful manner.
We urge you to exercise caution when using AI systems that might not treat your private information with the same degree of care as VIN does. Just as VIN will not share or sell member data, VIN uses a base system for VIN Search AI Mode that will not collect or train from private VIN data. Other AI systems may not use the same level of care with your personal information.
AI search is constantly evolving, but VIN and eVetSites are committed to staying on top of new developments. The scope of AI Search will continue to narrow as the technology matures, so tricks that work now may not always work in the future. If you have questions or would like to know more, feel free to reach out and schedule a meeting with our SEO team and we would be happy to share what we know. We are here to help!