With Google’s global search market share dipping below 90% for the first time since 2015, businesses can’t afford to rely on outdated SEO tactics. Emerging AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and others are changing how people search—and how businesses need to show up online.
For industries like financial, legal, healthcare, and emergency services—where trust, expertise, and local relevance are critical—it’s essential to stay ahead. This is where partnering with an SEO expert becomes a game-changer.
Let’s break down how AI is reshaping SEO and what it means for businesses like yours.
How AI is Changing Search Behavior
AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and other large language models make it easier for people to ask complex questions and get detailed, conversational answers. Instead of typing “best financial advisors near me,” a user might now ask, “Who are the most trusted financial advisors for retirement planning in my area, and why?”
This shift toward AI-driven search comes with challenges:
- AI is still evolving. While tools like ChatGPT offer great functionality, they still have a small but growing user base compared to traditional search engines.
- Google is adapting. Google’s upcoming Gemini AI promises to integrate conversational, answer-focused results with its robust local database. This will likely reshape how businesses appear in search results.
- Local relevance is key. For small businesses, maintaining accurate Google Business Profiles, Bing listings, and other local citations will become even more essential to AI-based search algorithms.
Actionable SEO Strategies for 2025
To stay ahead, you’ll need a strategy that balances traditional SEO with AI-driven optimizations. Here’s what works:
1. Embrace the Schema Renaissance
AI loves structure. Schema markup (the code that helps search engines understand your website’s content) is having a moment. Whether you’re a law firm or a medical practice, schema makes it easier for AI to scan your site and extract useful information. This means better chances of being featured in AI-generated overviews or answer boxes.
2. Be Where Your Customers Are Searching
While Google is still dominant, tools like Bing are gaining traction—especially with their integration of AI-powered search. Don’t ignore these platforms. Keep your local citations up to date and consider building a presence on smaller, niche search engines.
3. Content Needs to Work Harder Than Ever
Content written by humans for humans is still king in the age of AI. Google’s Helpful Content Guidelines reinforce this by prioritizing unique, first-hand insights over recycled materials. This means if your content doesn’t stand out, it won’t rank.
In other words, it’s essential to create content that reflects your unique expertise and speaks directly to your audience’s needs.
- Anticipate your audience’s questions: Whether it’s FAQs about retirement planning or the latest healthcare legislation, craft content that delivers clear, actionable answers. AI tools love conversational content, and so do your customers.
- Leverage first-party data: Tap into your own case studies, client insights, or original research to create content search engines value. Insights that are not available on other websites not only help you rank but set you apart from competitors.
- Focus on original insights: Thought leadership, pieces, expert interviews, and niche how-to guides all signal to search engines and readers that your content is worth their time.
Want a deeper dive into what Google considers “helpful content”? Check out these actionable tips to create content that ranks and resonates with your audience.
4. Digital PR as a Trust Anchor
Earning recognition from trusted industry lists, awards, and media outlets is good for credibility, and it’s a smart SEO strategy. Agency 102 client Centuria Financial Group was named one of the Largest Wealth Management Firms in Greater Baltimore by the Baltimore Business Journal. Accolades like these build prestige and boost search engine visibility. These types of accolades strengthen brand authority, improve search visibility, and build trust with both customers and search engines.
5. Keep an Eye on Analytics: Especially AI Traffic
AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity are now major traffic sources. If you’re not tracking where your visitors are coming from, you could be missing out on a growing audience segment.
Take a look at ASAP’s recent web traffic data:
Their content is referenced in AI-generated responses across multiple platforms, with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity driving visitors directly to their website. This signals a major shift: AI-powered search isn’t just summarizing content—it’s influencing how users find and engage with brands.
How This Impacts Your Content Strategy:
- Identify where AI is sourcing your content: Are AI platforms directing users to your key landing pages? If so, are those pages optimized to convert?
- Ensure AI references valuable information: Keep your messaging clear, authoritative, and structured so AI tools reference your content accurately.
- Analyze AI teferral traffic behavior: Not all traffic behaves the same. Notice how ChatGPT-driven visitors to ASAP’s homepage have an 86% engagement rate, while Gemini referrals show mixed engagement across different pages. Understanding this helps refine content to better serve AI-driven visitors.
By monitoring AI-driven traffic sources, you can adjust your content strategy to stay ahead of the curve, ensuring your brand remains visible—whether users are searching on Google or asking AI for recommendations.
What This Means for Your Business
For industries like healthcare, legal, financial, and emergency services, search is all about trust, expertise, and speed. Your customers need quick, reliable answers, and that means your marketing strategy needs to meet them where they are, on both traditional search engines and emerging AI-powered platforms.
Here’s how Agency 102’s SEO experts can help:
- Uncover search insights: We’ll help you understand what your customers are searching for—whether it’s “best divorce attorney near me” or “urgent care clinics open on Sundays”—and create content that meets those needs.
- Strategic content creation: Not every topic is worth pursuing. We’ll identify the content that drives real results for your business.
- Optimize for search engines and AI: From schema markup to conversational search optimization, we ensure your content is ready for Google, AI-powered tools, and everything in between.
- Build trust and authority: Through digital PR and strategic partnerships, we’ll position your business as the go-to expert in your industry.
Want proof? See how we helped ASAP achieve:
- 5x increase in organic search traffic within a year
- Site authority jump from 35 to 43, outpacing competitors
- Keyword rankings reach a one-year high, driving visibility for high-intent searches
Our targeted SEO approach delivers measurable results. Explore the ASAP case study to see how we can help you stand out in your industry.
Let’s Talk About Your SEO Strategy
Not sure where to start? We’re here to help. Whether you want to make sure your website is AI-friendly or you’re ready to get serious about your content strategy, we’ll work with you to understand what your customers are searching for—and how to deliver it.
Book a free consultation with our SEO experts and find out exactly how we can help your business grow.
