Search is changing, and most websites do not adapt

A growing proportion of search queries no longer end in a click to a website. Google answers the question itself in an AI Overview, or someone asks ChatGPT or Gemini directly instead.

That is not a theory. For the commercial keywords we are targeting ourselves, Google now shows an AI Overview above the organic results for the majority of them.

The question thus shifts from how do I get to number one, to am I cited as the source. That requires different choices when building and writing a website.

What an AI assistant needs to quote you

Language models read a page differently than a human. What helps:

  • A self-contained answer. A paragraph that can only be understood in the context of the rest of the page is not quoted
  • Clear headings containing the question. Uncreative, but clear
  • Structured data. Organisation, services, locations, prices and reviews in a machine-readable format
  • Renderable content. If the text only appears after scrolling or clicking, it is often not counted
  • Confirmation from outside. Mentions elsewhere telling the same story

That last point about rendering is no detail. We came across it on our own site: of over seven thousand characters, not even five hundred were visible to anyone who didn't scroll. Everything was in the HTML, but not on the rendered page.

Why this? now is relevant

Nobody in our region is doing anything about it, and that’s exactly the point.

The connection is lost

An AI Overview answers the question displayed above the results. Anyone who fails to do so will go unnoticed, even if they’re in first place.

It pays to be early

Whoever is mentioned now will still be mentioned later on. This is a lead that is building up.

It enhances regular SEO

Structured data and clear answers also help in traditional search results. So you don’t have to choose between the two.

Measurable

We check at regular intervals to see whether you’re mentioned in the questions that matter to you, and what changes are taking place.

Technology is the bottleneck

Most websites fail because of rendering issues, not because of the text. That is precisely the part we can sort out ourselves.

It’s part and parcel of our work

With every project we build, at no extra cost. That’s just how we work.

What we do

We’ll start by assessing what an AI assistant actually sees of you, and whether or not you’re mentioned in relation to questions that matter to you. Next:

  • Are we setting up the structured data correctly?
  • Shall we rewrite the core pages so that the answers stand on their own?
  • Let’s sort out what’s holding back our returns
  • Let’s build pages for the questions people actually ask

It’s included as standard in our projects and we don’t charge for it separately. If your website is already hosted by someone else, we can also handle it on a stand-alone basis.

How much does it cost, and Can you lease it??

The investment depends on the work involved, not on the number of pages. On our pricing page, we explain the different types of projects available and what accounts for the difference in cost.

A website can also be leased with us: a fixed monthly fee including hosting, maintenance and further development. We will compare both options side by side during the discussion.

Shall we see what’s possible?

Briefly tell us what you need, and we’ll give you a well-founded estimate of the costs and the benefits. If it turns out along the way that we’re not the right fit for you, we’ll let you know.

Jesse Lafeber
Jesse Lafeber

Head of Development

Let's get acquainted