Everything SERP is SEO: 5 tips to stay visible
Everything that is SERP is SEO. Don’t pay attention to the noise and slogans of those who only look at the surface and repeat that “SEO is dead” (for twenty years?). The reality is that the criteria that govern Google—authority, relevance, content structure, etc.—are the same ones that guide AI-generated responses.
Even today, search is reinventing itself and optimization remains the foundation. The work to be done remains similar, only in new and more complex forms. SEO enters social media, snippets, overviews, even ads, and we are no longer talking only about ranking, but Google and AI still draw on the same rules and signals.
The key today is precisely this: recognizing that SEO is still the driving force, but learning to navigate the interfaces and scenarios that make it more widespread.
Because everything is still SEO (even with AI)
The search interface has changed, but the infrastructure remains the same. Google continues to rely on crawlers, indexes, and ranking systems, and the responses generated by AI—whether they are Google Overviews, ChatGPT results, or Perplexity results—always come from that wealth of pages already evaluated for quality, authority, and relevance.
Gary Illyes explained it recently: to appear in an Overview, you need to do the same work that allows you to be visible in SERPs, not follow new rules. In practice, you need normal SEO, which remains the gateway even for answers generated by language models: if the content is not scanned, indexed, and eligible for ranking, it will not even appear in the summaries.
The SERP as the basis for every answer
In his latest keynote speech as Google Search Liaison, Danny Sullivan summarized the concept with a phrase that has already become a quote: “Good SEO is good GEO.” There is no separate optimization for AI Overview, because AI does not replace ranking processes: it uses them and recomposes them in a different format.
When Google builds a summary, it breaks down the query into sub-questions, explores them in parallel, and checks the answer against its index to verify consistency and reduce the risk of hallucinations. It is the same mechanism that explains why sources with strong signals are more likely to emerge. Even external AI engines, with different logics, work in a similar way: they retrieve sources, evaluate them, and reorganize them into a single text. The result is no longer just a list of links, but a paragraph built on citations and mentions that reworks what the SERP would already show.
Product differences exist, but the logic remains the same: reliable, up-to-date, and well-structured content is needed to be chosen and cited.
SEO as invisible infrastructure
The signals that have always mattered—clear structure, up-to-date content, reliable citations—carry the same weight in AI responses. No model “reads the entire web”: they work on sets of pre-filtered sources, built from the search index.
When Google inserts internal links into the paragraphs of the Overviews or reuses answers already generated for frequent queries, it continues to choose from the signals collected in the index. It is this continuity between traditional ranking and citation in summaries that makes Ivano Di Biasi’s claim true: everything you see in SERP is SEO.
SEO Everywhere: the evolution of the concept
At SEOZoom Day 2025, we made it clear: it’s time to move beyond the idea of SEO reduced to Google link rankings. Today, we talk about Search Everywhere Optimization or Search Experience Optimization, because visibility no longer comes solely from traditional rankings, but is distributed across AI Overviews, generative engines such as ChatGPT or Perplexity, social networks, and even paid ads.
The goal is no longer to “be first on Google,” but to ensure that the brand is intercepted in every space relevant to the user. It can be a response integrated into an AI summary, a video that appears in SERP, or social content that appears alongside the results. The logic is always the same: make your brand part of the informational experience of those who search.
From the engine to the multichannel experience
A page that enters an AI summary, a video that ends up in SERP, a social post that appears among the results are all facets of the same optimization.
Today, channels communicate with each other. Google remains the center, but AI, social media, and ads move around it, reorganizing content in different ways. If your brand is recognizable and maintains consistency in every context, those signals spread everywhere: you find yourself in the AI response, in the social carousel integrated into SERP, in the ad that intercepts the right query. This is the meaning of Content Everywhere: not just climbing positions, but being present in the right places to build a solid identity that accompanies the user throughout their journey.
The 5 signals that Google and AI engines evaluate in the same way
When you read an AI-generated response, you see a reflection of rules you already know. Google and language models work with different algorithms, but they often end up citing the same sources, those that meet clear criteria of quality and visibility.
It is SEO that allows your content to be found, chosen, and recomposed in every interface. And we have decided to focus on the five basic signals that raise (or lower) your chances of being chosen, in SERPs and in generative responses.
- Freshness, accuracy, relevance
Time flies on the internet. Outdated or inaccurate content immediately loses value, both for readers and for the systems that have to select what to show.
Google continuously updates its index and favors what is current, in line with the old mantra query deserves freshness; AI seeks fresh sources to reduce the obsolescence of information—consider that OpenAI even checks LLMs.txt files for signs of freshness. It is not just a matter of date, but of the vitality of the content: up-to-date statistics, concrete examples, references to reliable sources.
Accuracy is part of the same process: incorrect data or vague citations make a text unreliable, and no model is likely to use it.
Relevance closes the circle: if you promise to answer a query, stay focused on that question. If I search for “new Google Ads rules 2025” and only find a historical overview, it’s of no use to me or the AI.
The direction is clear: “Do normal SEO” and focus on quality and usefulness, because AI builds on that index. Want some help? SEOZoom helps you measure relevance everywhere: with AI Engine, you can simulate how Google AI Overview, ChatGPT, or Gemini “read” your page and understand if it appears relevant or risks falling behind.
- Content structure and formatting
A messy text is difficult for a person to read and almost impossible for an engine to interpret. Hierarchical headings, coherent paragraphs, and clear formats make an article readable and reusable. Google has been using them for years to feed featured snippets, PAA, or rich results, and AI to extract blocks to transform into answers.
Formatting is not decoration: it is what makes text a set of orderly answers. A guide divided into sections such as “Features,” “Costs,” “Pros and Cons,” and “When it’s Worth It” makes it easier to scan and multiplies opportunities for visibility. Tables, lists, or boxes with additional information work in the same way.
This is the operational advice also reiterated by Sullivan: “digestible,” orderly content with recognizable sources is more likely to appear in both rich SERPs and generated answers. A compact, breathless text, on the other hand, risks remaining invisible.
Here too, SEOZoom can help: with the Editorial Assistant, you can check whether your page is consistent and readable, allowing you to build content that users appreciate and that systems can scan more easily.
- Keywords as coordinates
Without keywords, there is no orientation, as Ivano Di Biasi often points out, because they are still a starting point for Google and a semantic anchor for AI models. Keywords are the coordinates that signal a theme, an intent, and related questions.
A query such as “best headphones for video conferencing” carries with it other implicit requests: microphone quality, battery life, comfort, multi-platform compatibility. If you use these variations in your content in a natural and organized way, Google recognizes the comprehensive coverage and AI has solid material to draw from.
Working with keywords also means distinguishing between different search intents (informational, commercial, transactional). Someone searching for “what is CRM” does not have the same needs and should not be treated the same as someone searching for “best CRM for SMEs prices.” Keywords reveal who you are dealing with and where they are in the funnel. They are the common language that unites search engines, AI, and users. Ignoring them is like talking without coordinates, hoping that someone will listen to you by chance.
In practice? Keyword Infinity shows you variations and correlations, Question Explorer lets you search by questions with the real needs of users, while in the AI Overview function, you can check whether the keywords you use are included in AI responses and with what AI Rank. This is concrete data that tells you where you have a chance of being mentioned and where you don’t.
- Quotes and mentions
Trust is a powerful lever, and in the digital world, it is demonstrated through links and citations that legitimize your work.
An article cited by an industry report or a leading newspaper gains authority and becomes easier to select. AI does not invent reputation; it reflects it.
That’s why digital PR and link building go hand in hand: it’s not random links that count, but quality and context. A citation from an authoritative expert strengthens your brand and increases your chances of appearing in AI responses. Every mention becomes a building block that consolidates your presence in the information ecosystem. How can you monitor them? SEOZoom’s Backlink Analysis distinguishes valuable links from risky ones, and with Link Monitor, you can keep track of the most useful citations.
- Write for the right people
People first, algorithms second: clarity, usefulness, and originality guide both SERPs and AI, but who you’re addressing and where they are in the funnel also matter.
Copywriters know this: change the words, change the examples, change the brand’s voice. And this is where the archetype comes in: are you a “Wise Man” who explains calmly, a ‘Hero’ who leads, or a “Friend” who accompanies? Narrative consistency strengthens the bond with the user and with algorithms because it creates recognizability. Content written for everyone ends up convincing no one.
A user searching for “how fixed rates work” wants clarity and reassurance; someone typing “best fixed-rate mortgages 2025 bank comparison” wants tables, numbers, and technical language. These are two different needs that require different answers.
Choose the right examples that speak to that audience and build texts that guide the user from the problem to the solution. Google looks at engagement signals, AI evaluates clarity and usefulness: both favor those who can truly intercept the concrete needs of a defined audience.
This is where technology comes in: AI Writer generates drafts based on keywords and real intent, but the decisive step is the finishing touch in the Editorial Assistant, which helps you align the content with the target audience and brand style. This way, you really speak to your buyer personas, and the signals of usefulness and clarity you leave behind are rewarded by both Google and AI.
What this means for those doing SEO today
If you do SEO today, you immediately realize that the work is more complex than it was a few years ago. It’s not enough to look at a page’s position: you have to build solid foundations, strengthen the brand, take care of content quality, and increase the perception of your EEAT parameters. Chasing AI prompts won’t get you very far.
You can only grow if you put your strategy in order: clear identity, signs of trust, comprehensive answers.
From “best page” to “best answer”
A study published in Search Engine Journal shows that pages already at the top of Google are much more likely to end up in AI answers. This is something that concerns you closely: it’s not just about having the best-optimized page, but offering the most convincing answer. You need to think about content that anticipates related questions, incorporates concrete examples, and allows for quick verification.
Every time you write, ask yourself if the text can be extracted and recomposed into a summary: that’s where an important part of visibility is at stake today.
Zero clicks does not mean zero value
AI Overviews retain a portion of clicks, and it’s normal to wonder how much weight they have on organic traffic. But reducing everything to the collapse of visits risks making you lose sight of the value that remains.
Being cited as a source means occupying the space where the user finds the first answer: it is not direct access to the site, but it is presence, recognizability, reputation. And with Google tests that insert more visible links into the paragraphs of the Overviews, you have the opportunity to turn those citations into new entries.
This is why visibility remains an asset: it changes form, but continues to generate opportunities for those who know how to manage it.
