AI search engines and chatbots often provide wrong answers and make up article citations, according to a new study from Columbia Journalism Review.
Why we care. AI search tools have ramped up the scraping of your content so they can serve answers to their users, often resulting in no clicks to your website. Also, click-through rates from AI search and chatbots are much lower than Google Search, according to a separate, unrelated study. But hallucinating citations makes an already bad situation even worse.
By the numbers. More than half of the responses from Gemini and Grok 3 cited fabricated or broken URLs that led to error pages. Also, according to the study:
Overall, chatbots provided incorrect answers to more than 60% of queries:
Grok 3 (the highest error rate) answered 94% of the queries incorrectly.
Gemini only provided a completely correct response on one occasion (in 10 attempts).
Perplexity, which had the lowest error rate, answered 37% of queries incorrectly.
What they’re saying. The study authors (Klaudia Jaźwińska and Aisvarya Chandrasekar), who also noted that “multiple chatbots seemed to bypass Robot Exclusion Protocol preferences,” summed up this way:
“The findings of this study align closely with those outlined in our previous ChatGPT study, published in November 2024, which revealed consistent patterns across chabots: confident presentations of incorrect information, misleading attributions to syndicated content, and inconsistent information retrieval practices. Critics of generative search like Chirag Shah and Emily M. Bender have raised substantive concerns about using large language models for search, noting that they ‘take away transparency and user agency, further amplify the problems associated with bias in [information access] systems, and often provide ungrounded and/or toxic answers that may go unchecked by a typical user.’”
About the comparison. This analysis of 1,600 queries compared the ability of generative AI tools (ChatGPT search, Perplexity, Perplexity Pro, DeepSeek search, Microsoft CoPilot, xAI’s Grok-2 and Grok-3 search, and Google Gemini) to identify an article’s headline, original publisher, publication date, and URL, based on direct excerpts of 10 articles chosen at random from 20 publishers.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/sad-robot-on-phone-1920-800x457-Bte36n.jpeg?fit=800%2C457&ssl=1457800http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-03-11 19:04:222025-03-11 19:04:22AI search engines often make up citations and answers: Study
AI-powered search engines (e.g., OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Perplexity) are failing to drive meaningful traffic to publishers while their web scraping activities increase. That’s one big takeaway from a recent report from TollBit, a platform that says it helps publishers monetize their content.
CTR comparison. Google’s average search click-through rate (CTR) was 8.63%, according to the report. However, the CTR for AI search engines was 0.74% and 0.33% CTR for AI chatbots. That means AI search sends 91% fewer referrals and chatbots send 96% less than traditional search.
Why we care. This is bad news for publishers because it shows AI search won’t replace traditional search traffic. As AI-generated answers replace direct website visits, you should expect to see this trend continue.
By the numbers. AI bot scraping doubled (+117%) between Q3 and Q4 2024. Also:
The average number of scrapes from AI bots per website for Q4 was 2 million, with another 1.89 million done by hidden AI scrapers.
40% more AI bots ignored robots.txt in Q4 than in Q3.
ChatGPT-User bot activity skyrocketed by 6,767.60%, making it the most aggressive scraper.
Top AI bots by share of scraping activity:
ChatGPT-User (15.6%)
Bytespider (ByteDance/TikTok) (12.44%)
Meta-ExternalAgent (11.34%)
PerplexityBot continued sending referrals to sites that had explicitly blocked it, raising concerns about undisclosed scraping.
Context. One company, Chegg, is attempting to sue Google over AI Overviews. Chegg claims Google’s search feature has severely damaged its traffic and revenue.
Google announced last week an expansion of AI Overviews. It is now starting to show AI Overviews to users who aren’t logged in.
About the data. There’s no methodology section, so it’s not entirely clear how many websites were analyzed, just that it’s based on “all onboarded ToolBit sites in Q4.” Toolbit says it “helps over 500 publisher sites.”
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/ai-search-crawlers-agents-bots-800x450-wyjgHD.png?fit=800%2C450&ssl=1450800http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-03-11 16:52:232025-03-11 16:52:23As AI scraping surges, AI search traffic fails to follow: Report
Google is adding more engagement options to Performance Max campaigns, adding Message assets alongside those already available in Search campaigns.
What’s new:
The Message assets functionality, previously exclusive to Search ads, was spotted by digital marketer Emirhan Bayutmuş and is now available in Performance Max campaigns.
This feature allows users to initiate conversations with businesses directly from ads, enhancing engagement.
Why we care. The expansion gives advertisers another way to connect with potential customers directly through chat-based interactions, potentially improving conversion rates.
What to watch. Expect further integration of conversational ad formats as Google continues to refine its AI-driven ad experiences.
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Search has transformed. AI-powered results, featured snippets, “People Also Ask,” and Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) are redefining how — and where — visibility happens.
Join Wayne Cichanski, Vice President of Search & Site Experience at iQuanti for SEO Beyond Just the Ten Blue Links! He’ll share a data-driven SEO 2.0 framework designed to help brands systematically claim high-impact search shelf-space — and convert visibility into measurable results.
In this live session, you’ll learn:
How to analyze and win across modern SERP features
A blueprint for aligning structured data, content, and intent
Real-world strategies for navigating SEO volatility
Whether you’re leading digital strategy or scaling performance SEO, this session will reshape how you think about search. Save your spot today!
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Search-Engine-Land-Live-Event-Sign-up-now-o8k4P5.jpeg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=110801920http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-03-11 14:34:002025-03-11 14:34:00SEO isn’t just 10 blue links anymore by Edna Chavira
Despite being a popular talking point, people aren’t (yet?) abandoning Google Search and using ChatGPT search or other AI chatbots.
In fact, the number of Google searches increased year over year, and Google Search handles 373 times more searches than ChatGPT, according to a new analysis by SparkToro co-founder Rand Fishkin.
Why we care. Many search marketers, users, and analysts have speculated that AI tools are reducing Google’s dominance in search. However, this research finds no evidence that vast numbers of searchers are abandoning Google for ChatGPT and other AI search engines and chatbot experiences.
By the numbers. Even if all ChatGPT’s 1 billion messages per day were search-related, its total share of the search market would be less than 1%. (ChatGPT used search to answer 46% of queries, and only 30% of ChatGPT prompts fell into “traditional” search-like behavior, according to a Semrush study.)
ChatGPT saw an estimated 37.5 million search-like prompts per day, giving it a 0.25% market share. That’s less than Microsoft Bing (4.10%), Yahoo (1.35%), and DuckDuckGo (0.73%).
Google saw ~373 times as many searches as ChatGPT in 2024.
More Google searches. The number of Google searches grew 21.64% in 2024, compared to 2023, based on Datos data.
This data seems to confirm what Alphabet/Google CEO Sundar Pichai said about AI Overviews increasing search usage (“we are seeing an increase in search usage among people who use the new AI Overviews…”).
But. Just because people are searching more doesn’t necessarily mean Google is sending as many clicks or as much traffic to websites. As a reminder, an estimated 60% of Google searches ended without a click in 2024. That means more than 3 trillion searches in 2024 ended without a click.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/growth-google-searches-2023-2024-200x113-qXmSPJ.webp?fit=200%2C113&ssl=1113200http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-03-11 14:27:102025-03-11 14:27:10Google Search is 373x bigger than ChatGPT search
ChatGPT Tasks might be the most underrated tool in SEO today.
It can turn a single employee into a vast team – but only if you know how to use it.
And in this article, you’re about to see the future of SEO.
What is ChatGPT Tasks?
ChatGPT Tasks is a tool within ChatGPT designed to automate various tasks, including those related to SEO, such as content generation, keyword research, and link building.
This feature allows users to schedule tasks to run at specific times, either as one-time events or recurring actions, enhancing workflow efficiency and productivity.
As of writing, it’s in beta and rolling out to users on the Plus, Pro, and Team plans.
How to use ChatGPT Tasks: The basics
The key to maximizing ChatGPT Tasks is to approach it strategically and leverage its capabilities fully.
Start by identifying specific tasks you want to automate, such as:
Creating blog post outlines.
Generating meta descriptions.
Researching competitor backlinks.
Then, explore the tool’s features and experiment with different prompts to find the most effective workflows for your needs.
ChatGPT Tasks is powerful, but it’s not a magic solution.
You must carefully review and refine the output to ensure it aligns with your brand and SEO strategy.
Efficiency gains: The secret to ChatGPT Tasks
One of the reasons ChatGPT Tasks is so powerful is that it optimizes your time.
As an SEO professional using AI, your role will shift from doing work to checking work. That means you need to maximize your efficiency.
In the past, SEOs often outsourced work to overseas staff in different time zones. ChatGPT Tasks changes this.
Now, you can outsource tasks to AI, ensuring they are ready for you when you start your day.
Here’s how I use ChatGPT Tasks: At 7 a.m., AI sends me a batch of completed work.
Beyond that, I’ve also used Tasks to generate content throughout the day.
For example, I set up a content prompt that delivers product description pages to me every 30 minutes. (More on that later.)
Essentially, this feature allows you to maximize “dead time” – periods when you aren’t actively working.
While it doesn’t mean the tool is working around the clock, it ensures you get what you need when needed.
For instance, if you ask it to send you something at 7 a.m., it likely generates it at 6:59 a.m.
But I don’t need to know how it works. I just care that I get what I asked for.
Many SEOs focus on page title optimization, and ChatGPT Tasks makes this process easier.
I use a “dueling” method, where GPT generates multiple page title variations.
I then run them through a tournament-style evaluation to select the best one based on preset criteria.
Social media post ideas
Generating a steady stream of fresh and engaging social media content can be time-consuming. ChatGPT Tasks can help streamline this process.
Here’s an example prompt:
The output of that prompt looks like this:
This is just one of the many prompts I use.
While I only implement about 5% of the generated ideas, they often lead to new inspiration – especially on days when I’m feeling stuck.
Industry news summaries
Staying on top of industry news is essential for SEO professionals.
With ChatGPT Tasks, you can automate this process.
Each morning at 7 a.m., I receive a curated list of SEO and AI news from my preferred sources.
The future of tasks
SEO workflows are rapidly evolving with AI, and ChatGPT Tasks represents a significant step forward.
I suspect there’s still untapped potential. Could I schedule an entire week’s worth of SEO tasks in advance?
For example, if I know I need to work on a client’s account on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., could I schedule ChatGPT to conduct research or analyze content beforehand?
Looking further ahead, it may eventually ask you what needs to be done – and then suggest the best way to execute it using Tasks.
OpenAI may even develop a single model to streamline this process.
While ChatGPT Tasks is still in its early days, I believe it will evolve rapidly.
https://i0.wp.com/dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/How-to-access-ChatGPT-Tasks-KcG7Xp.png?fit=1600%2C561&ssl=15611600http://dubadosolutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/dubado-logo-1.png2025-03-11 14:00:002025-03-11 14:00:00How to use ChatGPT Tasks for SEO
Why we care. Google Marketing Live is a key event for advertisers, offering insights into the company’s latest ad innovations and AI-driven strategies. As a reminder, here’s everything that was announced at Google Marketing Live 2024.
What to watch. Expect updates on AI-powered ad solutions, measurement tools, and cross-platform marketing strategies as Google continues to evolve its ad ecosystem.
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Similarweb is powerful for digital intelligence. But like any tool, it has limitations.
You might want deeper insights into your competitors’ content strategies. Or need more reliable data for SEO planning. Or you’re simply looking for a more affordable solution.
I’ve spent months testing and researching the best Similarweb alternatives to see how they compare.
Four tools stand out as replacements.
This guide covers the top options for:
Market trends
Advanced SEO analysis
Ad intelligence
Similarweb Limitations
While Similarweb excels at competitor intelligence, it might not fit everyone.
Here are some key limitations:
Limited SEO and keyword research features: It lacks in-depth keyword rankings, SERP tracking, and backlink analysis, making it less effective for SEO professionals
Limited keyword and backlink databases: Similarweb’s databases are smaller compared to its competitors like Semrush and Ahrefs
Limited traffic source breakdown: It doesn’t show a detailed breakdown of where the website gets traffic from (e.g., organic search, social media, referrals, email, etc.)
No granular audience demographics: Unlike some alternatives, Similarweb lacks detailed demographic breakdowns, such as income level or interests, that could help with audience targeting
Similarweb Alternatives at a Glance
Before I review each tool in detail, here’s a quick comparison of the best Similarweb alternatives:
And you’ll get detailed insights into website traffic and visitor behavior that’ll help you refine your marketing strategy.
Let me show you how to use Traffic Analytics to spy on your competition.
Evaluate On-Site Engagement
Metrics like pages per visit, average visit duration, and bounce rate give you a snapshot of what happens when visitors land on the site.
Here’s what these metrics tell you about your competition:
A high bounce rate means most visitors leave without exploring other pages. This often happens when:
The content doesn’t match what visitors were searching for
Pages take too long to load
The site isn’t mobile-friendly
On the flip side, when you see a high average visit duration and multiple pages per visit, it usually means:
Their content keeps readers engaged
They’ve built effective content funnels
Their site navigation makes it easy to explore more content
Analyze Website Traffic Sources
Go to the “Traffic Journey” tab to understand where your competitors’ website visitors are coming from and which channels are driving the most traffic. For example, organic search, paid search, social, or referrals.
What do these metrics mean?
If you see most of their traffic comes from organic search (like in the screenshot above), you’ve struck gold. This usually means:
They’ve built a solid foundation of SEO-optimized content
They’re targeting the right keywords for your industry
They’re not overly dependent on paid traffic
Pro tip: Pay special attention to competitors maintaining steady organic traffic growth. These are the ones whose SEO strategies you’ll want to study and adapt for your own site.
Map Out the Traffic Journey
The Traffic Journey report is like a GPS for your competitors’ visitors. It tracks their exact path before and after they land on the site.
Here’s what different traffic patterns reveal:
Pattern #1: When you see visitors flowing from Google → Your competitor → Stripe (or other payment processors), you’ve found a winning formula:
Their content matches search intent perfectly (thanks to a solid SEO strategy)
Pattern #2: Notice lots of visitors bouncing back to Google.com? That’s a red flag indicating:
The content isn’t delivering what visitors want
There might be technical issues causing frustration
You’ve spotted a gap you can fill with better content
Discover Top-Performing Pages
Navigate to the “Top Pages” tab to identify which pages on a competitor’s site drive the most traffic.
These top pages reveal what resonates most with their audience. This offers inspiration for your content strategy.
Let’s say you run a personal finance blog. You might discover that NerdWallet’s most-visited pages are their:
Mortgage calculator tools
Credit card comparison guides
Student loan refinancing reviews
This tells you three things:
What type of content your audience want (interactive tools and comparison guides)
Which topics drive the most traffic (mortgages, credit cards, student loans)
Where to focus your content strategy for maximum impact
Market Explorer
Market Explorer helps you evaluate your market size and track up to 100 competitors at once.
The tool shows you who’s leading your industry, who’s growing fast, and detailed insights about your target audience’s demographics and behavior.
Here’s what you can do with Market Explorer:
Get a Market Summary
The Market Summary dashboard shows you a snapshot of your chosen industry.
Let’s say you’re just starting a business in the travel and tourism industry. This dashboard gives you the key metrics to evaluate the market and plan your strategy effectively:
Here’s what the key metrics on this dashboard mean:
Market consolidation: Shows if a few big players dominate your market (high consolidation) or if it’s spread across many smaller sites (low consolidation)
Market domains: How many active websites compete in your space
Market traffic: How many monthly visitors the entire industry gets (and whether it’s growing or shrinking)
Market traffic cost: How much you’d need to spend on ads to get the same traffic volume
Market size: Two key numbers that matter:
Total Addressable Market (TAM): Your maximum possible audience size (example: “all online shoppers”)
Serviceable Available Market (SAM): The audience you can realistically reach (example: “online shoppers in your country”)
Analyze Audience Insights
The Audience section provides a detailed breakdown of your industry’s demographics, socioeconomic data, and behavioral trends.
These insights help you understand your target audience on a deeper level. This will allow you to tailor your marketing strategies to their specific needs and preferences.
Market Explorer even shows detailed audience socioeconomic data. For instance, their employment status, education level, and household income and size.
You’ll also see an overview of your audience’s additional interests. And what social media they use the most.
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
Limitations
Understand where competitors get engagement from (organic search, social media, email, ads)
No mobile app intelligence
Tailored for SEO intelligence as it’s an all-in-one SEO platform
SEOs and content marketers analyzing SEO competition
Market researchers, businesses, or investors analyzing industries
Now, let’s review the key features Ahrefs Site Explorer offers.
View Your Competitors’ Top Pages
Site Explorer lets you identify the highest-value content on your competitor’s website. Plus, the top organic keywords driving that traffic.
Use these insights to replicate their success.
Let’s say you’re running a personal finance blog that competes with NerdWallet. You can analyze their top-performing pages to spot content opportunities.
In this example, the mortgage rates page is one of the most visited. This means that “current mortgage rates” is a high-demand topic worth covering on your website.
Review the Site Structures of Your Competitors
Ahrefs’ Site Structure feature shows a website’s architecture in a tree format with key SEO metrics across each section and subfolder.
This helps you analyze how competitors organize their content and which sections attract the most traffic.
For example, when you analyze one of your competitors, you can see:
Which content categories drive the most organic traffic (e.g., reviews, mortgage guides, or financial calculators)
The traffic performance of individual pages and subfolders
How much organic and paid traffic each section receives, pinpointing opportunities for content optimization
[missing-ss]
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
Limitations
Helps identify high-value content opportunities
Less emphasis on broader market research
Have a look at competitors’ site architecture
No data on your competitors’ audience (age, location, interests, etc)
Then, for each competitor’s domain, you can access detailed insights, such as:
Domain overview report: Get a bird’s-eye view of their SEO performance, including total organic traffic, keyword rankings, and estimated traffic value
Positions and keywords: See exactly which keywords they rank for, what position they’re in, and how these rankings change over time
Top pages: Discover their highest-traffic content and the exact keywords driving visitors to each page (perfect for finding content gaps in your own strategy)
Backlink profile: Analyze where their backlinks come from, which pages get the most links, and how their link profile grows over time
Site audit: Peek under the hood at their technical SEO setup, including site structure, loading speed, and potential technical issues you can learn from
Why do these insights matter?
They let you reverse-engineer your competitors’ success to improve your SEO strategy.
And find high-authority sites linked to your competitors. Then, reach out to these websites for backlink opportunities.
Best for entrepreneurs and marketers needing early trend insights to capitalize on emerging opportunities
Pricing: Free (paid plans start at $39 per month)
Exploding Topics is a market research and trend discovery tool that identifies emerging trends before they peak.
While Similarweb focuses on existing competitors, Exploding Topics helps you spot rising trends before they take off. The tool analyzes search data, social media, and startup activity to identify tomorrow’s opportunities.
Why is Exploding Topics better than Similarweb?
Let’s take a glance:
Exploding Topics
Similarweb
Primary Focus
Trend discovery and market opportunities
Competitor intelligence and market research
Trend Detection
AI-driven trend forecasting
Relies on historical industry data
Keyword Database
Identifies rising search trends
Tracks established search volume
Competitive Analysis
Limited, focused on macro trends
Detailed competitor insights
Who’s It for?
Entrepreneurs, product developers, investors
Market researchers, large enterprises
Here are the key features included in Exploding Topics:
Discover Emerging Trends Before They Peak
Exploding Topics analyzes millions of data points from search engines, social media, online discussions, and startup investments to identify growing trends.
What does this mean for you?
Let’s say you have an affiliate blog selling home technology. You want to see what’s trending to understand which products or keywords have rising demand before they become mainstream.
Using Exploding Topics, you discover that “walking pads,” compact treadmills designed for home offices, are rapidly gaining traction.
This early insight gives you three key advantages:
You can create content while competition is still low
You can rank for keywords before they get expensive
You can establish yourself as an authority before the trend peaks
In other words: you get more traffic with less effort by being first.
Spot Trends 12+ Months Before They Take Off
Exploding Topics’ forecasting feature can position you as an early authority and rank faster in search.
Imagine creating content around AI image enhancers.
At first glance, it’s hard to tell if the interest in AI-powered image tools will continue to grow or if it’s just temporary hype.
Instead of guessing, you check Exploding Topics’ forecasting data. And see that the search volume for “AI logo generator” is expected to rise steadily.
Knowing the keyword’s popularity may rise gives you the confidence to take action early and secure organic traffic before the competition.
Note: Forecasting is available in Exploding Topics Pro, but you can test it with a 14-day trial for $1. After 14 days, Pro memberships start at $39 per month.
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
Limitations
Provides long-term trend growth insights
Not focused on competitor intelligence
Predicts emerging trends before they peak
Doesn’t show competitors’ website traffic data
Match Your Similarweb Alternative to Your Growth Stage
Your business stage determines which tool you’ll need.
Just starting out? Exploding Topics gives you free baseline data to validate ideas.
Ready to scale? Semrush .Trends reveals overlooked opportunities in your space.
The right tool accelerates your market research. But knowing how to interpret the data is what drives real growth.
Ready to turn market insights into sales? Our proven market analysis framework shows you exactly how to spot and capitalize on gaps your competitors are missing.
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American desktop users perform 126 unique Google searches per month, on average, according to a new analysis of search behavior published by SparkToro co-founder Rand Fishkin. The median average was 53 Google unique searches per month.
By the numbers. Here are some additional findings about American searchers, beyond the headline statistic:
34% conducted more than 101 searches per month.
36% conducted 21-100 searches per month.
30% conducted 1-20 searches per month.
Google Search by vertical. A whopping 86.94% of Americans use Google.com (Google’s homepage search experience) to search. As for Google’s other vertical options:
Images: 10.62%
Video: 1.16%
Maps: 0.64% (which “is almost certainly undercounted,” according to Fishkin)
News: 0.38%
Shopping: 0.23%
Web: 0.04%
As the study notes about this section:
“This breakdown is looking at the searches that happen in those tabs/sections, not the ones that simply result in a click on a Google News or Shopping result that appeared in the default Google search tab.”
Why we care. There’s been much speculation that AI tools and answer engines will negatively impact Google’s search dominance. However, this data confirms that Google’s search volume is still massive. Future updates to this study could reveal whether there is any truth to Gartner’s oft-cited prediction that traffic from search engines will fall by 25% by 2026.
The intrigue. Hours before this report was published, we reported that Google processes more than 5 trillion searches per year. Datos’ estimate for the number of annual Google searches: 5.9 trillion. According to Fishkin:
“Our math above puts the number at 5.9 Trillion, a little high, likely because Datos’ panel focuses on wealthier countries where more search activity per person is to be expected. Still incredible that they’d come out with numbers the day we publish that help back up the veracity of these results, and the quality of Datos’ panel.”
About the data. Fishkin partnered with Datos (a Semrush company), which only tracks web browser activity. That means searches made within mobile apps (e.g., Google search, Google Maps) are excluded from this research. Only searches on Google.com and its five main vertical options were counted.
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SEO is a fast-moving, marketing-centric industry that will always keep you on your toes.
If you’re just getting started, it can be overwhelming without a guide.
There are many facets and specializations in SEO that come later in a career – local, technical, content, digital PR, UX, ecommerce, media – the list goes on.
However, that level of specialization isn’t something a junior professional needs to focus on right away.
Much like a liberal arts degree or an apprenticeship, a newcomer to SEO should first develop a broad understanding of the entire discipline before choosing a specialty.
This article covers several ways to build that foundational knowledge of search engine optimization.
1. Start with the business
Whether you’re in-house or at an agency, resist the urge to jump straight into “solution mode” when beginning an SEO project.
Instead of immediately focusing on meta tags, keywords, backlinks, or URL structure, start by understanding the business itself.
Here are some key questions to consider as you browse the website:
What product or service is being sold?
Who is the target audience? (If you’re in-house, who is your company trying to sell to?)
Why does the company believe customers should choose them over competitors? (Common differentiators include price, unique features, or benefits.)
If you have the time or opportunity, dig deeper by asking your boss or client these business-focused questions:
What are the company’s goals and targets?
What is the three- to five-year plan for the business? (Are there plans to launch new products or expand into new markets?)
Who are the main competitors, and what are they doing?
A sample of onboarding business questions from Building a Business Brain by FLOQ Academy
Even without that level of detail, the first three questions provide a useful frame of reference for determining the best SEO approach.
Because of that, SEOs often become social butterflies, regularly collaborating with other departments and specialties.
I’ve been in SEO for 15 years now (which makes me feel old), but I continue to ask my clients questions every day.
This field encourages curiosity, so rather than feeling frustrated by what you don’t fully understand, embrace being the one to ask the “dumb questions.”
There’s no such thing as a dumb question, by the way.
As mentioned earlier, SEO has many specializations. Some, like video or local SEO, are referred to as “search verticals.”
If you’re new to the field, start with the basics: the website and how Google presents search results.
Once you understand the business, try a simple exercise to analyze your site’s optimization.
Open a key product, category, or service page in one window. In another, search for a term you think users would enter to find that page.
Compare what appears in the search results with your own page and the pages that rank for that term.
For example, in a search for “running shoes,” a few things stand out:
The intent is somewhat mismatched. Nike’s category page targets users who are researching with intent to buy or are already planning a purchase. However, the search results display articles comparing different running shoes.
Scrolling down, you might see an image carousel, a “Nearby Stores” section, and “People Also Ask” results.
If I were a new SEO at Nike and assumed the “running shoes” category page could rank for the “running shoes” query, I would rethink that after reviewing the search results.
If ranking for that broad term were a priority, I would create a running shoe comparison article featuring high-quality images of real people using the shoes – maybe even a video, if budget allowed.
If your page aligns more closely with the search results, analyze the top-ranking pages and adapt successful elements to your own site.
Do most of them have an on-page FAQ while yours doesn’t?
A product video? Detailed specs? User reviews?
Be critical and specific about what you can improve. (Never copy content directly.)
At its core, SEO is about identifying what Google deems important for a given product or service, then doing it better than the competition.
Many SEOs get caught up in tools and tactics and forget to examine the search results themselves.
Break that habit early and make reviewing Google’s search results a key part of your research process.
4. Dabble in the technical side and build relationships with your developers
Technical SEO is one of the more complex specializations in the field and can seem intimidating.
If you’re using a major CMS, your technical foundations are likely solid, so today, much of technical SEO focuses on refinements and enhancements.
While it’s important to develop technical knowledge, a great way to start is by building relationships with your development team and staying curious.
Asking questions makes learning more interactive and immediately relevant to your work.
Exploring coding courses or creating your own website can also help you develop technical skills gradually instead of all at once.
Some argue that you can be a good SEO without technical expertise – and I don’t disagree.
However, understanding a website’s inner workings, how Google operates, and even how large language models (LLMs) function can help you prioritize your SEO efforts.
Code is Google’s native language, and knowing how to interpret it can be invaluable when migrating a site, launching a new one, or diagnosing traffic drops.
5. Learn the different types of information Google shows in search results
The way search results are presented today vastly differs from 10 or 15 years ago.
Those who have been in the industry for a while have had the advantage of adapting gradually as Google has evolved.
Newcomers, on the other hand, are thrown into the deep end, facing a wide range of search features all at once – some personalized, some not, and some appearing inconsistently.
This can be challenging to grasp, even for experienced SEOs.
Google has invested heavily in understanding user intent and presenting search results in a way that best addresses it.
As a result, search results may include:
Videos.
Images.
People Also Ask.
Related Searches.
AI Overviews.
AI-organized search.
Map results.
Nearby shopping options.
Product listings.
People Also Buy From.
News
Building visibility for each of these features often requires a unique approach and specific considerations.
These search result types are now industry jargon, so a glossary can help you learn SEO terminology.
6. Learn the different types of query intent classifications
Google’s mission is to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
As part of this, Google works to understand why people search for something and provides the most relevant results to match that intent.
To do this, they classify queries based on intent.
The Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines, a handbook Google provides to evaluators who manually assess website and search result quality, also touches on understanding user intent:
“It can be helpful to think of queries as having one or more of the following intents.
Know query, some of which are Know Simple queries.
Do query, when the user is trying to accomplish a goal or engage in an activity.
Website query, when the user is looking for a specific website or webpage.
Visit-in-person query, some of which are looking for a specific business or organization, some of which are looking for a category of businesses.”
When conducting keyword research, it’s helpful to analyze both your site and the queries you’re targeting through this lens.
Many SEO professionals also use these broader, traditional intent categories, though they don’t always align perfectly with Google’s classifications:
Informational: Who, what, when, where, how, why.
Commercial: Comparison, review, best, specific product.
Transactional: Buy, cheap, sale, register.
Navigational: Searching for a specific brand.
Rather than focusing solely on keywords, take a step back and consider the intent behind the search. Understanding intent is essential for SEO success.
However, if you’re new to SEO, I strongly recommend completing at least one full project using tools like Google Search Console, Semrush, or Ahrefs without LLM support.
While AI can speed up the process, relying on it too early has drawbacks:
Slower learning curve: If an LLM does the heavy lifting, you miss the experience of making strategic trade-offs, such as choosing a low-volume, mid-competition keyword over a high-volume, high-competition one.
Lack of instinct for accuracy: Without firsthand research experience, it’s harder to recognize when an LLM generates inaccurate information or pulls from an unreliable source.
Reduced impact: Google is increasingly sophisticated in detecting “repetitive content.” Relying too much on LLMs for mass content creation could hurt performance, whereas a more focused, strategic approach might yield better results.
While it may be tempting to jump straight into strategy rather than hands-on execution, senior SEOs develop their strategic mindset through years of practical work across different clients and industries.
Skipping this foundational experience could make it harder to recognize large-scale patterns and trends.
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