High-Converting Website

Learn how to build a high-converting website in 2026 with effective design, UX, SEO, and conversion strategies that turn visitors into leads

High-Converting Website

A high-converting website in 2026 blends user experience (UX), search engine optimization (SEO), and conversion rate optimization (CRO) into one cohesive strategy. Rather than treating design, visibility, and sales as separate goals, the most effective websites are built to attract the right visitors, guide them intuitively, and convert them into customers—automatically and around the clock.

When someone types “web design company” or “website design” into a search bar, they’re rarely just looking for a nice-looking site. They’re looking for a digital business asset—one that works as hard as a top salesperson, but never clocks out. In 2026, that means your website can’t just look good. It has to perform.

The days of judging a website purely on its visual polish are long gone. A beautifully designed homepage that nobody finds, or one that visitors abandon within seconds, isn’t doing your business any favors. The businesses winning online today understand that design, findability, and persuasion are three sides of the same coin. Miss one, and the whole strategy weakens.

This guide breaks down exactly how to build a website in 2026 that doesn’t just look impressive—it attracts qualified traffic, keeps visitors engaged, and turns clicks into customers.

What Makes a Website “High-Converting” in 2026?

A high-converting website is one that consistently turns visitors into leads, subscribers, or paying customers—without relying on luck or guesswork. It’s measurable, intentional, and built around a clear understanding of who the visitor is and what they need at each stage of their journey.

Three pillars define this kind of website:

• User Experience (UX): How intuitive, fast, and enjoyable the site is to use.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): How easily the right people can find the site through organic search.
• Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): How effectively the site persuades visitors to take a desired action.

None of these pillars work in isolation. A site that ranks well but frustrates visitors will still lose sales. A beautifully designed site that no one can find won’t generate revenue. Building a high-converting website means designing all three elements to work together from day one, not bolting them on after launch.

Why Combining UX, SEO, and CRO Matters More Than Ever

Attention spans are shrinking, and competition for every click is fiercer than ever. Visitors expect websites to load instantly, answer their questions quickly, and guide them smoothly toward a decision. If a site fails on any one of these fronts, visitors bounce—often straight to a competitor.

This is why treating UX, SEO, and CRO as separate departments or afterthoughts no longer works. A page optimized purely for search engines but poorly designed for humans will rank, then immediately lose the visitors it attracts. A gorgeous, conversion-focused landing page that search engines can’t crawl or understand will never get discovered in the first place.

The businesses seeing the strongest results in 2026 are the ones designing their websites holistically—starting with the end goal (a conversion) and reverse-engineering the site’s structure, content, and technical foundation to support it.

How Do You Design a Website That Attracts the Right Visitors?

Attracting visitors starts with SEO, but modern SEO is about far more than keyword stuffing or chasing algorithm updates. It’s about building a site that search engines—and increasingly, AI-powered answer engines—can easily understand, trust, and recommend.

Build for Both Search Engines and AI Answer Engines

As more people turn to AI tools and conversational search to find businesses, websites need to be structured in ways that are easy for these systems to parse. This means:

• Writing clear, direct answers to common customer questions.
• Structuring content with descriptive, specific headings.
• Using schema markup to help search engines and AI tools understand what a page is about.
• Prioritizing accurate, well-organized information over vague marketing language.

A website that clearly explains what it offers—in plain language—is more likely to be cited, recommended, and trusted by both human visitors and AI-driven discovery tools.

Prioritize Technical SEO Fundamentals

No amount of great content can compensate for a technically broken website. Site speed, mobile responsiveness, secure connections (HTTPS), clean URL structures, and proper indexing all play a role in whether a website ranks—and whether visitors stick around once they arrive.

Create Content That Matches Search Intent

Every page should have a clear purpose tied to what the visitor is actually looking for. Someone searching “web design company near me” has different intent than someone searching “how much does a website cost.” Matching content to intent—rather than writing generically—is one of the most reliable ways to attract visitors who are ready to engage.

What UX Principles Drive Conversions in 2026?

Once visitors land on a website, design has one job: make it effortless for them to find what they need and take the next step.

Design for Clarity, Not Just Aesthetics

A visually striking website that confuses visitors will still underperform. Every page should have one clear primary goal—whether that’s booking a call, signing up, or making a purchase—and the design should visually reinforce that goal without competing distractions.

Optimize for Speed and Mobile Experience

Visitors expect pages to load almost instantly, and a growing share of web traffic comes from mobile devices. A slow or clunky mobile experience doesn’t just frustrate users—it actively pushes them toward competitors with smoother sites.

Build Intuitive Navigation

Visitors shouldn’t have to think about how to find information. Clear menus, logical page hierarchies, and consistent navigation patterns reduce friction and keep visitors moving toward a decision instead of hunting for answers.

Use Accessibility as a Design Standard, Not an Afterthought

Designing for accessibility—readable fonts, sufficient color contrast, keyboard navigation, and screen-reader compatibility—isn’t just good practice. It widens the pool of visitors who can comfortably use (and convert on) a website.

How Can You Optimize a Website for Conversion Rate?

CRO is where design and psychology meet. It’s the discipline of understanding why visitors leave without converting, then systematically removing those barriers.

Choose the Right Call to Action for Each Page

Every page should point toward one clear next step. A homepage might guide visitors to “Get a Free Quote,” while a blog post might invite them to “Subscribe for More Tips.” Vague or multiple competing calls to action dilute focus and lower conversion rates.

Build Trust Signals Into Every Page

Testimonials, case studies, client logos, and transparent pricing all help visitors feel confident taking action. Trust is often the deciding factor between a visitor who converts and one who leaves to “think about it.”

Reduce Friction at Every Step

Long forms, confusing checkout processes, and unclear pricing all create hesitation. Every unnecessary field, click, or decision point is an opportunity for a visitor to abandon the process. Simplifying these steps—without sacrificing necessary information—consistently improves conversion rates.

Test, Measure, and Refine Continuously

CRO isn’t a one-time task. A/B testing headlines, button placement, page layouts, and messaging over time reveals what actually resonates with real visitors—not just what a team assumes will work.

What Role Does AI Play in Website Design in 2026?

>Artificial intelligence has become deeply embedded in how websites are built, personalized, and optimized. AI tools now help businesses:

• Personalize content and offers based on visitor behavior.
• Generate and test multiple content variations quickly.
• Analyze user behavior to identify friction points.
• Power on-site chat and virtual assistants that answer visitor questions in real time.

Rather than replacing thoughtful design and strategy, AI accelerates it—helping businesses test ideas faster and personalize experiences at a scale that wasn’t previously possible.

How Do You Measure Success After Launch?

Launching a website isn’t the finish line—it’s the starting point for ongoing optimization. Tracking the right metrics helps determine whether a site is actually performing as a business asset.
Key metrics to monitor include:

• Conversion rate: The percentage of visitors completing a desired action.
• Bounce rate: How many visitors leave without engaging further.
• Average session duration: How long visitors stay engaged with content.
• Organic search traffic: How many visitors arrive through unpaid search results.
• Page load speed: A factor that influences both SEO rankings and user experience.

Regularly reviewing these metrics—and adjusting design, content, and calls to action accordingly—keeps a website performing as a true growth engine rather than a static brochure.

Building a Website That Works as Hard as You Do

A high-converting website in 2026 isn’t the product of one big redesign. It’s the result of continuously aligning UX, SEO, and CRO so that every visitor’s experience feels seamless, relevant, and persuasive.

The businesses that treat their website as a living, evolving asset—rather than a one-time project—are the ones that consistently outperform competitors. Start by auditing your current site against the principles above: Is it easy to find? Easy to use? Easy to say yes to?

If the answer to any of those questions is “not quite,” that’s exactly where to focus next.

The post How to Build a High-Converting Website in 2026 appeared first on ManiWebify.

Search behavior is changing fast. Google still processes over 8.5 billion searches per day (according to Internet Live Stats, 2024), but a growing share of those queries now return AI-generated summaries instead of a list of blue links. Tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews are changing what it means to “rank”—and what it takes to be found.

That’s where GEO comes in. Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of making your content visible and citable inside AI-generated answers. It’s a newer discipline, but one that’s gaining serious traction among content marketers, SEO professionals, and brand strategists.

This guide breaks down the differences between GEO and SEO, explains where they diverge, and gives you a clear picture of how to optimize for both. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to prioritize—and why doing one well often means doing the other better, too.

What is SEO, and how does it work?

Search Engine Optimization is the practice of improving your content so it ranks higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), primarily Google. When someone searches “best project management tools,” SEO determines which pages appear on page one—and in what order.

Google’s ranking algorithm weighs hundreds of signals, but the core pillars of SEO remain consistent:

• Relevance: Does your content match the searcher’s intent?
• Authority: Do credible websites link to your content?
• Technical performance: Is your site fast, mobile-friendly, and crawlable?
• On-page optimization: Are your keywords, headings, and metadata well-structured?

SEO has been around since the mid-1990s and has evolved considerably. What worked in 2010—keyword stuffing, low-quality backlinks—can now get a site penalized. Today, SEO rewards content that is genuinely useful, well-structured, and trustworthy.

The goal of SEO is visibility in a ranked list of results. Users see your link, decide whether to click, and land on your page. Success is measured in rankings, organic traffic, and click-through rates.

What is GEO, and how is it different from SEO?

Generative Engine Optimization is the practice of structuring content so it gets surfaced, cited, or quoted by AI-powered tools that generate direct answers to user queries.
When someone asks ChatGPT “What’s the difference between GEO and SEO?”, the AI doesn’t display a list of links.

It generates a response—and that response may or may not include your content, depending on how well your content is structured for AI comprehension.
The same dynamic applies to:

• Google AI Overviews (the AI-generated summaries at the top of many Google searches)
• Perplexity AI, which cites sources inline as it generates responses
• Microsoft Copilot, integrated into Bing search results
• ChatGPT browsing, which pulls from live web content

GEO is still an emerging field. The term itself was formalized in a 2023 research paper titled “GEO: Generative Engine Optimization” by Aggarwal et al., published on arXiv. The paper demonstrated that specific content strategies—adding citations, including statistics, and using authoritative language—increased content visibility in AI-generated responses by up to 40%.

The fundamental difference between GEO and SEO comes down to the output. SEO gets you a link on a results page. GEO gets your content woven into an answer.

Where do GEO and SEO overlap?

More than you might expect. Despite operating in different environments, GEO and SEO share a strong common foundation.

High-quality, accurate content benefits both

Google’s ranking systems and AI language models both reward content that is clear, accurate, and substantive. Thin, vague, or misleading content performs poorly on both fronts. Writing with depth, specificity, and genuine expertise serves both goals simultaneously.

Structured content is easier for machines to read

Whether a search engine crawler or an AI model is parsing your content, clear structure helps. That means:

• Logical heading hierarchies (H1 → H2 → H3)
• Short paragraphs with one idea each
• Bullet points and numbered lists for scannable information
• Direct answers placed close to the question being asked

E-E-A-T signals matter in both contexts

Google’s quality guidelines emphasize Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). AI systems have their own version of this preference—they tend to cite content from sources perceived as credible, well-sourced, and factually consistent. Building E-E-A-T for SEO purposes also strengthens your GEO position.

Technical SEO creates the foundation for AI indexing

If search engines can’t crawl your site, AI tools that rely on indexed web content won’t find it either. Fast load times, clean site architecture, and proper use of structured data (schema markup) support both SEO rankings and AI discoverability.

Where do GEO and SEO diverge?

The differences are meaningful—and ignoring them means leaving visibility on the table.

The metric of success is different

SEO success is measured in rankings and clicks. A page that ranks #1 on Google for a high-volume keyword is a clear SEO win, even if the content isn’t particularly quotable.

GEO success is measured in citations and inclusion. Your content needs to be the kind that an AI model would select to answer a specific question—not just rank for it. That requires a different kind of writing: direct, self-contained, and specific enough to be extracted as a standalone answer.

Keyword strategy shifts in GEO

Traditional SEO targets keywords—specific terms that users type into a search bar. GEO targets questions and information needs, because AI tools respond to conversational prompts, not keyword strings.

This means GEO-optimized content should directly and completely answer questions like:

• “What is the difference between GEO and SEO?”
• “How does Perplexity AI choose which sources to cite?”
• “Is GEO a replacement for SEO?”

Writing that anticipates and answers these questions in clear, self-contained paragraphs is more likely to be extracted by AI systems.

Backlinks matter less in GEO (for now)

Backlinks remain one of SEO’s most powerful ranking signals. A page with high-authority backlinks from reputable domains is more likely to rank well, all else being equal.
GEO relies less on link graphs and more on content clarity and topical authority. That said, backlinks still matter indirectly—they contribute to domain authority, which influences whether AI systems treat a source as credible.

Schema markup and structured data play a bigger role in GEO

Schema markup—the code that tells search engines what type of content is on a page—helps AI systems understand context faster. FAQ schema, HowTo schema, and Article schema all make it easier for generative engines to extract relevant information. These are under-utilized in traditional SEO but increasingly important for GEO.

How to optimize for both GEO and SEO simultaneously

The good news: a unified strategy is achievable. Here’s how to approach content creation with both in mind.
Lead with a direct answer. Place a clear, concise response to the main question near the top of the page. This satisfies both Google’s featured snippets algorithm and AI systems looking for quotable content.

Use specific, verifiable details. Cite named sources, statistics, and dates. Vague claims get ignored by both algorithms and AI models. Specific ones get cited.

Write conversational subheadings. Phrase H2s and H3s as questions that mirror how real users—and AI prompts—are written. “How does GEO affect content strategy?” is better than “GEO content strategy.”

Build topical depth, not just keyword density. Covering a topic comprehensively—addressing related questions, edge cases, and comparisons—signals authority to both Google and AI systems.

Use schema markup. Implement FAQ schema, Article schema, and other relevant structured data to make your content machine-readable and extractable.

Keep paragraphs tight and purposeful. AI tools extract sentences and paragraphs, not whole pages. Every paragraph should be able to stand alone as a useful piece of information.

Do you need to choose between GEO and SEO?

No. At this stage of the web’s evolution, GEO and SEO are complementary—not competing—disciplines. The content habits that make you rank well in Google (clear structure, authoritative information, strong E-E-A-T signals) are largely the same habits that get you cited in AI-generated answers.

That said, GEO requires some deliberate adjustments. Answer-first writing, conversational subheadings, schema markup, and citation-ready sentence structures are not automatic byproducts of good SEO practice. They need to be intentional.

The brands and publishers that will perform best in the next phase of search are those investing in both—treating GEO not as a replacement for SEO, but as its logical extension.

The post GEO vs. SEO: What’s the Difference and Do You Need Both? appeared first on ManiWebify.

SEO Checklist for Business Websites

Boost your online visibility with the ultimate SEO checklist for business websites. Learn essential on-page, technical, and content SEO

SEO Checklist for Business Websites

A strong SEO strategy for small business websites covers five core areas: technical setup, on-page content, local SEO, link building, and ongoing performance tracking. Working through each area systematically — rather than chasing shortcuts — is what separates businesses that rank from businesses that stall.

SEO is challenging for every type of company, but small businesses carry an extra burden. Larger competitors have dedicated marketing teams, bigger content budgets, and years of domain authority built up behind them. You are working to rank just as well, often with a fraction of those resources.

That reality pushes a lot of small business owners toward shortcuts — cheap backlink packages, keyword stuffing, or black-hat tactics that promise fast results. Those approaches do not work. They earn penalties from Google that can take months to undo. We have seen businesses lose their rankings overnight because they trusted the wrong strategy.

The good news is that sustainable SEO does not require an enterprise budget. It requires a clear process, followed consistently. This checklist covers every step your business website needs to complete — from the technical foundation to the ongoing habits that keep your rankings climbing.

1. Technical SEO: Build a Foundation Google Can Trust

Technical SEO is the infrastructure your entire strategy depends on. Search engines cannot rank content they cannot access, read, or load quickly. Start here before anything else.

Is your website crawlable and indexed correctly?

Use Google Search Console (it is free) to confirm Google has indexed your site. Check for crawl errors and make sure your robots.txt file is not accidentally blocking pages you want ranked.
Key checks:

• Submit a sitemap to Google Search Console
• Confirm no important pages are marked “noindex”
• Fix any 404 errors and set up proper 301 redirects for moved pages
• Check your robots.txt file at yourdomain.com/robots.txt

Does your site load fast enough to compete?

Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor. Page speed directly affects both your ranking and your bounce rate. According to Google, a one-second delay in mobile load time can reduce conversions by up to 20%.
Run your site through Google PageSpeed Insights. Target a score of 70 or above on mobile. Common fixes include compressing images, enabling browser caching, and minimizing unused JavaScript.

Is your site secure and mobile-friendly?

HTTPS is a confirmed ranking signal. If your site still runs on HTTP, that is a problem worth fixing today. On mobile, use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to verify your site displays correctly on smaller screens. With mobile devices accounting for more than 60% of web traffic globally (Statista, 2024), a site that breaks on a phone loses real customers.

2. On-Page SEO: Content That Answers Real Questions

Technical SEO gets Google to your site. On-page SEO is what convinces Google — and your visitors — that your content is worth showing.

Have you researched the right keywords?

Keyword research means finding the exact phrases your potential customers type into Google. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or Ubersuggest to identify terms with clear search intent and manageable competition.
For small businesses, long-tail keywords — specific three-to-five-word phrases — are often the right target. Ranking #1 for “emergency roof repair in San Jose” is more valuable than page five for “roofing.”

Does every page have a clear SEO purpose?

Each page on your site should target a specific primary keyword. That keyword belongs in:

• The page title (H1)
• The meta title and meta description
• The first 100 words of body content
• At least one H2 subheading
• The URL slug (e.g., /emergency-roof-repair-san-jose)
• Image alt text where relevant

Avoid keyword stuffing. One natural use every 100–150 words is sufficient.

Is your content thorough enough to compete?

Google rewards content that comprehensively covers a topic. Look at the top three results for your target keyword and note what those pages cover. Your content should match or exceed that depth. Pages with 1,000 words or more tend to outperform thinner content on competitive keywords, though quality always matters more than word count alone.

3. Local SEO: Win Searches in Your Area

For small and medium-sized businesses serving a specific region, local SEO is the highest-leverage activity on this list. A business that ranks at the top of local search results gets a disproportionate share of calls, visits, and leads.

Is your Google Business Profile complete?

Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is your most important local ranking asset. A fully completed profile increases your chances of appearing in the local map pack — the three businesses displayed at the top of location-based searches.
Complete every section:

• Business name, address, and phone number (exactly matching your website)
• Business category (choose the most specific option available)
• Hours of operation
• Services offered
• High-quality photos of your work
• A detailed business description with your primary keywords

Are your citations consistent across the web?

A citation is any online mention of your business name, address, and phone number. Inconsistent information across directories — Yelp, Angi, HomeAdvisor, the Better Business Bureau, and others — confuses Google and suppresses your local rankings.
Audit your listings using a tool like BrightLocal or Moz Local. Correct any discrepancies so that every directory shows the exact same information.

Are you actively collecting and responding to reviews?

Reviews are a direct local ranking factor. According to BrightLocal’s 2024 Local Consumer Review Survey, 98% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. A steady stream of genuine, positive reviews signals to Google that your business is credible and active.
After every completed job, ask satisfied customers to leave a Google review. Respond to every review — positive or negative. A professional, specific response to a complaint demonstrates accountability and builds trust with future customers reading your profile.

4. Link Building: Earn Authority From Other Sites

A backlink is a link from another website to yours. Google treats backlinks as votes of confidence. Not all votes are equal — a link from a respected local news outlet or industry association carries far more weight than a link from an unrelated directory.

How to earn legitimate backlinks for a small business

You do not need hundreds of backlinks to compete locally. A small number of quality links from relevant, trustworthy sources is enough to meaningfully move your rankings.
Effective strategies include:

• Local partnerships: Ask suppliers, trade associations, and local business groups to link to your site
• Press coverage: Reach out to local news outlets about community involvement, awards, or notable projects
• Guest articles: Write a helpful article for an industry publication or local blog in exchange for a link
• Certifications and memberships: Many professional organizations (such as the GAF Master Elite program or the NRCA) include member directories with links

Avoid buying links or participating in link exchange schemes. These tactics violate Google’s guidelines and carry the risk of a manual penalty.

5. Ongoing Tracking: Know What Is Working

SEO is not a one-time project. Rankings change, competitors improve, and Google updates its algorithm hundreds of times per year. The businesses that hold their rankings are the ones that track performance and adjust continuously.

What metrics should you track each month?

Set up Google Analytics 4 and Google Search Console on day one. Review them monthly. The metrics that matter most for small business SEO:

• Organic sessions: The number of visitors arriving from search
• Keyword rankings: Where your target pages rank for their primary keywords
• Click-through rate (CTR): What percentage of people who see your result in Google actually click it
• Conversions: Calls, form submissions, or bookings generated from organic traffic
• Core Web Vitals: Page experience scores in Search Console

Track these numbers in a simple spreadsheet. Month-over-month trends tell you whether your strategy is working — and where to focus next.

SEO Takes Time, But the Compounding Effect Is Real

Small businesses that stick with a structured, ethical SEO strategy consistently outperform competitors who chase shortcuts. The results take time — three to six months is a realistic window to see meaningful movement on competitive keywords. But the traffic you earn through organic search costs nothing to maintain, and it compounds over time in ways that paid advertising cannot replicate.
Work through this checklist one section at a time. Fix the technical issues first, build out your content and local presence next, and establish a habit of tracking and adjusting monthly. That is the process that produces rankings you can depend on.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take for SEO changes to affect rankings?

Most technical fixes and on-page changes begin to show results within four to twelve weeks. Local SEO improvements — particularly Google Business Profile optimization — can produce results faster, sometimes within two to four weeks. Competitive keyword rankings for new content typically take three to six months of consistent effort.

What is the most important SEO factor for a small business website?

For local businesses, a fully optimized Google Business Profile combined with consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) citations is the highest-impact starting point. Beyond that, page speed and mobile-friendliness are the technical factors that most directly affect both rankings and visitor experience.

Do I need to hire an SEO agency, or can I do this myself?

Many items on this checklist — fixing crawl errors, completing your Google Business Profile, and adding keywords to existing pages — can be completed without outside help. More advanced work, such as technical audits or a link-building campaign, may benefit from professional support.
Start with what you can handle in-house, measure the results, and bring in outside expertise where the complexity exceeds your team’s capacity.

Is paid search (Google Ads) a substitute for SEO?

Paid search drives traffic while your ads are running. Organic SEO builds an asset that continues performing after the investment is made. Most businesses benefit from both — using paid search to generate leads in the short term while organic SEO builds long-term visibility. They are not substitutes; they serve different functions.

How many keywords should a small business website target?

Start with one primary keyword per page. A 10-page website targets 10 primary keywords. Over time, each page will also rank for dozens of related terms. Prioritize keywords with clear local intent and a realistic chance of ranking — a domain authority of 20 does not compete immediately against established sites for broad national terms.

The post The Ultimate SEO Checklist for Business Websites appeared first on ManiWebify.

Well, the good (and bad) news is that you’re not just imagining it.

You, like hundreds of other businesses, are likely losing traffic to AI.

But why is that happening? And what can you do?

Let’s talk about it.

Why am I losing traffic because of AI search?

Traffic loss from AI search isn’t uncommon anymore. But why does it happen?

Realistically, AI engines encourage clickless behavior. People can search for information and get all the answers they need right in the engine, without having to click to find more.

Think about it like this: Let’s say you’re just searching a simple question like “What are some good substitutes for eggs in a recipe?” Previously, if there wasn’t a featured snippet, you’d have to click on a result and scroll through the page to find information.

Now, an AI engine can generate a list of egg substitutes within seconds and tell you exactly how to ratio the substitution (and when it’s best to use each substitution).

Google AI Overview answering a query about egg substitutions
So, like with many other queries, people get the answer they need right away and don’t need to explore a page for additional information. That results in less clicks, and furthermore, less traffic.

This is why you’re losing traffic to AI. AI is sythesizing and summing up information to make it easy for people to get the answers they need without having to explore further. It’s absorbing clicks and leading to more zero-click queries.

Does your website appear in AI Overviews

Check your website’s performance in AI Overviews and organic search results.

Why did SEO traffic flatten even though rankings improved?

You may be thinking “Well, my rankings for keywords actually improved, but I’m not seeing better traffic — why is that?”

The short explanation is that even if your rankings improve, AI Overviews being present in search results is going to influence traffic numbers. Google may be recognizing that your pages are more relevant than competitors’ and ranking them higher as a result, but because AI Overviews still play a prominent role, traffic is affected by them.

What do I do if I’m losing traffic to AI?

If you’re like other businesses and losing traffic to AI, like AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Claude, here’s what you can do:

Build up your bottom of the funnel content

BOFU content tends to see less AI Overviews, which means it generates more clicks and traffic. This is likely where a lot of your clicks and traffic are coming from. So, it’s important that you build up these pages and optimize them often to maintain rankings and traffic.

Here are some BOFU types of content you can create:

• Case studies
• Product demos
• Product or service pages
• Comparison pages
• Testimonial pages
• Pricing pages

These are the types of things people often consult when they’re close to conversion, so having these built up on your website (when appropriate) can help you maintain traffic for these queries that aren’t seeing AI Overviews yet.

Start optimizing for AI search

This is a classic case of, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.” AI search isn’t going away anytime soon, which means you need to embrace it if you want to continue driving leads for your business.

So, what does that look like?

• Building up brand recognition and visibility across platforms
• Increasing E-E-A-T signals to build brand trust
• Creating answer-first content that LLMs want to pull (and cite) in responses

Optimizing for AI search now won’t help you recover the traffic you’ve lost (traffic recovery is a thing of the past), but it will help you build brand recognition that leads to increased leads and revenue.

Diversify your marketing strategy

If you’re just relying on SEO to carry you through, you’re likely starting to panic if you’re experiencing traffic loss from AI search. One of the best defenses you can implement is diversifying your strategy.

Marketing strategy diversification is always good because the performance of strategies ebbs and flows. You may have a killer month with your paid search ads, and then next month you only get a few leads. Having a diverse strategy enables you to continue driving growth, even when certain strategies fall a little short at times.

Consider supporting your organic search strategy with strategies like:

• AI SEO
• Social media marketing
• Paid search advertising
• Content marketing
• Social media advertising
• Email marketing

Create things AI can’t replicate

If you’re losing traffic to AI, consider creating things that AI can’t replicate.

AI can summarize information and share it with people, but it can’t generate things like tools, calculators, templates, or interactive content that people seek out. Make your content more desirable and “clickable” by integrating things AI can’t offer to people.

These aspects can help you earn back some clicks and traffic when people seek out these specific things.

FAQs on losing traffic to AI

Have additional questions? We have answers!

Can I recover traffic lost to AI?

No. The unfortunate reality is that, as long as AI Overviews are present and operate the way they do, it’s not going to be possible to recover traffic lost to AI. Traffic numbers will never be where they once were because less people will click and visit pages with AI Overviews being so prominent.

But, that doesn’t mean there are less leads out there — they’re just going through the customer journey differently (which you need to adjust for).

What types of content are impacted most by AI?

The content that sees the most traffic loss from AI is:

• Definition-based content (“What is X?”)
• How-to content
• Listicles

Most TOFU content will see an AI Overview summary at the top, resulting in less traffic and clicks.

Does SEO still matter if AI is answering searches?

Yes.

There’s still value in ranking organically. It’s still important to be a top ranking page in search, especially with bottom of the funnel queries.

And on top of that, a lot of the best practices of SEO are what get you cited in LLMs and AI search responses. Practices like creating high-value content, topical authority, and expertise factor into your ability to get into AI Overviews.

The question isn’t whether SEO matters — it’s whether your SEO strategy is built for the modern-day search experience.

Build a strategy that adapts for the modern search landscape

If you’re losing traffic to AI, you’re not alone — a lot of businesses are feeling the effects of AI search becoming prominent. It doesn’t mean it’s time to throw in the towel on your search strategy — it’s time to adapt.

With an AI SEO strategy, you’re better equipped to help your business attract leads and drive revenue in an AI search world.

Not sure where to start? Connect with our team to see how our< AI search services can help you excel in the next era of search.

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