{"id":4228,"date":"2026-03-04T00:28:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=4228"},"modified":"2026-03-04T00:28:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:28:23","slug":"how-to-build-an-ai-seo-strategy-that-outlasts-tactics-via-sejournal-kevin_indig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/?p=4228","title":{"rendered":"How To Build An AI SEO Strategy That Outlasts Tactics via @sejournal, @Kevin_Indig"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p> <div id=\"narrow-cont\"> <p><em>Boost your skills with Growth Memo\u2019s weekly expert insights. Subscribe for free!<\/em><\/p> <p>Most AEO \u201cstrategies\u201d are tactic lists dressed up as long-term direction. They often break the first time a platform changes or leadership asks questions. A real AI SEO strategy starts with the business problem, builds on your brand\u2019s unique advantages, and lets tactics come last.<\/p> <p>This week, we\u2019re covering:<\/p> <ul> <li>How to identify your actual AI SEO challenge (it\u2019s a business problem, not a channel problem).<\/li> <li>A three-part strategy document structure that survives leadership scrutiny and platform shifts.<\/li> <li>How to present AI SEO investment using scenario planning instead of traffic forecasts.<\/li> <\/ul> <figure id=\"attachment_568662\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 1536px\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23.jpg\"  width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" class=\"size-full wp-image-568662\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-384x256.jpg 384w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-425x283.jpg 425w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-680x453.jpg 680w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-850x567.jpg 850w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23-1300x680.jpg 1300w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ai-strategy-23.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How To Build An AI SEO Strategy That Outlasts Tactics via @sejournal, @Kevin_Indig\u63d2\u56fe\" alt=\"How To Build An AI SEO Strategy That Outlasts Tactics via @sejournal, @Kevin_Indig\u63d2\u56fe\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: Kevin Indig<\/figcaption><\/figure> <h2>1. Tactics Without A Strategy Waste Quarters Of Work<\/h2> <p>Strategy as a concept is even more misunderstood in the AI SEO era than it was in traditional SEO. Most \u201cAEO\/GEO strategies\u201d I see are actually just tactics: Optimize for long-tail queries, add structured data, create FAQ content. These might be part of your execution, but they\u2019re not your strategy.<\/p> <p><iframe class=\"sej-iframe-auto-height\" id=\"in-content-iframe\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-json\/sscats\/v2\/tk\/Middle_Post_Text\"><\/iframe><\/p> <p>The result? Teams\u00a0chase citations\u00a0in ChatGPT without understanding if that\u2019s a solution to an actual business problem. They optimize for Perplexity when the real challenge is protecting branded\u00a0search volume. They copy competitor tactics instead of building on their unique advantages.<\/p> <p>When you set out to build (or repair) your AI\u00a0SEO strategy, distinction matters because a tactic list can\u2019t answer the one question strategy exists to answer:\u00a0<em>What problem are we solving?<\/em><\/p> <figure id=\"attachment_568663\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 1999px\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664.jpg\"  width=\"1999\" height=\"1313\" class=\"size-full wp-image-568663\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-384x252.jpg 384w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-425x279.jpg 425w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-480x315.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-680x447.jpg 680w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-768x504.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-850x558.jpg 850w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-1024x673.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-1300x680.jpg 1300w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-1536x1009.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-1600x1051.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664-1920x1261.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/cdn.searchenginejournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tactic-vs-strat-664.jpg 1999w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How To Build An AI SEO Strategy That Outlasts Tactics via @sejournal, @Kevin_Indig\u63d2\u56fe1\" alt=\"How To Build An AI SEO Strategy That Outlasts Tactics via @sejournal, @Kevin_Indig\u63d2\u56fe1\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image Credit: Kevin Indig<\/figcaption><\/figure> <h2>2. Start With Your Brand\u2019s Unique Challenge<\/h2> <p>Your strategy must answer one question first: What\u00a0business problem\u00a0are we solving?<\/p> <p>This sounds obvious. Most teams skip it. They see \u201cAI search is growing\u201d and immediately jump to \u201cwe need to rank in ChatGPT\u201d and start trying new tactics. That\u2019s a reaction, not a clear strategy.<\/p> <p>Use the same approach I outlined in\u00a0creating an SEO strategy from scratch: Identify your actual challenge through research, then build your approach around solving it.<\/p> <h3>Common AI SEO Challenges I See:<\/h3> <ul> <li><strong>Brand visibility erosion.<\/strong>\u00a0Branded queries get answered by AI without attribution, bleeding awareness over time.<\/li> <li><strong>Pipeline protection.\u00a0<\/strong>Qualified traffic is shifting to AI Mode, but your brand is invisible in those results.<\/li> <li><strong>Category definition.\u00a0<\/strong>AI models cite competitors as the category solution. Your brand doesn\u2019t appear.<\/li> <li><strong>Conversion influence decay.\u00a0<\/strong>Users research in ChatGPT, arrive at your site decision-ready, or don\u2019t arrive at all. The pre-site journey now happens inside an AI interface \u2013 and you can\u2019t see your target audience\u2019s detailed behaviors via analytics.<\/li> <\/ul> <p>These are business problems, not channel problems. Your challenge should connect directly to revenue, market share, or competitive position. If it doesn\u2019t, you\u2019re optimizing for a metric that can\u2019t survive a budget review.<\/p> <h2>3. Do Your Research First To Kill Your Own Incorrect Assumptions<\/h2> <p>You can\u2019t build an AI SEO strategy on assumptions. What works varies by industry, query type, and user intent \u2026 and the platforms are moving and shifting fast.<br \/>Your research phase should answer four questions:<\/p> <p><strong>1. Where is your audience using AI search?<\/strong>\u00a0Don\u2019t assume. Survey customers, analyze referral data, review session recordings. ChatGPT usage patterns differ from Perplexity and Google AI Overview usage. Our\u00a0AI Mode user behavior study\u00a0showed that 250 sessions of real behavior look nothing like what most teams expect.<\/p> <p><strong>2. Which queries drive the pipeline?\u00a0<\/strong>Map the queries that connect to revenue, not just site visits from AI Mode, Gemini, or ChatGPT &amp; Co. In\u00a0zero-click environments, you need to understand which visibility opportunities actually influence buying decisions. Start with pain points your sales team hears on calls. Turn those into the questions buyers type into ChatGPT or Google. Then check which of those questions generate AI answers where your brand does or doesn\u2019t appear. That\u2019s your revenue-connected query set.<\/p> <p><strong>3. What kind of site content or external third-party mentions drive visibility in your category?\u00a0<\/strong>Test which internal content structures (like types of blog posts and landing pages) and external third-party sites that mention your brand (like Reddit and G2) earn citations in your category for revenue-connected queries. For your internal content that you have more control over, the ski-ramp data from \u201cThe Science Of How AI Pays Attention\u201d shows 44% of citations pull from the first 30% of a page, which means front-loading claims, definitions, and data changes citation rates more than adding depth at the end. Run one test: Rewrite the first three paragraphs of your top 10 pages to lead with the answer, not the context.<\/p> <p><strong>4. What\u2019s your citation baseline?\u00a0<\/strong>Use tools like AirOps, Profound, or SearchGPT to map where you currently appear. Track competitors. Measure the gap.<\/p> <p>Compare your current performance against where you need to be. Use the 5x Why analysis to identify root causes. If you\u2019re not being cited, the problem could be content depth, authority signals, or technical accessibility. Each requires a different approach.<\/p> <h2>4. Your Strategy Document Has 3 Parts<\/h2> <p>An AI SEO strategy document should include three components. No more.<\/p> <p><strong>Part 1: The challenge.\u00a0<\/strong>State the core business problem in one sentence. Example:\u00a0<em>\u201cOur brand is invisible in AI-generated answers for category-defining queries, allowing competitors to own mindshare with buyers before they reach a search engine.\u201d<\/em><\/p> <p><strong>Part 2: The approach.<\/strong>\u00a0Explain how you\u2019ll address the challenge. This is where your unique advantages matter. Your approach should be something only your brand can do, or something you do better than competitors.<\/p> <p>Example approaches:<\/p> <ul> <li><strong><em>Authority multiplication.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Leverage your executive team\u2019s expertise through strategic bylines, podcast appearances, and research publications that AI models pick up as authoritative sources. Third-party authority signals influence brand mentions and citation selection.<\/li> <li><em><strong>Product-led content.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Use your product data to create depth that competitors can\u2019t replicate. Apply product-led SEO principles to AI SEO by building content assets that only your data can produce.<\/li> <li><em><strong>Community signal amplification.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Build visibility through customer stories, case studies, and user-generated content that demonstrates applied expertise.\u00a0Personas built from real customer data\u00a0sharpen this work because they tell you which community signals actually match how your buyers search.<\/li> <\/ul> <p><strong>Part 3: The actions.\u00a0<\/strong>Now \u2013 and only now \u2013 list your tactics. These should flow directly from your approach:<\/p> <ul> <li>Create conversational-query content (or update existing content) that addresses hyper-specific buyer contexts.<\/li> <li>Optimize technical accessibility for LLM crawlers.<\/li> <li>Build systematic digital PR to drive third-party citations.<\/li> <li>Develop persona-specific content that matches\u00a0AI search\u00a0patterns (using synthetic personas to scale prompt tracking).<\/li> <li>Reinforce internal linking as entity maps, not just crawl paths.<\/li> <\/ul> <p>Include resource allocation: What percentage of capacity goes to each action area? Include success metrics tied to business outcomes, not just \u201ctrack citations.\u201d Read \u201cBudget For Capacity, Not Output\u201d to learn more about how to do this.<\/p> <p>Here\u2019s where AI SEO strategy gets difficult. You\u2019re asking for investment in a channel that\u2019s still forming, with metrics\u00a0leadership\u00a0doesn\u2019t yet understand.<\/p> <p>Don\u2019t present traffic forecasts. They\u2019re fiction in AI search. Use scenario planning instead.<\/p> <p>Frame it like this: \u201cIf we allocate 30% of capacity to authority building and 20% to conversational content, we expect citation increases of 40-60% within 6 months, which should influence 15-20% of assisted conversions based on current attribution data.\u201d<\/p> <p>Include stage gates. Make the investment reversible. Executives are more likely to approve experiments with clear decision points than open-ended commitments.<\/p> <p>Present three scenarios: conservative, moderate, and aggressive. Show what resources each requires and what outcomes they might produce. Let leadership choose.<\/p> <p>The strategy document from Section 4 gives you the structure to do this. The challenge statement defines the goal. The approach defines the bet.<\/p> <p>Your AI SEO strategy is not a one-time document. The platforms change, and user behavior is shifting fast. Your own test outcomes should also change your tactics.<\/p> <p>Build quarterly strategy reviews into your plan. Each review should answer four questions:<\/p> <ul> <li>What changed in AI search since our last review?<\/li> <li>What did we learn from our tests?<\/li> <li>Do our tactics still serve our approach?<\/li> <li>Is our approach still solving the right challenge?<\/li> <\/ul> <p>Your AI SEO strategy should be a decision-making tool, not a task list. Most teams fail at AI SEO because they treat it like traditional SEO with a different name and a slight shift in tactics.<\/p> <p>Start with the business challenge. Build an approach around what only your brand can do \u2026 let your tactics flow from there.<\/p> <p>And make the whole thing reversible and adaptable, because we\u2019re all still learning what works.<\/p> <h2>Build Your AI SEO Strategy With The Growth Memo Library<\/h2> <p>Once your strategy document is set, these past Growth Memo posts cover the execution layer. Each addresses a specific capability your AI SEO approach will need.<\/p> <h3>First, Know Your Audience<\/h3> <p>\u201cPersonas are critical for AI search\u201d covers how to turn in-house data into personas that shape briefs, prompts, and content decisions.<\/p> <p>\u201cMaking SEO personas actionable across teams\u201d moves personas from a planning artifact into day-to-day workflows across content, product, and SEO teams.<\/p> <p>\u201cSynthetic personas for better prompt tracking\u201d solves the cold-start problem in prompt tracking by simulating search behavior across segments at 85% accuracy.<\/p> <h3>Second, Understand User Behavior In AI Search<\/h3> <p>\u201cThe first-ever UX study of Google\u2019s AI Overviews\u201d tracked 70 users across eight tasks to map what \u201cvisibility\u201d means when AI answers sit above organic results.<\/p> <p>\u201cWhat our AI Mode user behavior study reveals\u201d analyzes 250 sessions of AI Mode behavior to show how users actually interact with Google\u2019s AI interface.<\/p> <p>\u201cGoogle\u2019s AI Mode SEO impact\u201d is the second part of that study, covering what\u2019s measurable, what\u2019s guesswork, and what visibility means in AI Mode.<\/p> <h3>Third, Create Content That Builds Long-Term Topical And Brand Authority<\/h3> <p>\u201cTopic-first SEO\u201d explains why keyword-first SEO creates surface-level content and cannibalization, and how topic-first thinking fixes both problems.<\/p> <p>\u201cOperationalizing your topic-first SEO strategy\u201d is the execution blueprint for running topic-first across your team.<\/p> <p>\u201cHow to measure topical authority\u201d offers a method to quantify topical authority using Google leak signals and competitive benchmarks.<\/p> <p>\u201cHow you can track brand authority for AI search\u201d covers the difference between topical and brand authority, and how to measure brand authority with real numbers.<\/p> <p>\u201cSEOzempic\u201d explains how less is more: Less low-quality, thin pages, and more sharply targeted website content around the key topics that matter to your brand\u2019s target audience.<\/p> <h3>And Understand How AI Reads And Cites Your Content \u2013 So It Influences How You Create It<\/h3> <p>\u201cThe science of how AI pays attention\u201d is an analysis of 1.2 million search results showing exactly where AI pulls citations from and why content structure determines selection.<\/p> <p>\u201cInternal linking grows up\u201d reframes internal linking as an entity reinforcement tool, which directly affects how AI systems understand your site\u2019s authority.<\/p> <p>\u201cHow AI really weighs your links\u201d analyzes 35,000 datapoints on backlinks and AI visibility, with findings that should reshape your link building priorities.<\/p> <p>\u201cThe science of how AI pays attention\u201d provides data-backed insights for how your content should be written and structured to increase chances of citation.<\/p> <hr\/> <p><em>Featured Image: 1987studio\/Shutterstock; Paulo Bobita\/Search Engine Journal<\/em><\/p> <\/div> <p>SEO Strategy#Build #SEO #Strategy #Outlasts #Tactics #sejournal #Kevin_Indig1772555303<\/p> ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boost your skills with Growth Memo\u2019s weekly expert insights. Subscribe for free! Most AEO \u201cstrategies\u201d are tactic lists dressed up as long-term direction. They often break the first time a platform changes or leadership asks questions. A real AI SEO strategy starts with the business problem, builds on your brand\u2019s unique advantages, and lets tactics [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[8296,555,14883,80,97,407,8291],"class_list":["post-4228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accessibility","tag-build","tag-kevin_indig","tag-outlasts","tag-sejournal","tag-seo","tag-strategy","tag-tactics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/longzhuplatform.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}