This Common SEO Strategy Is Killing Your AI Search Rankings

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This Common SEO Strategy Is Killing Your AI Search Rankings

Stop Chasing High-Volume Keywords. Let Me Explain.

Most marketers are still playing the old SEO game, chasing high-volume keywords like they're collecting baseball cards.

But here's where you have to be careful: What worked yesterday is actually hurting your ROI today.

Think Queries, Not Keywords

First off, let's get one thing straight. You need to stop thinking about keywords and start thinking about queries.

It's a fundamental shift in how people interact with AI search engines.

When someone opens up ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity, they don't type "best running shoes." They ask, "What are the best running shoes for someone with flat feet who runs on concrete every day?"

That's natural language. That's how humans actually think and communicate.

Keywords were designed for the limitations of traditional search engines. Google needed you to break down your thoughts into bite-sized chunks because that's how their algorithm worked best.

But AI search engines understand context, nuance, and conversational language. They can handle the full complexity of human questions.

So when you're creating content now, you're not optimizing for "running shoes" or "best running shoes." You're optimizing for:

• Complete thoughts

• Full questions

• The actual problems people are trying to solve

This changes everything about how you approach content creation.

Think about it this way: keywords are like telegrams - short, choppy, missing context. Queries are like actual conversations.

And since AI search engines can handle conversations, why are you still sending telegrams?

Understanding Query Types in the AI Era

Now, let's break down the different types of queries people actually make, because not all queries are created equal - especially when it comes to AI search.

Informational queries are broad questions people ask when they want to learn something. "How does photosynthosis work?" or "What causes inflation?"

These are the queries where someone is genuinely curious and wants to understand a topic better. They're not necessarily looking to buy anything right now - they just want knowledge.

Navigational queries happen when someone is looking for a specific website or company. "Facebook login page" or "Nike customer service" are classic examples.

The person already knows where they want to go; they're just using search as a shortcut to get there.

But here's where it gets interesting in the AI search world. These query types behave completely differently than they did in traditional SEO, and most marketers haven't caught up to this reality yet.

In the old days of Google, you could rank for informational queries, get massive traffic, and hope some percentage of that traffic would eventually convert. It was a numbers game.

Get 10,000 visitors from "how to lose weight," and maybe 50 of them would eventually buy your fitness program.

But AI search engines have blown up that entire model.

Why High-Volume Informational Queries Are ROI Killers

Here's the brutal truth about high-volume informational queries in the age of AI search: they're essentially worthless for your business.

Let's say you spend months creating the most comprehensive guide on "how to start a garden." In the old SEO world, this might rank #1 and drive thousands of visitors to your site every month.

Some percentage would browse around, maybe sign up for your newsletter, and eventually buy your gardening tools.

But here's what happens with AI search engines:

Someone asks "how to start a garden," and ChatGPT or Perplexity gives them a complete, synthesized answer pulled from multiple sources, including your guide.

The user gets their question answered immediately. They might see a link to your site, but why would they click it? They already got what they came for.

Even if the AI does link back to your site and even if the person clicks through, they're not in a buying mindset. They came with an informational need, got it satisfied, and they're done.

The likelihood of them sticking around to browse your products or services is incredibly low.

Think about your own behavior. When you ask ChatGPT "how to change a tire," and it gives you step-by-step instructions, do you then click through to multiple tire company websites?

Of course not. You got your answer and moved on with your life.

This is why chasing high-volume informational queries is such a waste of resources now.

You're essentially doing free work for AI companies. You create the content, they summarize it, users get value from your work, and you get nothing in return.

It's the worst possible ROI scenario.

The same logic applies to navigational queries, but for different reasons. When someone searches for "Amazon," they want to go to Amazon.

If an AI search engine gives them that link, great - but there's no business opportunity for you there unless you are Amazon.

The Death of Top-Funnel Traffic

This shift represents the death of what we used to call top-funnel traffic - those massive volumes of people just starting their research journey.

In traditional SEO, informational content was your gateway drug. You'd attract people with helpful, educational content, and then gradually nurture them down your funnel until they became customers.

The strategy made sense because Google would send these people directly to your website, where you could:

• Capture their email

• Show them your products

• Start building a relationship

But AI search engines act as a middleman that captures all the value. They give users the information they need without ever sending them to your site.

Even when they do provide citations, users rarely click through because they've already gotten their answer.

This isn't necessarily bad for users - it's actually a better experience in many ways. Instead of clicking through five different websites to piece together an answer, they get a comprehensive response in seconds.

But it's terrible for businesses that built their entire content strategy around informational traffic.

The metrics that used to matter - page views, time on site, bounce rate - become irrelevant when users never visit your site in the first place.

You can't nurture someone through your funnel if they never enter it.

This is why so many content marketing strategies are failing right now. Companies are still playing by the old rules, creating informational content for AI engines that will summarize it without sending any traffic back.

They're working harder than ever and getting less return than ever.

The Commercial and Transactional Opportunity

So what's the solution? Focus on commercial and transactional intent queries instead of informational ones.

Commercial intent queries happen when someone is researching potential solutions to a problem they're ready to solve. These are queries like:

• "Best CRM software for small businesses"

• "iPhone vs Samsung for photography"

The person isn't just curious - they're actively evaluating options because they intend to make a decision soon.

Transactional intent queries are even more direct. These happen when someone is ready to buy and just needs to figure out the specifics. Examples include:

• "Buy MacBook Pro M3 discount"

• "Plumber near me emergency service"

The purchase intent is crystal clear.

Here's why these query types still work in AI search: when someone has commercial or transactional intent, they need more than just information.

They need to evaluate specific products, compare prices, read reviews, or take action. AI can provide general guidance, but it can't complete transactions or provide real-time inventory and pricing.

When someone asks "what's the best project management tool for a 20-person marketing team," an AI might give them a good overview, but they still need to visit actual websites to see pricing, start free trials, or make purchases.

The AI becomes a research assistant rather than the final destination.

This creates a much more sustainable business model. Instead of creating content that gets summarized and forgotten, you're creating content that drives qualified prospects to your site when they're actually ready to buy something.

Quality Over Quantity: The New ROI Math

Let's talk numbers for a second.

In the old SEO world, you might create a piece of content about "what is email marketing" that gets 10,000 views per month. Maybe 1% of those visitors eventually convert into customers.

That's 100 new customers from one piece of content - not bad.

But in the AI search world, that same content might get cited in AI responses thousands of times while driving zero traffic to your site. All that work, zero customers.

Now compare that to a piece of content targeting "best email marketing software for e-commerce stores under $50/month." This might only get searched 100 times per month, but these are people who are actively shopping for a solution.

Even if only 10% of them visit your site, and only 10% of those convert, you're still getting one customer.

But here's the key difference: that one customer came to you when they were ready to buy. They didn't need months of nurturing. They didn't need to be convinced they had a problem.

They just needed to be convinced you had the right solution.

The ROI math is completely different.

Instead of creating 10 pieces of informational content to drive 100 customers, you might create one piece of commercial content to drive one customer.

But that one customer required 90% less work to acquire.

This is the new efficiency of AI-age marketing. You're not casting a wide net hoping to catch anyone. You're using a spear to target exactly the fish you want to catch.

Resource Allocation in the AI Era

This shift should fundamentally change how you allocate your content creation resources.

Instead of spending 80% of your time on informational content and 20% on commercial content, flip that ratio.

Spend:

• 80% of your time creating content for people who are ready to buy

• 20% on broader educational content

This doesn't mean you should never create informational content. Brand awareness and thought leadership still matter.

But you need to go into it with realistic expectations about ROI. Create informational content because it positions you as an expert or because it helps your existing customers, not because you expect it to drive new customer acquisition.

When you do create informational content, think about how to make it less likely to be fully summarized by AI. Create content with:

• Unique data

• Original research

• Proprietary methodologies that AI can reference but not replicate

If you're going to do the work, make sure you get some credit for it.

But the bulk of your SEO and content efforts should focus on capturing people when they're already in a buying mindset.

These are the queries where AI search engines are most likely to send traffic your way because users need to take action beyond just getting information.

Measuring Success in AI Search

Your measurement strategy needs to evolve too. In traditional SEO, you might celebrate a piece of content that drove 50,000 page views, even if it only generated five customers.

The thinking was that all those page views built brand awareness and would eventually pay off.

But in AI search, page views matter less than qualified traffic. A piece of content that drives 500 highly qualified visitors who convert at 5% is infinitely more valuable than content that drives 10,000 unqualified visitors who convert at 0.1%.

Start tracking metrics that actually matter for business outcomes:

• Conversion rate by traffic source

• Customer acquisition cost by content type

• Revenue per piece of content

• Time from first touch to purchase

These metrics will show you the real ROI of your content efforts and help you double down on what's actually working in the AI search landscape.

The companies that make this transition fastest will have a massive competitive advantage.

While their competitors are still chasing vanity metrics and high-volume keywords, they'll be quietly capturing all the high-intent traffic that actually drives revenue.

The bottom line: Stop creating content that AI engines summarize for free. Start creating content that drives qualified prospects when they're ready to buy. Your ROI will thank you.

Jason Patel
Co-founder & CEO, Open Forge AI
We help your business get seen, cited, and selected by AI search engines.

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