Google AI Overviews: A Practical Guide for Better Rankings in 2025
Google launched AI Overviews in May 2024, adding AI-generated summaries at the top of search results. These summaries pull information from trusted websites to answer user questions directly. Here's what you need to know to keep your business visible.
What Google AI Overviews Mean For You
When people search online now, they often see an AI-created summary before regular search results. This summary might include text from your website, images, product details, or answers to common questions. Getting included in these summaries helps more people find your business.
Making Your Website Work with AI Overviews
SEO Basics Still Work
Good SEO practices help your website appear in AI Overviews. Keep your content helpful and original, update it regularly, and ensure it answers real customer questions. These quality signals when choosing which sites to include.
Getting Into Google's Knowledge Graph
Google's Knowledge Graph needs to recognise your business as trustworthy. Create clear 'About Us' pages that explain what you do. Keep your contact details and business information up to date everywhere online. Add proper schema markup to your website to help Google understand your business better.
Writing Content That Gets Noticed
Write about specific problems and solutions your customers care about. Put your main topic in the first 30-40 characters of your page titles - AI Overviews often use this text in summaries. Blog posts, FAQs, and detailed guides work well with AI Overviews.
Different content types serve various purposes. Product comparison guides help customers make choices. How-to articles show your expertise. Case studies prove your results. FAQ pages answer common questions directly. News updates show you stay current in your field. Choose the correct format based on what your customers need to know.
Using Images Effectively
Every important page needs a good featured image. AI Overviews might show these images in search results. Use real photos of your products or services when possible. Add clear descriptions to help Google understand your images.
Optimise your images correctly. Name files descriptively - "blue-widget-installation.jpg" works better than "IMG12345.jpg". Add alt text that describes what the image shows. Keep file sizes small for fast loading while maintaining quality. Use modern image formats like WebP when possible. Show products from multiple angles. Include before-and-after photos for services.
Technical Setup
Add schema markup to your website - it's like giving Google a map of your content. Include:
- What your business does
- Who wrote each article
- What products do you sell
- Common customer questions
- Where you're located
Schema markup needs careful implementation. Product schema should include prices, availability, and reviews. The article schema needs author details and publication dates. The local business schema must match your contact details exactly. The organisation schema tells Google about your company structure. The FAQ schema helps your answers appear in search results.
Showing Your Expertise
Share what makes you qualified in your field. List certifications that matter to your customers. Include accurate results you've achieved. Have experts write or check your content and show their credentials.
Creating Useful Content
Write clearly about things you know well. Explain topics like you would to a customer in person. Break down complex ideas without oversimplifying them. Use real examples from your work.
Getting the Technical Parts Right
- Load quickly
- Work well on phones
- Use clear headings
- Link related content together
- Include proper schema markup
Checking Your Progress
Track several key areas to measure success. Watch which pages appear in AI Overviews and how often. Check if your featured images show up in the results. Monitor click-through rates from different types of searches. Look at how long visitors stay on your site after clicking through. Compare traffic before and after making changes.
Look at competitor results, too. See what content types work well for them. Notice which images Google chooses to show. Study how they structure their pages. Learn from both their successes and mistakes.
Use Google Search Console to track your progress. Watch for changes in impressions and clicks. Look for patterns in the queries that bring visitors. Check which pages perform best. Use this data to guide your improvements.
Next Steps
Start by checking your most important pages. Update their content, add proper markup, and optimise their images. Then, work on other pages over time.
AI Overviews will continue to change how people find businesses online. By making these improvements now, you can help more potential customers find your business through search.
Get Help
Want to know exactly how your website can improve with AI Overviews? Our SEO team can review your site and suggest specific improvements.
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