Is AI SEO Really Necessary or Is Good SEO Still Enough?

Linkzo

Linkzo

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I've worked on two different scenarios with my clients recently.


Client #1: We followed a standard SEO strategy (content, backlinks, technical SEO), and the site started getting cited in AI Overviews naturally.

Client #2: The same approach wasn't enough. We had to implement a more customized strategy that focused on topical authority, entity building, and content structure before we finally secured the citation in AI Overviews.

One putting a lot of effort into AEO / AI SEO / GEO strategy(whatever we're calling it these days) like building entity signals, optimizing for AI citations, and creating FAQ focused content.

Other doing nothing than solid, consistent SEO, good content, quality backlinks, proper on-page optimization and getting cited in AI Overviews without any dedicated AI strategy like other.

So I'm wondering what you guys thinking

Is AI SEO is must-have strategy?
Or simply strong SEO naturally leads to AI citations over time?

Are you getting cited in AI Overviews without changing your SEO strategy?


I'm curious to hear real experiences from others rather than just reading another "AI SEO is the future" post.
 
Last edited:
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Imo, strong SEO is still the foundation. AI SEO can help in some cases, but it's not something every site needs.

If your content is solid and builds authority over time, AI citations often come naturally.
 
I don't think AI SEO is a separate strategy as much as it is a refinement of good SEO. In my experience, the biggest difference is how the information is presented. Two sites can have similar authority, but the one with clearer explanations, well-organized headings, original examples, and content that's easy to extract often has a better chance of being referenced by AI systems. So I see AI optimization as improving the usability of your content rather than replacing traditional SEO.
Click to expand...
 
Linkzo said:
I've worked on two different scenarios with my clients recently.


Client #1: We followed a standard SEO strategy (content, backlinks, technical SEO), and the site started getting cited in AI Overviews naturally.

Client #2: The same approach wasn't enough. We had to implement a more customized strategy that focused on topical authority, entity building, and content structure before we finally secured the citation in AI Overviews.

One putting a lot of effort into AEO / AI SEO / GEO strategy(whatever we're calling it these days) like building entity signals, optimizing for AI citations, and creating FAQ focused content.

Other doing nothing than solid, consistent SEO, good content, quality backlinks, proper on-page optimization and getting cited in AI Overviews without any dedicated AI strategy like other.

So I'm wondering what you guys thinking

Is AI SEO is must-have strategy?
Or simply strong SEO naturally leads to AI citations over time?

Are you getting cited in AI Overviews without changing your SEO strategy?


I'm curious to hear real experiences from others rather than just reading another "AI SEO is the future" post.
Click to expand...
Sure the SEO is still worth and is good.
 
AI SEO is similar to traditional SEO but instead of promoting webpages connected to keywords, you're promoting chunks of information connected to user's queries. In ideal case, you shouldn't mess with on-page SEO and content. AI SEO is nothing but branding on steroids. You should simplify your brand, products, positioning, etc. so that AI crawlers can understand and use the information. If 3rd-party sources mention and cite your content, it'll assert your brand authority & trust.
 
I'd say normal SEO if done correctly should suffice, AI will pick your business up that way as well; wouldn't touch AI seo unless I've finished everything i ever wanted to do with normal SEO
 
In my experience, strong SEO gets you most of the way there. AI-specific optimizations can help in competitive niches, but they're more of an enhancement than a replacement for solid content, topical authority, and good technical SEO.
 
Linkzo said:
Client #2: The same approach wasn't enough. We had to implement a more customized strategy that focused on topical authority, entity building, and content structure before we finally secured the citation in AI Overviews.
Click to expand...

The question I'd ask before drawing a conclusion from the pair: what did client 2's site look like before the extra work? Two sites getting different outcomes from the same playbook usually means they were not starting from the same place. If the second one was thinner on third party mentions, or sat in a niche where the AI answers lean on comparison and documentation pages rather than vendor sites, then the entity and structure work was patching a specific deficit the first client never had. That reads less like proof AI SEO is necessary and more like site 2 had a gap with a fancier name.

4theye said:
So I see AI optimization as improving the usability of your content rather than replacing traditional SEO.
Click to expand...

This is the framing I'd keep. A lot of what gets sold as a separate AI discipline is content that plainly answers the question under the heading it sits beneath, which was already the job.

The check I'd run before committing to a dedicated AI workstream: take the queries that matter to you, look at which pages the AI answers in your niche actually cite, and put that list next to what ranks. If they are mostly the same pages, ranking is the AI strategy and you are covered. If the citations keep going to a type of page you do not have, that gap is the actual workstream, whatever we end up calling it this quarter.
 
I think good SEO is still the most important part. AI is a useful tool that can save time with research, content planning, and first drafts, but it does not replace understanding search intent, creating valuable content, or building authority.
 
Linkzo said:
I've worked on two different scenarios with my clients recently.


Client #1: We followed a standard SEO strategy (content, backlinks, technical SEO), and the site started getting cited in AI Overviews naturally.

Client #2: The same approach wasn't enough. We had to implement a more customized strategy that focused on topical authority, entity building, and content structure before we finally secured the citation in AI Overviews.

One putting a lot of effort into AEO / AI SEO / GEO strategy(whatever we're calling it these days) like building entity signals, optimizing for AI citations, and creating FAQ focused content.

Other doing nothing than solid, consistent SEO, good content, quality backlinks, proper on-page optimization and getting cited in AI Overviews without any dedicated AI strategy like other.

So I'm wondering what you guys thinking

Is AI SEO is must-have strategy?
Or simply strong SEO naturally leads to AI citations over time?

Are you getting cited in AI Overviews without changing your SEO strategy?


I'm curious to hear real experiences from others rather than just reading another "AI SEO is the future" post.
Click to expand...
AI is still an useful tool, but what we really need to care about is the content. AI-specific optimization can probably help in more competitive niches, but I don't think it's something every site has to obsess over. Good SEO fundamentals still seem to do most of the heavy lifting.
 
Linkzo said:
I've worked on two different scenarios with my clients recently.


Client #1: We followed a standard SEO strategy (content, backlinks, technical SEO), and the site started getting cited in AI Overviews naturally.

Client #2: The same approach wasn't enough. We had to implement a more customized strategy that focused on topical authority, entity building, and content structure before we finally secured the citation in AI Overviews.

One putting a lot of effort into AEO / AI SEO / GEO strategy(whatever we're calling it these days) like building entity signals, optimizing for AI citations, and creating FAQ focused content.

Other doing nothing than solid, consistent SEO, good content, quality backlinks, proper on-page optimization and getting cited in AI Overviews without any dedicated AI strategy like other.

So I'm wondering what you guys thinking

Is AI SEO is must-have strategy?
Or simply strong SEO naturally leads to AI citations over time?

Are you getting cited in AI Overviews without changing your SEO strategy?


I'm curious to hear real experiences from others rather than just reading another "AI SEO is the future" post.
Click to expand...
I think good seo is still the foundation if your content is useful well structured and your site has enough authority AI can pick it up naturally in more competitive niches though improving topical coverage and content structure seems to increase chances of getting cited i see AI seo as an enhancement rather than a replacement for seo
 
Linkzo said:
I've worked on two different scenarios with my clients recently.


Client #1: We followed a standard SEO strategy (content, backlinks, technical SEO), and the site started getting cited in AI Overviews naturally.

Client #2: The same approach wasn't enough. We had to implement a more customized strategy that focused on topical authority, entity building, and content structure before we finally secured the citation in AI Overviews.

One putting a lot of effort into AEO / AI SEO / GEO strategy(whatever we're calling it these days) like building entity signals, optimizing for AI citations, and creating FAQ focused content.

Other doing nothing than solid, consistent SEO, good content, quality backlinks, proper on-page optimization and getting cited in AI Overviews without any dedicated AI strategy like other.

So I'm wondering what you guys thinking

Is AI SEO is must-have strategy?
Or simply strong SEO naturally leads to AI citations over time?

Are you getting cited in AI Overviews without changing your SEO strategy?


I'm curious to hear real experiences from others rather than just reading another "AI SEO is the future" post.
Click to expand...
I would prefer normal SEO.
 
Good SEO still provides a strong foundation because search engines continue to value useful content and a well structured website AI can make some tasks faster but it works best as a supporting tool rather than replacing solid SEO practices
 
Ai with real SEO method are necessary for new blog page to index in keyword search result in search engine,using the expose of Ai SEO could manage website ranking for long term.
 
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