It’s no secret that websites aren’t working the way they used to. Search has changed significantly over the last few years and marketers must change their strategies accordingly.
In this insight, I’ll explain how AI search has impacted performance metrics, what you can do to your content to help with AI discoverability, and what KPIs you should track to measure success.
How has AI search impacted performance metrics?
Historically, marketers have relied on KPIs like impressions, click-through rates (CTR) and sessions to measure a website’s effectiveness. But today, these measurements are painting dashboards in a sea of amber and red.
This isn’t necessarily indicative of a failed website, but a signal that the way users search for information has fundamentally changed.
Zero-click searches have increased
In 2016, 45% of Google searches resulted in zero clicks, which means the user found their answer on the results page, searched again or closed the tab. By the start of 2026, that figure had risen to 68%. Users can now find a perfectly concise answer in the AI overview at the top of search, with no need for further investigation.
High-ranking sites no longer drive traffic
Websites can no longer rely on strong SEO. Even those that are served up as the most relevant source are losing out on the clicks they previously enjoyed. A 2025 study found that top-ranked websites can lose up to 80% of their traffic if an AI overview is present. Even for those cited within the AI overview, users only clicked the reference link 1% of the time. That doesn’t offer much hope for the websites appearing further down the page.
Referral rates have dropped
Similarweb estimates that where Google search previously provided 191 billion referrals, AI platforms generated only 1.13 billion referrals in the same period.
Faced with dwindling metrics each month, many leaders are panic-buying a brand-new website. While changing tack may be necessary, a new website won’t fix anything unless the fundamentals of AI search have been carefully considered.
How do you optimise your website content for AI search?
Structure for AI extraction. Placing a concise, direct answer below question-based headings quickly shows AI that you have the exact response to a user query. Avoid long, dense paragraphs of text (these aren’t great for human readers, either). Break your content down into logical HTML headings, bullet lists and comparison tables where suitable. This will all help AI scan for extractable summaries.
Be clear and get to the point. To retain attention and inspire action, readers must be able to clearly identify what you sell, who it’s for, and what problem it solves within five seconds of entering your site. Keeping this in mind will also help AI crawlers to find everything they need to know quickly and efficiently.
Build authority and E-E-A-T. AI favours original data and research. Include author bios and team credentials to help show that your business is credible, trustworthy and expert-led. As with traditional SEO, external citations, brand mentions and backlinks will improve your AI authority.
Keep your content fresh. AI search engines prioritise up to date statistics and fresh information. Take a ‘continuous improvement’ approach to your website, regularly auditing and updating your service pages to keep information current.
Which website metrics should we measure?
As a rule, avoid vanity metrics. These are data points that look impressive at first glance, but don’t necessarily translate to increased revenue. For example, impressions, sessions, or follower counts. While interesting to track, they don’t reliably connect to meaningful business outcomes and are often influenced by spend and volume rather than true strategic performance.
Before reporting on a metric, always consider the “so what?” – what does success in this metric actually mean for us as a business?
With this in mind, shift your focus to value and intent metrics, such as:
- Conversion rate by traffic segment. This measures the percentage of visitors completing key actions (form-fills, email clicks, etc.) broken down by source (where they came from).
- Engagement and quality signals. Such as engaged sessions, engagement rate, return visits and dwell time. This shows whether people find your content interesting enough to engage with and memorable enough to come back.
- Branded search volume. This tracks how many people are typing your brand name into search engines, which is a reliable indicator that off-site awareness and trust is growing.
- Authority and AI visibility. AI citations monitor whether AI engines, LLMs and overviews are citing, recommending or referencing your brand in relevant search queries.
How can Stratton Craig help with your website strategy?
Like businesses the world over, we’ve had to change our website strategy in the advent of AI search. We’ve worked hard to test and implement new content strategies for our own website, and those of our clients, to improve digital performance as search algorithms shift.
If you’re looking for support on your digital content, get in touch with us. Our strategists can audit your existing website, establish what’s working and what needs attention, and develop refined content that boosts your discoverability.
You can learn more about how to create great GEO content in our eBook, here.
