AI Is the Algorithm Now
AI Is the Algorithm Now
Google gets 28x the visits (34x the pages) vs ChatGPT. Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, and Bing each fall somewhere in between. But Google is now an LLM, just like Chat GPT, Grok, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. Search engine LLMs each synthesize answers from the web. The tech is increasingly converging. We are building sites AI trusts enough to cite.
Google and LLMs reward sites that are clear, relevant and trustworthy, even in a zero-click search environment. Real human value (or relevant-query satisfaction rate) has always been a core iNET focus. The game is increasingly showing up in featured snippets, AI Overviews, and People Also Ask: where users find answers without clicking. Along with relevance, query fulfillment is the main way robots measure wins and decide on winners.
LLM-Friendly = Chunky, Structured, Direct
We’re prioritizing an LLM-friendly, definitive answer format. That means gaming rich results with better content structure:
The faster an AI can parse, rank, and repackage your content towards the specific search(/er), the more likely the search engine or large language model will be to list you to your future customers.
AI-solicitors Selling Nonsense
Most AI audits just repackage the most ubiquitous marketing hooks (bloggers push blogs, technical SEOs push technical SEO) as critical and urgent. LLMs autocomplete advice from a flawed corpus where what is most pitched becomes most important. That’s why so many AI-generated recommendations feel bloated or disconnected from business outcomes. Suggestions should be taken with a grain of salt. An LLM can instantly generate 5 pages of stream-of-consciousness makework deliverables with no KPIs, no prioritization, and calibration of costs to ROI. Don’t let robots convince you to pay for busywork.
Reviews Aren’t Optional Anymore
LLMs scan your entire review footprint in seconds. They group by tone, sentiment, and language. If your Google/niche site reviews paint a coherent, positive picture relative to your competition, you are more likely to be recommended. The best review strategy remains asking personally in a moment of thanks. When it comes to review quantity, quality, and velocity, you and your competitors are in a permanent war.
Pre-Click Signals Matter More Than Ever
Our rankings thermometers now track pre-click assets like People Also Ask visibility, image results, and AI-generated featured snippets. These signals influence behavior before anyone clicks.
Many important engagement signals now happen off your website. Zero-click search reduces the value of raw traffic as a success metric. Most local businesses can expect more Google Business Profile call clicks than website contact form submissions. Impressions are more valuable now, but when the impressions metric is isolated to high-intent searches, the value of the metric goes up by orders of magnitude. We filter keyword data for high-intent terms like "near" or "cost", aligned with buyers ready to act. DIY and how-to queries are of limited utility to your search strategy. A strong keyword index reflects real sales opportunity. Work is more effective when goals are well chosen.
A well-developed system of lead attribution is your best KPI. Second-order vanity metrics (traffic/impressions) are not ROI.
