We’ve been in the SEO game for years, working to get our clients’ websites to rank high on Google and bring in steady traffic. But Google’s AI Overviews, which hit big in 2024, have changed the rules.
These summaries pop up at the top of search results, answering questions right there, so fewer people click through to websites where about 60% of searches are now “zero-click,” according to a 2024 study by SparkToro.
For our clients who make money from ads when visitors spend 10–30 minutes on their sites, this has meant traffic drops of 30–60%, hitting their ad revenue hard. It’s tough, but we’ve found solid ways to adapt and keep our clients’ businesses growing.
At FoxAdvert, here’s how we are helping our clients to win against the Google AI Overviews.
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AI Overviews show up in about one out of five searches as of early 2025, especially for topics like health, legal advice, or how-to guides, per Google’s Search Central Blog. Since users get answers without visiting sites, our clients are seeing fewer visitors and fewer ad views.
Google’s also adding ads to AI Overviews and testing a new AI Mode tab, shifting how they make money away from traditional website traffic.
So here’s what we are up against:
Our job is to keep our clients’ sites visible and driving results, even with these changes.
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First of all, we focused on getting our clients’ content into the links that come with AI Overviews, which Google says get strong clicks.
The first step is to write trustworthy content. How? Well, by making sure the content is accurate and backed by experts. For example, one of our clients is a health website, so we make sure all the articles are reviewed and fact-checked by the medical specialist that we hire as a freelancer. We also cite the information from credible sources like WebMD, which Google’s AI favors for trustworthiness.
Then, add schema markup to help Google’s AI understand content. Moz's guide in 2025 still confirms that schema markup helps to boost AI visibility.
Sometimes, people search with questions like “How do I clean a coffee maker?”. We use AnswerThePublic to find these and create pages with clear answers. For a home improvement site, we wrote a post with a section titled “How to Clean Your Coffee Maker in 5 Steps,” using bullet points, which can help to get picked up by AI Overviews. The key is to answer questions directly and provide a quick answer.
Note: Use Ahrefs to find question-based keywords, ensuring content matches what people are asking.
Learn more: How to Build Unforgettable Brand Content That Converts
To help ensure our clients’ sites are easy for Google’s AI to crawl and rank, here's how we do it.
Since most searches happen on phones (80% of AI Overview ads show there, per Search Engine Journal, 2025), we optimize sites to load fast on mobile. For a blog, we would use Google’s PageSpeed Insights to fix slow image loading, hitting “Good” scores for Core Web Vitals.
Next, we optimize the pages to make them easy to find. The way to do it is by submitting sitemaps using Google Search Console to highlight key pages. For example, "Contact Us" and "Services" pages are usually our top priorities.
HTML tags like <article> or <section> can also help to make content AI-readable and help Google parse them for AI Overviews, and dont forget to check all sites and make sure they are using HTTPS instead of HTTP.
Sometimes, we also help clients to get visitors from places other than Google SERP.
One of the use cases is using YouTube. Did you know that, according to Google’s Q4 2024 Earnings Report, YouTube earned over $10 billion in ad revenue in Q4 2024? To utilize YouTube, create videos that are relevant to the website.
For example, for a website that focuses on gardening and plants, create a how-to guide video such as “How to Plant Tomatoes,” and optimize it with keywords in the title and description to attract viewers. On top of that, insert links to the site, and use relevant hashtags to get discovered easily on YouTube search results.
Posting on social media is also a great method to use. For example, sharing content on X and targeting relevant groups and audiences to increase brand awareness and visibility.
Setting up a newsletter can help bring people back to the website. Utilizing email marketing strategies such as sending a weekly email helps to keep readers coming directly to the site.
Consider optimizing for other search engines aside from Google. For example, we help to optimize a client's site for Bing, which still drives traditional traffic. To do this, you can consider adding the website to Bing Places (if it's a local business) to help increase the local search visibility.
While optimizing the site is important, it is also critical to work with the paid ad teams to stay visible on Google SERP, despite Google's upcoming effort to add ads in the AI Overviews.
Here's what can be done: run smart ads, focus on shopping searches, and track the results diligently.
We recommend using Google's Performance Max campaign, which places ads in AI Overviews and YouTube.
Product pages should also be optimized. Not only that it help the product to get listed on the Shopping search, it also helps for where AI Overviews shows ads. This in turn, will help to drive more ad clicks and possible conversion from the audience.
Don't forget to use Google Ads to track the results, such as the ad performance and the conversion rate. Feel free to adjust the keywords accordingly and do a/b testing on the copywriting to get the best result.
Continue reading: Why You Should Start Using Both Paid Ads and SEO To Boost Your Marketing Strategy In 2025
Search Engine Journal’s “The Machine Web” (2025) talks about how Google is talking about a “machine web” where AI systems use content. To prepare for this, the client also needs to get ready for the changes by making content more AI-friendly, setting up data feeds for real-time updates, and continuing to experiment and trying new formats that will take over.
It is also important to stay informed about the new changes that may take place. It is recommended to follow key profiles in the SEO landscape like Search Engine Journel and Google Search Updates for news on Google's AI and algorithm changes.
To be honest, Google’s AI Overviews have made our SEO work harder, but we are trying our best to keep our clients’ sites visible by optimizing for AI, finding new traffic sources, and working with ads.
Focusing on quality content with a solid technical setup, as well as investing in new ways like having a YouTube channel, can help the clients to stay in front of their audience. Staying flexible and keeping up with Google’s changes is the key to staying relevant!
As an industry leader in search strategy and digital marketing, we at FoxAdvert help enterprise brands through technical SEO, performance optimization, and content growth.
Let’s talk about how we can align your SEO strategy with business outcomes, starting with the foundations that matter most. Schedule your free strategy session now!
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