Impressions are the new clicks. Here’s how to make them count.

If clicks to your website from Google’s search results are down but impressions are holding steady (or maybe even trending upward), you’re likely seeing the effects of AI search firsthand.

You’re probably already aware that tools like AI Overviews and ChatGPT have completely transformed the search landscape. Gone are the days of users clicking through top-ranked results to find answers to their questions. Instead, searchers are asking AI engines specific, complex and often lengthy questions and receiving a synthesized response informed by an amalgamation of online resources—all without leaving the results page.

Welcome to the zero-click world. In this new reality, the goal is no longer to rank first in traditional search results, but rather to show up in AI-generated answers, whether that be a brand mention in a summary or a linked citation. This shift isn’t temporary; it’s an inevitable truth about how search is evolving.

If your reports show dropping clickthrough rates, don’t panic. AI is simply a new gatekeeper (like Google before it), especially now that it’s often the sole touchpoint in the customer journey. That means your very first impression might be the only shot you get to make an impact.

Impressions used to be pretty low on our list of KPIs. Metrics that didn’t reflect an immediately valuable action were cast aside. Clicks, especially clicks to relevant content with high conversion rates, were more important.

With AI search guiding users through a large part (or maybe even all) of the customer journey, impressions matter. While users may not be clicking through to a business’s website as often, they are still being introduced to or reminded of the brand’s message and authority. Google initially refuted claims that AI Overviews reduce site traffic, but later acknowledged that while overall clicks may be fewer, they tend to be more qualified or intentional.

As a result, marketers are shifting their focus. AI search is an ongoing priority at Parkway. Instead of chasing raw traffic, we are continuously thinking about how our clients can show up in an increasingly fractured customer journey, which includes AI search.

If impressions are an important goal in the AI search era, the impressions you capture must be meaningful. This closely mirrors the idea that growing website traffic with no regard for the relevancy of that traffic should never be the goal of SEO.

Creating content that AI systems understand and share starts with understanding how large language models (LLMs) interact with and interpret information.

Traditionally, search engine algorithms leaned heavily on technical structures like metadata, schema and link signals to rank content. LLMs consume content more like humans do, breaking down language into parts, looking for connections between words and ideas and prioritizing clarity and structure.

Technical elements still matter, of course, but on-page content and how it’s structured have heightened importance. AI tends to disregard content that lacks organization, includes lengthy paragraphs, is bloated with keywords, or tries to be clever without being clear. Well-structured pages that contain relevant details resonate with AI. When you create content, keep these factors in mind.

An introduction paragraph sets the stage for the content that follows for human readers. However, a good intro should do more than just lead in. Intros must establish what the content is about using clear, descriptive language. Avoid vague hooks or slow build-ups. Use the first few sentences to directly speak to or answer the core question or concern your content addresses.

Not only do headings help people skim through an article for what they’re looking for, but they also help AI understand how your content is organized. LLMs use headings to identify topic shifts, break complex concepts into digestible chunks and figure out the overall informational hierarchy.

For example, let’s say you’re writing a blog about traveling to Rome. Instead of just using a keyword like “Top Attractions in Rome,” you could write a header like, “What are the Top Attractions in Rome?” That structure is closer to how people might naturally phrase a query, and it signals to AI that your content directly answers it.

Like people, AI can absorb content arranged in short, focused segments. Concise content blocks make it easier to deliver one idea at a time. That’s exactly what AI is looking for when it crawls content. If a paragraph starts to feel like it’s trying to do too much, break it up. One thought per paragraph is a good rule of thumb.

AI models love structure. Even when you use AI, you’ve likely noticed it tends to respond in lists, tables or even FAQs. These formats break up dense information and make it more approachable and easier to extract meaningful information.

If you’re already creating content on your website, you’re a step ahead in the right direction. However, how you create content matters more.

We’re living in an age marked by content overload. With AI generation readily available, it is easier than ever to pump out content. That also means that much of the content available tends to be generic.

Your content should reflect your knowledge and experience. It should show that you understand your audience and can answer their most important questions. It’s better to publish fewer, higher-quality pieces than to spread your insight thin and churn out multiple pages at once.

When you take the time to go deep and cover the full range of questions, subtopics and nuances your audience is actually searching for, you’re far more likely to be seen as an authority. That makes your content more likely to be cited by AI and noticed by real users.

We’ve seen it in action with our own clients: when someone does make it onto your site, they’re more inclined to take meaningful action. And that starts with making your impressions count.