How AI Search Cut Organic Clicks by 47%: 7 New SEO Rules for 2025

Key Takeaways:

AI search has raised the bar on SEO fundamentals. Here are the 7 new rules:

1. Optimise for citations, not just clicks:

AI Overviews cut organic clicks by 47% (from 15% to 8%), making citations more valuable than rankings

2. Build contextual authority:

Train AI models to associate your brand with topics through backlinks AND co-citations (mentions without links)

3. Prove your E-E-A-T:

Google's framework (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) determines who gets cited

4. Brand your strategies:

Give your methods memorable names (like "Moving Man Method") to make them citable assets

5. Optimise Google's properties:

With 41% of page one owned by Google (Maps, YouTube, Knowledge Panels), you're competing with Google itself

6. Use GEO tactics:

Small publishers increased AI visibility by 115% using precise citations, statistics, and expert quotes

7. Think portfolio, not single keywords:

Target 100+ keywords and scale what works, rather than obsessing over one #1 ranking

Aaron's Thoughts:

I've been doing SEO for over a decade. Keywords, content clusters, backlinks, site speed. The fundamentals worked then. They still work now. But here's what changed: AI search has made those fundamentals matter more, not less. My recent analysis of Google's data and expert research confirms what Google Search team has been saying: quality content, E-E-A-T, and user value remain the foundation. AI didn't replace traditional SEO, it raised the bar. What surprised me wasn't that the old tactics stopped working. It's that AI amplified the importance of what always mattered: authority, citations, expertise, helpful content. And it added new tactical opportunities on top. After digging through the data, I've identified seven truths about how to double down on SEO fundamentals while adapting to AI's new distribution model.

1. The Click is Dying

The traditional click-through is becoming obsolete. Google's AI Overviews (those AI-generated summaries at the top of search results) answer queries so well that people don't need to click anymore.

The numbers from Pew Research Center tell the story:

• Standard search page: 15% of visits result in a click

• With AI Overview present: just 8% result in a click

• That's a 47% reduction in organic clicks

• Clicks on source links within the AI summary: 1% of visits

CTR among Standard SERP vs AI Overview SERP vs AI Overview source links

This is the biggest shift in organic search since Google launched. For 20 years, organic traffic came from ranking high on page one. That model is dying. The new goal isn't to rank below the AI box. It's to be the source the AI cites. Local businesses relying on organic traffic for leads need to shift strategy now. If you're a Kuala Lumpur-based digital agency or property developer, your content needs to be citation-worthy, not just ranking-worthy. Getting mentioned by the AI is now more valuable than ranking under it.

2. Your New Goal is Training the Internet

Backlinks still matter. But their role has changed. The new strategic focus is "contextual authority": training large language models to associate your brand with specific topics. This means: • Earning backlinks AND co-citations • Getting mentioned alongside relevant topics (even without direct links) • Building brand associations that AI models recognise Example: When Malaysian accessories brand Christy Ng partnered Starbucks to release a unique co-branded collection of bags, the partnership instantly established a branded association between Christy Ng and high-demand consumer lifestyle, limited-edition, and global brand collaboration terms. The launch has led to Christy Ng brand gaining search visibility for keywords like "Starbucks bag" which helped search engine like Google and AI models create associations between Christy Ng and mass-market appeal, consumer novelty, and successful cross-industry co-branding.

3. You Can't Trick Google. You Have to Teach It

The days of gaming the system are over. Google's evaluation framework is built on E-E-A-T: • Experience • Expertise • Authoritativeness • Trustworthiness

E-E-A-T pyramid

This isn't jargon. It's how Google's human quality raters judge your content. And their assessments train the algorithm. E-E-A-T matters most for "Your Money or Your Life" (YMYL) topics: content affecting health, finances, or safety, but it's also generally applicable and important for content across all other fields. To succeed, you must prove you're qualified to speak on your subject. This includes building topical authority through strategic content clustering. I have seen way too many website blogs that they rarely do this right and I wrote on this topic recently on the importance of internal links and how they help to establish topical authority as part of the E-E-A-T signals that Google evaluates to help you rank. If you're writing about EPF withdrawals, property investment regulations, or medical advice, you need demonstrated credentials. A personal finance blogger in Malaysia needs to show their qualifications, not just write fluent content. The question has shifted from 'what did you say?' to 'who are you, and why should anyone listen?'

4. Give Your Strategy a Name to Get Cited

This is clever and counter-intuitive. If you want experts, bloggers, and AI models to reference your work, brand your techniques with memorable names. A named process becomes a citable asset. It's easier to write "We used the Moving Man Method" than to describe a multi-step process. Classic examples:

Both became widely known because they had distinct, memorable names. Useful naming words: • Method • Technique • Framework • Blueprint • Approach • Playbook Instead of saying "our client onboarding process," call it "The Clarity Framework" or "The 90-Day Blueprint." Make it citable. Make it memorable.

5. Google's Biggest Competitor Is Google

There's a growing tension at Google.

SERP Real Estate Breakdown

A study by The Markup analysed search results and found this: Google dedicates 41% of the first page to its own properties and ads. This includes YouTube videos, Google Shopping, Knowledge Panels, and other modules that keep users inside Google's ecosystem. Compare that to co-founder Larry Page's 2004 statement:

"We want to get you out of Google and to the right place as fast as possible."

The reality is clear: You're not just competing with other websites. You're fighting for attention with Google's own products. When someone in Kuala Lumpur searches "coworking space near me," they see Google Maps results, Google Business Profiles, and ads before organic results. Your website might be brilliant, but it's fighting for scraps. You need to optimise for Google's properties (YouTube, Maps, Business Profile) as much as your own site.

6. Small Players Can Get an Edge

AI search levels the playing field. Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), optimising content for AI-powered answer engines, doesn't favour the same players as traditional SEO. A 2024 GEO study published during the 30th ACM SIGKDD Conference revealed this: When lower-ranked sources added specific GEO tactics, their visibility in AI-generated answers increased by 115%:

Top-ranked sites from traditional search saw their visibility in AI answers decline by 30%. This is a democratisation effect. AI engines don't just default to sites with the most backlinks. They value well-structured, factually dense, highly citable information. A small Penang-based tech startup can outrank established players in AI search by structuring content better. You don't need a massive link profile. You need precise, well-cited, data-rich content. Smaller, agile publishers now have a powerful way to compete.

Visibility Changes Before and After Specific GEO Tactics

7. Guaranteeing a #1 Rank Isn't a Scam (If You Think Like a VC)

For as long as SEO has existed, the industry's golden rule has been that anyone guaranteeing a #1 ranking is a scammer. And for a single, high-value keyword, that's still true. However, a different mindset, borrowed from the world of finance and venture capital, reframes the idea of a "guarantee". I stumbled upon a quality Reddit thread recently that they discussed the key to rank well is to stop thinking about SEO as a single bet and start treating it as a portfolio. Instead of obsessing over one keyword, you target a large "spread" of keywords—say, 100 of them. The process is methodical, not magical: 1. Select your portfolio: Choose 100 target keywords 2. Build and publish: Create optimised content for all of them 3. Analyse the winners: Measure which pages rank, drive traffic, and convert 4. Iterate and improve: Go back to underperformers and improve them based on data You won't win on all 100. But a percentage will perform well. By repeating this cycle, you can methodically increase your success rate across the entire portfolio. A 100% guarantee for any single keyword is impossible. But this disciplined approach can eventually get you to 90% of your targets holding top positions. That's "almost a guarantee." It transforms SEO from a mysterious art into a predictable business strategy. I recently helped a client rank #1 for a high-value keyword in the automotive industry (this article) within 3 months using a similar diversification strategy. Their site was relatively new, and we achieved this by producing articles using a content cluster approach.

So, even if you're a Petaling Jaya digital agency, don't obsess over ranking #1 for "digital marketing agency Malaysia." Target 100 long-tail variations, measure what works, and scale the winners. I give you another example below where we've achieved this success in ranking top 3 for "SEO seminar" (out of many SEO keyword we wish to rank for).

What Does This Mean to You?

The fundamentals still work. They matter more than ever. Quality content, E-E-A-T, backlinks, technical SEO, and user experience remain the foundation. AI didn't change that. It amplified it. What's new is the delivery mechanism. Search engines now surface your content through AI summaries, not just blue links. This means you need to optimise for both traditional rankings AND citations within AI answers. Double down on what always worked:

The tactical enhancements (structured data, expert quotes, precise statistics) aren't replacing traditional SEO. They're making your existing fundamentals more discoverable to AI systems. As search engines become answer engines, your question isn't "should I abandon what worked?" It's "how do I make what always worked even more effective in this new distribution model?"

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