Skip to main content

How to do SEO for Gemini?

• Written by Drew Tendero

We have already talked about SEO and ChatGPT, but what if you want to appear on Gemini? Well, it must be said that it's quite similar to what you did with SEO strategy as Gemini is a Google tool and Google knows that their algorithm kind of rocks; but, there are some differences that should be taken into account as users don't want the same answers when searching with Gemini vs. Google.

A human chef plates an SEO Strategy dish while a friendly Gemini robot sous-chef hands over a bowl of ingredients, illustrating Gemini as a helpful SEO assistant

In this article we will talk everything about gaining visibility in Gemini as well as how Gemini can be used to enhance your SEO strategy, one thing that can't be done with ChatGPT…

How will Gemini affect SEO?

As AI tools rise as main search tools, all search engines update their area of expertise and amplify it by incorporating AI and even creating their own AI tools. Google is not an exception, and it created and launched Gemini in 2023. Formerly known as Bard and rebranded to Gemini in 2024, this AI tool main difference from ChatGPT is that it benefits from native Google search, offering real-time information. ChatGPT often relies on its training data, requiring active browsing for live updates.

From then on, Google has maximized their AI by incorporating it as AI overviews and suggesting users to use Gemini as an AI helper. This has entirely changed how Google works and what they are focusing on regarding search results and user experience. Instead of only providing links to external websites, Google now prioritizes delivering summarized answers directly on the top of the results page, a way to reply more aligned to what users want nowadays: quick answers to their questions.

This transformation shifts the focus from traditional ranking systems to AI-generated responses, where visibility depends not only on SEO but also on how content is interpreted and selected by AI models. As a result, businesses and content creators must adapt their strategies to remain relevant in an AI-driven search environment. Therefore, the launch as well as following implementation of Gemini on Google has changed and affected completely how marketers work as well as the strategies they develop. If you want to appear at the top of Google search results, you can no longer focus only on traditional SEO techniques and keyword rankings: AIEO must be part of the strategy, and therefore Gemini must be included in the conversation.

How to use Google Gemini for better SEO?

Gemini, as an AI tool, can be used in multiple ways—not only as a search engine—and we, as marketers, can benefit from that. Even though it must be noted that it can't replace SEO and analytics tools, it can be used to enhance your SEO strategy.

As stated by Francisco Castro in a Google Support forum, there are multiple ways to use Gemini for SEO, technical analysis, and keyword research. Some of them include:

  • Generating keyword and content ideas: Don't mistake this for doing a keyword research. You can use Gemini to get content ideas that can afterward be verified by doing a keyword research. For example, if your website is about pools, you can ask Gemini to give you a list of content ideas that can be searched on keyword research tools. Here, you will be able to identify keywords to build your content from.
  • Understanding keyword context: Gemini can help you understand user intent and the nuances of search queries for you to develop content based on a specific keyword, as sometimes keywords alone can be misleading.
  • Get SEO optimization suggestions: You probably won't need this if you are a good marketer, as you can identify what's wrong with your content, but sometimes it can be a good assistive tool. Maybe you are not seeing something that can improve the performance of your website, and Gemini can identify it, for example, by suggesting relevant internal and external links.
  • Updating meta titles and meta descriptions: Updating meta data is something marketers do regularly and sometimes is quite difficult as well as exhausting to think of another way to say the same thing. You can use Gemini to rephrase your meta titles and meta descriptions and be free from work like that.
  • Internal and external linking suggestions: Another way in which Gemini can be useful is to get internal and external linking suggestions. Even though you have to create your own internal and external linking strategy to ensure balanced link juice across all your content, Gemini can help identify relevant pages to link to, suggest authoritative external sources, and highlight opportunities you might have missed.

How to optimize your content for Gemini (AIEO)?

As mentioned above, one of the ways Google is using Gemini is by implementing it in its search engine through AI Overviews. These AI Overviews are now the first thing users see when they ask a question or look for something on Google. There is no need to search directly in the Gemini tool, as it is already being used and prioritized within the search engine itself. Therefore, a strategy with Gemini in mind should be considered not only for SEO, but also to get stronger AIEO results. Marketers must optimize their content not just to rank in traditional listings, but to increase the likelihood of being featured, summarized, or referenced within AI-generated answers.

We have already made an in-depth article with LOTS of tips to make your content rank on AI tools, but there are key differences to consider when your purpose is to appear on Gemini specifically:

  1. Ongoing SEO: As we have already mentioned, since Gemini is a Google tool, the way it works is similar to how you rank on Google, and therefore an SEO strategy will help you get more visibility in this tool. Even though Gemini and Google search results differ, as they use different criteria to retrieve information, one strategy can feed the other.
  2. Update content based on what AI likes: Structured, easy-to-read, and original content is what AI tools like, and therefore what Gemini favors. Make sure your content follows a hierarchical structure, use bullet points, tag your content with the correct HTML tags, answer directly to the questions asked, and make it easy to read and understand. This will boost your visibility both in Gemini and Google. Additionally, adding a FAQ section will boost it even more.
  3. References are key: Getting cited by other websites is crucial, as AI (just like SEO) values seeing your content referenced on multiple sites. It considers this a way to verify that the information provided is truthful and that your website is reliable and important.
  4. Encourage customer reviews and ratings: AI tools love testimonials, as they are a truthful piece of information that can help them identify if a brand or business is reliable. By getting a good number of positive reviews, you can boost your visibility both in Gemini and Google search results. Don't feel bad and encourage your customers to add reviews!

Besides these tips, Fred SR in a Google Support forum thread, also mentioned that keeping your Google Merchant Center data updated can be a smart move for Gemini visibility in e-commerce. This is because Google Merchant uses simple metadata that both Google and Gemini can easily crawl. By keeping your product data accurate and complete, your products can not only become more visible in AI Overviews and Gemini, but they can also be featured in Google's Sponsored Products section, which appears at the top of the search results page.

Additionally to all the tips listed above, we recommend checking our articles about AIEO/AEO (like this one), where you will find more in-depth information on how to implement a strategy that works with AI tools like Gemini.

How to use Gemini for SEO content?

As we listed at the beginning of this article, Gemini can be used in multiple ways to get better SEO, but regarding content creation it is not as recommended. Yes, we already suggest to use it to write meta descriptions, but it's not actually the same. One thing is giving AI an already written text for it to rewrite it and then edit it yourself and another thing is asking AI to write a complete article.

However, there are some ways to use AI to improve your content that don't affect negatively and that can help you save time.

  • Update meta data: As mentioned earlier, you can ask Gemini to update your content's meta data by providing an existing text and asking AI to rephrase it. You can even prompt it to give multiple options, which allows you to do A/B testing and track what works best.
  • Rephrase content: Content must be updated regularly as things change over time. Sometimes the information is outdated; other times the way it's presented doesn't match user preferences. By giving Gemini your self-made content to rephrase, and then post-editing it, you can save a lot of time.
  • Content expansion suggestions: Sometimes your content needs to be updated because something is missing, but you're not sure what. Gemini can help identify the missing pieces of information so you can expand your content effectively.

Summary

Although all AI tools may seem similar, Gemini has something special regarding digital marketing: its connection to Google. Taking advantage of that and building a strategy that increases your visibility both in search engine results and AI Overviews can help you significantly boost your performance.