The names have changed faster than the fundamentals
ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI Overviews present information differently, but none of them removes the need for a well-built website. Pages still need to be discoverable. Search systems still need to understand the subject. People still need a reason to believe the answer and take the next step.
In fact, Google’s guidance for AI features in Search says that existing SEO best practices remain relevant to AI Overviews and AI Mode, while OpenAI provides its own guidance on making sites accessible to ChatGPT search.
The mistake is creating a separate layer of awkward ‘AI content’ on top of ordinary SEO. A better approach is to strengthen the same signals across the site: clarity, structure, evidence, reputation and technical access.
Build pages around a complete decision
A service page that says an agency offers Umbraco development is unlikely to settle a buyer’s question. A useful page explains who the service is for, the problems it solves, how delivery works, what affects cost, what risks need managing and what relevant work the agency has completed.
That does not mean every page should become a 3,000-word essay. It means the page should complete its job. Short answers can sit near the top; supporting detail, examples and related pages can carry the depth. This fits with Google’s guidance to create helpful, reliable content for people rather than search engines.
Use Umbraco’s content model deliberately
Create reusable components for definitions, steps, comparisons, FAQs, statistics and author details. Give editors fields that encourage specificity: source URL, date checked, result, constraint and relevant service. If every page is assembled from an unrestricted rich-text field, consistency soon becomes a manual battle.
This is where Umbraco Document Types are particularly useful: they let teams define the structure, properties and editing experience for different types of content rather than treating every page as an undifferentiated block of copy.
Content models should serve readers first. They also make it easier to create accurate metadata, structured data, feeds and alternative delivery methods without rewriting the source.
Strengthen entities and relationships
Be consistent about the organisation’s name, locations, people, services and areas of expertise. Link an Umbraco upgrade article to the relevant service page and to a migration case study. Link an author to a proper profile that demonstrates why their view carries weight. Make case studies explicit about platform, sector and outcome.
These connections give search systems context and give readers a sensible path through the site. Internal links should describe the destination, rather than relying on a sea of ‘read more’ links. Google’s link best practices specifically recommend descriptive, relevant anchor text and contextual internal linking.
Measure more than rankings
Conventional search performance still matters, but AI visibility needs its own checks. Track referral traffic where it is available, citations for a stable set of prompts, brand mentions and the pages used to support them. Most importantly, inspect the answers. A mention that misstates your service or recommends you for the wrong work is not a win.
Some of this measurement is becoming more concrete. OpenAI explains how publishers can track referral traffic from ChatGPT, while Bing Webmaster Tools now provides AI Performance reporting showing citations, cited pages and grounding queries across supported AI experiences.
Do not promise a precise ranking in a generative result. These systems vary by prompt, location, model and time. Look for repeated visibility and accurate association instead. Bing, for example, explicitly distinguishes AI citations from rankings, traffic or measures of authority in its AI Performance reporting.
A sensible order of work
Fix crawling and indexing, performance and duplication first. For ChatGPT visibility, it is also worth checking that OAI-SearchBot is not being blocked if appearing in ChatGPT search is part of the objective.
Then strengthen the pages closest to a commercial decision as part of a wider SEO strategy and consultancy approach. Add evidence and clear authorship. Improve the content model where it is limiting consistency. Finally, test real questions and use the gaps to shape the next round of publishing.
That approach is less glamorous than chasing every new acronym. It is also much more likely to leave you with a better website.
A useful next step
We help organisations turn Umbraco SEO, content structure and AI visibility into one practical roadmap—not three disconnected projects.