What_s_moving_the_needle_in_Ecommerce_SEO___AI_Search_in_2026_-_Ahrefs_Evolve__4_.pdf

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1. Ecommerce in the Age of AI Search: Shifts, Risks, and Strategic Moves By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
2. Welcome to the state of Google’s Ecommerce SERPs in 2026, powered by AI Overviews, Product Packs and Ads By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
3. The rise of AIOs, SERP features, & ads in Ecom SERPs over the past year has been dramatic Ahrefs
4. Product SERPs show 5-6 traditional results with 4-5 features, which didn’t happen last year Ahrefs
5. So even if you keep ranking as you did a year ago, your traditional search traffic will decrease Similarweb
6. But AI traffic is not replacing traditional search either: it’s still only a fraction of it Similarweb
7. Most online stores get under 5% of revenue from AI platforms, vs +40% from traditional search https://hub.seofomo.co/surveys/ecommerce-seo-survey/
8. This is because AI is concentrated in the middle of the journey and search spans it https://www.similarweb.com/corp/the-state-of-ecommerce-2026/
9. AI has added a new layer to the shopper journey, making it to be even more fragmented https://www.similarweb.com/corp/the-state-of-ecommerce-2026/
10. AI also acts as a decision engine, being both a branding & performance channel now, allowing to buy directly without referring users By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
11. This is why it’s so hard to measure AI's real impact, which is today’s the biggest search challenge https://hub.seofomo.co/surveys/state-ai-search-optimization/
12. It’s also one of the reasons why SEO remains critical: most shopping journeys combine both AI with traditional search https://www.similarweb.com/corp/the-state-of-ecommerce-2026/
13. As well as the need of grounding and integration of SEO best practices for AI Shopping https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/search-engine-optimization/ugc-agentic-commerce-seo/
14. So, good SEO is good GEO. But what about key AI shifts: journey behavior & traffic loss? https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide
15. What can we learn from the brands winning across Ecommerce in AI search search in The US? Ahrefs
16. Let’s go through 3 major shifts: What to stop , to expand and to start to maximize your ecommerce AI search optimization success https://hub.seofomo.co/surveys/state-ai-search-optimization/
17. 1. To Stop: Tracking rankings, direct AI traffic & conversions and start measuring AI presence, readiness and business Impact AI SEARCH VISIBILITY BRAND RECALL DIRECT CLICK CHECKOUT & AGENTIC COMMERCE AI SEARCH TRAFFIC DECISION IN AI PLATFORM PURCHASE IN AI PLATFORM INDIRECT & MULTI-TOUCH WEBSITE VISIT AI SEARCH REVENUE By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO OFF PLATFORM INFLUENCE
18. The AI traffic and revenue shown in your analytics is the floor, not the ceiling of its impact Google Analytics 4
19. Instead, measure AI search across 3 layers: Presence, Readiness & Business Impact Metric Layer Why it matters KPI Roles 1. Presence Are you actually appearing, and how? Replaces traffic-only thinking with visibility and representation measurement Visibility KPIs Optimization and monitoring 2. Readiness Are you structurally prepared be surfaced? Explains why visibility is weak, strong, or unstable; the diagnostic layer Diagnostic KPIs Diagnosis and prioritization Connects AI search activity to commercial outcomes without overclaiming attribution Outcome KPIs Executive reporting and decision-making 3. Business Impact Are visibility and readiness translating into value? to By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
20. Start with AI presence: Is the brand shown in the answers that matter, & how is it represented? Presence KPIs Question it answers How to calculate Ecommerce example 1. Prompt coverage Are we showing up where we need to? Prompts where brand appears ÷ total tracked prompts The brand appears in 40 of 100 tracked jeans shopping prompts, such as “best women’s straight-leg jeans under $100.” Coverage: 40%. 2. Recommendation rate Are we being endorsed, or just included? Appearances where AI explicitly recommends ÷ appearances Of those 40 appearances, 24 explicitly recommend the brand’s jeans for the shopper’s needs. Recommendation rate: 60%. 3. Linked citation rate Is this visibility capable of driving visits or purchases? Appearances with a clickable link ÷ appearances Of those 40 appearances, 10 include a clickable link to the brand’s ecommerce site, such as a product or category page. Linked citation rate: 25%. 4. Comparative win rate Are we winning the shortlist when users compare options? Comparison prompts won ÷ comparison prompts where brand appears In 20 comparison prompts featuring the brand against competitors, it is the preferred choice in 8, based on the shopper’s fit, style and budget requirements. Win rate: 40%. 5. Representation accuracy Are we being understood properly, or misrepresented? Factually correct appearances ÷ appearances Of those 40 appearances, 36 correctly describe the relevant product details and purchase conditions, such as fit, materials, price and returns. Accuracy: 90%. By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
21. Constraint / dimension One of the biggest errors isn’t using a representative prompt library that reflect purchase decisions across the customer journey By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO Pattern Example prompt Category Specific product/subvertical “Best sites to buy running shoes online in the US?” Use case Purchase situation “Best running shoes for beginners training for a 10K?” Attributes Fit, specs, material, ingredients “Best non-comedogenic moisturizers for oily skin?” Price Budget / value / premium “Best wireless headphones under $150?” Trust Safety, authenticity, warranty, returns “Is Back Market reliable for refurbished iPhones?” Logistics Shipping, stock, delivery, returns “Where can I buy a dishwasher with delivery this week?” Comparison Retailer / product / brand shortlist “Amazon vs Walmart for buying baby products online?” Market Country / language / local availability “Best online fashion stores in Spain with easy returns?”
22. A prompt library should reflect the moments where the buyer is uncertain: fit, suitability, compatibility, returns, legitimacy, alternatives, budget, use cases, etc. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ecommerce-ai-search-citations-optimization/
23. The core principle: representative doesn’t mean exhaustive, prioritize top 2-3 platforms, adding realistic buying constraints for each product line https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ai-search-prompt-library/
24. I’ve created an AI Search Prompt Library Workbook to create it & an artifact to validate it https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ai-search-prompt-library/ and https://claude.ai/artifact/VET7oTY1jrSgjcXdpLUkGV
25. With the relevant prompt library in place you can now assess your presence with these 5 meaningful, action driven and easy to communicate KPIs AI Presence KPIs What to learn / action Prompt coverage Shows whether the brand appears at all where it matters; low values point to visibility or distribution gaps Recommendation rate Shows whether the brand is actively endorsed; low values often point to trust, corroboration, or differentiation gaps Linked citation rate Shows traffic opportunity, not just awareness; low values often point to extractability or page-structure gaps Comparative win rate Shows whether the brand is framed as the stronger option; low values often point to positioning or proof gaps Representation accuracy Shows whether the brand is being described correctly; low values point to entity clarity or consistency issues https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
26. You can measure & calculate these with any AI tracker. Here’s how it’s done for ecommerce Presence KPI What it measures + formula Ecommerce example 1. Prompt coverage Does the brand appear for the tracked prompts that matter? Formula: appearing prompts ÷ tracked prompts × 100 Denominator = prompts, not runs. Run each prompt 5-7 times, then record one yes/no per prompt, same rule every time. 62 of 100 prompts = 62% (95% CI 52-71%) Split by category, use case, price band and market. 2. Recommendation rate Is the brand explicitly recommended, rather than merely mentioned? Formula: recommended appearances ÷ brand appearances × 100 Use a written scoring guide. Re-score 1 in 10 blind to check two people score the same way. 28 of 62 appearances = 45% (95% CI 33-57%) Compare by category, occasion, price band and shopper constraint. 3. Linked citation rate When the brand appears, is there a clickable link to an owned page? Formula: linked appearances ÷ brand appearances × 100 Not comparable across platforms, report each platform separately. 40 of 62 appearances = 65% (95% CI 52-75%) Track product, category and buying-guide pages. 4. Comparative win rate Is the brand preferred when compared with alternatives? Formula: preferred comparison appearances ÷ comparison appearances × 100 The smallest denominator in the set, treat as directional only. 22 of 40 comparisons = 55% (95% CI 40-69%) Keep win/tie/loss by competitor, feature, price and use case. 5. Representation accuracy Is the brand, product and key factual information described correctly? Formula: accurate appearances ÷ brand appearances × 100 Report the binary accuracy rate alongside error categories and severity. 55 of 62 appearances = 89% (95% CI 78-94%) Review price, stock, specifications, shipping and returns. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
27. These AI presence KPIs help identify the gaps in your brand’s visibility and representation across topics, areas, and platforms, to prioritize opportunities https://claude.ai/artifact/SGUWb54bWNZGzqQq9Kfaz3
28. Once you understand your AI presence per topic/intent/platform, you should assess your site AI readiness to tie the optimization reasons behind AI visibility gaps https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ai-search-winning-brands-characteristics/ Weak category visibility often points to Corroborated, Differentiated, or Useful gaps Weak recommendation rate often points to Credible, Corroborated, or Differentiated gaps Poor representation accuracy often points to Recognizable or Consistent gaps Weak commercial visibility often points to Transactable, Extractable, or Useful gaps
29. These are the 10 key AI readiness characteristics behind your visibility, that should be assessed Accessible Useful Recognizable Extractable Consistent Can the relevant pages be reached and fetched reliably by AI crawlers? Does the content solve the user need competitively — better than what else is on the first page of AI answers? Are brand and entity signals explicit (name, category, founder, HQ, funding, product lines) and machine-readable? Are key answers, positioning, and differentiators easy to parse and summarize from the page? Do those entity signals match across site, Wikipedia/Wikidat a, LinkedIn, review sites, and press? Corroborated Credible Differentiated Fresh Transactable Do multiple independent third-party sources reinforce the same positioning and claims? Do the sources that reinforce the brand carry weight (recognized publications, analyst coverage, peer-reviewed or primary data)? Is the positioning clear, specific, and ownable — or is the language interchangeable with competitors? Is the content recent enough (publish/update dates, current facts, live pricing) to remain credible and citable? Are pricing, plan logic, feature comparisons, and evaluation surfaces clear enough that AI systems can answer “which plan fits my case” questions? https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ai-search-winning-brands-characteristics/
30. Here’s what the 10 AI readiness assessment looks for an ecommerce site Readiness condition Core condition checked Ecommerce site example 1. Accessible Can priority pages be reached, rendered, indexed and fetched reliably by systems that make them eligible for search and AI experiences? Check category and product pages return 200 HTTP status and are indexable, product detail is visible without interaction, and robots/WAF rules don't block key AI crawlers. 2. Extractable Are key answers, positioning and differentiators easy to parse and summarize from the page? Feature product name, price, availability, variants, specifications, shipping and returns in labeled HTML and relevant product/offer structured data. 3. Useful Does the content solve the user need competitively, rather than Category guides and product pages should help shoppers choose by use merely covering the topic? case, budget, fit, compatibility and trade-offs, not repeat manufacturer copy. 4. Fresh Are dates, facts, pricing and availability current enough to remain credible and citable? Synchronize price, stock, promotion, delivery and returns across pages and feeds; update seasonal guides before demand peaks. 5. Differentiated Is the positioning clear, specific and ownable rather than interchangeable with competitors? Make exclusive assortment, product design, category expertise, warranty, delivery or returns advantages explicit and support them with evidence. 6. Recognizable Are brand and entity signals explicit, unambiguous and machine readable? Keep organization, brand/manufacturer, store details, policies and product identifiers explicit; use Organization/Product data and consistent brand naming. 7. Consistent Do entity signals and commercial facts match across owned and third-party surfaces? Match brand, SKU/GTIN, price, stock, return policy and product facts across the site, merchant feeds, marketplaces, profiles and review platforms. 8. Corroborated Do multiple independent third-party sources reinforce the same Look for independent product reviews, reputable category roundups, creator positioning and claims? tests and community discussions that confirm meaningful product attributes. 9. Credible Do the sources and evidence reinforcing the brand carry appropriate authority and trust? Use verified reviews, expert authorship, first-party testing methodology, transparent policies and coverage from reputable specialist publications. 10. Transactable Are commercial facts and evaluation surfaces clear enough for AI systems to support selection decisions? Make price, stock, variants, shipping, returns and purchase routes clear; expose current Product/Offer data and avoid conflicting checkout information. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
31. Use this AI Readiness Checklist & artifact to audit them & identify gaps in your site https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ai-search-winning-brands-characteristics/ and https://claude.ai/artifact/Pt1yjXAViSKA7Gnx9XzWyv
32. With your AI presence & readiness, you can then assess biz impact via 3 metrics layers Observed Proxy (own & third party) Modeled Question: How many users clicked and converted from an AI answer? Question: 1. Own: Is there evidence users are seeing us in AI answers even when they do not click? 2. Third Party: How does our AI presence compare to competitors and which prompts are driving AI traffic? Question: If we assume X% of branded search lift is AI-attributable, what is the implied pipeline? Metrics from platforms passing a referrer or a UTM. Highest confidence, lowest coverage. Directional signals that correlate with AI influence but do not prove it. Medium to medium-low confidence, broader coverage. Estimates produced by applying assumptions to observed and proxy data. Lowest confidence, used for planning, never for proof. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
33. Category The observed layer is the floor. Proxy signals fill in some of the ceiling. To be valuable, there should be a pattern consistent with an AI driven story. How to do it Branded search trend GSC query report filtered to brand terms, or the native branded/non-branded toggle. Track week-over-week and month-over-month. Direct and unattributed traffic trend GA4 Direct channel, especially to pages that are not shared in email or paid campaigns. Demand for frequently-surfaced pages Impressions and direct/organic traffic to the pages you have verified are being cited in AI answers. Survey-based discovery One question added to signup, demo, or post-purchase flows Bing Webmaster Tools AI Performance First-party citation counts, cited URLs, and grounding queries for Microsoft Copilot and Bing AI summaries. The only first-party citation data available from any AI ecosystem today. Social listening on brand mentions in AI-adjacent contexts Reddit, LinkedIn, Slack communities where “has anyone used X?” conversations happen. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
34. A rising “AI assistant” answer in the survey to users attributed to Direct or Branded Organic is the strongest proxy that AI influence exists beyond what analytics shows https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
35. These biz KPI will help gauge your AI presence & readiness efforts impact and ROI AI-referred sessions Shows whether known AI traffic is growing or shrinking. Remember this is the floor, not the ceiling. Branded search / direct / surfaced page demand AI conversion rate / revenue per visit Shows whether known AI traffic is growing or shrinking. Remember this is the floor, not the ceiling. Survey AI discovery rate AI-assisted conversions Shows whether AI contributes to conversion paths even when it is not the final click. Third-party AI traffic share vs. peers Detects recall and downstream demand effects beyond measurable referrals. Surfaces AI influence on users who arrive via branded or direct, otherwise invisible. Shows whether observed growth is share-taking or category-riding. Flat share during category growth = loss. Third-party prompt samples per top landing page Third-party AI platform mix vs. peer average Modeled influenced pipeline / revenue Fills the gap analytics cannot: what question triggered the traffic. Drives prompt set updates and page fixes. Surfaces platform specific risks and opportunities early. Over indexing on one platform is a fragility signal. Useful for planning, never for proof. Overclaiming here erodes trust in the whole dashboard. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
36. Here’s how to calculate and implement them with examples for each AI biz KPI for ecommerce https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
37. Use this artifact to get a dashboard & assess AI presence, readiness & biz metrics together https://claude.ai/artifact/SGUWb54bWNZGzqQq9Kfaz3
38. The outcome allows to tie AI visibility to sales for “Women’s straight-leg jeans under $100” 1. Presence: Identify the gap 2. Readiness: Diagnose and act 3. Business impact: Measure the outcome The product line rarely wins relevant shopping recommendations. For prompts such as “Best women’s straight-leg jeans under $100,” it appears in 40% of answers, receives a store link in 25% of appearances, and wins 10% of relevant comparisons. The audit finds missing fit details, outdated prices and limited independent reviews of this line. Add rise, inseam, stretch and sizing guidance; synchronize prices and availability across product pages and feeds; pursue independent reviews testing these jeans’ fit and quality. Following improvements: linked citation rate rises 25% → 50% and comparative win rate 10% → 30%. What this means: The jeans are occasionally included, but shoppers are more often directed toward competing products. What to prioritize: Help AI systems and shoppers verify which jeans match their fit, budget and purchase requirements. How to interpret it: More recommendations and links coincide with higher tracked sales for this line. Purchases of this line in tracked AI referred sessions rise 12 to 28; at an $80 average selling price, attributed product revenue rises $960 to $2,240. Searches for “[brand] women’s straight-leg jeans” rising 12% provide a supporting proxy; they don’t prove AI caused the growth. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
39. A lot to digest? Don’t worry, check out my “Success Metrics for the AI Search Era” guide going through it with examples https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
40. Tying AI presence, readiness & biz KPIs allows AI impact assessment, stop using traffic Metric How to select it What to learn / action Low readiness + low visibility Structural conditions are holding the brand back. Prioritize access, extractability, entity clarity, corroboration. High readiness + low visibility Brand is underdistributed or underrepresented in the source ecosystem. Focus on source presence, distribution, trust ecosystem, competitive disadvantage. Visibility improving + impact flat Brand is appearing but not memorably, persuasively, or on the right pages. Improve recommendation quality, linked citations, memorability, landing-page fit. Strong informational + weak commercial visibility Visible early in the journey but not winning shortlist or selection moments. Improve commercial prompt coverage and transaction-ready surfaces. High visibility + strong recommendation + weak representation accuracy Being talked about but described wrong. Entity and source correction: Wikipedia/Wikidata, schema consistency, review sites, supplier pages, analyst briefings. One segment strong, another weak Issue is segment-specific, not brand-wide. Run a segment-specific readiness and source-ecosystem review. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/a-3-layer-framework-to-measure-ai-presence-readiness-and-business-impact-redefining-metrics-for-the-ai-search-era/
41. 2. To start: Optimize for brand authority, citations and trust as a visibility gate 1. Secure third-party mentions and reviews on authoritative sites 2. Ensure consistent brand information across the web AI systems use brand consistency and external validation to reduce recommendation risk 3. Maintain visible customer support, returns, and company info 4. Avoid contradictory claims across channels By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
42. AI search visibility is an off-site corroboration problem with an on-site quality floor, also for ecommerce https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ai-search-citations/
43. Most of AI citations in ecommerce come from 3rd-parties: Brand recognition should align Ecommerce is competitor and marketplace led: Competitor, marketplace and retailer alternative domains account for 36.6%, with social/community sources at 27.5% and news/review sources at only 0.7%. This reflects how shopping answers frequently use retailer, marketplace and alternative product domains as commercial evidence. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ai-search-citations/
44. Domain Here’s the off-site recurring citation layer across 5 analyzed ecommerce sub-verticals What it likely contributes amazon.com Marketplace/category coverage, availability, pricing context, alternatives, commercial destination signals. youtube.com Creator validation, reviews, demonstrations, comparisons, troubleshooting, real-world product use. reddit.com Community validation, user questions, complaints, comparisons, recommendations, troubleshooting. ebay.com Marketplace coverage, resale/used-product context, availability, pricing alternatives. walmart.com Retail availability, store/local context, category coverage, pricing/promotions. etsy.com Marketplace/category coverage, gifts, niche products, handmade/custom product context. facebook.com Social validation, local/social discovery, community or profile context. instagram.com Visual validation, style/product inspiration, creator/user discovery. wikipedia.org Entity, brand, category, or historical reference context in some cases. target.com Retail/category availability, alternatives, pricing context. tiktok.com Creator/user validation, trends, visual product discovery. pinterest.com Visual discovery, styling, ideas, inspiration-oriented shopping context. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/third-party-citation-optimization-ai-search/
45. Domain Many of these come from social / UGC platforms and marketplaces What it likely contributes amazon.com Marketplace/category coverage, availability, pricing context, alternatives, commercial destination signals. youtube.com Creator validation, reviews, demonstrations, comparisons, troubleshooting, real-world product use. reddit.com Community validation, user questions, complaints, comparisons, recommendations, troubleshooting. ebay.com Marketplace coverage, resale/used-product context, availability, pricing alternatives. walmart.com Retail availability, store/local context, category coverage, pricing/promotions. etsy.com Marketplace/category coverage, gifts, niche products, handmade/custom product context. facebook.com Social validation, local/social discovery, community or profile context. instagram.com Visual validation, style/product inspiration, creator/user discovery. wikipedia.org Entity, brand, category, or historical reference context in some cases. target.com Retail/category availability, alternatives, pricing context. tiktok.com Creator/user validation, trends, visual product discovery. pinterest.com Visual discovery, styling, ideas, inspiration-oriented shopping context. https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/third-party-citation-optimization-ai-search/
46. See how +70% of citations for Chewy, Petsmart, and Petco come from 3rd parties; and the top of them are social media and publications by Petmd, owned by Chewy Ahrefs
47. However, citations shift often, don’t manipulate / spam / see them as a tactical play Ahrefs
48. Growing 3rd party visibility should align with link building, community & digital PR strategies Link Building Backlinks from related, authoritative sites reviewing relevant businesses Digital PR Positive coverage, citations, backlinks from Media Sites Community Management Positive mentions from relevant social platforms and communities Branding Mentions, promotion, visibility alignment with brand positioning and voice By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
49. Perform a citation analysis to identify the sites used as sources for topics where you’re not present or not correctly represented Ahrefs
50. Prioritize 3rd party optimization based on brand potential, marketing alignment, biz value, etc. To Avoid To Prioritize Independent first-hand reviews and tests Specialist editorial coverage and original reporting Complete marketplace, retailer and reseller listings Generic brand mentions with no clear evidence role Promotional guest posts or sponsored articles repeating brand claims Evidence-led comparisons and recommendation shortlists Expert commentary, interviews, podcasts and event coverage Partner, integration and ecosystem documentation Reach first coverage on irrelevant generalist sites Generic social posts and short-form clips without demonstration Practitioner demonstrations and task led tutorials Data-led articles and reports citing first-party research Third-party case studies and customer stories Syndicated press releases and copied announcements Low-quality directory and profile creation Authentic community Q&A and troubleshooting discussions Detailed customer reviews and maintained review profiles Industry directories, credentials and local or vertical profiles Thin best of listicles and paid inclusions without methodology Manufactured reviews, astroturfed discussions and undisclosed endorsements https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/third-party-citation-optimization-ai-search/
51. Avoid inauthentic or low quality coverage, focus on relevant discussions that stand beyond AI To Avoid To Prioritize Independent first-hand reviews and tests Specialist editorial coverage and original reporting Complete marketplace, retailer and reseller listings Generic brand mentions with no clear evidence role Promotional guest posts or sponsored articles repeating brand claims Evidence-led comparisons and recommendation shortlists Expert commentary, interviews, podcasts and event coverage Partner, integration and ecosystem documentation Reach first coverage on irrelevant generalist sites Generic social posts and short-form clips without demonstration Practitioner demonstrations and task led tutorials Data-led articles and reports citing first-party research Third-party case studies and customer stories Syndicated press releases and copied announcements Low-quality directory and profile creation Authentic community Q&A and troubleshooting discussions Detailed customer reviews and maintained review profiles Industry directories, credentials and local or vertical profiles Thin best of listicles and paid inclusions without methodology Manufactured reviews, astroturfed discussions and undisclosed endorsements https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/third-party-citation-optimization-ai-search/
52. I’ve created a workbook to assess them based on their value and an artifact to validate https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/third-party-citation-optimization-ai-search/ and https://claude.ai/artifact/9dYnjWBoyHtq1D4ePMAKuA
53. Need inspiration for PR campaigns that get citations in ecom? See Trending PR Campaigns https://finchling.com/campaigns
54. Use tools like Finchling that scans the news cycle to give you relevant PR campaigns ideas finchling.com
55. Use JournoFinder to easily identify publications & journalists to reach out for coverage journofinder.com
56. These citation and brand building activities are among the top actions with the most meaningful positive impact on AI search visibility so far https://hub.seofomo.co/surveys/state-ai-search-optimization/
57. 3. To Expand: Your content for topical completeness, rather than keyword targeting for products The best cited AI brands provide full topic graphs to safely recommend products under diverse constraints. By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO 1. For each product line, define a topical map: Core entity (e.g. “women’s road running shoes”), subtypes (daily trainer, long-run, speed, recovery), alternatives, etc. 2. Cover all decision dimensions , not just popular queries (Use cases, constraints, trade offs, risks, edge cases, etc.) 3. Create topic-level summaries above product-level content. 4. Assess & monitor topic completeness gaps : % of subtypes with content, % of products with full attribute sets, % of decision scenarios covered, etc.
58. AI cites pages that resolve buyer uncertainty, not just PDPs / PLPs, where AI traffic goes https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ecommerce-ai-search-citations-optimization/
59. Buyer uncertainty drives the citation mix: The right evidence layer depends on what buyers are uncertain about https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ecommerce-ai-search-citations-optimization/
60. Uncertainty will help to identify which pages or data fields need to be optimized or created https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ecommerce-ai-search-citations-optimization/
61. Awareness It’s then critical to establish an “on brand”, product connected topical authority, targeting the full customer journey * Products How-To Guides & Tutorials * Thought Leadership & Expert Advice * FAQs * New product releases Decision * Comprehensive Product Description * Documentation & Manuals * Pricing & Plans Pages * Case Studies * Compliance content By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO Consideration * Reviews & Testimonials * Studies & Research * Comparison & Alternatives * Product Q&As * Community & Forum Content Post-Purchase Support * Knowledge base articles * Troubleshooting Guides & FAQs * Community & support forum * Video tutorials
62. Use your an AI presence & readiness to identify topic gaps to prioritize content accordingly By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
63. You’ll need to invest in informational content that feeds AI decisions Guides and comparisons now directly influence which product gets selected: AI systems pull reasoning from this content when recommending products By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO 1. Create expert-authored Buying guides , “Which should I choose” comparisons, Use-case explainers, Tradeoff content 3. Maintain consistency between guides and PDP attributes 2. Link products explicitly to scenarios and constraints
64. Informational content investment is hard for ecom, but needed for topical authority https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/chatgpt-search-fan-outs-c/hlpghnnocnclmnkhmoacpoejpebfeifm
65. Personalization resilience comes from covering multiple intents across the customer journey for your targeted audience Add contextual signals that aligns content with profile-based personalization, segmenting content for specific personas or use cases. Cover multiple intents for the same topic, so your content aligns with many personalized subqueries, increasing surface area. By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO Retain attention and engagement with fast, useful content that gives a satisfying user experience since AI search systems refine results based on user behavior, thumbs up/down, etc. This feedback loops into ranking and synthesis decisions for future answers.
66. You can integrate informational content to support your customer journey & sales By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
67. How to make it ROI positive? Prioritize based on click resilience, potential, biz value, effort... To Avoid To Prioritize Brand and entity pages Original market, audience and usage research Evidence led comparisons and selection guides Standalone commodity definitions without brand or journey context High volume tangential topics without a credible business journey Transaction and task-completion pages Live first-party databases and reference hubs Personalized tools using live or proprietary data Rehashed explainers and how to guides without original value Biased or mass produced ‘best’, comparison and alternatives pages Official product documentation, specifications and policies Documented customer outcomes, experiments and case studies Curated community and practitioner knowledge Fragmented FAQ and keyword variant pages serving one intent Generic calculators, quizzes and generators without distinctive inputs First-hand product tests and performance reviews Product specific implementation and troubleshooting guides Original reporting and source analysis Third-party news and press release rewrites without original input Programmatic pages built from public or competitor data https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/content-prioritization-ai-search/
68. While avoiding generic, commodity, automated content that’s not really helpful for customers To Avoid To Prioritize Brand and entity pages Original market, audience and usage research Evidence led comparisons and selection guides Standalone commodity definitions without brand or journey context High volume tangential topics without a credible business journey Transaction and task-completion pages Live first-party databases and reference hubs Personalized tools using live or proprietary data Rehashed explainers and how to guides without original value Biased or mass produced ‘best’, comparison and alternatives pages Official product documentation, specifications and policies Documented customer outcomes, experiments and case studies Curated community and practitioner knowledge Fragmented FAQ and keyword variant pages serving one intent Generic calculators, quizzes and generators without distinctive inputs First-hand product tests and performance reviews Product specific implementation and troubleshooting guides Original reporting and source analysis Third-party news and press release rewrites without original input Programmatic pages built from public or competitor data https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/content-prioritization-ai-search/
69. Here’s a workbook going through them with Ecommerce examples & an artifact to validate https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/content-prioritization-ai-search/ and https://claude.ai/artifact/Umbrgma5WRSfFZjsvE8BKp
70. This is also the type of content with higher chances to survive Google’s Zero click era too https://signal.zyppy.com/p/content-google-zero
71. Use EEAT principles for easy to cite structured, accurate, fresh & authoritative content EEAT Content Quality Checklist
72. Default to SSR for critical ecommerce data, AI crawlers don’t render JavaScript https://www.searchengineworld.com/do-ai-assistants-actually-render-your-javascript-when-grounding-we-put-it-to-the-test
73. Schema.org is fundamental for shopping and shouldn’t rely on CSR JS to ensure real time consistency with product feeds and content https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/search-engine-optimization/what-we-learned-google-search-central-zurich-2025/
74. Start treating your product feeds and merchant center presence as your canonical product truth, rather than secondary data source https://support.google.com/merchants/answer/12631822?hl=en
75. Prepare for agentic commerce, with easy integration from most CMS with UCP https://shopify.dev/docs/agents
76. Use my free agentic commerce chrome extension for quick validation https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/search-engine-optimization/ugc-agentic-commerce-seo/
77. Strong, easy to retrieve expert content investment for topical authority is how Run Repeat has more AI citations than JD Sports Ahrefs
78. These are among the top activities mentioned to have had the most meaningful positive impact on AI search visibility so far https://hub.seofomo.co/surveys/state-ai-search-optimization/
79. A lot to do? Here’s a free AI search optimization checklist so you don’t forget anything https://www.aleydasolis.com/en/ai-search/ai-search-optimization-checklist/
80. You’ll need to expand search optimization efforts based on your own context Crawlability Different bots/user agents for which you might have specific crawlability rules Indexability Relevance Lack of CSR JS support by AI bots Differences in User Search Behavior / Intents to further expand your site topical authority targeting the full journey By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO Popularity Metrics/Goals Bigger Role of third-party Citations / Mentions From Performance (traffic, conversions) only to Brand (visibility, sentiment, share of voice) and Performance metrics and goals
81. Ask these questions to prioritize your AI search optimization actions based on impact & effort 1. How much are AI platforms already contributing to revenue and marketing goals, counting what analytics can't see? 2. Which AI platforms does your audience use, for which tasks, and at what stage of the journey, compared with traditional search? 5. Which sources drive citations for your topics (your own site, publications, aggregators, community sites), and how much of that can you influence? 6. How do the needed actions overlap with existing SEO, Digital PR and community work, and what's genuinely additional? By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO 3. On a representative prompt library, what's your visibility, sentiment and citation share against competitors? Where are the biggest gaps? 7. Score each action by impact × confidence ÷ effort, including time to impact, and prioritize accordingly. 4. How ready are you to be found, read and cited? That covers content coverage, technical accessibility, structured data and feeds and, for ecommerce, agentic checkout.
82. With AI search, Ecommerce SEO shifts from “ranking pages” to “enabling transactions” By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
83. Remember we’re just starting: We still have little data and need to leave space for experimentation to adapt for shifts to come SEOtesting.com
84. Stay up to date with the latest ecommerce and AI search shift with the weekly SEOFOMO newsletter for free https://learningaisearch.com/ + https://seofomo.co/ seofomo.co
85. Long Live Ecommerce SEO … for [AI Search / AI Mode / ChatGPT / TikTok / YouTube / Baidu / Any Platform Used for Shopping ] By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO
86. Thanks! Questions? SEO Consultant & Founder ❏ International SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti ❏ Co-founder at Finchling ❏ Creator of the SEOFOMO & AI Marketers Newsletters ❏ Maker of LearningAIsearch.com & LearningSEO.io Speaker & Author ❏ Author of SEO, Las Claves Esenciales ❏ Spoke at +300 events in +40 countries By Aleyda Solis - SEO Consultant & Founder at Orainti & SEOFOMO