Which SEO levers still produce measurable results as AI Overviews change the distribution of organic clicks? With the announced rollout of Google’s AI mode in France and an estimated drop in the organic click-through rate between 47 and 61% on queries covered by an AI summary, every optimization must be evaluated based on its actual yield.
Here are ten concrete techniques, listed in no particular order, to improve your site’s organic search ranking in 2024 and beyond.
1. Structure Your Content for GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
GEO refers to optimizing pages for generative search engines (Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity). This discipline is presented as complementary to traditional SEO, not as a replacement. It relies on formats that LLMs can easily parse: very clear answer blocks at the top of the page, Schema.org markup (FAQ, HowTo), and original data that cannot be copied.
In practice, placing a synthetic paragraph of two or three sentences directly under each H2, before elaborating, increases your chances of appearing in AI-generated summaries. Field experience feedback and proprietary figures are the least reproducible content by a competitor or language model.
To improve your site’s organic search ranking, combining technical SEO and GEO now constitutes the minimal strategic foundation.
2. Target Long-Tail Keywords with Specific Intent
Short and generic queries are the first to be absorbed by AI Overviews. In contrast, long-tail queries – four words or more – trigger an AI summary less often and generate more qualified traffic.
Free tools like AnswerThePublic, Ubersuggest, or AlsoAsked help identify these phrases. The goal is not to accumulate hundreds of keywords but to group those that share the same search intent (informational, commercial, navigational) to avoid cannibalization between your own pages.
3. Write Click-Oriented Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
In a context where the organic click-through rate is decreasing on many queries, every percentage point of CTR gained matters more than before. The title tag should contain the main keyword in its first words and not exceed 60 visible characters.
The meta description is not a direct ranking factor, but it influences clicks. A description that summarizes the concrete benefit of the page, with an action verb, performs better than a neutral summary. Test multiple formulations on your high-traffic pages and compare CTRs in Search Console over four weeks.
4. Optimize Core Web Vitals and Loading Speed
Google incorporates Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS) as ranking signals. A slow page not only loses positions: it loses visitors before they even read the first paragraph.
The quickest gains are often found on the image side. Compressing to WebP, setting explicit dimensions to avoid layout shifts (CLS), and deferring the loading of non-critical resources with the loading=”lazy” attribute cover most common issues.
5. Implement Internal Linking through Semantic Clusters
Internal linking distributes authority among your pages and guides indexing bots. An internal link placed in the body of the text, with a descriptive anchor, conveys more value than a link in the footer or sidebar.
Grouping pages by theme (semantic cluster) allows Google to understand the structure of your expertise. Each pillar page links to secondary pages, and vice versa. Regularly check for broken links: a linking structure with 404s degrades user experience and crawlability.
6. Produce Original Content with Proprietary Data
Search engines and LLMs value content that they cannot find elsewhere. An article that compiles information already available everywhere is unlikely to stand out, whether in traditional SERPs or in AI summaries.
Internal data, client case studies, in-house benchmarks, documented field feedback: these are the elements that make a page impossible to replicate by a competitor. Even a small site can publish its own measurements or field observations.
7. Secure Your Site with HTTPS and Maintain an Up-to-Date Sitemap
Switching to HTTPS has been a prerequisite for several years. A site still on HTTP sends a negative signal to browsers (security alert) and search engines.
The XML sitemap file, submitted via Google Search Console, speeds up the discovery of your new pages. Three points to check:
- The sitemap contains only URLs with a status of 200 (no redirects or error pages)
- It is automatically updated with each page publication or deletion
- Its size remains under the limit of 50,000 URLs per file, split into multiple sitemaps if necessary
8. Build Backlinks from Citable Content
A backlink from a thematically related site remains one of the most powerful trust signals for Google. The most sustainable strategy is to produce content that other sites have a concrete reason to cite: infographics, comparison tables, statistical studies.
Requesting links without citable content rarely generates results. In contrast, an original data table or a sharp technical resource attracts natural links without direct outreach.
9. Use Schema.org Markup for Rich Results
Structured data (Schema.org) allows for rich results to be displayed: FAQs, reviews, breadcrumbs, recipes, events. These rich snippets increase the visual footprint of your result in the SERPs and improve the click-through rate.
For GEO, FAQ and HowTo markup also facilitates the extraction of your content by generative engines. Google’s rich results testing tool allows you to validate your markup before production.
10. Track Your Positions and Adjust Using Search Console
No SEO optimization produces results without measurement. The Google Search Console provides free data on clicks, impressions, CTR, and average position by query and by page.
Analyze each month the pages with an average position between 5 and 15: these are the ones where a content adjustment, a strengthening of internal linking, or the addition of structured data can push the page to the top position. Prioritize these optimizations rather than systematically creating new content.
Organic search in 2024 will play out on two simultaneous fronts: traditional technical SEO and adaptation to generative engines. Sites that document their own data, structure their pages for GEO, and measure their results in Search Console have an advantage that neither AI nor competitors can easily replicate.