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Blog / Affiliate marketing

SEO in the age of AI: How to optimize websites and landing pages in 2025

jagodazielinska

05 January 2026
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In this article, you’ll learn:

  • What the search ecosystem looks like in 2025 - why Google is no longer enough and where else you need to be visible.

  • What has changed in SEO (and what hasn’t) - concrete updates that directly impact your rankings

  • How to optimize content for LLMs - practical techniques for optimizing content for AI and generative models so your pages are cited by ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity

  • Which tools to use for monitoring - Chatbeat, Writesonic, and other solutions for tracking AI visibility

  • The most common publisher mistakes - what to avoid to prevent wasting time and budget

  • 5 steps to AI optimization - a ready-to-use action plan for 2025


If you run your own landing pages and affiliate promotions on MyLead, you’ve probably noticed that the rules of the game have changed. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google’s AI Overview are no longer the future; they are the present, and they are already influencing your traffic and conversions. AI-powered systems are playing an increasingly important role in search engines, fundamentally changing how search results are displayed.


The good news? SEO is not dead. The bad news? You can no longer optimize solely for Google. Modern search engine features, such as Search Generative Experience (SGE), are transforming how results are presented and require an entirely new approach to SEO.


In this article, I’ll show you how to professionally adapt your landing pages to this new reality, one in which AI SEO has emerged as a new field of optimization, and how to increase your earnings from MyLead campaigns.



Search in 2025 - a new reality for publishers

Search in 2025 - a new reality


Forget the idea that ranking in the top 3 results on Google is enough to sleep peacefully. Modern search is a whole ecosystem of channels where your potential users look for answers:


Google with AI Overview and the upcoming AI Mode - AI-generated answers currently appear in around 13% of all search queries. AI Mode, which resembles a ChatGPT-like interface built directly into the search engine, may soon become the primary way users interact with Google.


Search Generative Experience (SGE) introduces a new way of presenting results, with AI-generated answers appearing at the top of SERPs, fundamentally changing traditional SEO strategies.


LLMs as new search layers - ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude are not replacing Google. Instead, they rely on Google and Bing indexes, acting as an intermediary layer. Users ask questions, and these tools scan the top 10-20 results from traditional search engines, generate an answer, and cite sources. Increasingly, AI-generated responses are replacing classic search results, especially for broad, informational queries.


YouTube as the second-largest search engine  - billions of searches every month and a growing click-through rate from video results in Google.


Q&A platforms - Reddit, Quora, Strack Overflow, and industry forums are gaining importance. Google increasingly pushes them to the top of search results, and users trust answers provided by real people.


How do LLMs work? Demystifying the process

Many people believe that tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity “know everything” from their training data. That’s a myth. In practice, LLMs perform almost the same steps a human would:

  1. They send a query to a search engine (Google or Bing).

  2. They retrieve content from the top 10 - 20 results.

  3. They build an answer based on those sources - well-structured content significantly increases the likelihood of being used in AI-generated responses.

  4. They cite their sources.


Language models play a crucial role in this process by analyzing and synthesizing information gathered from search results.

This means that ranking factors in Google and Bing still matter enormously. If your site doesn’t rank in traditional SEO, it has virtually no chance of being cited by AI. Optimizing content for specific search queries increases your chances of AI citation.

This is not a separate game; it’s a continuation of the same fight for visibility, just with new formats and new types of search results.


What has not changed in SEO

What has not changed in SEO



Before we move on to what’s new, let’s establish the foundations. These elements remain unchanged and ignoring them leads nowhere:


User intent - every search has a specific goal: to find, compare, buy, or learn something. Your content must answer a real user question.


Content quality - weak content has no long-term chance of success. Neither Google nor ChatGPT will promote shallow, generic articles. High-quality, relevant, and trustworthy content is favored by both search engines and AI systems, increasing your chances of visibility in search results and AI Overviews.


Authority - Google and users prefer experts and reputable brands. Anonymous blogs stand an increasingly smaller chance against and AI Overviews.


Distribution and engagement - backlinks, PR, social media, and genuine user engagement. These signals still work and will continue to work.


The fight for the top 10 - although the format of results is changing (AI Overviews, rich snippets), high rankings in Google remain crucial.


What has changed in SEO in the Age of AI

Now for the concrete changes you need to implement if you want to win in 2025:


1. The primacy of entities, topical coverage, and brand

Brands win - not anonymous blogs. Google and AI systems cite trusted, recognizable, and safe sources. We’ve seen a massive decline in niche affiliate sites alongside strong growth for powerful brands like Forbes or Wirecutter.


What does this mean for you? Instead of creating one-off articles targeting single keywords, build topical authority - comprehensive coverage of a subject through multiple interconnected pieces of content.

If you promote financial programs on MyLead, don’t just write “best credit cards.” Create a thematic hub: card comparisons, credit limit guides, transaction security articles, and real user case studies.


Google and AI recognize entities - people, brands, products, and concepts. The more you’re perceived as an expert within a niche, the higher your chances of being cited.


2. Content Formats - text alone is no longer enough

Words alone are no longer sufficient. You need:

  • Video - embedded on the page, often via YouTube

  • Data and statistics - concrete numbers, charts, and comparisons

  • Images and infographics - visual assets that can be referenced and cited


This type of content is shared more often by users and cited more frequently by AI. If your landing page is just text, you’re already behind.


3. Iteration speed - the end of “write it and forget it”

In the past, an article could sit untouched for years. Today, it requires regular updates, optimization, and refreshing. LLMs prefer fresh content from strong, established domains.

If you don’t update your landing pages, you’ll lose rankings to competitors who do.

If you don’t update your landing pages, you’ll lose rankings to competitors who do.


Practical tip: Review your most important landing pages quarterly. Add new data, update statistics, and refresh examples. Google and AI will notice.


4. Measuring search performance - Google rankings alone are not enough

You need to track:

  • Google rankings (the classic metric)

  • Visibility in LLMs - is your site being cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude?

  • Citations and share of voice - how often are you referenced as a source?


Tools like Chatbeat and Writesonic help monitor how AI models use your content. Without this data, you’re flying blind.


5. The end of generic content

This is the real end of mass-producing generic, top-of-the-funnel articles. Writing yet another broad piece just to generate a few thousand non-converting visits no longer works.


Today, content must be:

  • Specific - it solves a real problem

  • Unique - it adds something new to the discussion 

  • Expert-level - it demonstrates depth, not surface-level knowledge


If you’re promoting MyLead campaigns in the e-commerce niche, don’t write another “how to start an online store” article. Write: 

“7 Checkout mistakes that cost 40% of conversions - an analysis of 50 Polish e-commerce stores.”

That’s a real value.


The myth of AI content - debunking the misconception

The myth of AI content



There is a persistent myth that AI-generated content doesn’t rank in Google or is outright banned. That’s simply not true. Google evaluates content quality and usefulness, not how the content was created. In 2025, AI content - produced more efficiently, faster, and under consistent quality control.


Why did this myth emerge?

  1. Clickbait headlines - “AI has flooded the internet”, “Google is fighting generated content”, “The end of SEO.” These headlines sound dramatic, but really are evolutionary, not catastrophic.

  2. Incorrect use of AI - publishing raw, unedited outputs straight from a generator, without fact-checking, experience, or context, indeed doesn’t work. But that’s not AI’s fault.

  3. The AI detector frenzy - AI detectors are often inaccurate, while ranking mechanics are driven by quality, intent matching, and domain authority.

  4. Poor creator habits - the desire to mass-produce content quickly without respecting the process: briefing, outlining editing, optimization, and distribution.


The role of AI in the content creation process

AI delivers about 70% of the workload:

  • Article structure

  • Logical transitions between sections

  • The reasoning flow


The human adds the irreplaceable 30%:

  • Experience and expert perspective

  • Numbers and data (fact-checking is critical)

  • Brand language and tone of voice

  • Case studies and real-life examples

  • Taste and industry context


The key quality principle: AI writes better than 99% of people on the planet, but humans give content meaning and decide what gets published.

Content score - a tool for quality assessment

Content score is a numerical quality metric (0-100) that compares your article against what currently wins in search results:

  • 40 points or less - the content gets lost in the noise

  • 65 points - several key elements

  • 80+ points - ready for ranking and distribution

  • 85+ points - publication-ready

Tools like Writesonic or Surfer SEO help achieve these scores by analyzing competitors and identifying in your content.


E-A-T and it’s growing importance

In the era of artificial intelligence and advanced Google AI algorithms, E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) has become even more critical for website owners. These four pillars - experience, expertise, authority, and trust determine whether your site is recognized as a valuable information source in search results.


Google AI is increasingly effective at assessing whether content is created by people with real-world experience, whether it demonstrates subject-matter expertise, and whether the domain itself is authoritative and trustworthy. AI evaluates not only the content but also external signals, such as presence in industry media, citations, reviews, and even the transparency of author information.

The stronger your E-A-T, the higher the likelihood that Google AI will highlight your site in search results and that users will trust you.


AEO - how to appear in AI - generated answers

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the response to the growing role of AI - generated answers in search engines. In practice, it means optimizing so your website appears directly in answers generated by AI models.


How do you achieve this? Focus on providing precise answers to specific user questions. Use chunking - divide content into short, logical sections that are easy to identify and cite. Each section should be concise, clearly answer a question, and be introduced by a heading that directly reflects a potential query.


Don’t overlook structured data, such as Schema Markup. It makes your content easier for AI algorithms to interpret and extract key information for AI-generated responses. Also ensure fast page loading and intuitive UX - AI favors websites that are user-friendly and deliver valuable, easily accessible information.


Remember: the better your page answers user questions and the more effectively it’s optimized with structured data, the higher the chance it will appear in AI - generated answers hosting your visibility.


A 4 - step framework: what to access before investing in a strategy

Before investing in an AI content strategy, answer four key questions:


Step 1 - Market

Are users actually searching for answers to these topics on Google and YouTube?

What questions are they asking, and which stage of the buyer’s journey do those questions appear?


Step 2 - Potential

Is there a sufficiently broad set of topics to build topical authority, or only a handful of isolated keywords?


Step 3 - Resources

Do you have the people and processes in place: briefs, fact-checking, editorial work, optimization tools, and distribution?


Step 4 - ROI

Do the costs of consistent content production, content updates, link building, and promotion fit within your budget and expected return timeframe?


The rule:

If the answer is “yes” to 3 out of 4 questions, you can confidently build a scalable process.

If not, start with a pilot and validate your assumptions on a small sample.


The most common publishers mistakes - what to avoid

Avoid these mistakes



Mistake #1: Optimizing only for Google

Ignoring LLMs is a self-inflicted wound. If your landing pages are optimized solely for Google, you’re losing a growing segment of users who search for answers in ChatGPT or Perplexity.

Visibility in AI is no longer optional,  it’s a requirement.


Mistake #2 Publishing raw AI content without editing

Copy-pasting raw outputs from ChatGPT without fact-checking, editing, and adapting them to your band voice is a recipe for disaster. Such content is generic, error-prone, and does nothing to build authority.

Fact-checking is mandatory - especially in finance, health, or legal topics, where mistakes can cost you both trust and revenue.


Mistake #3: No topical authority - isolated articles

Publishing single articles targeting individual keywords is a strategy from the past. Today, you must build comprehensive topical coverage. One article about “best credit cards” isn’t enough, you need dozens of interconnected pieces that signal to Google and AI that you are a true expert in the niche.


Mistake #4: Ignoring AI visibility measurement tools

If you don’t track whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Claude are citing your pages, you have no idea whether your strategy is working.

Tools like Chatbeat or Writesonic allow you to monitor AI visibility and respond to changes. Without them, you’re flying blind.


Mistakes #5: Thinking AI content alone is enough

AI is a tool, not a strategy. Simply using ChatGPT to write content does not guarantee success. You need a process: briefs, article frameworks, editing, optimization, distribution, link building, and updates. Without this, even the best content will get lost in the noise.

5 steps to AI optimization in 2025

A ready-to-use action plan you can implement today:


Step 1: Audit your landing pages

Review your most important landing pages where you promote MyLead affiliate links.

Ask yourself:

  • Does the content answer a specific user question?

  • Do I include data, statistics, and real examples?

  • Is the content score at least 80 points?

  • Is the page up you date (data from the last 6-12 months)


Create a list of pages that require improvement and prioritize those generating the most traffic.


Step 2: Build tropical authority in your niche

Choose 1-2 core topics related to your MyLead campaigns and build a content hub around them:

  • 10-2- interconnected articles

  • Multiple formats: guides, comparisons, case studies, FAQs

  • Strong internal linking between articles


Example:

If you promote financial programs, create a credit card hub: comparisons, credit limit guides, security topics, cashback programs, student cards, premium cards, and more.


Step 3: Test visibility in LLMs

Go to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini. Ask questions related to your niche and check:

  • Is your website being cited?

  • Which other sources are referenced?

  • What can you improve to increase visibility?


Document the results and repeat this test monthly. Use tools like Chatbeat for automated monitoring.


Step 4: Implement an AI + human workflow

Never publish raw AI - generated content. Build a structured process:

  1. Brief - define the topic, intent, and key points

  2. AI draft - generate structure and the first version

  3. Fact-checking - verify all data, numbers, and claims

  4. Editing - add experience, case studies, and brand voice

  5. Optimization - review Content Score and SEO alignment

  6. Distribution - promote the article and build backlinks


This process takes more time than “copy-paste from ChatGPT,’’ but it delivers results.


Step 5: Update and iterate regularly

Set calendar reminders:

  • Monthly - check visibility in LLMs

  • Quarterly - update key landing pages (new data, fresh examples)

  • Biannually - audit your entire content strategy


Content that stands still dies. Content that evolves wins.


Tools you should know

  • Chatbeat - monitors AI visibility and tracks citations in LLM responses

  • Writesonic - content creation and optimization with built-in Content Score and competitor analysis

  • Surfer SEO - classic Google optimization, also a strong quality indicator for AI

  • Perplexity Pro - test queries and analyze cited in your niche

  • Google Search Console + AI Overview tracking - monitor which queries trigger AI Overviews and how they affect CTR


Checklist for your new SEO strategy

Want your website to stay and competitive in the age of artificial intelligence?

Use this practical checklist to build a modern SEO strategy:

  1. Optimize content for AI -  apply chunking, provide concise answers, and implement structured data to help AI understand your pages.

  2. Build authority and trust – strengthen E-A-T through expertise, transparent authorship, and regular content updates.

  3. Ensure data security and domain authority -  use SSL certificates, maintain clear privacy policies, and build high-quality backlinks.

  4. Optimize for speed and UX - fast, intuitive websites rank higher and deliver better user experiences.

  5. Monitor performance with SEO tools -  use Google Search Console and analytics tools to respond quickly to changes and continuously optimize.


By implementing these steps, you’ll build a solid foundation for effective SEO in 2025 - both in traditional search results and AI - generated answers.


What’s next? Your move

You have the knowledge. You have the plan. Now it’s time to act.


AI optimization is no longer optional - it’s a necessity in 2025. If you run landing pages and promote affiliate programs from the MyLead catalog, every improvement in visibility directly translates into more traffic and higher conversions. And that means higher earnings for you.


Start by auditing your most important pages. Check whether they’re being cited in ChatGPT or Perplexity. Implement an AI + human workflow. Build topical authority in your niche. Monitor results and iterate.


Remember: SEO isn’t dead. It has evolved. And those who understand this and adapt the fastest will be the winners for years to come.


Have questions? Share your experience in the comments.

Want more practical insights on affiliate marketing and optimization? Stay with us - regularly publish new content for MyLead publishers.


Have any questions? Feel free to reach us through our channels.