Thriving in the AI Era: SEO Expert Ivan So Reveals His Secrets to Dominating Google's AI Overview

What if the key to winning at modern SEO wasn't just following the rules, but knowing exactly how to bend them? This was the provocative premise at the heart of a recent lecture on August 23, 2024, for the Professional Certificate in AI-Driven in Digital and Social Media Marketing course of PolyU SPEED, where veteran SEO expert Ivan So shared his frontline experiences and unconventional strategies for navigating this new terrain. From exploiting platform loopholes to sophisticated content strategies, So provided a masterclass in how to not just survive, but thrive, in the age of AI-driven search. This post breaks down his key insights.

The Hacker's Mindset: Lessons from Hacking Amazon and AI Music

Before diving into Google, So shared two compelling anecdotes that highlight his core philosophy: to win, you must be willing to test the system's limits and find its loopholes.

1. The Suno Music Experiment: As a self-proclaimed non-musician, So used the AI music generator Suno to create 300 meditation songs, which he then uploaded to Apple Music and Spotify. This experiment earned him a "Verified Artist" label and a few hundred US dollars in monthly royalties. Emboldened, he generated another 700 songs over a single weekend, hoping to triple his income. The result? His account was promptly banned for activity an algorithm deemed "not humanly possible."
2. The Amazon Bestseller Hack: So revealed how he became a five-time #1 bestselling author on Amazon. The trick wasn't writing a masterpiece, but exploiting the platform's sales velocity algorithm. He chose obscure book categories with low competition, scheduled a coordinated buying spree with 20-30 friends during off-peak hours in the US (3 AM), and had them all purchase his book within the same hour. This surge easily pushed his book to the #1 spot in that niche category, long enough to take a screenshot for proof.

These stories underscore a crucial point: understanding and testing the rules of a platform is the first step to finding a winning strategy.

Google's AI Overview: The New SEO Battleground

The main focus of the talk was the disruptive force of AI Overview.

• The Impact: So cited reports from the US indicating that websites have seen an average 30% drop in organic traffic since the feature's launch. Users get their answers directly on the search results page, eliminating the need to click through to websites.
• How it Works: AI Overview generates a summary at the top of the search results, pulling information from a list of cited sources. While your brand might still get exposure, the user journey is fundamentally altered.
• The Data Dilemma: This new feature creates chaos in analytics. A site featured in AI Overview is technically in "position 1," but the click-through rate can be abysmal. This skews Google Search Console data, making it difficult to gauge true performance.

Four Actionable Strategies for AI Overview Dominance

So offered a clear, actionable framework for getting your content featured.

1. Keyword Targeting: AI Overviews are most common for "informational" queries (e.g., "what is hair loss"). They are less common for "transactional" or "commercial" queries (e.g., "buy iPhone discount"), as Google still wants to sell ads for these valuable keywords.
2. Content Structure: Google's AI favors well-structured content. The most effective tactic is using an FAQ schema. Since AI Overviews often answer direct questions, structuring your content in a question-and-answer format (like a "Frequently Asked Questions" section) significantly increases your chances of being featured.
3. Direct Optimization (A Case Study): So shared a personal example of how he optimized his own website. After asking an AI why his site wasn't recommended as an "SEO expert in Hong Kong," the AI responded that his site focused more on "courses" and didn't mention his practical client experience. So's solution was simple and immediate:
   • He edited the relevant page, adding the phrase "(SEO Expert)" next to his name.
   • He added a paragraph detailing his client work in Hong Kong, Thailand, and other locations.
   • For good measure, he added more self-promoting text in the footer (a less visible area) to ensure AI models with larger context windows would capture the information.
   The result? After these few minutes of work, his name and website began appearing in the AI's recommendations.
4. Reputation Management: This same method can be used for brand protection. If competitors are spreading misinformation (e.g., "Is [Your Brand] a scam?"), you can create content that directly addresses the "scam" keyword. The content should acknowledge the rumor but firmly debunk it, stating that claims of it being a scam are false. The AI will then pull from this content, effectively neutralizing the negative query.

The Future-Proof SEO: Mastering Information Gain and Trust

So concluded by looking at the bigger picture and future trends in SEO.

• Information Gain: Google's algorithms now reward content that provides "information gain," a concept backed by a specific Google patent. This means offering unique value that users cannot find on the ten other search results. The example given was a lyrics website, Genius (formerly Rap Genius), which soared in traffic because, unlike competitors who just listed lyrics, it used AI to generate interpretations of the song's meaning and context. Even if the interpretation wasn't perfect, it gave the user a tangible "gain" of new information.
• Semantic SEO & Entities: Google understands topics through "entities"—the nouns (people, places, things, concepts) related to a query. A website that covers more relevant entities for a topic is seen as more authoritative. An analysis showed that for the topic "keto diet," Healthline covered 931 entities while a competitor, Zoe, covered only 704. As a result, Healthline's traffic was stable, while Zoe's declined. The key is to be more comprehensive in your coverage of a topic than your competitors.
• User Intent & Trust Signals: Google is cracking down on low-value, "short-term" audience sites (e.g., simple ad-revenue blogs). It favors "long-term" sites that build a relationship with the user. Google's human quality raters have trained the algorithm to look for trust signals, part of a framework Google calls E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust). These include:
  • An "About Us" and "Contact Us" page.
  • Testimonials.
  • Unique, non-stock photos (especially with people in them).
  • A first-person narrative ("I," "my experience") that suggests authentic, firsthand experience.

Conclusion: The Future is About Experimentation and Value

Ivan So's message was clear: in the AI era, SEO is less about rigid rules and more about creative experimentation, deep value creation, and a willingness to engage directly with AI systems. His insights align perfectly with the industry's trajectory, where the focus is shifting from chasing clicks to building undeniable authority.

The future of search is conversational. Success will hinge on moving beyond isolated keywords to answer complex user questions directly within the search results. This "zero-click" reality means that providing unique information gain and establishing E-E-A-T are no longer just best practices—they are survival essentials. The ultimate goal is to build comprehensive topical authority, creating a web of interconnected, high-value content that makes your brand the definitive answer for an entire subject area.

By testing boundaries, providing unique value, building trust, and optimizing for how AI "thinks," you can not only navigate the changes but also become the trusted source that both users and AI algorithms prefer.

What's Your Take?

Ivan So's strategies are both insightful and provocative. Which of these tactics are you most excited to try? Do you have your own experiences with AI Overview? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Author:
— Dr. Ken FONG

中文摘要 (Traditional Chinese Summary)

SEO 專家 Ivan So 在最近的講座中，深入剖析了 Google AI Overview 對數碼營銷的衝擊及應對策略。他強調，要在 AI 時代脫穎而出，必須具備勇於測試系統極限的「黑客思維」。

Ivan 以兩個親身經歷開場。首先，他利用 AI 音樂工具 Suno 創作了300首冥想音樂並成功在 Apple Music 等平台上架，賺取了版稅並獲得「認證藝術家」身份。然而，當他試圖在一個週末內生成700首新歌時，因「非人類行為」而被封鎖帳號。其次，他分享瞭如何透過選擇冷門書籍分類、並在美國凌晨時段發動朋友集體購買，成功利用 Amazon 的排名算法，在短短一小時內五次登上「暢銷書作家」榜首。這兩個故事的核心在於：了解並利用平台規則的漏洞，是致勝的關鍵。

講座的焦點是 Google 的 AI Overview。Ivan 指出，此功能在美國推出後，網站平均流失了三成自然流量，因為用戶在搜尋結果頁就能直接獲得答案，無需點擊進入網站。這不僅打擊了流量，也讓 Google Search Console 的數據（如排名）變得混亂，難以準確評估真實表現。

那麼，如何才能在 AI Overview 中佔一席位？Ivan 提出了幾點策略：

1. 關鍵字定位：AI Overview 主要針對「資訊型」查詢（如「什麼是脫髮」），而較少觸及能帶來廣告收益的「交易型」查詢（如「iPhone 哪裡買有折扣」）。
2. 內容結構化：AI 偏好結構清晰的內容，其中最有效的是使用 FAQ (常見問題) 結構。將內容以問答形式呈現，能顯著提升被選中的機會。
3. 直接優化實戰：Ivan 以自身網站為例，當他發現自己的網站未被 AI 推薦為「香港SEO專家」時，他直接詢問 AI 原因。AI 回應指其網站偏向「課程」而缺少客戶實踐經驗。於是，他花費幾分鐘在頁面中加入「SEO專家」的稱謂、補充過往的客戶案例，並在頁尾再次強調，成功讓自己出現在 AI 的推薦名單中。
4. 品牌聲譽管理：同樣的原理可用於應對負面攻擊。假如對手用「[你的品牌] 是不是黑店」等字眼攻擊你，你可以主動撰寫文章，標題包含負面關鍵字，但內容則澄清「坊間指本公司是黑店的說法為不實指控」，AI 在抓取內容後，便會呈現對你有利的摘要。

最後，Ivan 展望了未來的 SEO 趨勢：

• 資訊增益 (Information Gain)：Google 會獎勵那些提供獨特價值的內容。例如，歌詞網站 Genius (前身為 Rap Genius) 因在歌詞旁增加了 AI 生成的意境解讀，提供了其他網站沒有的「增益資訊」，流量因此大增。
• 語義化SEO與實體 (Semantic SEO & Entities)：Google 透過「實體」（即人、事、時、地、物等名詞）來理解主題。一個網站涵蓋的相關「實體」越全面，其權威性就越高。
• 用戶意圖與信任信號：Google 打擊只為賺取短期廣告費的低價值網站，並偏好能與用戶建立長期關係的網站。演算法會尋找信任信號，如「關於我們」頁面、真實聯絡方式、客戶見證、使用第一人稱（「我」）分享的口吻，以及包含人物的非圖庫相片。

總結而言，Ivan 的分享揭示了，在 AI 時代，SEO 不再是墨守成規，而是充滿創意的實驗、深度的價值創造，以及與 AI 系統的直接互動。

Keywords:

SEO, AI Overview, Google SGE, Ivan So, Information Gain, Semantic SEO, Entity SEO, User Intent, AI Content Generation, Google Search Console, E-E-A-T, Brand Reputation Management, Digital Marketing

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