Evolving with the ever-changing search engines

With the rise of AI search tools, it's important to make sure your business is showing up in the search snippets and in the LLMs.

But where are they pulling information from, what are people searching, and how can we make a successful SEO strategy for 2026? 

Today we have Elizaveta, the Head of Marketing at Serpzilla, to help answer these questions and more.

Tune in to learn: 

Why we want to show up in AI search summaries

How to become the kind of brand that AI search summaries recommend

How far AI search has expanded since it began

Where AI models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Perplexity are sourcing their data from

Why AI results love FAQ pages, How-To's, step-by-step guides  and expert commentary

Why proving your content is structured, practical, original, and socially validated to  LLMs is important

Backlinks - variety beats volume: Why it's better to have one link from 10 different sites over a hundred links from the same site.

How Serpzilla can help strategically place content on sites that AI already tends to quote or source from

How to get started with the three most important components for your AI SEO strategy

Elizaveta's top advice for having a solid AI SEO strategy

Useful resources: 

Serpzilla 

LinkedIn

 

Head to episode notes

Workshops: 

AI SEO for Beginners

AI SEO Prompt Writing and Optimisation

Freebies:

Free webinar: Increase your website traffic (and sales)

The Ultimate AI SEO Checklist

The Ultimate SEO Checklist

Free SEO Nibbles Course

 

Sign up for the Recipe for SEO Success Course

Evolving with the ever‑changing search engines

By Kate Toon

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With the rise of AI search tools, it’s important to make sure your business is showing up in the search snippets and in the LLMs. But where are they pulling information from, what are people searching, and how can we make a successful SEO strategy for 2026?

Today we have Elizaveta Shutova, Head of Marketing at Serpzilla, to help answer these questions and more.

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Transcript

Kate Toon: With the rise of AI search tools, it’s important to make sure your business is showing up in the search snippets and in the LLMs. But where are they pulling their information from, what are people searching and how can we make a successful SEO strategy for 2026? Today we are super excited to have Elizaveta, the head of marketing at Serpzilla, on the show to help answer these questions and more.

My name is Kate Toon and I’m the head chef at the Recipe for SEO Success and Online Teaching Hub for all things related to search engine optimization and digital marketing. And today I’m talking to Elizaveta Shutova. Hi.

Elizaveta Shutova: Hi.

Kate Toon: And I just found out that Elizaveta is from Siberia, which I’m super excited about. But anyway, let me tell you all about Elizaveta.

She is the head of marketing at Serpzilla and formerly led performance marketing for a key toolkit at SEMrush. With 10 + years in B2B, she helps international brands boost their visibility and turn traffic into real sales results. A London Business School graduate with a Master’s in International Marketing, she brings both strategic insight and creative flair to everything she does. She’s passionate about growth strategy, neuromarketing and SEO, and is always curious about what makes people click. At SEMrush she grew organic traffic six‑fold in a year, and one of her articles ranked in the top three out of 3,500 on the SEMrush blog.

Fun fact, Elizaveta was just two handshakes away from Queen Elizabeth II, which is proof that the world of connections can be surprisingly royal.

Elizaveta Shutova: Almost. Almost.

Kate Toon: What do you mean? How come?

Elizavta Shutova: Yeah. I just knew a guy, who you knew a guy who knew Queen Elizabeth II.

Kate Toon: There you go. I like to call that six degrees of separation, six degrees of Kevin Bacon. There is a thing where all of us are connected to the actor Kevin Bacon in six steps. So you are three steps away from Elizabeth, and we’re all six steps away from Kevin Bacon. But honestly, listening to your bio, I feel embarrassed to be alive.

Like the things you’ve achieved, why am I hosting this podcast? This should be your podcast, Elizaveta is so impressive. Love a woman in SEO. Really excited to have you on the show. And as you know, over the last few months we’ve been talking a lot more about AI SEO or GEO, or whatever you wanna call it.

There’s lots of arguments on LinkedIn about that, but let’s dig in today with your perspective as the head of marketing at one of the major tools, Serpzilla. For anyone who might not know, can you briefly explain why we want to even turn up in our AI search summaries like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Google’s AI summaries as well, why?

Elizaveta Shutova: Yeah. So if we zoom out, 2025 is really the year we stopped talking about 10 blue links. Search has evolved into an ecosystem where AI clearly influences how people discover information. We have already seen the results in search metrics. Think about it: we have gone from ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022 to 800 million weekly active users in 2025 – the fastest‑growing app in history. Google AI overviews have gone from 1 % of queries to showing up in more than 23 % of US searches.

It reminds me of Schopenhauer’s idea that truth goes through three stages: ridicule, opposition, and acceptance. SEO and AI are in the first stage right now. Marketers are realizing that instead of just aiming for ranking, you now have to aim for ranking and visibility. You can rank number one and still lose clicks because AI results are taking over.

How often does AI cite your brand? In 2025 SEO is about earning trust from AI systems, showing up as the source they quote. Brands need strong technical SEO, authoritative backlinks, and content that adds new information rather than repeating what’s already out there.

Kate Toon: I love that. You mentioned the Schopenhauer quote—ridicule, opposition, acceptance?

Elizaveta Shutova: Exactly.

Kate Toon: And you said you don’t just want to show up in snippets; you want to be recommended and sourced.

Elizaveta Shutova: Right.

Kate Toon: You gave the “boiled‑egg” example—LLMs already know how to boil an egg, so publishing another generic guide won’t help unless you bring something new.

Elizaveta Shutova: Exactly.

Kate Toon: You noted that 23 % of search results now show an AI snippet. Is that more informational or transactional?

Elizaveta Shutova: Both. In Serpzilla we see a rise in informational, commercial and transactional queries.

Kate Toon: Where are AI models pulling their data from?

Elizaveta Shutova: AI doesn’t care about page 1 the way Google used to. Today’s models behave like a curious intern: they read everything—top‑ranking pages, niche blogs, help centres, Q&A sites, Reddit threads, YouTube transcripts, even forgotten 2017 blog posts—if the content answers the question well. According to SEMrush data, Reddit accounts for about 40 % of all citations, with Wikipedia, YouTube and Google following at roughly 23‑26 %. Yelp, Facebook and Amazon also appear.

I love four things:

1. Clear structure – FAQs, how‑tos, step‑by‑step guides.

2. Strong authority – credible backlinks and consistent expertise.

3. Unique insights – first‑party data, original examples, expert commentary.

4. Social validation – user‑generated content (Reddit, Quora, Medium).

If you ask an AI “what’s the best video game in 2025,” it will name the obvious AAA titles and an unknown game whose creators invested heavily in SEO.

Kate Toon: So AI is leveling the playing field?

Elizaveta Shutova: Yes.

Kate Toon: Does that mean the old SEO tactics still matter?

Elizaveta Shutova: Absolutely. It’s about building a diverse, natural backlink profile and keeping the core principles of SEO alive.

Kate Toon: What are the core components of a basic AI SEO strategy for 2026?

Elizaveta Shutova: Focus on three things:

1. Authority – strong technical foundations, diverse high‑quality backlinks.

2. Clarity – structured, machine‑friendly content (FAQs, how‑tos, tables).

3. Originality – unique data, real examples, expert commentary.

Also distribute content on UGC platforms like Reddit, Quora and Medium.

Kate Toon: Let’s talk about Serpzilla.

Elizaveta Shutova: Serpzilla is a link‑building platform that lets you buy backlinks from vetted sites. AI models still rely heavily on the top 10 Google results, so backlinks remain a key ranking factor. Ahrefs found that about 76 % of AI overview citations come from pages already ranking in the top 10. With Serpzilla you can quickly find high‑authority domains, filter by niche, language, and metric, and place your brand inside sources AI already trusts.

Kate Toon: Some people think buying links is bad.

Elizaveta Shutova: There’s a stigma, but 90 % of SEO experts say they buy backlinks in some form—whether through agencies, PR, directories, or platforms like Serpzilla. It’s a blurred line, but the reality is that paying for a link is often part of a broader digital‑PR strategy.

Kate Toon: If I’m a small business owner—say a bookshop—how would I get started with Serpzilla?

Elizaveta Shutova:

1. Define your objective (e.g., target location‑based keywords).

2. Identify the pages you want to promote (e.g., a product page for a new book).

3. Use our marketplace to find backlink opportunities—filter by domain rating, relevance, etc.

4. Choose a manual mode or let our AI match your topic to suitable domains.

5. Purchase the links and monitor performance.

We offer free access to the marketplace so you can see exactly which sites you’re buying from, plus guarantees that protect you if a link is removed.

Kate Toon: That’s fantastic. Any final thoughts?

Elizaveta Shutova: Remember the “authority threshold”: you need a certain level of trust before AI starts citing you. Build diverse, high‑quality backlinks, create structured, original content, and get your brand discussed on user‑generated platforms.

Kate Toon: Thank you, Elizaveta, for sharing your insights. This has been incredibly valuable for anyone looking to navigate AI‑driven search in 2026.

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End of transcript.