In a recent interview conducted by David Iwanow, Google’s John Mueller discussed the future of SEO in AI Search, explaining which traditional practices will continue to matter and that the rise of AI Search doesn’t necessarily change what makes a successful SEO strategy.

About Those Listicles

The interviewer asked John Mueller about listicles. Listicles are like lists of “top companies” that have been used by companies as a way to influence AI chatbots to rank the company creating the listicle as the top choice in their industry. The interviewer acknowledged their usefulness in general but also pointed out that they’ve also been abused and turned into slop content.

Mueller responded that building a solid foundation for a website is preferable to relying on short-term tactics because those always have an expiration date, whereas a site that focuses on quality, what Mueller terms a solid foundation, doesn’t face that kind of expiration date where traffic disappears.

Mueller responded:

“I think, when I…