Pixel Rank Tracking: Why Pixels Beat Positions in Google’s AI-Driven SERP
In the search world, being ranked #1 on Google used to be the ultimate prize. But today’s search engine results pages (SERPs) are packed with AI-generated summaries, answer boxes, and other features that can push even the top organic result out of immediate view. In this new landscape, pixel rank tracking – measuring where your site appears in pixels on the screen is emerging as a more meaningful metric than traditional rank positions. Utilizing the best rank tracker tools is crucial for SEO professionals to gain insights into website performance and audience engagement through specific search terms.
As marketing professionals in SaaS and e-commerce, we at NAV43 have witnessed firsthand how Google’s AI-driven SERPs are changing the game. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore why a #1 position isn’t what it used to be, introduce the concept of “share of squares” for AI Overview visibility, and provide actionable strategies to ensure your brand stays above the fold (literally) in 2025 and beyond.
The Decline of Traditional Ranking Metrics in an AI-Driven SERP
For years, SEO success was measured by ranking positions, securing that #1 spot or a handful of top-three rankings. However, Google’s SERP has transformed dramatically. With the introduction of AI Overviews, rich snippets, local packs, and other SERP features, a page that ranks #1 might no longer be the first thing a user sees.
In other words, being “ranked #1” doesn’t guarantee visibility or clicks like it used to.
Competitor analysis has become a crucial strategy for understanding the changing landscape of SERPs. By assessing competitors’ performance, analyzing keywords, and monitoring search engine rankings, businesses can gain insights into competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, which are essential for making informed strategic decisions in digital marketing.
Consider what happens when Google’s AI-generated answers (also known as Search Generative Experience or AI Overviews) appear at the top of results. These large info boxes can dominate the screen, pushing traditional organic links further down. The classic blue link that we fought so hard to get to position one might actually be below the fold – visible only after scrolling.
In fact, studies have shown that on modern SERPs for competitive queries (like “hotels”), the first organic result can appear only on the second screenful on desktop. On mobile, it’s often even worse, with small screens and numerous features, meaning users might not see an organic result until they scroll significantly.
Data Spotlight: Rankings Up, Clicks Down
The rise of SERP features and AI summaries has led to a paradoxical situation: you maintain high rankings, but organic traffic and click-through rates (CTR) drop. Multiple independent studies in early 2025 confirm this disturbing trend:
- Ahrefs data shows that when an AI Overview is present, the top-ranking page’s CTR is 34.5% lower on average compared to similar queries without an AI answer
- An Amsive analysis found a -15.49% average CTR decline on keywords with AI Overviews
- Similarweb reported 20% fewer clicks on search results pages that include AI Overviews
In plain English: even if you’re ranking #1, the crowded, AI-infused SERP is siphoning off clicks that used to be yours.
Google’s own experiments show that AI Overviews often satisfy informational queries directly, resulting in more zero-click searches where users get their answer without clicking through.
Additionally, the rise of AI Overviews has significantly impacted ‘estimated visits’ as a key metric, with many SEO tools now providing clean and crisp data visualizations to help analyze keyword performance and trends over time.
All these data points align on one conclusion – traditional rank alone isn’t a reliable measure of success anymore. We need new ways to quantify and track our true visibility.
What is Pixel Rank Tracking (And Why It Matters)?
Pixel rank tracking is the practice of measuring a webpage’s position on the SERP in terms of pixels from the top of the page, rather than by a simple rank number. In essence, it asks: how far down (in pixels) do users have to scroll before they see your content?
This approach accounts for the actual screen real estate your result occupies, bringing much-needed clarity in an era when a “#1 result” might still hide beneath a sea of other elements. By integrating keyword rank and ranking data into pixel rank tracking, we can provide a more accurate representation of a website’s visibility. This method not only tracks the keyword rank but also offers real-time ranking data, giving a comprehensive view of how a page performs in search engine results.
Traditional rank tracking treats all #1 positions the same, but we know a search result sitting at 300px from the top is vastly different from one buried at 1200px. Pixel ranking captures this nuance. It considers the varying heights of SERP features, like whether there’s a 600px AI answer box ahead of you, or a stack of ads and a map pack consuming the top of the page.
By focusing on pixel height, we get a true picture of visibility: not just can you eventually find our link, but is it immediately visible without scrolling?
Why does this matter so much in 2025? Because Google’s SERPs have become incredibly crowded and dynamic. Just in the past few years, the content in that coveted first screen (“above the fold”) has shifted:
- 2016: A search for a popular term like “hotels” might show a couple of ads and then the first organic result within the first screen view. Users could see a traditional link without scrolling.
- 2020: The same query started showing more elements – ads, then a local hotel pack, maybe a featured snippet. The first organic listing was pushed to the second fold (requiring scrolling).
- 2025: Now add an AI Overview at the top that attempts to answer the query with aggregated info. The AI box takes up a significant portion of the screen on many informational searches. The first “regular” organic result might be several swipes down on mobile or well below 800px on desktop.
In this environment, pixel rank is a lifeline metric. It helps us identify whether a top-ranked page is visible or effectively hidden. For instance, if you have a high-value page ranking #2, traditional reports sound great, but pixel tracking might reveal that #2 actually starts at, say, 900 pixels down, below an AI snippet and a “People Also Ask” box.
That insight is critical because it explains why your CTR is underperforming despite the ostensibly great rank.
Key takeaway: A page that ranks high but sits below the fold is not winning the traffic it deserves. By monitoring pixel rank, we ensure our SEO success is measured by real-world visibility, not just numeric positions.
Pixels vs. Positions: A Quick Example
To illustrate, imagine two scenarios for a desktop search result:
Scenario A: Your site is ranking #1 for a keyword. There are no AI answers or special boxes, just perhaps a small ad on top. Your listing appears at ~200 pixels from the top-right, where users can see it immediately. Expect a healthy CTR.
Scenario B: Your site is still ranking #1 for the same keyword, but now Google displays a large AI Overview (taking up 500px height) and a featured snippet from another site above you. Your listing, though technically “#1 organic,” doesn’t show up until ~700px down, requiring the user to scroll. Many users won’t scroll that far, especially if the AI summary was helpful. CTR plummets without your rank changing at all.
Performance tracking is crucial to understanding the impact of pixel rank tracking. It allows you to monitor website rankings for specific keywords and provides valuable insights through features like query search data and competitor analysis.
It’s clear that Scenario B is increasingly common. We’ve observed clients perplexed by drops in traffic while their rank tracker still proudly shows “#1.” Pixel rank tracking would have immediately flagged the issue: the page’s pixel rank worsened (moved further down) due to new SERP features.
In fact, seoClarity reports that these kinds of SERP changes caused CTR to drop significantly without any change in numeric rank position. This is why pixel rank matters – it aligns with how humans experience the SERP.
In an AI-driven search landscape, what you see is what you get in terms of clicks. We need to see what users see. Users don’t see “#1”, “#2”, or “#3” labels; they see content blocks at various positions on their screens.
To navigate Google’s new AI-driven results, there’s a concept being introduced called “share of squares.” When Google provides an AI Overview (a generative answer at the top of the SERP), it also includes grounded links, those little reference cards or “source squares” that appear as citations for the AI’s answer.
Each of these is typically a small snippet or card (often a square or rectangular box) showing a source website that contributed to the AI summary. Think of an AI Overview as a mini-research report: Google’s AI aggregates information and then cites 3-5 sources with clickable cards (the “squares”) so users can verify information or learn more.
Making data-driven decisions is crucial in optimizing for share of squares. By using organized data views and sharing insights among team members, you can facilitate informed decisions that enhance your SEO performance and operational efficiency.
Your goal as an SEO is to ensure your content is featured among those squares. The percentage of AI Overviews in your industry or for your target queries that include your site is your share of squares.
“Share of squares” is essentially your share of visibility within AI-generated answers. For any given AI Overview, if Google shows four reference links and your site is 1 of them, you’ve captured 25% of that Overview’s real estate. Across a set of queries, if your brand consistently appears in these citations, you have a strong share of squares – a sign of authority and visibility in the AI age.
This metric matters because AI Overviews are becoming more prevalent. In fact, by March 2025, over 13% of all search queries in the US triggered an AI Overview, more than double the rate from January. Google is essentially curating answers and only spotlighting a few sources. If you’re one of those sources, you gain a visibility boost; if you’re absent, your organic listing (even a #1) might be playing second fiddle to an AI summary that doesn’t mention you.
From the user’s perspective, those reference squares are where they decide which source to click (if any). Google’s own documentation confirms that all links within an AI Overview are treated as having the same rank position (position #1, since the whole AI block occupies the top slot). This means in Search Console, you might see an average position of 1 for a query because you were a cited source, even though your traditional listing was lower.
Share of Squares = New Share of Voice: Just as SEOs talk about “share of voice” (the proportion of visibility your brand has in search results), share of squares focuses on AI answer visibility. It answers: When Google’s AI summarizes answers in our niche, how often do we show up as a recommended source?
For marketing leaders and SEO practitioners, capturing a solid share of squares has several benefits:
- Credibility and Trust: If Google frequently cites your content in AI Overviews, it’s a strong indicator that your site is considered authoritative on those topics. Users seeing your brand in the AI summary might trust you even before clicking through.
- Traffic Opportunities: While some users read the AI answer and move on, many will click a reference to get more detail. If you’re cited, that click can be yours. Each reference counts as a click in analytics when a user selects it. Ensuring you’re among the sources can help you reclaim some of the traffic that the AI might otherwise steal.
- Above-the-Fold Presence: Being in the AI Overview means your brand is literally above all organic results for that query, in one form or another. It’s prime real estate. Even if the user doesn’t click immediately, your brand has made an impression at the very top of the SERP.
- Competitive Edge: If competitors are slow to create content worthy of AI citations, you can leapfrog them in visibility. In some cases, you might not rank #1 organically, but still get featured in the AI box – effectively outranking the higher organic competitors in terms of user attention.
In sum, share of squares is an emerging KPI that complements pixel rank. Together, they address both sides of the AI SERP coin: where your content appears on the page, and whether it’s included in the AI-driven answer element at the top.
Measuring Real Visibility: Tools and Metrics for 2025
Shifting from traditional rankings to real-world visibility metrics might sound daunting, but thankfully, several SEO tools are rising to the challenge. These tools offer robust reporting features that provide detailed insights and analytics about keyword rankings and performance. Here are some approaches and metrics we at NAV43 emphasize for a holistic view of SEO performance in 2025:
Pixel Depth & Above-the-Fold Metrics
Some advanced rank tracking tools now report the pixel position of your results. For example, seoClarity’s Visibility Share tool measures the exact pixel depth of every SERP element to determine if your result was in the first 800px on desktop or 400px on mobile (commonly used definitions of the “first fold”).
Understanding keyword data is also crucial for analyzing pixel depth and above-the-fold metrics, as it provides insights into keyword performance and helps enhance SEO strategies.
If your key pages aren’t in that range, it’s a red flag. We monitor how often our results are truly above the fold for target keywords – a critical indicator for potential CTR.
Rank Ranger’s Visibility Score
Traditional rank trackers are adapting by providing Visibility Scores, which factor in both rank position and search volume. Rank Ranger’s Organic Visibility Score, for instance, calculates an indexed score for each keyword based on your ranking and the keyword’s popularity, incorporating detailed ranking data to provide a comprehensive view of keyword performance.
If your ranking drops from #1 to #3, the score drop is weighted by how much search volume that keyword has (losing first place on a high-volume term hurts more than on a long-tail term). This doesn’t directly measure pixel position, but it’s useful for understanding overall impact on visibility and traffic.
We use such scores to communicate to stakeholders in more business-impact terms than just “we dropped 2 positions.”
AI SERP Inclusion Tracking
Both Rank Ranger and Semrush have introduced ways to specifically track AI-driven results. In Semrush’s Position Tracking, you can filter for the “AI Overview” SERP feature to see which keywords trigger it and whether your site is included among the AI citations.
Integrating with tools like Google Looker Studio can further enhance your data analysis capabilities, allowing seamless compatibility with platforms like AWR and Keyword.com for robust reporting features.
If your domain is one of the sources, Semrush will flag that and even list you in position “1” for that feature. This is incredibly handy for monitoring your share of squares. Instead of manually checking search results, the tools tell us: “This week, your site was featured in AI answers for X out of Y tracked keywords.” That’s your share of squares in action.
SERP Mentions & Surround Sound
Beyond your own site, it’s important to track where your brand or product is mentioned on the SERP. Semrush’s Surround Sound and similar features (sometimes called SERP mentions) allow you to see if other pages that talk about your brand are ranking.
For digital marketing agencies, leveraging SERP mentions and surround sound strategies is essential to effectively manage and optimize their SEO efforts, ensuring they stay competitive in the digital marketing landscape.
With the new AI filters, you can even identify if, say, a review site mentioning your SaaS product gets picked up in an AI Overview. This is crucial for industries like SaaS and e-commerce where third-party reviews, listings, or comparisons often appear on SERPs.
If you can’t get your page to rank or be cited, you might still win a square by proxy (e.g., a CNET article listing your product that gets cited by the AI). We actively track these indirect mentions – they contribute to brand visibility even when not on our domain.
Google Search Console (AI-specific insights)
Google has updated Search Console to log impressions and clicks from AI Overviews. Every time your link appears as a source in an AI block, it counts as an impression. All such links are reported as position 1 (since the AI box is considered position 1).
Creating automated tasks in Google Search Console can significantly enhance your SEO performance by streamlining the process of tracking and optimizing your content.
By filtering queries in Search Console where your average position is 1 but your page isn’t actually the top organic result, you can infer that those are likely from AI Overview citations. We recommend keeping an eye on this data. It helps validate your share of squares and can reveal which content pieces Google’s AI favors from your site.
Visibility Graphs & Trends
It’s not one metric, but using your SEO platform’s visibility trend graphs can give a big-picture view. For instance, if you use the Visibility Index in tools like Sistrix or Searchmetrics, watch how it changes when AI Overviews roll out in your market.
A crucial aspect of understanding these visibility trends and optimizing SEO strategies is the creation and organization of content plans. Tools that facilitate the generation of content plans through automated processes, such as keyword clustering and topic generation, are essential for aligning content with SEO goals.
A plateau or decline might indicate lost visibility due to SERP features. Correlate those changes with pixel rank findings – did a bunch of your keywords suddenly get an AI box on top pushing you down? Those graphs can inform strategy pivots at a campaign level.
By combining these tools and metrics, we build a “real visibility scorecard.” For each priority keyword or topic, we want to know: What’s our pixel rank? Are we above the fold? Are we featured in any AI answers? What’s our CTR?
This comprehensive approach ensures we’re not flying blind with outdated KPIs. Instead, we measure what actually matters in today’s search landscape – that our audience can see and engage with us on the results page.
Pro tip: Communicate these new metrics to your team and execs. It can be an eye-opener when stakeholders realize a #1 Google rank can mean very little if it’s buried under other content. By educating them about pixel visibility and share of squares, you’ll get buy-in for the tactics needed to improve those metrics.
Visual SERPs: Measuring and Optimizing Above-the-Fold Presence
Modern SERPs are highly visual and interactive, especially with Google’s move toward an AI-driven interface. It’s not just about the blue links anymore; it’s about images, answer panels, carousels, and more.
A crucial aspect of measuring and optimizing above-the-fold presence is understanding our organic presence, which provides insights into performance forecasting within search engine results pages (SERPs).
So how do we measure and optimize our above-the-fold presence in such a visual SERP?
First, let’s define above-the-fold in this context: On desktop, it’s roughly the first ~800 pixels of height, and on mobile around ~400 pixels, before a user has to scroll. Our goal is to have important brand content (whether it’s our own site or a mention of us) appear in that zone.
Metrics to Measure Visual Presence:
- Pixels from Top: As discussed, track the pixel distance of your listing from the top. If a result is at 1200px, that’s clearly below most folds – a poor score.
- Percentage of SERP Real Estate: Some tools or custom analyses can estimate what percentage of the first screen is occupied by your content. For example, if your site has an image in a carousel at the top that takes 30% of the screen and also an organic listing that takes another 20%, you’ve got a 50% share of the first-view real estate.
Understanding which specific search terms drive traffic to your website is crucial for measuring visual presence. Rank tracking tools provide valuable insights for SEO professionals, allowing them to optimize content effectively and identify areas in need of improvement.
- Above-the-Fold Rate: We define a simple metric internally: the percentage of our tracked keywords where our content (or a mention) is visible without scroll. If out of 100 keywords, 40 show something from our brand in the first screen, we have a 40% above-the-fold rate. We strive to improve this by targeting SERP features.
Tactics to Optimize Above-the-Fold Presence:
Secure Featured Snippets
Featured snippets (when available) still often appear at or near the top, even alongside AI Overviews. By structuring your content to answer questions clearly (think Q&A format, bullet points, definitions), you increase your chances of capturing a snippet.
Article creation is a crucial aspect of securing featured snippets, as generating optimized content helps in crafting answers that are more likely to be selected by search engines.
This not only gives you prime placement but can also feed the AI Overview – Google might use your snippet content in its AI answer, effectively giving you a double-whammy: you’re the snippet and a cited source.
Leverage FAQ and How-To Schemas
Adding FAQ schema or How-To schema can expand your organic listing, sometimes adding collapsible Q&A under your link or a rich how-to carousel. These enhancements make your result taller (occupying more pixels) and more prominent.
In addition, utilizing white label features in SEO software can be highly beneficial. These features allow agencies to present branded reports to clients and manage multiple projects with ease, enhancing flexibility and branding in SEO operations.
For example, a result with FAQ schema can take up significantly more vertical space, potentially moving competing links further down. We’ve seen cases where implementing FAQ schema turned a one-line listing into a chunky block that owns a big slice of the screen, improving click rates.
Optimize for Image and Video SERP Features
Visual content can appear at the top as horizontal scrollable galleries (images for certain queries, or video thumbnails). For e-commerce, this is huge – product image results or “Popular Products” might show up before organic links.
Ensure your images are optimized (good filenames, alt text, schema) so that your products or graphics show up in those carousels. If an image of your product appears at the very top, that’s an above-the-fold win for visibility. Additionally, optimizing for image and video SERP features can enhance integration with other platforms, allowing your content to be more easily shared and utilized across various digital marketing tools.
Same goes for video: a useful video might land in a top carousel or be used as part of an AI result (Google has been testing videos in AI summaries). We guide our clients to produce and optimize images/videos not just for their site, but for Google’s universal search integration.
Use Paid and Local as Supplemental Strategies
While this article is about SEO, don’t overlook the obvious – if an above-the-fold spot is consistently occupied by, say, an ad or a local pack and you’re not there, consider paid search or local SEO improvements as a stop-gap.
It’s crucial to focus on your most important keywords when using paid and local strategies to ensure you are targeting high-value terms that can improve your visibility and performance in search engine rankings.
For instance, if your organic result is being pushed down by Google Shopping ads, running your own Shopping ad ensures you still appear at the top. It’s not ideal (you’d prefer the organic click), but it maintains your presence.
For SaaS companies, if AI Overviews are dominant, maybe a small branded ad for key queries can at least put your name back at the top of the page. We treat this as a holistic visibility issue: SEO and PPC teams should collaborate so that the brand has a plan to occupy critical real estate one way or another.
Monitor Competitor Pixels
Keep an eye on who is capturing above-the-fold spots. If a competitor consistently grabs a featured snippet or an AI citation, analyze their content. What are they doing right? Can you produce something better or more directly answering the query?
Most rank trackers lack ready-made integration options, but tools like Moz Pro offer the largest integration gallery, which is particularly beneficial for complex digital marketing operations that utilize multiple tools.
The battle for pixels is often a battle of content quality and format. We often conduct SERP analyses pixel-by-pixel to see how competitors are earning their place, then adapt our strategy to reclaim that territory.
By treating the SERP like a dynamic, visual battleground, you start to strategize in terms of visibility blocks rather than just ranks. The result is a more resilient SEO strategy: one that aims for actual audience eyes on your content, not just a report saying “we’re #1 for that keyword.”
CTR and Pixel Depth: What the Data Shows
We’ve talked conceptually about CTR (click-through rate) dropping when your result is pushed down. Let’s back that up with some concrete data and benchmarks, and then discuss what it means for your strategy.
Numerous studies and datasets confirm a clear pattern: the deeper your result is on the page (in pixels or folds), the lower the CTR. This seems obvious, but quantifying it is important for making the case to stakeholders why pixel rank is crucial. Keyword research is a crucial aspect of understanding CTR and pixel depth, as it provides insights into how specific keywords perform in search engine results.
- A 2023 study on SERP features found that when rich features are present, the organic CTR for positions 1-3 can drop by up to 50% in aggregate. Why? Because those features often consume the first clicks. For example, if a featured snippet answers the query, many users won’t click the #1 organic result right below it.
- Fresh 2025 data (as we cited earlier) specifically on AI Overviews showed top organic CTR sliding by 15-35% on average when the AI answer is present. This aligns with what we’ve observed in client campaigns – pages that used to pull, say, an 8% CTR at position 1 now might get 5% CTR at the same position if an AI box enters the scene.
- Above vs. Below the Fold: Internal analyses and some tool providers indicate that just appearing above the fold vs. below can be the difference between being clicked or ignored. One internal NAV43 analysis of an e-commerce client’s data revealed that when their listing was above the fold (pixel rank ~< 700 on mobile), the CTR was roughly 20% for that position. When a SERP change moved the listing below the fold (pixel rank >1000), CTR dropped to under 10%. Same keyword, same rank – dramatically different outcome purely due to pixel placement.
- User Scroll Behaviour: According to a 2024 user behaviour report, only about 20-25% of users will scroll past the first screen on a mobile search if they think they got their answer or options already. This means if you’re not in that initial view, you’re potentially invisible to 3 out of 4 users. Desktop users scroll a bit more, but still, being in that first screenful captures a disproportionate amount of attention.
What all this data underscores is a new SEO mantra: “If you want the click, be the pick.” In other words, be among the picked results that the user sees immediately. You can’t rely on them scrolling later or exploring further down – many won’t.
Tracking CTR by Pixel Depth
A practical tip: track your own CTR by position and then layer in SERP features. Google Search Console’s Position vs CTR reports can be misleading if you don’t segment. We break it down like this:
- For keywords where no AI Overview is present vs. where an AI Overview is present – what’s the CTR difference for our pages? (We indeed saw CTR much lower in the latter group, confirming the industry trend.)
- For keywords where our result is reported above fold vs. below fold (if you have a way to tag this via a tool) – how does CTR differ?
- If possible, even track CTR by pixel quartile: e.g., 0-500px position vs 501-1000px vs 1001px+. This can be done by manually checking a sample of results or using a rank tracking API that gives pixel positions. The pattern will likely show a steep drop as pixel height increases.
By tying CTR to pixel depth, you create your own benchmark that says, for instance, “We get 18% CTR when in the top 500px, but only 4% CTR when 1000px or lower.” That kind of insight is powerful for setting SEO priorities (and justifying them to a boss or client).
Stat to remember: One study found that the average position one CTR for informational queries dropped from ~28% to ~18% when an AI Overview was present. That’s a huge loss of potential traffic even though you “held” the ranking. It reinforces why we need to fight for those pixels and squares.
In summary, pixel depth is directly correlated with engagement. SEO isn’t just about being somewhere on page 1; it’s about where on the page you are. Our job is to use every tool and tactic to move our results higher up in the visual stack or get included in the elements that are higher up.
Let’s get practical. How can you improve your pixel rank and secure a larger share of squares in AI Overviews? Here’s a tactical checklist to guide your strategy:
Using a rank tracking tool is crucial for monitoring keyword performance and gaining insights into both your own and competitors’ websites. These tools offer ease of use, data accuracy, and robust reporting capabilities, making them invaluable for efficient data management and reporting solutions.
1. Audit Your Pixel Performance
Start by measuring where you stand. Use an SEO tool with pixel tracking or manually check a representative sample of your important keywords. Identify which high-value pages are consistently below the fold or impacted by SERP features.
One of the benefits of auditing pixel performance is the ability to generate white label reports. These reports allow you to create customized, branded reports for your clients, which can be automatically sent via email or accessed via shared links. This feature helps present data attractively and effectively for client interactions.
These are your top candidates for optimization. It might be painful to see a #1 ranking page barely visible without scroll, but that’s the reality we must tackle.
2. Optimize Content for AI Inclusion
To earn those reference “squares” in AI Overviews, focus on content quality and relevance. Google has stated that there’s no special trick – following Google’s Search Essentials guidelines (great content, E-E-A-T, etc.) remains key.
Creating optimized content is crucial for optimizing for AI inclusion. In practice, we’ve found that content which directly and comprehensively answers common user questions tends to get picked up. This means:
- Have a clear Q&A structure or a concise summary in your articles
- Incorporate factual, well-structured information that an AI might quote or summarize
- Use headers and lists (like this one!) to make it easy for Google to grab snippets
- Ensure your content is up-to-date and accurate (AI loves recent info for timely queries)
By doing so, you increase your chances of being one of the sources the AI uses. In essence, write for the user and the AI – deliver value that a generative model would deem worthy of citing.
3. Pursue Featured Snippets & Rich Snippets
Many of the old tactics for grabbing attention still apply. Aim to capture featured snippets, as they can coexist with AI Overviews and still draw clicks. Use structured data (FAQ, HowTo, Schema markup for reviews, etc.) to enhance your listings.
Select keywords are crucial in pursuing featured snippets and rich snippets, as they allow you to focus on specific queries and gain insights into ranking trends, search volume, and competition metrics.
If your page sports rich stars, images, or an expanded snippet, it stands out and often occupies more space. This not only can improve your pixel rank (because a rich result is “taller”) but also might land you as a source in the AI summary (since you clearly have a thorough answer).
Essentially, own as much SERP real estate as you can through rich results.
4. Improve Core Web Vitals & Page Experience
While this might seem tangential, think about it – if a user clicks your link but the page loads slowly, they might bounce back to the SERP and click something else. Google’s AI could also interpret short clicks as a sign your content wasn’t as helpful.
A fast, user-friendly page ensures that when you do get the click, you keep it. Also, a satisfying user experience increases the likelihood of positive engagement signals, which indirectly could help rankings and inclusion.
Optimizing core web vitals and page experience is crucial for all types of sites, as it ensures better performance and user satisfaction.
In the context of pixel rank, you want to make the most of each click you earn, because there are fewer clicks going around.
5. Diversify Content Formats
To capture various SERP features, diversify how you deliver content. Write articles for textual answers, create infographics or charts (which could show up in image results or even be included in AI answers if the AI references data), and produce videos for those queries where video carousels appear at the top.
Article creation is a crucial aspect of diversifying content formats, as it allows you to generate various types of content efficiently and effectively.
A multi-format content strategy increases your chances to appear in multiple elements on the SERP simultaneously. For example, one of our SaaS clients wrote a blog post (could get a snippet), made a short explainer video (could appear in video results), and published a quick facts infographic (could appear in image search). For one query, they ended up owning an image square and an organic listing above the fold – double presence.
6. Monitor and Adapt Continuously
The SERP today might not be the SERP tomorrow. Google is iterating rapidly on AI integration. We recommend setting up alerts or periodic checks on your most critical keywords.
Performance tracking is a crucial aspect of monitoring and adapting continuously. It allows you to effectively track keyword performance over time using SEO rank tracking tools, which provide valuable insights through features like query search data and competitor analysis.
If Google starts testing a new layout or if your pixel rank suddenly changes, investigate why. Maybe a new “People Also Ask” section appeared, or the AI overview got an expansion.
Being proactive means you can adjust your strategy (or fallback to PPC for a bit, as mentioned, to cover losses) before it significantly impacts your bottom line. This is not a set-and-forget era; it’s a monitor-and-adapt era.
7. Educate Your Team & Clients
Ensure everyone understands why you’re making these changes. When content writers know that concise summaries might get featured in AI, they can tweak their writing accordingly.
When your CMO understands that a drop from pixel position 400 to 800 explains the traffic loss, they’ll be more supportive of content refreshes or site changes to address it.
Internally at NAV43, we hold knowledge shares about “SEO in the AI era” so that our whole team – from tech SEO to copywriters to account managers – are aligned on these new goals. This unified approach leads to more cohesive and effective tactics. Educating digital marketing agencies on these strategies is crucial for them to effectively manage and optimize their SEO efforts, ensuring they stay competitive in the digital marketing landscape.
Each of these steps is actionable. Improving pixel rank and share of squares isn’t just a theoretical discussion; it’s about tweaking what we do in SEO daily to fight for visibility.
The companies that adapt quickly will enjoy a competitive advantage, while those clinging to old metrics will wonder why their traffic is declining despite “good rankings.”
After implementing a pixel-rank audit and optimizing accordingly, one of our e-commerce clients saw their above-the-fold rate jump by 15% and their organic CTR on affected queries improve by a similar margin. It wasn’t magic – it was about recognizing where we were practically invisible and making changes so we could be seen again.
Future SERPs: Predictions and How to Prepare
What will SERPs look like in another year or two? While we don’t have a crystal ball, the trends suggest even more AI integration and more dynamic layouts. Understanding search terms will be crucial for preparing for these future SERP trends. Here are a few predictions and how you can future-proof your SEO strategy:
AI Overviews Everywhere
Google’s generative AI answers (SGE) are likely to roll out beyond the U.S. and cover more query types. We anticipate AI summaries becoming a staple for most informational searches.
Understanding which keywords drive traffic to the top ranking page is crucial for optimizing AI Overviews. Google is even experimenting with an “AI mode” that could transform the entire SERP experience. In the future, users might toggle between a traditional SERP and a conversational AI mode.
To prepare, continue building authoritative, reference-worthy content. In a world where AI curates answers, being one of the trusted sources is gold. Also, keep schema markup and structured data up-to-date; AI may increasingly rely on structured info to generate answers.
Rise of Conversational Queries
With AI in search, users might search differently (“chatting” their queries). This could lead to more long-tail, question-like searches.
Keyword research is crucial for understanding these conversational queries and identifying search trends. Ensure your content strategy accounts for conversational keywords and natural language. An FAQ section on your site that mirrors how people ask questions can capture these queries and possibly get pulled into AI answers.
More SERP Feature Clutter (Before it Simplifies)
We foresee a phase where Google experiments with even more SERP features – maybe interactive widgets, more personalized elements, etc., making the fight for pixels intense.
Using advanced SEO tools is crucial for managing SERP feature clutter. These tools can help track website rankings, perform competitor analysis, and provide comprehensive reporting features.
However, over time, Google might also streamline the interface for clarity (especially if user feedback says it’s too cluttered). In any case, flexibility is key.
Be ready to optimize for new features (if Google suddenly puts a “AI recommended products” widget up top, you’d want your products in there). Stay informed via sources like Search Engine Land, SERoundtable, etc., for the latest tests and features.
Ads in AI and Pay-to-Play Visibility
Google’s business is advertising. It’s very possible that in the future, sponsored content or ads will find their way into the AI Overviews or other currently organic-only spaces. This could mean even fewer organic opportunities at the top.
While as SEOs we might groan, as realists we should plan for it. This again emphasizes building brand strength – if your brand is strong, even an AI answer might lean on your brand (e.g., “According to [YourBrand] …”) which is invaluable.
Reporting is a crucial aspect of managing ads in AI and pay-to-play visibility. Robust reporting features allow you to track performance over time, create customizable reports, and understand your local search visibility through various metrics and data visualizations.
Also, be prepared to allocate some budget to paid inclusion if it comes to that (for instance, if Google offers some sponsored slots in the AI references, know internally which battles are worth spending on).
User Behaviour Changes
As users get accustomed to AI answers, they might click even less for certain types of queries (simple informational ones). However, they might click more on transactional elements (like if AI recommends a product with a link, that could get clicks).
Understanding keyword data is crucial for grasping user behavior changes.
SEO teams should integrate more with conversion rate optimization (CRO) and user journey planning. If fewer but more qualified clicks come through, make them count. Ensure that when someone clicks from an AI Overview citation or a lower organic position, the landing page is extremely relevant and engaging so you maximize the chance to convert.
- Collaboration with AI Systems: It’s not far-fetched that sites might start providing feeds or structured data specifically for AI consumption. Google’s initial stance is “just follow best practices,” but if the opportunity arises to give AI models your data in a preferred format, jump on it. We’re already seeing apps like Otterly.AI that help monitor how content is used by AI. It’s a small step from monitoring to optimizing for those systems. Keep an open mind that SEO may partly evolve into Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) – optimizing content to be used (and cited) by AI.
Preparing for these possibilities means staying agile. SEO in 2025 and beyond will be about adaptability. The technical fundamentals (crawlability, site speed, quality content) remain as important as ever, but the metrics of success and tactical focus will continue to change.
Our best advice: embrace change and experiment continuously. Set up small tests – for example, try a new content format on a few pages to see if it gets picked up by AI. Or test different title tag approaches to see if it affects click behavior when an AI snippet is present. SEO has always been part art, part science; the art now includes understanding AI’s influence.
The search landscape has shifted from a simple list of links to a rich, AI-driven experience. Traditional metrics like “we’re ranking #1” are no longer enough to guarantee success. Instead, pixel rank and share of squares have emerged as critical measures of true visibility:
- Pixel rank tracking tells us where on the screen our result appears, capturing the impact of AI boxes, ads, and other features that push content around. It answers the question: Can users actually see our link without scrolling?
- Share of squares gives us a handle on how often we’re featured in Google’s AI-generated answers – those reference cards that are today’s equivalent of top placements. It asks: Are we being cited as a trusted source when Google itself answers the query?
We’ve learned that pixels beat positions in the current SERP climate. A lower “rank” that’s higher on the page is worth more than a top rank buried below. We’ve also seen how multiple industry studies back this up with significant CTR declines when AI and other features are present. The writing on the wall is clear: SEO must evolve.
The good news? By updating the way we track, report, and optimize, we can regain lost ground. It requires technical insight (using new tools and data), creative content strategy (to win those snippets and citations), and a proactive mindset (keeping ahead of changes and competitors). For SaaS and e-commerce marketers, these shifts are especially crucial – they often thrive on informational content marketing and rich search features for product visibility, so adapting means protecting your lead funnel and revenue.
In summary, here are the key takeaways and actions:
- Don’t trust traditional rank at face value. Always cross-check where that rank appears on the page. Prioritize improvements for any important keywords where you’re below the fold.
- Aim to be part of Google’s answers, not just the results. This means creating authoritative content that Google’s AI will likely pull in. Your SEO success is increasingly about being the reference, not just the destination.
- Use modern SEO tools to track visibility. Leverage pixel tracking, visibility scores, and AI filters to get the full picture of your search presence. Educate your stakeholders with these insights.
- Optimize for visual impact. Every extra element (image, FAQ, video) you can add to your result can boost your on-page real estate and attractiveness. Think in terms of SERP coverage, not just rank positions.
- Stay agile and informed. The only constant in SEO is change. Follow industry updates (we certainly do at NAV43), experiment with new tactics, and be ready to pivot as Google’s AI evolves.
At NAV43, we’re not just observing these changes – we’re helping our clients navigate them every day. The era of AI-driven search is full of challenges, but also exciting opportunities for those who adapt. It’s a time for SEO thought leadership, technical prowess, and creative strategy, and we’re passionate about guiding businesses through it.
Ready to boost your visibility in the AI age? Let us know. We’re here to help you track the right metrics, make sense of the changes, and craft an SEO strategy that keeps your brand in front of your audience. Feel free to reach out for a consultation or even just to chat about the future of search. Together, we can ensure that as Google evolves, your SEO performance stays pixel-perfect.
(NAV43 is committed to keeping our clients ahead of the curve. If you’re looking to make sense of pixel rank tracking, AI-driven SERPs, or want an audit of your current visibility, contact us. Let’s navigate the new search landscape and drive growth for your business.)
