Ranking #1 Is Not the Only Thing to Worry About Today
Posted on
- 9 February 2026
This is all we hear about when it comes to SEO:
Get to position #1 in Google.
Agencies sold it. Businesses chased it. Rankings were treated as the scoreboard for online success. But now, that mindset is narrow. From about a year ago, ranking number 1 is still relevant, though it’s no longer the final destination. It’s just one tiny piece of a much larger puzzle. But the real question businesses will need to be asking is:
Do you really own search intent?
Because in today’s search environment, visibility doesn’t equate to dominance, and rankings don’t always mean revenue.
The Search Results Page Has Changed Forever
Ten years ago, this is wat search looked like:
- 2 ads at the top
- 10 organic links to follow
If your rank is at the top, you won the click.
Now the search results page is an entirely different ecosystem. Now you’re competing with:
- Artificial intelligence answers
- Featured snippets
- “People Also Ask” boxes
- Local map packs
- Video results
- Image results
- Rich snippets
- Reviews
- Comparison panels.
- Zero click searches
Someone can type a query into Google and receive an answer without visiting any website at all. So even if your business is technically “ranking #1”, it may still be losing:
- Clicks
- Attention
- Trust
- and most importantly – customers
Rankings Don’t Equal Revenue
The difficult truth is most likely a SEO company will not tell you that traffic without purpose is idle, and rankings without conversions are meaningless.
Imagine this scenario:
You are ranked #1 for a keyword like:
“first aid course Australia”
Great result, right? Yet:
- Your page doesn’t answer common questions
- It doesn’t compare options
- It doesn’t create trust
- It doesn’t convert well
- It doesn’t show up in AI summaries
- It reveals no FAQs or reviews.
Conversely, a competitor ranks below you but:
- Answers more questions.
- Seems more authoritative.
- Appears in featured snippets.
- Captures AI search visibility.
Who really wins the customer? Not always the site at the top.
The New Goal: Owning Search Intent
Today’s SEO isn’t all about landing a single spot. Your digital marketing company needs to understand that the challenge is to not only get a show of high visibility across a range with good search habits but also be able to be visible across:
- Organic results
- AI responses
- Featured snippets
- Local results from utilisng local SEO services.
- Comparison queries
- Informational content
- Transactional pages
You need to be in each stage of the buyer journey!
Understanding the Four Types of Search Intent
So, if you want to succeed in today’s business, instead of only focusing on keywords, you also have to focus on intent. Here are a few general principles that we can think of about any search.
Informational Intent
What is the product or service you are trying to sell?
How does it work?
Navigational Intent
Users being directed to the right page from search.
Can easily access similar pages.
Commercial Intent
Call to actions on why your product or service is great.
Provide comparisons if appropriate.
Transactional Intent
Buy now
Get in touch
The majority of businesses do nothing but transactional pages, but true leadership comes with owning all of them.
The Emergence of AI Search and Why It’s Important
Another fundamental change is occurring right now
Search is no longer just Google.
People are using:
- ChatGPT
- Google AI Overviews
- Claude
- Gemini
- Perplexity
- Voice assistants
These platforms not only list websites, they summarise information.
- Generative Engine Optimisation
- Structured data
- Clear, authoritative content
- FAQ formatting
- Conversational search targeting
If your site is not optimised for AI visibility, you’re already behind, even if you’re on the top of search.
What Businesses Should Measure Instead of Just Rankings
SEO is more important than ever and AI is making SEO essential. It is the core foundation when it comes to how to rank on Chat GPT and other chat bots. However, instead of obsessing over keywords we need to look at:
- Share of search results – how many places your brand appears
- Featured snippet ownership
- AI visibility
- Click coverage across SERP features
- Branded search growth
- Conversion rates from organic traffic
- User behaviour and engagement
A Real-World Example
Let’s say somebody looks up:
“best first aid course in Melbourne.”
A business with this intent would exist in various forms:
- A fully optimised course page
- A comparison guide
- A featured snippet
- A Google Business Profile
- Reviews and testimonials
- FAQs directly in the search results
- Supporting blog content
And they dominate the page even if they don’t technically hold the top position. That’s modern SEO success!
How to Create an Intent-First SEO Strategy
Topic Clusters Instead of Single Pages
Don’t create one page per keyword. Yes, some agencies do this and it is rubbish! Build ecosystems of content that include:
Core Services
Questions
Comparisons
Guides
Locations
FAQs
Structured Data and Schema
Your business can be further understood through:
- FAQ schema
- Product and service schema
- Organisation schema
- Review schema
This extends visibility beyond the normal rankings.
Conversion Optimisation
SEO must be closely tied to:
- Landing page design
- Call to actions
- Tracking and remarketing
- Positive user experience – your web design company should be all over this.
Traffic is only valuable once it can be converted into revenue.
The Future of SEO
The future of SEO: What businesses will win the next 10 years are not the ones obsessed with one rank. They’re the ones that:
- Understand user intent
- Build trust at every stage
- Optimise for AI
- Convert traffic into customers
- Build real digital authority
Want to know how much of your search intent you currently own?
Contact Digital Debut now and let’s build an SEO plan for the modern era. We provide a free, no-obligation SEO opportunity analysis and look at
- Where your business appears.
- Where competitors are beating you.
- How to capture more customers from search.
Questions about the importance of rankings number 1 of Google
Does ranking high on Google still matter?
Yes, ranking number 1 is still important but is no longer the only way to measure SEO success. Today search results include AI answers, featured snippets, maps, reviews and videos, and businesses can gain visibility and customers without being the top organic on the landscape.
Why doesn’t rank #1 always mean more customers?
If a page doesn’t answer user questions, inspire trust or show up in AI summaries and featured snippets, even if it ranks high, a lower-ranked competitor can still grab more attention and sales.
What does “owning search intent” mean in SEO?
Owning search intent means that you show up in search in several different formats such as organic results, AI answers, featured snippets, FAQs, local results and comparison search queries. This means your brand is visible in every part of the buyer journey.
What has been the trend in Google search in the past few years?
AI produced answers, People Also Ask boxes, featured snippets, map packs, videos and zero-click results are all part of search results today. This means you’re likely to find an answer in search results without even clicking on a website.
What are zero-click searches?
Zero-click searches use the direct answers from the results page from Google or an AI platform in the search window so that the user doesn’t need to visit any website to get the information.
What are the four categories of search intent?
The four classes of search intent are:
- Informational – learn something.
- Navigational – identifying a website.
- Commercial – comparing alternatives.
- Transactional – ready to purchase or ask.
Why should businesses be optimised for more than transactional intent?
An exclusive focus on “buy now” pages reduces visibility. Content designed for informational, navigational and commercial intent builds trust earlier and wins customers before competitors.
So what is Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)?
Generative Engine Optimisation is the process of optimizing content to fit in AI-generated answers for platforms like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity.
What is AI doing to SEO?
AI is turning search from web page to a conversational explanation from a list of links. To feature content and authoritative information in AI summaries, websites need the data, FAQs and clear, structured content to stand out.
What are the metrics that businesses can now measure besides just rankings?
Today SEO success should be measured in terms of share of search visibility, owned featured snippets, AI presence, branded search growth, click coverage, and organic conversions, not just keyword positions.
Can an enterprise rule search without ranking #1?
Yes. A brand can command a results page, and so be displayed as featured snippets, map packs, reviews, FAQs, videos and AI answers, even if the other site is the top organic spot.
What is an intent first SEO approach?
An intent first SEO strategy aims to satisfy a user’s wants throughout the buyer’s journey with topic clusters, comparison guides, FAQs, service pages and structured content.
Why are topic clusters more effective than single pages for SEO?
Topic clusters establish authority on a topic by consolidating guides, FAQs, comparison pages, and service pages linked together so that search engines and AI know your knowledge.
What is structured data and how does it help?
Structured data (FAQ schema, service schema) guides Google and AI platforms on your content visibility such as rich results, snippets and AI summaries.
Why is the importance of making conversion optimisations for the SEO?
Traffic not converted is of little use. SEO should be coupled with punchy calls to action, clear messaging and easy to use design in order to convert visitors to customers.
How do companies best optimise for AI search results?
Businesses should generate clear, authoritative content, use FAQ formatting, apply schema markup, address conversational questions, and respond to them in the simplest, most direct language.
What does current SEO success actually stand for?
Today SEO success is where not just organic listings, AI answers, featured snippets, local results and reviews become visible but traffic becomes real revenue.
What does share of search results mean?
Rather than concentrating on only having a single ranking, share of search results measures the number of places your brand appears on this same page as a search result.
How does a business show up with answers, AI responses, like ChatGPT?
By making high quality, well organised and authoritative content with some FAQs, schema markup, also well-defined answers and easy access for AI platforms to reference, summarise and recommend.
Why is brand authority important for SEO?
Users and AI systems trust strong brands. Established businesses that show knowledge, reviews, supportive content, and regular visibility tend to generate more search traffic and customers.
