The Future of SEO Reporting: What to Track Beyond Traffic 

With the search landscape going through so many recent changes, which SEO metrics should you track in 2025? Here’s a hint: rankings and traffic are no longer enough.  Instead, there are many new metrics you need to track to fully grasp your brand’s online visibility.  Traditional SEO measurements don’t include things like:

• Zero-click searches. These occur whenever a user gets what they need from a search results page without clicking through to any websites. The rise of Google’s AI Overviews (and other AI search tools) has caused zero-click searches to skyrocket. According to recent data, nearly 60% of all searches ended without a click in 2024. 
• Visibility in AI summaries. Lots of users are choosing AI-powered search over traditional search engines. Getting your brand to appear in AI-generated summaries by tools like ChatGPT and Claude is now a major aspect of search marketing. 

Granted, Google-oriented metrics (rankings, traffic, etc.) are still important to track, as Google still remains the undisputed king of search (and will be for the foreseeable future).  However, it’s become essential for brands to include other metrics that focus on AI visibility tracking, citation frequency, and review velocity.  This guide will equip you with the tools and insight you need to master the future of SEO reporting, so keep reading! 

SEO is Evolving, So Should Your Metrics 

Besides the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, Google itself (the cornerstone of SEO) looks vastly different now than it ever has before.  AI Overviews have now become extremely prominent for virtually all types of queries, and Google even released a new AI mode.  Whenever a user conducted a search pre-2024 (i.e., the launch of AI Overviews), they’d see something like this: Here, the organic search results appear at the very top of the page. There are a few SERP features like the People Also Ask section and Knowledge Bar, but the organic results are very much the star of the show.  Now, let’s search for the exact same keyword with AI Overviews enabled (which is now the default setting): As you can see, the AI Overview takes up the entire top of the page. In fact, we can’t see any of the organic search rankings at all without scrolling down.  Instead, there’s a source panel containing links to the web pages the AI used to generate its summary.  Users can see more sources if they click on the hyperlink symbol located at the end of each section. 

The decline of click-based attribution 

Clicks are slowly becoming less relevant when determining the effectiveness of a search marketing strategy.  For instance, take a look at the AI Overview above again.  Besides the source panel, there are no other visible hyperlinks to external websites in the Overview. The organic results are still there, but they’re farther down the page.  This is why zero-click searches are rapidly increasing. It’s become incredibly easy for users to find the information they need in the AI Overview.  However, appearing as a source in AI Overviews can boost your brand’s credibility and recognition, even if users don’t click through to your site.   Besides getting your website listed as an online source, there are also times when AI tools will recommend specific brands to users.  Here’s an example: For this query, Google’s AI recommends what it believes to be the highest quality computer brands.  If you sold computers, getting a branded shout-out like this from Google’s AI would be extremely beneficial for your:

1. Credibility 
2. Visibility 
3. Bottom line 

That’s why it’s worth targeting AI tools for your SEO (which is also called GSO, or generative search optimization).  At the same time, AI Overviews demand new KPIs, so sticking to traditional SEO measurements like clicks won’t work. 

What You Should Measure Instead 

Instead of clicks and position rankings, you need ways to measure:

1. AI Overview visibility 
2. Citation frequency 
3. Customer sentiment (reviews) 

Let’s take a closer look at these. 

Visibility in AI Overviews 

If you start optimizing your content to appear in more AI Overviews, you need a way to ensure your tactics are actually working.  Despite the fact that the feature is so new, there are still ways to track your performance in AI Overviews, which is good news.  Some options include:

1. Ahrefs
2. Semrush 
3. Keyword.com’s AI Overview Tracker 
4. The Google Overview Tool by Advanced Web Ranking 

Here’s how to track AI Overviews using Ahrefs’ Site Explorer tool.  Start by selecting the Site Explorer from the main toolbar at the very top of the page (after logging in): Next, enter your URL into the tool: This will direct you to the Overview page, but we want to go to the Organic Keywords report (located under Organic Search on the left-hand sidebar): Once you’ve pulled up the report, check the Filters toolbar at the top and hit Add filter: This will bring up a drop-down menu that contains SERP Features: Doing so brings up a list of search results features that you can target, including AI Overviews: Don’t forget to hit the Show Results button after making your selection. Otherwise, the filter won’t apply: After that, you’ll be able to see which keywords you rank for trigger AI Overviews (they’ll have a star symbol next to them): It’s important to double-check the accuracy of any tool you use, so let’s see if Ahrefs’ data is on the money.  According to the report, one of our web pages should pop up in the AI Overview for the keyword ‘white label SEO partner’: Let’s see if that’s actually the case: Sure enough, our Reseller Program page appears as the top source here, so the data is accurate! 

Citation frequency (AI and brand mentions) 

Next, you should track how often:

1. Your brand gets cited by AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity 
2. Your brand gets mentioned online (in blogs, social media, etc.) 

It’s important to track both because research shows brand mentions are the most important ‘ranking factor’ for AI tools.  So, if you want to appear in more AI-generated summaries and recommendations, you need lots of positive brand mentions across the internet.  How can you monitor how often your brand gets mentioned? First, you can use social listening tools like Brand24 and Mention.  These are great because they let you monitor your brand’s visibility and perception in a central location. You’ll have full visibility of all your brand mentions, including whether they’re negative or positive.  Using a tool like Brand24 in combination with a Digital PR campaign is an extremely powerful combo for generating more brand mentions (and, in turn, appearing in more AI summaries).  As far as tracking your visibility on platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity, things get a bit trickier.  That’s because private AI chat outputs are not shared with the public.  However, Surfer recently released the Beta version for its new AI Tracker, which claims to track your visibility across all major LLMs (large language models).  You can also track your visibility manually by searching for brand and industry keywords on tools like Perplexity and ChatGPT.  Take note of how often your brand appears in the responses.  While this can be pretty time-consuming, it’s still an effective way to gauge your citation frequency. 

Want to earn top-quality brand mentions and backlinks? Don’t wait to try out our Digital PR service!

The Role of Review Data in Modern SEO and GSO

Lastly, the quality of your review profile is incredibly important for both SEO and GSO.  Just like Google, AI tools don’t want to recommend subpar businesses to their users, so they monitor a brand’s reviews before giving them a nod.  Thus, reviews are major trust signals for search algorithms and AI chatbots.  The stronger your review profile is, the easier it will be to achieve:

1. High search rankings 
2. Mentions in AI Overviews and summaries 

Ideally, you want lots of positive reviews from loyal customers. At the same time, the occasional negative review won’t be the end of the world, as long as you respond and try to resolve the issue.  That’s why it’s definitely worth designating someone on your team to manage your reviews across multiple platforms.  Structured data is another important aspect of a high-quality review profile.  Schema markup, a particular type of structured data, makes it easier for search algorithms and LLMs to understand your reviews. You can find all the schemas associated with reviews on Schema.org.  Also, LLMs check multiple review platforms, not just the ones on your Google Business Profile. Be sure to manage your reviews across websites like Yelp, Tripadvisor, Better Business Bureau (BBB), and any niche review sites that may apply. 

Need a top-notch review profile but don’t have time to manage it? Our Review and Reputation Management service has you covered!

Navigating the New SEO Landscape

In short, your brand’s visibility and perception are starting to matter more than traffic and clicks.  If you stick with antiquated metrics like CTR (click-through rate), you may think your SEO strategy is failing when you’re actually fostering brand loyalty and trust through:

1. Frequent citations 
2. High-quality reviews 
3. Brand mentions and media placements 
4. AI brand recommendations 

Since the search landscape has evolved, your metrics have to follow suit.  Do you need help tracking what matters? Book a free strategy call to receive a visibility audit from our expert team!