In this episode of The Becky Beach Show, Becky reveals why traditional SEO is no longer enough to drive traffic and sales for digital product sellers—and introduces Search AI Optimization (SAO) as the new strategy to stay visible in an AI-powered search world.

With tools like ChatGPT now controlling over 5% of global search and OpenAI ranking in the top 10 most visited websites, it’s clear that AI is reshaping how people discover content online.

If you’re a digital product creator aiming for $100K months, this episode gives you the strategic edge to get found by both people and AI.

Becky Beach:

Hey everyone. Welcome back to the Becky Beach Show where we talk about building real scalable income. From digital products without burning out or doing things that don’t move the needle. I’m Becky Bee, your host, and today I’m diving into the topic that is gonna give you a competitive edge. If you take action on it now, because the old rules of online visibility, they’re breaking down SEO.

The thing we’ve all been taught to rely on is not working like it used to, and it’s because there’s a new player dominating the way people find information online. And that player is ai. More specifically chat, GPT Perplexity and the rise of other AI powered surge tools. Let me hit you with a stat. It should shake up your content strategy.

As of this year, chat, GPT has gained over 5% of the global search market in just under 18 months. That’s huge. To put that into perspective, open ai, the company buying chat, GPT is now ranked in the [00:10:00] top 10 most visited websites in the world right up there with Google, YouTube, and Facebook. And people aren’t just chatting with it.

They’re using chat GPT as their go-to search engine. They’re asking it for the exact kind of content that you and I create. But here’s the big question, is your content showing up in those results? Because if it’s not, no matter how great your link magnet is or how clover your product descriptions are, you’re invisible in this new search landscape, and that’s where search AI optimization or SAO comes in.

So what is SAO and why does it matter for digital product sellers? So let’s define it. Search AI optimization is a process of creating and formatting your content so that it shows up in results from ai. Tools like Chat, GBT, Google’s AI, overviews being copilot, perplexity, even voice assistance like Alexa and Siri.

But here’s the twist. These tools don’t just return a list of websites like Google used to. They return summaries, they extract information they need from your site. Rephrase it and give it to the user. In a nice, clean paragraph, other [00:11:00] person ever having to click to your site, that means your blog post, your product description, your tutorial, even your league magnet might be used to answer a question, but the user may never visit your site unless you structure that content in a way that tells ai This is trustworthy.

This is clear, this is what you should summarize. So while SEO is about keywords and backlinking, SAO is about formatting clarity, structure, and schema. It’s about training the AI to pull your content and not somebody else’s. And if you do that right, AI becomes your 2, 4, 7 marketing assistant. It introduces people to your work.

It recommends your digital products. It pulls your site into conversations you didn’t even know were happening. I’ve seen this happen firsthand and the last year I’ve had new clients who said they found me from chat GPT and other AI search tools. It is because I’ve been being mindful. Of SAO and voice search, SAO is the future of getting found online.

Did you know the shift from SEO to SAO is already here? Let’s talk about what’s really happening behind the scenes. [00:12:00] For years you were taught to optimize for Google. That’s how I grew my own blogging business in the early days. But things are shifting fast. Google has rolled out AI overviews, which use generative AI to summarize search results.

You may have already seen them. It’s that big paragraph at the top of the search page that looks like chat. GPT wrote it because in a way it did. Chat GPT itself now let you browse the web through plugins in its web search tool. People are asking it things like, what are the best digital plans for busy moms?

How can I make money selling Canva templates? Give me prompts to write product descriptions for Etsy. If your site has relevant answers and it’s structured the right way, AI will quote you, link to you, highlight you, but only if you set up your content to be AI readable. So here’s how I use SAO to drive traffic in sales.

Let me give you a look behind the card, how I’m using SAO right now in my own business, because this isn’t just theory, it’s working and it’s working fast. First of all, I structure every blog post for SAO. For AI [00:13:00] summarization, that means I use clear H two and H three headings. I keep paragraphs under three lines.

I list key points in bullet form. I include a summary at the beginning or end. Why? Because chat, GBT and Google AI overviews love structure. It helps ’em understand what you’re saying and extract it more accurately. Second, I use FAQ schema. This is a little bit of code that tells search engines what questions you’re answering.

So if you’re writing a post called 20 AI Prompts for printable sellers, you should include a section like, what’s the best prompt to write? Etsy? Product descriptions can chat. GPT help me come up with bundle ideas. How do I automate listing creation? Using AI tools like Rank Math or Yost will help you add that schema without touching code.

Third, I give the AI a reason to send people to my site. That means I always include on something like, wanna download my free workbook to help you launch and sell your digital product? Grab it here. That terms a passive summary into lead generation machine. That AI gives people a taste and then sends them to me for a full experience.

Can converted clicks get you to a hundred [00:14:00] K months? Let’s be real here. Traffic is nice, visibility is great, but what we really want are sales. SAO is not just traffic play, it’s a conversion strategy. Because when someone finds you through an AI tool, they’re already looking for what you have to offer.

They’re asking, how do I make money with printables? Or, what’s a good side hustle for teachers? If you show up with a valuable answer and a relevant product offer, you’re shortening the sales cycle dramatically. You’re not convincing them. You’re already halfway there. You’re simply positioning your brand, your product, in the funnel, as if it’s the next logical step, and that’s how this ties directly to a hundred K months.

You combine top of the funnel AI visibility, a compelling lead magnet, a smart email funnel, high converting digital products or offers, and then you scale. This is how you can repurpose your SAO optimized content. One of the best things about optimizing for AI search is that it forces you to be clear and clear.

Content is easy to repurpose. Here’s what I do with a single SAO optimized blog post. Turn bullet points into Instagram carousel [00:15:00] slides. Record a 62nd reel, walking through a prompt, share a quote or stat on LinkedIn. Create a Pinterest pin that drives traffic back to the post email. The highlights to my list with a teaser that one bit of content can drive awareness from multiple channels and reinforce your visibility in both human and AI driven ecosystems.

So here’s my SAO checklist for 2025. Let me give you my personal SAO checklist. This is a framework I use to make sure every blog post product page and lead magnet is AI ready. So here’s my checklist. First of all, you need to use clear H two and H three headlines. Write in a write in short scannable paragraphs.

Include a summary at the beginning or end. Use bullet points or numbered lists for key info at an FAQ section with schema markup. Tease exclusive resources only available on your site and add social proof, like testimonials or screenshots. Promote across at least three social media platforms. Update the content every 30 to 60 days.

Think of the AI as your reader and write for it. Here are my final [00:16:00] thoughts and your action steps. Look, the content landscape is evolving fast. AI is no longer a novelty. It’s the new gatekeeper, the new homepage, the new middleman between you and your customers. If you want to thrive, not just survive as a digital product seller, you have to meet your audience where they are, and right now they’re not on page three of Google, they’re asking chat, GPT.

They’re trusting AI summaries. They’re clicking less and expecting more. But here’s the good news, you’re early. Most people aren’t even thinking about SAO yet. If you take this seriously, implement it now. You’ll be the one showing up in these summaries. You’ll be the brand people recognize when they finally click through, and you’ll be the one building the 100 K month business like me when everyone else is stuck wondering where their traffic went.

Here’s your call to action. If you want help implementing SAO, I created a free checklist (get it at the top of this post) that walks you through these exec steps we talked about today. It’s super actionable, no fluff, and you can grab it at BeckyBeachShow.com. And if you love this episode, would you take 30 seconds and share it on Instagram or leave a review?

Tag me at themombeach so I [00:17:00] can cheer you on or maybe even share it with my audience. Again, thanks much for tuning in today. You’re doing big things. Keep going. Stay curious, and I’ll see you next week on the Becky Beach Show. Make sure to check out the show notes at BeckyBeachShow.com