🔥 The SEOs Diners Club - Issue #183 - Weekly SEO Tips & News

When AI Overviews Come to Turkey: The Calm Before the Storm

Hello fellow SEO practitioners,

This week, we're examining a fascinating paradox in the Turkish SEO landscape. While Google's AI Mode and AI Overviews are reshaping search experiences in markets like the US, Europe, and India, Turkey remains in what I call the "quiet period." This isn't just a delay—it's an unprecedented opportunity for strategic preparation that most of us are overlooking.

After 15 years in this industry, I've witnessed numerous algorithm updates, shifts in ranking factors, and SERP evolution. But this AI transition feels different. It's not just another update; it's a fundamental reimagining of how search results are presented and consumed. And for once, we have a warning.

The Turkish Advantage: Learning Without Burning

Google's AI-powered search results, particularly AI Overviews, appear in approximately 13% of searches in established markets, such as the United States. This translates to users finding their answers directly on the search results page, significantly reducing the need to click through to organic links. For Turkish SEO professionals, this reality hasn't arrived yet—and that's our secret weapon.

The data from markets where AI Overviews are active tells a sobering story. Organic click-through rates have dropped by up to 30% for informational queries. Users get their basic information from AI summaries and click through to fewer websites. Since Turkey hasn't experienced this shift yet, we still have the luxury of protecting our current organic traffic while preparing for what's coming.

But here's where it gets interesting: our competitors, especially multilingual publishers, have already begun adapting to this new reality. They're testing which content blocks get cited, which formats perform better, and which optimization strategies actually work. They're building real-world experience while we're still operating in the old paradigm.

This creates both an opportunity and a risk. The opportunity lies in learning from their experiments without the associated traffic losses. We can study their successes and failures, then apply these insights risk-free to our own content strategies. The risk is that when AI Overviews do launch in Turkey, these early adopters may have a significant head start in the citation game.

The sectors that will feel the most immediate impact are those heavily dependent on informational content—healthcare, finance, education, and technology. These are precisely the areas where AI Overviews trigger most frequently. Brands in these sectors should prepare for organic click losses on quick-answer queries, while simultaneously positioning themselves to capture AI citations through strategic content optimization.

E-commerce presents a different dynamic. Product searches and comparison queries aren't yet heavily featured in AI Overviews, but Google's Shopping integrations suggest this will evolve. Particularly for queries involving "best," "comparison," and "how to choose" terms, AI summaries are becoming more prevalent.

Local businesses face yet another scenario. "Near me" searches and local service queries remain less common in AI Overviews, with Google still favoring traditional local results and map integrations. This suggests local SEO strategies will experience less immediate disruption.

Technical Foundations: The Lazy Loading Trap

While we prepare for the AI revolution, we cannot ignore the technical fundamentals that will determine our success in both current and future search landscapes. This week brought important reminders about lazy loading and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) from Google's John Mueller and Martin Splitt.

Using the loading="lazy" attribute on above-the-fold images can severely impact your LCP scores. The browser delays loading your most important visual elements, creating a slower perceived page load experience. This is particularly critical for WordPress users, as versions 5.5 and later automatically add loading="lazy" to all images.

If your hero section contains a large image that serves as your LCP element, lazy loading will delay its rendering and negatively impact your Core Web Vitals scores. Similarly, legacy JavaScript-based lazy loading libraries pose SEO risks by storing image URLs in custom attributes like data-src, potentially preventing Google from indexing your visuals if the JavaScript fails to execute properly.

The solution requires surgical precision. Hero images and critical above-the-fold visuals should use loading="eager" to ensure priority loading. Native browser lazy loading should be preferred over JavaScript libraries for better reliability and performance. Regular auditing through Google Search Console's URL Inspection tool helps verify that your images are rendering correctly for search engines.

This attention to technical detail becomes even more crucial in the AI era. AI systems crawling and processing your content operate under similar constraints as traditional search bots, making page speed, crawlability, and proper rendering essential for both current rankings and future AI citation opportunities.

The AI Arms Race: Data, Ethics, and Competition

The artificial intelligence landscape delivered two significant developments this week that illuminate the complex competitive dynamics at play. First, reports emerged that ChatGPT secretly uses Google's search data through SerpApi services to provide more accurate, current responses to user queries. This revelation underscores how intertwined these supposedly competing systems have become.

OpenAI's admission that they can only serve 80% of their traffic from their first-party index reveals the continued dominance of Google's search infrastructure. Despite massive investment and development, alternative search systems still rely heavily on Google's data to provide comprehensive results. This dependency creates both opportunities and vulnerabilities in the competitive landscape.

The ethical implications are equally fascinating. Google rejected OpenAI's direct access requests last year, yet OpenAI now accesses this data indirectly through third-party services. This creates a gray area in data usage rights and competitive law that will likely influence how AI companies structure their relationships with search providers.

Grammarly's major interface overhaul and AI feature expansion represents another significant development. The popular writing assistant now offers text summarization, audience-specific feedback, plagiarism detection, and AI-generated content identification. Their "Reader Reactions" feature particularly intrigues content marketers by analyzing text from different reader persona perspectives and providing targeted suggestions.

However, Grammarly's dual role as both AI content creator and AI content detector presents philosophical challenges, especially in educational settings. Offering students both AI assistance and AI detection tools seems contradictory and highlights the complex ethical questions surrounding AI in content creation.

These developments remind us that the AI revolution in search and content isn't just about Google. Multiple players are building complementary and competing systems that will reshape how content is created, distributed, and consumed. Understanding these dynamics helps us make better strategic decisions about which tools to adopt and how to position our content for maximum visibility across platforms.

Preparation Strategy: Beyond Traditional Optimization

Preparing for the AI era requires rethinking our fundamental approach to content creation and optimization. Traditional SEO focused on keyword density and single-page optimization, but AI systems evaluate semantic coverage and holistic topic treatment. This shift demands a complete philosophical adjustment in how we approach content strategy.

When creating content about digital marketing, for example, it's no longer sufficient to optimize for that single term. AI systems will evaluate whether your content addresses related subtopics, answers associated questions, provides comparisons, and includes practical examples. Questions like "What is digital marketing?", "What are the types of digital marketing?", "How is digital marketing done?" and "How is a digital marketing budget determined?" should all find answers within your comprehensive content piece.

Content format evolution also requires attention. AI systems process structured data more effectively, making tables, lists, step-by-step guides, and comparison charts increasingly valuable. However, this structured information must be presented within natural, flowing content that serves human readers, not just AI parsers. Content that appears robotic or written exclusively for AI consumption will ultimately harm user experience.

Brand authority becomes even more critical in the AI age. Google's E-E-A-T criteria (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) influence AI citation decisions. Content from trusted sources gets cited more frequently by AI systems. Building genuine sector authority serves both traditional SEO goals and AI visibility objectives.

The technical foundation remains crucial. Page speed, crawlability, mobile compatibility, internal linking, and schema markup become more important as AI bots evaluate these same fundamental signals when processing your content for potential citation.

Actionable Intelligence: Six Strategic Moves

Transform your content into citation-worthy material by structuring information for both AI summarization and human consumption. Provide clear, concise answers under each heading, expand FAQ sections, and process topics through semantic sub-headings that demonstrate depth and expertise.

Strengthen your technical SEO foundation through comprehensive auditing of page speed, crawlability, and mobile compatibility. AI systems share many evaluation criteria with traditional search bots, making technical excellence a prerequisite for both current rankings and future AI visibility.

Amplify E-E-A-T signals throughout your content ecosystem. Author biographies, source citations, and original data-supported content make you a more trustworthy source in AI evaluation algorithms. These trust signals compound over time, building the authority needed for consistent citation opportunities.

Develop semantic content mapping for every major topic area. Chart all related sub-questions and associated terms, then use these maps to create comprehensive, holistic content pieces that address user intent from multiple angles.

Increase structured data implementation across your website. Schema markup, FAQ schema, and Article schema help AI systems understand and process your content more effectively, increasing citation probability.

Maintain content freshness through regular updates and additions. AI systems prefer current information, making content maintenance a crucial competitive advantage.

🎁 Special Offer from Our Sponsor

Semust: Smarter SEO Recommendations for Better Organic Traffic

Managing your entire SEO workflow just got easier.

In this GPT-5 era, where automation is king, you still need reliable tools to track, analyze, and optimize your SEO efforts. That's where Semust comes in.

Semust combines powerful SEO tools in a single platform:

• Google Rank Tracker - Monitor your keyword positions with precision

• Technical SEO Checker - Identify and fix technical issues fast

• SERP Analyzer - Understand what's ranking and why

• Complete workflow management - From audit to optimization

Exclusive Offer for SEOs Diners Club Readers:

Get a FREE one-month Business Plan (normally $35/month) to supercharge your SEO workflow.

How to claim: Email: [email protected] Subject: "SEOs Diners Club - Free Month"

Learn more about Semust | View pricing plans

Wishing you a successful week in the AI era,

Mert Erkal

Want to Support This Newsletter?

I love sharing the latest developments and strategies from the SEO world with you. If you find my content useful, you can support me by buying a coffee. ☕ Click 'Buy Me a Coffee' to contribute to knowledge sharing. Let's achieve more together!

© 2022-2025 SEOs Diners Club by Mert Erkal