Marketing Insights for CEDIA Members
Top 10 Website Features for SEO and AI Search Ranking in 2025
Just 20% of websites pass Core Web Vitals; ONLY 2% meet comprehensive AI search optimization standards.
The Rapidly Changing Digital Environment!
The digital landscape is undergoing a significant transformation with the rise of AI-powered search. To achieve high visibility and ranking in both traditional search engines like Google and emerging AI search platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews, websites must adapt their strategies. This report outlines the top ten essential features that a modern website needs to have to succeed in this new era of search, based on a comprehensive analysis of current SEO best practices and AI search optimization (also known as Generative Engine Optimization or GEO) requirements.
The Convergence of SEO and AI Results
While traditional SEO search and AI results optimization have distinct focuses; ranking in search results versus being cited in AI-generated answers, they share a common foundation: providing a high-quality user experience and delivering valuable, trustworthy information. The following ten features are critical for success in both domains.
1. High-Quality, User-Centric Content
High-quality content remains the most critical factor for both traditional SEO and AI search. This means creating content that is original, valuable, comprehensive, and directly addresses the user’s search intent. For AI search, there is an even greater emphasis on factual accuracy, clarity, and providing well-cited information. AI models are designed to synthesize information from trusted sources, so your content must be authoritative and reliable.
2. Excellent User Experience (UX) & Core Web Vitals
A positive user experience is essential for keeping visitors engaged with your website. Google’s Core Web Vitals are a set of metrics that measure the real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of a page. These metrics are a confirmed ranking factor for traditional SEO and are also important for AI search, as a poor user experience can signal a low-quality website.
Core Web Vitals Targets:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): within 2.5 seconds
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP): less than 200 milliseconds
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): less than 0.1
3. Mobile-First Design and Responsiveness
With the majority of online searches now conducted on mobile devices, a mobile-first design is no longer optional. Your website must be fully responsive and provide a seamless experience across all devices. This is a critical ranking factor for traditional SEO and is equally important for AI search, as AI models will often crawl and prioritize the mobile version of a website.
4. Structured Data (Schema Markup)
Structured data, in the form of schema markup, is a powerful tool for helping both traditional search engines and AI models understand the content and context of your website. By providing explicit information about your content, you can enable rich snippets in search results and ensure that your information is accurately represented in AI-generated summaries. For AI search, structured data is particularly important for providing the context needed to generate relevant and accurate answers.
5. Topical Authority and E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is a framework that Google uses to evaluate the quality of a website. To establish topical authority, you need to demonstrate a deep understanding of your niche and consistently produce high-quality content that is backed by credible sources. This is crucial for both traditional SEO and AI search, as both systems are designed to reward websites that are considered to be experts in their field.
6. Strategic Keyword Optimization for Semantic Search
The way people search is becoming more conversational, especially with the rise of voice search and AI assistants. Instead of just targeting individual keywords, you need to optimize your content for semantic search by understanding the user’s intent and using natural language.
This means creating content that answers questions and provides comprehensive information on a topic. This is especially important for AI search, which is often based on full questions and conversational queries.
7. High-Quality Backlinks
Backlinks from authoritative websites are still a powerful signal of trust and authority for both traditional search engines and AI models. While the way AI models use backlinks may differ from traditional search engines, they are still a valuable asset for demonstrating the credibility of your website. The focus should be on acquiring high-quality, relevant backlinks from reputable sources in your industry.
8. Optimized for AI Summarization and Citations
To be featured in AI-generated answers, your content needs to be easily summarizable and citable. This means using clear headings, bullet points, and concise language. You should also include specific data, statistics, and quotes that are easy for AI models to extract and attribute to your website. This is a new and important aspect of SEO that will become increasingly critical as AI search becomes more prevalent.
9. Technical SEO Foundation
A solid technical SEO foundation is the bedrock of any successful search strategy. This includes ensuring that your website is crawlable and indexable, has a secure HTTPS connection, a clear site architecture, and an XML sitemap. Without a strong technical foundation, even the best content may not be discovered or ranked by search engines or AI models.
10. Content Freshness and Regular Updates
Both traditional search engines and AI models prioritize recent and up-to-date information. Regularly updating your content with new information, statistics, and insights is a powerful signal that your website is a relevant and authoritative source of information. This is particularly important for topics that are time-sensitive or rapidly evolving.
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The future of search is a hybrid of traditional and AI-powered systems. By focusing on the ten essential features outlined in this report, we can create a website that is well-positioned to succeed in this new and evolving landscape. The key is to prioritize the user experience, provide high-quality, trustworthy content, and embrace the new opportunities presented by AI search.
Your In-house Team
Don’t Just Have a Website — Make It Work for You
If you’re not sure what your website should say or show, you’re not alone. Many integrators settle for basic or outdated pages that fail to reflect the quality of their work.
Here’s what the most effective websites in your industry include.
Latest Launch
Real Results: The Standard in Smart Luxury
Industry: Residential | Automation | AV | Communications
Location: Memphis Tennessee High-End Integrator
Launched: July 2025
Their clients are homeowners who value quality, discretion, and precision. We listen closely to understand their vision, then designed a website that aligned with their customer’s lifestyle and preferences. but until recently, their website was difficult to navigate with many services buried several levels inside.
Smarter Websites for
CEDIA Members
At Rize Marketing, we know the Audio, Video, and Security industries inside and out—we’ve been part of the CEDIA community since 1996.
We create custom websites specifically for CEDIA members, with designs that reflect the unique needs of the AV and Security market.
From clean, modern layouts and user-friendly navigation to mobile optimization and smart SEO strategies, our websites are built to showcase your strengths and turn visitors into clients.
Let your online presence match the quality, innovation, and professionalism you bring to every project.
Real Websites. Real Results.
Built for integrators like you
Your website isn’t just a page, it’s the central hub of your business’s digital footprint. Here your customers will get their first impression, a reason why to do business with you.
Your website needs to look professional, work flawlessly, and reflect the quality of the services you provide.
At Rize Marketing, we’ve built over 750+ websites for AV and security professionals who wanted more than a cookie-cutter template. From modern layouts and mobile responsiveness to SEO-friendly structure and easy navigation, we focus on what matters most for your business.
Below are just a few examples of the websites we’ve crafted; each one tailored to help our clients stand out and grow confidently online.
FAQs
1. What’s the process for starting a project with Rize?
It begins with a consultation where we discuss your goals, needs, and vision. From there, we create a customized plan and start executing your project.
2. How long does it take to build a custom website?
Timelines vary depending on content, features, and client responsiveness, but most custom sites take 4–8 weeks from start to launch. This includes design, development, revisions, and mobile optimization. A faster launch is possible for smaller sites or with pre-approved content.
3. Can I update my website myself later?
Absolutely. We build websites on user-friendly platforms , so you can update text, photos, or blog posts without coding knowledge. We also offer optional support plans if you’d rather have us manage updates and performance for you.
4. What is included in the “all-in-one marketing solutions” for CEDIA Members?
Our comprehensive solutions cover everything from website design and eCommerce to graphic design, print collateral, and more. We provide everything you need to elevate your brand and marketing efforts—all under one roof.
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Let’s Make It Happen!
With decades of business and marketing experience, our team is dedicated to helping clients achieve their goals and aspirations. We treat every client’s business as if it were our own, empowering them to rise above the competition and succeed.
Call Us
(512) 661-2400
Email Us
sales@rizeavs.com
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