How We Reclaimed Position #1 for a Bank in the AI SEO Era

Most brands lost traffic when AI Overviews launched. Zero-click search is the real demon.

In early 2024, one of our cornerstone SEO pages, “apply for free checking account online” slipped from Rank #1 to Rank #9 on Google. Furthermore, it disappeared from AI Overviews completely. Just gone.

✘ Content refresh: already optimized

✘ Backlinks: strong

✘ Page speed: solid

This wasn’t an SEO failure. This was a search evolution.

The Zero-Click Era

As of 2025, 58% of Google searches end without a click.

That’s not a bug. It’s the new normal driven by AI Overviews, LLM-powered search engines, and conversational assistants like Gemini and ChatGPT. If your content isn’t AI-readable, it isn’t user-visible.

Moving beyond typical SEO tactics

SEO today go beyond the typical SEO levers such as:

• Title tag tweaks
• Backlinks
• Rich Snippets
• Content refresh
• UI-UX improvements

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The essence of AI search

We applied various semantic SEO optimizations to improve AI visibility for First Citizen Bank.

LSI Keyword Layering

→ Injected semantically related terms (not synonyms)

→ Reinforced AI understanding of topical depth

→ Most powerful lever across Google and AI engines

Intent-Based Structuring

→ Reorganized page by searcher journey, not keywords

→ Matched how users ask and how AI thinks

Entity-Backed Schema

→ Marked up key sections with schema tied to known financial entities

→ Boosted clarity for both Google and Gemini

AI Agent Scoring

→ Ran multiple rounds of simulation using Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity

→ Tuned copy based on what each engine interpreted as "most relevant"

Internal Linking Restructure

→ Added strategic links to high-authority supporting content

→ Strengthened semantic relationships across site

The Result?

Within 3 months, First Citizen Bank enjoys;

» Rank #1 reclaimed on Google for free checking account online

» Featured in Google AI Overview for the core query

» Dominated a 320 MSV keyword cluster

No backlinks. No content overhaul. Just signal optimization for how modern search engines think.

“If your page doesn’t teach the AI, it won’t be seen by the user.”

So what’s the playbook now?

If you’re still optimizing SEO like it’s 2019, here’s the wake-up call:

• Rankings are driven by semantic clarity, not just keywords
• Visibility is won through contextual layering, not hacks
• Success means teaching AI not just pleasing bots

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Want to see the outline we used?

We’re happy to share the exact semantic SEO framework we used to recover top rankings and secure AI Overview inclusion. Let’s review your underperforming page live.

  Book an AI SEO audit  

#AISEO #SemanticSEO #LLMsearch #ZeroClickSearch #CBIDigital #FirstCitizenBank #GoogleRanking #SearchStrategy #LessonsLearned