Google AI Prefers Quality Content
A new BrightEdge analysis has revealed a significant trend in how Google’s AI Overviews select citations: 82.5% of links come from deep content pages — those that are two or more clicks away from a homepage. In contrast, only 0.5% of citations link to a homepage.
This calls into question traditional SEO strategies, which have long prioritised homepages and top-level category pages as the most important areas for visibility. As AI-powered search features evolve, it’s becoming clear that visibility in Google AI’s generative experiences hinges on specific, well-structured, and informative content — regardless of where it sits within your site.
Table of Contents
Why Deep Pages Are Winning Citations
Deep pages — like blog posts, whitepapers, research pieces, FAQs, and long-form guides — are often created to solve very specific problems or answer particular queries. In Google’s AI Overviews, which aim to surface reliable, bite-sized answers, context-rich and focused content naturally becomes more attractive for citation.
This trend is directly tied to the concept of Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO), which focuses on creating content that satisfies search intent in a structured, answer-ready format. You can read more about AEO in our curated AEO blog covering AEO and how to optimise your blogs for AEO in 2025.
Our Own Findings: Quality, Depth & Relevance Win
Our internal performance analysis confirms this shift. When evaluating which content performs best in terms of traffic and internal linking value, we consistently found that:
- In-depth articles and studies
- Targeting niche but high-interest topics
- With strong internal links and topical relevance
…performed far better than short-form, surface-level content.
This aligns with broader industry data. A study by Backlinko found that the average first-page result on Google contains 1,447 words — further proving that longer, in-depth content tends to rank and perform better. Meanwhile, research by Orbit Media shows that blog posts over 2,000 words have higher success rates in terms of traffic, engagement, and leads.
Why Quality Over Quantity Matters Now More Than Ever
With AI Overviews increasingly sourcing from deeper pages, the temptation may be to scale up content production. But more content doesn’t always mean better performance.
Google’s own guidance stresses the importance of helpful, people-first content. Their Helpful Content Update penalises low-quality, keyword-stuffed content created solely to manipulate rankings. In short: you can’t game AI with volume — it’s quality, structure, and relevance that count.
In practice, this means focusing on:
- Well-researched, high-value content
- Clear, structured formats that AI can understand
- Content depth and topical authority
- Frequent content updates to maintain freshness
- Strong internal linking to reinforce topic clusters
Don’t Abandon the Homepage — But Don’t Rely on It Either
Even though homepages are cited only 0.5% of the time in AI Overviews, they remain crucial for trust, brand recognition, and navigation. We still strongly recommend optimising them alongside:
- Key service pages
- Category hubs
- About and trust-building content
- Pillar pages supporting topic clusters
But this data clearly signals a new reality: your homepage is no longer your only shot at visibility — and it may not even be your most important one.
Why AI Prefers Deep Content
There are a few reasons AI systems may prioritise deeper content:
- Specificity: AI is designed to answer specific questions — not give general overviews. Deep pages tend to deliver more focused, precise information.
- Clarity and structure: Well-formatted deep content often includes headings, lists, and schema markup, which help AI extract and present answers.
- Semantic relevance: Long-form content naturally includes more semantically related phrases, improving relevance for AI language models.
- Freshness: Blog posts and evergreen guides are more likely to be regularly updated than static homepages.
Google’s own Search Quality Evaluator Guidelines reinforce the value of E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) — all of which are often demonstrated more fully in long-form, in-depth pages.
Caveats: Treat the Data as Directional, Not Definitive
While BrightEdge’s findings are based on an extensive sample, it’s important to note that this is third-party research. Google has not officially confirmed these patterns, and the full methodology hasn’t been made public.
That said, this data aligns with what many SEOs and content marketers are already seeing: rich, helpful, and well-structured content is rising in importance — especially for AI-driven visibility.
Final Thought: Optimise Everything, Not Just the Obvious
The SEO landscape is shifting. In the age of AI Overviews and AEO, visibility is no longer just about homepage strength or domain authority — it’s about whether your content answers questions clearly, expertly, and in the right format.
Whether it’s buried on page three of your blog or deep within a resource hub, every page on your site is a potential citation — and possibly the first impression your brand makes through AI.
So yes, optimise your homepage. But if you want to win in this AI-first world? Optimise everything.
