SEO in the age of purpose: Boost your mission in Search

Promoting a mission, a cause, content or leadership? If you’re selling PURPOSE not product, it can feel harder to make SEO work for you, especially at a time when Search is evolving at pace. 

We’ve always made a beeline for purpose-driven organisations and are proud to have worked with many leading businesses and organisations in the sustainability space, helping them to bring their mission to a wider audience. 

In our recent LinkedIn Live session with SEO expert and agency director Ash, we explored 7 essential tips on how to boost your mission with SEO. 

Your challenge

Purpose-driven organisations face a unique set of challenges that most product-pushers can’t relate to, like:

• Algorithm “bias” that favours commercial content over cause-related information
• Competing with big brands also talking about sustainability, DEI and other hot topics
• Declining click-through rates as more people get answers directly in search results
• Balancing an authentic tone of voice (ToV) with SEO optimisation demands
• Juggling SEO while algorithms like EEAT, MUM, and BERT evolve almost daily
• Building trust and authority takes time and patience
• Traditional analytics often don’t reflect the true impact or reach of your work

Ready for solutions that cut through the clutter of today’s Search landscape?

7 steps to boost your mission in Search

Let’s dig into our 7 essential strategies designed to elevate purpose-driven organisations in Search.

1. Zero-click searches – making peace with position 0

Did you know that 60% of searches end without a click?

Zero-click results are becoming increasingly common. But you can still gain visibility without click-through. In fact, zero-click searches boost brand awareness and authority in your sector.  When users find answers in featured snippets or knowledge panels, you’re establishing authority – even if they don’t click.

Some tips from Ash:

• Answer common questions clearly and concisely, anticipating what users want to know
• Use structured data to help search engines understand the context of your content

2. SEO meets AEO

Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) is the next frontier in search, especially as users increasingly rely on AI tools like ChatGPT, Bard and voice assistants like Alexa and Siri. AEO focuses on optimising your content to answer user questions directly – helping you adapt to the shift from keyword-based to question-based search.

Here’s how you can make AEO work for your mission: 

• Craft content that directly answers relevant queries
• Create FAQ sections that address common, mission-aligned questions in your niche
• Use headers and subheadings to make content skimmable and improve AI-driven search results
• Become a trusted authority in your sector through thought leadership, high-quality content and active industry engagement
• Optimise for voice search by using long-tail keywords and structuring content in a Q&A format
• Target and track featured snippets and knowledge panel
• Don’t neglect technical SEO such as Schema Markup

3. Showcase your expertise with E-E-A-T

Search engines crave credibility, and that’s where Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) come in. Purpose-led organisations are in the perfect position to shine by showcasing their unique knowledge, trusted reputation and dedication to real-world impact.

Some tips on optimising for EEAT:

• Demonstrate real-world experience – share genuine case studies, success stories and insights
• Share thought leadership to show expertise – publish content that tackles pressing issues in your field
• Build authority with backlinks from trusted sites – these backlinks act as virtual endorsements, signalling search engines that you’re an authority in your space
• Ensure your content is well-researched and cites reliable sources
• Regularly update content to maintain trustworthiness and accuracy

You may also like: 7 ways to avoid greenwashed content

4. Put the right content in front of the right eyes with personalisation

Did you know that 89% of marketers see positive ROI with personalisation? Optimising for personalisation means more relevant, timely content for the reader and higher engagement for you.

5. Core Web Vitals and User Experience (UX)

Core Web Vitals are essential for ranking well in Google’s search results. They measure page speed, visual stability and interactivity.

Great content means nothing if users click away because your page takes too long to load. 

Pages that load within 1 second convert 3x more. And 53% of users abandon a site if it takes more than 3 seconds to load​. 

How to optimise for Core Vitals:

• Make your site lightning fast, and users will stay
• Keep mobile responsiveness top of mind to engage users on any device
• Balance creative formats with fast, functional design

6. AI-powered algorithms

AI models, like ChatGPT, are increasingly shaping search. Great SEO gives you a leg up in being recognized by these evolving systems. Here’s how to make sure you stay visible:

Value-add content matters – High-quality, authoritative content continues to improve visibility, giving your site a better chance to rank well in both search engines and AI overviews.

SEO is still a viable long-term play, even in the AI era – As AI and search engine algorithms evolve, SEO helps keep your content relevant and findable.

7. Omnichannel SEO

SEO = Search Everywhere Optimisation.

Today’s SEO means more than Google rankings. Think of SEO as Search Everywhere Optimization – integrating and optimising across platforms for a broader reach.

• Mentions (social media & PR)
• Validation (reviews, ratings)
• Authority (authors, expert profiles)
• Reformatting / repurposing content cross-channel

Elements to consider, integrate and optimise:

• Use YouTube to build trust and integrate educational content
• Utilise LinkedIn for B2B leadership
• Promote subject matter experts and integrate into content
• Align PR and SEO for authority via backlinks and coverage
• Optimise for AI tools, building visibility for your purpose 
• Be found on platforms like Quora 

SEO, AI, and Omnichannel work hand in hand to help purpose-driven organisations achieve the visibility they need in today’s search landscape. As you focus on these strategies, you’ll be better equipped to meet audiences where they are – whether that’s on Google, in an AI response or scrolling through LinkedIn.

Purpose and SEO is in our DNA. Get in touch to see how our SEO services in London and beyond could help amplify your message.

Author information

With 15 years of hands-on SEO and digital marketing experience, agency director Ash is the driving element behind our digital team. Ashley heads our digital execution team, delivering innovative strategic and tactical marketing initiatives and campaigns; helping propel our clients’ growth and success.

Learn more about Ash

Emily, our content manager joined SeventhElement in 2018 and is behind the creative thinking and SEO content strategy that fuels our client projects.

Learn more about Emily

References

1. 50 Stats Showing The Power Of Personalization, Forbes
2. 2024 Zero-Click Search Study: For every 1,000 EU Google Searches, only 374 clicks go to the Open Web. In the US, it’s 360, SparkToro