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when Microsoft announced that Bing would be infused with OpenAI technology, companies began complaining about the potential loss of web traffic. What about all the effort put into search engine optimization (SEO)? GoogleEntering the space with its Search Generative Experience (SGE) only made critics more vocal. Despite this, a new study from the AI-first search engine perplexity suggests that these fears may be exaggerated.
“It’s a very exciting time in what’s happening around AI and search,” Jim Yu, CEO of enterprise SEO platform BrightEdge, told VentureBeat. “Over the past two decades, the search model has evolved incrementally. Now there’s a big change: search is fundamentally disrupted by new AI models.”
Yu’s company has spent time analyzing a database of queries made through Perplexity, analyzing the results to understand the future of search and what it means for consumers and businesses. Perplexity’s referral traffic from its search engine to brand websites has grown 40% month over month since January, according to its research. In addition, 60% of their citations match the top 10 organic results on Google, meaning that those using Perplexity are shown similar and relevant answers to their queries as they would get when using traditional search.
“Start an opening” in the crown of Google
Yu explains that companies still need to invest in SEO, regardless of whether AI is involved or not. But in the age of AI, credibility will be key for a site to be cited often in answers. “If you feel good today, you’re at an advantage,” Yu says. But instead of focusing on optimizing individual pages, think bigger. “Sharpen your focus. What issues do you have the right to win?” he asks
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Google has been the undisputed leader in search for decades, but AI, specifically generative AI, is threatening its market dominance. Perplexity’s referral traffic growth is proof of that. “This is the first time we’ve seen anyone change market share with any speed in terms of actual referral traffic to [brand sites],” shares Yu, though he admits that Google is far from stymied. “It’s a fraction of a fraction [of market share]but there is momentum.”
To understand Perplexity’s impact on search, Yu cited nine industries that BrightEdge studied for its research: healthcare, education, B2B technology, restaurants, travel, entertainment, insurance, finance and e-retail. The team discovered domain differences between Google’s SGE (which is still in beta at the time of this writing) and Perplexity, highlighting which content sources receive the most from which search engine.
Reddit is cited as a top domain in seven of the top nine industries, except for Healthcare and Finance For Finance, Perplexity prefers Yahoo, MarketWatch and CNN. The Mayo Clinic, Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Coursera are all considered high authorities for healthcare, restaurants, travel, and education, respectively, but e-commerce is one area where Perplexity and Google don’t exactly see eye to eye. Both use Wikipedia and Amazon, but for third-party product reviews, Google uses Quora and Consumer Reports. Reddit is once again Perplexity’s favorite place.
Some sources are obtained through paid partnerships, while others are obtained through the open web. Regardless, Yu argues that this is an example of “frontline real estate” where AI generation engines have to make deals with online communities to get the training data they need for their models. Just look Reddit’s license agreement with Google before its IPO and Yelp’s link to Perplexity.
Perplexity in motion
BrightEdge’s report follows Perplexity’s announcement that it will soon show brand ads in your search results. The AI search engine company will display native ads on related questions, allowing advertisers to influence which follow-up queries are shown. The move seems antithetical to the company’s claim on its site that search should be “free from the influence of advertising-driven models,” but Perplexity chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko tells AdWeek that advertising “was always part of who we are.” will build a great business.”
If this evolves beyond native ads or sponsored questions, could there be a Google AdWords equivalent on Perplexity? While far from scale, this could make the AI application more Google-like and attract more interest from digital marketers.
Look for tips for sellers
The growth in perplexity after a year of existence illustrates that AI won’t necessarily destroy web traffic, or make people rethink Google search marketing. Rather, once SGE exits beta sometime this year, possibly for Google I/O — The Google site at the top will be re-secured. “Never underestimate Google,” proclaims Yu. “[It’s] very dominant in referral traffic.”
However, based on BrightEdge’s study, it offers these insights:
Identify the areas where you have the best experience from a subject perspective. Where are you entitled to earn from your content? In the past, SEO involved optimizing a few keywords. But now, Yu recommends optimizing for a conversation. One answer will trigger a follow-up query along with another, so make sure your site has all the relevant content. Make sure your site has structured information for AI search engines. Use metadata because it tells the AI where the content came from, who the author is, etc.; it also gives models an easy way to tag and cite the source of the information they pull. If you’re already doing SEO well, this shouldn’t be a problem. Consider breaking down silos within your organization. Yu explains that the AI experience ties everything together, so optimizing for the web requires the help of all team members, regardless of department.
It is important to note that this report does not suggest that Perplexity is a better marketing tool than Google. Rather, Yu urges companies to be prepared, saying this snapshot of the young startup reveals that it “shows the beginning of additional models for search.” He explains that we might ask a question on Perplexity, turn to Google for help with shopping or plan a trip, but then use OpenAI’s ChatGPT to figure out how to buy a billing system. “You have to prepare for a world where there are multiple AI engines,” says Yu.
“AI-first engines are constantly gaining ground and carving out their own areas of expertise, making the marketing community critical to mastering multiple search platforms. There’s too much revenue at stake to get left behind , so we’re closely following the development of these engines and all things search AI, from traffic and query trends to result quality and more.”
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