Could Google’s New Search Feature Affect Your Business’ Online Performance?
In February 2024, Google launched its new search addition, also known as Search Generative Experience (SGE). This new feature is powered by generative AI and aims to generate the most useful results for users.
While this sounds like a brilliant feature for internet users looking for a quick answer to their search queries, could the introduction of AI search affect a website’s organic ranking?
Follow along as we explore all the details about Google’s new SGE feature and learn how business owners should adapt their SEO strategy to increase their chances of showing up in an AI-generated result.
What is Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE)?
Google’s generative search experience is set to transform the way we search online.
While a traditional search result displays a list of relevant web pages based on their organic ranking for a keyword or topic, Google’s SGE uses AI to generate an immediate response to a search query based on information from various web sources.
This appears as an AI snapshot at the top of the search results, which answers the question without you having to click on a result.
(Image source: Land of seekers)
As you can see here, the AI-generated result answers the search query in detail, provides links to featured images, and provides direct click paths for follow-up queries.
Google’s SGE may speed up the search process for online consumers, but for businesses fighting tooth and nail to rank as high as possible, won’t all their SEO efforts now be in vain?
According to Semrush experts, a huge one 77.8% of searches now generate an AI-powered search result as well as the traditional set of web pages we know and love.
Let’s take a little more in-depth look at how this could affect your company’s online visibility.
Could Google AI Search Affect Your Business’s Search Visibility?
Organic ranking methods fly out the door when it comes to Google’s SGE feature. According to a recent study by Moz, the content, images and links generated by an AI search result are pulled from less than 50% of the top ten web pages for the keyword or topic.
(Image source: Moz)
SGE content also changes the physical visibility of a search result. Since the AI-generated search result takes up more than half of the page, the top-ranking organic search result is moved down the page by 1,500 pixels. While this may not seem like much, users on a mobile or tablet device can lose organic search results when generating responses using Google’s SGE.
With that in mind, here are three ways Google SGE can impact your SEO strategy as an online business:
Keyword difficulty rating based on questions: Google’s AI-powered search is primarily focused on answering question-based keyword queries. So if you’re trying to rank for “how” and “why” type phrases, the AI results are likely to override your SEO efforts.EEAT content will be even more important: If you want to appear as a source in an AI-generated feed, your content needs to be informative, user-friendly, and incredibly useful. Although not an official ranking factor, those who prioritize experience, expertise, authority and trust in their content will have more success with SGE.Metatext and images will be the ticket to visibility: While organic rankings are still extremely important to increasing your chances of being visible in a search result, meta text and images will become new focus points for business owners. AI search results often include linked website cards, where only the meta title and main image are visible. If they are well optimized on your page, you have a better chance of appearing in an SGE result.
Websites that practice SGE-focused SEO techniques have actually seen a 219% increase in your web traffic since the launch of Google’s AI search experience. So all hope should not be lost for your online visibility.
How to Upgrade Your SEO for the Google AI Search Experience
As the generative Google search experience becomes a crucial factor to consider in your SEO strategy, it might be time to update your tactics.
Here are some changes you can make to your SEO strategy to stay more visible after Google’s SGE update.
Brainstorm content topics using AI
If you want to learn more about what topics, phrases, and keywords an AI bot is likely to pick up when generating a search result, there’s no better source to look to than the AI itself.
Using an AI content bot like ChatGPT, you can create meta titles, brainstorm ideas, and even find killer keywords that will improve your organic rankings and SGE.
Knowing the language of AI early on could influence your content strategy in the future.
Optimize your meta images
Google Generative Search can produce its own written content, but it pulls images from relevant web pages.
(Image source: Land of seekers)
To increase your visibility, make sure your meta images are attractive, high quality, and relevant to the search topic.
Update your on-page SEO
On-page content optimization is vital if you want your website to come from an AI-generated search.
To appear as a credit card in a generative result, make sure your on-page content demonstrates your expertise as a brand and answers every variation of a consumer question in a rich, in-depth format. It can be a buyer’s guide or a long review.
If you want to improve the efficiency of your on-page efforts, consult an expert Search engine optimization agency could help ensure your content is visible in an SGE result.
With the ability to audit your web pages live for SEO errors and update your internal content with traffic-driving keywords and optimized meta text, SEO agencies can give your site the push it needs to rank- learn more about organic and SGE searches.
Don’t forget search intent
Search intent is a crucial factor to consider when crafting an SEO strategy for AI-generated search.
To compete with an SGE result, you need to know your audience inside and out. What keywords are they looking for? What phrases would they use? The closer you are to your consumer’s search intent, the more likely you are to appear within an SGE result.
Start by monitoring your demographic, new trends, and how your competitors are responding to them. Using buyer-persona tools is also a great way to map your customer’s mindset. This could help with keyword and content crafting.
What’s next for AI-powered search?
There’s no doubt that Google’s new SGE feature will have an impact on your business SEO strategy, but could that impact be positive?
AI-based searches are less likely to consider your ranking position and are more likely to prioritize the quality of your content. While an authoritative ranking position increases your chances of being visible in an SGE search, those with lower rankings now have a chance to rise to the top, simply by updating their SEO approach.
The question is, where could AI-powered search go? Could we one day see a Google search result made up entirely of AI-generated results?
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