We analyzed 500,000 queries to find patterns and triggers that enable SGE results.
We started researching SGE in June 2023 and have been running bi-weekly drafts of 100-500,000 keywords along with data analysis by our R&D team.
Based on these data, we have in-depth findings on SGE development and ranking factors.
While verticals aren’t the only aspect that affects whether or not we’ll see generative AI on search results pages, the issue of vertical is the strongest of all the factors we measured.
While Google Search Generative Experience (SGE) doesn’t appear for all user queries, deploying SGE will have a different impact on organic traffic acquisition depending on the vertical in which your business operates.
Let’s start with the stats and what we found.
Image by the author, April 2024
As you can see above, the verticals differ significantly. This is a key data point when starting your SGE optimization journey.
While most verticals appear to be in the 80-90% range, the financial vertical is a strong outlier, with SGE coverage of 47% compared to the beauty industry, which has query coverage of 94 %.
Before diving into more exciting findings from our research, I wanted to pause for a second and address the elephant in the room: Google SGE and YMYL & EEAT.
Google SGE, EDGE and EEAT
Google started doing it maintain websites to a higher standard about 10 years ago, and the guidelines because the content called “Your Money, Your Life” (YMYL) became stricter year after year.
Two of the verticals (health and finance) with the lowest Google SGE coverage fall into this category. However, what surprised me was that despite being one of the least covered categories, health-related queries were covered by almost 80%.
Google SGE presents AI-generated answers to queries like [cure for cancer].
Screenshot of the search for [cure for cancer]Google April 2024Not only does Google SGE use AI to cover YMYL queries, but our research suggests that Google AI search results will be present more frequently in the future.
Google SGE will cover more queries over time
Our first Google SGE research on July 1, 2023 revealed that the financial/investment sector was only 22% covered Our April 2024 check showed 47% coverage of the same group of queries.
We’ve been tracking Google’s SGE coverage since its inception and watching Google’s efforts to increase SGE coverage month after month.
Based on these trends, my prediction is that we will see more Google SGE results as soon as Google collects more data, allowing for greater certainty of high-quality results with less chance of AI hallucinations.
Understand the “Generate” button and how you can use it to prioritize your SGE optimization
If you’ve been using Google SGE for a while, you’ve seen this button several times. In some cases, Google will display a “Generate” button instead of displaying Google SGE results by default.
Gyazo.com screenshot of search for [trek road bike]Google April 2024After looking at the ratio of default Google SGE layouts compared to those showing the generate button, we noticed that this ratio is different for each of the verticals analyzed.
How often is Google SGE a default SERP view?
The proportions of auto-generated Google SGE vs. those with the generate button depends on what vertical you’re in. The chart below will show you the proportion of your query set.
Why is this important? Automatically generated Google SGE results require no user action to fill the entire viewport on both mobile and desktop. Based on this SGE behavior, I expect auto-generated SGE views to disrupt the search experience, effectively pushing “traditional” Google SERPs. 905px down to be exact (the average height of the Google SGE response in our research).
Image by the author, April 2024
The health vertical is a surprising outlier, with 68% of queries automatically returning Google SGE and only 9% showing the generate button.
At the other end of the spectrum, hotels and entertainment only have 4-6% of auto-generated Google SGE pages, with 77% of Google SGE queries showing the generate button for each of these verticals.
The impact of Google SGE will depend on multiple metrics, one of which is SGE coverage.
However, we can assume that queries with auto-generated AI responses will be affected before those returned by the generate button.
Let’s see how you can use this data to prepare your business for this change.
Data over time
We’ve been tracking manually and automatically generated rations for a diverse set of queries since June of last year, and the rations changed as follows:
June 2023: 58% (automatic) – 13% (manual).
November 2023: 48% – 31%.
March 2024: 46% – 27%.
How to use this data?
Estimate the impact of Google SGE on your brand
Prioritization is key to estimating the impact of Google SGE on your brand.
Based on the data above, the healthcare industry will be affected faster than any other on the list, as users will automatically be presented with the Google SGE response.
The hotel, entertainment, real estate and food industries will have more time to prepare, with 4-12% of queries being automatically returned by Google SGE.
Action point #1
Collect data from Google SGE for queries that cover 80-90% of your search volume (you can use a free demo of ZipTie.dev to perform bulk checks of Google SGE coverage). What percentage of your traffic and queries come from queries that return auto-generated Google SGE versus manually generated SGE? Is there a pattern between these two groups?
Google SGE impact and prioritization based on queries
SEO teams around the world are shifting their efforts to embrace Google’s SGE optimization.
Splitting your queries into auto-generated and post-click allows you to focus on auto-generated Google SGE queries first and track that ratio, as our research shows that Google SGE covers more queries automatically.
Action point #2
After splitting queries into two buckets (auto-generated and manually generated SGE), focus on optimizing queries in the auto-generated bucket. Track Google SGE coverage in the manually generated bucket (over time, Google will show more automatically generated SGE SERPs).
Once you have a clear set of lenses for your queries and know the impact of SGE on your brand, it’s time to look at the sources.
Spoiler alert: the number of Google SGE fonts also depends on the vertical.
SGE sources and why hotels can get up to 40% less SGE clicks compared to other verticals
You can only get organic traffic from Google SGE when users click on the AI-generated content source. This is where it gets interesting. Depending on the vertical you are in, the number of sources varies from three to five.
This 40% to 50% difference will make Google SGE optimization more difficult, especially in the financial or hospitality industry, where Google SGE shows an average of about three sources per query.
The data below shows an average number of Google SGE sources cited on the search engine results page.
Interestingly, some of the queries return no source (Google is generating the answer from its internal database).
Image by the author, April 2024
SGE results that mention fewer content sources have a higher chance of generating traffic due to a higher average CTR (click-through rate). At the same time, these queries will be more difficult to optimize due to real estate limitations.
This makes queries with a limited number of sources a bit more complex to track and strategize.
Google SGE will not show any source for 5% of queries
Our research shows that 5% of queries will return Google SGE results without citing external sources. This topic is one of the most interesting and also quite complex in our research because of the risk of Google grabbing a lot of traffic, but also because it seems that Google is using a different logic for an SGE without sources for different verticals and types of inquiries. . We are still doing checks and experiments; however, to understand this feature, we need to track it over time and detect more queries that went to the zero source bucket. I’ll keep you informed.
Carousel Rankings – To The TOp Left handed
We’re all used to aiming for the top of the SERPs. Google SGE results with more than three sources will come with a challenge that is new to SEO professionals: horizontal scrolling.
Being included within the first three sources (counting from left to right) will mean that your URL will be visible without scrolling horizontally, resulting in a higher CTR and more impressions.
Action points
Track the number of SGE sources for all your queries. Prioritize your SGE optimization efforts for queries with the fewest sources (higher returns from higher CTRs). For queries with more than four or more sources, track your carousel positions and try to be included in the top 3 sources to get better visibility and increase CTRs.
Google SGE sources vs. Traditional classifications
Google SGE works with a brand new algorithm and your current rankings will not translate to Google SGE individually.
Surprisingly, these data points are also completely different when analyzed by vertical.
Image by the author, April 2024
Industry winners
While analyzing our study, we found that Google SGE seems to favor a few specific domains per vertical. In many cases, the key factors driving these outliers were lean technology combined with a content structure focused on answering the query concisely and clearly.
Final thoughts
With Bing quickly becoming a co-pilot rather than a search engine and Jeff Bezos threatening to eclipse Google, the SEO industry must adapt to this unprecedented pace.
I believe that navigating this change without overwhelm and chaos is only possible with the right set of optics and wisely chosen battles.
I hope the data I’ve shared in this article will help you prioritize and make better strategic decisions. We will be sharing more information about each vertical over the coming months here at SEJ.
If there’s anything else you’d like to know or understand about how Google SGE is reshaping organic search, reach meand I will do my best to get the data needed to help our industry through this time of transition and change.
Happy optimization!
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Featured Image: BestForBest/Shutterstock
