Prepare Your Blog for SXO. Google’s Other Trend
SEO as we know it is numbered.
Since May 14, 2024, Google has introduced AI overviews.
By joining the AI movement, Google is about to change the search engine experience forever.
What impact will Google’s AI overviews have on users’ online search behavior?
What possible effects will AI overviews have on SEO?
And what SEO best practices can we expect in the future of AI?
Google SGE: the predecessor of AI overviews
In May 2023, Google presented its new experimental AI gem at Google Labs: the Search Generative Experience (SGE). Powered by the new Gemini model, SGE offers dynamic and interactive search results that provide detailed answers right at the top of search results on the SERP.
These answers are displayed in snapshots, essentially eliminating the need to visit web links to get information. Or, as Google itself puts it: “Google searches Google for you”.
From Search Lab to Google Search
Since then, the experiment has undergone continuous testing, leading to refinements and wider rollouts. After almost a year of testing and optimization, the company announced at the I/O conference in May 2024 that the SGE has been renamed ‘AI Overviews’. And that it will be publicly launched on users’ search results pages.
How do AI overviews work?
Until now, Google Search has relied on crawlers to index sites and algorithms to classify content. AI Overviews adds the AI Gemini language model to this.
With the new Gemini model, Google wants to improve the quality of responses. This AI model is trained to “understand” our search query and intentions, finding and mixing multiple sources of information on a topic.
Users can ask Google a question — no matter how complex — and receive a summary of selected text, and sometimes images or videos, in response to their query, with the ability to start a conversation or explore related issues.
AI overviews are not always shown
Google strives to display AI overviews selectively.
“You’ll find AI overviews in your Google search results when our systems determine that generative AI can be beneficial — for example, when you want to understand information from a variety of sources quickly.” — says Mallory De Leon, Google spokesperson.
According to Google, AI overviews are only shown in complex purchasing processes with many questions before the purchase.
However, you can see that the percentage of results generated by AI varies greatly. Research during Brightedge’s beta phase showed that 84% of all searches were AI-generated results.
In contrast, recent research by Bikkelhart shows that AI overviews appear in less than 30% of searches, while SE Ranking (June 2024) reports only 9%.
The impact of AI overviews on the SEO landscape
Earlier, you saw how other features on Google’s search engine results pages (SERP), such as Knowledge Cards, impacted website traffic by generating no-click searches.
By offering more and more information directly in the search results, Google ensures that users have to browse external sites less often.
With the addition of AI overviews, users will find answers even more often directly in Google’s search engine. What changes are involved?
Decline in organic traffic
AI overviews appear at the top of search results, above organic results and sometimes even above paid ads.
This prominent position gives AI overviews maximum visibility and could lead to a 25% drop in organic website traffic by 2026, according to research by consultancy firm Gartner.
Decrease in click-through rate
With AI overviews, more users receive their answers directly in the search results, which means they click through to a site less often. Users fall behind Google, causing the click-through rate (CTR) to decrease.
Change in searches
With the introduction of AI overviews, the focus shifts from short, concise searches to detailed conversational and contextual searches.
Users are expected to increasingly use local and long-tail keywords instead of traditional short-tail keywords.
On top of this, voice search will become increasingly important.
Raising expectations of quality
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust (EEAT) has become Google’s mantra and permeates everything they do. To be included in AI overviews, you must comply with these EEAT principles.
Eight tips to prepare for the new AI search landscape
Unlike the current era of SEO, high organic rankings no longer guarantee inclusion in AI overviews.
Only 46% of sources in AI Overviews are ranked in the top 10 of traditional organic search results ( Noblestudios, 2024).
As SEO marketers, we can’t ignore the new era of AI. How can you prepare?
1. Focus on themes
Search engines now better understand the intent and context of queries thanks to improved natural language processing.
In addition, users are getting used to asking complex questions via AI chatbots such as ChatGPT. To succeed with AI overviews, it’s important to focus on topics and themes rather than individual keywords.
In 2024, the emphasis will be on “entities” — single, definable concepts such as people, places, and objects that are linked in a network of relevant themes.
Websites should function as knowledge hubs, similar to Wikipedia, with interconnected entities. Building authority on specific topics with extensive content and using internal links is important to help search engines better understand the relationships and structure of the site.
2. Prioritize content deeper in the purchase funnel
Since AI overviews can easily answer questions at the top of the funnel, it makes sense to shift the focus to content aimed at customers further down the buying process.
Specific long-tail searches can drive more traffic to your site due to less competition and the possibility that AI overviews won’t show AI results.
In the world of e-commerce, category pages will become less important for SEO efforts.
So it’s time to optimize product pages, as AI overviews present product details in ‘tags’ to facilitate comparisons in AI snapshots. The more detailed your product pages are, the more likely they are to appear at the top of search results.
You can optimize your product pages:
Use structured data (such as reviews, prices, and descriptions)
Add detailed product descriptions and specifications
Offer supporting content, such as buying guides and product comparisons
Add customer reviews, which can be used by AI overviews in AI snapshots to differentiate your products from the competition
3. Focus on overall visibility
The display of search results changes. Google’s resources will take center stage, reducing the share of traditional SEO results and changing the concept of rankings.
My advice, therefore, is to stop focusing on the number one rankings of individual web pages and instead focus on the overall online visibility of your site in various formats and media channels.
Create multimedia content
Google has announced that photos and videos will be part of AI results for certain searches.
Use multimedia elements such as images, videos, and infographics to make your content more engaging and understandable for AI.
Relevant, high-quality images can increase the click-through rate of organic search results.
In addition, your media formats can also appear in Google Image or Google Video Search, which are not covered by AI overviews.
Create synergy between different channels
SEO shouldn’t be independent. Collaborate with teams such as SEA, PR, social media, design, and other departments to share insights and optimize workflows. Spread the word about your opportunities by creating and sharing content through various channels such as podcasts, YouTube, and TikTok.
4. Update important metrics
Google’s new AI overviews are likely to reduce not only average positions but also impressions, organic traffic, and click-through rates (CTRs).
My advice is to shift the focus in your data analysis and reporting to metrics that reflect overall brand awareness and a brand’s visibility in the digital landscape.
Metrics such as Share of Voice and conversions will become at least as important as traditional SEO metrics such as clicks, rankings, and CTR. Important SEO metrics to consider:
Performance of featured snippets: appearing in featured snippets remains important as it can still drive traffic.
Visibility share: a new ranking metric that provides information on the overall visibility of the SERP for the main keywords. It measures the distance from the result to the top of the page, identifies which fold the result appears in, and calculates the height in pixels of the entry.
Conversion integration: By combining SEO metrics with user behavior data from Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and other sources, we can assess the true value of content beyond visibility or search ranking. This helps determine whether pages are effectively generating conversions.
5. Protect your brand
AI snapshots of your brand name can link to external sites and present information about your brand, regardless of whether the information is correct or not.
This information usually doesn’t come from your own website but is compiled from various sources, such as replies on forums, video clips, audio files, and infographics. Tips for protecting your brand:
Optimize existing brand-specific content, such as the About Us page and Wikipedia page, to ensure that it still matches your brand identity.
Use structured data to communicate information about your brand and company.
Encourage satisfied customers to leave feedback on third-party review sites.
Invest in public relations by working with PR teams to share high-quality SEO content via social media and press releases.
Strengthen your brand’s online reputation by integrating user-generated content on social media into your organic pages. Such as reviews, personal experiences, discussions, and comments.
Communicate with customers outside your domain through social media like LinkedIn and impartial platforms like Reddit and Quora.
6. From SEO to SXO for more conversions
With the introduction of AI overviews, users get their answers directly in the search results, which means they click through to other sites less often.
Although users spend more time on Google, clicking through to websites remains crucial for conversions. The focus will therefore shift to Search Experience Optimization (SXO): where SEO, UX design, and CRO come together.
SXO strives to create websites that appeal to both search engine bots and users, not only to rank higher in the SERPs but also to increase conversions and drive organic revenue growth.
Personalize the user experience: impress with customized experiences, from first name mentions to personalizing content based on user preferences.
Reduce psychological barriers: Simplify the selection process with interactive tools such as quizzes and calculators, which improve the user experience and simplify the path to conversion.
Optimize for accessibility: ensure that your website is fast and accessible, complies with the European Accessibility Act, and is suitable for different devices.
Rethink the customer journey: adapt the conversion experience to the needs of users at different stages of their journey. With simple navigation, a clear call to action, and relevant internal links.
Test, measure, and optimize: keep experimenting and testing to continuously improve and optimize user-friendliness.
7. Strengthen the technical SEO base
A solid foundation for a successful SEO strategy remains the technical health of a website.
Keep testing and improving the latest SEO technologies so that users and search engines can properly perceive and understand your site’s content. Here are some lessons:
Indexing and crawling: before a web page is eligible for AI summaries, it must first be found, crawled, and indexed by Google. Therefore, continue to focus on technical SEO optimizations to ensure that your site is crawled and indexed effectively and provides a positive user experience.
Content structure: ensure that your content is well structured within the information architecture, including a logical URL structure, clustering, canonical tags, and internal links.
Sitemap.xml: Create and send a well-structured sitemap to improve indexing.
Enhanced search and structured data: consider which enhanced results and featured resources your brand can take advantage of, such as people also ask, product lists, videos, and images. Use structured data to highlight this relevant content and gain more visibility in search results.
8. Focus on EEAT principles
Google continues to rely on high-quality content to feed its AI systems.
So keep publishing content that strengthens your authority in the sector. Invest in content marketing to increase your brand awareness and innovative leadership with the EEAT principles (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust).
Expertise
Enrich your content with human experience. More than half of all AI-generated content contains errors.
As AI becomes more prominent in search, the demand for human expertise and experience will increase.
Videos and author content present opportunities, especially when connected to a familiar face and experienced opinions. Add extensive biographies of the authors of your content, including their qualifications, experience, and links to their professional profiles.
Experience
Publish content with personal experiences to show that you don’t just have theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience. Share detailed case studies that demonstrate how your company has solved specific problems.
Authority
Prove your authority by displaying professional accolades, certifications, and awards from recognized bodies. Mention where you have been mentioned in the media or where your work has been cited and work to get backlinks from relevant websites.
Work with PR and social teams to increase your authority beyond the website.
Trustworthiness
Be transparent about who you are and what you do. Provide detailed ‘about us’ pages, contact information, and a clear privacy policy.
Make sure your site is secure using HTTPS and other security protocols to protect user data. Keep your content up to date and ensure that all information is current and accurate. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on trusted review sites.
Rethinking SEO best practices
Google is trying to provide an answer to the ChatGPTs of this world with AI overviews.
The integration of AI into its search engine may represent a paradigm shift in the way users access information, but it’s too early to assess the long-term SEO impact.
Google is still experimenting and developing AI overviews. One thing is certain: now that we’re on the eve of the global launch of AI Overviews, it’s important to reconsider your SEO best practices.