Google is constantly striving to enhance the search experience for its users. To continue its trend, during the IO conference in May, Google unveiled its intentions to improve the search experience for its users by introducing a Search Generative Experience (SGE). With this, Google aims to strengthen its vision statement, i.e. “to provide access to the world’s information in one click.”
However, when it comes to Brands, Marketers, Advertisers, and SEO professionals, SGE poses quite a challenge for them.
They are:
The AI Influence on Search Results
The AI-powered summaries developed by SGE have the potential to decrease the amount of user engagement with both organic and sponsored links.
The importance of content
In the age of generative AI, having distinctive and authoritative content will become even more essential.
Making adjustments to improve SEO
In order to adapt to SGE’s AI-driven search format, brands might have to reconsider and update their SEO strategies.
So, now it is critical for marketers to redefine their strategies, whether brand promotion on Google or driving organic traffic.
Let’s go a little deeper and understand what changes can come in the coming times and what marketers must do to ride that SGE wave.
Read more: Google’s Biggest AI Search Update
What Exactly Does SGE Do?
Overall, SGE improves search results by employing generative AI to add more context and information to search queries.
If searchers are in a hurry and want a direct answer, then SGE helps users provide more relevant results, deep information, and direct query solutions.
All in all, SGE can improve the overall search experience for the end user by making it possible for a better grasp of problem areas to be gained, by revealing new viewpoints, and by making the process simpler.
Erez Lotan, the VP of research and development at Skai, emphasizes the importance of focusing on the context and intent.
“As conversational search becomes increasingly common, we can expect to see an increase in the level of context and personalization in search results.”
“It’s likely that targeting capabilities will improve because we’ll be able to consider not just the specific search term and keywords but also the entire conversation as a context.”
Lotan suggests that “in these situations, it is possible to utilize sentiment analysis or other indicators to measure the intensity of the intention.”
The Impact Of Search Generative Experience (SGE) On Businesses, Marketers, Advertisers, And SEO Professionals
The exact impact of conversational search on businesses, marketers, advertisers, and SEO is still being determined. However, many experts believe that it could reduce the frequency with which consumers scroll down to click on organic links or sponsored content, which could be seen as a negative effect.
If the summary provided them with the information they were looking for, it is unlikely that they would feel the need to keep searching.
Here, you can understand the mechanism:
Suppose a user searched “Best Digital Marketing Strategies For Startups” in Google’s search box.
When users click on Google Search, they are presented with the search engine results page (SERP), which includes a summary generated by the AI.
At the moment, users have the option to click on “Show more” in order to view additional information in the summary.
Alternatively, they can choose to “Ask a follow-up” or select one of the other queries provided at the bottom of the summary.
On the right side, you’ll find a collection of images accompanied by article titles, as well as the name and logo of the website where these articles related to the specific query are published.
Below this AI-generated answer, you will see a Feature Snippet, followed by Sponsored Links and top organic Results; then you’ll find “people also ask” and then again organic results.
Featured Snippets and Sponsored results are not showing here, according to our query. Direct top organic results are followed by “people also ask,” and then organic results are shown as follows.
What Will Be The Impact Of SGE SERP On User Search Behavior?
As you have seen from the examples above, SGE is designed to collect and combine information as per the user intent and serve in a concise way in the form of a summary.
It means users can get their queries solved by using very few questions. This makes the users less inclined to continue to scroll down the SERPs and invest their time exploring more websites.
After a few rounds of searches, users will get used to the new AI search system pretty fast and will prefer to search in a different way.
And as we know Newton’s third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This new search habit of users will decline the click-through rates of the websites and ultimately reduce the page views as a result.
So, what’s there for marketers and advertisers?
Luckily for marketers and advertisers, summarizations are more effective in providing answers to questions rather than helping people find specific products or services.
What Marketers And Advertisers Need To Focus On?
According to Ryan Rottman, co-founder and CEO of Online Sports Database, “AI has presented marketers with a new challenge: ensuring fair competition. With the availability of similar quality content creation abilities for everyone (ChatGPT and tons of similar tools), the focus will now shift towards timely and up-to-date information.”
Yes, AI can be helpful for people who struggle with creating engaging content. But what about Google’s “Helpful Content Update.”
Since AI relies on existing information, it can quickly lead to similarities in the content produced. This is because the information it draws from is often outdated or might be used so many times.
And Google will no longer work at the same pace, as it will definitely adjust its algorithms.
To be on the top, brands have to create exceptional content. Marketers associated with the brands need to build authority by producing fresh content. And for that, they need to consult with experts and specialists.
This will help them gather valuable information that can be used for SGE summarizations, recommended links, and even organic links.
To collect fresh and up-to-date information, marketers can join community groups, participate in social media conversations and forum discussions, attend online seminars or directly talk to customers about their pain points and then, based on all that information and unique ideas, the content they create will be of the highest quality and valuable.
Read more: Audience Insight Goldmine: Discover How To Uncover Your Target Audience’s Deepest Desires
This way, AI won’t be able to use this information to create content easily.
The SEO Tip
According to John Faris, the president of Red Door Interactive (RDI), an independent marketing agency, “it will become increasingly challenging to attract people at the beginning of their customer journey unless you establish yourself as a highly credible and influential figure in a particular area.”
“As time goes on, queries are expected to become longer and more distinct. Instead of obsessing over rankings for every specific search query in SEO keyword tools, brands should prioritize their SEO efforts by creating high-quality content on subjects they have expertise in.”
Brands need to leverage their expertise to produce premium, unique, and exclusive content to remain on the top. Here is a catch: As anyone can now generate generic content effortlessly using a ChatGPT prompt, nobody is focusing on the real-time pain points of the customers.
Invest your time to research and produce high-quality content that nobody is making. You will be on top in no time.
Conclusion
Even though it’s hard to guess how people will use SGE and how it will change their behavior, there are some things we can be sure will happen. Google’s intention behind adding generative AI to search results is to help people make the right choice faster. This could shorten the customer journey for marketers, which could mean fewer impressions, fewer wasted clicks, higher conversion rates, and a shorter time to purchase.
So, as a marketer, you need to evolve yourself, go into the shoes of your target customers, grab their thoughts related to your services or product or your niche, discuss those points with the experts and then create content based on your overall research.
As of now, explore the SGE as much as possible.
