Google is constantly evolving, improving its algorithms and introducing new features. New AI Overview feature Subject to change SEOand not in a good way. Are these concerns substantiated? How will AI overlay (AIO) change the web? How can SEOs prepare for its impact and craft their Google AIO strategy?
5 Ways to Prepare Your Website for an AI Overview
- Refine your keyword research with qualitative analysis.
- Focus on delivering mid- and bottom-funnel content.
- Structure your content for feature snippets and knowledge graphs.
- Build your brand’s reputation.
- Optimize your content and website to rank within the top 10 search engine results pages (SERPs).
This article explores these questions and more.
How does Google’s AI overview impact SEO?
Google’s latest search feature has two names. Its official name now is AI Overview (AIO), but it was previously called Search Generation Experience (SGE). Many people still refer to it by that name, but for the purposes of this article we’ll use AIO.
AI Overview happens when you search for a specific keyword on Google and you get an AI-generated overview of the topic.
Google AI-driven analysis It finds multiple pages related to a specific keyword and generates summary text and links to the results.
After viewing the summary text, users can continue their AI-generated search experience by asking a follow-up question, following one of the suggested source links, or scrolling down to view organic search results.
The AI overview adds three more options for Google users, all of which move further away from showing organic search results.
What exactly does this mean for the future of SEO and search? The truth is, it’s still too early to tell.
Latest SE Ranking Survey Google AI Overview This is a dramatic change compared to the previous survey, conducted in January 2024.
- The “Generate Summary” button is gone from Search. Currently, Google Search either generates an AI summary or doesn’t generate one, with no middle ground.
- The number of keywords that trigger AI summary searches dropped significantly from 64% to 8.71%.
- AIOs now have more ads attached to them, growing from 73% of searches to 87%.
- The average number of linked sources in the SGE decreased from eight to four.
AI Overview is still an experimental feature and, like other Google initiatives, is likely subject to change in the future.
For example, the dramatic drop in AIO-triggering keywords to just 8 percent could be good news for SEOs, as they no longer need to fear a dramatic change in how search works. Or it could be a temporary solution to help Google improve its AI before the number of AIO keywords increases again.
However, we can look at the general trends in Google AI overview and draw conclusions about which areas SEO should focus on for success as this search feature becomes more important. A study by SE Ranking covering 100,000 keywords yielded the following results:
- 90 percent of searches don’t have an AI summary.
- A typical AIO is over 4,000 characters long, most of which are hidden under dropdowns.
- Most of the SGE results are linked to one source,[詳細を表示]Click the button to expand from four to seven sources.
- YMYL topics have many sources that link to AIOs both pre-click and post-click.
- Approximately 85% of AIOs link to at least one of the top 10 organic search results, and 15% have no duplicate links.
- The AI summary links to authoritative domains like Wikipedia and Forbes, as well as social media content platforms like LinkedIn and YouTube.
- The more words a search query contains, the more likely it is to trigger an AIO. Long-tail queries formulated as questions are the most likely to trigger an AIO.
- The lower the search volume for a keyword, the more likely your AIO will show up.
- Lower CPCs also lead to more AIOs, with keywords under $0.50 accounting for 54 percent of AIOs.
- 49% of AI summary results have Google ads displayed above them.
- Some niches are more likely to trigger an AI overview than others: Human relationships and food and beverage niches both trigger AIOs in around 25% of searches, while business and technology is at around 17%.
Google appears to be putting its AI work into niche areas that don’t require big financial decisions.
What does this mean for a Google AIO strategy in SEO? We can draw a few conclusions:
- Few keywords will trigger an AI overview, so you’ll need to monitor the SERPs before taking action.
- Shorter, more competitive keywords are likely to have the least impact.
- Many AI summaries will display at least one or another trusted site in the top 10 results, and users may consider these sources trustworthy, opening up new areas for search engine optimization.
- The AI overview covers the basics of information retrieval where AI appears, so your content should delve deeper into the topic.
Let’s take a look at how you can use AIO to enhance your SEO efforts.
Prepare your website for the Google AI brief
The Google AI overview impacts every area of SEO, so let’s go through each important aspect one by one.
1. Keyword Research
The first change that AIOs bring to modern SEO is that they make keyword research harder and give you control over another search feature and the ability to monitor what links are on that feature.
Currently, several SEO tools have beta versions of AI summary trackers, and the quality of the tools will improve along with the AI summary.
You should also perform qualitative analysis to understand where your AI summary got its information from and what pages it linked to.
The exact reasons may vary from keyword to keyword, so it would be difficult for any tool to analyze.
Another thing that may change with keyword research is that it may become harder to rank for generic keywords. Zero-Click Search It will increase further.
AIOs are less triggered by shorter, highly competitive keywords that are primarily transactional or commercial in nature, which leads businesses to focus on these keywords, increasing competition.
AI-powered summaries also eliminate the need for users to click on links in organic search results if they’re just looking for superficial information. This may not be as bad as it sounds, since users who are interested in learning more will still click through to the page and potentially convert.
2. Content
The concern among many SEOs today is that AI-based overviews will completely eclipse informational keywords, bringing the death of blogging as a way to generate traffic.
Because AIOs provide quick answers to basic questions, you may see an increase in zero-click searches and less traffic to your informational pages, but your blog content will never go out of date.
There are two main reasons:
- The AI still needs to get its information from somewhere. It links to the best results and provides traffic-winning opportunities for SEOs.
- Many users are interested in more than just short answers and will click on your page through organic search.
However, you will need to adjust your content SEO strategy.
Focus on mid- and bottom-funnel content: Easy content at the top of the funnel can be answered by AI. Mid- and bottom-funnel content will receive more traffic because the topics won’t fit into a 4,000-character AI summary.
It increases your topic authority: Google needs to understand that your site has expert authors and has covered a certain topic quite a bit, which increases your chances of getting a link from an AIO.
Invest in quality content. This tip has been a cornerstone of SEO for the past decade, but it will become even more important in the future. AIOs provide the basic answers, and hundreds of sites are creating basic AI-generated content.
A good Google AI strategy is to stand out by creating user-centric content with unique insights, which will drive further branding and sales.
3. Structuring Content for Featured Snippets and Knowledge Graphs
According to SE Ranking AIO research, when AI summaries and featured snippets appear together, their sources match in 62 percent of searches, meaning Google AIO marketing includes optimizing other Google search features like featured snippets and knowledge panels to increase the chances of your link appearing in your AIO.
Even if your link doesn’t appear there, it will still appear in that snippet, making your page more visible in the SERPs.
To increase your chances of appearing in a featured snippet, try the following:
- For definition searches, use a format such as “What is a keyword” in the heading and “What is a keyword” in the body text. Try to provide a description in a few sentences.
- Use bulleted and numbered lists and tables using appropriate HTML tags.
- Do small iterations until you succeed.
To get a knowledge panel, create and validate key data points such as:
- Google Business Profile
- Wikipedia
- LinkedIn and other social media channels
- Crunchbase and similar sites
Another part of Google’s AI strategy is Schema Markup To the main page. Always Use tools to check your structured data This is to ensure that it is done correctly.
4. Brand Reputation Management and Digital PR
Authority in the eyes of Google may be the deciding factor in getting an AIO mentioned. Your brand’s online reputation It’s also important when users view your brand’s AI overview.
Google primarily looks at third-party mentions of your brand, so focus on other platforms to build your brand’s reputation.
- Get mentions from reputable websites such as news sites and industry blogs.
- Manage negative reviews on your reviews platform.
- Participate in discussions on online forums like Reddit and Quora.
- Engage with your customers on social media.
The first two are the most important factors that influence how Google perceives your brand image.
5. Improve your SEO rankings
As SE Ranking research shows, most AI summary features cite the top 10 pages in the SERPs as their source, so when it comes to AIOs, ranking high is one of the success factors.
Focus on the basics of SEO.
- Proper keyword research, keyword clustering and optimization.
- Technical optimization, especially practices that impact core web vitals.
- Off-page optimization focused on gaining mentions from authority websites.
- Your core page UX, which lets Google know that your page is well-liked by users.
Monitor your SEO performance and adjust your strategy to rank within the top 10 on SERPs with AI Overview, increasing your chances of being featured at the source.
Developing a Google AIO strategy is a difficult task, as the mechanics of AI overview are likely to change. Monitor which of your targeted keywords have AI summaries in the SERPs, make your content unique and informative, improve your brand reputation online, and optimize your site for featured snippets. This will mitigate zero-click search issues and increase your chances of being mentioned in AIOs.
