How will Search Generative Experience impact SEO?
What is the Search Generative Experience (SGE)?
Google SGE was first announced by the company at the Google I/O conference on May 10, 2023. Prior to the official announcement at Google I/O, the effort to build AI into search was being developed by Google under the code name Project Magi. The Search Generative Experience (Google SGE) is an experimental search approach by Google that leverages generative artificial intelligence (AI) to provide users with quick and clear topic overviews, eliminating the need to visit individual webpages. Google SGE aims to simplify the search process by offering users an easy-to-understand summary of complex topics, conversational results, and fast, direct information.
AI is used to provide immediate, concise answers. At the top of the search engine results page (SERP), tailored features and product information for commercial searches are extrapolated from conversational semantic prompts. Google’s Pathways Language model (PALM) is used to provide contextually enriched responses.
How SGE Will Impact Search Results
Practical Implications
SGE represents a significant shift from traditional search methods by providing AI-formulated answers and comprehensive overviews directly in the SERP. This reduces the need for users to click through to individual websites, streamlining the information retrieval process.
Source Integration and Transparency
Google SGE displays sources of information next to the search results, allowing users to explore further if they choose, thereby building trust and providing a pathway to verify information.
Personalized Results
SGE aims to provide ultra-personalized search results tailored to individual searchers, factoring in location, search history, and personal preferences gleaned from Google accounts and devices.
Visual-First Interface
SGE will prioritize visuals like images, video, and interactive elements over static text-based content, necessitating more visual media in content strategies.
Impact on SEO
SGE’s AI-generated answers in SERPs could lead to fewer clicks to individual websites. Recent studies indicate an increase in zero-click searches, particularly impacting local businesses and immediate conversion queries, leading to a potential reduction in organic traffic.
Despite potential reductions in overall traffic, however, the quality of leads may improve as Google SGE filters user queries more effectively, directing more qualified traffic to websites.
Balance Between Generative and Traditional Search Results
While AI-generated responses often take precedence on SERPs, traditional SEO efforts remain crucial. High-quality content that answers specific user queries can still gain visibility if it aligns well with SGE’s generative results.
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How Does the Search Generative Experience (SGE) Work?
SGE generates new content on the fly using AI to provide customized content.
AI is able to analyze words and phrases to determine the type of information or media sought, creating entirely new content like paragraphs, lists, images, and media, optimising content for various devices to deliver an increasingly personalized experience.
Benefits of SGE
How to Optimize for SGE
AI content is primed for customization, which makes it an incredibly useful tool for search engines. Using synonyms and related terms, focusing on semantics optimization, and discussing attributes and connections between topics increases visibility in the new era of search. The ability to detect intent within conversational tone, for example, focusing on specific phrases to capture search intent of queries and searches aids AI in tailoring responses and providing relevant results.
Leveraging AI provides practical, actionable advice with a mix of broad overviews and in-depth insights incorporating images, graphics, and videos.
In addition, regularly updating older posts with the latest information can be automated with access to AI in Search.
Conclusion
Generative AI has a seemingly unlimited potential when it comes to optimizing search, coupled with Google’s expertise in the field, looks to be a revolutionary direction in the AI space. To learn more about the landscape of AI, SEO, and all things marketing, or if you're looking for a free SEO audit, write to us at hellosokrati@dentsu.com
Written by - Jainam Desai