How Google's Search-Generative Experience Will Affect SEO
Reading Time: ~4 Mins | Written By: Jason Serafica
Google has recently unveiled "Generative AI," a groundbreaking technology that provides users with information and contextual details in response to their queries. This recent innovation in AI sparked curiosity regarding the potential impact of Search Generative Experience (SGE) and how this could change the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
According to Google, generative AI will allow you “to understand a topic faster, uncover new viewpoints and insights, and get things done more easily.”
Users will be provided with a concise summary of information, along with the ability to dive deeper into relevant details based on their search. This type of result appears very similar to a featured snippet, with the addition of the three organic links on the right-hand side along with the links, “ask a follow-up.”
Therefore, leaning towards more of a search-generative experience for users finding information.
The Impact of Search-Generative Experience
Considering that Google could potentially offer instant answers to search queries with generative AI, how will this affect the flow of website traffic for businesses? Will people still come across and explore other web pages?
Very similar questions also came to mind when Google first introduced featured snippets. However, as businesses recognized that this significantly boosted their website traffic, they began optimizing their webpages to increase the likelihood of being selected as the featured result by search engines.
As the feature is not yet fully released, we cannot directly measure its impact. With that being said, we can only make predictions about the changes based on what we’ve learned from past updates and the information provided by Google.
Note: This feature is available in Search Labs “where you can test out Google’s early ideas for features and products.”
In this guide, we will explore some essential tips to help you prepare for Google's generative AI.
Exploring User Intent
Producing High Quality Content
Structured Data & Natural Language Processing
Exploring User Intent
As search engines improve in identifying user queries and delivering valuable information, the significance of user intent for SEO will drastically increase. It is recommended to prioritize specific user intent based on the business goal.
There are three main types of user intent:
Informational
Looking for information
E.g. Where to buy running shoes?
Navigational
Looking for a specific page
E.g. Nike Canada
Transactional
Looking to purchase
E.g. Nike Men's ZoomX Invincible Run Flyknit 3
As search engines continue to evolve, grasping user intent becomes increasingly crucial for optimizing websites and content to align with what users are genuinely seeking.
Producing High-Quality Content
Given that AI algorithms now prioritize delivering relevant results, it is crucial to ensure that your website offers valuable and distinctive content. You need to prioritize providing content related to a user's intent. Think about how you can answer the question and provide the most relevant solution to the user.
High-quality content can also:
Attract quality backlinks which can boost domain authority
Increase credibility and showcase expertise in the industry
Boost user experience and decrease exit rates (exiting happens when users don’t find the content helpful)
Moreover, creating high-quality content allows you to target long-tail keywords which helps search engines better understand the context. Therefore, you can increase the likelihood of AI algorithms prioritizing your content among the search results for a given query, and increasing organic search visibility.
Structured Data & Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Structured data assists in providing search engines with detailed information about the content of a particular page, leading to improved visibility and appearance on the results page.
This is a significant factor to consider as AI is likely to prioritize content that it understands and deems highly valuable.
The page will show up with additional information, enticing users to click and visit the website.
To generate scripts for structured data implementation, you can use Merkle’s Schema Markup Generator (JSON-LD) - create based on the type of content you have including articles, FAQ’s, recipes, how-to’s, local businesses, and more.
Furthermore, recognizing the significance of Natural Language Processing (NLP) can help search engines identify entities within the text; it can boost its ability to make connections and increase the chances of being prioritized on the results page.
By addressing user questions and offering precise and straightforward information, you can structure your content effectively for NLP. Additionally, integrating NLP into your strategy can assist you in staying aligned with users and keeping up with AI advancements.
Gaining an understanding of the impact generative AI can have on the SEO landscape enables you to enhance your preparation and competitive edge, especially with the recent advancements in AI.
