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Google has fundamentally transformed the online search experience with its AI search engine AI Overview, which incorporates videos and images, and encourages users to ask complex and detailed questions.
While it’s clear that traditional SEO methods will not work with AI-powered search (Max Gomez Montejo, CMO of digital marketing firm Next Net Media, anticipates organic traffic going down by 25%), it is still too early for the ad industry to have best practices around AI-powered search. But more forward-thinking marketers are already scrambling to experiment.
Some marketers are overhauling their sites with videos and images to their websites, which will improve visibility in AI-powered search results. These marketers are, for instance, converting text-based FAQs into videos, so the content will be more visible in this new era of AI-informed search.
“Brands that are able to bring together their video and image assets into the same strategy as their SEO are the ones taking an early lead in AI Overview,” said Jeremy Hull, chief product officer of Brainlabs. “It will mean creating more videos, and that’s a big lift.”
Others are experimenting with trying to make sure their sites show up when people search using long-tail keywords (i.e., phrases above four or five words), such as, “I live in Texas. What are ideal weekend getaways with my family?” As these questions get more detailed, marketers have to make sure their websites contain the right information about their products and services.
Still others are dedicating more resources to appearing organically on sites like Reddit, as Google increasingly surfaces content from that site, said Sam Tomlinson, executive vice president at boutique agency Warschawski.
Even though marketers have to rethink their search strategies due to AI-generated search, Tomlinson is not panicking.
“Lots of people are overblowing this,” he said. “This is just another evolution in search.”
Building content expertise to achieve AI search visibility
Not all keywords prompt an AI Overview response.
For instance, long-tailed queries such as, “I am planning a vacation with my kids, a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. What are some activities I can do?” triggers an AI response. Straightforward searches like “Nike running shoes” do not.
“AI output tends to lean more informational than transactional,” said Joel Swaney, principal SEO at media agency Collective Measures. The agency is conducting brand audits to analyze content gaps so that they will likely be indexed in AI search results for informational queries.
Through its SEO tools, the agency is collecting user questions via keyword or query-based methods to identify content gaps within brand websites. Simultaneously, it’s drawing insights from inquiries received through the brand’s customer services and social listening efforts.