Google still retains the majority of search traffic. In its annual address, Google Marketing Live, Google executives discussed how to prepare your content for AI searches.
Google is always changing search, and they are integrating AI into search results, creating an AI-influenced search result, called Google Search Experience. It can provide a complete and personalized page in search results that has an answer to your initial question – and to questions you've not even thought of!
For example, if you search for things to do in Springfield, Illinois in August, Google could promptly deliver a custom page with information “clusters” that include Springfield events, hotels in the area, transportation information, restaurants, car rental, shopping centers, example itineraries, and more.
Google's goal has always been to provide the best answer for searcher's queries. AI/SGE is making those answers deeper and richer.
Now more than ever, your website has to be a complete, authoritative source on your topics.
Here are some more tips on how marketers can improve their digital presence on Google Search and Google Ads.
1. Long Tail Keyword Searches and Semantic Searches are Growing
Keyword searches have evolved into "semantic search" which focuses on the intent and context of a user's search rather than limiting results to exact keywords. AI models more easily understand terms that are related to each other.
According to Google Senior Vice President and Chief Business Officer Philipp Schindler, “The volume of searches with five or more words grew 1.5x as fast as shorter queries.” Voice searches mean people are speaking their searches and searching more specifically.
This means you don’t want to try to rank for shorter keywords like “savings account;” that broad keyword is very competitive. Instead, look at multi-word searches such as “savings accounts for kids with high interest rates.”
What to Do
Improve Your Content. This never ending task is now more important than ever. Your thin service page isn’t going to rank very high. Dive into your website content and really make it in-depth and valuable enough to deliver results and answers to what users are searching for.
Providing in-depth, thorough content that can answer long-tail keywords and specific questions will help AI use your website's content in its answers. Searchers may click on the citations provided.
Focus on semantic language in your content, using text in a natural, conversational way. Avoid jargon and acronyms as much as possible.
Talk to your sales team or customer support. Think about how people might be searching for your product or service. What words, phrases or questions would you type or speak for your service? “What’s the best fabric for a branded t-shirt?” What questions are people asking? What webpage would best fit that question?
Find Inspiration in Google Analytics and Google Search Console. See what pages are working. Check the demographics and see what cities are visiting your site. What questions are people asking within your website and in Google queries that lead to an impression or click through to your site?
As Schindler said in his GML address, Google is looking for highly relevant links with more precise answers. With the introduction of AI overviews, if your content can offer precise answers, it can lead to more clicks and more time your users spend on your site, he said.
Take a holistic view of your website – is it complete? Is it updated? Go beyond the basics with your own insightful research, thorough opinions, and new perspectives. Get creative with great copywriting, eye-popping photos, and impactful videos. Make your website the go-to source for your industry.
After they read your page, what’s next? Connect your content to related content. Provide internal links, visual guides, and answers to the next helpful content.
Get Creative – A rule of thumb for SEO is to write for your customers, not for search engines. Many companies have gotten lazy with their content, writing just enough of the basics to be acceptable. Get back to the creative heart of your content. Create content that reflects your brand. Be sure to take advantage of all the ways to create content – words, images, infographics, videos, photography, drone video, podcasts, quizzes, etc. Tell stories, evoke emotion, inspire, educate, entertain.
Content is the gold of SEO.
2. Visual Searches are Increasing
Vidhya Srinivasan, Vice President of Google Ads, cited 12 billion visual searches a month using Google Lens. With Google Lens, you can send Google a picture of what you’re looking for, rather than typing a description. According to Srinivasan, 25% of these searches have “commercial intent,” meaning people are ready to buy. Video searches are also possible. With “circle to search,” you can highlight certain parts of an image to search more specifically.
WHAT TO DO
Improve Your Images: The quality of your images can help you get more clicks, so be sure that every image on your website looks great. Outdated, low-quality, pixilated photos won’t cut it. Learn how to take better photos with your mobile phone or, better yet, hire a professional photographer to take high quality photos. This means more than exposure and focus, but also favor stylized photos that will make an impact on the webpage and social media. Splurge on drone photography for a bird's eye view.
For E-Commerce: Your optimized e-commerce store can be offered in an AI generative experience. As people use Google Lens to search for your product, say a fishing pole, your product can be included in search results with an option to buy immediately from your website. Add more product images from different angles.
Invest in wow factors like drone photography to really make your company or event stand out. As Srinivasan said, “You have to make your content stand out.”
You have to make your content stand out.
Vidhya Srinivasan
3. Stay true to Core Principles of SEO
To stay relevant with AI, the same core principles of SEO apply: understanding your audience and user intent, creating strong, thorough content, adding keyword-focused headers and and metadata, applying schema markup and multi-channel content promotion are all the tried-and-true tactics of SEO that AI will respect.
While you may lose some traffic, users who do get to your site may have more intent to purchase your product or service.
Add content that strengthens your company's Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness (EEAT). These standards are crucial to get noticed by the Large Language Models (LLMs) of AI. It also helps you rank for keywords and build trust with your users looking for information before they do business with you.
You can also add schema code to your website, which can help AI better understand your website's content.
WHAT TO DO:
Showcase company bios, case studies, blog posts and thought leadership content. Focus on semantic search.
Ask your developer about adding schema to your website.
4. Maintain Off-Page SEO
The goal of SEO is to bring good traffic to your website. But it's not a "If I build it, they will come" situation. With millions of websites competing for your attention, you must do some marketing tactics beyond your website.
These "offsite" tactics include claiming and optimizing your business profiles on Google and Bing. Take time to build relationships with partners and ask for a link to your site from their website. Active social media on platforms that resonate with your audience can bring new users and old friends to your brand.
What to Do
Claim your business profiles on Google and Bing. Consider Yelp or other platforms.
Get active on social media, including newer platforms like TikTok. Reddit is also gaining popularity. B2B companies should definitely be active on LinkedIn. Don't forget video channels like YouTube (which is owned by Google) and Vimeo.
Key Takeaways
In Closing: Evolve With Google
Search isn’t just search anymore. As Google Group Product Manager Sylvanus Bent said, ads will become “an experience” for shoppers.
With GSE, search is becoming an experience too. Customer journeys are more complex, with a variety of searches on a variety of devices and platforms.
AI is here to stay, so make sure your website is optimized the best it can be to provide better results for searchers.
Search isn't just search anymore. It's an experience. How well does your website content hold up?
Like Google is evolving ads and search to improve the user experience, so to, your website needs to go to the next level.
Keep your website, your products, and your company relevant in today’s evolving world of search and ads. Create a website, ads, social presence that are more than just answers – make your brand an experience that’s worth the click.
Contact us to get help with your content.
Sources:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com
https://get.chatmeter.com/