Last week, Google made one of the biggest changes to its search experience in recent memory.
Search engine results pages (SERPs) no longer return a simple list of links. Instead, most searches involve an AI box pulling information from across the web, summarizing it, and serving it directly to the user on the results page.
In its announcement, Google touted this as a way for users to get more complex answers faster, without having to scour multiple sites and piece together the most relevant and reliable information.
But this announcement may send chills down the spines of content marketers and journalists.
Is there no need to visit the site at all if all the information is provided directly on the results page? This depends on the content's position in the marketing funnel, or where the news site ranks high to earn ad revenue per click. What about affiliate marketing and the huge revenues it generates?
Google says there's no need to worry.
“AI Overview will drive people to a wider variety of websites for help with more complex questions,” the company said in a statement. “And we see that the links included in the AI overview get more clicks than if the page were presented as a traditional web listing for that query.” We will continue to focus on sending valuable traffic to creators and creators.
Of course Google will say, “We need content to power this AI search model.” So what does this actually mean for content marketers who rely on search?
We asked three SEO experts about the future. They said:
What does this mean for transportation
All the experts we spoke to said click-through rates from search will likely decline in the long term as the need to visit a website for answers wanes.
But Vander Group founder Rachel Vandernick said the new system's problems could be a boon.
“At least in the short term, we may become even more reliant on traditional search results, as they were initially prone to displaying inaccurate and unstable AI summaries,” Vandernick said. . She noted that the product's rollout has been rocky, with many of her SEO experts wondering if the feature will be ready for prime time. This can lead to “healthy skepticism” from users, who may scroll down to see traditional search results.
AI isn't really new to Google search, Vandernick said. It's evolving, but there's no need to panic. That's just part of his SEO game.
“There will be twists and it will take time to fully unfold.”
America Duggan Torbert, a digital marketing expert at East Tennessee University, said the algorithm can take away traffic, but it can also give it back quickly.
“Reduced click-throughs can reduce overall website traffic and result in lower rankings in search results,” she said. “This can have a negative impact on sales, ad revenue, and even brand awareness. However, some of these things can be facilitated if good content is associated as a source from AI Overview. Only time will tell whether this development will have a positive or negative impact on website click-throughs.”
How will content marketing change?
Duggan-Torbert believes that good, high-quality, vetted content more, This will be an important factor as AI increases its impact on daily life.
“Many people are hesitant to trust technology and are looking for subject matter experts to verify the information that AI is giving them,” she said. “We need to continue to play our role as experts in our fields so that people have good sources of information they can trust.”
Katie Corder, communications specialist at MCD Global Health, emphasizes staying focused on your audience. At the end of the day, she points out, Google's top priority is the user experience, not website impact.
“Ultimately, it’s all about providing users with accurate and engaging content, so this should be an incentive to get creative with how content is presented,” she said.
Vandernick believes this development will completely tear the curtain between search and social. This trend has already been undermined over the years, especially since TikTok and YouTube have become the main search engines.
“Search behavior occurs across multiple platforms, not just Google,” she said. “While this may change how content is available, it will not change user behavior. looking for. Content deployed across different channels is not only valuable from an overall search strategy perspective, but also how Google uses different content modalities to create his AI content. It is unclear at this stage whether it will be used again. ”
Similarly, Corder recommends enhancing multimedia such as videos (remember, of course, YouTube is owned by Google) and images that can also be used as part of the search process.
And while robots may be summarizing the news, the end goal is still to reach a human audience, Duggan-Taubert said.
“While content marketing is often written with search engine rankings in mind, remember to write for humans first. Think about it and make sure your content reflects that. A human-first approach to your content might help some of your writing get featured in AI summaries.”
Above all, take a deep breath.
“Learn the tools, read the news, and anticipate upcoming changes, but don't revise your strategy every time something new unfolds,” says Dagan Torbert.
Alison Carter is the editor-in-chief of PR Daily. Follow her on X or linkedin.
