What is Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE)?
As the world moves towards Artificial Intelligence (AI), Google can obviously not stay behind! LLMs (Large Language Models), NLPs (Natural Language Processing), Machine Learning, Deep Learning are taking the search landscape away from the traditional search to a more natural and intent based responses that give quick answers to the queries.
Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) or Generative AI is an experimental search engine designed by Google that uses generative artificial intelligence to provide search results in a user-friendly manner as below:
AI Snapshot: In this Google provides quick and clear summary of the search topics taking away the need for the users to click on individual websites.
Conversational Results: Google suggests related, logical questions to help users get more detailed information that may not have been answered by the snapshot summary.
Vertical Experiences: Provides a list of features and product details for commercial searches.
For Example: If you type, “what is cyber security” SGE generates a helpful overview:
SGE can help users understand topics faster by reading the topic overviews and key takeaways, reduce the need to click through multiple website links, uncover new insights and get things done faster.
SGE has been made available in 120 countries and 7 languages through Google Chrome desktop and the Google App for Android and iOS.
Generative AI systems run on Large Language Models (LLMs) which are trained on vast amounts of data. At the core of Google’s SGE is Natural Language Processing (NLP) Technology, machine learning and deep learning. This helps SGE to understand and generate human-like responses to queries.
Google’s SGE is still an experiment. Hence you need to opt in to see it. You can do so using the below link:
How is AI driven Search Experience different from Traditional Search Experience?
Traditional Search Experience focused heavily on keyword matching. If the keywords typed by you matched the indexed keywords for a webpage, then those results would appear in the SERP.
However, with SGE the focus is on user intent. This user intent is gauged through Natural Language Processing that enables Google to understand the context of the query made and then generate snapshots/summaries that quickly answer the query in a natural and digestible manner.
Impact of SGE on your Organic Traffic and SEO
Google’s Search Generative Experience can be said to have multiple potential impacts on organic traffic and SEO.
1. Reduced Organic Traffic
Since SGE aims to provide comprehensive answers and key takeaways directly in the answers, hence this reduces the incentive for the users to click on the actual website links, thereby reducing the organic traffic flow to the websites.
2. Increased competition
SGE gives importance to very high-quality content before a webpage can be placed high in search results. This increases competition.
3. Diluted Brand presence
SGE’s snapshots and summaries can give answers to queries in a human-like text format. This could dilute a brand’s voice making it harder for brands to stand out in search results.
4. Top few positions will become even more important
Given the space taken away by SGE at the top of the front page, to be visible one will now find it even more important to have their webpages rank as high in the SERP results as possible. The top 5 positions will become even more important for organic growth/traffic.
5. Search Intent
Understanding the user intent is already critical to the success of any SEO today but with SGE it will become even more important.
So then, how is Anuttara Internet Marketing (AIM) optimizing for SGE?
Where other’s see change, AIM sees opportunity!
A genuine, white hat SEO agency can breathe a sigh of relief because SGE will kick out all black hat poor SEO tactics and short-cuts and will force the world to follow what authentic SEO agencies have already been doing – that is to help generate value added, people’s first and useful, high-quality content and use Google’s laid out guidelines to optimize this content for the search engines.
Below are some learnings that can further help with the SEO:
- Prioritize Natural Language
SGE interprets everyday language and processes the same. Hence, the content can be made to be be less formal and more like natural spoken language. This is already a best practice for Voice Searches and now SGE further solidifies it.
Hence, instead of saying, “we provide high end web development services”, a more natural way could be to say, “we build websites for small, medium and large businesses”.
- Content Quality
SGE prioritizes original, human written, people-first and high-quality content. Hence, crafting unique, value-added content that satisfies the user’s search intent is indispensable now!
- Optimizing for more long-tailed conversational keywords
Your content should answer specific questions that the searchers are typing and be optimized for more long-tailed keywords instead of very short keywords.
- Implementing structured data to enhance content visibility and relevance
Structured data (or schema mark ups) have always been an important SEO practice. But with SGE, these will become indispensable!
- Mentions on High DA websites
With SGE mentions on High Domain Authority websites will become even more important than just basic backlinking.
- Try to aim for visible front-page spots like Featured Snippets, “People Also Ask” etc
Prepare content and optimize it to rank in multiple other front-page positions that are highly visible, like the Featured Snippets, People Also Ask, Images section etc. AIM clients regularly figure out in these sections.
- Prepare for the future
Keep optimizing your site, continuously monitor and improve your rankings, and focus on creating helpful content in natural language that meets search intent.
You know what’s better than being placed in Top 3 organic positions?
Being placed in Google SGE’s snapshots and summaries itself!!
Yes, AIM clients again and again have been given placement in SGE’s summaries and snapshots and links to our client’s websites have been awarded placement in SGE results themselves.
Contact us if you want to stay ahead of the game and want YOUR website content to feature in Google SGE’s search summaries – The very top of the FRONT PAGE!
