Here at Buttered Toast, SEO is one of our most popular and effective offerings. Take a look at what we achieved with SafeGuard Cyber, where in one year we drove a 310% increase in organic traffic and achieved 30 number-one-ranked SEO keyphrases.
But the world of search is evolving rapidly, and Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) represents a major shift in how we interact with search engines. SEO could soon change forever. What exactly is SGE, and what implications does it have for marketing strategies? In this post, we’ll break down what SGE is, how it works, and why marketers need to pay attention.
What Is Search Generative Experience?
SGE is Google’s latest innovation that integrates AI-generated overviews into the search experience. Unlike traditional search engine result pages (SERPs), which present a list of links in response to user queries, SGE employs AI to provide a comprehensive answer directly, generating detailed overviews based on the user’s needs. Rather than a list of links, the search experience looks like this:
SGE is a kind of smart assistant, one that draws on various sources and summarizes information in a more human-friendly format. It doesn’t just give links; it offers the chatbot experience. For marketers, this means fewer clicks for some queries but greater engagement for others, depending on the value added by the AI-generated content.
How Does SGE Work?
SGE leverages Google’s new AI model, Gemini, to enhance its search capabilities. It uses AI-powered overviews to answer more complex, multi-step questions. Users can adjust these overviews for complexity—whether they need a broad summary or a more in-depth explanation.
For example, if someone searches for “best digital marketing strategies for 2024,” instead of getting a list of articles, SGE might summarize the top trends and strategies directly on the search page, providing the user with a quick, insightful overview.
What Does This Mean for Marketing?
SGE is set to change how users interact with information—and how businesses can capture attention. Here are some key impacts of SGE on marketing:
- SEO Strategies Will Change: The traditional focus on getting “blue link” clicks might need rethinking. With AI-generated answers appearing prominently, achieving visibility within these overviews becomes crucial. Brands that offer authoritative content will likely have a better chance of being included in these overviews.
- Quality Content Matters More Than Ever: To be featured in SGE’s generated answers, marketers will need to focus on creating content that’s not only informative but also highly relevant and structured for easy consumption by AI. The more clearly a site communicates expertise, authority, and trustworthiness (E-A-T), the more likely it is to be highlighted by SGE.
- Change in User Behavior: As users receive more comprehensive answers within search results, there could be a drop in website traffic for some types of content, particularly informational blogs. This may require marketers to rethink metrics—shifting focus from clicks to engagement and visibility within the search experience.
How Can Marketers Prepare?
Good question. The end goal is the same as it always was: be in front of people when they’re searching for things. So the real question is how to appear in AI summaries. With what we know at present, this is what should set you up for success:
- Maximize Technical SEO: Optimize your website’s technical structure to ensure AI models can easily crawl and parse content, improving its visibility in AI-generated overviews.
- Use Visuals and Multimedia: Incorporate engaging images, charts, and videos to enhance your content’s appeal, making it more likely to be featured in AI-generated summaries.
- Structure Content as Questions and Answers: Design content in a question-and-answer format, which may increase the likelihood of Google featuring your information in AI-powered responses.
- Create Holistic Topic Overview Pages: Build detailed content covering the full customer journey—from initial research to final decisions. Such pages can position your brand as an authority for complex, multi-step queries.
- Monitor AI-Enhanced Queries: Track search volume for terms that trigger AI summaries, revealing where content gaps exist and offering opportunities to optimize for high-value queries.
- Pursue Visibility on Q&A Platforms: Contribute high-quality content to authority sites like Quora and Reddit to increase brand mentions in AI-generated answers.
- Embrace a User-First Approach: Focus on creating high-value, informative content that genuinely addresses user needs—AI models value authoritative and trustworthy sources.
- Add Practical FAQs: Enhance your content with practical FAQs related to your industry to improve the chances of being highlighted in AI-generated overviews.
- Leverage Interactive Content: Utilize quizzes, calculators, or interactive tools to boost engagement, providing extra value that may catch the AI’s attention.
SEO has been so critical for many marketers that the dawn of SGE might seem daunting. However, people won’t stop searching. And Google will still need to serve them information and answers. The principle is the same as it ever was: Convince Google that you’re the most authoritative source, direct people toward your resources and offerings. It’s only the framing of the experience that will change. Be adaptive, keep an eye – we recommend a Google alert for SGE! – and skilled marketers will continue to thrive.