Ask any eCommerce marketer about Google Search Generative Experience (SGE), and they’ll describe it like a dark, thunderous cloud heading towards us. It’s been promised by Google as the largest upheaval of their search engine since it first arrived in our browsers in 1995. It would mean that traditional search results would be done away with in favour of one conversational answer, meaning the traditional “Page 1” aim of keyword targeting would be squeezed as tightly as it can.
But some signs and intuitions tell us that this isn’t likely to be the grand shake-up of internet browsing that many are predicting and, in some cases, fearing. Should you be worried? Here’s what we know and what we think will change in the future when concerning Google SGE and how you as an eCommerce storefront should prepare for it.
To recap, Google SGE was first introduced to us in in May 2023, as a way of “reimagining what a search engine can do”. Google has been implementing AI-powered features for image search such as their intuitive Circle to Search, but this was a plan for a much more fundamental change.
With Google’s new idea, search results would no longer appear as a list of relevant web links, but a conversational answer to a query was proposed to appear, with information pulled from a source. This was then followed by the article referenced, then showed related webpages and product results as normal.
Upon its first launch in December 2023, it appeared in 84% of user search queries, though users still had to opt-in to view it. It doesn’t take a mathematician to know that this is a sizable portion of search results. It may take a different form in the near future, but it’s clear that Google is hedging a lot on this new technology.
Featured snippets are the ultimate goal when it comes to keyword questions, earning a prominent spot at the top and getting a read-out of your content directly on Google. This is what will form the crux of Google SGE, as the models will pull featured snippets into their responses.
Initially, it was thought that this meant getting Position 1 was not just the goal but the only way to succeed, however in newer screenshots, it looks as though when you look for citations, Google will show up to three web pages which have the info, so there is potential for it to be a top 3 rather than a top 1. Plus, it looks like underneath, it will be the same old Google results page underneath.
But there’s another twist in the tale. Authoritas conducted a study into the results favoured by SGE and revealed that as high as 93% of results did not match any page 1 rankings, so it could be that there is an additional SGE placement up for grabs that does not correlate to P1 position. Perhaps we should be looking at SGE not as a subtraction of positional opportunities, but as a slight increase.
Up until now, there’s been an unwritten rule that a certain minimum word count is one of the factors that Google looks for in quality content. Sometimes this leads to content being padded with paragraphs loosely related to the topic at hand but offering no real value.
That will not be rewarded for much longer, we suspect. Google SGE will only further prioritise content that remains focused on search intent and answering a user’s query, content length be damned. Google Search has already begun implementing videos in their search including those on TikTok, a platform famed for its brevity.
Blog runners and content writers should be mindful of this, and remove fluff and unrelated questions from their content if they don’t match the core search query. E-E-A-T will only become greater in importance, so demonstrating your topical authority is vital, so seek out quotes and insight from industry experts and directories, even better if they are unique.
Additionally, it’s wise to get your schema markup sorted and that you cover all the bases in this regard so information can be found at a quick glance. This goes for blogs, landing pages and product pages.
Image search is still a massive part of browsing, as evidenced by Google’s innovations with Circle to Search. In 2020, it was found that images were returned for 27.3% of Google searches.
The fact is, images from your blog can be a dark horse for driving traffic to your site, and, if there is more ferocious competition with SGE, could be a second avenue. Think about it – if you’re a fashion brand, users may be looking for a specific dress for inspiration through image search. If your dress comes up and they like it, they will click on the webpage to find out more.
This is a very simple fix that requires implementing high-quality images (which any eCommerce business worth their salt has access to) that have their alt text optimised. Bring more focus into describing the images on your website so that they pick up more keywords on Google image search. For example, with the aforementioned dress, add visual characteristics such as style, brand, colour, length, material and aesthetic inspiration (Boho, Y2K, Twee, etc.). If you’re publishing a blog and are using stock photos, why not find a middle ground between the source description of the image and the title of your blog?
A wave of AI fatigue is drenching customers and leaving concerns for the future, worried about inaccuracies or simply unable to trust the results of something that isn’t human. As a result, they may prefer to search directly on marketplaces and websites.
To prepare for this outcome, start offering what Google can’t in your blogs so customers keep coming back. You have the opportunity to trump Google SGE in having a rich, unique blog experience with not just a perfectly penned article but using high-quality images, data or even video. Interview relevant and interesting people in your field who could inspire customers, from renowned interior designers and journalists to artists and chefs, there’s a type of figure like this for almost every business sector. Getting unique information from an authoritative figure in your industry would also increase your domain authority. Whatever you decide, be sure to let customers know of new blog posts within newsletters and emails.
For B2B-focused businesses, create convincing case studies and downloadable lead magnets such as whitepapers for your website. And if you’re also heavily into blogging, why not bundle a selection of related articles into topical eBooks? Be sure to spread the word around on it through social media by offering a preview of what’s inside. Condense key results and facts into snappy social posts that make followers want to read the full whitepaper.
Let’s face it – Google has a habit of abandoning ideas that don’t catch on. There’s an entire website dedicated to it, after all. They’ve talked a good game about revolutionising targeted advertising by abandoning cookies for years, but the company has recently reversed its decision after significant worry from advertisers and marketers. It shows that if advertising spending is impacted in a big way, it’s too big of a risk for Google to take, and the same could apply to SGE.
Add to this the general searching public’s growing corners with AI. Already, we’ve seen an overhaul of its AI-generated results after it provided dangerously inaccurate information and Google has responded by decreasing the frequency of AI-generated results showing up in SERPs. Remember that 84% figure? After those complaints, Google quickly shot SGE down to appearing on just 15% of search results. This could simply be a temporary reduction while they improve the technology, but could also mean they feel it was implemented too heavy-handedly.
Knowing Google’s penchant for killing its ideas, perhaps we can rest a little easier that this grand overhaul will turn out to be an additional event-specific feature such as Google Maps or Reviews APIs.
Whatever the outcome may be, it is high time that we change the way we report success in SEO and PPC. If SGE were implemented widely, what are seen as key metrics such as click-through rate and impressions will drop like a conker from a chestnut tree, but that does not mean that these two areas of digital marketing are now ineffectual. They simply can no longer be tracked the traditional way.
To truly prepare for Google SGE, trust in metrics that will lead to results such as conversions and revenue generated, and continue to trust in organic and paid media. You’ll be rewarded for it just as you do today, so perhaps the change isn’t so different after all.
For more advice on adapting to the future of SEO, check out our blog on five outdated SEO techniques to avoid.
For more information on how Brave can help you improve your online presence and engage your customers, contact us today.
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