It seems counter-intuitive, but as a search engine, Google is working really hard to remove the need to find your website and direct users to it. It is at least reducing your choice as a user. The march toward zero-click SEO is gathering pace with Google’s new AI Overviews feature (formerly SGE), which is changing the way businesses approach search engine optimisation (SEO). This feature (only available in the US at the moment but coming our way soon) generates AI-powered text snippets at the top of search results pages, which has the potential to greatly impact your website’s visibility and traffic. We thought that as a business owner, it’s important to understand how these AI Overviews work and what you can do to optimise your website and content to rank in this new section of search results.
What are AI Overviews?
AI Overviews is the latest addition to the Google search engine. They are concise summaries that appear at the top of search results in response to search queries. They are intended to provide quick, informative answers to user queries. Potentially answering the user’s question without them needing to click to a website to find what they are looking for. Google uses its own AI Gemini language model to generate overviews that are pulled from trusted sources and include links for further reading. While they will offer a great time save for users’ searching experience, they will restrict the breadth and diversity of information. In short, if a user is looking for information about your products and services, they may get it in the AI overview itself and not need to click to your site. Also, if your site is not optimised for these AI overviews, your site might not be referenced in them at all. Therefore, they present both challenges and opportunities for businesses looking to stand out.
Why This Matters to Your Business
There are a number of things to consider when it comes to being present in AI Overviews. As mentioned earlier, when a user’s question is answered directly within the AI Overview, they might not click through to individual search results and, therefore, your website. However, if your website is listed as a source within the AI Overviews, it has the effect of positioning your brand as a reliable authority, which can potentially increase click-through rates and conversions.
As you can see, featuring in Google’s AI Overviews is going to be very important for businesses looking to maintain and improve their organic search results. This directly impacts the ability to attract potential clients and customers. When AI-generated summaries start appearing at the top of search results pages, websites that are featured in these snippets gain a significant advantage in terms of exposure, availability, and credibility.
In short, optimising for Google AI Overviews will result in:
Increased Traffic and Engagement
Being featured in Google’s AI Overviews can significantly increase your site’s traffic as users are more likely to click on top search results that provide immediate and relevant information. This can contribute to higher engagement rates and longer time spent on your site.
Enhanced Brand Credibility
Appearing in AI Overviews positions your brand as an authority in your industry. This not only enhances your credibility but also builds trust with your audience, encouraging them to engage with your content and services.
Competitive Advantage
In a competitive digital marketplace, securing a spot in Google’s AI Overviews can give you a significant edge over your competitors. It ensures your content stands out, increasing the likelihood of attracting potential customers.
Getting Featured in AI Overviews
In general, it is about focussing on becoming a reliable and helpful source of information. The foundations are no different to what we apply as our SEO approach to website development and content, so our clients should be well placed. However, if you are not currently a HyperWeb SEO or website development client, here are some tips you can apply to your website and content to increase your chances of being featured in Google’s AI Overviews.
1. Create Highly Relevant and Helpful Content
Ensure your content is specific, in-depth, and directly addresses common search queries, especially those starting with “what,” “how,” “when,” and “why.” This is what we mean by helpful content. Make sure your content is detailed, and have a blog with well-researched articles that offer clear and concise information to increase its attractiveness to AI Overviews.
2. Include Concise Summaries
We are finding more and more that pulling out dot-pointed summaries of your blog content and placing it at the top of your pages is great for search engine optimisation and also handy for your audience and increasing conversions. We can see this extending to most content pages, particularly service and product pages. Include clear and concise summaries at the beginning of your web pages, directly answering common queries. This will make it easier for AI to understand and pull information from your content.
3. Implement Keyword Optimisation
The existing strategy of integrating relevant keywords naturally within your content will continue to be important. Focus on long-tail keywords that match user intent and niche terms to improve your chances of being highlighted in search engine results.
4. Enhance User Engagement Metrics
This is going to be a bit of a challenge. On the one hand, we want to create easy quick-to-consume summaries of our content, while on the other hand, it is important to keep users on our site. The recent Google data leak confirmed that time on your website is a great ranking factor. So we need to create engaging and informative content that compels the user to go beyond the summary and engage more. Using video to compliment your content, effective graphics and generally high-quality, informative content can keep users on your site, increase engagement rates, and time spent on your page and reduce bounce rates, all of which are positive signals to Google that your content is valuable.
5. Use Structured Data Markup
This one is most likely for your website developer or SEO specialist, but implement the correct schema markup, such as FAQ schema and HowTo schema. These schemas help search engines understand the structure and intent of your content. Use JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) format for easier integration of structured data, providing context to support your content’s attractiveness for inclusion in AI Overviews.
6. Enhance Your Site’s E-E-A-T Signals
One of the main recommendations from Google itself when it comes to optimising your website for search results is it’s E-E-A-T approach. Focus on enhancing your site’s Expertise, Experience, Authority, and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) by ensuring your content demonstrates your expertise and experience and reflects it’s usefulness in earning backlinks from high-authority websites. Your SEO service provide can help with this. Using HTTPS is obvious these days, but it is a signal of trustworthiness, as is providing clear privacy policies and accurate contact information
7. Keep Your Content Updated
Again, another one we preach regularly when it comes to scoping websites and implementing SEO strategies. Frequently update and reoptimise your content to ensure it stays relevant and continues to rank in AI Overviews. Publish regular new content to address issues that are specific to your business to increase specific keyword relevance and submit new and updated content to Google Search Console to speed up the re-indexing process.
8. Use a Content Management Systems (CMS)
Another basic one, but using a CMS that allows for easy content updates and optimisation will be a big help in the era of AI Overviews. Your website should be built on a CMS that gives you to ability to quickly and easily update your content, add schema markup, and optimise for search engines. Popular CMS options include WordPress, Drupal, and Shopify.
9. Perform Ongoing Optimisation
As with traditional SEO, optimising your website for AI Overviews will be an ongoing process. Your web development team should work closely with your digital marketing team to continuously monitor your website’s performance, make necessary updates, and adapt to any changes in Google’s algorithms. This may involve regularly updating and reoptimising your content, submitting your pages for reindexing, and monitoring your website’s analytics to identify areas for improvement.
Google’s AI Overviews are going to change the way users interact with search results, making it critical for businesses to adapt and optimise their websites to take advantage of I and not be left languishing. By focusing on creating high-quality, helpful and informative content, implementing relevant keywords and structured data, and staying up-to-date with the latest developments in SEO, you can enhance your chances of being featured in these valuable snippets and maintain a strong online presence. At HyperWeb, our team of experienced SEO, website development, and digital marketing team is ready to help you navigate this new search landscape as well as other areas of AI opportunity. We can develop an optimised site or optimise an existing site so they not only look great and provide a compelling user experience but will perform well in the new paradigm of search results.
Ready to get started? Contact our team today, and let’s ensure your content stands out in this new digital landscape. You can book a free consultation with Brendan here.
