How Will AI Play a Role in SEO

Nov 27, 2024

Earlier this year, Google rolled out AI Overviews to a handful of countries, including the United States, the UK, and Mexico. Whenever anything new is launched, there are always a handful of doomsayers proclaiming that SEO is dead! As your local internet strategy consultant in Knoxville, TN, we've taken a deeper dive into AI Overviews to help offer some insight into what they are and what they mean for internet marketing.

What Are Google AI Overviews?

In simple terms, Google AI Overviews are short AI-generated summaries relating to the search query entered. The goal is for these search queries to be directly answered within the search engine results page, with reference links to relevant websites that can offer deeper knowledge and research. If you are familiar with featured snippets on Google SERPs, then AI Overviews are an elevated version of those.

How Do AI Overviews Work?

In September 2023, Google filed a patent for "Generative Summaries for Search Results," which would later become AI overviews. The patent gives an outline of how AI Overviews work in simple steps.

  • The user enters a search query into Google.
  • Google uses a variety of large language models (LLMs) to understand the context of the search query.
  • Google begins to gather content from relevant documents, web pages, images, and videos.
  • The LLM then combines this collected information to generate a response to the query.
  • AI overviews are designed to be dynamic and context-aware so that the response will be adapted based on the context of each query.
  • Google tracks how users interact with search results to continue learning and improving future AI overviews for similar queries.
  • The software will continue to update how it understands information and user interactions, allowing AI Overviews to become more accurate and more contextually relevant as time progresses.

How Does Google Choose Sources for AI Overviews

As an internet strategy consultant in Knoxville, TN, one of our primary concerns regarding AI Overviews is how Google selects the content that will be used. We work on a variety of SEO techniques and strategies to give our websites the best possible chance of ranking near the top of SERP, but with AI Overview occupying the top spot of an increasing number of search queries, how can we increase the chance of being included as one of the sources used by Google? At the moment, it appears that Google is using three criteria to select sources for the AI Overview. These include the following:

  1. Query-Dependent Measures - Each potential source is assessed for relevancy to the specific query, including the rank position and the location and language of the query.
  2. Query-Independent Measures - The next step is to assess those documents, noting how often they are selected for similar search queries, credibility, popularity, and how fresh the information is.
  3. User-Dependent Measures - Finally, the user's profile and past interactions, such as recent search history, are taken into account.

All of this means that as an internet strategy consult in Knoxville, TN, we know that AI Overviews are here to stay, and for our clients to continue to get organic search traffic from Google SERP, we need to make sure those pages are optimized to serve as good sources for AI Overviews.

Can Websites Opt Out of AI Overviews?

Some people may be unhappy with the idea of Google using their content to train their AI programs. However, there is no way to opt out of AI overviews as it is now considered a search feature. If you felt particularly strongly about this, you could block Google by 'noindexing' your pages, but this is a drastic measure and would also stop your website from appearing in SERPs, therefore it is not something that we would recommend as an internet strategy consultant in Knoxville, TN.

What Impact Do AI Overviews Have on Search Results?

Now on to the big question! As an internet strategy consultant in Knoxville, TN, we need to know what impact AI Overviews are having on search results. One of the things that we have noticed is that informational keywords seem to be the most likely to return an AI overview. Also, you are more likely to appear as a linked source in the AI overviews if you already rank highly for those keywords or queries. In short, this tells us that the basic fundamentals of SEO remain the same despite the introduction of AI Overviews. You still need to do keyword research and publish content that will satisfy user search intent. As your internet strategy consultant in Knoxville, TN, the one change we may recommend is to start adding more informational content to your editorial calendar, especially if you have a unique perspective that you can share since Google will always prioritize unique and diverse content.

In conclusion, while Google AI Overviews represent a shift in how search engine results are presented, they don't signify the end of SEO as we know it. For businesses and website owners, including our clients here in Knoxville, TN, this means adapting rather than overhauling. By continuing to focus on high-quality, relevant content and optimizing for the essentials of SEO, websites can still secure a spot in the AI Overview sources and benefit from organic traffic. As always, the fundamentals of solid content, user-centric design, and strategic keyword use remain key. Embracing these changes with proactive adjustments will ensure your content remains visible and valuable within this evolving digital landscape.

To Your Best Online!

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Ingrid Maddox, Internet Marketing & Strategy Consultant. bluedress INTERNET MARKETING®, an Internet Marketing Company headquartered in Knoxville, TN. Internet Marketing Developed, Implemented, and Managed to Full Circle! Organic Internet Search Engine Guru. Turn-Key Internet Optimization Programs Placing You Everywhere and Anywhere You Need to Be Online.

ingrid@bluedressinc.com

865-378-7712