Successful SEO professionals know how to deal with uncertainty. It is precisely in these situations that the algorithms that drive performance are under strict control.
But search generative experiences (SGEs) create change-related anxiety for even the most experienced SEOs.
Simply put, it's both a paradigm shift and A fast-moving target. Google's inclusion of SGE is evolving almost daily.
So what should we know, what to expect, and how to prepare? In this article, we'll look at:
Where do we stand in SGE?
From a UX perspective, Google has scaled back the initial look that took over most of the SERPs. Now I wonder if they were planning all along to test maximalists to make people aware and collect data about how they behave in new environments. I think so.
From a user's perspective, SGE is not provided for every query. I tried 10 queries (combining “What's there,” “Should I buy,” “Top 10 choices,” and information about the governor) and none of them featured his SGE? Returned no results.
This will certainly change as the product comes out of beta, but it reiterates that SGE is still in the rollout phase and users, SEO, and Google are all learning on the fly.
For SEO, SGE is like a black box within the black box of Google's algorithm. I can make some very educated recommendations for navigating the world of SGE, but nothing is clear at this point.
How will user behavior (and SEO) change?
I've talked to many people who are repulsed by the idea of SGE taking over the SERPs. This is not surprising. It's a combination of fear that AI will take over the world and a general distrust of change.
Add to this Google's reputation on the advertising side, which has taken some PR hits recently, and you have a perfect storm.
That being said, I predict that Google will just shove SGE down people's throats like they did with Featured Snippets, Knowledge Graph, etc.
After 100 searches, you will get the expected results. And we hope that the results will get better and more useful over time.
As a user I already find it useful. For example, when I was looking for synonyms for a particular word, I would go to Thesaurus.com.
Now you can just type it in, ask Google to show you synonyms, and the AI will spit out a list, saving you time. Something like that is pretty linear.
However, for more complex problems, human-written content is still a better choice.
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What skills do SEOs need to leverage SGE?
Here's a little more speculation. I believe that SGE does not reward SEOs who practice strategies that are completely different from keyword and query related searches. There is a lot of overlap in skills.
That said, for some SEOs, the question of how to leverage SGE to the benefit of a brand is essentially a question of “How do we get really good content that Google uses as a source of AI?” I think you may have to decide whether to create one. Are you producing content that is valuable to the end user?”
After all, there can be subtle but meaningful differences between writing for AI and writing for users.
I'm looking at this question the same way as the featured snippet. The goal is to convey trustworthiness and usefulness to Google.
The SEO content I've seen featured in SGE for clients either features structured data (which is easier for Google to understand) or pillar pages that cover the topic in detail and act as a resource. is housed in.
That is, it looks like this is the content that ChatGPT would refer to if asked a certain question, but it is not sound It's like ChatGPT (doesn't add anything to the conversation).
When you think about writing for SGE, there can be real benefits, such as taking your content from the bottom of the SERP to the SGE rank of your page. Consider giving the AI an incentive to drive users to your site. .
This may sound counter-intuitive since Google tells SEOs not to create content just to rank, but I believe that ultimately it's useful for the end user. This is our goal, and it hasn't changed since before SGE.
If there's a whole new skill that needs to be added, it's about how large-scale language models (LLMs) spit out answers, and what the models don't provide that humans need to add. It's about deepening your understanding of.
It can be a personal opinion, experience, anecdote, etc.
The AI could certainly remix these and spit them out all at once, but a lot would be lost in translation.
In other words, think about the gaps in your AI-generated answers and make sure you're addressing those gaps to add value.
Use user-generated content as insurance
At the other end of the spectrum is user-generated content (UGC).
Google's big updates in September and October started a lot of discussion on X and SEO forums about the potential for more emphasis on UGC in SERP results.
I haven't seen a huge increase in SERP visibility, but I think the content I get from sites like Quora and Reddit is useful (speaking as someone who focuses on B2B/SaaS).
And this represents a very personal contrast to SGE.
If you're looking to focus on one aspect of SEO to avoid potential SGE erosion, UGC may be a smart and relatively underutilized option.
SEO and SGE: preparing for the future
In a meta sense, the SEO principles of systematic testing and finding your way through uncertainty will be more important than ever in planning for an SGE-rich world.
- Follow your favorite industry sources closely.
- Recognize trends by annotating changes in both Google's landscape and your own strategy.
- Understand the role of human insight in delivering value to your users.
It may not guarantee success, but it will give you a solid foundation to facilitate strategic shifts.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily those of Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.