How Does Google SGE Impact SEO? How to Optimize for Google SGE?

Google SGE is the future of search engines and has the power to transform the way we access information online. But what does it mean for SEO?

How Does Google SGE Impact Organic Traffic?

With the introduction of generative AI in Google’s search engine, we, as marketers and as businesses, will have to rethink our entire content strategy. 

Why exactly? Well, Google SGE uses AI-powered algorithms to provide a personalized overview of the answer from various sources – right at the top of our search results. In this section, Google will also include links regarding our query, images, YouTube videos, and even suggestions for the next steps – all with no other clicks. 

That being said, this implies that the AI-generated content will appear first, reducing our users’ need to look for other sources of information and, well, reducing our organic traffic. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of people might not even check other websites – not even mine, nor yours. 

For example, let’s say that you look up “What is Organic Search?”. Google SGE will display the definition of organic search, how to rank higher on search engines, and even follow-up questions regarding SEO and organic search for even more information. 

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How To Rank for Google SGE?

Yes, Google Search Generative Experience will completely change what we know about ranking for Google and content strategy. But don’t panic! We can use Google SGE to our advantage and attract higher-quality leads to our website. 

We must remember that Google SGE is learning from the content of other website pages. This means that traditional results won’t go anywhere anytime soon. However, this will force us to create more answer-oriented, educational-based content with relevant, up-to-date data.  

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Even more so, in their announcement, Google explained that SGE is just a “jumping-off point to explore web content”. So, while Google Search Generative Experience will take over basic queries, we will still need more in-depth information. The silver lining is: when users do want to find out more than just the basics, we will know for sure that they are surely interested in what we have to say, rather than just googling a few definitions. 

So, while Google SGE seems like a threat, it is the fine line separating the first stage of the sales funnel (awareness) and the second (intent and consideration). 

Plus, don’t forget that Google SGE is purely optional, and only those who personally turned on AI-generated responses can have access to these results. Not to mention that SGE is not even available in many countries at the moment. A lot of our users still rely on traditional searches. So, there’s no reason to panic. We still have time to adjust our content marketing strategy to prepare for the future of Google search. 

But how do we make sure that our content is SGE SEO ready?

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How to Optimize for Google SGE?

We’ve already established that the focus will be on creating answer-oriented and educational content. Yet, how do we ensure it is optimized for Generative AI?

1. Long Keywords: Understanding the algorithm is the first step in making sure we rank on Google SGE. And in the early stages of development, it shows that SGE is prompting users to look for detailed queries. This means we should also optimize for long-tail and low-search keywords rather than short ones. For example, a long-tail keyword example could be "best hiking trails in the Pacific Northwest" instead of a shorter, more generic keyword like "hiking trails".
2. Write in Natural Language: To ensure AI algorithms consider us, we should talk like them. So, use language that both AI and humans can understand. This means that we should avoid formal language or incredibly hard-to-comprehend expressions. 
3. User Intent: Like any other research, it’s necessary to approach a user-oriented method. So, address precisely what our users might be looking for.
4. Structured Data Markup: This is important regardless of the adoption of Google SGE, but use structured data markup to help search engines interpret and categorize your online content. This is the key to improving your SEO performance, ensuring our content shows up for relevant searches. 

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Remember that rethinking and implementing a content strategy that fits the Google SGE will represent an iterative process as it’s still in its early stages of development, and it’s still, well, an experiment. But be prepared to embrace the new Google Search!