How Will Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) Affect SEO?

Recently, we have all heard, seen, read, and even used various things related to artificial intelligence. Google’s new tool, Search Generative Experience, or shortly SGE, is now part of this diversity. So, how will this AI SEO, which will be available through Google’s own search engine, impact? You will find the answer to this question in detail in the continuation of our article. But first, let’s start with a brief warm-up…

What Is Google’s Search Generative Experience?

Have you ever found yourself lost among websites while conducting research? If so, Search Generative Experience is exactly like a compass for you! SGE thoroughly scans any topic you want to search for. Then it presents the key points of the answer to your question. It not only provides precise information but also offers useful websites for a more comprehensive research experience. In short, it protects you from information overload and allows you to save time. SGE serves as an assistant not only for your research topics but also for answering various questions.

What Is SEO?

SEO is a digital marketing phenomenon that enables content or websites to appear at the top ranks on search engines like Google, Yandex, and Bing through strategic and technological processes without paying any fees. In other words, SEO aims to attract organic traffic to the site by using the right keywords and reaching the target audience more effectively and comprehensively. Achieving this is not as easy as it may seem. Continuous analyses are conducted, and success in SEO can only be achieved by staying consistently updated.

The Impact of AI on SEO Strategies

We can describe AI and SEO as forming a fantastic duo in delivering accurate information and reaching the target audience. In our previous section, we briefly discussed what SEO is. AI, with its features resembling human thinking and learning, sheds light on SEO. In other words, AI enhances SEO analysis by analyzing data, making it more comprehensive. Thus, by creating more effective strategies and quickly adapting to changing trends, it provides significant support to SEO experts.

How AI Changes Keyword Optimization?

Firstly, let’s start with a brief explanation of what Keyword Optimization is. Keyword Optimization aims to make selected keywords effective in attracting targeted traffic to your website and to have your site easily listed at the top by the right audience.

While the process of determining keywords was traditionally carried out using more conventional methods, AI goes beyond that by finding relevant and important keywords across the entire database. And with its vast data and generative power, AI not only stops there:

1. AI support interprets user intent, providing keyword matching and optimizing the real search intent to enhance the quality of traffic.
2. AI helps marketers adapt quickly to changes in search engine algorithms in the constantly evolving landscape of agendas and technology. It achieves this by rapidly analyzing changes in ranking factors and adapting keyword strategies.
3. AI excels in providing a competitive advantage to businesses or brands that own websites by analyzing competitor strategies.

Adapting Content Strategies for AI-Driven Search

Traditionally, when considering a piece of content, important elements include its originality, fluency, and language. Nowadays, in addition to these, creating content with a focus on artificial intelligence has become one of the criteria. In other words, we are gaining by adding technology to tradition. So, do we need to determine content strategies to adapt to the impact of artificial intelligence and changes in search algorithms? We hear you. Here are a few tips to follow:

Even though we are talking about artificial intelligence, we are facing a technology that tends to understand our desires and intentions. Therefore, when creating content, organize your strategies to respond more effectively to users’ real search intentions.

Artificial intelligence also takes into account searches that occur on mobile devices, as many searches are performed on our mobile phones due to their portability. Therefore, optimizing your content to be mobile-friendly and easily accessible will be a plus for you.

Make sure to review user feedback, and if improvements are needed based on the feedback received, make them. Because AI processes the content you generate and incorporates data from future evaluations.

Assuming we live in a visual world, include not only text but also videos and visuals in your content. This way, your content will not only rank in the “images” section of the search engine. But also appeal to both your target audience and artificial intelligence.

Technical SEO in the Age of Generative Search

Before delving into the generative search era, let’s briefly look at what technical SEO is. Technical SEO involves technical adjustments made to ensure better understanding and indexing of a website by search engines. These adjustments include important and technical elements such as ensuring Site Speed Optimization, using HTTPS, organizing the URL structure of your site, mobile compatibility, and correcting errors like “404 Not Found” to provide a better experience for visitors.

By optimizing all these elements correctly, websites can be made more effective and performant in the Age of Generative Search.

The Role of Metadata and Schema in SGE Optimization

Before understanding its role in SGE optimization, let’s briefly examine Metadata and Schema. The shortest and most concise answer to the question would be “a type of data that provides information about the content, structures, sources, and other important features of a set of information.” For example, the metadata of a music file may include information such as the song’s title, artist, and album. So, as you can understand, metadata is not only found on web pages but also on digital content. The existential purpose of this additional information is to provide users with a better experience and facilitate the organization of content.

Now that we understand Metadata, what about Schema? Schema is a coding technique that allows you to mark specific parts of your web pages by adding special codes. These markings guide search engines to better understand the meaning of the content, thus providing users with more explanatory and rich results. You can use Dopinger’s schema markup generator to create schema markups.

How can we define the role of this duo in Search Generative Experience Optimization? The SGE Optimization will still rely on classic search engine logic to present results. So, the use of Metadata and Schema will still be necessary. For example, after asking SGE a question, AI will initially blend and present the information it has acquired. Then, suggest websites to the user for more detailed information.

The Future of SEO with Google SGE: Predictions and Trends

According to the analysis by Insight Partners, it is concluded that SGE will cause significant changes in SEO. Currently, when something is searched on Google, the interface displays paid ads at the top, followed by organic rankings. With SGE, it is anticipated that there will still be paid ads at the top, followed by the results from SGE, and then organic rankings below. This implies that SEO efforts for websites may be overshadowed by Google SGE, leading to lower rankings. Due to its role as an effective assistant in delivering direct information to users with care and efficiency, it is predicted that SGE will attract a significant portion of traffic to itself.

However, considering all these developments, it would not be accurate to think that a powerful concept like SEO will disappear. Evaluating these advancements as new technological developments and tactics in the SEO landscape will be profitable.

Emerging SEO Trends in the Context of SGE

Considering the ability of artificial intelligence, which is thought to bring the end of SEO, yes, it may seem that it is extremely equipped and will take its place on the throne. However, there is one thing that should not be forgotten: Artificial intelligence only mixes ready-made data and produces an output. It is real people’s thoughts and experiences that determine trends. Current trends, fashion trends, and reviews all come from people’s original thoughts.

For example, let’s think of a person who has started fitness and is doing research to buy a nutritional supplement for himself. Do you think that the answers he will receive from artificial intelligence as a result of his research are reliable? We are talking about an intelligence that does not exercise or eat. Of course, the person in the example will want to see the experiences and reviews of people who have actually used the products and will want to make the purchase accordingly. Being aware of this, Google seems to focus on this issue on its websites in the GGE field for this very reason. Long story short, sites containing original human facts and emotions will be able to cooperate with SGE.

The voice search trend is expected to rise even further in 2024. Therefore, developing a strategy within the framework of NLP to direct voice searches closer to natural language will have an even higher chance of being shown in the Generative AI section. In other words, the fact that the content created is natural and prepared by humans within the scope of the SEO strategy will increase the likelihood of being displayed in Google’s SGE section.

Preparing for Future Updates in Google’s AI Algorithms

Looking back, we can see that Google’s algorithm updates always go in parallel with the user experience. So, just like in trends, we can inform you that the preparations to be made for Google’s AI algorithm will mean that articles containing content evaluated by humans (especially within the scope of e-commerce), created and made suggestions will be selected by the algorithm and moved to the top.

Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) Effects on SEO

In conclusion, we can understand that SGE will affect SEOs in terms of rankings, information, and technology. Rankings will affected by the “amount of the SGE’s placement in the search page”, information will affected by the “who generates the content? AI or a Human?”, and technologically, the searching methods will be changed with “voice search,” etc. In the changing technology and world, nothing can be expected to stand still in time.