A recent Digiday article confirms that Google’s AI Overviews have directly contributed to a 25% drop in referral traffic to content publishers across the internet. This percentage is even higher depending on your industry and website structure.
A year ago I said SEO wasn’t dead, just different. But today it’s clear that traditional SEO efforts simply aren’t working anymore–at least not on their own. Here are a couple key considerations:
Implement AEO Content Practices
I’ve talked about AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) before. It aims to optimize your content to get mentioned and cited in AI-generated search results like Google’s AI Overview.
Whether SEO is dead, on life support, or on its way back to haunt us, everyone should prioritize AEO with their content right now.
Check out my AEO checkpoint from last month for some tips on where to start.
Keep Your Eye on Impactful Search Changes
The impact and approaches of AI-driven search features are constantly evolving. At any moment, a new update could come out that bumps your website out of an AI overview.
On top of changing algorithms, there are regulatory factors to consider. Google could continue to monopolize its influence on content visibility, which will force us all to adapt further. Or, we could see some increased regulations placed on Google.
Google’s antitrust cases with the DOJ are still pending. There’s a push to incorporate new remedies to the case that would limit the influence of AI overviews on publisher content. One proposed remedy involves allowing websites to block Google’s AI crawler without getting wiped from the search index (which is Google’s current approach). Keep a close eye on how things evolve to know when to make a pivot.
Sources:
“Google AI Overviews linked to 25% drop in publisher referral traffic, new data shows” By Jessica Davies for Digiday
