Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) was first introduced in May, 2023 and is changing how users browse the internet and interact with search results. This AI-powered feature scans the Internet in seconds to generate all-encompassing answers to simple queries like “best garden hose.” It is an even faster way to get answers before glancing at your typical results list.
What does this mean for your SEO strategy in 2024?
Google’s SGE functions like taking snippets or summaries with suggested follow-up questions to give you a quick and fast answer.
This means that for your SEO strategy, you must create audience-focused content.
Google wants to deliver helpful content with unique perspectives users can trust. To be favored by SGE means to create content that meets these criteria.
5 Ways to Attract SGE in Your SEO Strategy
- Include Videos or graphics so users can experience your content in way that is most engaging to them.
- Including trust signals like certifications, awards or authoritative keywords to promote trust between you and the user.
- Letting EXPERIENCE inform content over the SERPs. This might mean addressing why a frequently mentioned tip doesn’t work.
- Mobile-friendly and fast sites will rank higher- SGE considers technical factors like how mobile friendly a site is, its responsive design, and fast page speeds.
- Traffic may decrease for some sites- SGE is becoming more aware of unnatural language and low-value content, if your site relies more on tricks for ranking, organic traffic may suffer.
The Future of SEO
The future of SEO will be heavily influenced by how search engines continue to develop generative techniques. SGE is a prime example of algorithms getting “smarter”, how will your SEO marketing strategy adapt to this continuing improvement of Search?
2 Responses
I like how this post highlights our ever-changing world of technology. I have noticed as this post has that most people when searching don’t want unnecessary fluff when looking for answers. For example, I like looking at movies and movie casts but sometimes finding that smaller character is hard and might send you into the rabbit hole of trying to find out who it is without any success. I like that now we can have pictures analyzed and that tells us exactly what is in the picture like character and who plays that character. This makes finding the answer much faster and keeps the attention of the question asker. Also, if you love a certain franchise this SEO may suggest a different one that is similar in hopes to keep your attention on the streaming platform. This can be seen a lot on Netflix when finishing a show or movie it will suggest something similar as Netflix has learned you like a type of show or movie. The streaming platforms among everything else are getting smarter very fast and we need to be ready for it.
I believe that SGE will gain a lot of traction over the next year because of the benefits it provides. It adds so much convenience to the search process and will allow the user to not even scroll through the SERP. It could be an issue for some sites since it will make it unnecessary to scroll past it. Sites will have to find a way to get their key points into the SGE to take advantage of this new development.