I'm one of those who think that Google's SGE can be something actually positive for SEO for a high share of businesses, so I was happy to see this article from Mordy Oberstein about it: "Why AI & SGE Means More Revenue Opportunity for SEO Agencies" https://www.advancedwebranking.com/blog/why-ai-sge-means-more-revenue-opportunity-for-seo-agencies
What's your take on SGE impact?
I am torn. What it brings ultimately depends on how well the results are going to be, and how well users adopt them. During my tests, I found SGE often triggered for search results where as a user I would expect and need to see a few links and not a wall of text; if they manage carefully for which types of queries this makes sense and drop the SGE where it doesn't, I can see how it can work.
I agree 100% that this is going to be good for SEOs... who are willing to adapt.
SGE, if it's anything like what we see in Labs, will have an impact pretty quick. We will likely see drops in the usual metrics - impressions, position, clicks, etc.
Traditional SEO practices are still going to be needed.
Websites still need to be optimized on a technical level for search and AI.
Sites are still going to need content and SEO/AI-optimized content.
Businesses will be willing to pay for visibility in the various AI, whether it's ChatGPT, SGE, etc. once the potential ROI becomes apparent. (Still not much insight into how Google will report AI metrics. What Ging offers in Webmaster is severely lacking)
One thing is for sure, it's going to be much harder to get visibility in those few available slots in SGE.
AI is a great conversation topic and something I find very exciting. There's so much potential here from the possibilities with the technology in creativity and workflow assistance to professional development and more.
Google will need to rethink SGE . Most users will not want such heavy-handed SGE, at least for another year. The need to dip their toe in the water. Having said that, a lot of what was "search" will continue to go directly into a ChatGPT box and similar whiile taking away from Google Search.
Hi. I think Google's SGE is only hurting the SEO industry so far. Firstly, the LLMs used are not as good as Google thinks they are. They are clearly inferior to the same ChatGTP. Secondly, this feature can lower the CTR in organic results quite a lot. So don't be surprised if your site suddenly has less traffic.
Mobile First, Core Web Vitals... good intentions, but hard even for Google to force widespread adoption. I suspect with the cost involved in GenAI aspects of the SGE snapshot, Google will quietly pull back. We might not even see a full rollout in 2024. It's like 2 serps in 1, so it can't be that sustainable once user data shows massive scrolling down to results. The SERP does need to evolve, and I think it will be a lot less linear or sequential - and this will impact mostly people relying on numerical rankings (platforms, tools and less experienced SEOs). The platform to really figure out SERP visibility will win here. The SEOs who really seek to improve their client's content (content quality) and only write content that makes sense for the brand - (stop with the top things to do in XYZ city for a local plumber) will see gains over those who view AI as a content scaling tool.
I would say I agree but that would be self-serving :)
I also think this kind of applies across the board. AI ups the need for "high-level" human activity. That can be in anything from content creation to ideation. I see AI as an oppotunity for really skilled people to thrive!
I agree and i actually think its the shake up the SEO industry needs.
Great article. I think that the mindset change not only for yours, but also for customers will be essential in this new age of our industry.
Mordy Oberstein
I shared my opinion today, after reading the wonderful article by Mordy:
There are only two types of professionals at risk IMHO:
The new entries with no velocity in learning and excelling, and no real interest in not being just pure executors.
The older SEOs, who are too lazy to adapt their knowledge to the opportunities the new AI-based tools offer.