5 Ways Google’s Generative AI Challenges Search and SEO
Google’s new Search Generative Experience (SGE) is a dynamic AI/LLM-powered tool poised to upend the consumer search experience. Heads of SEO and e-commerce marketers should be ready to adapt to the latest iteration of Google Search. Daniel Lee, writing for Emiquent, notes five key takeaways.
#1 Click-through on informational content may decrease
E-commerce sites accustomed to receiving traffic via information-based content may see a decline in click-through rates (CTRs). With SGE, Google may answer a consumer’s query (for example: “lab vs natural diamond”) directly within search results, eliminating the need for a click into the e-commerce website’s info page.
A potential for lower CTRs will force search engine marketers to improve click-through for Product Detail Pages (PDPs). EKOM multiplies your organic search traffic by auto generating and auto optimizing your e-commerce assets, beginning with the page title that your customer sees in search engine results. Brands can utilize EKOM’s AI and LLM technology to show customers exactly what they’re looking for.
#2 Optimize to rank in e-commerce SGE results
Google’s algorithms are famously kept under wraps. Yet certain types of behavior have always been promoted by the search team. While we can’t know exactly why content is accepted or rejected by SGE results, historical best practices suggest SEMs focus on the following in their product comparison guides:
- Comprehensive coverage
- Use of table format for comparing product features
- Clear conclusions and recommendations
- Higher word counts
- External and expert sources
Enriching PDPs with EKOM’s automated SEO tuning can help optimize product listings embedded within comparison guides and other long-form web assets.
#3 Continue to focus on recent news
For now, Google’s SGE feature appears to primarily focus on disrupting evergreen informational content. News items and content based around very recent trends or events is less likely to appear in SGE results.
As e-commerce marketers adapt to writing for SGE, it’s important to continue building timely, event-based organic content. Because EKOM integrates with SEO tools offering real-time data, e-commerce marketers can easily keep PDPs up-to-date and in-touch with changes in consumer search behavior.
#4 Evergreen content retains its position
While SGE extracts a large amount of evergreen content, presenting it directly to users in the search results, high quality evergreen content will absolutely remain important for e-commerce marketers.
Organic evergreen content will continue to earn clicks and page time while also building trust and authority. Websites with deep libraries of expertise will continue to serve as valuable waypoints in the e-commerce sales funnel.
#5 Quality and originality will rise to the top
LLMs and AI are rapidly improving, forcing e-commerce marketers to prioritize originality and quality in human-authored content. Integrating interactive elements, such as quizzes or games, and building out original assets, such as professional photos/videos or original datasets, will drive your content to the top.
EKOM helps e-commerce marketers create high-value content at both the product and category levels. EKOM optimization has allowed brands to achieve a more than 4x increase in overall traffic and a 12%+ increase in time-on-page in a matter of just days.
SGE & The Next Frontier of Search
While it’s possible – likely, even – that Google’s SGE reduces clickthrough on some evergreen and information-based pages, this change creates an opportunity for search marketers to invest new resources into quality product pages for higher return.
Prepare your e-commerce website to accelerate growth in this new era of Google search by using EKOM for optimizing e-commerce assets. Learn how EKOM can help increase traffic and conversions while lowering customer acquisition costs – schedule a walkthrough with EKOM today.